The time between the female guard leaving and returning felt like it was a long time to Victor, despite it not being more than just a moment. While waiting for her to return he spoke a little bit with the guard who first said hi when he came in. It turned out his name was Chial and he came from a family that would normally not have had the chance to join the military if not for the fact he did well enough at some combat event to draw some eyes.

It seemed that connections in this world, like what Victor remembered back home, was something powerful that could get a person to what they wanted to accomplish more easily than many other assets.

The capital would sometimes hold events where people who would normally be unnoticed could be noticed and offered the opportunity to do more. Speaking with Chial he felt that the man was proud of the job he now had. The tone of voice and the way he moved his arms showed a sort of pride that was beyond what he had seen in any other guard or soldier or anyone he had met since coming to this world really. This helped Victor feel more relaxed about the situation that he had found himself in.

Victor was just about to offer Chial the chance to try out his pen when the woman returned, pepper spray in hand.

“One of the research people were hoping you wouldn’t return for this so they could do a bit of an examination of it. New magical tools are always a cause for curiosity after all. I don’t suppose you would be willing to sell it to us for a fair price.”

With his hand held out, Victor smiled just a bit, “Ah sorry. It’s both useful and a sort of well I don’t think it would be worth studying. I mean I am sure you have stuff that works well too. Maybe something that shoots into a person and has a small amount of elec…… lighting energy that can make them unable to move? Or something like a sticky goo in a bottle you can throw and if it breaks makes them have a hard time moving?”

Victor's suggestions came from how his family dealt with bugs around the house. A bug zapper hanging outside near the door and sticky paper to trap whatever stepped down onto it. They haven’t had to do that since he was a kid, but he knew from experience that both of them could be a bother to someone who wasn’t expecting it. He remembered being told, more than once, about when he got his hands stuck on a glue trap as a kid.

Turning the pepper spray in her hand, before returning it to Victor, the woman seemed hesitant to let it go.

“If you change your mind just come here and I’ll find someone to buy it from you. We’ll even buy it if the magic is drained as long as it’s not broken.”

With what little Victor knew about magical tools, he understood why people would think that the pepper spray was one. He made a mental note to look into some of the magical tools that people used, remembering how he sold a lighter to Elya. He couldn’t help but wonder if he got a good price for it or not.

“I’ll keep that in mind Ma’am, but for now I want to keep it…….. Do I need to do anything else?”

Chial made a dismissive motion with his hand, “Not at all. If the tool had killed the guy then there would be more that we would need to figure out from your end, but at this point, it should be fine. He will be punished for his crime. Since it was unsuccessful it won’t be too harsh but it also wasn’t his first so it won’t be too simple either. If you think you have anything missing just let us know though and we will see it if was on his person. And hopefully, we won’t have to see you again anytime soon unless you do want to sell the spray.”

From there Victor took his leave and returned to the inn. He practically fell asleep the moment he was on the bed and slept heavily until the sun started to get into his eyes. Waking up when his body felt ready was a dramatic contrast to waking up like he usually would, with the alarm on his phone going off. A lot more peaceful, even if it was less precise.

The first part of the day was fairly uneventful. Breakfast, cleaning, and moving some things from point A to point B. Although, when Victor used that term, he was given a bit of a look from the innkeeper who said something that he couldn’t quite hear. Either way, it wasn’t too long before he was back in his room packing stuff in the purse telling himself that this time he would actually sell some of what he had.

Once he walked out Victor began to think about where he could sell what he had with him. He left the pads behind, unsure of if it was something they had here or would even be able to sell. Instead, he took about half of the pens and pencils, a lighter, and the cell phone chargers that he planned to say was some sort of decorative rope or twine and hope for the best. While his phone was dead and the flash drives had no use to him he left them behind. Mostly because he wasn’t sure how he could convince someone to buy them.

It didn’t take Victor to long to find what he decided to look for first. A tailor. At least that was the only thing that sprung to mind when he noticed the hanging sign that had a spool of thread and a needle for its logo. Besides that, the fact that there were a few tunics hanging just withing the window prevented any doubt as he walked in.

Behind the counter sat a man who was doing some sewing. It was a little hard to tell what it was, but from the size and actually mostly the size Victor thought it was probably some sort of a hat.

“One moment let me put my needle away and………. there we go. So oh my that is a very colorful top you have on. Do you need someone to make more of it for some play or something? I might struggle with the blue splashed in the middle since it looks dyed instead of sewn, but I think I have the right colors to make both colors jump out like yours does. Let me guess…… A play about those who had their hearts removed by a lich? The red showing death and the blue where their heart should be?”

Victor thought back to a school play he was in. He got the part he wanted. A small part, but enough for him to be able to add it to a college application as an extra circular. He even had a few lines and was told to try out again next year. Although that one was more of a musical so he decided against it.

“Actually,” Victor started, “I need to buy some clothes and I was hoping what I am wearing could be used in trade? Or maybe I can come back once I sell some of the other items that I have in my bag if that won’t work.”

Before he finished telling the tailor his intent the man had approached him. He only lightly looked at Victors’ clothing when he noticed and grabbed the purse.

“Your clothing maybe not so much but this bag. The stitching. The design. The color. How good the material is. The strap is adjustable. This…… thing that is keeping it closed, how does it open? Is there some special technique to it? I see there are outer pockets of sorts, not something most bags have. To be honest, while your clothing is a bit flashy I am more interested in this. Are you willing to part with it for a small gold coin? Assuming, of course, it can be opened by anyone easily. It would be nearly worthless if it can’t be opened easily. I’d still buy it then, but not for nearly as much.”

With how insistent that the man was about looking at the purse, Victor let it go to let him have an easier time looking at it. This was only for a little bit before he Cleared his throat and pulled the purse back to him without saying a word. Once back in his possession he made a demonstration of opening and closing the zipper.

“It’s pretty simple to open. Just pull it one way and the other direction to close. And you said one small gold coin for this?”

The man seemed so enthralled with the purse but was still aware enough to not take anything out. Victor took the moment to look at the tailor a bit more closely.

Slightly taller than he was. Maybe five foot nine or ten as far as he could tell.

While the man did a good job of hiding it with his clothing, Victor thought he looked like he doesn’t eat properly. A bit to thin and perhaps in need of a few proper meals, unless it was something the man did on purpose for style. He had heard horror stories about fashion models starving themselves before.

Between how thin he was and the clothing choice he looked a bit taller than he actually was. Even his hair was spiked up ever so slightly giving him another little bit of height.

The style the man wore made Victor wonder if it was for business or personal reasons that he was like that when the man's words took his attention away.

“This is a wonderful piece of craftsmanship. I will give you a small gold coin for it and you can use that to shop for what you like here and I’ll even throw in a basic pouch for the contents it holds if you are so inclined. It is a wonderful item that I hope you are willing to part with.”

Somehow, the mans’ eyes almost sparkled at the possibility of getting the purse.

“I was actually planning to just sell my clothes. I wasn’t so sure about my pu…. bag.” Victor said with just a small hint of hesitation in his voice.

“Then I will make you a deal,” the man exclaimed excitedly, “Sell me the bag and I will also trade that outfit you have on for two outfits from the everyday merchandise area and still give you the coin and the bag. I will even hold onto your clothing for five days in case you want to buy them back later.”

Victor went over the money system here. Small copper became large. After that small silver and large. Last, as far as he knew at least, was small gold and large. While he wasn’t sure how good a small gold, in value, it was more money than he had gotten so far and he wouldn’t have to worry about the inn price.

“Don’t suppose you can do just a little better?”

While Victor was going to take the deal he did remember something he read once about how it never hurts to make them think you aren’t as happy as they are before you take the deal. He hoped that this was true here as well.

“Sorry I won’t make any better offers than the one I just made,” the tailor stated bluntly, “I might gain a lot from this or nearly nothing. If I do learn how to make them though I would be willing to sell you one at a discount, that’s all.”

Accepting the deal Victor put his items in the pouch he was given. When he was offered the golden coin he asked if he could get it in smaller coins instead. A request that the tailor was able to accommodate.

About an hour passed as the two of them went over clothing options, only stopping when another client came in to pick up a custom order. With the way the tailor spoke, Victor assumed it was someone with some amount of social status from how he was treated. Either way, in the end, he got two pairs of pants and two shirts along with a belt since it seems that zippers weren’t used on anything he could get.

With that thought, a small part of him hoped this man would be able to figure out zippers from the purse. Then perhaps he could have something closer to proper pants in the future even if this guy capitalized on it.

Leaving the shop with one new outfit worn and another bound in twine, Victor thought on where he might sell the other items he had. The power cords he had no real clue about, perhaps some sort of general goods store, but the pens he thought maybe one of the guard stations since they had to write up a lot of reports. The only problem he could think of was would that be something they were allowed to buy without the ok from higher up?

He didn’t know anyone who did any law enforcement or government work back home, but he couldn’t help but think there were rules and regulations and that this might be somewhere with the same sort of issues.

Perhaps somewhere that sold books. If there was a written language there were bound to be books. The way the written language worked made him wonder if their books were like the ones he was used to.

The written language was a single straight line for each word with more lines protruding from it that almost looked musical. Apparently, the ones who started the language did this to let the people know when one word stopped and the other ended. Victor couldn’t help but chuckle as he found the way it was done to be a bit ridiculous, but with how odd English could be at times he felt he had no room to talk.

As he continued walking, Victor started to think about it more and thought about why he was able to speak the local language. What had happened that day wouldn’t have worked if they couldn’t speak, but also wouldn’t have worked if they could read. A twinge of guilt caused him to stop in his tracks.

Thinking back to those first moments in this world, the first several hours especially, when he had his card in his hand and his classmates had, in his opinion, their much more impressive items. He remembered what he saw Steve had before he had to run and he had to wonder how much of what he had been told was true versus a lie.

For now, he thought that he would go to the guild, after leaving his other outfit at the inn. He stopped to get something to eat on the way, a sort of meal box. At least if you could consider a hollowed out loaf bread a box. Inside of it was a chunk of meat, a small cluster of four small purple fruit that were about twice the size of a grape, and a chunk of cheese. Most of it was dry except for the fruits which seemed to almost be drinkable when he first bit into them.

Thinking about what the others got upon their arrival, Victor took the card out of his pouch. The fact that it was more detailed now was nice, but what he saw stopped him in his tracks, just as he was about to enter the guild.

The back of the card was exactly as he remembered it since looked at it, but on the other side, there was one big difference. Instead of the mostly blank patch of white, there was the perfect image of a quarter with the word quarter written directly under it.