Chapter Five Hundred and Ten - Chief of Vendors

We left Seasoned Seamstress buzzing with happy energy. Booksie had been unbelievably pretty in her dress, and now I couldn't wait to see everyone's reaction when she stepped out and walked towards Rhawrexdee.

The poor dragon wouldn't know what hit him!

"Okay, okay," I said even though my face hurt from smiling so much. "What's out next thing?"

"Ah, I'm supposed to look into things with Desiree," Awen said. "The equipment for the event as well as the weather."

"Ah, right." I rubbed my chin as I thought about it. "We need to know where the venue is before that, no? I mean, the weather bit's not so bad, but the sound system needs somewhere to be delivered."

Awen nodded. "It would be hard to get it otherwise. Though I suppose we could just secure it in the meantime?"

"I guess. I think Desiree went with Amaryllis and Calamity? So let's head out and meet them. Then I need to check in on the vendors."

Awen shook her head. "Let's split up," she said. "I can find them on my own, and if I don't I'll just return to the Beaver and wait. There's always something to maintain anyway. And you have your own thing to do, going with me would just stall you."

I really didn't want to split up even more... but Awen was making a heap of sense. "Okay, fine," I said.

Awen nodded, then smiled. "I'll be fine," she promised. "Ah, but I should go... bye?" She raised her arms for bye-bye hugs without me even having to ask, almost as if she knew I'd insist on it before I even had to say anything.

I gave her a proper squeeze, of course!

"Be safe, okay! If anyone bothers you, tell them that they're not friend material, then run away."

Awen giggled. "I'll do just that," she said before giving Booksie her own bye-bye hug.

We watched her head out, then I turned towards Booksie. The bookish bun was smiling faintly. It was hard to tell how stressed someone was from the outside. The signs could be subtle. But she definitely looked less worried now than she had been earlier when we met her.

"So, off to the vendors, then?" I asked. "I'm not exactly sure how to start with this one. Do the vendors of Port Royal all just... know each other?"

"They actually have a guild of sorts," Booksie said. "Or maybe it's more of a union? I'm not entirely sure how their whole system works, but there's definitely some level of organisation going on in the background."

That was perfect! "Okay! So all we need to do is find them, right?"

"I suppose. I don't know where to even start looking," she said.

"Hmm, what do we need the vendors for anyway?" I asked. "Are they going to be serving at the reception?"

Booksie shook her head. "I got a lot of hints that this is going to be a bigger event than anyone would reasonably be able to cater. There's going to be... lots of locals just showing up to gawk at the proceedings. So ideally we want to make sure that there's food and drink enough for everyone."

"Ah, that's kind of you," I said. Booksie seemed the sort to want a nice, quiet ceremony, but now that she really didn't have a choice about it, she was still willing to make sure that everyone who did show up was comfortable.

Since we didn't know where to find the vendor's guild building, I did the next logical steps and moved back to one of the main streets of Port Royal. There were street-side vendors at all of the busiest intersections, selling local food heated over magical flames . Some even had music boxes with catchy jingles or flashy magical lights going off above to attract attention.

"Hi!" I asked one of them, a large grenoil man with a cartful of battered balls of dough next to a vat of hot oil. "Um, do you know where the vendor's guild is? Or maybe it's the vendor's union?"

"I might," he said with a knowing smile. "But my memory might also be a little short. How about you buy a snack for you and your friend here while I think about it?"

"Oh no," Booksie said. "I just had my wedding dress fitted. Until this wedding's over I am not going to eat my stress away."

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I giggled. It was probably a little unhealthy not to eat enough, so I'd keep an eye on her, but I could understand the general sentiment. "What about half of one?" I bargained with her.

She gave in when the smell of frying dough hit us.

A minute or two later, I was munching on my half of a dough ball--it had cinnamon and some powdered sugar on it!--while walking across the city.

The Vendor's Union was two streets over from Guild Row (where the Mage's and Exploration Guild were located), in a more industrial area. It definitely wasn't touristy, but the union building had a large lot out front and a few small warehouses next to it with wide open doors revealing carts and mobile stalls being spruced up and repaired.

The reception... wasn't a reception at all, but instead opened right up into a small, tightly packed office. I was surprised when I was greeted by a friendly older man who turned out to be the union president. His office was just another one of the desks by the entrance, and he seemed happy to serve us some warm tea.

I explained what was going on with Booksie's wedding, including the uncertain venue, and he nodded along as I spoke. "As long as you're not expecting to share in our profits for the day, then I can put up a bulletin for the members of the union letting them know. Are there any restrictions you'd like to put in place?"

"Ah," Booksie said. "Would it be possible to temporarily close them down during a window of time?"

"Like during the actual wedding part of the wedding?" I asked.

She nodded. "I don't really mind that much, but I think my fiance's family might feel like that's disrespectful."

"Those being... the dragons," the president said.

"Yes," Booksie confirmed.

"I'm sure we can work something out," he replied with a smile. "Wouldn't wanna be disrespectful."

It didn't take much more than that to hash out an agreement. We promised to send him a note for where the final venue would be so that the union members could set up in time, and then we sealed the deal with a friendly handshake. It wasn't as binding as a deal sealed with a hug and a promise, but it was good enough for business.

"That was easy!" I cheered as we stepped out of the vendor's union building.

"It was," Booksie said. "I think a lot of my problems are relatively easy to fix, but they're also... just a lot?"

"I feel you," I said. "Back home, we used to get lots of paperwork to do, and my dad would always put it off until the very last minute. It wasn't super hard to do, but there's always something else to worry about that feels a lot more pressing."

"Exactly," Booksie said. "Thank you, by the way."

"Hmm? For what? I'm just doing what a friend should."

Booksie giggled. "Yes, and that's worthy of praise, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, being a good friend is always praiseworthy, but I think it's also the kind of thing that rewards itself. Anyway! What's next on the list?"

"Ah, nothing on yours... I think there were some things that Amaryllis didn't split off to everyone yet?" she said.

I nodded along. "If we do those without telling Amaryllis, she'll be annoyed," I said. "So we might as well find out where she is...." I looked around us. We weren't on a busy street or anything, but there was still a bit of traffic and I didn't feel like getting hit by a carriage on the way across the street. Being sent to another world once was enough for me!

"How did you and Amaryllis meet?" Booksie asked. "I recall the story for Awen, but I don't know if I ever heard that part."

"Oh!" I said. "That's funny! We met here in Port Royal. She was assigned as my exploration buddy during our test at the Exploration Guild. She really didn't like me at first."

"Really?" she asked with a gasp. "Oh my! But now you're best friends?"

"Uh-huh! I wore her down with grit, determination, and love!"

We chatted all the way until we happened to spot a familiar group of friends walking down one of the main roads cutting across the city. Then it was time to regroup and see what needed to be tackled next!

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