I walked up the ramp of Hex 5, where I had previously seen the sign for a market. The coins from my Arena winnings jingled in the little bag they gave me. I counted and recounted them again: 50₴. This was maybe enough for one generously sized meal. I wouldn’t be able to get any new gear to make myself more competitive in the Arena with this kind of payout.
The risers for this tower were distinctly marked for leading either to the market or to the residences. I stepped onto a market riser and was whisked up several floors. The area I came to rest in was enormous. This floor had a similar effect as the one below; the ceiling was lit like the night sky, and illusory flames on lampposts provided the rest of the lighting.
Objective Complete: find a market
The market was set up in the style typical of Mius, with stalls set up everywhere, leaving only narrow rows to walk down.
I really had two goals there: find some interesting gear that would give me an edge in the Arena, and find something to eat.
New Objectives for Quest: Discover the Market
I ventured down the first row of stalls. These markets always have a wide array of things that are both generally useful (clothes, furniture, common enchants, raw ingredients, basic weapons), as well as things that are either oddly specific or just strange (customizable leather bags, statues of various gods, random untamed animals).
One stall I passed was selling pseudomagic items. “Potions” that supposedly do amazing things, crystals that didn’t even have enchantments on them, tomes that “let you see the future.” How can there possibly be enough people interested in this stuff for it to be a viable business?
Finally, I found the corner of the market that actually interested me: an entire row dedicated to armor, weapons, and enchants meant for battle. For the average person, these were more a novelty to own; they might have a dagger or short sword to pretend they can defend themselves, but they’ll never have really used it. For me, this is the dessert section, all looking so sweet to my eyes.
I paced up and down the row, scanning the stalls on both sides to get a general idea of their inventories.
The way the stalls are set up, I think they put the cheapest and non-enchanted stuff toward the exit and the most expensive and fancy enchanted gear in the back. Harder to grab something and make a run for it that way, I suppose. Not that you’d want to try to steal from an arms vendor when they are undoubtedly armed to the teeth.
Even looking at the cheapest, most pitiful dagger on the first stall, I could tell I didn’t have enough satang right now. This worthless thing couldn’t slice wet bread and it costs 150₴. I shook my head and moved on.
For now, I was just making a mental list of what I needed to get later. I still had a large hole in my cuirass from the arena fight, plus several smaller ones from the first match. The wounds may be gone, but damaged gear will only make it easier to defeat me in a match. A new set of armor is top of the list.
A nearby stand had many leather armor pieces, as well as simple iron ones. I looked closer at an almost black leather cuirass. 1800₴. Link, keep track of the things I need to buy.
The other big purchase I need is a new bow. The one I had was fine, but I needed something that would let me shoot faster. My biggest mistake in the arena had been underutilizing my agility. I’d been fighting like I could overcome opponents through sheer power, but I needed to play it smarter unless they were really weak or inexperienced.
These weren’t random bandits or unsuspecting targets, they know I’m there. I need to start using magic again. I used to be decent at illusion, even without formal training. If the mindlink is really going to help me gain experience more quickly, then I’m going to push it to the absolute limit.
My stomach grumbled at me, but there was one last stand I wanted a closer look at. All of the stalls with enchanted items were at the far end of the row, except for one. It was only the second stand, which should mean cheap wares.
At a distance, it all looked standard: a table of various blades, axes, and polearms, another table of enchanted trinkets, and a few mannequin bodies with armor on them.
The first item that caught my eye was a vest of knives. It was a dark black leather with six knives resting in pockets on both sides for ease of reach, angled to make a throwing motion natural. I’m decent with knife throwing, and I could use something that can be used at medium range instead of my bow.
I looked at the illusory tag for it: Enchanted Knife Vest; 600₴. 600? That can’t be right. I look at a few others: Sword of Fire; 900₴, Invisibility Brace: 450₴, Time-Slowing Orb: 200₴. This is ridiculous, either the vendor stole all this or it’s all fake.
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“Hey,” I shouted to get the vendor’s attention, “what’s wrong with your prices?”
The vendor was a small man with strange proportions. His body was a little too thin, his head was a little too big and round, his hair was both sparse and abnormally thick. He wore straight brown pants, a yellowed shirt, and a vest with stripes. He also wore glasses, an oddity unless they were enchanted. The price to make properly curved glass was higher than to pay a somator to easily fix your vision.
“What’s wrong with them, too high?” He smiled widely.
“They're unusual for enchanted items. Are you running a scam here?”
“Good sir, how could you ever make such an accusation?” He over-dramatically held his hand to his chest like he was wounded.
“So you’re saying if I pick up one of these, the enchantment will actually work?” I asked skeptically.
“By all means, sir, try out any that you would like!” He gestured broadly to the table.
I was nervous to grab something like the fire sword in case it just exploded in a ball of flames. I opted for the time orb; time magic is the peak of advanced magic, so even if it only operates at a fraction of usefulness, it might be worth the price.
I held the small orb in my hand. I needed something to test time movement, so I grabbed one of my arrows and dropped it. I channeled magic into the orb at the same time. To my complete surprise, the arrow did start falling slower.
This is amazing, it would do so much for me in battle. I tried to move my hand out and catch the arrow. Nothing happened. The sense of amazement turned to panicked dread. I couldn’t move any of my muscles. I tried to dart my eyes over to the vendor, but even they didn’t move almost at all. I immediately stopped channeling magic into the orb.
It felt like an hour before the flow of time resumed. I took deep gasping breaths. The arrow hit the ground and the vendor still had that stupid smile on his face.
“Well, what did you think?” he asked.
“What in the world was that‽ I couldn’t move!” I was fuming. I don’t know if that was dangerous, but I wasn’t able to breathe. I think my heart may have stopped.
“Things did slow, though, didn’t they?” I’m about ready to cut that smile off of his face.
“Why couldn’t I move? Was the time magic affecting me as well?”
“Time magic?” he asked. Is this guy messing with me?
“Yes, time magic, from the Time. Slowing. Orb. The thing I have in my hand, right here.” I held it so close to him, I practically shoved it up his nostril.
“Oh! No no no. This doesn’t use time magic. That would be far too expensive and unstable. The enchantment would be gone after one use!” He laughed airily to himself. “No, this uses somatic magic to make you feel like time is moving slower. It really lets you take it all in.”
“And the paralysis?”
“The enchantment forces all of your energy to be focused on focusing. You don’t have any left for moving all around.”
I wanted to argue, but it was so ridiculous that there was nothing to say. It also explained the price.
I looked back at the knife vest, debating if I should still consider it. It was a very good price, assuming that it wasn’t enchanted in such a dumb way. I decided to keep it on my list, but I was feeling drained after this jest with the orb.
I set the orb down and walked out of that area of the market. The far end of the market, away from where I had entered, appeared to be the edge of the hex. It connected directly to the next hex over. There wasn’t really a doorway, more of a giant gaping entrance that stretched to the ceiling.
I checked my map and found that the second part of the market was in the hex designated for the citizens of Mius. Other people can enter it of course, but no one else was allowed to live here.
The Mius market was far more impressive. It was still made up of stalls, but they were multi-level, stacked two to three high. To get up to a higher level, you either had to be able to magically lift yourself, or you could use the cloud steps, which were situated on the outer rim of the market.
I was in desperate need of food, so I decided to go to the top level where I could see smoke billowing into the air.
I walked over to the nearest cloud step, marked on the ground by a red rectangle and a translucent green illusory block. I stepped onto the square, my feet now inside of the illusory block. The enchant engaged from my weight on the spot and my feet began levitating.
Cloud steps are often entirely invisible, since they are just an enchantment that grabs your feet and elevates you, but these ones had a vaguely gray tint in the air beneath my feet. That’s a smart design, and actually makes the name of them make sense.
I reached the top rows and my mouth was immediately watering. Everything smells amazing when you haven’t eaten for over a day. The first stall had cream-filled buns and little cakes, the next had about a dozen soups, the third had some fancy noodle dishes. The fourth one caught my attention, though. It was probably the simplest food I could get here, but I still loved it.
I gave the vendor half my money and was rewarded with six small skewers of anonymous meat and a bunched up ball of sticky rice. I started walking again and was already halfway finished by the time I hit the first intersection. The tender and savory meat rejuvenated my soul as it filled my stomach.
Quest Complete: Discover the Market
The now-familiar buzzing in my head was the perfect send off to a good meal.