8 First Shopping Trip (1/2)

As Kalin walked through the stalls, he couldn't contain his excitement. He had a bounce to his steps as he started to hunt for his prey. Although his love for money wasn't as severe as his sister, as a young impressionable child, he couldn't completely prevent her from rubbing off on him.

As he headed deeper into the market, he couldn't help but be drawn to the myriad of goods available in the market. Some stalls sold weapons, others sold second-hand clothes, from cheap jewelry to magic items, almost anything necessary for daily life could be found here.

At the corner of the market, a young man of 14 by the name of Jon sat at a small stall. He was a member of a small, new adventurer party. His wore various pieces of mis-matching equipment, some being slightly large for his body. As Jon and his party were struggling to make ends meet, they would use the market to sell some of the items they earned from their quests. Although they could sell everything to the merchant's guild, as they did for some items, items that are highly sought after, as well as items the guild doesn't value much, could be sold for more money in a stall.

Among the various wares at the stall, there were many furs, bones, and horns of various beasts. There were also a very small number of herbs and a box filled with small pieces of semiprecious stones and minerals. These stones were too small to be used for sculpting, and too impure to be used as a pendent to make jewelry. The Merchant's Guild had offered to buy the entire box for a mere 2 pints, much to the dejection of party.

As he was quietly contemplating ways for the party to make ends meet, he saw a shadow rest upon the stall. He was about to greet the potential customer before he froze, with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't help but think that the owner of the shadow was most beautiful person he'd ever seen. In front of him was a young child with shiny, lavender hair. The child was leaning forward a little as they seemed to be attracted to the box of stones.

”Hey, how much are these shiny rocks?” asked Kal as he tilted his head.

This question snapped Jon out of his stupor, as he felt his cheeks get hotter. He was embarrassed that a child that looked less than half his age caused him to lose himself. As he gathered himself, he was able to realize that he had an opportunity to rid himself of one of the deadweight items from his party. Seeing that the child was alone, he felt as though he could make some money off the box of stones.

On the other hand, though young and innocent, Kal wasn't an idiot. Having been thoroughly trained by his money-loving sister, he could roughly estimate the contents of the box were worth no more than a few pints. While the stones and minerals in the box were pretty, they weren't the real reason why he wanted them. Without knowing why, Kal had his attention stolen by a small white stone about half the size of a marble. However, his senses were tingling, telling him that this was an item that he needed, no matter what. To prevent drawing attention to the object, he decided to show interest in the 'shiny rocks'.

”I c-can sell you the box for 12 pints.” Jon stuttered, as he sized the child up. The clean and orderly clothes told him that the child in front of him was most likely from a wealthy family. Though, looking at the expression of the child, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the price he quoted.

”Hmm, 12 whole pints for a box of rocks? I've never been given that much money before…” Kal mused as he looked completely unamused. He was also technically not lying. He had never been given 12 pints before, only 30. He continued after contemplating it, ”I can give you 2.”

Though he was just giving a low counter-offer, without knowing the actual worth of the box, Jon couldn't help but feel his face cramp. He had overlooked two basic things. He had forgotten that this person in front of him was still a young child. Even though they looked to be well off, who sent their kid around alone with that much money. Second, as the kid was probably from a merchant family, there was no way that he would get away with overquoting by that much.

Jon's cheeks had gone from pink to red as he felt like a complete idiot. However, with the most shameless smile he could come up with, he argued, ”I can't do that little, I can cut the price to 7.”

”3”

”6”

”3”

”6”

”3”

”5”

”Deal!”

Though it wasn't a lot of money for Jon, at least he could buy a round of drinks for his party at a cheap pub. Both boys walked away satisfied with the price of the transaction as they shook and exchanged money for the box.

Kal hurriedly placed the box into his leather bag and walked away with a beaming smile. He cast his eyes about to see what other treasures he could find in the market