Chapter 3: Riverbend Outpost

The outpost is a thriving and busy place known as Riverbend Outpost. There is a good sized market near the gate, multiple inns and pubs, at least one blacksmithy, and myriad other businesses to be found within its walls.

The first order of business, the two agree on is finding food. They’re not starving, but it sure feels like it to them and they have finished the rations they were provided with a day ago. Neither of them has ever had to go any significant length of time without a meal before this. It is a feeling they do not like.

Following the delicious aromas, they purchase two portions (500g per portion) of cooked fowl that tastes nothing like chicken. The flavor is out of this world is the first thought that comes to their minds as they take their first bites. This purchase cost them one bronze for the 1000 grams of meat they purchased. Not far off, as they are enjoying the tasty flesh on a skewer, they discover a woman selling something that has an appearance similar to corn on the cob, but smells more like a baked potato with herbs and spices. They split one to try it and immediately purchase a second one. This sets them back four coppers, but they feel it is worth it.

Hunger sated for the moment, they start looking for somewhere to sell the rest of the items they gained from killing the two beasts. All the while, Brandon is listening to the way people are haggling over prices. He’s seen this on TV and at the movies, but never in person. It’s a new experience for him. Tracy notices it as well, but her focus is more on possible merchants who might buy their goods.

The biggest impediment to selling the items they gained from the two beasts they killed is that they are clearly rubes. The various merchants can tell this at a glance and know that they can take advantage of the young, out of place couple.

Realizing this, Brandon makes use of the acting lessons from his classes in Drama taken as an elective for two years running. He starts by approaching a meat vendor and starts asking how much it would cost for a measure of pork. When he gets the answer, he follows the examples he’s been observing and starts haggling with the man. When he gets the man down to the lowest he will offer for a measure of pork, Brandon turns the tables on his and exclaims, “Wonderful. I’ve got 20 kilograms worth of uncured ham to sell you!”

The merchant blanches and says, “I was offering to sell at that price, not buy. Are you trying to rob me, boy?” He has noticed something different about his young man’s speech. There’s a niggling at the back of his brain, but nothing specific.

“No more than you are trying to rob me, Sir. Make me a reasonable offer based on the price you are willing to sell at, and I won’t go calling the guard on you for being a thief,” Brandon tells him.

While Brandon is bluffing, the merchant cannot take a chance on such a claim being made against him. So, he offers to buy the boar meat 30% lower than the quoted selling price. This is reasonable in Brandon’s view as he knows that retailers back home mark up prices by 100% but call it 50% mark up. Accepting the deal for the forty kilos of uncured ham, Brandon receives 8 gold pieces in exchange for the the hams. The margin of profit is still significant for the merchant, so he is not too put off.

The merchant, to his dismay, discovers Brandon is not done with him when Brandon asks, “How much for ten kilograms of juvenile primate meat?”

The old man looks at Brandon with a gleam in his eyes, “Did you say you have ten kilograms of ‘juvenile’ primate flesh to sell?”

“No, I asked how much it would be worth.”

“Which I take to mean you have it. May I see it?”

Brandon looks to Tracy, who pulls out the meat, still wrapped in the beast’s hide, and allows the merchant to inspect it.

“For the meat and the hide, I’ll pay you 15 gold,” he tells them.

“Something tells me that this is worth a bit more,” says Brandon.

“Oh, it is, boy. But you won’t get more for it. The hide must be properly cured, and I’m quite sure you don’t have the necessary skills. The meat, when properly prepared, is highly sought after by body cultivators,” the merchant tells him.

“How much for the pelt, and we get two kilos of the meat prepared for a body cultivator?”

“9 gold. That’s seven for the pelt and two for the eight kilos of primate meat. I’ve already deducted the cost for the two kilos of the prepared meat based on the preparation cost,” the old man says.

“I accept. When can we pick up the two kilos of prepared juvenile primate meat?”

“Come back in two days, and I’ll have it ready for you.”

“One last thing, would you have a use for, or know who would buy, the pelt of a boar and its tusks? Oh, and I forgot, we also have the penis of the primate.”

The old man nearly faints hearing the last and tells them, “I’ll buy the hide and the tusks for 3 gold. I cannot afford the primate penis, but you can go to that shop over there, and they will purchase it for a healthy sum. Just tell them old Hei sent you.”

With that, the deal is finalized. They pass over the pelts, tusks, and meat. In return, he gives them a receipt for the two kilos of prepared juvenile primate meat along with a total of 20 gold. Brandon offers the man a cupped fist salute, as he as observed others doing, which the man returns with a smile.

In the end, they get a decent deal. The prepared meat will sell for 50 silver per centigram or six gold per kilogram. The primate pelt is worth 20 gold correctly prepared, thus it is an excellent deal for the merchant.

Heading directly to the shop, old Hei told them to visit, Brandon opens the door for Tracy and follows her in. Once inside, they approach the counter, and Tracy pulls out the primate penis and places it on the counter top and rings the bell on the counter.

When a middle aged man approaches and looks at the item on his clean counter-top, Tracy says, “Old man Hei sends his regards and told us to see you about selling this juvenile primate penis. How much will you offer for it?”

The man behind the counter is at first put off by the young woman when she plops a piece of meat on the counter. Upon hearing what it is, he picks it up and inspects it to see if she is telling the truth. At the same time, something about her accent makes him take special note of her. There’s a familiarity about it, but he cannot put his finger on it.

“Hmm. This is an excellent specimen. Excellent in deed! Let me weigh it, and then we can discuss payment,” the merchant tells her. With that, he turns around and places the item on a balance type scale to determine its weight. A moment later, he turns around with a chart in hand and states, “At ten gold a kilogram for such a specimen, I can offer you three gold.”

Tracy looks at him like the man shot her pet dog and says, “But, you just said per kilogram.”

“Indeed, I did. This specimen is 300 grams, thus three gold. Take it or leave it,” the merchant says nonchalantly.

“We’ll take it,” says Brandon as he puts a calming arm around Tracy’s waist. While she’s been working the deal, he has been looking around to see what the store has to offer.

“Sir, do you have any materials on the use of Qi in combat, or materials on spells, and finally body cultivation techniques?,” asks Brandon.

“We do. What exactly are you looking for,” the merchant asks.

We need to gain a better understanding on the manipulation of Qi and Mana. I also need information on spells, or if that’s too general, I would like to find low level lightning and water spells,” Brandon tells him.

“I am going to guess that you’re new to all forms of cultivation. Give me a moment,” he tells them and hurries off. A few minutes later, he returns with several scrolls. “Here we are. Let’s see,” he begins as he lays the scrolls on the top of the counter.

“There are several styles of body cultivation. Some are better than others,” the merchant says as he places four different manuscripts in front of them. They are “Rising Blue Tide,” “Black Watery Depths,” “White Star’s Core,” and “Red Blessed Child.”

Hearing this, Tracy picks each one up to look them over. She gets a general idea of what is in each on but nothing more than a synopsis as it is protected by a formation to prevent visual memorization within the building. This is true of all the scrolls, manuscripts, and books in this and most stores.

“I think this one my suit me best,” she says as she holds out the “White Star’s Core” manuscript. “How much is it,” she asks.

“That one is five gold. Depending on your total purchase, I may be able to give you a small discount,” the merchant responds with a smile. While they have been talking, Brandon has also been perusing the manuscripts. He too decides on the “White Star’s Core.”

With their body cultivation manuscripts chosen, they move on to the next item on with Brandon saying, “Alright. So that covers body cultivation needs.”

“Actually, you would need two of those manuscripts if you are each going to use them. All of these are magical and directly impart the information into your mind and then turn to dust. We do have normal scrolls that you have to read, but they often have the disadvantage of individuals interpreting parts of the documents incorrectly,” the merchant tells them.

“Ah, okay. We’re familiar with those types of items. What next,” asks Tracy.

“Can you cast any spells at this time,” the man behind the counter asks.

“I can create a spark that provides a limited amount of light and can be used to start a fire. I also have become fairly skilled with Mana-bolt, and I managed to acquire “Mana Explosion,” states Brandon.

“That’s impressive. How did you learn two such powerful spells?”

“By visualizing shooting a massive boar with mana. Then, I visualized blowing its head off its shoulders,” Brandon states.

This causes the man to blanch and take a step back. For one to visualize and create a spell without being taught is a skill so rare that less than one in a hundred million can do it.

“I. I see,” he stammers before moving the body cultivation books aside. “Give me a moment. You said you were looking for lightning and water based spells?”

“That is exactly correct, Sir,” says Brandon.

With that verification the man hurries off, glad to put some space between the freak at the counter and himself. The combination of his ability to visualize and create spells on his own and the dialect of their speech finally pulls up a memory from the past. “It would be best if I do not anger these two,” he thinks as he pulls two scrolls from different storage slots on the walls.

Returning to the counter where the couple is waiting, he presents Brandon with two scrolls. One is for the spell “Shocking Touch” while the other is “Minor Fount.”

“Shocking Touch allows you to either directly touch a target and shock it. Or, you can use it to imbue a ranged weapon, like an arrow, or a throwing knife with the shocking power. It’s damage is dependent on your skill, power, and available mana. Minor Fount can be used to provide you with clean water, or it can be cast on a target’s mouth or nose and cause it to possibly drown. It lasts for up to three minutes,” the man tells Brandon.

“Alright, add those to the stack, please,” Brandon says.

“Don’t forget something about using Qi to empower one’s strikes. Not just through the body and into a fist, or foot, but also a weapon,” says Tracy.

“Yes, I have not forgotten, Miss. I will retrieve a copy,” he says as he quickly takes off to get the items in question.

“If you would be so kind, Sir,” she says with a smile to his retreating back.

He’s gone for a moment and returns with a scroll in hand. “This is a novice level scroll on the projection of one’s Qi into their strikes. Is there anything else you desire?”

Tracy looks to Brandon and they know instantly that they have no further requests at this time. “Not today, kind sir,” Tracy tells the merchant.

“Wonderful, please allow me tally this all up and see where we are,” he tells them. Pulling out an abacus, he makes the calculations. He could have done it in his head, but he wants it to be done within their view so they can see what he is doing. A moment later, he has a tallied up a total of 18 gold based on the items they are going to purchase.

“The total is eighteen gold for the everything. Minus the three gold for the penis brings it down to fifteen gold owed. On the remainder owed, I’ll give you a 5% discount, which brings it down to a total of fourteen gold and twenty-five silver. How does that sound to you?”

“I think it would be a better and more agreeable deal if you gave us the discount before taking away the value of the penis, Sir,” says Tracy.

“18 minus 5% is 17 gold and 1 silver. Deduct the three gold from that and we would owe you 14 gold and 1 silver in all. That’s a saving of twenty-four silver on our end,” states the young woman.

Picking his abacus back up, he does the figures and sighs. He didn’t need to think about it, he knew his way would make him a better profit. He had hoped they wouldn’t notice.

“Ah, yes. You are quite right, young Miss. Your total is fourteen gold and one silver. Is this agreeable?”

Tracy and Brandon look at each and reach an agreement without a word passing between them. Brandon smiles as he pulls out the coins and hands it over, “You have a deal.”

With their newly acquired materials in their rings, they head out of the store and look for a place to rest for the night. By mid-day, they decide to take a break and relax. Finding a tree to sit under, they pull out their water skins and quench their thirst. Putting them away, they talk about what has happened to them so far.

Brandon gets to thinking about what he wishes they had based on his gaming experiences and books he has read, which he tells Tracy about.

Tracy has some experience gaming, but not nearly as much as Brandon. So, she is interested in what he is thinking and would like to have. She has also been thinking about weapons and armor since she is a combat class.

They decide they need to see about finding someone to train them in the use of their weapons, and more. This means lessons in martial arts here. They have plenty of general information on fighting styles, but specialization would be much more useful.

Before long, they agree to check out their scrolls as they are too valuable to ignore. Within minutes they have absorbed all the information and are integrating it into their knowledge bases.