“Hey, come here and try our special today!”

“Mister! Are you looking for a good time? Come check us out when the sun goes down!”

“Freshest, local fruits, and vegetables in all of Logtown! Come get them before they sell out!”

As soon as the trio enters the town, they are greeted with merchants and shop owners shouting over one another.

The marketplace is the first area they arrive in. Food stalls, restaurants, and fruit and vegetable stands make up the majority of the marketplace to lure in hungry travelers. Townsfolk and travelers from all over the continent flock eagerly to the stands.

“Wow! There are so many people here! And the food smells delicious! Should we get something to eat?” whispers Ceri.

Alden turns to Leor with a pleading gaze. “Yeah, Leor! Can we?”

He looks at them in confusion. “We just ate...”

“The fish was this small.” Alden lifts his hand and gestures his index finger and thumb into a ‘C’. “And, besides, it’s Ceri’s first time in Logtown! We should let her live a little bit. I know a great spot for delicious eastern-style grilled pork.”

“We ca-”

Ceri lightly tugs on Leor’s sleeve and looks up at him with glistening eyes.

“-n! We can try.” Leor sighs. “Alden, lead the way, but stay hidden.”

Alden and Ceri joyfully toss their hands in the air and give each other high fives.

“It’s this way!” Alden points in the direction of an unusually large crowd of cheering travelers. He grabs both of their arms and drags them to their destination.

“Hey, wait! This is too many people!” protests Leor.

“Think of it this way: We are travelers blending into a crowd of travelers! It’s the perfect cover! Would you rather have us roam the streets and get spotted by guards or have us in the crowd and spotted by a random person? I’m sure you could quietly handle the latter if the occasion occurs.”

“Fair enough”, growls Leor.

Alden abruptly stops before the massive crowd, forcing Leor and Ceri to stumble to a halt.

He leans in and whispers to Leor. “Between you and me, I know we won’t be able to get any of the food here. At least not yet. The line during noon time is usually waaaay too long.”

Leor tilts his head with a puzzled look. “Then, why are we here?”

Alden and Leor stand still, while Ceri edges slightly forward to get a better look.

Ceri turns her body and waves her hand at them. “Hey, you two, come on! Something seems to be starting!” she laughs.

Alden gestures an open palm at Ceri. “We’re here for her. She’s been sheltered all her life, so I want to show her all that life has to offer, whether it being gifts from the Gods or not.”

The confused expression softens on Leor’s face. He turns his gaze towards Ceri as they catch up with her. Leor cannot deny Alden’s words, even he feels the urge to allow Ceri to do as she wishes if she smiles that brightly.

A loud, bellowing clash of metal silences the crowd, and the audience’s attention is directed to the front of the stand.

A beautiful woman with black hair, tied up into a neat bun, dressed in an eastern-style dress, steps toward the stand. Her calm composure adds to the performance-like atmosphere.

She bows her head at the audience.

In front of her, an enormous slab of meat that is nearly two times her size lays atop the table. The black-haired beauty closes her eyes as she places her hands faced down in front of her waist, inhales deeply as she brings her hands clasped together to her chest. She exhales slowly, opens her eyes, and draws her right arm and leg back, shifting her weight and tilting the left side of her body towards the meat.

Her cool demeanor changes to a fierce one as she strikes the giant slab of meat multiple times. The speed of her fist is too fast for normal people to follow, but the sounds of the impact carry through the air like waves.

Drawing her right hand back, she pulls out a rectangular cleaver as long as her arm. Cleanly slicing through the meat horizontally. Draws back her left hand and pulls out another cleaver. Slides both blades under the mutilated meat and flings them up into the air.

The black-haired beauty drops to one knee and lunges after the meat with tremendous power. Left, right, up, down, sideways. She swings her blades at an even faster speed than before. Dicing the two slabs of meat into bite-size chunks and quickly sheathing her blades back into the leather casings resting on her lower back.

The woman and the chunks of meat begin their descent. She turns her head towards the stand, places two fingers into her mouth, and lets out a high-pitched whistle. A similarly high-pitched screech echoes back. A ball of fire jets towards the falling meat. Ignites and knocks the meat back up a little higher.

The woman lands on the ground and whips out a large steel wok up from under the stand. Catching the searing meat into the wok. The crash of metal shakes the audience as she places it on the ground. She pulls out two fans, crosses them across her body, and swings them outward. A firm gust of wind, carrying the aroma of perfectly sizzled meat, blows over the crowd. Sweat drips from their face. Their mouths gap open as the alluring smell seeps into their noses.

The ball of fire slowly descends onto the woman’s shoulder. As it flaps its fiery wings, it becomes clear that it isn’t a ball of fire at all. It is a bird made out of fire.

Leor examines the flaming creature.

It’s another one of those ‘Gifts’. I haven’t seen this one before. It seems like this one isn’t a combative type either. I’ll make a mental note of this thing. Seems like it’ll be useful.

A roar of cheer explodes from the crowd. The woman bows her head and straightens back up. She cups her hands on the sides of her mouth and shouts from the top of her lungs, “Azura Flame-Broiled Pork on a stick! Come and get it while it lasts!” The crowd of people stampedes their way to the front, knocking Ceri back. Leor catches her fall. Ceri eyes Leor in slight surprise and embarrassment.

“You okay? It doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to get any right now. Let’s come back later, shall we?”

Ceri grins and nods quietly. The trio makes their way out of the hunger-lust crowd.