Ria didn't know what she had been expecting when Ward had said odd 'n' ends, maybe some mechanical parts or some fabrics, maybe some worn books or little woodcarvings. And there did appear to be some of those scattered around the various stalls. What she was NOT expecting though was the sheer amount of what she would have to say was most likely monster parts, if the claws and jars of eyeballs were anything to go by.

She drifted towards the first stall uncertainly, Ward following leisurely behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and he gave her a reassuring nod. Tightening her grip on her notebook, she took a deep breath as she straightened her shoulders. She could do this. Determination coursing through her, she approached the first stall with a firm step. This stall appeared to be an apothecary stall of some sort, all sorts of baskets, bushels, and jars filled with powders and parts that she had no name for.

The jars especially caught her attention, the liquids and powders in them were all eye-catching with their striking colors. One contained a venomous purple liquid while right next to it was a vial of powder that she would swear was stardust or powdered unicorn horn if she were on Earth. Towards the back, there was a vial filled with a black viscous substance that seemed to shimmer malevolently with the colors of an oil slick. Her stomach churned slightly as she watched it and she had the creeping feeling that it was some sort of monster blood.

She made note of the various items on offer but ultimately decided to pass by the stall for now. She didn't have enough knowledge to even begin to guess at all the uses of the items. If she discovered that she needed some sort of potion to return home, this would most likely be her first stop in order to gather the necessary ingredients. Since she had no indication of such being required at this time, this stall would only be a time drain as she got lost in examining every single item and questioning the stall keeper and Ward on all of their uses.

The next stall held a fascinating mixture of jewelry and weaponry. Again, all of it seemed to be created from what she was certain were monster parts. The weapons were a mix of wood, steel, and bone, their grips and hilts inlaid with what looked like scales of various shapes, colors, and sizes from the size of her pinky nail all the way up to the size of her palm. The jewelry were works of art, even if the majority would've been considered barbarous back home. Claws of all sizes, from itty bitty to a wickedly curved claw that would've looked at home on a dragon were strung on bracelets and necklaces. Some had been dipped in metal, creating a myriad of colors from bronze to black to that ethereal silver color, although nothing seemed to be created from gold. She wondered briefly if it was simply too soft of a metal to create things from or if it was solely reserved for qualts.

She reached out and tentatively touched a claw necklace with a claw the size of a bear claw hanging in the middle. Ward spoke from behind her, causing her to jump a foot, "That's an obvia claw. They're a mid-size monster, they can prey on farm animals but are more of a nuisance than anything. They're a good choice for first-time monster hunters, although they can require a group and some strategy to hunt versus being good for lone hunts. Usually, communities band together once or twice a year and allow the young people who are about to come of age to join, then they proceed to hunt them. Wearing a necklace of the claws indicates that you are ready or almost so to be permitted to hunt solo."

Glancing at the stallkeeper, she asked softly, "Are a lot of items made from monster material?"

He nodded, handing her a hand axe with a bone handle to examine. "Yes. It would be wrong to do otherwise. Many star travelers think that monsters should be wiped from Audrilandre altogether because of the threat that they can pose to us. But they are a necessary part of our world and we live in balance with them. If we should just kill them and leave them to rot, we are spitting on the balance. They are part of our economy just as much as our domesticated animals."

She nodded, running her fingers over the handle. She expected it to feel porous but it was smooth and strong. "What about poaching?"

He frowned at that. "What is poaching?"

She set aside the ax and picked up a dagger crafted from the triangular tooth of something large, the blade about the size of her hand. "Poachers are those that hunt a creature for just a specific part and leave the rest of the animal to waste. For example, on Earth, we have an animal called an elephant. Their tusks are made of a substance called ivory. Unfortunately, poachers will often hunt them just for their tusks."

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He scowled at that. "Keppliars." The stallkeeper scowled at that, making some sort of sign meant to ward, she was pretty sure. "Yes, they pop up every so often here on Audrilandre as well. It is highly illegal and guardians are tasked with hunting them down whenever one surfaces. We haven't had one in this region for decades though, thankfully. The penalty for being a keppliar is death, there is no appeal."

She nodded and showed him the dagger. It fit well in her hand and was light enough that she wouldn't struggle with it but still wicked sharp. Not only that, but the hilt was wrapped in deep purple scales that reminded her of the clearing that she'd woken up in. She would've never thought of owning such a weapon on Earth, but here, things were clearly different.

He took it and examined it carefully before nodding approvingly. "You've a good eye. You want to buy this?"

She nodded and he turned to the stallkeeper. The man preened, "The lady has an excellent eye. Ten yuples for the dagger and sheath."

Ward raised an eyebrow, "Ten yuples for dalph dagger? This is a nice dagger but not of that quality. Best I can offer is two yuples."

She watched in fascination as the two men bargained back and forth, pointing out the qualities of the dagger and its components. She scribbled a couple of quick notes, guessing at the spelling of words as best that she could. It took several minutes before they finally settled on a price of five yuples, both men seeming exceedingly satisfied with the deal. Tucking the notebook back into the basket that Ward had handed her, she accepted the dagger from Ward and examined it carefully. The hilt fit perfectly in her hand and she smiled as she tucked it next to the notebook. "Thank you."

He grinned at her. "Welcome. Want to keep going or is there something else that caught your attention."

She shook her head, "No, I think that I'm good here. I definitely have a million and one questions already but I'd like to see more of the market before I bombard you with them."

He nodded easily, "You can ask me at lunch, no worries. Onward then."

She found herself overwhelmed in no time at all. After the weapons stall, there was a textile stall, showcasing all sorts of fabric. There was a white bolt that she was almost sure was made of some sort of spider silk, the fabric so light and airy that the slightest breeze would move it. There was also a bolt of a fiery deep red that looked like it was somehow crafted out of dragon scales. She tucked away the thought to ask Ward if dragons truly existed here on Audrilandre and if they were anything like earth dragons. Not only that, but if the fabric was crafted out of scales, how in the world had they managed that?

After the textile stall, there was another weapon stall followed by another apothecary one. She passed both of those by easily, neither of them having what she needed. A woodworking stall caught her eye and she spent several minutes browsing through it before she found a tiny carving of a hiba that she wanted to get for Lynne. This time, she tried bartering for it herself and ended up paying ten ratica for it. She had a feeling that that might've been on the higher end but the detail in the carving was exquisite and well worth what she paid for it.

Once she had it tucked safely away in the basket, she turned and looked around for Ward. He was standing a few feet away, keeping an eye on her even as he spoke with an elderly couple. Not wanting to interrupt, she flipped open her notebook and quickly jotted down everything that she had observed so far.

She just finished her notes when Ward joined her, peeking over her shoulder, "What language is that?"

She shrugged, "It's not really any language. I created a pidgin for when I need to write quickly. Am I disrupting your guardian duties?"

He snagged the basket easily from her, "Not at all." When she gave him a look, he added, "Really, you're not. People just like to chat. Are you done shopping for now or do you wish to keep going?"

She glanced at the nearby stalls, "Is there a bookseller here?"

He scanned the stalls as well. "Nope, they're not here today. They come once a quarter, if we're lucky, there's not a high demand for books in this corner of the world. You won't find a lot of books anywhere except maybe the capital."

Disappointment flooded her but she reminded herself that this was just the start of the day. "I'm good then."

He tugged her arm through hers. "Perfect. Lunch should be ready at the tavern, let's head over there and I can get started on answering your avalanche of questions."

She pouted slightly, "I'm not that bad."

Ward laughed at that. "I live with Lynne. Trust me, I recognize that look in your eyes when the question dam is about to break."

She admitted ruefully, "Fair enough. All right, onward to food."

He nudged her, "And questions."

She couldn't stop her smile. "And questions."