The Shopping Trip

The debt had finally been paid off. For a time she was worried as to how the town's imminent destruction would affect her ability to pay what she had owed on the loan. From what she learned in her past, magic was a unforgiving uncaring force that merely does as it is commanded to do. The fall of the town would likely not change the terms of the contract she had signed, but luckily that matter was now resolved.

The next order of business was to get some clothes. Up until now Madison was wearing the sack that the nice old lade had given her, and a torn jacket she had stolen from some drunkard. This would obviously not do, so she started walking around the market looking for a clothing shop.

The market seemed lively despite what had just happened, many stalls were up again, and the ones that weren't were probably owned by the people who retreated or took safety. It seems that even a monster threat wont stop these people from trying to make some money. Was it because they had such faith in the city to protect them? Maybe it was because they valued money higher than their own lives. The only way to find out is to ask, but I have no intentions of asking that to anyone.

After wandering for a while, Madison finally found a decent clothing store. The place had a sign with their name on it. It seemed to state very boldly "CLAIRE'S CLOTHING!" Madison walked in, and to her surprise there weren't any customers there, just two women behind the counter.

Madison - "So which one of you is Claire?"

The two women behind the counter looked at each other for a moment before one of them answered...

Sandra - "Actually... Well... Neither of us."

Madison - "Is Claire like the manager or something?"

Sandra seemed to be a bit embarrassed by Madison's sudden request of Claire and began to act a bit nervously.

Sandra - "No?"

Madison - "No?"

Madison repeated what the woman had said because she was a bit confused as to why the answer "No" was stated as a question. Soon after, the other woman behind the counter finally spoke up.

Nicole - "No one here is named Claire... We just thought the name sounded good."

Madison - "oh..."

What a stupid reason. Most of these stalls and stores in the market didn't have any signs at all, but instead just showed what they had to let the people know what they were selling. Whether that was because of a lack of people being able to read, or some other reason, I couldn't say, but naming a store after someone who doesn't exist in a market where names don't seem to matter seemed pretty stupid.

Nicole - "You probably think it's pretty stupid... Right?"

Madison - "Woah... Did you just read my mind?"

Sandra - "..."

Nicole - "..."

Madison - "..."

She had said what had come to her mind without giving it a second thought, and that resulted in what she said sounding very rude. After a moment of awkward silence, Madison began walking around and started browsing the shop. She eventually found some decent clothes along with some other female necessities, and she left the shop after paying in an awkward silence.

The clothing was of a pretty good quality for the price she paid, and now she didn't look like a bum. The first article of clothing she chose was a light grey tunic that seemed like it had been used before, but maybe that was just her imagination. Next was a pair of pants that were a light brown followed by a pair of dark brown caligae styled shoes. To be frank, Madison looked like a farmer.

Equipment:

[Old Grey Tunic +1 DEF]

[Old Pants +1 DEF]

[Used Shoes +0.5 DEF]

The total price of her clothes was 1 silver 2 bronze which left her with 1 silver and 8 bronze. She wanted to find an inn to stay at for a day or two, but decided to do that after she visited the guild.

Upon arriving at the guild, Madison had noticed that everything seemed normal, and everyone was back to doing what they do. She came to check if anything had been affected from the attack, but it didn't seem like much changed. Although one thing that did stand out was a large bulletin board with fliers on it for construction help.

Madison - "hey, you"

She had addressed a male adventurer who was sitting down quietly minding his own business. He didn't look all that strong, fairly wimpy in fact. The man noticed her and looked around to make sure she was talking to him before sheepishly replying.

Adventurer - "Yes?"

Madison - "What's up with all these construction jobs?"

The man's shy nature seemed to mostly vanish, then he responded.

Adventurer - "Oh, that. Now that the monsters are pretty much all gone from the forest, lord Fitzgerald is trying to clear the trees and expand his domain before the monsters can recuperate."

Madison - "Alright, thanks."

During the time she took to figure out what was going on, a long line of people gathered at the guild. She didn't come to receive a quest anyway, so it didn't really bother her. Madison decided to head towards an inn next and squeezed her way through the many people entering.

After everything I went through the past... How long has it been? A week? A month? I don't even know, but what I do know is that I need to relax and take some time to rest and think.