"How are you not all pruned up?" Shiv asked with dismay.
"How do you 'prune'?" Blaze asked.
"It's not something you 'do', it's something that happens to you. When you're wet for a long time you just start getting wrinkles. Does that not happen to you?"
"That happens when you get old, silly!"
"Well, yeah, but it also happens when you get wet…" He sighed. "FIne, fine. It doesn't matter." He shook his head and changed the subject, "Have you been here before?"
"Nope! I've never been to any big city."
"Hmm. What about you, Big Doggy?"
"Not recent enough for it to mean anything. I hadn't had dealings with people in a long time, before you came along." Uriel said.
"That's no help at all." Shiv muttered to himself.
As they approached the gate in the massive wall that surrounded the entire city, Shiv came to an abrupt stop. It was huge, and there were quite a few soldiers hanging out at the entrance and patrolling the walls. On top of that, there were so, so many people everywhere.
'I'm going to have to destroy this place and everyone in it. Not only this place, but every place like it. I have to destroy the entire world. All to return home.' He watched Blaze toss a leech to Uriel, who caught it on his nose and tossed it back. 'Killing bandits and monsters is one thing. Can I kill normal people? Can I kill…' He scowled, refusing to finish the thought. He would have to finish it eventually, but now was not the time. He wasn't ready for it.
He called the wolf and the little girl over, and walked through the gates with thoughts about how they really did feel like they were his kids. Uriel got a few sideways glances from several different people, including some guards, but nothing was said about him, and he didn't look bothered.
Inside the city, Shiv found that he had no idea where to go. "I'm looking for something like a merchant district… or something." He told his two companions as he looked around.
Blaze nodded with a serious look, and walked up to the nearest person, who happened to be an incredibly tall man with a dead deerbuck slung over his shoulder. She stopped right in front of him with her hands on her hips, and he came to a stop to look down at her with a curious look.
"What can I do for ya, little lady?" His voice was gruff and deep, but kind.
"You're really tall! Do you know how to get to the merchant instrument?" Blaze asked, causing Shiv to facepalm himself when she completely botched up the word 'district'.
"Hah! I'm not sure what that is, but I imagine you'd find one in the merchant district down that way a ways." He motioned toward a road.
"Hmmm. I guess that'll do for now. Thanks! " With that, he walked off shaking his head and Blaze skipped back to Shiv and Uriel.
"There is a lot of walking in this city." Uriel yawned.
"Why did you have to choose the scariest looking person in the entire city, Blaze? And what else would we do, Rot-for-Breath? Swim?"
"I would prefer you be a nice person and pull me behind you in a cart. Show respect for your elders." Uriel said.
"Me too, me too!" Blaze jumped up and down.
"Absolutely not." Shiv sighed, and set out in the direction the giant had indicated. "And you're not my elder, Blaze. That's only for people who are older than me."
"No, I'm your elder! I really am!" She said.
"Right. How's that?" Shiv asked, unconvinced.
"Uriel said I am." She declared.
Shiv scowled at Uriel, who suddenly became distracted by something in the opposite direction.
***
The merchant district was loud. Much louder than the city's entrance had been. There were people standing all along the sides of the street shouting about their stores.
One such man was shouting much louder than all of the others, having apparently been blessed with a much more impressive lung capacity than the rest of the shouters. Unfortunately, he was advertising for a tool shop. Something Shiv was less than interested in.
He walked down the middle of the road with his two companions, searching the people and voices for something helpful. Surprisingly, his search was useless, and the only reason he found what he was looking for was because they walked into him.
Distracted from where he was going because of his intense search, he completely missed the woman walking right at him with her nose in an open book.
The resulting collision sent Blaze into fits of laughter and forced a terrifying grin onto Uriel's canine face.
"I am so sorry!" The woman said several times as she got up and helped Shiv up as well.
"Don't worry about it." Shiv accepted the help, then knelt to pick up the book she'd dropped. As he went to hand it to her, he stopped. 'This book looks familiar…' He flipped through a few pages, and realized it was written with the same format as the book he'd read in the general store.
This book, however, seemed to be a more advanced version, with many plants in it that he did not recognize, even after his hours upon hours spent on searching for strange plants for Fran.
"Do you like it?" The girl asked after several seconds of silence had passed.
"Hm?" Shiv was lost, but looking up sent the rush of memories back into his head and reminded him of what was happening. "Oh! My bad." He laughed, and with one hand on the back of his neck, he handed her the book. "Yeah, I've read a similar one. Where'd you get it?"
"Oh, my boss has many books just like it in his shop." She took the book and inspected it for damage.
"Your boss wouldn't happen to be someone interested in buying exotic plant life, would he?"
"He would, actually. The buying and selling of such things is what his business is dedicated to."
Shiv grinned, and promptly asked to be taken to her boss. She complied easily, and led his group down several different small streets and even a back alley to reach a much quieter part of the Merchant District, where she claimed only the real merchants sold their wares. "Those loudmouthed peasants aren't real merchants." She sniffed.
"Why's that?" Shiv asked as they entered their destination, prompting a bell to ring in a muted fashion.
"They have no dignity." She said.
Shiv grunted, wondering what dignity had to do with being a merchant. The room they'd entered was quite interesting. There weren't any windows, making the only source of light a crystal chandelier with candles. The walls were mostly bare, with only a clock and a few paintings as decoration. In the center of the room were four pedestals, each with a different type of exotic plant, flanking two couches that faced each other across a low table.
"Marsha, did you get everything on the list already?" An old man with tiny glasses entered the room via a backdoor, and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of Blaze poking a plant that looked like a ball with dozens of pink leeches hanging off of it.
"Young lady, touching that with too much force could result in an explosion powerful enough to take your hand. Especially if you happen to have the affinity of fire." He said in a no-nonsense tone.
Shiv immediately grabbed her, whispering for her to sit on the couch. 'Why did he put an exploding plant in his meeting room?'
"No, I haven't gotten a single thing on the list, just yet. This man said he had something to sell you, so I brought him here. I will now go fulfill the chore you assigned." Marsha spoke in an annoyed voice and curtsied dramatically when she finished, then left.
"Is that right?" The old man turned his attention to Shiv, who was poking the plant he'd just stopped Blaze from poking. He was curious about something…
[Plant: Underhill Peach - a rare specimen found only at the bottom of massive hills. Grows in pairs from short trees. When consumed, it provides much hydration but minimal sustenance. Has no other effects.]
'The skill works! And that guy's a liar.' Shiv unconsciously glared at the old man before taking the seat he was offered next to Blaze.
Remembering the question, Shiv finally answered the patiently waiting bifocaled man. "Yeah. This is what I've got to offer." He pulled out one of the fire-eating roses, quickly using his skill before handing it over. 'I should have done this before coming here.'
From his quick glance at the description, he was able to determine that they were very valuable and had strong healing properties when used in the right recipes. 'I've got to figure out what recipes I have.' He made a mental note to check it out later.
While Shiv was thinking, Marsha's boss was examining the plant. "I'm afraid these aren't very valuable at all, son."