9 Market
"Well, isn't this a lively district?" Malazan asked.
Children were squealing or wailing, merchants were shouting out their wares, and men and women alike were hollering to each other or having boisterous conversations on outside patios.
Carts groaned and clanked over the cobblestones, hooves clopped against the hard ground, dogs barked, and doors and windows creaked and slammed as people opened and closed them.
Somewhere not far away, Martin could hear a blacksmith's hammer slamming down on an anvil seemingly in concert with the clanging of pots and pans from a nearby restaurant overlaid by a woman's voice, not quite in tune, singing a bawdy melody.
"Yeah, it is indeed very noisy,' Martin answered.
Never had the young man thought to hear so many sounds all at once.
"Anyway, let's see what this place has to offer us. We should first visit the market," said Malazan with no particular goal in his mind. He was just curious, and that was all.
"Okay," Martin readily complied. He was just as curious to see a big town's market as Malazan, if not more.
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The stores within the district's market were all open-air markets, neatly arranged and filled with items for people passing by to see.
The items on display were typically placed on single sheets. One sheet per item.
"Whoa!" Martin's looked at the weapons on one vender's weaponry store with his mouth gaping.
Maces, crossbows, swords, flails, halberds, spears, battle axes, caltrops and even weapons he did not know names of were arranged neatly on the sheets.
Forget about touching one, he had never even seen so many weapons in his entire life before.
"Hey, hey, Malazan, aren't these weapons amazing?!" Martin turned around to see Malazan staring at the sky with an uninterested look on his face.
A look which communicated that these weapons were not even worthy of his glance.
'As expected, that old geezer did indeed send someone here, huh? Interesting.' Malazan smiled as he looked at the northern part of the sky.
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"Hey, did you hear about the punishment given by the Lord to the Captain and his knights?"
"Yeah, it's pretty harsh—Wait, what is that?!"
As usual, the knights guarding the baron's entrance were standing in front of the gate and conversing with each other when they saw a shadow cover over them.
They looked up to see someone floating above them, or rather SHE was flying.
"Is that a spellcaster?!" Asked one of the knights, feeling shocked.
"Eh? Are you sure she is not an apprentice?" Another knight asked in confusion. He couldn't be blamed for his confusion as real spellcasters were very rare.
And due to their rarity and shocking power, every one of them held very high statuses, to the point where even nobles tried their best to not to earn their displeasure.
"Can't you see?! She can fly, dumbass! So she must be a real spellcaster!' answered a fellow knight.
As they talked, the girl descended and gracefully landed on the ground.
Her dark hair hung to her shoulders. She wasn't what most men might call pretty, but there was something about the her that disguished her from other girls.
Her face was narrow and she seemed to be squinting.
They didn't see when and how she moved, but the very next moment she was just five paces away from them.
The scene was so shocking that the only reasonable conclusion the knights could come to was that she must have used a high-ranking spell.
"Is this Baron Monward's palace?" She asked in a voice which demanded an answer.
"Y-Y-Yes, i-it is, Honourable Spellcaster!" One of the knights replied in a flabbergasted manner.
The knights present didn't know why, but she frowned after hearing the response.
Maybe she didn't like the way the knight had addressed her, or maybe she was just concentrating on something.
However, she didn't voice out any complaint, which seemed to relieve the knights.
"I see. Tell him that Lia Salvatore of the Academy of Spellcasters would like to meet him. Also, tell him that I have come here by the orders of the principal," she said as she showed them a badge with a magic wand as it's symbol.
'A-Ac-cademy of Spellcasters?! The principal?!' The knights were now even shocked and confused.
They could not understand why someone from the most prestigious place in the Kingdom would come here to meet their Lord.
Not one person didn't know of the status and power the Academy wielded. It was a holy place for both spellcasters and people who were aspiring to be one.
Even the four dukes of the Kingdom were not deserving of there attention, much less their Lord who was still a baron.
And its principal, Francis de Alberto, was even more renowned. Rumor had it that he was a spellmaster who had the power to control the clouds.
So what was currently occurring went beyond their scope of understanding.
Still, they did not dare ask any questions.
A knight said: "There is no need to ask, Honourable Spellcaster. I am sure he will answer in an affirmative, so please come inside."
"Oh, lead the way, then,' The spellcaster Lia said with a calm face
"Please, come this way."
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"Ugh, did you even plan on buying anything in the first place?" Martin asked in an annoyed manner.
They had visited every single vendor store and seen a lot of amazing things, but everytime he asked Malazan whether he was going any one of them, he got only one response in return: "Why would I waste my money on such crappy items? They are only of mediocre quality at best."
And like this, they managed to anger almost every weaponry vendor in the market.
"Then, what kind of item are you looking for?!!" Martin thought that there might be a screw loose in Malazan's head, because in his opinion, all the items displayed on the sheets were beyond amazing.
"An item that would be able to catch my eye," Malazan replied in a calm manner as he walked towards a vendor that sold skewered meat and got himself a snack.
"And what is that would-"
"Do you want some?"
"Y-Yes, please" replied Martin.
"Mister, give this guy one as well," said Malazan as he pointed towards Martin.
"Hohoho, so you two young men are also going to see the demonstration?" The vendor asked the question in a way which suggested that their answer was going to be quite obvious.
"Eh? What demonstration?" Martin replied in confusion.
"Oh? So you lads don't know about it?" The vendor was clearly surprised this time.
Before any one of them could even answer, the vendor went on to explain: "Two days ago, a few high ranking knights arrived here from the capital, along with some 'spellcasters' to show off their skills to young people, in order to encourage them to enroll into the military."
"WHAT?!! THERE ARE SPELLCASTERS AS WELL?!!" Martin was so excited that he started trembling.
"Nope, I do not think so. They might be just some apprentices who have yet to or have failed to become real spellcasters," it was now Malazan turn to explain as he chewed on his snack.
"Ah, young lord sure is knowledgable." the shopkeeper narrowed his eye and immediately changed his way of addressing Malazan.
But Malazan was disinclined to reply to his compliment.
"Hey, Malazan, can we please go to see the demonstration?! Pretty please?!!" Martin started jumping around like an enthusiastic child.
Even if they were just some apprentices, he would not let go such an opportunity.
"Hmm, sure. It's not like we have anything better to do," answered Malazan.
"Oh, and where is the demonstration taking place?" Malazan asked.
"In the inner plaza. It must have already started by now," replied the vendor.
"I see. We must make haste, then"
