Market Scheming

I was back at the scene of the crime: the shopping district, Athelens, royal capital. My objective? Acquire raw material to test my chef abilities on...without breaking the law.

"Objective fulfilled: Create your own objective to fulfill."

"...Just when I think it can't get weirder with you, god damn."

There was no shortage of food merchants. Some streets, not far from the main gate, were practically lined with them. But as penniless as I was, this did little to help me. I had to figure out where they prepared the food, in the case of the merchants who sold things you could eat right then and there, or where they were keeping or throwing away their stock, for the merchants that only sold raw components.

As I lingered on these food-laden streets, I began to notice other, similar entities doing much the same - watching, waiting, searching for an opportunity. Unfortunately - and, perhaps, sadly - I was not the only one on the lookout. Hungry mouths were aplenty here in the capital, and for many it was easier to search for scraps than to beg for coin.

Perhaps one of them would lead me to an opening.

Suddenly, a burly man - of human origin, by all appearances - who had just purchased a particularly greasy and unwieldly sandwich screamed in horror as it slipped from his grasp, dumping the contents between the bread onto the cobblestone streets. The man immediately gave up on it, insisting with the merchant he had bought it from to give me another, free of charge. The merchant disagreed with his logic.

Regardless, the effect was immediate. While most passersby cared little about the unfolding scene, several people waiting in the wings made their move. A short demi-human with a few odd scales on its face darted in to try and scoop up the contents of the fallen meal, but found competition in two others, both human. All appeared to be young - perhaps they were children of the streets, with no other place to go?

None of the other characters lingering in the crowd made a move toward the spilled food itself, but several disappeared from view shortly after the scene had concluded. I could only guess that they had instead used the display as a distraction, and had made off with something else.

"Objective fulfilled: Employ deductive reasoning."

"I'm pretty sure that's not the first time I've done that, but thanks."

Either way, I didn't see much use in sticking around. Most of the vendors here were selling made-to-eat food, which seemed more difficult to acquire without paying - it would be basically asking for a hand-out.

A few streets over, I came across a market that seemed to deal mostly with raw food - some with fresh but unprepared meat, others fish, others still raw fruits and vegetables. Any one of these would work in theory, but getting my hands on them was another story.

I figured my best and, in all likelihood, only, option was to go for something spoiled or damaged.

"E-excuse me, sir," I approached one vendor, selling meat, with some trepidation.

"What'll be, pal?" the merchant asked, regarding me evenly.

"I was wondering if you could spare some-"

"No can do," he interrupted calmly with a shake of his head. "This is a market, my friend. No handouts." It seemed like this was a question he was familiar with, but it did not turn his personality sour.

"If you've got anything, spoiled or dirty even, that'd be enough!" I pleaded, trying not to sound too desperate. It was true that I had no means of getting any food in a normal way, but I was also not completely at the end of my rope, either.

"You don't think there's a use for spoiled goods? The farmers pay for the stuff for their livestock," the merchant explained, again without raising his voice, but without any ounce of pity, either.

I really hadn't considered that.

As I struggled to find my words, the man sighed.

"Look," he began, leaning forward. "Try one of the fruit and vegetable vendors. If you can find something bruised or messed-up looking, they usually give 'em away for a discount. Might even give ya it for free. Just don't push your luck. No one takes kindly to that."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." I couldn't help but smile. Progress, at last!

"Now come back when you get some money in your pocket."

I thanked the man again and made my way back into the crowd. I found the nearest vendor - selling exclusively vegetables, it seemed - and inspected what they had available as best I could. Thankfully, looking for the best product to buy was a frequent affair, so my inspection brought little suspicion. Unfortunately, I could find nothing overtly wrong with what they were selling, let alone something I might convince them to part with for free.

It didn't help that there were more than a few vegetables that I couldn't even identify.

I moved on, finding, next, a fruit vendor. Again, I was assailed with fruit that scarcely even looked like fruit, let alone something I was familiar with. Having no way of knowing what a 'messed-up' version even looked like, I gave up trying, and instead focused on things that I knew. Thankfully, there were a few - apples, bananas, and what looked to be an oddly-colored watermelon - that actually existed in my world, and, hopefully, behaved more or less the same.

After careful inspection, I snatched an apple from the table and raised it high for the merchant to see.

"Hey, this one's missing a chunk out of it!" I called, pointing dramatically to the side of the apple. Indeed, there was a chunk missing from it, but it didn't look like it had been bitten...but I didn't know that for sure, did I?

"Ahh, my bad, friend, always at least one bad one in a bunch, haha!" the merchant replied, clasping his hands together. "I have some perfect specimens right over here, please, come look!"

"I dunno, man, if this one's got a bite out of it how do I know the rest don't have somethin' wrong with 'em?" I shot back, not really noticing my speech beginning to deteriorate.

The other customers were mildly interested in the exchange at this point, which was bad for the merchant.

"No, no, it's not a bite, it's just misshapen! Go ahead, take a bite yourself and see that it tastes fine! I'll even give you another, should it taste even slightly off!"

A generous offer, which I felt slightly bad about exploiting. I feigned disbelief and distrust at first, inspecting the apple in my hand, then looking back to the merchant. At last, I took a bite.

"...Alright, fine, it's good," I conceded after a few seconds, munching "begrudgingly" on the part of apple I had bitten off.

The merchant beamed. "Exactly, exactly, only the best sold here! Here, have another for your trouble!" He tossed me a perfectly shaped apple as the rest of the customers began haggling and inspecting with renewed interest.

"Objective fulfilled: Deceive another to the benefit of both parties."

"Heheh, that's right! Went off without a hitch!" I replied inwardly, using the renewed chaos at the fruit stand to slip back into the crowd. I had two 'raw materials' now, even if one was partially eaten. I'd get to see if there were any restrictions on what could be used, which I considered a bonus.

"Objective fulfilled: Fulfil your own objective."

"Well I'm glad you're giving me credit for it, at least."

"Experience threshold reached. Level advanced to 5. Spell learned: Ignition."

"It's back, for real?!"