I am proud to announce that my stomach no longer hurts. Given how many times it woke me up through the night, it better not. Despite the disruptions, I slept fairly well. What woke me from my latest nap was a new noise. Some idiot decided that they just had to knock on my god damned door.
“Kyren,” Linda’s voice was loud enough for me to hear even through the door and across the room. “How are you feeling?”
I rubbed at my eyes as I worked to get as much of the goop and crusties off as I shuffled across the room. On the other side of the door, stood Linda. Behind her, not really paying much attention as he leaned against the wall was Lance. She snickered at something while looking at my legs.
My face turned to fire as I slammed the door closed. Instantly awake, I scanned for my skirt and slipped it on. At least now neither of them could mistake me for a girl.
When I returned to the door, I acted as if nothing had happened. While one of the corners of her lips were lifted, she did the same. I looked over both. Lance’s tail was still tucked under him, ears flat to his head as his eyes looked at the ground. I was about to ask him about it when Linda’s voice pulled my attention away from him. “Good. I was worried that you were still sick.”
“No, just woke up.” My sickness couldn’t be the only reason she was here. I mean yes it was her fault but the group was only stuck with me for a day. “What can I do for you?”
She held out a small bag that clinked a bit. “Just got your reward for the quests, and the beetle materials.” With a tentative hand, I took the bag and looked inside. The thing was filled with gold coins.
My head shook as I tried to hand the bag back. “I did nothing to deserve this much of the reward.”
Her hand pushed the bag back. “Yes, you do. That is just over one hundred gold. Most of which came from all the materials. Speaking of which, how many beetles do you have in your inventory.”
In the rush for the bathroom, I had forgotten I had picked up some of the fuckers. I had meant to hand it over to the group when we got back to the guild. At least now I wouldn’t have to go searching for one of them. Mentally, I pulled up my inventory and I found that the beetles filled multiple slots in my bag. If I had to guess, this meant there was a limit to how much each slot could hold which wasn’t all that different from other games. “Two stacks and seven Beetles. One eighty-nine eggshells.”
“Um,” She looked like she was trying to figure something out. “How many in each stack?”
That was an odd question to ask. Wasn’t it the same for everyone? “What do you mean?”
“No,” her head shook as she continued, “the number of slots and how many each slot can hold increases as your stats do. I am sure that one of the boys could give you an exact equation or whatever if you want.”
Ok, so not like most games. “One hundred and three.” She nodded, likely already having done the math to find out just how many of the buggers I had from our trip and their worth. “Anyway, if you can give me a bag or something, I can give you the lot of them.”
“No,” Her hands lifted as if to stop me. “We don’t currently need the gold while you will. Especially if you are to fix your weapon.” That was a fair point. While I may not know how much something might cost, I doubted that any tradesman would be cheap. Then, as if it just occurred to her, she said, “Oh and to turn in harvested materials, just ask the person at the front desk. They can take any material you have to get appraised before making an offer.”
That was good to know. And I didn’t miss how she didn’t say monster material but harvested materials. It likely meant that they could deal with any material I brought back from a trip outside the city.
As I lacked any reason to decline the offered money, I moved the bag into my inventory. Yet another slot vanished. At the bottom of the page, ten more slots appeared. Two of which were already filled. One with a hundred gold and the other with three more bottles of her family's sauce.
I didn’t realize what I was doing until I reached out and hugged her. At first, her body stiffened in my embrace. Given that her body relaxed as she gave me a soft squeeze back. While the events that led up to me being teamed up with the group, the day out had been helpful. Still, I was going to keep away from them as much as I could. I would also keep an eye on the wolf. He wasn’t going to be allowed to try and do something like this again, not if I had a say in it.
A deep, if soft, cough from down the hall caused me to jump back. “Thanks. For everything.” I said as I looked toward the floor with cheeks aflame.
“You don’t have to act as if we are never going to see each other again.” Came Michael’s deep voice. His heavy footsteps came from the direction the cough originated. “I am fairly sure that we will be able to help you from time to time, whether it be training, information, or running a quest or two.”
Yeah no. “What about moving on to the next town? Are you guys not reaching the limit of what you can do here?”
“Sure,” his arm wrapped around Linda. “But our girl here is having some issues letting go of her family.”
“Hey.” She slapped his chest. While she looked like she had put some force behind the strike, he didn’t seem at all phased by it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lance flinch a little at the sound. He must have been slowly moving away because he was nearly to the next door. “I told you that we just had to wait a little bit is all.”
“Yes, you did.” Michael chuckled. “Well, we will let you be. Feel free to shoot one of us a message if you have any questions or requests.” With a wave, he led Linda down the hall. With jerking steps, Lance followed the pair.
Not seeing a reason to return to my room, I closed the door and followed them to the first floor. While they joined the other three at a table, I continued to the other side of the room. The line for the single active guild desk was short. From what little I could hear through the noise suppression enchantments, quite a few of these people were putting in orders and requests. While they all sounded interesting, I doubted that any of them would be something I could handle in my current state.
“So, what brings you here today?” A bored looking beastmen said. Her hair and fur were all black. You would think that the rounded cat ears swiveled on top of her head would demand my attention, but it was her eyes. They were a vivid green with a slit pupil. I don’t know how long I looked into them before an irritated tapping noise broke me from my stupor.
My eyes dropped to my hands where I found the source of the tapping noise. Long, black nails clicked against the desk as she rapidly tapped her fingers. “Sorry,” I said, embarrassed with myself for staring. “Can I get some materials appraised?”
“Sure,” A hand shot under the table and returned clutching a small bag. “Please put it all in here and hand me your guild card.” I dropped everything into the bag before sliding the bag and my guild card toward her. She looked over both as she wrote on a piece of paper. After she slipped the paper into the bag, she passed the card back. “Due to the hour and how busy the monster specialists are, the appraisal will take a few hours. Feel free to come back after lunch.”
She gestured for the next person to move up, clearly dismissing me. I shook my head at her briskness as I moved over to one of the small and empty tables. Nearly as soon as I sat down, one of the people flying into and out of the back area with various orders stopped by. “What can I get you?”
When I opened my mouth to answer, I stopped. What did I want? Hell, what were the options? “Um, what do you recommend?”
Her smile was soft and genuine. “Today’s special is pretty decent. A stack of pancakes, a pair of eggs, some hashbrowns, and a pair of sausages. Not only is it well made but it is also fairly cheap. Only twenty silver. For an additional five silver, I can get you a rather large cup of fresh orange juice.”
That sounded, interesting. While I had had a few of those items yesterday, I had never had a pancake before. No time like the present to give it a try. Nodding, I passed her thirty silver. She smiled at the obvious tip, and, with a nod in thanks, she set off to put in my order. Given that the food might be a while, I went over my log. At some point, I had two new skills, Fire Element 1 and Tree Cutting 1. While I didn’t understand what most of these skills did to help me, I got that they were doing something.
The Fire Element skill reminded me that I needed to find Mindi and ask her to teach me how to use magic. But first, I needed to find someone to repair my sword. While I could put it off, I didn’t think it would be a good idea. Plus, I had the money now so why not? It wasn’t like I was going to use the thing when training. That would be stupid.
Before I could dig deep into my logs, my server returned with a tray held over her head. She set a large plate filled with round steaming golden brown pancakes. They even had small pieces of something that peeked through its skin here and there. Another plate joined it on the table. This one was filled with two eggs and a small pile of hashbrowns. Last but not least, a giant mug of orange juice went to one side.
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“Anything else?” She asked as she moved the tray under her arm.
“Any syrup or jam?” I tentatively asked. While I knew from various shows and books that the stuff went well with pancakes, I personally never had enough money to spend on such luxuries, let alone anything to put it on.
“Sure.” A small bottle appeared out of nowhere as she set it on the table.
Taking the bottle, I thanked her as I poured a small dollop on one side of my plate. It was thick and purple with specks that caught the light. My hand went to where a knife and fork typically would be when I ate at home. Nothing was there. In fact, there was not a single piece of silverware anywhere on the table.
Looking up, I hoped that I could catch her or one of the other servers. As if she realized I didn’t have any utensils, they appeared as she passed by moments later.
With a nod of my head in thanks, I cut off a small piece. I dabbed it into the syrup and took a bite. A combination of flavors, both sweet and tart, exploded on my tongue. It reminded me of some of the old commercials for fruit drinks. On top of that, another flavor slowly joined it. Growing stronger the longer I chewed. With it came a reminder of better times.
My parents had spoiled me whenever they had the chance. One such time was for my eighth birthday. They made me a cake. Nothing too big. Hell, it was barely large enough for all of us to get a bite. Still, it was something they made. Even to this day, I can still recall what it tasted like. While this pancake didn’t match it exactly, it had that same underlying flavor of chocolate.
Something wet hit my hand as I took another bite. Confused, I reached up to wipe the offending liquid away and found that I was crying. I was in the middle of a public setting, crying, and I couldn’t find it in to care in the slightest.
Before I knew it, the food was gone. My stomach was full and my eyes were dry. The meal had been nice and if given another opportunity to eat it again, I would. Getting up, I waved in the direction of where my server sat along the far wall. Her eyes were constantly scanning the place as she waited for someone new to sit or for someone who needed help. Seeing my wave, she nodded back as she rose to clear my table.
When I stepped outside, I found that the air felt warmer than yesterday. Water ran down the edge of the street and along roofs. Spring was nearly here and the city showed it. Even more people wandered to and fro. Stalls sat side by side up and down the street. Each of them had people hawking their wares as loudly as they could.
While I was looking for someone to fix my sword and a place to get pants, I still took the time to look around. Most places had trinkets that were entirely homemade including the enchantments. Hopefully, these things were not the limit of this game. Hell, I hoped that these things were considered trash because I would not be caught dead wearing anything I saw.
As I kept walking, I passed into a more open section of the street. Stalls filled not only the edges but the middle as well. The setup left enough room for two or three people to walk abreast between stalls except in the center of the road where, with a bit of maneuvering, a cart could make its way through.
Instead of the crap sold at other stalls, these were filled with various items that ranged from meat to pots, vegetables to burners. My mouth practically started to water at all the fresh produce.
“First po-tay-toe harvest of the year! Grown on an enchanted field. Only ten silver per pound.” The speaker emphasized the word potato. Which was probably a good thing given how the rest of his sentence ran together.
“Come get all the pots and pans you will ever need. With proper care, they will last you for a lifetime!”
“Fresh meat! Rabbit, deer, beef, domesticated and hunted. We have it all!”
“As you can see, the knives I sell will slice through bones without issue, making meal prep a breeze.” Unlike the others, this seller took the time to demonstrate his products. I stopped for a second to watch as he used a knife to shave a bone into slivers.
The stalls around me were hawking things that were all interesting, but more importantly, useful to me. As I slipped through the crowd, I made my way to the first stall. It sold spices. “What can I do for you.” Came a craggy old voice. The owner of the voice sat on a stool and seemed to be old enough to be my parent's grandparent, if not older. Her eyes looked closed but given that she had noticed me stop, they were probably hidden within the folds that covered her face.
“Um,” I started as I tried to think about just what I needed. “I have no clue,” I finally said, giving up as I truly did not know what I needed and what would just be nice to have. Hell, I only knew that spices went into dishes but I had never used them. It was kind of hard when anything fresh was expensive as hell.
“Ah, let me guess.” A sliver of her eye poked out from beneath her wrinkles as she appraised me. “Never used spices before?”
The manners my parents beat into me came out in full force. While they might not help me get a better deal, it wouldn’t hurt. I might even be able to get some pointers from her.“No ma’am. Never had the chance.”
“In that case, I would recommend getting most of the basics. Enough that you can experiment with but not so much that you will never run out. After all, you can always come get more.” I didn’t see her hand move but somehow she was suddenly holding a small assortment of bags. Given the size and shape, I had to assume that each was filled with a handful of one spice or another. “If you find that you like cooking, come find me and we can see about getting you a grinder so that you can have fresher spices.”
Taking a moment to look over the assortment, I didn’t see a reason not to go with her selection. “How much?”
“Four gold.” I didn’t know if that was a good price or not. But, it wasn’t like I would argue with her. Pocketing the spices, I moved on to the next stall.
It held several small plants in baskets. Each of which looked like pieces of a much larger whole. “What can I do for you?” An older man asked from where he sat.
Before I could answer, the old woman spoke up from her stall. “That boy is new to cooking. He needs all the basics.”
“Guessing you gave him dried oregano and bay leaves?”
“Yep. Lasts longer.”
“Ginger?”
“You know I don’t carry ginger powder. I don’t like the stuff. Just give him a small piece of the root.”
The old man picked through the baskets as he piled several items together into an empty basket. “So, here is a basic assortment of tubers. Got a decent number of potatoes as you can't screw those up. Just have to boil, fry, or bake them. Then we got some carrots, some onions, and some celeriac. Cut those up into small chunks and boil with some cubed meat for a decent stew. Mind that you cook the meat first.”
That sounded so simple that even I couldn’t mess it up. “How much?”
“Seven gold,” my eyebrows rose but he continued before I could ask why it was so much. “There is enough here to make enough stew to last you a week. The excess potatoes will last you twice that if you eat it as a side and not a main dish.”
Looking at the basket, I tried to figure out how so little food would make so much. With a sigh, I handed him the gold. The moment I attempted to put everything into my inventory when a warning popped up.
All bags are full, defaulting to main inventory.
“Um,” I started. “Where might I find a place to get some more bags.”
“Running out of room? You must be really new…”
The old man was interrupted by the women. “Or have an inventory full of junk.”
He scowled at her, pointing across and down the row. “Go see Zavier. He’s the one with a cute kid dancing behind his stall. Tell him Brandon sent you.”
Thanking him, I rejoined the flow of people as I kept an eye out for a girl jumping and moving around behind a stall. The moment I saw her, I found that her face was full of glee at something, though whatever it was I had no clue. Given how she was looking into nothingness, it could have been system-related or imaginary. If I had to place her age, she looked no more than ten or eleven. As soon as I stopped in front of the stall, she jumped to face me.
“Hello there.” Her face turned serious as her hands worked to smooth her dress. “What kind of leather are you looking for?” A hand gestured at the stall, directing me to look over everything. As she did this, an older man shifted. One of his eyes constantly watched her as he worked on a piece of leather.
“I was told to come see a Zavier.”
“That’s my dad.” She turned and pointed at the man before spinning back around. A pout on her lip as she protested, “But I can help you too.”
“Sure, I just wanted to make sure I had the right stall,” I said, trying to not be the one to cause her to cry. Who knew what her dad would do if I did that. “I need to get a few more bags as well as a few other things.”
“What size?”
“Small.” At my answer, she looked around for a second before stepping onto a basket behind the counter. Using it as she reached up to one of the higher baskets. Her fingers scrabbled as she worked to pull the lid off and reach inside.
“How many?”
I took a second to the number of slots I had open in my main inventory. “Ten.”
Lifting small bag after small bag out, she counted out loud. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.” She was just so cute as she worked hard. The sight brought a smile to my face. “What else can we get you?”
“I was also looking to commission a sheath and maybe see about getting my weapon’s wrap repaired.” I pulled out my Chisa Katana, showing her what I needed. “Oh, and I would like to get a few pairs of pants.”
Her face twisted as she protested. “But you look so pretty in your skirt. Why would you want to wear something so ugly?” My smile faltered at being called pretty, especially in conjunction with my wearing a skirt.
Thankfully the man took that opportunity to step in. Likely because of whatever emotion had flashed across my face. “Now now Fiona. You shouldn’t go around insulting people. Especially a customer.” He held out his hand for my sword. I hesitated for a second, afraid to part with the weapon even though I had only had it for a day. But if I didn’t then it would never get repaired. So, reluctantly, I passed it over. He took it and started to examine the grip. Tsking as he picked at the frayed edges. “How fancy are you looking for?”
“Something simple. Same with the pants.”
“We can do that. Though it will cost you ten gold for the wrap.”
“Why so much?”
“Because it has to be made with care and precision. Can’t have it falling apart in battle or causing any hot spots. Such shoddy work would be bad for both you and me. Best to do it right the first time.”
While I nodded, I had no clue what he meant. I guess I would just have to trust his expertise. Afraid of the answer but needing it, I asked, “And how much for the rest?”
He took a second to look everything over as he tallied everything up. “Fifty gold.”
I scoffed. “That seems high. Forty.”
“Forty-nine”
“Forty-one. Also, what if I told you that Brandon sent me?”
“Forty-five and only because that geezer sent you.” I went to counter but he held up a finger. “As it is my wife is going to kill me for lowering it so much. Take it or leave it.”
I passed him the gold and took the bags. “How soon can I get my sword back?”
“The rest will take a day or two but I should be able to get that done tonight.” He said as he moved back to his stool. His fingers were already working to remove the wrap. “I will drop your weapon off at the guild as soon as it is done.”
I took a second to move the bags into my inventory before taking a look around at the other stalls. The sight of one with an assortment of utility items caught my eye. The guy there didn’t care to haggle as I purchased a small table, a chair, cleaning tools, a cutting board, a ladle, silverware, bowls, plates, and other necessary items. In the end, the only thing the man didn’t seem to sell was something to heat everything up. He instead told me to simply cook over a fire or find someone that dealt in magic stoves before he moved onto his next customer.
After that, I got several other plants, meats, and even a few basic recipes. All for the low price of forty more gold. Easy come easy go I suppose. Maybe I should cook for myself from now on. That way I could get some practice while saving a bit of money. If worst came to worst and I ruined a meal, I could order something from the kitchen.