Mystic

Chapter 4; Matthew

The sun had just started to rise over the grassy hills of Yamen's capital as Matthew arrived. It's warm glow filled the wide, dusty streets. Most of the shopkeepers were just arriving at their stalls, setting up their elaborate displays and tidying up from the day before. Matthew signaled to Orion, and the dragon ran and hid in the tall grass.

Matthew leaned against a building and looked through the contents of his bag. He had a day's worth of rations, his notebook, a quill, a canteen of water, metal scraps, and a handful of dragon scales. The metal he may be able to trade with a blacksmith for a bit of money, but he knew even one dragon scale was worth a small fortune.

He fished the scales out of his bag and held them tightly in his palm. He studied the scales intently. Each one was a different shade of midnight blue, with small hints of purple and black. The ones he had were from when Orion was younger, so they were only about the size of a small coin. Matthew debated whether he should sell them. He had kept them for sentimental reasons, but if he sold them in Yamen, he would never be in need of money again.

Maybe just one, He thought. But one scale wasn't enough. If he sold one, It would lead to the next, then the next, until he had nothing left.

He tucked them back into his bag and walked down the road. People were already starting to gather in the streets, inspecting the merchant's newest wares. Those who were already on the streets when Matthew arrived were carrying lanterns, but most had nothing with them. Matthew watched as a boy who looked to be about nine or ten extinguished torches mounted on the sides of buildings.

When most of the merchants had set up their shops, Matthew looked best he could for a blacksmith's workshop, but it was difficult. All of the signs were written in Mintonese, the official language of Yamen. Some of the shops had a Javanese inscription underneath, but It didn't help. Matthew asked anyone he could where to find a blacksmith, but no one who could speak his language knew the answer. Matthew went back to trying to decipher the signs. Distracted, Matthew walked in to someone in the thick crowd.

"Sorry," Matthew said distractedly. He made his way towards a large mudstone building near the center of the market to try to clear his head. He slid back against the wall and opened his notebook. Beside him, someone cleared their throat. Matthew closed his notebook and looked up at the person's face.