Finding Work

Alex ran out of the street where the market was. He was met with a narrow road that extended both ways.He snuck into an alley beside the building and kept running until he came to a line of shacks. He went into one of the smaller ones.

Inside the shack was there was nothing except some kitchen stuff.

One small figure was sleeping in the corner of the room on one of the blankets. It was a young girl. She looked like she was around 9-10 years old. Her red, long hair covered up the holes in her rags. She was shivering but didn't wrap herself in the other blanket.

"AELLA. Get up." ALEX gently said.

The girl, Aella, opened her eyes. She looked at the boy and immediately got up. She saw the bun in his hands.

"Where did you get that from, Alex? Did you steal it?" She asked the Alex.

Alex shook his head. "A fruit vendor gave it to me. He must be new around here. Anyway, take some. You haven't had food since yesterday."

She took it from him and started nibbling on it.

"I'll go to the market and see if anyone needs help. If I work today, we should have food for two days at least," he said.

"I'll come too," Aella said.

"No. You stay here. You are too young and frail. You might get hurt," he said, shaking his head.

Aella huffed. "You are the younger then me. I'm one year older then you. Also, stop acting like you are my brother. You aren't. How can I let you do all the work?"

He smiled "You still haven't recovered. Once you recover, you can work."

Aella sighed and looked away. "Okay. Bye."

"Bye. I'll see you in the evening."

He left the shack and went back to the marketplace. It was a single street with ample space for people to walk. Carriages would fill up the street, but because nobles don't come here, it wouldn't be a problem. There were vendors set up on each side of the street, shouting to attract their customers. Some of them were offering simple groceries, but most of them were selling equipment and potions to mercenaries. Because the Adventure Guild was right beside the market, the smaller guild members would get their equipment and potions from the stalls instead of the bigger shops.

He went to the first stall that caught his eye. It was a stall that sold swords. He walked to the vendor.

"Hello. Do you need anyone to do small tasks, I can help you clean your stall and swords." He told the vendor.

"Go somewhere else, kid." The vendor didn't even bat his eyes.

He was not discouraged. He went to the next stall and asked again. He was once again met with failure. He kept asking all the stores. He would badger any kind-looking people, but everyone said no.

He finally arrived at a potions stall.

"Hello. Do you need anyone to do small work that you don't want to do? I can do anything you need me to do," he told the vendor. "That I am able to do," he added.

The vendor was a middle-aged man with a beard. He looked up and saw Alex. 

"How old are you?" He asked him.

"I am 10 years old. I might look younger" Alex said while smiling.

The man flinched . He looked around his stall. The stall was clean, and there was nothing for Alex to do. Alex understood this when he looked around himself.

"It's okay, I'll come another day," Alex said. He turned around, about to leave, but the man stopped him.

"What's your name, boy?" He asked Alex.

"I am Alex. Nice to meet you, Mr.?" He held his hand out. The man shook it.

"I am Victor," the man said.

"So, do you have any work for me, Mr. Victor?"

He asked.

Victor looked at him.

"As you can see, the stall is very clean. Potion selling is very neat work. So you don't have any work here." Vicor said.

Alex's smile faded.

"But that changes if you can take risk."