The Number

While Domnus was out looking for Gods, both Hestia and Bell came to the church before him.

"Can you check my status Goddess Hestia," Bell said excited to have his status updated for another day.

"I can update you status," Hestia said to Bell, "But  with no paper you can't see it," Hestia admitted sad she couldn't help Bell as much as she could.

"What about that?" Bell said pointing at a piece of paper on top of Domnus's bag.

"Let me see it," Hestia said grabbing the paper and noticing that there was writing on the paper.

"Hello!" the note said in large letters, "I know you don't have paper so I put some extra on inside of my stand! Hope you have good stats Bell, Sincerely Domnus," the note finished.

After Hestia read the note, she put down the note and opened up middle of the bag. As she did the papers flopped to the bottom of the desk onto the floor.

Picking them up Hestia felt grateful, then she noticed there was something scratched onto the back on the desk.

It was four tally marks scratched on the top left.  For a while Hestia simply stoped their thinking of what the four tally marks can mean.

"Goddess Hestia?" Bell wondered looking at Hestia.

Snapping out of her focus Hestia grabbed the papers and looked back at Bell.

"Sorry about that," Hestia said "Lay down, with this you can see your status," Hestia said with a smile taking one paper off of the small pile.

During Bell's status update Hestia couldn't get her mind off of the weird tally marks inside of Domnus's bag.

"Are you ok Goddess Hestia?" Bell asked Hestia seeing that she was focused on something else during and after Bell's status check.

"Yes, the weird marks on Domnus's bag" Hestia said sitting on the couch twirling her hair.

"May I see it?" Bell asked Hestia.

Hestia showed Bell where the numbers were and he started to think about it.

"Maybe it's just how he counts money?" Bell wondered aloud.

"Then what does the four stand for?" Hestia responded, "Four thousand, forty thousand?" She wondered.

"Well, maybe it's about the stuff he has?" Bell said back to Hestia.

"When he sells his stock how does he remove a tally?" Hestia responded confused on the point of the tally marks.

"Well," Bell said thinking, then after a minute he replied, "I got nothing,"

For a while both Hestia and Bell sat down on the couch thinking of different reasons that the tally marks are there.

"How is you status?" said a voice in front of the two.

As they both looked up seeing Domnus standing in front of them. They were both so lost in thought that they didn't notice that Domnus had walked in and is standing in front of them.

"Good, agility went up again" Bell said looking away from Domnus.

"Yeah!" Hestia said looking at Domnus but being unable to look him in the eyes.

With some confusion in what Bell and Hestia were nervous about Domnus looked around until his eyes settled on his open bag.

"Now," Domnus said looking over at Hestia and Bell, "What were you doing with my bag?"  he asked the two.

"We just grabbed the paper you lended us," Hestia said, "Thank you by the way,"

Looking over at his bag Domnus noticed something.

"You know that this place is still really dusty right?" Domnus asked looking back at the two.

"Yes?" Hestia responded confused.

Domnus then knelt down to the floor and tapped it.

"You can see where people move if you look at where the dust isn't," Domnus said, "For example I can see that you grabbed the paper, then came back again," Domnus finish his point before getting back up.

With a nervous expression, Bell suddenly belted out the truth.

"We were just looking the tally marks on the bag I swear," Bell said while bowing.

"Oh," Domnus replied, "That's it?"  Domnus said while laughing, "I just add a tally when I get to a new place," Domnus admitted.

"Ah," both Hestia and Bell said in unison.

"Anyhow," Domnus said changing the subject, "It seems about time to head off to sleep, I need to sell stuff and you need to get some magic crystals," Domnus said to Bell.

With a salute from Bell, they all started off to bed.  Getting the sheets ready both all the residents in the church began to fall asleep.

'Wait a minute' Bell thought opening his eyes, 'Domnus told me his first day here was the day I met him' Bell thought looking over to Domnus's bag, 'So when did he put the tally mark on?'

Domnus hadn't told Bell about this either so it was unlikely that Domnus made the mark when he got here.

'But,' Bell then thought, 'You can't lie to a goddess so he must of made it and not told me about it' Bell thought before finally shutting his eyes for the night.

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Domnus was ready and his stand set up for a new day. He had been getting faster and faster about heading here and getting his stand set up after a few days, so he had some more down time to get an object to put on sale.

Having an idea Domnus went into his bag and grabbed the perfect thing, the radio thing. Eith a quick turn of the nob the world becomes darker and with a static edge.

Why would adventurers buy this? No reason, it just looks fancy so Domnus can bring some customers and sell them on the his stock depending on their need.

"Excuse me," said an adventurer, "What can you sell to a agility adventurer,"

"Straight to the point!" Domnus said grabbing something g from his bag, "I can respect that," he said before pulling something out in front of the adventurer.

"What's that?" the adventurer asked pointing to the yellow thing in Domnus's hand.

"It's an aglet," Domnus said, "Increases speed by five percent," Domnus added while shaking it, "Only two hundred valis," Domnus finished.

"Ok," the adventurer said paying up, "Thank you!" the adventurer said walking towards the dungeon with the aglet now on.

With happiness in his heart at his first sale of the day, Domnus began to get ready for the rest of the day.