Goodie was in the market district.

He should have been outside the city on his way to parts unknown, but he needed supplies. The waggon train that Jeremy had him on would only help him with some of his day to day needs, with the condition that he do so in turn for the rest of the people that would be sharing their journey. While he was willing to do so, he had no idea what he could bring to the table in terms of help. He was a glorified exterminator and even then, one that was solely specialised in rats.

He was going to have to learn how to hunt and gather in the following months, to provide for himself at least. Jeremy had promised that the new settlement and its adventurers he was heading to had the same skills as those of the city, so their basic infrastructure should roughly be the same as what he had grown used to this past year. But this assessment came from talking with the people who were part of the expedition. They’re hardly going to describe their own town as a smouldering pus hole, now were they?

So here he was. The heart of the city’s monument to capitalism.

The market district was a marvel to behold. A large strip of land, originally meant to be a copy of New York’s Central park, now dedicated to the worship of commerce. The place was a labyrinth of shops and stalls with every inch of ground contested for by the merchants that lay claim to it. While the chaotic mess that the district had become was the original intent behind its creation, the creators being the type of geeks who preferred atmosphere over efficiency, the city kept trying to inject order into it through the introduction of malls.

From arcades to strip-malls, fashion centres to lifestyle centres, Goodie had no idea what any of that meant, but it was all there. With each summoned that came through, or at least the ones interested in architecture, a new abomination would rise. A description more fact than exaggeration, as the lack of well-defined property laws and general oversight had let each attempt to bring order be twisted and defiled. The merchants who would infest each building even before construction had finished, in the hopes of gaining some advantage over their peers, had taken to modifying anything they could get away with.

The rooms and floors of the multitude of malls were in a constant state of flux, as with the drawing of each new battle-line and the forging of each new alliance, the establishments would expand and contract, the use of earth bending magics allowing such modification to finish within hours. The results creating a forest of ever changing, ever growing hives that danced in a mocking, inorganic display of evolution. Hideously beautiful, if you were into that sort of thing.

Ever collapsing as well, he thought, as large chunks of…something started falling off the side of the Nutopia complex. Thankfully, for whoever owned that mess at least, the lack of laws also meant the lack of lawsuits.

Goodie turned away from the fascinating display of human stupidity. He had more important things concern himself with. He patted a hand on the pack that lay against his side, reassuring himself as he felt a stack of papers within. A ‘gift’ from the city.

The list of things he would need on his journey. It was as long as his arm and would probably cost him twice that, plus a leg. Thankfully, Jeremy said that the city was footing most of the bill for services he had rendered. When he asked what said services were, he was told that it was classified for the sake of the city’s security.

Their response that had his paranoia doing backflips ever since.

Saving a noble lady might have put him in their favour, but he did it by attacking another noble. Hardly the type of trouble the city would let go unpunished, let alone consider rewarding. Goodie assumed that they were giving him the golden handshake to get him to leave as quickly and as quietly as possible. Pricks.

He could, of course, cause trouble for them. The council may have ruled the city but they still required the support of all the other earthers. If he spread word that he was being sold-out they would be marching en-mass on city hall within the hour. Out of self-interest more than anything else. But in his self-interest, he had to keep his mouth shut. Any other action, other than doing as he was told, would get him nothing but an early grave.

He could feel his face tightening; his feelings relentlessly eroding what little dignity he had left. The memory of yesterday, of being held by the old man when he’d lost control of himself, would haunt him for ever. He was sixteen! What kind of sixteen-year-old needed to be held because he couldn’t stop crying. The saddest part was that that moment was probably the closest he had felt to being cared about since his parents had died.

He shook his head, an attempt to clear his mind; failing to do so, he focused on the task at hand instead.

He turned right, nearly bumping into one of his shadows. Not his demon, one of the two guards that Jeremy had assigned to escort him for the day. They wouldn’t reveal their names for some reason, barely talked at all really, so he labelled them one and two. He was sure someone else would have come up with some witty reference to an obscure geek meme, but he had neither the imagination nor memory for that. So, one and two.

The three of them headed to the Adventurer’s Inventory a local owned shop that would cater to all his adventurous needs. Or so he was told. The numericals behind him were mum on the matter and the old man wasn’t the adventuring type, beyond that he didn’t know anyone who would give him an opinion on it.

The front of the place was made entirely of glass, the whole effect giving the impression of high-end grocery store. He didn’t like it. While the shops back home came in all shapes and sizes, something about the store in front of him was just…off. Its style, building materials, or something else he couldn’t identify threw of the whole thing, like finding a knock-off of a name brand product. Close enough to fool a casual glance, but once you actually looked at it? Not right.

He and his entourage entered the store through a pair of wide, glass doors. They did not open automatically. Earth – one, Magic - Zero.

His paranoia took a moment from its seventh acrobatic routine of the day to remind him that an omnipotent deity could have been reading his thought right then; judging him for every snarky comment that fluttered through his mind.

Fuck, he hated this world, he thought. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked for any would be brain molesters. No, no, he loved this world, he thought loudly, very…magicky, and…lots of stuff; trying to think of more to say, his mind suddenly became a void, an absolute silence, save for one lone voice, the one at the back of his head, whose sole purpose, was to remind him that he was being a moron.

His thoughts were disrupted as he heard the doors behind him shut. The door issued a soft click that left him feeling trapped. He grabbed the pack at his side, hoping that the papers within would somehow protect him.

The armed escort may have given the wrong impression as moments after entering the store, a finely dressed man presented himself to the trio. The store manager or the owner? Possibly both, he thought.

“How may I help you today, good gentleman?” The man asked. His accent was thick but his pronunciation clear.

Goodie handed him the list of his needs and a number of signed papers that promised the city’s payment for goods and services. The took a briefly glanced it over before handing it to one of his assistants that seemed to appear from nowhere. His action could have been interpreted as one of dismissal, but Goodie felt it was more a matter of experience with dealing with such orders.

“All that you have requested shall be delivered to your waggon by the end of the day. Now, is there anything else that you require of me, young sir?”

Goodie wanted to scream yes, in fact he just wanted to scream. He wanted the man to tell him how to go back to his dull boring life, to go back to when his only worry was getting on Ms Kolsin's bad side. But he couldn’t. The man wouldn’t know and Goodie would only end up on floor again, crying his eyes out like a new born child. All because he could not, even in a world of fantasy and magic, deal with real life. Goodie just shook his head.

“Well, if you change your mind, do not hesitate to call on me, young sir.” He said, and with a wave of his hand and a small bow, he tuned and left.

Goodie looked around the store. There should have been something more to do, but Jeremy had actually covered everything on the list, from armour and weapons to bug repellent. He briefly considered ordering two of everything as one final fuck you to the city, but that would have been both petty and stupid. By angering the city, he would only have screwed himself.

With everything taken care of, he made for the exit.

His pace slowed as he began to wonder why he had to come at all if all he needed to do was hand-over some papers? They could have just told the uno duo behind him to deliver it on his behalf. Wasn’t being out in the open exposing him to more danger?

Goodie stopped at that last thought, his mind beginning to race with various possibilities as to why he was here. They said they were footing the bill for services rendered, what if they actually meant that? The only time he had heard of the city handing over cash was to buy influence. He had none to give, but what if they made a deal with the noble?

Yes, Jeremy and others vouched that while the council wasn’t perfect, it would still stick up for the people from earth, but Goodie wasn’t naive enough to believe that a bunch of politicians would have his back. Especially if that prick had offered them trade rights or whatever it was called. Anyone could have told you that the city had been looking for a way around the unofficial embargo for decades. If the arse-face offered it to them, the city would let him do as he pleased so long as no one found out.

The hairs along his neck stood at full attention as Goodie became extremely aware of the city hired escort behind him. He didn’t turn round. If he was going to die, he would have preferred that he never saw it coming. A moment later, a second that lasted an eternity, he began to walk forward.

He headed towards the main road.