New knowledge

It was only three hours later when the attendant had gotten up to have a bite to eat. She had crossed the room and stumbled but didn't fall.

She looked back at why she had stumbled and discovered something strange. She recalled that this was the place where the boy had let his bag fall. Was it really possible, to leave a dent in the ironwood floor? But that was what she was seeing at the moment. It wasn't too big or too sharp just a slight slope. That had been enough for her to stumble on it.

No, he said the bag contained skins of the Purple Runner. A thought occurred, just how much does one of those beast skins weigh?

The thought of getting food had vanished from her head as she went to some of the male workers in the building, just to ask that question.

After getting the answer she was looking for, she felt speechless. How should she respond to the fact that one skin weighed over 20 kg? He had indicated that there were several of them in his bag and those skins, especially intact cost a fortune.

But how many was he carrying?

She was a small person and could not lift such a burden on her own. Then, how did the boy, who had said was merely seventeen, lift that bag?

She walked around in a daze and ended up on the building's top-floor balcony. It was meant for long-distance shooters in case of emergencies, but they mostly use it for break time. She stared into the darkening sky and wondered who was going to die this night, the boy or his assailants.

The more she thought about it, the more she believed that the boy will overcome whatever was thrown at him.

She would hear the news about that incident on her way to work a few days later. She would smile at her foresight and sigh happily that she at least tried to help him or his retaliation would have also been received by her. She also heard that he had left the fortress with some interesting baggage and that the Noblewomen of Meira left soon after him. No one knew why she had suddenly come just that she had arrived a few days ago searching for something.

Liam walked down the street, the huge bag slung across his shoulder, his clothes dirty and smelly. People around looked at him strangely and once they got a wif of his aroma, they found another direction that they could take.

There was a heavy hood on his head. Its main purpose was to cover up his hair but it did a great job of hiding half of his face. The light stubble on his jaw made him also look older.

He was walking down the street the attendant had said led to the place he could sell his stuff. He looked around in wonder. The walls were high and the buildings inside were just a high, some even taller.

Random thoughts popped up in his head.

'I should have asked the attendant's name.' he regretted not asking as she seemed to be a good sort of person.

'Why is the inside of the buildings so modern and the outside so medieval?'

'How is it so clean here?' he had been walking for a while when he noticed this. There was barely any dirt around.

'How had they managed to make society so organized?' everyone worked. There was no one just loitering around.

He reached a building that had a signed board of butchery and right next to it was an equipment store. He wasn't sure which he should step into and went inside the butchery first.

The bell dinged as he stepped inside, and a big sort of burly guy looked up.

"Hello, how may I help you?" his voice was gruff as the beard he was supporting.

"Hi, I just wanted to ask if I could sell something here?" the man's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well, the main thing I need to sell are these," Liam lowered the bag from his shoulder and opened it up for the man to see. He had to come closer to take a look. "If someone doesn't treat them soon, they'll go to waste," Liam mentioned as the guy was getting closer. He observed the guy once he understood what was in the bag.

The surprise on his face was rather comical to Liam, but he had to stay calm and see where this would go.

The man straightened up and cleared his throat.

"Are you new?"

"I sure am," Liam said with a sigh. The man wouldn't even understand what the sigh had meant from Liam. Either way, it looked like the man was a good person.

"Then, it is simple, I only have enough to buy one, but the store next door has enough to buy all, but they would probably try their best to scam you, though."

The head under the hood tilted and revealed a bit of his face.

"What is the standard price for the Purple Runner whole skin?"

"Depends on the quality of the skin, but it should be around 100 silver coins."

"And what if I say that there are five of them in here?"

"I guessed as much; the bag is at least that big. So, are you selling me one?"

"Sure, how much liver do you have?"

"Not a hundred silvers worth, that for sure."

"Then give me as much as you have and well settle the rest later."

"Fine by me," the man went to the back of the store and brought out all the liver he had. He packed it into a small pouch.

Thank fuck the man didn't see the confusion on Liam's face. It was a standard practice to use enchanted equipment for good trades. The man then places the bag on the counter and started counting the silver coins. Another point was Liam's eyebrows rose slightly in another surprise.

This time though the man caught on.

"Do you not have your own storage pouch?"

"I... think I lost mine some time ago," Liam was hesitant and had to come up with a plausible explanation. He didn't exactly know what it was they were talking about.

"Then it's good that you stopped here first. They'd definitely rob a rookie like you!"

"..."

The burly guy just laughed at his silence. "By the way I'm Tork. Nice to meet another free guy."

"I'm Liam, but what do you mean by 'free guy'?"

"You don't have a tattoo, so it means you are not a slave. It means you are at least a commoner if not then Noble," Liam remembered the leaf on every one of those people's wrists. 'So, that's what it was used for!'

"..." he didn't know what to say.

"So, how long are you staying?"

"Just long enough to feel clean for a few days, then I'll get going down the river."

"Huh? And here I thought you just come from there? What's the rush?"

"My mother is a bit anxious about these kinds of trips," he said, and he wasn't even lying. He knew that his mother would get no peace until he returned. That was why he had given them the compass. He didn't know that it had turned to something more potent.

"Ah, family, a pain to a man who loves adventure."

"No, it's their strength to keep moving."

"That's also true," he paused for a moment, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor."