Chapter 33: Market

S'Alor decided that he didn't need the attention that he would receive going out into the town, so he sprawled out on the floor in front of the fire-place.

I was very curious to see what the town looked like, and to meet some of the local people. There had been no exposure to anyone other than the people we had been training with, and now the very intriguing people I had met at the Dragon's Wing Inn.

The first thing that struck me was that the town was clean. From my reading about the medieval towns in history, I expected it to really stink; with raw sewage in the streets and rubbish disposed of by dumping wherever it was convenient. The fact that this wasn't the case was a huge relief. There were a lot of very interesting smells, but these were from the various enterprises that we passed along the way. As we entered the market square, I was struck by the smell of spices and food, and our first stop was at a small stall that sold some unidentifiable meat 'in-a-bun' and I couldn't help having a quiet internal chuckle at the thought of what Terry Pratchett would say about that.

Once we all had something to eat, we started browsing through the market. D'ar'Beth soon got impatient with us, and hurried us along. She led us down an alley that led off the market proper. All the shops and stalls dealt in weapons and armour in some form. I got side-tracked immediately by the various blades on display, and had to suffer D'ar'Beth's displeasure.

Suitably chastised, I hurried after her along with the rest until she turned into a dingy shop halfway down the alley.

I had to duck my head to avoid getting dinged by the various swords and maces hanging from the ceiling and it took a few minutes before my eyes could adjust to the poor light in the shop. A wizened old man was sitting behind a counter on a high stool, peering near-sightedly to see who had invaded his shop.

"Aah, D'ar'Beth. So good to see you again," he exclaimed suddenly as he spotted her in the gloom. "What can I help you with today?"

"Well met Bathar. We are going journeying and my I want to set my friends here up with some of your speciality items," she replied quietly.

Bathar smiled at her then screeched at a young boy to close the door. Once he was satisfied that our privacy was assured, he clambered off his stool and a cabinet behind the counter. He reached in and pulled out something that looked like a bundle of rags. He laid it on the counter and unravelled the cloth to expose six finely crafted wood-and-sinew bows.