Burden of the Cursed -- Chapter Four

The city truly was a fantastic sight to behold. Tinnus strolled through the empty streets of wooden shacks and marble stone and took in all of the wonders around him. He peered over a nearby picket fence and into someone's front garden, he saw a young woman tending to some wild flowers underneath her window sill. Their glazes met briefly and it was her who welcomed him first with a pleasant smile and gentle wave. He responded in kind but thought it was best not to disturb her so he carried on along the cobblestone roads and into the distance.

Soon, the night's sky had turned dark and tiny droplets of light shone down from the heavens above. Guards patrolled the streets, burning torches as they traversed the darkened streets lighting the way for citizens during the late hours. Tinnus finally turned towards the middle of the city, a large circular courtyard with a mighty statue of a man built within the centre. Tinnus sat upon one of the benches opposite the statue and gazed at the marksmanship; he read the plaque with interest and found the man to be the last king whom had ruled Medenral before his late passing. He sat quietly in the darkness, studying the statue's emotionless face with interest and lore until suddenly a loud noise disturbed his thinking.

Whirling his head, he could see from the corner edge of the courtyard was a small shop leading down an open road, a rather elderly man had just left the premises but in his haste had accidently dropped a large collection of scrolls and parchments onto the street floor. As Tinnus noticed that he was the only person around, he decided against his better judgement to go and help.

"Excuse me sir, would you like some help?" Tinnus asked politely as he came face to face with the elderly gentleman. His previous first impressions were entirely correct; he was indeed an old man, very old in fact. His pallid hair fell down his face and seemed to merge seamlessly with his greyly white beard as well. A small and thin pair of glasses sat balanced perfectly on the bridge of his nose and his entire appeal reminded Tinnus of a man who had failed to dress himself appropriately for the morning rush, almost nothing was fitted correctly.

"Oh; sorry? Oh, yes please. Thank you young sir" The man said, sounding rather distracted. He attempted to balance the remaining parchments in his possessions whilst recovering the fallen ones scattered around yet for a man of his age, it was predictable what the outcome would prove when the inevitable muttering started.
"Oh goodness, my back...Oooh"

Tinnus immediately assisted the man by helping him settle upon a nearby bench, he then helped place the scrolls besides him and then slowly began picking up each individual scroll from the cobble floor and returning them all together. Once the task was done, Tinnus took a good count of how many he had rescued. Over twenty-three, it seemed an awful lot for one old man to handle alone.

"How are you feeling now sir?" Tinnus asked as he attempted to gather the horde of parchments together in one large armful.
"Oh my, a little better my friend. Thank you so much for your help" He whispered slightly, he was now attempting to lift himself from the bench to resume his journey back home.
"Sir, don't strain yourself. If you'd like, I can carry this for you. Do you live very far?"
The old man's face screwed up for a moment, wondering if perhaps this all seemed too good to be true, he knew nothing about Tinnus and as he stared at him, he just saw a dark cloaked young boy who had hidden himself away from the rest of the world. For all he knew, the boy could be a thief. And perhaps, as Tinnus had put it, he was indeed a thief, or rather had been. But in situations like this, good deeds seemed rare enough to behold and for once, the old man accepted that fact.

"You do not have to young man; I can quite rightly manage myself"
"Please, I'm not doing anything right now and you look like you need some assistance, so let me help you"

The pause was silent if not awkward; Tinnus just continued to look at the old man as he himself scanned the young boy for any deception. Alas though, none could be found.

"Oh, very well if you insist; thank you"

Tinnus smiled from ear to ear as he helped the man to his feet, they were beginning to head underway when the old man stopped once again besides the front door of the shop.
"One moment lad, I must lock up first"

Now as Tinnus looked closely, he saw the sign above the main entrance suspended by wire and read it through the dim light as Edgar's Cauldron Shop. So, it was a magic shop then. And then this old man could be Edgar. Tinnus stood firmly as the large pile of parchments he now carried in front of him seemed to tower over his head and block the majority of his vision, but through a tiny gap, he made out that Edgar had locked the premises and turned to him in readiness.

"This way young man" He said, rather cheerfully as they slowly started to walk across from the courtyard and towards the direction where Tinnus had previously came from.

"So, what is a young lad such as yourself doing out at this hour?" The old man asked as they reached the mouth of the street entrance.
"It's not so late yet sir" Tinnus replied, his answer muffled a little by the layers of old papers and writing oils.
"That is true, but my question remains" He responded, his voice revealed a hint of intelligence behind it and Tinnus intended to keep the conversation going as much as he could, for it was a pleasant change for him to talk to someone else who wasn't just Adam.

"I was waiting for someone, he had business at the Fighter's Guild and I've been waiting for him to finish"
"Oh I see, those blasted Fighter's certainly don't know the meaning of patience do they?" The old man jested, Tinnus laughed in response for he wasn't lying. He hadn't known Adam for his ability of patience before.
"He's not normally so bad, but I think he's been given a big task to undertake so I can understand if I have to wait a little longer"

They soon arrived past the house where Tinnus had saw the lady before arranging her flowers, she was still there in fact and even waved at Edgar from afar, he smiled and waved back politely. She most certainly recognised Tinnus but giggled once he attempted to wave back through the mounds of scrolls he carried in front of him.

"So, sir what's it like working at a shop?" Tinnus asked in hopes for a new conversation topic, the old man grunted a little in annoyance but continued anyway.
"It is not so bad, for an old man such as myself. But it can be so, boring"
"Boring?"
"Yes, I used to work at the Magician's Guild in Heral you see;it was always enchanting to work with other Magicians and learn new and exciting things there, but then..."
"Sir?"
"Time just catches up to you, remember that lad. Make the best of what time you have left for yourself, understand?"

Tinnus nodded fiercely through the parchment, he understood all to well.

"So you're a Magician then sir?" Tinnus asked rather nosey, the old man laughed a little in response. His expression changed a little as he watched Tinnus show interest.
"Indeed I am, Edgar the Purple Flame they used to call me"
"Why the Purple Flame?" Tinnus asked, whilst generally interested in the answer.
"Ha. Whilst training at the Academy, I had this unexplainable ability to turn all of the fire to which I would conjure bright purple. It could never be explained, not even by my own professors."

Tinnus snorted a little, the answer seemed a little far-fetched in his opinion but he had no prior knowledge of magic or its effects on people as it was. Who was he to judge the strange outcomes of the planet around them?

"Magic is always an extraordinary thing. Different people react differently to its effects; even different races adopt bizarre methods of magic themselves." Edgar continued, his voice began to trail a little, as if he was beginning to teach a lesson to his students or something. Perhaps talking to Tinnus reminded him of those days back at the Academy all of those years ago.

"You seem overly interested in magic; do you wish to learn it?" Edgar asked as he turned to look at the expression on Tinnus' face for a response. At first the idea seemed to scare Tinnus a little, the prospect of using some of the planet's energy around him to create and use spells made him tremble, but then again.

"I'm overly interested in everything sir" Tinnus replied confidently.
Edgar just smiled.



A few more minutes passed and Edgar slowly strolled towards the direction of a large marble house in front of him.
"Here we are" Edgar announced as Tinnus stopped still and tried to look at the large oak doors in front of him.
"You live here? Wow!" Tinnus said, his eyes trailed upwards at the two-storey building and even the ivy weeds ascending along the marble work. It was beautiful; he was surprised he had not noticed it before when he came this way earlier.

"Your arms tired yet lad?" Edgar asked as he began to fiddle through his pockets for the main key. Tinnus shook his head in argument but instead knew that his limps were beginning to stiffen under the pressure.
"Would you perhaps like a small cup of herbal water or something?" Edgar offered politely, before Tinnus could even respond however, a familiar face turned the corner from the alley opposite them and called his name quietly.

"Tinnus, here you are" Adam said happily as he approached the pair at the entrance of the open manor.
"Adam" Tinnus whispered sweetly as he turned back towards Edgar politely continued the conversation
"I'm sorry sir, thank you for the offer but it's not necessary"
"Are you sure? I can accommodate you and your friend with a nice hot meal if you like?"

There was a brief silence as Adam looked at Tinnus with a face of uncertainly, and as Tinnus stared back, he knew what the answer had to be.

"No sir, it's not necessary. I did not help you for a reward. Now, I shall allow you to retire for the evening and I hope you enjoy your meal" With that, Tinnus approached the entrance of the manor house and spotted a small empty rack to his side, softly he placed all of the parchments upon its surface and then proceeded to leave with Adam down the empty street.

"Wait one moment lad" Edgar said. The pair whirled on the spot as they watched the old man quickly disappeared into the house and escape their vision.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble" Adam joked as he ruffled the top of Tinnus' hood playfully. Tinnus just smiled back.
"I was being nice; bet you didn't expect that from me?"
"I wouldn't expect anything else"

A couple of minutes passed and finally the old man returned from the warmth of his manor and approached Tinnus with a small tome in his possession.
"Here you are lad, this is for you"
"Ah! Sir, please. I did not expect anything"
"No, no. I would like you to have this. Look"

Tinnus looked down at the tome's flat surface and read the large writing printed upon its surface.
"A beginner's guide in understanding Magic"

"Yes, it's a very handy book. It's my own copy but I would like you to have it"
"But sir, I can not. This is yours"
"No, I insist. Please take it"

With pleading eyes, Tinnus turned to Adam with a look of desperation. It had only then dawned upon him that this was the very first gift that anyone had ever given him since his arrival to this region.
"Surely I could purchase it from you sir, it would not be right for me to take it" Tinnus protested, but before any of them could respond, Adam gestured and placed his hand on the top of the spell book and turned to Edgar.
"Thank you sir, he accepts your gift"
"Adam! No! I can't take it!"
"Thank you, take care both of you" Edgar said to Adam, his face brightened with happiness as he turned back towards his manor door, stepped inside and before shutting it firm, whispered a pleasant farewell to them both.

"Adam, why?"
"Tinnus, listen to me. It's a gift; he wanted you to have it. There is nothing wrong with taking a gift from someone"
"But..."
"No buts Tinnus, you'll understand someday but just remember this is a good example of how humans really are. Good natured, caring and supportive. Understand?"

Defeated, Tinnus nodded his head and decided it was now perhaps best to accept the truth as it was. Adam handed him the spell book and he watched him slowly slip it within his small rucksack hidden beneath his cloak. It was only then when Tinnus looked Adam straight on did he notice the extra amount of bags and equipment he was carrying.

"Adam, what's with all the supplies?"
"Ah yes; well I'll explain to you later. Right now we have to leave the city"
"Leave? But we just got here?"
"I know, but it's apart of my orders and I have to obey. Understand?"

Tinnus nodded, accepting that things had to be the way they had to be. Much like to him having Adam accept the gift on his benefit, mainly because it seemed strange for him to accept anything from another person but more so because in truth, Tinnus was still afraid of humans.