Entering the dining hall, my eyes locked onto Milo. I would be needing him before he ran off, so after I placed all the food on the dining table, I quickly made my way over to him.

"Excuse me, Milo, before you go back downstairs, any chance you could make some stone barrels and fill them with water?"

He just nodded, his mouth full of the roll he'd just bitten into. He was certainly looking much better as well; I guess Hari was successful in making him sleep.

Heading back into the kitchen once that was sorted, I had a lot to do, but I started by cleaning an area of the room for Milo to get water for me.

"What ya' doing?" Liane said from her corner.

I had completely forgotten she was still in here and jumped at the question.

"I'm clearing a space for Milo to create a couple of barrels of water," I said, gesturing.

"Why not use the rune?" Liane looked at me, confused.

I looked around. What rune was she talking about?

"There is a rune here?" I asked, dreading the answer I was going to get.

"Of course there is. You think a kitchen this size on the third floor would have people running outside to grab water?" Liane chuckled as she hopped down from the corner and made her way over to the counter along the wall.

"Yep, there it is." She was pointing at one of three tiny coin-sized circles on the wall that I had not even noticed.

As I approached and took a closer look, I still couldn't tell they were runes.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at her.

She leant forward, pressing her finger on the circle she was pointing at, and the middle one spurted water out, splashing me.

"Pretty sure," she said with a grin.

I felt incredibly embarrassed. I had access to water the whole time!

"So… do I want to know where you got the water for the crabs? Did you go into the city to find a well?" She laughed.

When I didn't respond and just averted my gaze, that humour turned to shock.

"You didn't…"

"No comment!" I quickly said, pulling out a pot and using the rune on the wall to fill it with water.

Once that was half full, I carried it to the bench and pulled out the second Skywolf for the day.

Liane was chuckling again, and when I looked around to see what Crisplet had done, I saw it.

"Traitor!" I muttered, as I saw a bathtub made from ash at the entrance to the oven.

"It's not that bad, honestly. I would have made more fun of you if you'd gone running around town to find a pump or something," Liane said, taking her spot back in the corner.

I started to skin the wolf, this time trying to concentrate—see if I could at least do it perfectly once today.

***

Several hours passed, and I had cleaned three wolves. I was unsuccessful in keeping the hide on all of them, but I was getting much better.

"Are you going to sit there and watch me all day?" I asked Liane, who had just been sitting in the corner watching. For a short period, she had a knife and a piece of wood out, trying to whittle something, but appeared to get frustrated before storing them.

"I thought about it, but no. I need to go to the smithy today to get some repairs done. I just didn't want to deal with people yet," she said, finally getting down from the corner.

"I'm about to head to the market if you want to head out with me?" I offered, heading to the oven to collect Crisplet.

"It's okay. I'm just going to be hidden. I'll see you soon for snacks!" She grinned before vanishing a moment later.

I made my way outside, happy I hadn't bumped into anyone or had any trouble as I moved through the main hall. Once I was outside, I made my way straight to the market. The fruit and vegetables I would be buying were mostly just to resupply, so I wasn't overly excited about grabbing it all.

I would still get a couple of barrels if I could. I would need to be on the lookout for where to buy them. The other thing I was hoping to find was a way to mash the sugar reeds in the barrel, and something that had crossed my mind several times was a mould to make the candies in.

Entering the market again, I was hit by the smell of roasted meats, smoke, and spices in the air well before I saw it. When I rounded the corner and saw it, I realised it must have been the peak of lunchtime for everyone, because the market was bustling; there were crowds around all the food stalls.

Making my way to the first fruit stall, I saw they had more citrus fruits and far fewer berries than I was used to.

"Sorry, did you sell out of berries earlier in the day?" I asked the store owner, just curious when they'd get them back again.

"No, lad, we're heading into winter. You'll struggle to find berries," the older man said to me from behind the counter.

I had never paid any attention to what fruits and vegetables were available in which season, so I guess I'd have to figure it out as I went. I purchased a decent number of apples and oranges.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing to what looked like mini cherries—green, and solid when I felt one.

"Good eye. We just got them in this morning from further north. They are frost cherries. You'll see them a lot more in winter, but I'll warn you, lad, they are not like cherries in taste. They have a sour tartness to them, but with some sugar and some spices to add warmth, great in a pie," he explained.

I was nodding, wondering what else I could make with them. Perhaps some jams? Or maybe a candy themselves? I could see a sour candy being very tasty.

"Okay, I'll buy them all," I said, the man's eyes going wide, but he boxed them all up for me and handed them over, telling me to come back in a week and he'd have more.

Walking past the same seafood vendor as I had seen yesterday, I noticed he didn't currently have any crabs for sale.

"Excuse me, those barrels you have—where did you buy them?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, these? I've had them forever, but the local carpenter should be able to make you some, if they don't have some already. How'd those crabs go—did you use them?" he asked jovially.

"I cooked them last night! They were amazing. If you get more, I would happily buy them all. I just don't know how long I'll be in town for," I said.

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"Give me a few days and I'll have a resupply."

Nodding, I carried on—so I would look for a carpenter too. The next shop I stopped at was for vegetables, and I just resupplied on all the basics. I also found some foeni as well; I had not seen that since Geo used it in the fish pies, what seemed like forever ago.

I didn't bother looking at any of the meat or animals for butchering. It would be very unlikely to find something uncommon out in the open anyway, so I made my way to the edge of the market and looked through the shops that ran along the edge.

My eye was caught by a bookshop, and I really wanted to rush inside, but I had to resist—at least for today.

It took me twenty minutes to find the smithy, and I still had not found the carpenter yet, but upon entering the shop, a little metal bell rang, and a moment later a deep voice yelled out,

"Coming—hold on a second."

A short moment later, a small man who I felt was twice as wide as I was came out from the back door, barely able to look over-the-counter top, and when he stepped up and I saw him, his beard was impressively long—especially for a smith, who I had thought were usually clean-shaven since it burnt off all the time.

"How can I help ya?" the man said.

"Hello! I'm looking for something possibly a little different. I wanted to make candy and wanted to get a mould made so I could pour the sugar in and let it set with a preset shape."

"A mould, eh? Yeah, I've done a few of them in the past. Do you have a particular shape in mind?" he asked, stroking his beard.

"Well, it might be a long shot, but I wanted to do the base circle of a specific rune in each," I said.

"Hmm, you want to add a quick-release rune to the mould or something, do ya?"

"No, not that—sorry, I meant so it would have the indentation of a summoning circle on the candy itself." I shook my head, hoping he'd understand. I was really torn; I was told not to discuss my abilities with anyone, but I needed to explain a little for him to understand, right?

"That won't work, I don't think, but look—for the right price, I'll put a mould of the king's rear end in there," he said with a boisterous laugh. "Do you know the shape you're after?"

Deciding to go with the barrier one, I pulled out my notebook, removing a piece of paper where I drew the outer circle of the barrier spell. I couldn't add the magic words, as they'd have to be added manually, but nothing was stopping the outer ring being added and saving time.

As the man looked over the drawing, again stroking his beard, "Yeah, we can do that. How many candies do you want in the mould, and how large are they?"

After going over all the details with him and ending up on candies the same size as my thumb tip, with twenty-four on the single mould, we shook hands, and I paid him six silver up front, with another eighteen silver once it was done. It seemed expensive, but I also didn't know how much work it would be to add that circle into the metal itself, so I wasn't about to argue the point, especially since, if he messed it up, every candy would explode on me.

I also finally learnt the man's name: Garth.

"Thanks, Garth. I'll be back in two days!" I waved as I left. I felt it was a safe bet that we'd still be here then. I also got directions to the carpenter's, which was close to where I was now, so it worked out.

After a quick trip, I entered a workshop that was alive with activity. There was a rich smell of wood in the air, and looking around, I saw at least a dozen people working on a variety of different items—from tables, chairs; some people my own age were hewing logs.

"Careful with that elemental in here," a lady's voice said.

"Don't worry—Crisplet won't leave his brazier. I was hoping to buy a couple of items," I said, moving on in the conversation.

"And what would that be?" she said, coming over to me and dusting the woodchips and dust off herself.

"My name's Trevor. I'm looking to buy two or three large wooden barrels."

"I see. And do you need them prepared for use as well?" she asked.

"Prepared?" I wasn't entirely sure what she meant.

"I can sell you two barrels now, but you'll need to prepare them yourself: soak them with water for a couple of days, and if you have any major leaks, you'll need to tighten the bands or add some wax."

"Oh, I can do all that—shouldn't be a problem," I said.

It sounded easy, and I figured I could just ask Milo to fill them up. He'd also know how to tighten the bands as well, so this should be fine.

"Right, well—one silver per barrel," she said, before turning around and yelling at two others to grab the barrels from out back.

I handed over the silver. Again, I didn't really know enough about barrel prices to haggle. I probably could have saved some money, but I wasn't overly concerned at the moment about saving coppers. That was when a thought struck me.

"You wouldn't happen to have any rare or Uncommon wood scraps you'd like to sell, do you?" I asked.

"Scraps?" she questioned, looking at me.

"Chips, off-cuts—that sort of thing," I added.

"No, we don't usually save it. Do people often buy it where you've come from?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know if they often do, but I use it in cooking. The smoke from them adds a nice flavour to meals."

Her eyes opened wide. "Thanks, kid—you've just given me a great idea for a new way to earn money!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't suppose you'd like to give me a discount on the barrels because of it?"

She let out a snort. "Not a chance—but if it's a major success, I'll give you a small percentage if you return," she said with a grin.

A short moment later, two guys who looked just a little older than me came out carrying the two wooden barrels and placed them on the ground in front of me. I reached out, hoping they would store without issue, because there was no way these would go into the storage ring.

"That's a nice storage device you've got there," she said, her eyebrow raising.

"Not a device—just a skill. Only works on cooking-related items, though, so it is limited. Thanks for your help!" I said, leaving quickly, as I didn't want to go into too many details about the skill.

Deciding that was it for the day, I started making my way back to the guild. Part of me expected the guy from yesterday to show up and make a scene. I really hoped he didn't, and the guild sorted it out like they said they would.

But there was just a feeling of unease.

It was unfounded, though. As I entered the guild hall, no one interrupted me as I made my way upstairs. Deciding to make one last stop before I went to the kitchen for the afternoon, I dropped past the alchemy shop that was on the second floor.

"Greetings, young adventurer. How may I help you today?" I was greeted as I entered the shop. I was mindful that here, more than anywhere, I would need to be very careful about my abilities.

"Hello, I was just wondering if you sold raw materials here?" I asked hopefully.

"Oh, a young alchemist, are you?"

"No, no, I'm just buying for a party member of mine. They sent me here to get supplies," I said with a big smile.

"Ah, doing the errands—that makes sense. Yes, we sell raw items. Did they give you a list?" he said with a chuckle at being the errand boy.

"Not a list of exact items. They asked me to get any raw items I could that would be used in mana potions and stamina potions—fresh or dried," I smiled at the man, acting like I was just remembering what I was told.

"Those are some advanced materials. We have a little in stock, but they are rather expensive…" the man said with a bit of a frown, and I was slightly concerned I may have asked for something out of the normal.

But a moment later he was pulling up small glass vials of different powders and several bundles of dried leaves, before going out back and coming back with a small wooden box containing what looked like regular tree roots, and lastly a box containing two different kinds of dried flowers—including one I actually recognised: mana tears.

"Here's what we have," he said, starting from the flowers. "Mana tears and Legarant—both of these are for mana."

Pointing at the roots next: "Quick root—common base ingredient for stamina potions. Then, there are these powders here, after the active ingredients: powdered bark of the mana willow."

The powder was light blue—almost white—but there was a shine to it that made it feel special. I activated Arcane Foraging and quickly removed common items and dulled out Uncommon. I was a little disappointed to see that all the items he was selling me were, at best, Uncommon. I could also see they had some rare stuff out back, as there were several vibrant blue shapes.

"This red one is the ground-up beak of a blood owl. It's used in both stamina and restoration," he said, before pointing to the last one.

"This is the pollen from the Fate's Eye. It's a rare flower that only grows up north in recently defrosted ground, but its mana properties are second to none."

It was odd. That particular powder—or pollen, as he said—wasn't glowing at all, so it was Common, or not edible; yet he called it rare.

I activated the Common part of the Foraging skill and was assaulted by most of the store turning blue—but likewise that last one also turned blue.

Was he trying to take advantage of me?

I wasn't sure. I would check in my book later, but for now I'd buy the other items.

"I'll pass on that last one. I've never seen my teammate use it before," I said, waving it away, and I saw disappointment cross the man's face.

"These other ones—how much?" I asked, and after a short pause with far too many thinking sounds—

"Four gold should cover it," he said.

I just laughed. I didn't know if he was trying to cheat me or not, but the number seemed very high, and after calling the Common item rare, I had a hunch he was just trying to take advantage of me being new—so I called his bluff.

"Ah, damn. Well, I was only sent with one gold. He assured me it would be more than enough. That's okay—I'll send him here in person. He'll be upset, but it's got to be done, I suppose," I said with a deep sigh, pretending to be disappointed.

There was a nervous chuckle. "I tell you what—since you're new here, and I don't want you to get in trouble, one gold will do just fine."

I handed it over and quickly stored all the goods—much to the man's surprise as they all vanished from the counter. I was probably still getting overcharged, but I'd run it all past Milo when I had a chance to double-check. I'm sure Milo would be okay with playing the part of an irate alchemist who got scammed if need be.

Thanking the man, I made my way upstairs. Now I would focus on butchery. I had one common one left to do—then only uncommon carcasses after that.

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