Eric quickly made his way to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
He took out the yellow piece of paper. On it was another mesage writen in english.
"Good job using your ring on that man, I didn't think you would imiediatly go and give it a spin, just remember that it won't work as well against someone who wields concepts just by knowing their name.
"Well, the only advice I can give you is that you gain advantage against someone when they are affected by a concept you wield, and you can make yourself stronger by being affected by a concept you wield.
"The last thing I wish to tell you is that the New Star Clinic holds many opportunities for you to gain more magical items and a chance to become a concept wielder, aka a mage, but you must avoid the man with silver eyes.
"Advice and praise from the best god, everflowing fog."
'Wait, I just did that. Does he constantly observe me?' he looked around with suspicion while thinking that. But the idea of him becoming a mage made him drop his guard.
'I have a chance to become a mage here, sounds quite cool. But how can the clinic hold such an opportunity for me to become a concept wielder' Eric thought as he put away the letter.
'And the warning about the man with silver eyes sounds crepy, but does it mean it litterarly or someone called the man with silver eyes?
'That last one will just give me anxiety, I just know it' Eric thought as he exited the bathroom and walked back to his seat. Planning to finish reading the last book in the briefcase.
But while going back to his train cart, he saw a great city thought the window. It was Malstor, the capital.
The capital itself was located around a mountain which was named Moonlight Peak, and a river was flowing to the west of it. Many ports, harbors and ships could be seen there.
The city itself had many colorfull buildings near the mountain that were quite tall. While the houses near the river were packed tight togeter. And even from the train, moving workers and cargo could be seen in the distance.
Eric wasn't the only one captivated by the city of great proportions, as other passangers also admired the view.
Not long after a speaker said in a rough and robotic voice "We will arrive in Malstor in 30 minutes". As he heard the voice finish speaking, Eric continued to go back to his seat.
***
Eric steped down the stairs to the platform with his briefcase in hand. Many peolple walked out of the train alongside him, each carying their bagade.
As Eric walked with his black briefcase, he considered how to get to the New Star Clinic 'Should I walk or take a carage? I should first see where the clinic is exacly'.
He walked up to a booth not far from the ticked booth where items like maps and dictionaries were sold. He looked for the most detailed one. He noticed one like that, a map that spaned whole Malstor, but its cost was 3 vezero.
'I got a whole meal on a train for 5, how can a map cost half that?' Eric grumbeled in his mind as he took out the three coins out of his pocket.
He turned to the younger man sitting in the booth and asked in a cold voice 'Could I get the big map'. The man nodded and gave him the map and took the three coins without giving it much mind.
Eric walked too the nearest bench to study the map in peace, but the map was so big that he could barely hold it in his hands. And the way it caugth the breeze made him felt like he holding back a sail from flying away.
As he sat and searched the map for the Star streat on which the New Star Clinic was located on, he realised that it was quite close from the train stacion.
He stood up, folded the giant map and made his way trough the hoard of people going in and out of the train stacion. Instincily making sure none of his belongings were taken.
As he walked out of the gate and onto the sidewalk next to the street, he saw the colorfull buildings that were mostly over three floors tall, and stood tightly togheter. Their colors ranged from light tones of red, earthy greens and pale yellows.
Alongside the houses, different shops and stalls that wanted to sell trinkets and useless items to turists stood alonside the street. Many vendors shouted the items they were selling.
Quite a few carrages drove through the cobblestone street.
As he walked his thoughts wandered, thinking about how he was going to present himself in the clinic. Should he act like the real him or pretend to be someone he wasn't.
Before he could realy decide on one or the other, he saw a sign on the building. The sign read "The New Star Clinic". As for the building itself, it was four floors tall and looked well maintained with the fresh blue paint.
'I'm already here?' Eric stood there for a moment before entering despite not finding an answer to his previous question.
As he pushed open the door, and the first thing he saw has an incredably pale woman with black hair that was quite literary drowning in paperwork behind the reception. The desk barely suported the many stacks of papers, some even exeded half a meter in height.
To the right was a staircase, and all around sat patients that ranged from looking tired to half dead. It appeared to be waiting to be called up.
Eric was shocked at the amount of work one person had to do and thought of how much work he would get.
He walked up slowly to the pale woman, trying to act nervosly like the real Arthur would. When he got right up to the reception desk he tried to get the womans attencion by asking if she could help him, tapping the deck and coughting, but any gentle action he tried didn't even get her to glance over.
'Oh how much I want to tople one of these stacks to get her attencion' as he seriously thought about it, the woman finaly put down her pen and looked up. She gently forced a smile upun her tired face and asked him "How can I help you?"
Eric put up a front of a kind young man and said "My name is Arthur Arctos and I'm supposed to start working here this week".
"Arctos, Arctos, Arctos" the woman muttered before exlaming "Arctos?!". The woman scrambeled through the mess the desk was in and found what looked like a document and quickly read through it.
"I'm so incredably sorry. I've been so buzzy that I forgot to inform Dr. Green about you starting this week" the pale woman apologized, gave him the document and pointed to the stairs to the right and said "Please go to Dr. green office at the end of the corridor on the fourth floor".
Before Eric could do anything else, the woman returned to her paperwork, so he just moved to the stairs and asended to fourth floor.
As he walked up the stairs he noticed how clean and sterile everything felt even through neither the green-ish blue paint or the dark wooden floor didn't give the felling of cleaniness.
He thought of it as strange, but through the ring on his left hand he felt many sick people, some at the end of their line while others were close to recovering.
He soon reached the fourth floor and walked up to the door at the end of the corridor, on that door was written a name "Dr. Green's office".
As he was about to knock, he heard a converastion going on inside, but he didn't care if he disturbed it and knocked on the door.
A few sharp knocks sounded in the hallway as a female voice answered from behind the door "Come in".
Eric pushed open the room to see an office with shelves of different kinds to medicines, herbs and medical tools that lined every wall, only leavin space for a small window and a gass lamp.
Closest to the door sat an older man that Eric knew, it was Henry, the man he tested his ring on. A bit further away sat a lady with dark hair, golden rounded glasses and a white doctors coat.
When Henry saw him, a smile appeared on his now much healthier face and said turning to his niece "Emma, it's the boy from the train I was talking about, Arthur". But when he looked back at Eric and noticed the document in his hand he chuckeled and said "I think I should go for now".
Doctor Emma didn't stop him as he walked past Eric and out to the corridor, remembering to close the door.
"Sit" Emma said while gesturing to the chair Henry sat in a moment ago.
'Couldn't you word it better, I'm no dog' he thought as he sat down on the chair.
Eric gave her the document. She read trought it and looked back at him.
"You're lucky my uncle told me about you or else you would need to wait for the night. Arthur Arctos right?" Emma said as she waited for an answer. "Yes" Eric answered, making him feel strange.
When he answered, her dark green eyes studied him, seamingly taking in every detail, but her gaze lingering on his left hand.
Eric wanted for the conversation to move on so he joked "I wouldn't even be suprised with how much paperwork the receptionist has". The doctor opposite him seamingly snaped awake and quicky said "Don't take her as an example, she usualy does the bare minimum for two days and then overworks herself to the brink of death".
'Sound like a death wish' Eric thought while Emma continued "My name is Doctor Emma Green, but you can simply call me Dr. Green. In short, you'll start working here tomorrow, on friday morning. At first you will mostly help me and try to get the ropes of how this clinic works."
After a moment she asked "Any questions?".
"Where could I get an affordable place to live?" he asked truthfully not being familliar with the city.
Dr. Green wrote something at a piece of paper, folded it and gave it to him. She then said "It's the addres to a hotel, just tell them I sent you, they should give you a room for a cheep price. Just show your faith in the Earth Mother"
Eric then remembered a memory of "him" attending the Earth Mother church. 'I should read some books or I'll look like an idiot' he thought as he stood up and walked towards the door he noticed some of the bottles and canisters that held medicine and herbs had the Earth Mother symbol on them.
The symbol was a flower with seven petals that was suraunded with twisting vines.
'Church sponsored clinic, no wonder Dr. Green has a good relationship with the hotel owner who's probably a belives' he analized as decended the stairs.
He walked past the reception and the lady behind the desk miraculasly noticed him and said "I'm once again incredably sorry, I hope I didn't cause any trubble".
'Well luckly no, but I hope something like that doesn't happen again' Eric thought before answering "No need to worry, but I don't think I got your name".
The extramly pale woman answered a bit embarased "It's Lucy Palebearer, but you can call me Lucy".
"Then see you tomorrow Lucy" he said with a warm smile as he walked out to the street, leaving Lucy to continue her seamingly unending amout of paper work.
***
As Eric walked out to the street he understood something within him, 'I'll have to talk to a dozen people each day, probably with small talk while acting like someone am not, every day'
This thought felt him felling strange so he opened the paper he got from Dr. Green and commited the addres to memory, and it turned out it was further down the street. So he took a lazy strool in that direction.
As he was nearing the hotel he noticed the church of Earth Mother to his side. With a gate like door, the Mother Earths symbols carved into the stone doors and glass roof, making the church look like a mix of a greenhouse and a place of worship.
Throught the door he saw living trees and grass growing near the walls.
Something overcame him for a moment and he turned and entered the church. Why not he thought, he was supposed to be a beliver so he should act like it.