Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

it as a fact of life. “I’ve never met anybody I couldn’t understand, and they’ve always been able to understand me. I took it as a blessing and tried not to think about it.”

Lia gave me a strange look. “You never tried to figure out how it worked?”

“Well, of course I did. But how would you go about testing something like that?”

“You could…” She trailed off, tapping her finger on her lips in thought. Eventually, she laughed. “I guess that’s more complicated than I thought!” I nodded. We had finally entered the heart of the town, with the small wooden houses much more closely packed together along the road. Lia ran ahead, stopping at a side street. “This way!”

As we turned the corner, I found half a dozen wooden stalls lining the road on either side, all displaying various goods for sale. I was confused by the sight. “Lia, why are people selling things here? Wouldn’t they get better business selling things in Yoria? I saw a huge market square when I was there that was packed with people.”

“They definitely would, but it can be hard to get a trader’s permit allowing you to sell goods in the city. It costs a lot of money and the guards hassle you all the time when you bring things in and out.” Lia motioned to the street before us. It wasn’t large, but it had a sizable number of people for the limited shops. “That’s why these people set up here. Sometimes people who live in the city proper come out to shop, but usually it’s just the people who live nearby.”

We were nearly to the first stand now, and I could see it was loaded with what looked like fresh produce. “I see. Your father has one of these trader’s passes, right?”

“He does! His business doesn’t actually make any goods to sell, we just make contracts with local craftsman to sell their goods in the city and take a commission for transporting and selling.” Lia spotted the produce stand and ran over excitedly. “Lux, come look at this!”

The table before us was covered in a wide array of food, some familiar to me and others completely foreign. I saw carrots, apples, radishes, and the round things I had now come to know as asperfruits in piles along the front. There were also large bundles of yellow and orange leaves that I remembered seeing at dinner, and some knobby blue tuber-like plants the size of softballs. I marveled at the vibrant colors of the offerings, and I felt a longing pang in my stomach at the thought of eating more asperfruits.

Lia scooped some of the blue tubers and a bundle of leafy plants into her bag and paid the woman behind the table with a few coppers she had produced from a small pocket in her dress. She looked back at me, a self-satisfied smile on her face. “Mother is going to cook this up for dinner tonight. I bet you’ll love it!”

“I’m sure you’re right!” I scanned over the other nearby tables. “Lia, is there anybody here that sells forged items? Stuff like weapons, armor, horseshoes, that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, there’s usually a man down near the end who does metal work. He doesn’t sell a lot of weapons or armor though, and I don’t think it would be anywhere near as good as the things you already have.” Her brow furrowed. “I don’t really like him. Father is the one who gets him his supply of metal to work with, and whenever I see him, he always looks...mean.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll do all the talking.” We headed down the increasingly busy street, now having to actively work to avoid bumping into people. As I scanned ahead for the blacksmith’s table, my stomach dropped as I saw two city guards walking in our direction. They both seemed relaxed, casually chatting with each other as they walked, but I pulled Lia by the hand to the closest market stall to take cover.

Doing my best to look casual, I leaned over and whispered, “Everything is fine, but there are two city guards heading our way. I’m sure they aren’t looking for me, but let’s stay out of the way until they go by.” I began to pick through the contents of the table in front of me, which was piled high with various bits of cloth and textiles. Lia followed suit, making benign comments about the color or softness of certain materials.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the two guards pass uneventfully from beneath my cloak’s hood. After they were well past, I let out a deep sigh as we headed back into the street. “Sorry about that. I’d rather not take any chances, especially when you’re with me. I wouldn’t want you or your parents to get in trouble for harboring a fugitive.” I scoffed grimly. When is the last time I WASN’T a fugitive?

After some meandering to check out interesting looking offerings, we found our way to the blacksmith’s stall. The man behind the large counter had a tall, wiry frame, topped with greasy black hair and a large, crooked nose. He had dark sunken eyes and pale skin that looked like it barely stretched to fit over his bony form. I can see why Lia doesn’t like him. As we approached he paid us no mind, casually sharpening a small knife against a whetstone as he stared off into space.

In terms of weapons, the offering was sparse as Lia had predicted. The main showing was two shortswords, each halfway inserted into leather scabbards, sitting front and center on the table. Beside them were a few simple daggers and hatchets, piled with much less care. A wooden buckler with a metal frame and rivets rounded out the weapons and armor display. Overall, I was unimpressed by the quality of the metalwork, but each piece would serve its purpose well enough. Ashedown would have kicked me out on