I left the shop and continued my exploration. After such an exhausting experience I was hungry and on the lookout for one of the many food stalls within the city. The first one I saw sold roasted giant beaver, at least the sign said so. It smelled and looked pretty good... A little bit of drool came out of my mouth.
"Can I have one please?" I asked the burly middle-aged man owning the little stall.
The man smiled "Sure little lady, it's on the house" and then gave me a skewer with the (supposedly) beaver meat and potatoes drenched in a thick sauce. "Thank you, mister!"
I made quick work of the skewer and it tasted wonderful! Even better than the delicious soup we had eaten on the road.
"Can I have five more please? The man who was smiling warmly at me was visibly taken a back. "F-five? I mean yeah sure, but... you'd have to pay for them, is that alright?" "Sure, no problem! How much is it?" I asked enthusiastically. I REALLY wanted more of those tasty skewers.
"Ehm... that would be 1 silver and 5 large Copper" "Argh... don't have those. I have only this" and I showed him the remaining gold coin. The shopkeeper raised an Eyebrow.
"Didn't your parents teach you how money works?"
"Eh... no? Don't have any parents. Could you tell me how it works pretty please?"
And I tried to give him the most convincing face I got! (Learned that from Irena who said I looked like a cute puppy when doing so) It was embarrassing… BUT I WANTED MORE OF THAT TASTY FOOD!
"Oh... sorry... Ah Well, yes, I suppose... okay listen little lady. The lowest form of payment is one copper, ten of those are one large copper. That is because Ten of each coin have the same value as one with higher Value. So, 10 large coppers would be one Silver, after that are Large Silver, Gold, Large Gold, and Royal gold. So, if you give me this gold coin I will give you 8 large Silver, 8 silver and 5 large coppers. Since it is easier to just say one Value, most of the time merchants would say '150 coins' or '150 copper' instead of 1 silver and 5 large coppers. Do you understand this little Lady?"
Luckily the system wasn't too complicated and his explanation relatively short. If explaining took too long and it was boring, I stopped listening after a while.
"Thanks mister! I understand. I buy those five skewers!"
And I quickly gave my gold coin to the amused looking shopkeeper.
He in turn gave me my exchange and 5 skewers.
After I ate them just as fast as the previous one, which caused quite the commotion for whatever reason. I felt satisfied for the moment. Sure, I could've eaten some more but I wanted to try other stuff too!
I had realized that my appetite was huge in comparison to most other people, and that was in my half-dragon form. As a dragon I would need to eat much more. But I had only learned that after travelling with Withering Tempest, because I had never seen my master eat, so I had nothing to compare it with.
I wandered around and bought a bit more food at various shops. I had giant boar soup (which was yummy), a hamburger with local beef (which was also really yummy) and a very expensive Wyvern steak. The last one I bought in a fancy looking restaurant. I had a bit of concern that this was meat of a relative species. But from what I had learned in the guildmasters book, they are nothing like Dragons. Sure, they fly, have scales, and vaguely resemble Dragons in appearance (they are smaller and don't have front legs). But otherwise, they are dumb ferocious beasts. And most importantly, they were the yummiest from all of the food I had eaten ever (It was a day were I thought that pretty often)! They were expensive though... 3 large Silver for a small plate... I had to earn more money!
After a bit more wandering around and exploring the city I decided to head back to the guild.
But since I didn't have a clock I wasn't sure how much more time I had before Irena would be back to pick me up. And as I thought of her, I realized that I missed her a bit. She was... weird... but I liked her. Especially when she hugged me! It felt so soft and warm and safe... Was that weird for a Dragon? Hmm...
As I was thinking about Irena and walking towards the guild, I saw a little commotion. A beastmen women with white bunny ears, pink hair and a pompom sticking out over her butt, seemed to argue with a guard. She wore rags, which were in a similar state than the ones the Refugees had.
"Please you have to help me! My daughter is missing! She is only 10 years old, please I beg of you!"
The guard looked troubled.
"Miss, I understand your peril. But I can't help you. We are terribly understaffed... and as much as it pains me this isn't the only case. We'll do what we can, but I can't make any promises"
The women broke down before the guard and cried violently. I felt sorry for her. Maybe I could Help? I walked over to the Bunny women.
"Hello? Miss Bunny, I am an adventurer and I want to help you!"
She slowly raised her head and seemed to be looking for the Origin of my Voice. As soon as her eyes found me, she stumbled over to me and clinged herself unto my legs.
"P-Please safe my daughter adventurer! I'll pay you anything I have! Please!"
It surprised me that she didn't hesitate because I looked like a young girl, but what do I know.
"Eh yes Miss Bunny, I help you. Could you stop clinging to me please?"
She instantly left me and prostrated herself before me.
"Stop please. That's weird too"
It felt awkward... having someone do such a thing before me... didn't like it.
And she slowly stood up and brushed her tears aside.
"I am terribly sorry... I was just so happy that someone would help me find my dear daughter... do you know already where she is?!" And a strong glimmer of hope shimmered in her eyes.
"Ehm Miss Bunny I don't know. But I'll look for her, I promise! Where did you see her the last time? My master always said, when I searched something, I should start where I had last seen it!"
"Oh ehm... it was in the slums, outside the city walls. She was on her way to play with a friend of hers"
"Hmm 'kay! I'll come with you to your house! Eh... but I have to meet with Irena first, would you mind coming with me? She will help you as well!"
"If it helps finding my daughter, I will go through anything! I will follow you!" The bunny women exclaimed, and her expression was full of hope, but a bit of worry remained.
"Ehm young lady would you give me a moment please?" The guard asked me with a very troubled expression and waved me to come towards him. I was curious about what he had to say to me.
The bunny woman behind me looked a bit concerned but kept her distance.
The guard got down to a squat and looked me deep into my eyes, which was a bit unsettling.
"You should be very careful if you decide to help this woman. As I said, this not the first case of people, especially in the Slums, to vanish. But it's not only people from the slums, but a few workers from the trading guild are also missing. As far as our investigation goes an organization is responsible for kidnapping demi-humans and shipping them off to the Holy Kingdom or even further north. It's not just children either. You should be really careful. I don't know how to say this but... you could be on their 'list' as well. And helping this woman might draw their attention"
"No worries! I am stronger than I look! If I beat those guys up, it's better for everyone, no?"
Th guard looked even more troubled.
"I can't stop you. But you should talk this over with your parents or guardian" He got back up and returned to his guard post.
It annoyed me that so many people saw me as a frail little girl. Sure, I wasn't so strong in this from, and I had much to learn, but I was still a Dragon!
But the honest concern from the guard left me unable to be angry with him.
"I-is everything alright? You will still help me, right?"
The bunny women asked me from behind.
"Sure! No worries! I'll kick those meanies butt's!"
I had to help the weak! That was what Dragons are supposed to do! At least that's what I believed they did in the past. Master had said something like this too!
I grabbed the Bunny women's hand and pulled her towards the guild.
It seemed that me pulling a Bunny woman through the city drew even more attention than me walking around alone. It was a bother, but I ignored it to the best of my ability.