Chapter Seventeen: The Search for Illusion Magic

With my last few gold coins, I wandered the town, searching for anyone who could teach me illusion magic. Wizards, warlocks, paladins—anyone. But I found nothing.

I clenched my fists, my mind drifting back to the daggers I once held. Loki's daggers. A piece of him, a piece of his magic, and I had let them go. I could have killed him, kept them, and saved myself this trouble.

But you can't change the past.

It was getting dark. My coin was too little for another night in the tavern.

I walked the streets, looking for anywhere to sleep when I saw it—

A door, with thick, swirling smoke seeping out from underneath.

I stepped closer, placing a hand on the handle. The metal was warm.

I pushed the door open.

A voice boomed from inside, cutting through the heavy fog that filled the shop.

"WELCOME TO THE MAGICAL SHOP OF MYSTERY! I AM THE GREAT, ALL-KNOWING, PROFITABLE DAVE!"

As the fog cleared slightly, I saw him—a man standing at the counter, surrounded by magical books and artifacts stacked in every corner.

"Now, what can I do for my first-ever customer?"

I frowned. "You just opened?"

"Yep! Wasn't expecting anyone, but oh well."

A magic shop that just opened... Maybe I could hustle him for some illusion magic.

"Well then, do you have any spellbooks on illusions?"

"Of course!" He grinned. "They range from 20 to 600 gold, depending on the book."

I looked down at the four coins in my hand.

"Illusion magic is the weakest one. Come on, you can't charge 20 gold for that."

His smile faltered. He studied me, his expression shifting.

"You... you don't look okay."

And to tell the truth, I wasn't. Not mentally.

He sighed, motioning for me to sit. Before I could protest, he placed a warm cup of tea in front of me. "Tell me what happened."

I scoffed. "You'll never understand."

His face darkened. He looked down for a moment before speaking.

"I know that look… The look of remembering those you lost.

"Family?"

I didn't answer.

He sighed, nodding. "I understand how you feel, I really do… My wife and daughter were killed in a meaningless war."

And that's when I broke.

I told him everything. Everything that happened. Everything I planned to do.

He listened in silence, his gaze heavy with something I couldn't place.

"Revenge isn't the path," he finally said.

And that's when I remembered my pact—

Don't trust. Don't let anyone get close.

I stood up. "I should go."

As I turned to leave, he stopped me, pressing something into my hands.

A book.

Not just any book. A rare, expensive tome on illusion magic—the most lucrative one he had.

"Take it. You'll need it."

I stared at him, then at the book. No tricks. No price. Just… a gift.

I took it, stepping out into the cold night.

As I glanced back, the fog beneath the shop's door vanished.