Making his way through the town, he marvelled at the differences to his own home. The buildings were constructed mostly from wood, with a scattering of stone foundations on some of the larger dwellings. From the moment he left the Tavern, he could see a tall wall that surrounded the town, and two gates on sides opposite each other. The Tavern offered the best view in town. Standing atop a large rocky mound, it was the highest built construction. The streets were covered in mucky mounds of snow, pushed to either side of the cobbled paths to make way for pedestrians, and a gentle sprinkle of white drifted from stormy skies above. It was still early, so only a few people were out, and he suspected the chilling bite to the air would keep most home dwellers concealed for some time yet.

The map that the innkeeper drew was detailed enough for him to find the local alchemist easily. The sign outside read "Hammond Alchemy". He entered to find a jovial looking fat man pulping a pile of dandelions.

"Good day lad" the man said with a smile. He put the mortar and pestle to the side, and wiped his hands on his apron. "How can I help you today?"

"Are you Hammond then?"

The man laughed. "Hammond is the name of the town lad. I take it you're not from 'round these parts". His accent was familiar enough to be easy to understand, but Murphy still noticed a slight inflection to it.

"I came in this morning."

"Well then, welcome to Hammond. My name is Padrick". He ruffled about a shelf beneath the counter, then slid a parchment in front of them.

"This is what I've got on hand, anything else will have you waiting I'm afraid."

"No need to be afraid" Murphy replied with a small laugh. He sat his backpack on the counter. "I'm actually here to sell, if I can, that is."

"How exciting" Padrick said, clapping his hands together. "Not often I get to meet another alchemist. What have you got for me?"

He pulled some of the potions out, and Padrick looked them over.

"Bit hard to know what I'm buying with no labels" he chuckled.

Murphy felt a familiar wave of stupid wash over him. His master told him to label them before he left. He could still hear the old man's words in his mind. "You might think you know, but you'll be sorry when your dumb arse drinks the wrong bottle" he had told him.

Thankfully, he knew he only had sustenance potions, so he told the man what each was.

"You seem honest enough" Padrick responded. "But still, if you don't mind". He looked through a nearby box, and pulled out some small slips of paper. He unstopped one of each of the potions, and dipped the little yellow slips inside one at a time. He held it up in the window light to watch the wetted parts change in colour. He nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied, and corked the bottles again.

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"Is everything in order then?" Murphy asked curiously.

"Seems to be". He organised the bottles into type, and separated three of each. "I can give you two silver a bottle."

Murphy held back his surprise. He'd seen potions being sold in Malnir from time to time. His home town didn't have its own alchemist or enchanter, so his only exposure was through travelling merchants. When he'd seen similar sustaining potions for sale in that case, they only sold for five copper at the most. Padrick noticed something in the young man's eyes, and sighed.

"Alright then" he said with a resigned tone. "Three silver, but I can't go any higher than that."

Murphy gulped back his excitement. Trying to appear casual, he responded. "I suppose that will have to do then."

Padrick smiled, and started counting coins. At the end of the transaction, Murphy was three gold and six silver richer.

"If you don't mind" the man asked sheepishly.

"I might not, it depends on what it is" Murphy laughed to ease the man's nerves.

"How did you come across these?"

"I made them myself."

Padrick whistled appreciatively. "Well if you ever find yourself wanting to sell some seeds, you know where to find me."

"I'll keep that in mind". The reality of the sale dawned on him then. The plants he had used came from his master's gardens. The potency of the old man's plants was impressive, and he was starting to garner an appreciation for just how impressive they were.

With half of his stock sold, he bid the hairy alchemist goodbye, and left to find some books.

The path he took went through a busier part of town. There were a variety of clothing and food stores, and one enchanter, but not much else. He noticed the town had guards, which didn't surprise him. There was a fort near the Tavern, the kind a town leader might call home. This one was a lot larger than that of his old friend. It was adorned in iron spikes, and vines sprouting bright blue roses. When he walked past it, he noticed men wearing matching steel plate, trimmed in a sapphire blue. There were a few men dressed in the same garb scattered about the town, and a small concentration of them in the merchant’s area.

The house he was looking for was tucked against the massive protective wall. It sat below a platform that was host to a guard. The wall itself was made from thick tree trunks stripped bare of their branches. Without knowing who was inside the small house, he knocked on the door. After a short wait, he was greeted by a hunched, and cautious looking old woman.

"What do you want?" She snapped, looking him up and down.

"Do you sell books?"

"Do I look like I sell books?" She gestured at her house.

"I don't know. What's a book seller supposed to look like?"

"My guess is that they would have a sign outside saying 'I sell books'." She looked at the plain wood grain above her door. "Would you look at that, no sign". She flipped him the bird and slammed the door in his face.

He stood in stunned silence for a moment, then looked down to Uundah. "She seemed nice".

He thought about knocking again, but decided against it. He was starting to shiver from being in the winter air for so long, and the old lady probably wouldn't appreciate the hassle much.

"Looks like it's a Tavern day." He said.

Uundah made a creepy approximation of a smile, and scurried onto his shoulder.