Orick grumbled in front of the bookshop.
“Does she have to shout it out for everyone to hear?” He grumbled for another moment before turning back to us.
“Okay kids let’s head to the adventuring gear store.
It’s a secondhand shop but trust me second hand is just fine.
Most of the places with new equipment will rip you off anyway, when you’re looking for a good gear store, what you want is…” He explained what to look for to find a good shop to buy equipment from as he led us down a side street.
Apparently, places with new gear overcharged because the equipment was new.
We needed to find a shop that bought and sold equipment and also offered maintenance on items.
The shopkeeper should be friendly, but not pandering.
Some bartering over prices was expected, depending on the size of your order and what you were getting.
We stopped in front of a small shop along a side street, Charlie’s Surplus.
The sound of a small bell rang out as Orick opened the door.
His hand went up as soon as he walked in.
“Oi!
Charlie, you in?” A younger man working on something behind the counter looked up.
“Orick?
You showing some newbie adventurers around again?” “You could say that…” He brushed aside, revealing the two of us.
The owner snorted.
“You running a school now?
You always said you wouldn’t let ankle biters join.” Orick shrugged, leaning up against the counter as we took in the messy shelves.
“Well, these two don’t have a lot of other options.
So, I’m helping them get started.
Do you have any cheap starter gear?
They need some flint, waterskins, bedrolls, some starting weapons, and mess kits.” “I actually just got some messkits in.
Let me see…” He left the counter, going through the store and picking everything out.
He came back and put it all on the counter.
Two waterskins, messkits, some smaller bedrolls, and flint for starting fires.
“Okay, all this to get is about twelve silvers.
But for the starting gear, I’ll have to know their jobs.
Have the two of you picked out your classes yet?” Um… Rey stepped forward, confident.
“I’m going to be a sword master!
I want a sword!” Orick snorted.
“Seriously?
Man, talk about basic.” “WHAT!?
I’m not basic!” Rey growled, furious.
Orick leaned over and flicked his head again.
“Ow!” “Kid like you always pick swords.
To be blunt, it’s boring.
Besides, do you even know how to use a sword?
You’re more likely to cut yourself than a monster.” Rey held his forehead.
“Well, what do you suggest them?
I need to use something, and I’m not as strong as you are.” “That’s true.
You’re kind of a beanpole, aren’t you?
Does your father have a leaner frame?” Orick rubbed his chin.
Rey shrugged, huffing.
“I don’t know.
I guess…” “I guess bludgeoning weapons are out then.
What else is there… Charlie, any suggestions?” Charlie thought about it a moment.
“Well, what about the girl?
Do you have a class picked out yet honey?” “She’s a mana user.” Orick answered for me.
“Wow, really?
Guess you’ll be needing a basic wand to get started with spellcraft… that means the boy should be a frontline fighter to protect her.
Basic team comp.” He leaned on the counter, staring at us for another moment before looking back at Orick.
“Sorry, but for a lean frontline fighter who relies on speed and agility, shortswords are the best option.
Either dual wielding or with a smaller dagger for more options.” Orick groaned.
“Dual wielding?
The only person in town who could teach him that is Anna.” “Well, if you really want, we can just give him a spear and call it a day, but you know that wouldn’t be best for his long-term development.
He wouldn’t have the strength needed to wield a spear at super high levels if his build is leaner.
He has to focus on speed and stacking lots of damage to be effective.” Orick turned back to Rey.
“Kid, are you left-handed or right-handed?” “Uh… neither.
I can use both hands equally well.” Rey looked down at his hands, frowning.
The owner whistled.
“You hear that Orick?
Kid was born to dual wield.” Orick let out a heavy sigh.
“Anna will just have to put some time aside for him then.
Then, a starter wand, and two wooden shortswords.” “You got it.” Charlie went to gather the requested weapons, and Orick looked back at us.
“There’s a training field out on the north side of town the two of you can use.
I’ll ask Anna to teach you how to not cut off a finger.
Remember, they are not toys.
They’re weapons.
You must always treat them with respect.
Understand?” Rey and I stiffened at the seriousness of his tone and nodded.
Weapons.
I understood.
We had to be careful with them Charlie came back, setting the weapons with the rest of the supplies.
“The wand has just been rotting on my shelf forever since we hardly ever get beginner mana users, so I’ll let it go for five silvers.
The two swords are a silver each.
Three coppers for resharpening them, they got about two more sharpenings left in them before they become too thin to use.” So, twelve for the supplies.
Then seven for the weapons… nineteen silvers.
That was almost everything we had… “Alright kids, you said you had twenty silvers, right?
Go ahead and pay the man.” Rey stepped forward, and carefully counted out the coins.
He set them on the counter with gravity, and Charlie swept them into a drawer.
“Okay, oh, and I included a belt to carry the swords with.
Consider it a freebie for two beginners to encourage them to come back.” Orick nodded and helped us put it all away, sticking things to our bags, lashing the bedrolls to the bottom of our packs, and showing Rey how to sheathe and unsheathe his swords.
Oof.
I adjusted the straps of my backpack; it was a lot heftier now.
It would take some getting used to.
He finished up, stepping back and nodding at his handiwork.
“Thanks Charlie.
Kids, if you ever want to buy gear in Duval, Charlie is the guy to come to.
He’ll give you a good price for everything.” We left again, waving goodbye to Charlie, and Orick walked us out.
He looked up in the sky.
“Eh, it’s starting to get late.
Come on kids, we’ve got one final stop.” He started off again, and we both kept pace as he headed back towards the adventurer’s guild.
But he turned off from it, and we went about a block down, where there was an open plaza with a fountain in the middle.
There were also a few guards keeping an eye on the plaza, which had many tents set up for the knight.
Orick raised his hand and greeted them.
“Jet, Denton!
Good to see you two.
Has it been quiet tonight?” The one on the left, Jet, nodded.
“Yeah, there was a small disagreement earlier, but it was resolved quickly.
Have you suddenly become a father guildmaster?” Orick threw his head back and laughed.
“Hardly!
These two kids signed up at the guild.
I’m teaching them the ins and outs of adventuring at the moment.” Denton, the right guard, glanced at us.
“For you to let them join, they really must not have anywhere else to go.
Don’t worry guildmaster, we’ll keep an eye out for them.” Orick nodded.
“Thanks you two.
Now kids, this is the plaza where people can stay the night.
It costs five coppers, and you have to bring your own tent and supplies.” “Can’t we just stay outside of town?
It’s free then.” Rey scanned the plaza, clearly not impressed.
“Absolutely not.
Monsters can attack you if you stay outside of town.
Moreover, you could get robbed, or even kidnapped.
The guards here watch over the plaza to make sure nothing like that happens.
You can also get water from the fountain, which is clean.
And look over there.” He pointed to some carts on the edge of the plaza, in the streets surrounding the plaza.
“Those are food carts that serve adventurers and travelers who stay in the plaza.
You can buy a warm meal for three to four coppers.
That way you don’t have to cook.
For now, this is your best option to stay.
Now, I’m going to leave the two of you here.
Ah, but first, let me give you something…” He reached into another pouch at his waist and rummaged around.
He then magically pulled out a lantern that was larger than the pouch itself.
We both gaped at it as he chuckled.
“Spatial pouch.
If you two become big enough adventurers, you might own one of these one day.
It certainly makes things more convenient.
Now, this is a magic lantern.
It runs off slime cores.
Let me show you.” He pulled out a small round core and opened the base of the lantern.
Then he popped the core into a slot that fit the core perfectly.
The glass then began to glow, giving off plenty of light.
He held it out to Rey, holding it by a small handle, and Rey reluctantly took it, grumbling.
“This has to be expensive…” “It costs about seventy silvers.
If you really can’t stomach it being a gift, then just pay me back for it.
Each core will give off about three hours of light, so use them carefully.
If you’re going to be hunting slimes, you can source them yourselves.
But you’re going to need a lantern to read those books I gave you, and study.” Rey nodded, opening the core slot and popping it out.
“Thank you.
For… for everything.
I promise we’ll pay you back.” Orick chuckled and leaned forward, ruffled both of our heads.
“I know you will you, little brats.
For now, just study up the rest of the day, and get a good night’s sleep.
Tomorrow morning, come to the guild.
I’ll have Anna take over babysitting duties then.
She’ll show you the ins and outs of quests, where the dungeon is, and take you to the training field to show you how to use those swords properly.
She’ll work out a decent training schedule with you.
After that, hopefully the two of you can start to get by on your own.
Good luck you two.” He turned, and started off, back towards the guild, leaving us with the two guards.
Denton scratched his cheek, glancing at Jet.
“I think there’s an open space near that family, right?
Should be a good spot for these two.” Jet agreed.
“Yeah, that spot will work.
Alright, come along kids.
Let me show you where you can set up your tent.” He took us to a place near the middle of the plaza.
A woman was nearby, washing clothes in a washtub with a smaller child playing next to her.
She briefly looked up at us before returning to her chore.
Rey pulled out the money pouch.
“Uh, all we have is a silver…” “No problem, I can make some change for you.” Jet took the silver, and gave us ninety-five copper coins in exchange, they were easy to count because he had them threaded through the holes in the center, in blocks of ten.
Once our spot was paid for, he bid us goodbye, waving, and returning to he and Denton’s sot at the entrance to the plaza.
“Come on Kat.
Let’s set up the tent.” I turned and helped Rey.
Our tent had a single pole, which propped up the middle, and we were able to put the stakes between the loose cobblestones, using the hatchet to hammer them down.
Now our tent was ready.
We got inside and rolled out our bedrolls.
It would still be kind of hard to sleep on, but it was better than nothing… “Rey, where did you get this tent?” “Huh?” Rey looked up at me as he carefully placed the lantern down.
“Uh… w-well… they were in the knights’ supplies.” “You stole it?!
The map and the hatchet too!?” He winced.
“Uh… yeah.
But those knights were bad people anyway!
They were going to take you away!
So, I… went through the luggage they left in the stable.
I got this tent, the rations, and the hatchet.
But the map was Mom’s!
I found it when I was going through her old stuff for things we could use.” “But-but what if they take it out on your father!
He can’t pay for all of it!” I was panicked, thinking about poor Mr.
Barriere.
He waved it off.
“Relax.
I made it look like you took them.
So, if anyone has to pay for it, it’s your parents.” Oh.
That was… better?
I think?
I shook my head, and tried to put it out of my mind as I grabbed the spellcasting book.
“I’m going to study.
Like Mr.
Orick said to.” “Right.
I’ll read up on monsters then.” He picked up the monster book.
“Once we get hungry, we’ll have dinner.
But we need to learn as much as we can tonight, so we’re ready for tomorrow.” “Right!” I cracked it open to the first chapter.
I’ve always had mana, but only a little bit of it.
My parents had measured it about a month ago and got excited about something to do with it.
I just had to hold an orb and wait for it to fill up, which only took a few minutes.
But in terms of actual mana, I only had a small spark.
But if I could help, I’ll do whatever it takes.