198: Treasure

Waking up the next day, I couldn’t help but notice it was far cooler than it had been all winter so far. Usually the room was warm due to Crisplet and the fact that the city itself was warm, but right now? Now there was a chill in the air that was unmistakable.

I was actually thankful for the scarf that Lily had made for me. I made sure to wear the chest plate Sylverith worked on for me as well, with my jacket over the top. If I were going to the market today, I would be as safe as possible, even if I thought most threats were currently gone.

Looking around the dark room, Lily was still missing, though I wasn’t too worried about her now since she had come back briefly to drain my mana for the evening.

Heading downstairs, I bumped into Cameron, who was just coming out of the library wing of the house.

“Hello, sir,” he said with a bow.

“Just Trevor, please,” I said with a sigh.

“I don’t know where Archie is, but if you could tell him I’ll need a carriage to the markets soon, that would be a great help, Cameron,” I asked.

“Absolutely, sir, but we can also go to the market for you if you require anything,” he started to say.

“No, no, thanks though. I actually really enjoy the markets,” I said happily.

Making my way downstairs and into the dining room, only Liane and Jen were sitting there, both with breakfast already sitting in front of them, with Petra, one of the newer house staff, bringing out another plate almost the moment I sat down. How she even knew I was there, I do not know.

“So, market today?” Jen asked.

I just nodded as I tried the unknown sausage on my plate, along with a couple of fried eggs and toasted bread, noticing it had a really nice pepper taste to the meat. This is what I needed to find! A way to make my own sausages, or failing that, stocking up on items like this.

“Do you want company? We’re not doing anything today and would love to come along,” Jen asked.

I didn’t even have time to respond before Crisplet let off a burst of sparks.

“Seems that’s a big yes, though I don’t know where I am going or what I’m doing. I just want to explore,” I chuckled.

“That’s fine, it’s usually never dull following you anyway,” Liane laughed.

“Don’t let me forget to get as many melons as possible. Practising the runes is causing me to lose a lot,” I laughed.

I never even heard Archie behind me before he spoke.

“Your carriage is ready whenever you’d like to use it, sir, and yes, I have found some of those melon pieces in interesting places, now that you mention it.”

I felt embarrassment, as I had been trying to get all the mess cleaned up with the help of Crisplet, but clearly I had been missing some. Maybe I should move to the butcher room for all future tests and set up a table and chair in there.

“Sorry, Archie. I’ll try to clean up better. Thank you for the carriage,” I said, bowing my head.

“It’s fine. It’s what we’re here for. Do take care out there today. The storm that is passing by is unusually strong, and some of it is making it through the city’s usual protections,” Archie informed.

I guess that explains why it was so cold this morning. Then an immediate fear struck me, as I imagined it to be a blizzard outside.

“The market will still be open, right?”

“Yes, sir. No amount of weather would stop them from setting up,” Archie bowed.

After both Liane and Jen got their coats, we made our way outside, and I was expecting there to be snow or rain, but there was nothing. If anything, it was warmer here than inside.

“That tree is really awesome, Crisplet,” I heard Jen say.

And I couldn’t help but agree. It had completely banished any semblance of cold from the surrounding air.

Once inside the carriage, we started to roll, and the moment we moved out of the radius of the tree, the air turned cold fast. Looking out the window, I saw a fine dusting of snow coating the ground.

“I can only imagine how bad this storm is outside the city if it’s making it through the defences,” Jen commented.

We followed the same route as last time, leaving our carriage and using the wagons once we left the noble district, not wanting to draw attention, though the scarf apparently was doing that anyway, with the three other people on the wagon staring at it.

“Sir, is it alive?” one asked in a half-whisper.

I looked down, but realised how foolish that must have been.

“No, it’s just a scarf a friend made me,” I said, resting my hand on it.

“I see. Must just be seeing things in the cold. I swear I saw a pair of eyes briefly in the folds,” the man said, shaking his head.

“Probably just the cold playing tricks on us,” Jen said.

But I’m sure we all knew there were probably really eyes in there, and it was something I didn’t know was possible. Did that mean she could appear out of the scarf? Or just see from it?

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

It was both terrifying and reassuring.

The market brought a smile to my face as it came into view. The smell of smoked and roasted meat was heavy in the air; even from here smoke was rising into the sky, while the buzz of activity grew louder. Archie was right. Despite the dusting of snow that covered the tops of the market stalls and the slightly muddy ground everyone was walking through, it was no less busy.

What surprised me was that everything had shifted from where it was last time, but immediately something jumped out at me. I hurriedly made my way to a fruit and vegetable stall. Hanging on hooks, there were long vines that looked to be studded with fingertip-sized berries that had an almost ruby quality about them.

“What are these?” I asked the lady running the stall.

“Ah, they are Clabbri. You only eat the berry. The vine itself is bitter, but those little berries practically explode with juice. Try one!” she said happily, breaking off a small berry from the vine and handing it to me.