The City was everything you'd expect from an old western movie, wooden houses and what should have been horses instead of beasts were saddled and moving around. Lots of different types of beast hauled materials or people from place to place.
"This is on the edge of the territory, we pick up rare materials, which.. is why I wanted that horn. It will make a fine auction, its too bad you're unwilling to part with both." Zadkeil smacked his lips slightly after speaking, the air was full of smells that didn't agree with him.
"My friends would never believe me without proof, sorry." Jacob smiled while Shortie was quietly walking behind. There were bridals on sale at one of the shops, thick bands of leathers and skins. Jacob bought one that was suppose to expand and a saddle. He put them away with the hide, Shortie's fur was getting rubbed the wrong way, it was important that he feel comfortable while they moved around. "So, you get lots of rare stuff out here and what? Go back around and sell it to other places?"
Zadkeil tapped Jacob on the shoulder, "You're a bright kid, yeah..that's pretty much what we do. Most of what we find out here is unavailable back east. There are a number of species that only live in these areas and the materials are high in need. Plants, Meat, Bones, Animals, Metal.. we deal in it all." He pointed at a caged beast. "Our family does our best not to have to transport live animals, caring for them can be hard. You have such a large mouth to feed, I'm sure you understand at least a little."
In actuality, Jacob had never really paid attention to how much he was feeding Shortie. Whenever either of them actually turned out to be hungry, both of them would eat. He noticed that Shortie was a bit leaner than he had been before, at least, by scale. "You're right, I need to feed him more." Jacob pet the side of Shortie's neck as they walked.
A stall that was selling books was giving off a strange and interesting vibe while they approached, Shortie too was interested in the shop. "Excuse me, what all are you selling here?" Jacob looked around and started to lift items up and inspect them.
"We sell potions and powders, bone powder made from beasts have always been good sellers. Wanna try some?" He handed a small pouch over to each of them. "Consider this a sample, since you don't know and when you need it, come back and buy from me." He winked and smiled a lot.
Jacob didn't understand the personality type but he put the powder away in the ring. "How much does bone powder cost?"
Feeling like he had caught a new customer, Adrian whispered. "100 silver for low level, 10 tokens for medium and 100 tokens or more for anything that's high grade." He scratched his head. 'What's with this kid?'
Shortie didn't bother to talk, he loomed over Jacob with an 'I'll kill you stare.'
"Could it be that you want to sell bones?" Adrian's attitude changed sharply when he thought about a profit. "I won't ask you to answer that, instead, if you want to sell the bones you come across, please come find me." Shortie's stare intensified.
Thinking that his mom would love them, Jacob bought three bottles, there was nothing inside of them but they looked nice and were the exact sort of thing she would go shopping for. When he was about to leave, there was that strange feeling again. Jacob turned around and picked up the thing that was grabbing his attentions even from so far away. It was a piece of armor, only the knee plate, but it was magnificent. Pity was an emotion that was a bit too far away for Jacob, instead, he stared at it like a child who held his first porno mag, unwilling to let it go. "I want this, how much?"
Shortie's stare down had not ended, he opened his mouth slightly, not enough to bare his teeth, but enough to show that they were long. Adrian gulped. He considered allowing Jacob to just take it away, it seemed like less of a problem but it was truly a nice piece of armor. "100 token pieces, I can't go any lower."
Jacob didn't blink, he pulled out a large pile of tokens, counted a hundred and put the rest away.
Adrian's mouth ran dry, the sight of so many tokens outside of a storage ring was not common. Most people who could use rings were precise enough to take out exact amounts. 'Wow. This kid is loaded.' He gulped again and waited for Jacob to look around once more.
Shortie let out a snort, it blew a moist wind into the shop. He was a little big to be inside, only his head poked through the door. "I want meat. Meat. Meat. Meat..." Shortie repeated himself until Jacob left the stall.
Adrian fell down when he heard Shortie speak, it was absolutely out of the ordinary.
Shortie continued to sniff around the shops, when he couldn't find anything he wanted, he would catch back up to the caravan.
Zadkeil had a lot of things to do, he stared at the boy making his way around the shops and invited him to stick around with the family until they found the way back to Blue Forest Camp. Jacob didn't want to tie himself up with a long journey, the family was nice but ultimately he wanted to go back. His mother was probably worried sick.
"I can't. Besides, this place is neat. I want to see what else is around, can you help me find a map or a phone?" Jacob's question was weird. 'Phone,' he thought about what he had just asked, then looked around. He didn't see any cell phone towers or phone lines. "I am not on Earth, am I?" Jacob wondered if he had died and gone to heaven. 'Where were the Angels?'
It was as expected in that moment, "What's a phone? There are a lot of maps, what sort of map? We're near the edge of the known kingdoms, everything past this point is the Unknown. That's why its so profitable to come and do business in the area."
The epiphany about his location was just profound enough to make Jacob cry a little. He realized that he would never see home again. His heart pounded and a familiar light lit up on his chest. The circle pattern of the tablet, it had been dormant for the entire time he'd been in the wilderness but it suddenly lit up. Jacob stopped his tears and looked around. Shortie caught sight of Jacob's stir and went on guard. The people surrounding the pair backed away, unsure of what was going on.
He searched with his ears, eyes, taste and anything else that would give him sensory input, he felt the structure in his mind shift gently, then, it reached out. Spiritual sense, a concept foreign to him finally manifested and pinged the surroundings. A box, locked and in a corner of one stall caught his attentions. Jacob sprinted to the stall.
"How much for the box?" He didn't ask any other questions, the owner seemed rather interested in Jacob's reaction.
"One Thousand Tokens. Locked. Whatever inside is unknown." He was cryptic and tossed up his hands repeatedly. The Lizardman didn't really care, he needed money and Jacob wanted the chest.
Exchanging money, Jacob took the chest into his ring and jumped onto Shortie. "Lets go catch up, I have a feeling that we need to stick with them while they are still here." There was truth in his words, Shortie sped through the crowd without knocking people or things over. When he saw the caravan he wagged his tail a bit more and slowed down.
"Where is a good place to eat around here?" Turning toward Zadkeil, Jacob rubbed his stomach.
'This kid just ate the Denendo, he's still hungry?' The Old Man felt like he was obligated to answer, he pointed to the northwestern part of the city. "On the other side of town is a place called 'the Wretched.' Its a little rough inside but they serve the best meats from the borderlands. I would advise you to stable your friend but I don't think it suits him. We'll be staying at the Kesta Yang Tea House and Inn, you should check in before the rooms are all taken. There are only four Inns here and travelers can come at any time."
"Okay." Jacob wondered if they would allow Shortie inside, he was okay sleeping outside but a shower and a bed sounded supreme.