Time

Chapter 7

Travis looked himself over in the mirror. He had been excited a day ago over how the room was so fancy in comparison to his old room. That is, until he realized how nicer the rooms must be up in the castle at the heart of the city. Knowlridge had gotten him some new clothes too. He liked them, it wasn't too fancy but still nice. He went to the door and opened it. He stepped into the hallway, a wave of nostalgia hitting him. Memories washed over him, memories of a hallway like this. Something bad had happened? Anyways, he thought, that hadn't actually ever happened. He dismissed the memory and went to Knowlridge's room, rapping on the door. Travis heard bumping inside and a lock jiggling. A moment later, he had fully view of Knowlridge in all his disgruntled glory. "What d'you want?" Knowlridge asked, his voice sandpaper worming it's way through a brick.

"Oh, sorry, I just wanted to tell you I'm going to go out and look around the city." Travis answered.

"Hmm... fine," Knowlridge reckoned, "watch out, though. You'd be surprised at how many innocent boys get mugged when they're 'looking around.' Here's a hint: it's higher then you can count."

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Travis walked through the crowd. This place was easier to get lost in then the Wyrd forest! Travis looked around. There were more stalls here then he'd seen in his life! There were fifty stalls for clothing! 30 stalls just for cheese! Travis sprinted through the ever-growing crowd of buyers until he realized he had gotten past the crowd and was now in an alleyway. It wasn't long, just between some of the taverns and restaurants. Knowlridge had told him that all the businesses were situated on the outside, while all the houses were closer to the castle. Travis strolled down the alleyway, and then he noticed the stall at the other end of the alley. It was a small one, not nearly as extravagant as the others. He walked up to it. There wasn't any peddler in it, but all the merchandise was here. Unlike the others, who specialized in food, clothing, weapons, and jewelry, this one seemed to peddle all sorts of items. There were weapons and jewelry, very well crafted Travis noticed, which was strange considering it was in an alleyway. There was some clothing, albeit they were obviously more useful then good-looking. He was about to leave when a voice called out. "Hey! Don't be stealin' any of my stuff!" Travis swung around, something he'd have to get used to.

"I wasn't stealing anything!" Travis exclaimed, excited at the sight of a dagger in the man's grubby hand.

"Oh, yeah?" The man snapped. "Well we'll just see about that!" The man stalked to the booth, keeping his eye on Travis the whole time. He quickly glanced at the merchandise in the stall. "Hmm... doesn't seem like anything's gone... well, you're clear." The man glanced up. "The name's Barstad Cheery. Hmm... you look like the right age, do you have your crystal?" Travis was noticeably startled.

"Uh, I haven't seen my results yet..." Travis mumbled.

"What! Well give it here, then! I'll give you the results for free!" Barstad exclaimed, stretching out his hand.

Travis had taken the gem from his pocket. He slowly gave it to Barstad. For some reason, he felt like he could trust this man, someone who had threatened to stab him a few minutes ago. Barstad took it carefully from Travis' grasp, laying it on an area of his stall. He turned, opening a drawer. He removed a bottle of blue liquid from it, laying it down next to a silver bowl. "This is testing liquid," Barstad explained, "and most people would just use it as it is, but that's not the right way. You've come to the right place, I actually do it right!" Barstad poured a small amount of the liquid into the bowl. Travis had imagined a tub of testing fluid, sparkling with light, while dozens of result gems rested at the bottom. Apparently, that wasn't the case. Barstad took another vial from the drawer, this one filled with Blessi. Barstad shook a few leaves into a small grindstone and set to work. It only took a few minutes to grind the dry, golden leaves into a fine powder. He poured some of the shining dust into the bowl, mixing it with the testing fluid. He then reached under the counter, pulling out a jug of beer. He poured some of it into the bowl, although most of it ended up going to Barstad's mouth. "Ahhh... nothing like a crisp beverage on a hot day! Want some?" Barstad asked, motioning with the jug.