Civilization

Stannir stepped onto the paved road and looked at the smoke rising in the distance. He turned to Salina standing next to him. "Trading town ahead… It's just like those warriors said."

"Yes, at least you've gotten rid of the swamp smell on you. It was terrible. Hopefully we can find some fresh food to eat."

Stannir nodded with a smile on his face. "Yes. I'm getting a bit tired of the swamp meat. Something fresh will be nice. Hopefully they'll want to trade the skins I've got for something to eat or at least some coin."

"If you keep standing here you won't know. So, hurry up you might even be pointed in the direction of someone who knows about those batterys you've been carrying around."

Stannir nodded and started walking on the paved road towards the trading town. He looked around at the trees on both sides of the path smiling. "So much green… I don't see any white at all. Also, no terrible smell of the swamp."

"The famed fire eater finally admits to the smell of the swamp. Hahaha." He looked at the laughing Salina and sighed. "Maybe… You have to admit it wasn't as bad those ruins, we were in."

"That's true… It seems after the swamps I seem to miss the ice storms of the north."

Stannir stopped walking and smiled at Salina. "Are you sure. You mean the storms that tried to kill us several times?"

"Just be quiet you… Hurry up and let's get into town, before I become deafened by your stomach growling."

Stannir sighed and kept walking towards the town. He stopped and looked at it as a transport passed him by on the road. "That's going to make travel through the south easier."

"That's if we get enough coin for what's in your pack."

Stannir nodded and walked into the tavern and stood at the bar opening his pack. He looked at the large man standing behind the bar staring at him. "I've got some skins from beasts in the swamp. Where can I trade them for coin?"

"Let me see what you've got."

He nodded and pulled out the rolled-up skins of the beasts that he killed, including skins that were covered in scales. "Nice. You did this yourself?"

Stannir nodded and looked at the tavern owner. "What can I get for them?"

"Well… for the smaller skins I can give you ten gold each, but for the scaled skin I'll give you five hundred gold… How does that sound?"

Stannir looked at the skins and smiled. He raised his hand and shook the large man's hand. "It's a deal. Can you also add in a meal? I haven't had a good meal in a while."

He watched as the large man took the skins of the bench and handed him a small bag. "Here's the gold… Sure, we've got good food here, also a bed if you need it."

"Just food is fine. I need to keep moving."

"Where are you going? You also don't look like one of the usual travelers around here."

Stannir smiled and nodded. "Indeed. I'm a stranger to these lands. I'm from the frozen north."

"Ahh… Another one coming for the ritual in the capital for the guard." Stannir felt the gaze of the large man look him over. "You're quite big, but your missing a few people for you to apply for the ritual."

Stannir sighed and nodded. "Which is why I'm here in the south. I'm looking for people that also want to take part."

"Go sit… I'll bring the food out to you… I might have some fire wine around somewhere. That's what you northerners drink isn't it?"

Stannir nodded. "Thanks… Yes, we do drink fire wine, but not so much…" He looked at the owner and pulled out one of the green batterys he had in the pack. He watched as the large man stared at it. "Would you know anyone who can tell me about this strange battery?"

He frowned as he watched the large man shake his head. "Nope. Sorry. If you want to know more about it, then you should head to the Ancient Tower. That's where they do all the research on batterys. I'm sure they'll know what it is."

Stannir smiled. "Thanks… I'm hoping that there's a transport that would go there?"

"Yes… There are many. If by foot, it would take you several months to reach there. On the transport it should take at least a day."

Stannir cursed. "Great. Then a transport it is. Which one do I take?"

"Any transport that's heading east will stop at the tower. Transports heading west go to the capital."

"Thanks for that." Stannir nodded at the large man and sat at a table. He smiled as a tavern woman placed the food and drink in front of him with a smile. He looked at her. "Thanks…" He then saw her frown and bite her lip at him. "Sir. Are you going to be leaving after you eat?" Stannir nodded. "Ahh. That's a pity as you see sir, I'm quite good at massaging large muscles, and I can see your muscles are quite large and in desperate need of a massage."

He watched as the woman leaned forward on the table making her cleavage visible to him. He shook his head and looked down at the plate feeling his face start to turn red. "No need. Thank you. I need to head to the tower and I'm in a rush. Sorry."

"Then next time you come here, you better let me look after those large muscles of yours…"

He glanced up as she winked at him and he watched as she walked away shaking her hips with each step she took. He sighed.

"Cough… Umm excuse me?"

"I feel a headache coming. I wasn't thinking of anything like that. Salina. Honest."

"Fine… It's fine. I know men have their needs, and I'm not physical."

Stannir turned his head and looked at her while chewing on a piece of roasted meat. "Are you saying that you'd let me do that?"

"Of course, not… It's not like we are bound together in that way..."

"Stannir shook his head and sighed as he looked at Salina folding her arms and not looking at him. "Salina… There's only one woman in my life, and I'm looking at her now. I don't need any massages or anyone else touching me except for you."

"…"

"Salina?"

"Humph. Fine. Have you asked how I feel about that?"

Stannir sighed and put his hand on the table in front of her. "Sometimes, words are not needed for someone to feel another's feelings and thoughts." He smiled as Salina turned and looked at him with red cheeks.

"Are you telling me you know my feelings towards you?"

"We currently share the same body, and we've been through a lot together. I've listened to the words you've said to me, and I know that we need each other. Not just now, but also in the future."

"Not because I'm a spark?"

Stannir shook his head. "No, not because of that. As we both get stronger my feelings for you grow, just as I know your feelings for me grow as well."

"If that's the case, why were you watching that ugly whore walk away shaking her ass in front of me?"

Stannir lowered his head. "I was looking down when she was showing her chest to me… There was no where else to look. Anyway, your behind is much better, and you are so much more beautiful then anyone I've ever seen."

"Grrrr… Sometimes you're very thick headed… Then in the future if I see you do that again, I'm going to blind you so you can't even look at anything."

Stannir nodded and massaged his head with one of his hands. "That's fine. My eyes are already yours anyway."

"… Fine. I'll remember those words you've mentioned… Now hurry and eat. I don't want to hear your voice for a while."

He nodded and looked down at the plate and started to eat the meal in silence. He looked up and took a sip of the fire wine letting the heat of it enter his mouth and make its way down to his stomach. He smiled and let out a long breath and leaned back in the chair. He looked up at the large man.

"Thank you sir… That was excellent. Make sure you tell the cook, they know how to roast good meat."

Stannir walked to the bar and dropped a few coins on the table. He looked up at the large man. "All transports that head to the east?"

"Yes. That's right. Transports heading east will stop at the tower, before heading towards Eternia."

"Eternia?"

"Yes. It's a large city. That place it's always raining and has never stopped since my grandparents were young."

Stannir nodded. "Thanks for all the information and food. I must head off. Farewell."

Stannir walked out of the tavern and stood on the paved road. He looked up at the sun pointing with his head. "East is that way… Now we just wait for a transport to stop."

"What did I tell you about not hearing your voice?"

Stannir lowered his head and sighed. He rubbed his temples with his fingers and kept walking in silence. He looked up as a stranger was about to pass him. "Excuse me. Sorry… Where does the transport stop to go to the Ancient Tower?"

"Lad. All the transports stop at the tavern. You just need to wait outside. There should be one coming by soon, since many people are getting the tower blacksmiths to make armor and weapons for the ritual."

Stannir nodded. "Thanks." He stopped walking and turned around heading back to the tavern and stood outside waiting for the transport to arrive.

He looked at Salina who was staring at him. "What is it?"

"You better be good at massaging. I'll need one when my body is fully physical."

Stannir felt his face turn red. "Massage. I've never done that before… How do I learn how to do it?"

"Humph… That's your problem, not mine."

Stannir sighed and looked at Salina with her arms folded. "Deal. I'll also learn other things to make the one I love feel special and wanted."

"Promise?"

Stannir nodded. "Yes… I promise."

"You better not get my hopes up for no reason, and then find some excuse to change your words."

Stannir shook his head. "That's not going to happen."

"Fine… We'll see for now but remember what I said. If I see you looking with a stupid look on your face. I'll be taking those eyes of yours and burning them into nothingness."

"Cough…"

Stannir looked around and covered his mouth as he coughed to hide his face that he could feel heating up. "That's fine with me, as I only have stupid looks when I look at you."

"Hahaha… That you do."

Stannir smiled when he heard her laughter and felt his heart sing. He looked up at the sun and wiped his face. "Soon we'll be on the transport to go to the tower… We might be lucky there as well, since that passerby said many people are going there as well. I hope we can meet some strong people there."

"Yes. I don't want us to turn up to the capital looking for people there… It'll be too late then."

Stannir nodded and touched his pack. "I also want to know about these batterys and why they'd be in a beast like the ones we saw in the swamp."

"You and those batterys. Why are you so fascinated by them?"

Stannir shrugged his head. "I don't know, but I feel like something huge is about to happen" He shook his head. "But… I just don't know what it is." He looked at the pack. "The one thing that I do know, is that these batterys are somehow tied into it."

"Is that your intuition, or have you been learning how to read the old man's books?"

Stannir smiled shaking his head. "Still can't read or write yet… It's my gut feeling."

"Gut feeling? Do you mean intuition?"

He looked at Salina. "Haven't you heard of gut feeling before?"

"I'm a spark. I've been around for who knows how long, but I've never heard that before. What's wrong with that?" Stannir shook his head as Salina put her hands on her hip.

"There's nothing wrong with that." He sighed. "Yes… Gut feeling is my intuition."

"That wasn't hard was it muscles?" Stannir sighed and looked around the paved road. "Where's that transport?"