160: Confrontation

As I followed Jen and Liane through the stalls, I was constantly bombarded by interesting stuff to look at. It wasn’t just food either, but everything was being sold: weapons, plants, toys even.

I had thought that I would be the first one to get distracted by a stall; however, it was Crisplet who insisted we stopped by hitting us all with a piece of coal, as he left the brazier when we passed a small, unassuming stand selling small statues of various creatures and people.

I personally couldn’t help but laugh, as the shop owner had no idea what to do with an ash elemental inspecting their goods.

“Any that you like?” I asked, as I knelt down to inspect them as well.

Crisplet let off a small burst of sparks as he pointed to a small metal statue that appeared to be a barn cat sleeping next to a fireplace.

“How much for this one?” I asked the man, who still hadn’t said anything, just staring at Crisplet.

“Uh… oh, uh, ten coppers, sir,” he said, stuttering.

Looking behind me at Jen and Liane, just to make sure I wasn’t being scammed, and seeing their grins before they nodded, I paid the man his ten coppers and took the little statue. I wasn’t really sure what Crisplet’s plan was for the statue, and I was sure he could have made his own. This was, however, the first time he had asked for anything, so who was I to say no?

Jen came over and offered to store it for Crisplet, getting a burst of sparks as Crisplet went back into the brazier.

“Smart companion you have there,” the store owner said.

“Very smart. Crisplet loves making statues himself, has a real talent,” I said proudly.

The store owner’s eyes went wide, clearly seeing Crisplet in a new light.

“So the cat and the fireplace?” the owner said, looking at Crisplet.

“One of his best friends is a cat, of sorts. Thanks a lot; we’d better get going. Lots to do,” I said, waving goodbye to the man.

Maybe one day we could show him one of Crisplet’s statues. I think he’d appreciate it.

But as we walked through the stalls at the market, my curiosity got the better of me.

“Where are we going? We’re passing lots of food stalls,” I asked curiously over the noise.

“Heading to the bulk sellers. That’s the only place you’ll get your salt and sugar. If we wait too long, they won’t have enough,” Jen said.

Nodding, we moved quickly through the crowd when finally a store caught my eye. He had two tables piled high, one with a fine grain, the other looked to be small white rocks.

Getting closer, I saw it was salt, only salt. Behind the two main tables appeared to be a selection of other salts that seemed to range through a variety of colours. I recognised the red and orange hue of the fire salt.

“Greetings! Welcome, looking to add some seasoning to that campfire meal?” an elderly man said as we approached.

I stepped forward. “Hello, I’m looking to buy a large amount of regular salt, if you have it.”

The man looked at me strangely, raising an eyebrow, and pointed to the table in front of him that had the sand-like salt on it.

“I mean, a lot more than that…” I chuckled.

“Son, that’s an entire barrel of salt,” he said, agitation showing on his face.

“Oh, in that case, five barrels of salt should do. Erm, actually, make it seven,” I said with a smile.

He stared at me for a moment, and it felt incredibly awkward. “Wait, you’re not kidding, are you?” he said.

“Uh, no? I might actually need more than that, but I don’t exactly know yet,” I responded.

“Right, three gold and fifty silver, then,” he said bluntly.

Looking at the table, I saw he was selling a bag for two coppers. I was not very good at maths, but I could buy thousands of bags of salt for that much money, so it felt like I was being ripped off.

“That’s too much,” I simply said.

“Well, you don’t have a wagon or your own barrels, so I need to pay for them too,” he said.

Jen spoke up. “We don’t need the barrels. You can deliver it to Lord Ashmoon’s residence and take the barrels with you.”

He looked stunned for a moment before he composed himself. “If you’re not requiring the barrels themselves, then seven barrels’ worth of salt will be fifty silver,” he said with a smile.

I just shook my head. “Still far too much.” With a market this size, I decided to take a gamble that Milo would be proud of, and looking back at Jen, said, “Are there other salt sellers around here?”

Jen didn’t even respond before the man spoke again. “Wa… wait, that includes the delivery fee, of course, but what’s say we make it twenty-five silver?”

After seeing a nod from Liane, who was smirking right now, I put my hand out to shake and make the deal.

Shaking my hand, the man asked, “My name is Salito, and you?”

“Trevor,” I responded, then, thinking about it, “Trevor Ashmoon.” What good was having a surname if I didn’t use it?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I felt the grip on my hand tighten and the man’s eyes went wider. “Right you are. I shall have it delivered to your residence?” he asked, looking at the others.

I pulled out a small sack of coins, getting the twenty-five silver. “Yes, please. It’s in the upper noble district,” I said as I handed it over.

“Thank you, sir. I will have the guards show me the way. Thank you for your patronage,” he said, bowing now.

As I walked away from the shop, I was mostly confused. His whole demeanour had changed.

“You’re wondering why he went so cheap, aren’t you?” Liane said with a grin.

“Yeah, that, and why his whole demeanour changed,” I said curiously.

“He worked out you were either the lord of the house or the son of the lord. You’ll find he leaves the barrels regardless,” Liane laughed.