"Are you a mage?" The stable boy had never seen one before. Just like nobles, mages didn't use trade routes.
"Sort of. I'll pay for whatever damage and heal any injury my beasts might cause. Yet try to con me and it will be the last mistake you make. I have eyes and ears everywhere." Lith said while Onyx and Abominus went on their own to two empty stalls.
The stable boy gulped and followed their movements with his eyes, fearing that the horses might get scared and injure themselves in the attempt to escape, yet nothing happened.
When he turned around, Lith and the children were gone.
The inside of the Hot Pot was as warm as the stables but it smelled much better. The walls were lined with long tables and benches while the center of the ground floor was filled with tables for four.
The former would host the caravans' crew members and their bodyguards while their masters used the latter to enjoy better food and privacy. The tables would be removed for the night, turning the restaurant into a cheap hostel for travelers who couldn't afford a room.
The wood pavement was dull and full of scratches from the moving of chairs but it was clean. A huge fireplace took the center part of the west wall, where several animal heads and pelts were hung.
'Either the owner of this place is a hunter or they have an odd way to display their selection of meat.' Lith thought.
Seeing three plainly dressed people sitting at one of the center tables, a blonde waitress with a face full of freckles was about to ask them to move to one of the side benches when she noticed several things that didn't add up.
They didn't smell, their clothes didn't have a speck of dust on them, and the tall guy was way too young to be the father of the kids who in turn were too tanned to be from around those parts.
"Welcome to the Hot Pot. What can I serve you today?" She asked with her best smile while offering them the menus from the pouch of her apron.
She didn't miss the too many non-precious rings on Lith's hands nor that the callouses on his hands didn't fit a worker so much as a warrior. To laymen, magic crystals looked like well-cut pieces of colored glass.
"One Rainbow soup each, one roasted duck, two sides of roasted potatoes, and water for drink. Thanks." Lith said.
"I don't want the soup!" Aran complained.
"I don't want to share my potatoes with him! He always tries to hog them all." Leria said.
"And I don't want to hear another word. You are making us look bad in front of this nice lady" Lith replied. "We're here for a light meal, otherwise you'll fall asleep and we'll lose most of the remaining daylight."
She wasn't used to seeing kids around those parts, let alone such odd fellows. By that age, a merchant's child would have had the spunk beaten out of them already whereas a noble wouldn't care about what she might think.
"I'm sorry for my rudeness." The kids gave the waitress a small bow, making her eyes go wide with surprise.
After that, the service was quick and the servings generous. The soup owed his name to the different kinds of colored vegetables cut into pieces that floated on its surface, but this time they had been cut with a flower shape.
The duck was big and greasy while the plates of potatoes were filled to the brim. Useless to say, the plates returned clean to the kitchens and the kids fell asleep before Lith could ask for the bill.
"Is there any discount if I leave the room in a couple of hours?" He asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not the one setting the prices." The waitress said while counting the money and appreciating the tip.
Lith ended up paying for a full night even though he left in a few hours. He tried to make up for the lost time by climbing the mountain walls instead of taking the paths, but all that jumping almost made the kids puke their lunch.
"Why do we have to walk? Can't we fly again or at least mount on Abominus?" Leria asked the moment fatigue beat her wonder for all the foreign smells and colors of the Sartak mountain.
At first, she had liked the idea of climbing because it gave her a sense of purpose, but now she discovered that plains were much easier to walk.
"Only a strong body can withstand powerful magic. Don't you remember how strong even aunt Quylla is?" Lith replied.
Even before starting her apprenticeship with Faluel, the practice of Forgemastering and tier five spells had made her even stronger than Raaz.
"Then this is part of our training, correct?" Aran said with a pant, remembering how all the heroes of his favorite stories had to work hard to become strong and wishing he could have a training montage as well to skip all the sweating.
"Correct. The one who resists longer is probably the most talented for magic." Lith replied to spice things up.
The kids exchanged looks for a moment and after that they saved their breath for the walk, unwilling to give up first. Thanks to Life Vision, Lith could see when their vitality weakened and took a well-timed break with a chocolate snack.
"I can still walk." Aran said after Lith had him sit on Onyx's back, strapping him tightly to the saddle.
"I know, but you need to save your strength for your first lesson." Lith replied while doing the same for Leria.
Thanks to his enhanced physique and the magical beasts trotting, they reached an altitude of over two kilometers (3,300 feet) and found a large clearing suitable for their purpose when there were still a couple of hours of light left.
The tall grass would soften the ground for their rest and a stream connected to a lake would provide them with all they needed.
"Before setting the camp, I'm going to teach you the basics of magic as I learned it through my years of experience." Lith looked them in the eyes, noticing that the kids were tired, hungry, but unwilling to turn down the challenge.
"We can split the elements into three branches. Light and earth are the elements of creation. Their purpose is to create and nurture life. You can use them to harm others, but that requires your ill-will."
Lith used both elements to enrich with nutrients the soil around a withering flower and made it metabolize them quickly.
The tilting stem straightened up and the color of the still remaining petals became vibrant as if the flower had just bloomed.
"Then, there are the elements of balance, air and water. They can nurture or destroy according to how you use them, just like an open hand can be used to c.a.r.e.s.s or to slap someone. The difference lies in the strength behind the motion."
Lith conjured a gust of wind that brought the scent of the revived flower to the kids' noses and then turned it into a wind blade, cutting the stem asunder.
