Chapter 9

Don't talk with your mouth full was one of the many rules that didn't exactly apply anymore.

"At least I have food," Riley said to herself with her mouthful.

There were no clocks on the wall, no ticking herald of seconds marking the time, leaving Riley to piece out her days by the moments between fitful naps, full of disjointed dreams.

Positioned along a back wall, she had a good view of the entrance, down one particular aisle. The store she had ended up in seemed to host few customers, which had given her mind a needed mystery to chew on. Why had Matros bought so many with demand so low.

It gave her something to do, keeping her mind from panic. Sure, she was in a cage, in a body she only half recognized, and some kind of MMORPG system in her head, but all would be solved if she could just puzzle out why Matros had bought her in a lot.

"There's no hope like false hope," Riley glowered to herself, noting the strange way of dress here. There was nary a soul in T-shirts and jeans; instead, robes and tunics were the order of the day.

A tall gentleman with bronzed skin, wearing long robes and a turban complete with two long feathers coming off either side, held his hand out towards her. A giggle echoed through Riley's mind as she thought of her own ears.

His fingertips began to sparkle with green light before he frowned, shook his head, and moved on to the next creature on display, which happened to be some kind of purple tortoise.

"Wasn't fast enough, eh buddy?" She chuckled to herself, having been making jokes like that for the last day at least. There was very little to do, nowhere to go, and barely even room to turn around in the cramped cage. Her paws and legs begged for movement, for a chance to hop, but all was denied to her.

Every evening, someone stuffed a type of straw in her cage and refreshed her water, and for now, that was just going to have to be enough.

At least she didn't need to pay rent.

"Always look on the bright side of life..." She sang, biding her time, playing with her informational overlay, and discovering just what she could get away with, making her own fun.

The turbaned man must have liked the tortoise because he took up the cage and dutifully walked towards the shopkeep's table. Matros was sitting in a high-backed chair made of ancient wood with a red velvety cushion.

"My friend, my friend, I see you found a companion suitable for binding!" He called out jovially, rubbing his hands together as if already counting his coins.

Those words set a deadline in her mind; whatever binding was, that was a no-go. It didn't sound right, so she'd have to make her move before then.

Maybe if she got bought, that would give her an opportunity, a few moments out of the cage, and she could bolt to....

Well... the thought froze dead in its tracks; she didn't quite know.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Nor did she know how she would live, what it would be like for her out there... She didn't even know what out there was. While she had found a handy map screen in her overlay, it revealed little, only showing places where she had been, a paltry five miles at most displayed proudly with the rest of the land obscured by a black fog, denying her any chance.

Maybe the person to purchase her would be kind, and things would work out.

"Yeah, like that's been my life so far," she scoffed.

An older man entered the shop, the bell jingling, drawing Riley's attention from the transaction. Old and stooped, he was dressed reasonably well in simple linen pants and a belted tunic. Silver rimmed spectacles rested at the edge of his nose. Scanning up and down, she noticed his shoes seemed to be well made, which was unusual from what she had seen; such a feature tended to belong to the more robed and affluent looking set.

With a quick clasping of arms and the moving of coins, the tortoise had beaten the hare out the door once again as Matros scurried over, locking in on his next target.

She flopped against the side of her cage, depressed, as the man walked over towards her, eying her cage critically.

"Can I help you, good sir?" Matros asked in oily salesman.

"I'm in the market for a companion for a young sorcerer. Your shop came highly recommended," the older man bounced on his heels, a look of pride on his face.

"Would he happen to be related to you? Perhaps a grandson? You must be very proud," Matros continued, weaving his own brand of spell.

"Oh yes, he is, in fact, a real second tier sorcerer, the first in generations, you see. No cobble work for him. He's been studying at the academy and will be graduating next week. I was hoping to surprise him. My name is Darius, by the way," he held out his hand, and Matros clasped his arm.

"Well met my friend! I'm honored you would choose my shop and would be happy to help with such an auspicious event, so let us discuss the budget, and I will guide you to an appropriate animal suitable for binding," The shopkeep said.

Riley could practically see the dollar signs in his eyes.

"Well, that may be a problem. You see, I've only a silver," The man pulled out an ancient and weathered coin from a coin purse on his belt.

Matros frowned.

Then he looked at Riley and back to the coin and found his grin.

"Oh shit," Riley intoned, full of trepidation.

"Why, that won't be a problem at all; I've just the animal. You see, I've been waiting for the right buyer, and I think you may be the one," his eyebrow raised as he guided the man in front of her cage.

"You see, this creature here would be ideal for your grandson, I think. Her scan classifies her as an herbivore, so she is very easy and economical to feed and has very low aggression. Beyond that, all of our companions come with a guarantee that magical ability is, in fact, present. We pride ourselves on our reliability. She currently assesses as low tier two, with minimal development, which is why I'm willing to let her go for a silver. There is much potential in this one." He praised.

Riley wanted to feel flattered but could smell the bull shit as Darius eyed her critically.

"One silver, and you've no others for me to consider?" The older man asked.

"As you know, graduation is soon, and thus, I've had a very high sales volume here. I assure you, this animal is a good and rare deal; if anything goes wrong, I will offer you a thirty day guarantee of a refund at 50% of the original paid value. You must agree that's a deal you'll get nowhere else," he pitched.

Riley grumbled as Darius rubbed at his chin, his silver grey mustache twitching.

"Would you like to come home with me?" He asked Riley, peering into her cage.

She swiveled her ears forward and twitched her nose before inching closer, rising as much as she could on her paws, placing her left fore paw against the front of the cage, and shaking her head in the affirmative.

Matros' eyebrow cocked again as Riley planned her escape.

"Well, she's friendly enough. I'll take her," Darius agreed. Matros thrust out his hand as Darius reluctantly handed over his silver before taking up her cage.

"An excellent decision. I am certain your grandson will be most pleased!" Matros predicted before offering his free hand to clasp arms yet again.

This place was like Texas, Riley thought to herself, enjoying an inner giggle as Darius took up her cage and headed for the door.

"Thank you!" He said over his shoulder before leaving.

"Do tell your friends for all your magical companion needs!" Matros replied with a happy shout.