"While we could possibly begin your training here, I believe it is best to kill two birds with one stone. Lord Hugenstore's Castle in the town of Haim is about an hour away. We shall travel there to begin your training. It would be a good opportunity for you to meet my Lord anyway, that is if he is still awake at this hour." Master Harauphar says, a slightly noticeable grimace when speaking the name Hugenstore. You ignored that for now as a slight measure of excitement was filling you, you hadn't been to a human town yet and you were eager to see what the humans of this world were like. However there was something bothering your mind.
"I see Master, I look forward to my training and seeing my first human settlement. But may I ask a question Master Harauphar?" You ask politely.
"Permission granted Wraith, ask away."
"This Lord Hugenstore, I was wondering if he had any other mages or warlocks at his disposal, you are the only one I know as of yet and I am curious to see mages who study other magical fields."
"Ah, good question Wraith. Mages are rare to see, they tend to either live solitary lives or work for people of political influence. I am a mixture of that. However I am aware that Lord Hugenstore has about eight other mages under his command, however only about four of hem have familiars like me." Master Harauphar says whilst closing his book and standing up from his chair.
"Anyway, wait here while I prepare for the trip, we will spend the night at Lord Hugenstore's castle so be prepared for that." Master Harauphar says.
Master Harauphar begins getting ready to go, packing a small bag with several coin purses, and a spare set of clothes for the trip. He does also pack several of his books, most of them unmagical in nature.
Master Harauphar takes about half an hour before nodding to you and waking out of the cottage, closing the door behind him.
You follow suit behind him, walking a quick pace to keep up with your Master's long strides. You both walk through the twisted woods quietly, no conversation going on as you do. The air is cold and misty in the dead of night and the only animals awake are either bats or rodents scavenging for food. The only noises heard were your faint footsteps over fallen leaves and loose gravel path or the wind gently blowing a frigid cold on your fur.
The forest almost seemed to watch you as an hour passed and slowly the trees dwindled down and the eerie silence of the forest faded away.
You find yourself standing beside Master Harauphar at the edge of the forest onto a cobbled path. Ahead of you, was the town you had sensed a a couple of days ago.
Surrounded by high stone walls and lit by torches that made it a beacon of hope against the darkness was a large settlement. Several farm fields covered the area around the town and in the safety of the walls was a small castle, three mighty towers reaching out into the heavens.
You almost gape at the castle, no theme park you had been to before could capture the glorious majesty of the castle and town itself.
Master Harauphar nods to you before saying "That Wraith, is Haim, one of the three major cities in the entire country. It's farms span several miles in nearly every direction and it is known as the "The Arcane City" due to its large amount of magical research facilities and factories."
"Incredible, what types of products do the factories within create?" You ask.
"The arcane item market is still in its first baby steps and as of now anything magical in nature costs more money than a farmer could make in his life. However many of the nobles buy items such as writing feathers with never ending ink, pillows that magically clean themselves, I believe one noble in the city even has his own golem servant. However I do hear that once the process is more refined and cost effective, many of the products will be more affordable to the lower classes." Master Harauphar explains in his matter of factly tone.
"Incredible..." You say in awe. You were glad you decided to go to the town to train instead st the cottage. After all, this was your first step into learning about the civilizations of the world. You still did wonder what you'll be learning here with Master Harauphar.
Without a word, Master Harauphar begins heading to the gleaming city with a brisk pace to his steps , not waiting for you to follow. You catch up to him and after about another thirty minutes you both arrive to the town gates, several caravans and travelers waiting behind you both, as you draw near to the gate two guards begin approaching you.
Suddenly in a jolt you remeber what Master Harauphar said to you when you first met. Do not act any more intelligent than you appear. You are simply a fox with four tails, act like one whenever we are in town. The voice of command told you in your mind.
You sit down aside Masster Harauphar quietly, licking your paw in absent mindness as the guards approached your Master, both of them giving a wary eye to you.
The guard on the right, wearing a set of leather and chain mail armor, a small blue banner depicting an eagle carrying a sword and staff on the guard's shield.
The guard looked over Master Harauphar with an inspecting eye, only giving you a casual glance before looking at Master Harauphar in the eye.
"Judging by your appearance I assume you are a sorcerer, state your name and purpose of visiting here or leave." The guard said, his thick brown beard shaking heavily with the movements of his mouth.
"I am Warlock Harauphar, the Fourth Mage in service of Lord Hugenstore, I am here for both my personal monthly report to Lord Hugenstore and for personal reasons as well. The fox behind me is my new companion Wraith." Master Harauphar answers, casually motioning to you when he speaks your name.
The guard nods, giving you another glance before saying to Harauphar "Ah, Warlock Harauphar. Apologies for not recognizing you sooner, a large amount of mage posers have been attempting to enter the city. However you have stated your title as Fourth Mage. You may enter the gates, I will send a messenger to Lord Hugenstore immedialty announcing your appearance here." The guard says before turning back and motioning to one of the guards patrolling on the walls.
Ahead of you the wooden gates open slowly with a thunderous creak. Master Harauphar nods to the guard before heading inside.
The town was not like you expected at all. You thought your normal senses would've been over powered by all the sights, sounds, and smells of the cities. Instead, both your magical and normal senses were being flooded. It was as if the entire city itself was alive. Nearly every building you saw emitted its own unique energy, all of them almost glowing with purples, silvers, whites, and dozens of other colors as well. They glowed delicately, gently mixing with eachother, forming the a sea of color.
You saw crowds of people everywhere you looked, either merchants selling and bartering or those of the common folk moving through their everyday lives. The faint light of their souls almost seemed to taunt you, knowing that you weren't allowed to consume their tasty essence.
While you were looking at the delectable souls in front of you like a kid in a candy store you suddenly realized that Master Harauphar was already starting to walk ahead into an alleyway nearly disappearing behind a wall of people, in a panic you move past the crowd of people earning a couple of people screaming in fear at you and others attempting to kick you.
Luckily you manage to catch up to Master Harauphar who seemed uncaring whether or not you were following him. You follow Master Harauphar through the alleyways, completely avoiding the crowds of people. Master Harauphar does not speak as he leads you through the alleys, in his usual somber mood.
Finally after leaving the alleyways and going down a large fancy road you both arrive at the front gates of the Lord's Castle, crossing several checkpoints with the guards immediately allowing your Master through (whether by fear or respect you didn't know) and you entered the inner castle walls.
Thankfully here no crowds existed and the only humans you had seen were either patrolling guards (who noticeably did their best to keep their distance from Master Harauphar) and passing gardeners who tended to the elegant plants the decorated the tiled path towards the castle.
The castle now right in front of you seemed to loom like a giant above your heads. It's grand stone artitecture reminding you of a mix of both medieval and nordic style construction.
Almost as soon as you entered the castle gardens a servant wearing a fancy tailored suit immediately ran up to Master Harauphar before respectfully bowing down before speaking.
"Warlock Harauphar, it is a pleasure to see you at Lord's Hugenstore's castle once more. Your room has already been prepared and both Lord Hugenstore and Lady Lyaa are aware of your arrival. Currently only Second Mage Garthur and his familiar are present here at the castle. When you are ready I may take you into the castle." He explained, giving a court nod to both you and Maser Harauphar. Second Mage Garthur? One of Master's peers? You thought quietly to yourself.
Harauphar held up a single hand to silence the servant and says "I am aware where my room is, I'd rather prefer no escort, however in the mean time please have someone prepare the training field, I will have use of it tonight. Also do make sure to tell Lord Hugenstore that tommorrow I will be ready to give him my monthly report."
The servant nods briskly "Very well Warlock Harauphar, I will ensure that what you have requested will be completed." He says before walking away in a fast pace towards the castle, entering through a servants door at the side.
Following Master Harauphar's lead you enter the castle walls entering into a grand hallway decorated with tapestries and fine paintings leading into a large lounge room. However sitting on one of the large plush sofas, quietly reading a book was....