Night would soon be upon the world, and with it would come greater numbers of monsters. Blackthorne was faced with a serious dilemma. Did he just try to squeeze by on the small amount of money that he currently had, and wait to heal, or did he risk his body out in the field tonight?

His wounds were only dangerous if they were actually serious. The only health issues that he faced at the moment were slight pain and stiffness at the areas where the bruises were the worst. Without his hit points to soak up damage, he could be overwhelmed quite easily if he faced monsters in large numbers.

"Hell, why not? Their numbers were lower closer to town, and I can pass the time making grass accessories," he said after a moment.

In all honesty, he wanted to be away from the tavern for a little while at any rate. The chance meeting with Jackie brought up old and undesired thoughts. Actively doing something would help to keep him focused.

Blackthorne left the tavern and headed to the general store. He'd noticed it the first time that he'd entered one of the stores in town, but the surprise of seeing it hit him once more. The interior of the local businesses held a surprisingly modern appearance.

There were neatly stocked shelves arrayed into aisles, a clean swept floor that looked to be made of tiled stone, and the occasional glass case that held more expensive items behind a lock. Inside those cases lighting fixtures were installed to give the best possible appearance to the goods on display.

The lighting overhead was clear and strong, even the background noise reminded him of a modern store as it included soft low-key music that captured the senses but did not interrupt his shopping experience.

He moved along the aisles until he discovered the section he sought, camping equipment. A tent or sleeping bag was outside his budget. The small crystalline object with a winged circle at the center that was labeled as a 'Stone of Rest' was far more expensive. It would create a safer camp site that would prevent monsters from roaming near. It wouldn't do anything against non-monstrous enemies, however.

The items he sought here were must less expensive. Scott purchased a torch stone, a type of crystal that emitted light like a flashlight but followed the owner around while floating in the air, and several ordinary medium sized bags. He then bought a bit of rope and a canteen.

When he reached the counter with his purchases, he inquired about food. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, informed him that he only sold it in large bulk orders. If he wanted smaller amounts of food he'd need to consider buying it from a farmer or one of the local restaurants.

Blackthorne ended up heading back to the Screaming Onion. He spied Scraggles standing behind the bar and decided to try making a deal. “The guy at the general store said I might want to try you, since I want to buy a little food for a meal while I'm hunting."

"That a fact?" asked Scraggles with a yawn.

When he did not continue the conversation, Blackthorne bit back a sarcastic remark and asked, "Got any food to sell?”

“Plenty, what do you want?” asked the tavern keep.

Blackthorne fished out twenty-seven of his Jerin from his bag and placed them on the counter. “A ham and cheese sandwich, and as many apples as that will buy. Oh and enough water to fill my canteen.”

“You planning to open a grocery store?” asked Scraggles with wide but happy eyes. It was nice to sell food to a customer who'd already bought a room for the night with meals included.

“Nah, I just want to stock up on food so I don’t have to eat field rations,” said the mage.

Scraggles nodded. “I understand. Food is cheaper than potions and works fairly well.”

The man disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned he offered Blackthorne three large sacks of apples.

"So, that'll be seventy-five apples for ya," said Scraggles.

"Seriously?" asked Blackthorne. If that was the case, couldn't he have just ordered in bulk from the general store?

"Of course, I have to make at least a little profit. I have to buy 'em by the bushel after all," said Scraggles in reply.

"How many apples is that?" asked Scott curiously.

Scraggles rubbed his chin. "Depends on the apples. It's all based on weight since they're different sizes, so usually 'bout a hundred twenty or so. I've seen it near two hundred at times."

He took a moment to consider his answer further, "Though, if that many come my way I know they'll all be the smallest damned apples around."

Blackthorne took that tidbit of information to heart. If he wanted more than a hundred apples he could buy them by the bushel at the general store. He stuffed the apples and sandwich into his recently cleaned bag then grinned. Everything fit. His bag was nearly full, but it was fine. He had bags that were slightly disposable, and did not need to foul his main bag with monster parts.

He only planned to hunt while working on his jewelry crafting skill, but if he could squeeze in a lot of one on one battles it could help his situation greatly. Due to how close he would be to town, there should not be too many monsters lurking around.

Blackthorne took his apples and left the room. His item bag stuffed with small apples and additional ordinary bags, he set out for the town gate.

He waved to the guards when he reached the gate and asked them about the rules for entering and leaving town. He could come and go as he pleased, but at night the guard would not dispatch anyone to help a traveler outside of the areas of road that were lit by torch stones. They would make an effort to help locals, however.

Once beyond that boundary, he was on his own at night. During the day, aid was based on line-of-sight or if someone came to specifically ask for help.

After marching away from the road for what he believed to be ten minutes, Blackthorne found a nice grassy spot that was within view of the road lights in the short distance. "This'll do. Even if the onions don't come out to play, I can still do other things."

Ready to get started, he collected lengthy pieces of long grass. Weaving bracelets took no life force as it was a simple construction skill. He could do it all night long if he wanted to do so.

Time passed while he worked. Minutes faded into a short few hours. The sun set completely and the moon rose high into the sky while he worked.

It was difficult to see the grass at night, and he refused to use his torch stone unless a monster showed up. Despite the hardship, however, he continued to work without cessation. He had woven grass bracelets in the night, just the other day. It was difficult and time consuming, but it provided the needed effect. Six hours after he started, Blackthorne received a sweetly voiced whisper ringing in his ear. His jewelry crafting skill had increased once more.

"Now that's what I'm talking about..." said Blackthorne with a grin.

There were dozens of grass bracelets piled around him at this point. As he'd worked, he could feel the old knowledge returning to him from the times when he made these bracelets out of boredom and a desire to keep his mind focused. Their design was incredibly simple. "Bet there's at least a hundred of these things," said Blackthorne while holding a grass bracelet aloft.

He yawned loudly then shook his head. So far, jewelry crafting was the only skill that he could truly grind without serious outside factors being involved. Everything else required life force expenditure, harder to acquire materials, or a monster to fight.

"This is probably enough grass bracelets for a while..." he said, his words trailing off into the air. His dream body did not tire as easily as his real world body, but he'd had a fairly big day. Even now it was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open. If he did not want to wake up back in the real world soon, he'd need to get up and start doing something else.

"Guess I was too close to the road for the onions to come out," he said after rising to his feet. With a yawn he continued, "Maybe I really should call it a night."

He gathered up his bracelets and stuffed them into one of his bags. He took the time to fill each of the other bags with grass as well. It was a project that took quite some time, but when he finished he was loaded down with raw materials for future down-time crafting projects.

On the way back to town he scarfed down a few apples and drank the last of his water. His poor ham sandwich was sacrificed to his hunger hours ago, at least by eating and drinking a little now he could bolster his regeneration just a little more.

He waved to the guards as he re-entered. They gave him a cursory once over, but luckily they had not changed shifts. They recognized him and let him enter town without issue.

Back at the tavern, he noticed that Scraggles was still awake and standing behind the bar. He ignored the man's odd work habits and immediately asked him, "About your rooms? How much did you say a room be if you did not include the bath and meals?"

"Just like I said before, the room's thirty by itself," replied Scraggles with a light yawn.

Blackthorne was glad to hear it, though he'd briefly hoped that the man would decide to lower the price just a tad if he asked again. It was an unlikely occurrence, but worth a try! "Can I add another day onto my room then?"

"No problem. You got the money, you got a room," said Scraggles.

Blackthorne offered him the money along with a slight yawn. Scraggles yawned in kind and accepted it before making a note in his record book. "Go ahead and sign the register again."

After signing in the book, Blackthorne headed back to his room with his many sacks of grass and his bag of grass bracelets. He dropped his stuff off then headed toward the bath area. There were comfort rooms nearby for the sake of relieving one's bowels and bladder. He certainly needed both at the moment.

Finished with his preparations, he returned to his room and locked his door. "That's about all I can do for now. I'm about as set as I can be for hunting later, so that's good."

The plan for now was simple. He would allow his dream body to rest by spending a few hours in the real world and then come back to spend the day hunting. It would be daytime when he returned, and that would allow him to go further afield safely. He'd done a lot of good for his crafting skill earlier, but it did not help his finances at all.

Briefly, he considered ignoring his tiredness. He was certain that he could continue to operate without sleep in this world, but he recalled vague tidbits of information that suggested that failure to take long rests would impact wound healing. That was the last thing he needed.

He ate a few apples then relaxed on the bed. Soon, he was greeted to the sound of a soft whisper in his ear. "Do you wish to rest and awaken from your dream?"

Momentarily alarmed by the sound of it, he soon realized that it was just the voice of the woman who told him about his skill increases. The system was giving him a chance to log-out directly. The last word he said was, "Yes," before the darkness claimed him. He'd left the land of his dreams behind and now headed off toward a far more mundane reality.