After waiting in line for a few minutes they finally arrived at the guards. Guards would be a polite term, Kael decided. The four men at the gate were wearing worn out uniforms, rugged chainmail armor, and holding slightly rusted glaives. Paying half a silver to enter, Kael felt like he was in a mixture of ancient China and a Renaissance Faire. The main road was nothing but hard packed dirt. The only good thing about it was the size, an entire 25 feet wide. The sides of the road were lined with street vendors hawking everything from meat on a stick to crappy jewelry. Behind the street vendors on each side of the street were 4 foot wide wooden walkways. People wearing nice cotton or silks were walking along them.

Feeling the tug of his father's hand on his shoulder they began walking down the road. Barraged by smells and shouts was overwhelming for him. Growing up in a western metropolis the only thing on the roads were cars, and if someone tried to sell something on the side of the street they would be arrested. Slightly disoriented Kael focused on his father's back and followed him through the city like a zombie.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to a large villa that was surrounded by 8-foot walls. In front of the gate were two men in nice leather armor with swords at their hips. Their armor had been stained a dark brown and the symbol of a wolfs head was branded into the right breast. As Iradin approached he shouted, "Hey, tell Walt his delivery is here.”

One of the men clearly recognized him, nodding, he cracked the gate open and ran inside. 2 minutes later a man in his late 30s wearing nice but functional cotton garments came out. Reaching out to grab Iradin's hand he pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back.

“Iradin my friend, you are a week early this time!”

“My wife decided that we had to spend the new years together, so I have to make all my sales today and then rush back.”

“Who is the lad with you, your son?”

“Yes, this is Kael, my son. I brought him out to start experiencing the world.”

“Boy, don’t be a drag on your father, it seems like you have a long trip, you don’t want to miss the new years.”

Laughing at Walters nagging of his son, Iradin said, “Don’t underestimate him, he is already at the peak of body refinement.”

“No way, that pipsqueak is barely done with his mother's milk.”

Disgruntled with their banter Kael said, “Old man, I am going to go look for a gift. Where should I meet you in 2 hours or so?”

Laughing at his son's sour face, Iradin told him to meet at the broken twig tavern.

Before heading off Kael asked Walter, “Hey, you live in this place, where can I find nice ore, fancy clothes, and a leather worker?” Walter gave him directions to the area of town that the locals went for their artisan needs and Kael took off.

Jogging through the streets his small size came in handy. With only a few shouts of sorry for people he startled he ended up a dozen roads over into a much more subdued part of the city. Wandering a street that was half the size of the main road, Kael's first stop was a provisions store. Buying a large grey bag made of magical beast skin for 10 silver, Kael slung it single strap over his shoulder as he left. Finding a three-story shop called “The Hoard” that Walter had mentioned Kael walked in.

The interior of the shop was pretty big at about 1600 square feet. The walls were lined with all sorts of random weapons and armors. There were a dozen long shelves that took up the middle of the place, and a counter at the end. Walking up to the counter Kael was greeted by a young man in his late teens. “What can I do for you, kid?” he asked.

After looking at the weird jewelry and other accessories in the case, Kael looked up at the man and said, “I was told you sell ore here at a reasonable price. I want to take a look at anything you have that is heavy.”

The salesman laughed at him, “Kid all ores are heavy for someone your age, why don’t you come back with your parents instead of wasting my time?”Becoming annoyed, Kael told the guy he had lost some good sales before turning and leaving the place. Deciding he looked too much like a bumpkin he wandered down the street until he found a tailor.

Walking into the tailors' shop there were a few pre-made clothes of nice cotton, but the majority of the shop was taken up by bolts and bolts of cloth. An older lady in here sixties sat behind the counter with a younger woman in 20s. Chastising what Kael assumed was her granddaughter, the old woman kept shouting about how worthless the ladies man was.

Coughing slightly to get their attention, Kael then walked up and greeted them. “Young lady, you should really listen to your mother, they say age comes with wisdom you know.”

Garnering a laugh from the grandmother she asked him, “Child what can we do for you here?”

Looking at the kind old lady, Kael told her he was looking for a set of nicer cotton clothing for himself, as none of the shops would take him seriously otherwise. He also said he would like a sturdy but pretty cotton dress and a nicer silk dress for his mother. After hashing out the different sizes based on his memory, he ended up buying a dark green set of clothes with nice boots from the pre-made clothing. A bit of hemming later and he no longer looked like a hick.

Asking the old woman to give his worn clothes to a beggar kid, Kael paid up. It came to 1.2 gold for his mothers' clothing and 100 silver for his. Not having too much silver on him, Kael ordered a new pair of soft leather boots for both of his parents, and three more cotton garments for his mother. Overpaying, he gave the old woman 2 gold, asking her, “if possible can you have it done by tomorrow evening?” Getting her agreement he turned around to leave. When he turned around a pale violet bolt of cloth caught his eye. Walking over to it and feeling it, it felt like running your hand through a cloud of cool mist on a hot summer's day.

Looking back to see the two ladies watching him with hawk eyes, he asked how much it was. Finding out the bolt was 40g, Kael about dropped a load in his pants. Running his hands over the cloth again he made his decision. Walking back to the counter he asked them for a piece of parchment and a quill. “If you ladies can make what I draw I will buy the cloth and give you an additional 10 gold for the manufacturing.”

The young ladies eye lit up, she ran through a door in the back thinking, who knew this little shit was rich, no wonder he was pissed he couldn’t buy anything elsewhere. Coming back into the main room she handed the parchment and pen over. Kael laid out the parchment on the counter and began to draw a dress.

The dress was designed to be tight around the waist, but ankle length with a slight flare at the bottom for easy movement. The neckline was a basic conservative design, but the arms were loose for easy movement as well. The sleeves slightly tightened at the wrist before a draping piece, about 6 inches in length, extended from the inside of the sleeve, down past the hands. Drawing some flowing patterns down the arms and from the armpit to the base of the dress. He then shaded in from the elbow and knee area and below, with shading that got progressively darker until it was solid black around the hems. “The shading should be a lighter blue that progresses to a solid dark blue, like a progression from violet into a blue. If you can, make the neck area a deep purple that transitions into violet before meeting the blue too.” Adding heights and dimension of Raen based on his impeccable memory he slid the paper over towards the young woman before looking up.

The two ladies were shocked to see a young kid draw out a dress design, color scheme, and dimensions in less than 2 minutes. The old woman patted his head and said, “Boy, if you were a local I would make you come work in my shop. This will be a very nice gift for your little girlfriend.”

Blushing some, Kael said it was just his friend before paying up. Leaving the shop that was filled with the laughter of the two ladies, Kael decided to find part 2 of his gift.

Heading down the street he found a leather workers shop. Heading inside the smell of rawhide struck him like a fist. The shop was filled with bags, packs, and an assortment of armor. Going up to the middle-aged man behind the counter he said, “Sir, do you make custom leathers here?”

The old man looked Kael over once before saying, “Yeah but it is expensive.”

“That’s fine, how much do you charge in labor for pauldrons, bracers, a breastplate, and a leather skirt? Oh, and the bracers should cover the hands and topmost knuckles.” Hearing Kael’s detailed request, the man gave him a serious look before quoting him 10 gold. “That’s acceptable, I will pay you twice that to build something with my design.” Nodding to Kael the old man reached out to shake his hand, signifying the deal was done. “Do you sell leathers here, or should I go shop around and come back?”

The man hearing he could make some more money lifted the side of the counter and waved him back. Heading through the back door he enters a storehouse area filled with piles of skins, leathers, and hides. Digging around for 20 minutes, Kael finally found what he was looking for. Pulling out a soft leather that was a shade darker than midnight blue he nodded to himself. Rolling up the 10 by 6 chunk of leather he carried it over to the shop owner. “How much for this?”

Sizing it up the man said, “1 Gold per square foot. Making something for someone your size will use less than half.” Nodding at the price Kael examined the leather quickly to find out it was from a rank 7 cat type magical beast.

“Good, I’ll take half, if you have enough left over, make some boots, shin and thigh guards, and I will throw in another 5 gold.” Coming to an agreement the man handed Kael a piece of hide to draw on and a quill. Beginning to sketch it out he quickly scrapped it. Sketching out a new one, it turned out to be a trench coat looking thing.

It had a high folded collar that raised up to just beneath the ear. It was split from the left side of the neck to the right hip. The area beneath the waste was split into four leather flaps like suit tails. One for the front, slimmer ones for each hip, and one for the back. The tails hung down to about the knees. Across the diagonal opening, Kael sketched on a set of 5 buckles and a few hooks.

The end product was more like a double-breasted coat, where the chest had two layers. Some easy clasps on the inside would hold it together while the stylish buckles would lock it firmly in place. Looking up at the leatherworker he said, “I changed my mind, just make the jacket, a set of leather pants, and some boots. The pants should be black, or almost black, so the set is not just a blob of midnight blue. Reinforce the normal impact areas, but the looks of the reinforcements have to flow with the jacket and pants design. It’s a gift for a girl so it is important to look nice.”

Looking at the drawing that was completely different than what was originally discussed, the man shrugged and said, “I’m not changing my price, come back tomorrow night.”

Thanking him, Kael headed out of the store and started looking around for a smith to buy some ores. Spending an hour of time bouncing from one smith to the next he finally found a black porous ball of ore that was about half the size of a head. Picking it up he exclaimed at its roughly 1,000-pound weight. Examining it, he found it was an Earth tiered, rank 2 ore, simply called Night’s Ton. Carrying it over to the smith and haggling it out he got it for 30 gold. Afterward, he bought a small, but reinforced leather bag to put it in.

Feeling his money pouch and realizing he only had about 10 gold left until his father handed over his split of the 55, he headed to the tavern. After getting directions and lost a few times, he finally found the place. The area was swarming with mercenaries on the street and looked like a slightly rough part of the city. Walking into the tavern that had a large broken branch as its logo, the only thing Kael could think was, it smells like 2-week old beer in here.

Looking around the not so well lighted interior, the majority of it was taken up with 4, 30 foot long tables. Each table just had simple log benches on either side of them. The back area had a half-dozen round tables with 5 chairs encircling them. About two third of the place was filled with mercenaries eating and drinking. Squeals from the decently pretty barmaids would break through the loud atmosphere every few seconds as another ass was slapped or grabbed. Seeing his father at one of the tables with Walter and two other burly looking mercs Kael headed over.

Sitting down next to his dad he said, “Does mom know that you live in brothels when you come here?”

Hearing his son’s comment while he was in mid-drink, Iradin spluttered out a mouthful of ale while mercenaries laughed at him. “This is a tavern, not a brothel, don’t you dare spout any of that nonsense to Varah.”

Grinning, Kael said, “You can buy my silence with a room key and a half of what profit you made off these poor hardworking men.”

Rolling his eyes, Iradin handed over 22 gold and a key. “Your room is number 3, the second on the right upstairs.”

Taking the money and key, Kael sat his small leather pack gently on the table. “Good, this thing is too heavy to haul around, I’ll be back in an hour or so, bye!” Standing up, Kael split like a rabbit before anyone could stop him.

Laughing at Iradin again, Walter said, “I thought you said not to underestimate your son’s strength, not his ability to blackmail.” Reaching out, Walter grabbed the pack, expecting it to be 20 or 30 pounds, the leather slipped out of his fingers as it did not even move. Taking a second look at the pouch, he took a strong grip on the leather strap and lifted it over to him.Shocked at the weight he let it hit the table with a dull crash that was followed by a cracking noise from the thick table. “What the fuck do you feed that kid, this thing is like a half ton.”

Grabbing the interest of the other three men, he opened the pouch to reveal the dark black ball of ore. Taking it out of the pouch and rolling it back and forth between his hands he said, “Shit you weren’t joking. That brat sat this on the table like it was nothing. This little ball of ore is seriously 1,000 pounds.”

Handing it over to Iradin, who was shocked at his son's find, he just smiled proudly as he said, “I told you that brat is buff. You should have seen my shock when I found him carrying logs over to help me build a fence. Oh did I mention that was when he was three!”

“That’s a bit creepy, but at least you know your kid isn’t a waste. What the hell is he doing buying an ore like that though?”

Placing the ore back into its pouch, Iradin said, “He has been apprenticing as a blacksmith for a while now. That old man is stingy with his good ores, Kael probably wants to make something for himself.”

Not knowing his father was talking him up, Kael had wandered around until he found a large herb shop called Pharmacology Now. Heading in, this shops counter was right at the door. The entire shop was long and skinny. It had shelves of herbs lining all the walls, with one row of shelves running down the middle. As soon as he entered a man behind the counter asked, “Anything we can do for you, son?”

Looking over at the young man who had a face you would just love to hate, he said, “No I’m good when I check the quality of your herbs I’ll give you a list of what I want.”

Ignoring the man, Kael walked in and began examining different herbs. Seeing that the herbs were not great quality, but at least passable, he continued to browse while making a list in his head. Finding a pile of Flame Burst, he remembered back to that phoenix flight recipe that seemed bunk. Examining the herbs properties, he decided he could make the same potion by replacing the two gold fingers with 1 flame burst.

After wandering the shop and knowing he was pretty screwed on experience unless he got some new recipes, he decided to get 40 sets of qi gathering potion herbs, and 50 sets of minor phoenix flight potion herbs. Heading to the counter the man asked, “You done wasting time and taking up space in the shop now kid?”

Looking at the sneering man, Kael loudly said, “I’m not sure what is with your attitude, but if this is how you treat customers, I can go elsewhere. I have a delivery to complete if you're not selling just say so.”

An old voice rang out from the back of the shop after Kael’s outburst. “Oi, what the ruckus about out there?”

The shopkeeper responded with a shout of, “Just some kid, I’m kicking him out now.”

Hearing this, Kael was pissed. Shouting, “Yeah just a kid who wanted to buy a couple hundred herbs. My gold is apparently not good in this shit hole though.” Turning around and leaving his also shouted out, “Oh, and my employer is 3 merc groups, who also will not be buying from here in the future either.” Leaving the store amidst an old man screaming at the young shopkeeper, Kael found another apothecary.

Walking into the new place, Kael was not in the mood to deal with anything. He went to the counter, slapped 10 gold on it and said, “Give me 40 golden leaf, 40 timid rose, 40 tang-kui, 50 flame burst, and 100 sundew. Make it fast and the extra two gold in this pile is yours.”

The guy behind the counter was in his mid-teens, seeing a two gold tip, he immediately shouted “Ok” and ran off to get the herbs. Picking out decent ones in hope for a return customer, he came back carrying bundle after bundle of herbs. Looking through them and nodding, Kael began to pack them up in his sling bag. The shopkeeper seeing Kael manhandling the herbs sighed.

Hearing the sigh he said, “Don’t worry they will be refined in a day or two at max. You have decent quality here too. My pops buys a few hundred sets of herbs every three months. I’ll send him here for the next order in a few months, thanks, man!”

Slinging his pack over his shoulder he turned and left the dumbfounded shop clerk behind. The clerk snapped out of it and quickly ran to inform the owner of a big order that may come in regularly.