That next morning Ryuji awoke early just as he had hoped. He washed with the pot of water and linen left outside the privy then he got dressed in his clothing that was starting to smell a tad rancid. He decided he would have to do something about that before he went on his date. He considered trying to wash them but he really wanted to get to the shop early and he didn’t have a change of clothes to put on while he was doing that. If he had a change of clothes, it wouldn’t be an issue, to begin with.
A thought came to mind and he sat on the bed for a few seconds considering how best to go about things. While he was out in the market yesterday, he had seen a lot of exotic items for sale and one of those was fragrances. He decided that he would go by the market at lunchtime and see about getting a cologne or something like that to use on the date. He certainly didn’t fancy the idea of walking around on their date smelling the way he did now.
With his new plan all set he raced down the stairs and found a somewhat tired-looking Teresa serving sweetbread to people for breakfast. He walked over and she got a big grin on her face. He didn’t have to ask what the grin was about; he knew perfectly well that she was cheering the two of them on from the sidelines. He took a couple pieces of the bread and hurried off with a quick thanks. As he was heading out, he heard one of the very young patrons complaining about him getting two pieces and Teresa shutting them up with a quick, “Did you buy the bread? No! He did, so be grateful he’s sharing it with you at all!” She was a great person to know.
He made his way to the magic shop but he found it closed. He tried knocking loudly and even yelled for the old dwarf but to no avail. After a couple minutes of him stalking restlessly in front of the shop, a passerby stopped and spoke to him. “It’s no use, sir. The old man who owns the shop never wakes up this early. Powerful wizards get to set their own schedules you know. The old man in there may not look it but he’s actually a very powerful wizard. If you have any other errands, you may as well do those first and come back in a bit. If you don’t believe me, go near the window just there, you should be able to hear him snoring clear as day. I know because I pass by this way every day.”
As the man was walking off Ryuji thanked him and now that he thought about it he listened and he didn’t have to go to the window. The old dwarf was snoring so loud that he could be heard faintly all the way at the front of the shop. Then he remembered two things in quick succession. First, elves are supposed to have good hearing, and second, was that he wanted to go by the market anyway.
He made his way to the market and peered around a bit until he found just the lean-to stall that he was after. The woman that was setting all of the things out seemed to be some kind of beastfolk. She had a tawny coat of fur all over her and she wore a shirt and skirt that gave away her general shape which left little doubt about her gender. Her species was a bit harder to place. She seemed to have small round ears on top of her head and an elongated muzzle but nothing really gave him any real clues. He decided it wasn’t that important and approached the stand.
As soon as he walked up, she greeted him and started extolling the virtues of her wares. He ended up buying a bottle of a type of cologne that she swore was popular with humans and as a bonus sale, she sold a bottle of perfume and a bar of laundry soap. All told he ended up spending one small silver and two small copper. He was just glad that he didn’t have to count it out in small copper because that would have been embarrassing.
As he walked away from the stall with his loot, he realized that his satchel was currently full of coins so he made a trip to the back corner. The old gray cat was just arriving but merrily let Ryuji rummage till he found a satchel and another coin pouch. He then commented on how much he was buying from him and how it was nice to see repeat customers but that he wasn’t expecting somebody to repeat their business that soon. Ryuji chuckled and paid him and was about to walk off when he remembered the bathing cloak and bought one of those as well just on principle.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
He told the old cat he would come by that evening and pick it up and the old cat told him he could deliver larger items if he wanted. It was common knowledge among people of this world or perhaps just people of this city that you could have your purchases delivered. The old gray cat told him that it was normally two small copper to have things delivered but that he was a good enough customer that he didn’t mind doing it for free. After telling the old guy where he was staying, which shocked the old cat-man, Ryuji left. The old guy wasn’t too surprised to find two random small copper coins laying on a crate beside him but the idea that an affluent elf might stoop to staying in such a normal inn did surprise him. He just grinned.
When he got back to the shop it still wasn’t open but he could hear rustling in the back and no snoring. He went to the door and knocked and a few moments later the old dwarf opened the door and told him to come in. when he stepped into the shop, he noticed a smell that he loved, it was the scent of cooking bacon! The dwarf bustled off into the back and Ryuji followed him. The old guy was cooking a batch of thick bacon and had a handful of eggs lined up beside the pan.
It was all being cooked over an oven unlike any he had ever seen. The cooktop was similar to a lot of old cast iron ovens he was used to seeing but what lay under that was completely different. The cooktop was supported on four corners by thick bands of iron but they ran down to a plate under the center of the cooktop that had a glowing magic circle in it. Under the circle was a small basin tray and the bars that supported the cooktop also split halfway down and veered outward to form four sturdy legs for the stove to stand on.
As Ryuji watched the old dwarf stuck a finger in the basin on the bottom of the plate with the glowing magic circle. As Ryuji watched, the old dwarf concentrated and the magic circle glowed bright orange until without warning fire sprouted from it that shot in a column all the way to the bottom of the cooktop. A few seconds later the bacon started to sizzle and pop again and the old dwarf leaned back away from the contraption and grabbed a spatula to stir the bacon.
As fascinated as Ryuji was, he was still starting to drool at the smell of the bacon. The dwarf prodded the bacon a couple times and flipped it to reveal a beautiful ripple pattern starting to form in the cooked portion that had been in the pan. Shortly after that the old guy looked up at Ryuji and seemed to almost flinch. He looked at Ryuji’s eyes carefully and looked where he was gazing and then spoke. “Oy, ya look like ye be cravin’ me bacon. Don’ be tellin’ me ya eat meat? Ain’t never met a sun elf would touch a bit of meat! Ye don’ be wantin’ some do ya?”
Ryuji recovered a bit from his daze and just nodded his head with a smile. Then the old dwarf’s words registered and he opened his mouth unsure what to say. “Uhm… You see. I don’t know why but I like meat, unlike any other sun elf I have heard of. Of course, that isn’t many because I don’t remember past a couple days back. I came-to on a hill overlooking the city and heard a bird squawking something that sounded like Ryuji and I’ve been calling myself that since then. I don’t know who I am but I remember some things while others are just beyond me.”
The old dwarf pondered that for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. He pulled back a corner of a towel to reveal a small pile of already-cooked bacon and grabbed a piece. He handed it to Ryuji who thanked him and began to munch on it with bliss written all over his face. The old dwarf began chuckling and that got Ryuji’s attention. It seemed the old guy wasn’t convinced and was testing his new apprentice.
Ryuji almost felt like he was being mocked but he didn’t care because he had bacon. As he popped the last of the strip into his mouth the old dwarf stopped what had become an actual belly laugh and looked at him wiping a tear from his eye. “Well brand me arse with a hot iron, ye really did eat it and seemed to like it somethin’ fierce! I never met me no elf like ya. I think we’re gonna get along better than I wasa-thinkin'. Hows about that, an elf what likes meat! Hah!”
Ryuji grinned but then something came to mind. “Hey, I have an idea. I’ll be right back. Won’t take but a… moment. *Ryuji almost said minute but then caught himself realizing that such a measure of time didn’t seem to exist here. * I’m going to get us some buttered bread if you don’t mind me asking for an egg and some more of that heavenly bacon?”
The old dwarf had a very hearty laugh at this and just waved Ryuji away because he couldn’t catch his breath enough to speak. Ryuji left the shop and practically ran to the plaza. Once he arrived, he went straight to the now-familiar stand of Lizbet the baker woman. He quickly bought a half dozen of her buttered bread buns and paid her with a large copper despite her protest before racing off with his prize.