TBE Chapter 57

  Ezekiel continued exploring the market and while checking out the prices of the products available there, he realized that he really did overpay the innkeeper and that it was almost a scam. He thought about confronting the man but sighed and decided to let it go.

  While in the market, he suddenly thought of the idea of visiting the villager’s carpenter to check out their mastery over their craft and maybe he could take away some little bit of expertise from them. He asked around and was finally pointed to where the carpenter was living. When he walked over there, the carpenter and his family lived in a huge house, and beside that was his workplace.

  Ezekiel knew that the carpenter knew his craft since the house alone was well-made. He heard some noise in the workshop and saw that it was an open type, meaning that he could see what the people were doing inside.

  There were three people doing work. One middle-aged man, an adult man, and a teenager. The old man was polishing a finished big table and it was a beautiful one. The adult man was building some sort of door and the teenager was also polishing furniture and from what Ezekiel could see, it was one of the set of chairs, maybe the chair for the table and that meant that the table could be a dining set.

  Since it was getting late, Ezekiel decided not to bother the carpenter and his family or employees and decided to head back to the inn. Even though he was interested in woodworking, he knew that he would not return to this place since they would only stay in this village for two or three days.

  When he arrived back at the inn, he went to the common room and was a bit glad that it was not overly loud. He decided to review his notebook that contained the wooden arts and crafts that he was planning to sell and after that, he reviewed the contents of his 4th tab space. Half of the meat that came from the animals that he butchered remained and he decided to sell them in villages that they would pass through including all the animals that he would butcher in the future to practice his butchering skills.

  He also decided to create large boxes where he could put the meat of different animals so that his 4th tab space would be more organized. Ezekiel was also aware that he would need to make a chest where he could put their personal things like clothes. He was also aware that the chest should be large enough that it would not be too much of an effort to lug it around since ultimately, he would be the one lifting and carrying the chest.

  Ezekiel was about to review his magic when he was done arranging his 4th tab space but he noticed that the sun was setting so he asked Yuki Onna to tell Robert and Luke to return to the inn. He knew that his brothers would understand the familiar’s intention once Yuki Onna showed itself to them so after a few minutes, his brothers entered the inn and when they saw him sitting in the common room, joined him immediately.

  “So how was your day?” Ezekiel asked his brothers.

  “It was so fun!” Surprisingly, it was Luke who answered first.

  Ezekiel then knew that allowing his brothers to mingle with others was the correct choice because even only after a few hours of them playing with the villagers’ children, Luke's speech pattern improved tremendously.

  “They said that the bread that the large bird gave us was the best that they had tasted in their life!” Robert added.

  “I’m glad that you enjoy playing with them. You can play with them the whole day tomorrow and I’ll ask Yuki Onna to bring you your lunch and snacks so you don’t need to return to the inn. I’ll spend my time in the market selling our things.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “You don’t need us to help you?” Robert asked.

  “No. You both should enjoy yourselves since we’re only staying for two more days.”

  Portia, the innkeeper’s daughter arrived soon and told them the dinner available that night and how much was it. Ezekiel ordered three servings for him and his brothers. While they were waiting for dinner to arrive, Robert and Luke told him about the things they and their friends did that afternoon. They told Ezekiel that they played shadow tag which was the first time they learned how to play it then they played hide and seek and a lot more.

  Soon, their dinner arrived together with a pitcher of cold milk. When they tasted the food which was some sort of meat stew and bread, the three siblings had the same reaction. The food was bad.

  “Yuck!” Luke loudly yelled and Ezekiel had to shush his brother.

  “Brother, it’s so bad,” Robert whispered.

  “Don’t worry let me fix it,” Ezekiel urgently said.

  He looked around surreptitiously and when Ezekiel saw that no one was looking at them, he cast the Prestidigitation spell on their food and pitcher of milk. When the three of them tasted the meat stew, it was now edible. The bread was also acceptable but it was hard and they had to dip it into the stew to soften it. The milk tasted like chocolate milk so that was fine.

  “I don’t like the food here,” Luke said petulantly.

  “Don’t worry, tomorrow we’ll eat our own food but we have to eat the breakfast they will provide since that’s included with the room,” Ezekiel promised his brothers.

  He was amused that Robert and Luke became very picky when it came to food and that was the result of the food that he had fed them. He did not care if his brothers were a bit spoiled. They did not have a good life so they deserved to be indulged and have some good food and as long as they were with him, Ezekiel would make sure that they would continue to eat great food.

  After their dinner which was a bit early since the common room was just starting to fill out with people, they went to the bathroom downstairs to take a bath and after that, they headed directly to their room.

  “Our bathroom is way better,” Robert complained.

  “I know but we need to learn how common travelers travel. At least, we can still use our soap and our towels and I cleaned all our clothes so we’re good,” Ezekiel said.

  Inside their room, Ezekiel cast the Mage Armor spell on the three of them for protection and also awaken the kids’ wooden block toys using the Tiny Servant spell. His two brothers spent the rest of the evening playing with their toys and he spent the evening learning from the books that came from Norman Duvon.

  After a couple of hours, he decided that it was time for all of them to sleep. The boys wanted him to tell them a fairy tale story but after a few minutes, they were both asleep. It was understandable since they had a very active day. They were traveling in the morning and they spent the afternoon playing a game with the children from the village.

  Ezekiel didn’t cast any other defensive spell but tasked the wooden blocks with the Tiny Servants spell to guard them and Yuki Onna was also outside guarding them so Ezekiel felt secure enough to sleep comfortably.

  The soft glow of the morning sun from the window woke the three brothers and when Ezekiel checked the time it was already around half past six in the morning. The three of them went to the common room to eat the breakfast that was supposed to come with the room and thankfully, they were simple enough that the only thing that it needed was some spices. They were scrambled eggs with onions and garlic and toasted bread. It was still bland but a quick Prestidigitation solved that problem. The pitcher of milk was cold and after his spell, it tasted of strawberries.

  Ezekiel told Portia that they would not be eating lunch and dinner in the inn and the innkeeper’s daughter just nodded.

  While they were eating, he reminded his brothers that he would ask Yuki Onna to bring them food in mid-morning, lunch, and mid-afternoon and that he would look into them once in a while using Yuki Onna’s eyes.

  “You can see us using Yuki’s eyes?!” Robert exclaimed.

  “Why do you think I’m comfortable enough to allow you to run around? I’ve always known where you are through Yuki Onna and my familiar is fierce enough to defend you against any enemy. Also, the wooden blocks are awake so bring them with you but they will not move and will only move to defend you just in case,” Ezekiel told his brothers.

  After breakfast, they all went to the toilet to do their business and after that, the kids ran outside the inn to play with their new friends.

  Ezekiel went to the stable to take his cart to the market so he could begin selling his wooden arts and crafts.