Jason was left wide-eyed when Walking into the mansion they would be staying in while in the capital. To call it grand would be a massive understatement. The walls were lined with beautiful paintings of varying kinds, some showed peaceful settings, some epic battles. The entrance room had a ceiling high enough that it was hard to make out the beautiful artistry that covered it. Mighty statues of large soldiers stood at either side as if guarding the entrance.
Jason followed the attendees his head spinning around to take it all in. Arriving at the bedroom he would be staying in, he was once again left aghast at its size.
The older attendant spoke. "This will be the young man's room."
"This is all for just me," Jason muttered to himself. He couldn't believe it. "It's the size of our house." He continued which drew a small giggle from his parents.
"Don't let this all go to your head, Jason," His mother said, but Jason was too preoccupied to hear. At one end of the room sat 2 huge four-poster beds big enough to sleep 5 people side by side. Jason couldn't help himself and immediately leap onto it. To his delight, it was just as comfortable as it looked. His mother just sighed. The staff bringing in the luggage didn't seem to acknowledge his behaviour, instead they just swiftly put his bags into the other corner which had grand wardrobes with mirrors on the front.
His parents decided to leave him be and were led onwards to their room.
Surveying his room from his bed Jason thought that being a big-time lord wouldn't be such a bad thing.
After taking it all in he had the urge to see more, he just wanted to keep moving. He quickly set off to his parents' bedroom which was on the other side of the corridor. To his surprise, they somehow had an even more impressive room.
High off the excitement of it all he already wanted to set out and see more of what the city had to offer. "What's the plan now, what do we do now we are here?" Jason asked keenly.
"Well we need to buy some clothes for the ball but apart from that I don't think we have anything we have to do," Garion said calmly.
"Perfect, I want to explore more, maybe we could start by checking out that food that we saw on the way here."
"Sounds like a good idea. It is your first time here after all. But let's get what we need to do done first okay Jason? That includes unpacking your things." Amelina said with a smile looking at her excited son.
"I guess" was all Jason said. Disappointed they couldn't go this second. He quickly made his way back to his room. Rather than unpack it would be better to describe what he did as throwing his clothes out of his bags. Looking at his handiwork he smiled before rushing back to his parents.
Entering his parent's room he announced "All done."
Seeing their son back already they could only shake their heads but they didn't push the subject. They didn't have the heart to deny the smiling boy in front of them. They had barely started unpacking but gave up and agreed that they would head out. However, they did insist that they would get the clothes they needed first. Jason was happy to oblige. He was keen to experience that as well.
The older attendant, whom they learned was called Albert, offered to come with them. Though they declined his offer, the man insisted that he needed to look after them as guests of the king. In the end, he did join so it wasn't just the three of them. He immediately proved his usefulness by recommending a shop that sold clothes suitable for the ball. The shop was still within the central district of the city so it was only a short walk. The streets here were far less busy.
Just from the outside, It was clear that the store was expensive. This was further confirmed by the fact that the moment they entered they were surrounded by attendants, all eager to be of assistance.
They asked what sort of clothes Jason wanted, which made him feel all lost at sea. He had never really considered the way he looked. He wore clothes based on their comfort or practicality so he decided he would leave picking the correct clothing for the professionals. A couple of times his parents chimed in but overall the process was fairly quick and Jason was quite pleased with the results. The clothes would take a few days before they were fully ready as they would be tailored. They would have to come back in a couple of days. Kindly, Albert ended up paying which pleased Jason's parents when the price was brought up.
With that done apart from the ball they were now free to spend their time in the capital however they wanted.
Thinking about what he wanted to do first Jason was then reminded that this was where his parents met.
"Is there anywhere you want to see mum and dad?"
"No, I have seen the city before. But I am happy to experience it again with you. We can see anything you want." Amelina said.
"I agree it is up to you Jason." Garion agreed.
"In that case, I am keen to try some of the food in that market we passed," Jason said
Nodding their heads, they set out for the market. The market was in the outer district of the city, so it was a much longer walk. Combined with the heat it helped to build Jason's anticipation for the food. However, even Jason's hunger wasn't enough to stop him from consistently taking detours to walk down interesting-looking streets. As they did they walked past all sorts of interesting places that Jason made mental notes to come back to see once they had eaten.
Arriving at the market it was split into different sections. They made a beeline for the food section. Jason struggled to make up his mind on what to eat, he was amazed at the variety of things available. He loved his mums cooking but it was restricted by what could be found around the village. Here the options seemed endless.
Peaking at all the possibilities, it was the first time he got to see people properly using money. Back in the village people did accept coins but most of the time they just traded for what they wanted or shared what was needed amongst themselves. Although that started to change with the influx of people working on the new mine.
His mother had taught him about money on the Libran continent. It was a little complicated as all the different nations had their own currency. In the Kingdom of Ovar, the currency was the Tyne. The most common currency across the continent was the Imperial Barr which was accepted almost everywhere. Lastly, there was the Libran Mark which was far more valuable and only used in very large transactions such as those between nations.
Finally, Jason settled on what he wanted to eat. It looked delicious and tasted just as good. It was a sort of fish that Jason hadn't tasted before. While they did get some small fish in the streams near the village, they couldn't get anything as substantial as this.
Once they all had made their choices, they sat down in a small but memorable square near the market. Albert didn't sit with them instead hovering nearby. Throughout the day they had gotten to know him he was a quiet elderly man and he announced that he would be in charge of everything during their stay. He didn't seem to be very talkative and mostly kept his distance. Jason noticed that he didn't look too impressed by their food, turning his nose up at it, while Jason and his parents definitely enjoyed it. 'I guess you can't please everyone' Jason thought to himself.
Suddenly the square started to fill up more and more. As Jason was beginning to wonder why, he got his answer.
"Damn it I lost all my money on that fight!" a middle-aged man with a drink in his hand shouted to his friends. From the redness of his face and the loudness of his voice, it was plain to see that this wasn't the man's first drink.
"Yeah who is that guy anyway, he's made it all the way to the finals!"
"I know my wife, is gonna kill me I thought it was easy money"
"Well, no need to tell 'er, there is no way he will win in the final tomorrow you can win all your money back."
"You're right! He's some nobody. He probably got lucky, there's no way he will win. I should be able to make it back and more." Tilting back his head he poured the remainder of his drink down his throat, before exclaiming to those around him "The next rounds on me!"
The rest of the group smashed their mugs together before necking their drinks and letting out a shout of their own. "To the arena!" Once out the chant was echoed by many other groups of people drinking around the square.
Given the volume of the conversation, it was hard for Jason not to overhear it. As the cheers went out he gave a pleading look to his parents he rolled their eyes in response.
"I guess we can go," they responded.