The town was bigger than Sweet Meadow. It was surrounded by a large wooden wall. Kit could see turrets at the corner joints of the wall. They were raised at least one story higher than the top of the walls of the fortification.

‘This town is surprisingly well protected, is it near higher level monsters?’ Kit decided to ask if Kai knew the answer.

“Most towns are not like Sweet Meadow, a little village like that is surrounded by low level areas. They don’t have to worry about monster attacks. The creatures in that area are easily killed by the town folk. Low level monsters rarely initiate an attack, they would be more likely to run away.”

“Most towns are like Flower Field town. They are surrounded by a fortification to protect the town’s people from monster invasions. They rarely happen, but if the town is not prepared it can be devastating for the inhabitants. Some smaller towns have been completely wiped out before from not having proper protection.”

“The town will have a military presence, like a town guard to defend against monster attacks and to police the citizens. Of course, the larger the population the more defence and guards a town will have.”

As they approached the town, Kit could see the large wooden gate was open to allow traffic to flow in and out of the town. At the side of the road was a guard house to monitor passage through the gates.

“There will be a small fee, to enter town. We will pay at the guard’s station.” Kai informed.

Kit approached the guard station, a gravelly uninterested voice greeted him.

“Welcome to Flower Field town, 5 bronze crowns to enter.” Drawled a bored looking guard. The guard extended his hand to take the payment. He was sloppily dressed in a dull grey uniform with a red flower embroidered on the chest. Two buttons were missing from the top around his belly, leaving a gaping hole that showed the dirty white under shirt.

Kit thought if this village was attacked by monsters, they might be wiped out. If this was what the protecting security looked like. Kit handed over his fee, then walk towards the gate.

Ding!

[CAL]

[Map Found: Flower Field Town.]

Rewards: 50 EXP, 1 Flower Field Town reputation point.

The first thing Kit noticed walking through the gates was the size of the roads inside the town. They were large enough to fit two carts abreast. They were like roads on earth with a lip to a raised walking path for pedestrians. Kit could see storm drains sporadically along the road. The road had changed from the compressed dirt to cobblestones.

The buildings had the same feel as Sweet Meadow. They were of a similar design from medieval Europe. The structures had two different formats. The more common was built with a timber frame with walls made of twigs and mud.

The other buildings had a more upscale design using stone patchwork to complete the walls. Both types of buildings had a thatched roof. Just by his initial glance around the town Kit could tell Flower Field town was more advanced than Sweet Meadow.

The town was three times as large as Sweet Meadow. Buildings were closer together and towards the centre of the town there was no space between the walls of structures. It was like they were one large building, they were that close.

Surprisingly the smell of the town was a lot cleaner than Sweet Meadow. Kit thought it might be due to the sewer system being developed causing the sanitation of the town to improve.

“Now that you are safely in town. I will take my leave.” Kai gave a slight nod to each of them.

“Goodbye Kai.”

Kit and Mars spoke in unison. Kai then walked off towards the town centre without turning back.

“Is it a thing here to not prolong goodbyes? Kai was a lot faster at cutting them off than Iris,” observed Kit.

“He has always been abrupt from what I have seen, so his goodbye makes sense. Now that he has gone, what’s our plan now that we are in town?”

“We should find a place to take Pint first, we can’t take him around town with us all day.” Kit thought this should be a common problem so there should be some stables in which to place Pint for the day.

Mars must have had the same thought as him. Mars had approached a young girl walking past.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where the stables are?”

The young girl blushed as Mars was speaking to her. She pointed her hands back towards where they had come through the gate. Off to the side of the gate was a large stable. ‘How the frozen figs did we miss that.’

“It’s just o-over there.” stuttered the young girl.

Mars bowed, “Thankyou young miss.”

The girl blushed an even deeper red and then hurried off. ‘Mars the lady Killer. Well, I suppose he is good looking.’

Mars led Pint over to the stables. The large wooden structure was built against the walls of the town. It was simply made with a large pen surrounding the length of the stalls. Kit counted twenty stalls. Each stall was filled with fresh straw and a small trough with water. It looked clean, even though it was well worn from use.

Kit could tell the stalls were regularly cleaned. There was a smell of manure, but it wasn’t overwhelming. A middle aged man was brushing a dusty brown horse as they approached. He was dressed in old clothing, well worn from overuse. There were multiple patches over his shirt. When he smiled his teeth were a yellow brown colour.

“Need a stall lad, 10 bronze crowns for the night.”

“Please, this is Pint,” Mars pause for a beat.

“He is a little fussy, so I wouldn’t advise much interaction with him.”

The stable master gave Mars a knowing look. “It’s alright, I’m used to the feisty one’s, so don’t worry lad. Leave him here and I’ll take care of him.”

“Umm, is it alright if I take him into the stall. He really is a hand full.”

“Go ahead, you can have the sixth one on the right.” Mars led Pint into the stall, then filled a bowl with beer for him.

“Be good and we’ll pick you up tomorrow.” Mars handed over the bronze crowns and returned to Kit.

“Now that is sorted, where to now?” Mars looked at Kit for his answer.

“Let’s sell some of our items first, then we can look for the library.”

“What ingredients do you want? I’ll give them to you now, so I don’t sell them.” Mars eyes shifted from having contact with Kit to staring off into space. Kit still thought it was strange to see someone looking inside their menu.

This had become a routine throughout the journey to Flower Field. Mars would hand over any ingredients he thought Kit would need for cooking. Mars had given Kit the bulk of the things he had collected. Kit felt a little guilty because they didn’t have much to sell.

“I’m pretty sure you gave them to me last night. If we continue like this, I’ll need some storage chests that work the same as my pouch or a storage shed. That’s not a bad idea I could have a storage shed at the back of the restaurant. That would save me money on purchasing items.”

Kit put that idea away for future exploration and returned to the prospect of making money selling his items.

“We have the stones we collected after defeating the King of the Apelops, so maybe a jeweller to sell the items to? Do you have an idea how much we should be asking for?”

“I don’t know the price we should ask for, but it’s not hard to find out.” Mars had a similar glint in his eye to when he was about to start fighting.

‘Should I be worried right now? That look gets me into dangerous situations.’

“How do we find out?”

‘Damn it Kit don’t ask. I don’t want to die inside a town, that would be too embarrassing. Mars goes from being an easy-going guy to a maniac when that look shows up in his eyes.’ Kit started to get lost in thought about the possible ways Mars was going to get him killed.

“We just look in the jewellery shop at the selling price of the stone. Then deduct 40%, that is usually the set price the shopkeepers buy items from adventurers. If you’re good at haggling, then instead of 60% of the sale price you can increase your percent to 80%. I haven’t unlocked my negotiating skill yet, so it’ll be a while before I can reach that percentage.”

Mars manic look was still lingering in his eyes.

“On earth I would say I’m a professional at haggling. I learnt from my mother, my father always said my mother turns into a demon in front of a salesclerk.”

‘This look I think I will look forward too. I can see imaginary coins floating around Mars. I will definitely let Mars handle all the haggling in the future.’

Kit opened his inventory to retrieve the Red Jasper and Silver Leaf Jasper loot he received from the killing Swift Feet. Kit noticed he had other stones in his inventory, he had momentarily forgotten about them. He had the extra Red Jasper Snowball had given him, plus the seven stones he got from his initial exchange with Snowball when they first met.

Kit pulled out the unidentified stones, he tried once again to identify them. The first stone was the large dull red stone the size of his palms. It was still warm to the touch like it had been heated by sitting next to his skin. On closer inspection, the stone was more of a cloudy transparent dull red. Inside the stone, thousands of tiny sparkling white glimmers could be seen.

Kit used identify on the warm red stone.

[unable to identify]

‘Still can’t identify this one. I’ll put it aside for now and look at the rest. Kit held the other six stones in his hand, he used identify.

[Pure Moonstone, fine]

[Blue moonstone, fine]

[Green moonstone, fine]

[Red moonstone, superior]

[Rose moonstone, flawless]

[Sparkling moonstone, good quality]

Semi-Precious gemstones

Can be used by various specialty sub classes as crafting material.

The six stones were of various shapes none bigger than a watch face. Each stone had a cloudy appearance, the colours swirled inside the stone giving off a faint light. Each colour was as dazzling as the one beside it, Kit’s eyes were drawn to the beautiful rainbow of colours.

Hopefully the price is as brilliant as the stones. Kit handed the stones over to Mars, his manic look started to intensify as he gazed at the large unidentified dull red stone.

“This one must be worth quite a bit, I still can’t identify it. Put it back inside your pouch for now, we might have to take it to an appraiser to find out what it is. I would rather do that in a city so we can lose ourselves in a big crowd, if we need.”

Kit put the stone away. “Why would we have to lose ourselves in the crowd if we are going to an NPC for appraisal?”

“Kit did you seriously just ask that, you know NPC’s can steal from us too, right. Until we are at a level where we can defend ourselves we will have to be extra careful.”

“I forgot that can happen. Will we be able to sell the stones we have then?”

“These should be ok, none of them are precious stones they’re all semi-precious.”

Kit started to get excited about the stones. He had a little spring in his step as they started to look around for a jeweller. They were starting to receive some weird looks from passers-by. Kit put it down to Mars clothes until he overheard a couple passing by.

“Look at that fellow, what is he trying to be? His clothes are weird. Melba quick look at his eyes they’re not right, it looks like he will attack you, if you look at him funny.”

“That look is so creepy. The last time I saw a look that intense, was when old hippo killed the Sleaford that killed his favourite dog. I hope that purple haired fellow is ok. Should we check? Maybe he is being coerced into something bad.”

“Melba, mind your own business. Let’s hurry back home before there is trouble.”

Kit thought it was hilarious Mars was mistaken for a bad guy. He could understand why, Mars’ look was intense with a side of crazy right now.

“Mars I can’t wait to see you in action haggling for a good price. Hopefully I can pick up some skills from you.”

“Just watch and learn, I will put on a good show for you.” Mars was practically glowing at the prospect of a good bargain.

“I noticed one of the stones was classified as flawless, I’m guessing that’s good.”

“Good guess, it’s the top quality. They are classified from poor, average, fine, good quality, superior then flawless. We should be able to make some money from these. I don’t know how common the stones are, that will impact the price too.”

The street they were walking down headed towards a large plaza. Markets stalls were set up in the middle of the large square. The buildings around the plaza looked like they were all under one long roof, it was difficult to see where one store started and stopped. The only way Kit could tell there were different shops, was a scattering of doors around the square.

Multiple roads lead into the marketplace, bringing foot traffic from all directions. Kit was looking at the shops as they walked down the increasingly crowded road towards the centre of the square. The stone façade of the shops in the square made the buildings look sturdier. The shops outer appearances had improved the overall feel of this shopping precinct giving the plaza a more upmarket design.

As they walked closer, Kit looked inside the windows of the shops they passed. Inside was an array of various products any player would need to start an adventure in CAL. The store just in front of Kit was an apothecary called Starter Potions. Through the window Kit could see, bottles of all shapes and sizes, with colourful concoctions swirling in each glass bottle. Kit looked at a potion in front of him, Red Heart 20 bronze crowns, grants +100 HP for 1hour.

As they drew nearer to the plaza the noise of the crowd had increased to a background hum making it difficult to hear conversations going on around them. Kit could smell foods from market stalls set up in the middle of the plaza tantalising one to buy something to eat as they passed by. Kit followed his nose to a small wooden cart selling roasted nuts.

Behind the cart was a young lad no older than Kit. He had a baby face with a warm smile. “What can I get you, gentlemen?”

Kit looked at the freshly roasted nuts. They were covered in a golden crisp coating, he could smell the sweet smell of honey mixed in with the nutty fragrance. Kit mouth started to water.

“How much for two bags?”

“5 bronze crowns for two bags.”

“I’ll take two then please.”

Kit handed over the money, gave a bag to Mars, then opened his own. He put a golden nut into his mouth. The sweet nutty flavour filled his mouth with a wonderous warm taste. Kit started to make appreciative sounds.

“Mmm, so good.”

Next to him Mars was doing the same. Snowball popped his head out from the sling and started to sniff the air.

“Even you think it smells good Snowball.”

Kit gave the little fluff ball a nut, it disappeared in an instant and Snowball gave a whine.

“Ok, I’ll share.”

Kit laughed, he shared his bag with Snowball as they browsed the stalls and shops. They finally came across a jeweller on their slow travel around the plaza. Kit wiped the sticky crumbs off his fingers onto his pants.

Snowball returned to sleep in the sling now all the food was finished. Kit glanced up at the jeweller’s sign [Trinkets and stones] was written above the door. A golden glowing star was clearly seen below. The shop was built with the patchwork stone design. A large dark wooden door of good quality stood in front of Kit. He pushed the heavy door open.

Inside a smell he could only describe as clean hit his nose, it was similar to bleach just not as overpowering. As Kit glanced around, he noticed how shiny all the jewellery cases were. There were five cases in total, cabinets surrounded the walls displaying wares.

Three display cases were to one side lined up in a row with a small gap between where a person could squeeze past. Another two were lined up on the opposite side. A doorway covered in black string beads could be seen at the back of the shop.

Kit didn’t know where to look first. The sparkling jewellery was everywhere. He felt a little overwhelmed at all the different wares on display. This shop was only a level one, Kit felt it looked more like what he thought a level 2 shop would be. Even the quality of the display cases was above what he had seen at the grocers.

‘Maybe it’s not far off reaching a second star. I can imagine the quality of the tables I would be able to access if I got my restaurant to a two star.’ Kit excitement built at the prospect of what he could turn his restaurant into once he finally opened one.

Kit heard soft clinking, he turned his head towards the sound. The string beads at the back of the shop parted and a beautiful young lady walked out. She had long wavy brown hair, a tight red dress and a charming smile.

“Hello young adventures, how can I help?”

Her voice was soft and seductive, giving the receiver of the beautiful sound a feeling of intimacy. It felt like she had tickled Kits ears. ‘She is the most beautiful lady I have ever seen, she is the embodiment of a goddess. She has all the right curves and softness.’

Kit couldn’t remove his eyes from the goddess. She sauntered over to him with her hips swinging in a hypnotising way, her smile grew bigger. Mars stepped in front of Kit.

“Cut it out or we are leaving.”

Mars voice was forceful and had an angry tone. Kit stuck his head out from behind Mars. He didn’t want to miss a moment of the goddess. The goddess blinked her lovely big green eyes, then bowed her head.

“I apologise.”

Kit was ready to rebuke Mars for upsetting the goddess. ‘Why is he making this amazingly beautiful lady apologise? Ahh hang on, something is not right about this. I’ve never heard Mars have an angry tone before.’

Kit glanced at the goddess once again, this time she looked different. She was still beautiful, though Kit didn’t feel as mesmerised by her beauty as before.

“Is this how you treat your customers? If I didn’t know what you were doing, you would have robbed us blind, no?”

Mars eyes had the manic look, not the good kind where Kit could expect money though.

The beautiful lady started to look nervous.

“I really am sorry my good sir. I was just practising my glamor when you walked in, that was all. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

She bowed her head once more and was looking at Mars with a pleading look.

“Now you really are trying to insult me.” Mars manic look intensified and his body became ridged.

A shiver pasted down the young lady’s body as Mars stared at her.

“How about I give you a discount as an apology?”

Mars body visibly relaxed, his gaze stayed the same. He pulled out the stones and laid them on the counter. The young woman opened a drawer under the glass display and pulled out a black velvet tray. On one of the corners was a thin silver round disk. She placed the stones on top of the black velvet and tapped her finger twice on the silver disc.

A strand of green light started to wind its way around the stones until all the stones were in its web of light. It pulsed three times then the green light dissipated. The silver disc had a price displayed on its surface, 100 silver and 300 bronze crowns.

Kit was shocked at the price on the silver disk, his mind instantly went blank after that. Mars on the other hand just stared at the shop assistant without saying a word. There was not even a flicker of emotion on his face.

She stared back then sighed and tapped the silver disk again. The disk went blank then another price materialised on the silver disk, 100 silver and 700 bronze crowns. Mars continued to stare at her in silence. Kit was too scared to make a sound in case this was all a dream.

When Mars did not comment she huffed then once again tapped the silver disk.

“This is the last time and should cover my apology.”

The silver disc once again went blank then materialised a new amount, 120 silver and 200 bronze crowns.

“Deal,” was all Mars said.

The beautiful shop assistant returned the black velvet case under the glass display with the stones remaining on top. Then she pulled out another drawer and gave Mars a bag. It clinked as he received it letting Kit know it was filled with money.

“Let’s go Kit, we still have more places to visit.”

Kit followed Mars with a dazed look on his face, he’d still not recovered from the exchange he’d just witnessed. Once they left the shop Kit turned to Mars.

“That was amazing, you weren’t kidding about being good at haggling. How did you know she was using glamour on us though?”

“She was too beautiful. I also felt a soft touch on my conscious as if she was trying to invade my mind. I guessed she was also trying to use a soft suggestion on us as well. Kit, you seem to have no defence against attacks against your mind. If you went in by yourself you would have been robbed.”

“Well, it worked out in our favour so I’m glad she tried. Though I think you’re right about me having no defence against mind manipulation. I’ll need to do something to counter that.”

Kit eyes gravitated towards the pouch in Mars hands. Kit gave Mars a big grin. He was very happy with the amount they received from their sale.

“Let’s head over to the library now. I really want to find out where we are heading to next.” Mars had a twinkle in his eyes when he talked about finding the treasure. As they started to move again Mars handed Kit his half of the money.