For the first night in over two months they slept in comfort, and safety. In the morning they woke up well rested. Kennon’s first thought was how they didn’t have any pressing needs. No beasts to fight. No need to build something simply for their safety. No need to travel. It was a little alarming.

  They had unpacked before they went to bed. The only thing left in the storage ring was their money.

  Kennon’s mind considered resting for the day, but his body rebelled. He needed to move. To act. A good first start would be getting breakfast. When they sold everything, they really did sell everything. There was not a scrap of food available to them. And their stomachs were growling.

  Kennon looked at Bev, and they smiled. Kennon practically ran out of the house, while Bev grabbed her inscription tool and went to the storage cabinet to start repairs. It was possibly the most complicated of all the enchantments. But it had been damaged in such a controlled and precise way that Bev was certain she could have it fixed before Kennon was back. She almost didn’t even turn on Tutor, but it was a complicated enchantment.

  Kennon, wearing the storage ring, ran through the industrial sector to the closest part of the wall. As he ran down the road he passed workshops and warehouses aplenty. Some he could tell what they did. The fire mana signature from one place made it clear it was a smelter. The smells of other places gave clue. But that wasn’t what he was out for.

  He soon made it to the wall, and was again met with hundreds of merchant stalls. This time a great deal of them were empty. Not having set up for the day yet. He understood. It was barely dawn. He would still be in their house if he didn’t need breakfast. Those that were there seemed busy getting ready.

  He could tell that none of these were the shops he needed though. They all had signs saying what they sold, and prices. It was clear that everything here was geared for industrial needs. There were people selling hammers and nails, anvils, and ore.

  He was surprised that there was a place selling raw ore, and despite his stomachs protests he went up to the shop keeper and said,

  “I’m new here. I’m wondering why you would set up a stall to sell raw ore?”

  The man smiled and said, “Ahh, would you be a new crafter?”

  Kennon said, “Yes, alchemy for me. But my sister is a blacksmith and enchanter.”

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  The man nodded and said, ”Good to hear. We need as many people using our metal as we can get! To answer your question though, I don’t actually sell the ore here. I have plenty of ore samples. But I don’t expect a smelter to come here every day for their ore. That is what our warehouse is for. This stall is marketing. So people know our warehouse exists. We are interested in buying as well. You will find all sorts of stalls like that. Especially in the industrial sector.”

  Kennon nodded in understanding.

  The man then said, “So, smithing and alchemy. This area is ripe for smithing. Alchemy ingredients tend to be closer to the residential sector. Is there something in particular you want?”

  Kennon smiled and said, “Actually, this is my first day in town. We bought a house. But don’t have any food. I am looking for breakfast.”

  The man laughed and said, “Residential sector again. If you want a restaurant then the commercial sector.”

  Kennon thanked the man and started running in the indicated direction.

  As he ran the stalls began to fill up, more merchants waking up. He saw what the man meant. There was an entire stall just for selling pick axes. A quick looked showed they were made by dozens of different smiths. There was also a pamphlet for what they were willing to pay smiths to sell picks to them. He grabbed one for reference. He doubted Bev wanted to make picks for a living but it would help figure out prices.

  It wasn’t long till the smell of fresh herbs started to pull at his attention. He saw stall after stall advertising interesting ingredients. He noticed mana aloe, the base ingredient for the bandages he had made. The price looked good. But his stomach urged him to continue onward.

  Soon he smelled fresh baked bread, and he knew that it would be a challenge not to eat before he got back. It was as if he walked past a line and suddenly he was in a farmers market. About the same time the merchants started their odd advertisement wave. Every stall had at least two workers. One or more helping a customer, and another yelling out what they sold.

  Faced with a literal line of people asking to sell him fresh food Kennon felt a sudden paralysis. For two months he had eaten what they had. The choice was based entirely off of what would spoil the soonest. Before that he had plenty of choices. But it was a carefully curated one based on what Margie had bought, hunted, or grown. Now his options felt endless. And he found it hard to pick anything at all.

  Basics, get the basics.

  Flour, beef, salt, eggs, apples. He could try those weird fruits he had never heard of some other time. And he’d eaten enough beast meat for now. As he went about his business he noticed families coming to the market as well. Some came with children. He noticed several people his age with their parents.

  Nothing he could do about that. He got his food and carried on. It totaled to about twenty silver. And with twenty five gold in hand it was almost nothing. And he hadn’t been light on the shopping. At this rate, assuming no strange expenses, they should be able to live on that twenty five gold for months. Maybe even a year.

  As he hurried back home he wondered, were they rich?