After flying for less than an hour I see the city in the distance so I find a place to land. Once Lin climbs down, I shapeshift into human form, put an arm around her, and start walking towards the city. There are guards at the gate, but they don't ask for money, they just stare at Lin.

Ignoring the staring guards, we calmly walk into the city and start looking around. I am not sure if this should really be called a city, it is more like a town next to a massive harbor. The docks and warehouses take up more than half of the space the city occupies.

However, that means there are a lot of shops that cater to the needs of ship captains. As we head towards the docks pretty every man on the street stops to stare at Lin. We see numerous men who are with their wives or girlfriends get slapped.

"This harbor is much larger than I was expecting."

Lin says "Remember I told you that most of the trade in the north goes over land?"

"Yeah. Oh, I see. So everything comes here by ship and then goes over land?"

Lin says "Exactly. The reverse is true as well. All trade goods from the north come here by land and leave by ship."

"Is that why there is such a large market right by the docks?"

Lin says "Yeah. From what Henrietta told me you can sometimes find amazing deals in the market. Do you want to check it out?"

"Sure, but let's find the charts I need first."

Lin says "We have already passed several shops that sell charts. Are you looking for a specific shop?"

"I want to see if there is a shop for the merchant group that Henrietta is a part of. I am a VIP member."

Lin says "Oh, that makes sense."

We wander all along the docks but we don't see a shop for the merchant group. Before choosing another store I decide to take a look at the market and the shops surrounding it. I figure that is where the best shops should be and that is where I find the merchant group's shop.

When we enter the shop clerk greets us, but after seeing Lin he starts stuttering. I show my VIP card but it takes a minute for the clerk to even notice the card. Once he does he asks us to wait and runs into the back to fetch the shop manager.

Manager says "Welcome, honored guests. How can our humble store be of service?"

"I am looking for charts, from here to as far west as I can get. Of course, the more accurate they are the better."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Manager says "No problem. Traffic to the west may be reduced lately, but we still have a few captains who make the run. I can give you copies of the charts that our captains use at no charge."

"That's perfect, thank you. How far west do your captains go?"

Manager says "To demon hunter city. No one goes further west than that. At least no one that returns."

"Do you have any idea why they don't return?"

Manager says "The demons of course. They fly out and attack ships. Not to mention that the beasts in that area are much more ferocious than normal. Don't tell me you plan to sail beyond demon hunter city?"

"Yes, we do."

Manager says "I strongly recommend that you reconsider. However, if you won't change your mind I would suggest you try to hire as many demon hunters as possible to sail with you."

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind."

Manager says "Is there anything else I can help you with? Or maybe something for the lady?"

Lin says "No, I don't need anything. Thank you."

"Hm, I wonder if you know anything about a colleague of yours, her name is Henrietta. We became acquainted in the capital of the Magic Kingdom and I haven't heard anything since then."

Manager says "Of course I know her. She recently became my boss. She is now in charge of all trade in the north."

"That's great! I am glad that she is doing well. If you get a chance, please tell her that Ash and Lin send their best wishes."

Manager says "Sure. I will send your message along with my normal report at the end of the week."

"Thank you."

With that we turn to leave, but after a second Lin turns and runs back inside. She comes out a minute later and tells me that she wanted to ask what the date was. Then she tells me that the holiday we are waiting for starts in three days.

Lin says "So, we have completed our goals. How's the scouting? What's next?"

"I've already scanned the entire city, there are no elves here. We can either return to the ship, or we can wander around the market for a while."

Lin says "Since we are already here we may as well look around."

"Alright. There is one thing I want to do. We need to find some good food to add to the pouch and make sure it works."

Lin says "Sounds good. We should check for good desserts to add!"

With a laugh I put my arm around her shoulders and we start roaming around. There are hundreds of stalls in the market and a lot of them are food stalls. We try a little bit of everything and anything that is good gets put into the food pouch.

The enchantments work perfectly and anything we put in gets added to the menu. I focus on testing the normal foods and leave the desert testing to Lin. However, she ends up full before we have even covered half of the market.

"Are you sure you don't want to try more?"

Lin says "Of course I want to, but I am too full. Are you trying to make me fat?"

"Yep, sure am."

Lin says "What? Why?!"

"It's a rule that you have to fatten up something before you eat it."

Lin looks confused at first, but then after thinking about it her face turns bright red. Her reaction makes me laugh and when she gets mad at me it just makes me laugh even harder. As we are walking we pass a church on the outside edge of the market.

As we are passing the front doors the entire church lights up with a flash of golden light. Even in daylight, the flash is bright enough to blind anyone who was looking in that direction. The flash doesn't blind me since I wasn't looking towards the church, but I still notice it.

The flash only lasts for an instant, but as soon as it is gone I feel a presence. From inside the church I can hear cheering and even people screaming in joy. Shortly after that the doors of the church burst open and an eight foot tall human in full armor walks out.

The armor that he is wearing is gold with silver highlights and is only missing a helm. The man has long blonde hair with a full beard and mustache. He also has both a large two-handed sword and a great ax on his back.