Chapter 11 – A Trunk of Stuff and Tools

Third person POV

Later, at 11, they had arrived at that place, a big, busy marketplace full of people buying, selling, and exchanging business transactions.

"Well, this is it," Jan said to them. "This is a marketplace. Here, you can buy anything you want."

Sati and Xerxes are amazed by its size.

"Yup, I have been here before when I was a kid," Lloyd responded.

"So, shall we go to our first perspective buyer?" Jan asked them.

Eventually, they agreed, and they went in, with Sati and Xerxes hooding their Undead animal identity with their cloaks.

Their first stop is a man, who was a middle-aged one and sells locks and door hinges among other things. There they offered their products to him and asked if he wanted to trade most of his products for theirs. The seller was intrigued but skeptical about it, before eventually agreeing to trade with me and began choosing. He picked up one ceramic cup with brown and red designs on it and said to them, "This one is similar to the ones you can buy from a store. Where did this one come from?"

"It's from my hometown," Lloyd confidently answered back.

"What hometown?"

"Wooda."

The seller was shocked to hear that because he knew that place from other merchants.

"What? That dangerous lowlands full of hostile tribes?"

Jan was shocked, too. "You live there now?"

"Yes," Lloyd answered their questions, "and my tribe made that cup."

Luckily, the seller didn't react violently at all, and was instead became interested by it, commenting, "I see. What would you like to trade for? I sell locks and door hinges for cheap prices."

Thinking about this, Lloyd responded, "How about a crate of locks with keys and door hinges and their tools and components?"

"Sure," the seller replied while thinking for a bit, "in exchange for a sack of ceramic plates, cups, utensils, and some of your food."

"Okay!" Lloyd replied readily, considering that as a good deal.

And so, they did that business transaction by trading products. (That crate would have cost 100 silver coins, or 65 gold coins.)

Once that was done, Sati carries the small wooden crate on his shoulder while the seller tasted the bread he got from them. He then tasted its delicious flavor and good texture despite its simple ingredients.

  "Wow, this bread of yours tastes so good," he commented to them. "My children would love this."

"Oh, you have children?" Xerxes asked back.

"Yes, one boy and one girl, ages 12 and 10," the seller replied.

"Oh, I see," Sati responded.

The seller didn't know he and Xerxes are Undead animals.

After that, the four of them left that stand as the seller wavered goodbye to them.

Shortly thereafter, they hopped from one stand to another offering their products to them. Some of them sell various products like glass, corn, and glass bottles. Some rejected their offers, too. They even take a short lunch break at the middle of the marketplace, and Sati and Xerxes ate street food that they never tasted before. Luckily Jan explained to them about it. In response, Sati and Xerxes wanted to make those foods themselves, which Lloyd agrees. At one of the stands, the seller, who was a glazier, offers a medium-sized wooden crate full of glass bottles for two sacks of intricately designed cloth and some cooking pans and pots. Lloyd and his group accepted this bargain-like offering and gave their products to him in exchange for that crate. At another stand, they exchanged their remaining cargo for more scrap metal and iron to be used for more metal products.

Later, at 4 p.m., they are now out of stock, but had new products and commodities. They left that marketplace and went to Jan's horse carriage, which was covered and parked at a field outside of the marketplace.

"Do you want a ride on the way home?" Jan asked them.

"Sure!" answered Lloyd back readily. "It brings me back old memories."

"We'll ride that thing?" Sati asked while pointing at the wooden horse carriage.

Lloyd glanced at him and Xerxes and responded, "Yes, this is a horse carriage. That's what most of us humans used for transportation."

"I see."

"Okay, let's load up your cargo," Jan said to them.

And so, they loaded their cargo at the back near the curtains, but Lloyd suddenly noticed a lonely wooden trunk farther from the curtains. The trunk was medium-sized and ordinary, and has no decorations at all. He then asked Jan, "Hey, Jan-san, what is that trunk?" Jan then responded by going to the back and sees the said trunk.

"Oh, this?" he answered back. "This is for you."

While Lloyd was surprised, Jan climbs in to get it, before getting off and show it to him.

"This contains your stuff," he said to him. "Books, quill pens, and some personal items."

"Uh...," Lloyd replied back with hesitation.

"Don't worry," Jan assured to him, "me, Katharina, and Joan pooled our money together to buy them from your family, so it's basically all yours."

Eventually, Lloyd accepted it with gratitude. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Jan replied back.

Watching this, Sati commented, "Wow, you really sacrificed your resources just for him, didn't you?"

Jan then smiled. "Of course yes, because I cared for him as if he was my son."

"Okay then," Xerxes replied.

And so, Sati and Xerxes hopped in the back while Lloyd and Jan sat in the front, before Jan would whip the horses, causing them to move forward and pull the carriage. Shortly thereafter, with Lloyd's directions, they left Baleville and into the flat plains towards Wooda.