Sweet tooth

He approached the board and searched for a quick quest. He had to meet Ella tonight and couldn't escape the city, so he found the perfect one.

[Help me transport my goods to the port. I will pay for any help I get. Meet me at my shop, The Block and Anvil, in the southern part of the city]

He tore the paper from the board and returned it to Sarah, handing it to her. She examined it while accepting his card and proceeded to stamp it.

Archer left the guild and headed south. He arrived outside a blacksmith's shop and knocked on the door. ''Come in, come in.''

A resounding voice echoed through the air from within. As he stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of a quintessential blacksmith shop straight out of a fantasy novel.

Emerging from the back of the shop was a towering, burly man with a bald head and a massive, bushy beard.

The blacksmith looked at Archer before speaking in a deep, commanding tone. ''Boy, we haven't been open for a while. I got to head to Starfall City for the entry test for the blacksmith competition.''

Looking at the man with a questioning look, Archer spoke. ''I'm here for the quest you commissioned in the guild.''

The man's eyes widened as he started to laugh loudly. ''Sorry, boy, how are you going to help? You're not exactly a big guy.''

He narrowed his eyes as he answered. ''I have a storage skill, old man.''

The man looked shocked but smiled as he motioned to follow him as he walked back the way he came. Archer followed him and entered the room. He noticed it was a storage room packed to the brim with crates and barrels.

The blacksmith requested he store ten crates and five barrels. After doing that, he inquired, "Why are you taking all this with you when entering the competition?"

The man looked at him before answering. ''I'm selling this stuff in the capital. It will fetch me a lot of gold coins.''

Once getting the answer, he didn't bother asking anything else and gathered more stuff the man pointed out. Sometime later, they were done; Archer followed the man to the ship he was unloading the stuff onto.

After a ten-minute walk, they stopped before a merchant ship; the man turned to Archer and spoke. ''This is the merchant ship Vindhara. It travels down the Deep Flow river to the capital.''

Archer nodded and directed his attention to the majestic ship, which sailed across the rivers and oceans of the world. The ship is a sight to behold, with its sleek silhouette and tall masts adorned with shimmering flags and pennants.

One of its most striking features was its hull, painted a deep, midnight blue and decorated with intricate carvings of sea creatures and mythical beasts that seem to come to life.

The ship's prow is fashioned as a dragon's head, with sharp, gleaming teeth and fiery eyes that glow in the dark. Its sails are made of sturdy canvas dyed with a rich crimson hue and emblazoned with the sigil of the merchant house that owns the ship.

The ship's belly was filled with the sounds of bustling activity. The decks were alive with merchants and crew members who were loading and unloading exotic cargo, including spices, silks, and precious gems, from far-off lands.

While he observed the vessel, he spotted a grizzled old man approaching them.

"Irphan, you're late. We are about to set sail," the old man declared. As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Archer, and his expression shifted to puzzlement.

It was evident he had never encountered someone with such a unique appearance – a pair of white horns, bright violet eyes, and glittering white scales.

Irphan turned to Archer and introduced the man, "This is the ship's captain, a grizzled old sea dog named Captain Thorne. You'll usually find him on deck, barking orders and keeping a watchful eye on the crew. He's an old friend of mine."

He nodded to the captain, and then the three made their way onto the ship, where Archer helped unload Irphan's belongings. After unloading the stuff, Irphan gave him two gold coins. After that, Archer said his goodbyes as he left.

He made his way down the street, hungry and in the mood for sweets. As he looked around, he found a shop that reminded him of the old sweet shops on Earth.

Its name, "Sticky Sweets," which made him chuckle.

Archer entered the shop. While looking around, he saw many things: chocolate in the shape of cubes, gummy cubes, and all sorts of sweets shaped the same.

The shopkeeper walked over to him and greeted him. ''Hello, young man. How can I help you?''

He pointed at the chocolate cubes. ''What are they?''

The man looked at the cubes and explained. ''This is what we call chocolate. It comes from the Nagendra Kingdom in the south. The other stuff is slime cubes from the Sabat dynasty.''

Archer looked at all the sweets before him and decided to buy them all. ''I want to buy as much as you can sell me, the chocolate cubes, white cubes, and as much of the other things you can sell.''

The man looked at him in shock and instantly started thinking. 'Why does he need so much?'

Shaking his head before smiling. ''Have you got the coin for such an order?''

Rolling his eyes, Archer pulled out five coins while grinning. He saw the man's face drop, but he coughed.

''Okay, young man, let me prepare the order for you.'' The shopkeeper spoke.

He walked off before grabbing some bags and loading the chocolate and sweets into them.

Archer watched him work as twenty minutes flew by. When the man was finished, he sat in front of a sea of bags and baskets full of goodies.

The man stepped behind the desk and looked flustered. Pastries, sandwiches, sweets, desserts, and chocolate.

''Boy, you got me working like a golem in the mines. Why in the name of the goddess do you need so much?''

All three Archers had one thing in common, they all had a sweet tooth, plus he wanted to give some to Ella and her mother.

He looked at the man while smiling. ''I like them, and I want to give my friend some. I also have to go away for a while, so I wanted some snacks.''

Archer opened one of the bags, took out a chocolate cube, and ate it. The taste was perfect, and his eyes opened wide. It melted on his tongue as he chewed and swallowed it. He started eating more, and it reminded him of the chocolate on Earth.

He stopped eating once he saw the man looking at him strangely. Archer held up a chocolate cube. ''Do you have any more of this old man? And anything else that involves chocolate.''

The man sighed as he answered. ''My name is Garett, not old man, but we have more. Why?''

''I'll buy all of it.'' Archer instantly replied.

Garett gave up and rounded up everything the boy wanted, which was all the chocolate he had in the shop, which was a lot. Archer saw him bringing over more bags until the counter was swamped. The shopkeeper started working out how much coins it would cost.

After a little while, he spoke. ''Eight gold for it all, and I'll throw in some mana sweets.''

He took out the Eight gold and gave it to him as he asked. ''Mana sweets, what are they?''

Garrett smiled before rushing off to grab something. He returned and opened it, revealing various colored balls, each twice the size of marbles. Archer picked up a black one and asked what they were. ''What are these things?''

''They are mana sweets, whatever affinity you have, whether fire or light. Eating the sweet and your affinity matches refreshes the body and refills your mana.''

He became interested, so he popped the black one in his mouth and felt his body relax. He looked at the box, and there weren't many in it. Being greedy and wanting more for the sake of it, he asked for more as he pulled out a pastry and started eating. ''Garett, I want more of these. Bring as much as you can.''

Garrett sighed again and walked to the back of the shop. While Archer was waiting, he thought the pastry tasted good once he finished it. It was full of chocolate and had some fruit in it.

Shortly after that, Garett returned with two more boxes. ''That will be another gold. You never told me your name?''

He responded. "Archer."

Throwing the extra gold his way, he started putting all the food into his Item Box, a process that required a dedicated five minutes of continuous effort. Upon completing this, Archer prepared to depart, bidding farewell with a casual, "See you later."

Observing Archer's departure, Garett pondered, 'What a peculiar lad, splurging so much on sweets.'

Shaking his head with a grateful smile, he headed to the back room to settle some debts. Meanwhile, Archer exited the store under the fading afternoon sun, relishing a sandwich from his recent purchases as he made his way towards the castle.