True to his word, Damien headed back down the mountain and into town. He did his best to walk like a normal person, but the glances that other students sent him before turning away made it clear that he’d failed.

Damien ignored them. He half walked half hobbled through the college streets. It had been a bit since the dean had given them the tour, but he was pretty sure the general store was in the area he was headed towards.

It took him around half an hour, but he eventually spotted it. The store was a large, multi-story stone building. It was made of grey and purple stone that shimmered as if it were concealed behind haze.

A big sign hanging above the doors identified the building as the Blackmist Store. It wasn’t the most creative name, but it certainly got the point across. Damien pulled the door open and stepped inside.

He was immidiately buffeted by the strong scent of vanilla and cardamom and a cool breeze. Damien wrinkled his nose and closed the door behind him. The store was full of rows upon rows of shelves.

In some ways, it reminded him of the library, if the library was full of anything other than books. Several other students were milling about the shelves.

Well? Do you see the herbs?

“I’m looking,” Henry grumbled. “Keep walking around the store. There are more than a few slightly magical items in here. I can’t tell the difference between the medicinal herbs and a random useless toy with a dash of Ether in it.”

Damien shrugged and started down one of the isles. The shelves had everything from bags to candles. A quick sniff informed Damien that the candles were indeed the source of the powerful smell in the building.

The other students were so scattered that it was hard to tell if any part of the store was particularly better than the other. However, after a few minutes of aimless wandering, Henry ordered Damien to stop.

“Over there,” Henry said. “Along the shelves at the back wall.”

Damien glanced up. At the far corner of the shop, just above the counter, were several rows of shelves covered with glass bottles sealed with corks. Each of the bottles had the leaves of plants that he didn’t recognize within them.

He made his way over to the counter, where a huge, bearded man in clothing much too tight for him was looking down at his hands. His muscles were so defined that Damien could practically see them through his shirt. The man glanced up and gave Damien a small nod.

“Can I help you?” the man asked. His voice didn’t fit his body at all. It was meek and timid, like someone had taught a mouse common and instructed it to speak for the shopkeeper.

“Ah, I think so,” Damien stammered. He nodded up at the rows of medicinal herbs. “I’d like to buy some of those.”

“Of course,” the man said, standing up and setting aside a half finished scarf made of shimmering gossamer threads. It seemed to shimmer and dance in the light. Damien tore his gaze away from it as the man raised an eyebrow.

“Which one do you want?” the shopkeeper asked.

Uh… shit. Henry?

“Figure out what you can afford,” his companion said.

Right.

“I’m trying to see what’s in my budget,” Damien said. “What would five gold get me? And what do they do?”

The man stroked his rather large beard, then pulled three vials down from the shelf. He set them on the counter before Damien. The first vial had a single, rust colored leaf within it. The other two were both green, although one of them had thinner leaves with slight tinges of purple running through them.

“These are all under five gold,” the man said. “The brown leaf is from a Rejuvenation plant. It’ll help your injuries heal faster. The one in the middle, with the purple veins, is a low level cultivation aid. I’m not sure what plant it comes from, though. The final one is a low-mid level cultivation aid. They go for five silver, one gold, and three gold respectively.”

Damien grimaced. They were expensive. Really expensive. The shopkeeper noticed his expression and giggled. Not laughed. Giggled.

“If you have credits, the price is much more reasonable. I just assumed you didn’t since you weren’t sure what the plants did yet. You must be new as you’d learn about medicinal plants in your first year.”

“I am,” Damien admitted. “And the Dean mentioned something about credits when she was giving us the tour, but they slipped my mind. How can I get them?”

“Complete quests,” the shopkeep replied with a jovial smile. “People leave requests on the message board in the center of town. You can also get quests from your instructor or the treasure pavilion. Harder quests give more credits. You can get basic supplies with gold, but you’ll need credits for anything of value.”

“I see,” Damien said. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

Henry, do I get any of these? I don’t know what they do.

“Get the one gold herb,” Henry instructed. “It’ll be good for learning how to use them.”

“Could I get the low level cultivation aid?” Damien asked, pulling out his gold coin.

The shopkeeper nodded and put the other two vials back on the shelf. He took Damien’s coin and handed the boy the vial. Damien put it into his travel bag and thanked the large man before heading out of the store.

Should I use this immediately?

“No. Wait until tonight,” Henry said. “Most medicinal herbs take a while to work, and you need to be focused on them to ensure they work correctly. Just hold onto it for now.”

In that case, there’s still a good bit of time before Delph’s class. Where do you think we should go?

“The library.”

Okay, other than the library.

Henry let out a dramatic sigh. “Maybe the treasure pavilion? I doubt there’s anything particularly interesting in there, but maybe you can get a look at what quests we can do.”

That was as good a suggestion as any, so Damien set off to find the treasure pavilion.