Raising a Hero

Chapter 30

It was much cooler outside than it had been in the inn the night before, for which I was thankful. I could feel the heat exhaustion lingering on my limbs and didn't think I could have made it to the market square if it hadn't been.

Said market square was hardly recognizable once I reached it. Festive banners criss-cross the entire square, booths filled up the sides, blocking the sight of the usual store fronts, and a large wooden stage had been set up near the fountain. The booths just went on down the streets that left the market for as far as I could see above the crowd that was out, despite the early hour.

Checking to make sure my money was safely tucked away between my breasts (best anti-pick-pocket method), I walked through the throng, my skin tingling at being among so many people. I could see fire magic being used to cook, blow up what looked like rubber balloons, or puffing up instant treats that resembled marshmallows. Water magic swirled through the air, casting rainbows onto the ground, only to drop into glasses of fruit or water baubles filled with fish and flowers. I even caught sight of a few wind and earth magic users, though the first had been harder to see than the first since their magic was mostly invisible. The earth magic I saw in a clay sculpture, who listened to a clients orders, molded almost instantly what they asked, then handed it off to a fire user who cooked it before handing it back, a glistening ceramic figurine.

I hesitated before one of these stalls, where a glass blower and a fire mage worked in tandem to create glass works of ark that sparkled like crystal in the sunlight.

"So pretty..."

The glass blower, who I assumed was a wind mage, stopped mid puff to smile at me. The fire mage did something with her hands to harden the glass where it hung, a perfect ball, before tapping where it connected to the pipe.

"See something you like, miss?"

"Yes," I said. "But I'm buying for a grumpy teenage boy, not myself, sadly. Is it okay if I look?"

"Of course. I'm sure anything would be glad to be seen by your beautiful eyes."

The fire mage, a woman with orange hair twisted on the back of her head in a tight bun, whapped him on the thigh with her tongs. He jumped and hissed.

"That was the lamest pick up line yet," she said.

"Can you not hit me with your still hot tools? Please and thank you?"

I got the amusement of watching them bicker a bit, their relationship probably that of siblings, as I admired the various shapes and colors of the glass. I particularly liked that of a Chinese dragon twisting up the winged and four-legged body of a European shaped dragon, their jaws opened wide at each other's throats.

"Do dragons exist?" I asked.

"In other countries, they do," said the glass blower, sliding over his stool to lean against the counter towards me. "The longer ones are in southern Milan and Pinistan, while this one, the one with wings, are in the far north Yinaria, right before the land stops thawing in the summer."

"Ho, that's so cool. Pity they're not here."

He laughed. "An adventure seeker, I like that. It's the first time I've ever heard anyone say it's a pity dragons aren't in Lisu."

"Why's that?"

He gave me an odd look. "Are you not from around here?"

When I shook my head, his smile just got more debonair.

"Well, they say the country of Lisuania is blessed by god because it's the only country that's not besieged by dragons of any kind. Countries which have to deal with dragons don't have the luxury of having smaller villages, as having livestock of any kind attract them and you need at least fifty skilled men to kill a dragon. Kind of hard to do that with your run of the mill farmers and shepherds."