Third Person

The sun looms over the city of Sanctum, shining it's brilliant light onto the citizens below. Currently walking towards the City Square is a man wearing a luxurious black robe with gold trimmings and a hooded figure wearing a brown cloak. The sunlight reflects off the man’s robe, giving everyone a better look at the depth of the meticulous designs. On his waist is a katana, sheathed in black scabbard. The deep black colour reflects no light, as if it is an empty void that consumes all. A rather ominous impression is given by the sword. If it wasn’t for the handsome man and his gentle aura, people might have felt panicked. The scabbard itself is of a simple design with no real engravings or carvings. It is more rectangular than most scabbards but that is its only defining trait. The katana is just as simple, with a rectangular guard and gold pommel. The hilt is wrapped in a black cloth with gold edges, haphazardly wrapped around and tied to the hilt. A loose strand hangs from the katana, but it doesn’t diminish the overall aesthetics of the blade.

Besides the man walks a hooded figure covering most of their face and body. Judging from the several locks of blonde hair that emerge from the hood and slender figure, it is rather easy to draw the conclusion that the figure is a female. There is a protrusion in the cloak, signifying some sort of weapon is hanging from her waist. As secretive as the lady was being, everyone who walks by could pretty much guess who it was. Unbeknownst to Alexandra, her identity has been long discovered and the citizens only act ignorant to the fact. Ever since Alexandra was a child, she preferred the more functional use of a shirt and a pair of pants over the appearance of a dress. Sandra would “sneak” out of the palace and visit the city often, wearing throwing a cloak over her normal clothes and considering herself incognito. Dressing up in her signature blouse and leather pants as often as she did, it didn’t take long for the citizens of Sanctium, to guess who was under the cloak. In fact, the guards of the palace often turned a blind eye to her “sneaking” out when she was younger. Of course there were guards and such secretly tailing her, but that stopped when she started training the sword with her father. She the soon became strongest among the knights and her parents decided she could visit the city on her own.

"So, why are you coming with me again?" -Theun

"Mother said that it would be best for someone to guide you around the city. We wouldn't want you to get lost." -Sandra

"Ahuh. She didn't think I’ll ask for directions back to the palace?" -Theun

"It's easy to ask for directions somewhere, but whether the one you're asking is telling the truth is a different matter. They could easily guide you into an isolated street and rob you blind. Considering the fancy clothes you always wear, I wouldn't be surprised if they stole those too." -Sandra

"People get their clothes stolen around here?" -Theun

"Not that I'm aware of, but you can never be too safe. As a child, I would sometimes sneak out and visit the city. Not once did I run into trouble but that was many years ago. There’s been an increase in lately, people are having things stolen from them thrice as much as last year.” -Sandra

“Wow, that’s quite the increase.” -Theun

“Yes it is. A total of nine people this year alone.” -Sandra

“…” -Theun

“Also, here are the coins for the Eldeer leather." -Sanra

Sandra unties a pouch of coins on her belt and hands it to Theun. The pouch is a simple leather pouch, dyed a deep black colour to suit Theun's clothes. Theun receives the pouch with a smile and weighs it in his hands with curiosity.

"This is quite the amount of coins; did everyone else get this much?" -Theun

"No, all the coins we got for selling the skin are there." -Sandra

"What? Wasn't this supposed to be split among everyone?" -Theun

"That was when we didn't know who skinned the Eldeer. Now that we do, it's only obvious you receive the money. Also, you might want to practice skinning animals, the price of the hide went down quite a lot because of your handiwork." -Sandra

"You don't have to bring that up so much. Why is the pouch black?" -Theun

"Well, I noticed you didn't have a coin pouch on you when we met, I assumed you forgot to bring money in your rush to get here. So I took the liberty of buying a simple black leather pouch for you using your money. Is there anywhere you want to go in particular?" -Sandra

"Thank you. I think I'll head to the marketplace for now and see from there." -Theun

The gates of Sanctium face East and entering the city, travellers would be facing West. Straight ahead is the City Square, which acts as the centre of the city. Here lies a fountain and many of the city's facilities. Buildings for the Adventures Guild, Auction House and Training Arena take up most of the space. Several Inns are also built here as it is where travellers and adventurers tend to gather. Heading further West is the Palace and Cloud District, where many manors and mansions house the wealthiest of the city. Heading North from the Square leads to the Financial District. This is where shops are normally built and produce is bought. South of the Square is the Residential District where most of the population lives. The uneven ground of the city means that the gates and City square are even to the plains, the Cloud District slightly elevated with the palace at the highest point and the Residential and Financial District slightly lower than the City Square.

Sandra leads Theun through the City Square and they proceed to the Financial District. Unbeknownst to them, a shadow is lurking within the dark alleyways. This hooded figure has just spotted something of interest, a man with clothes fit for a king, carrying a large sack of coins his companion gave him. The shadow saw the exchange earlier and their eyes glimmered at the way he weighed the pouch, surely it was filled to the brim with coins...

A few minutes of walking later, Theun and Sandra arrive at Financial District’s Marketplace. From what Theun had found out about the plaza, the Marketplace is a large plaza with designated lots where adventurers can set up small vendors to sell their loot. A permit must first be received from the Adventurer’s Guild, which contains a designated lot and the days the adventurer is allowed to vacate it. Adventurers are allowed to sell whatever they want as long as it is legal in the city they are in. Selling an illegal item will result in punishment from the city’s official and the Adventurer’s Guild. Depending on the severity of the offense, the punishment might range from a fine to life imprisonment. Theun makes a note on how each vendor has made sure to stay within the boundaries of their lots, creating makeshift streets for people to walk along.

The perks of the marketplace is the cheap items for sale and the revenue it brings to the city. The marketplace is known to have cheaper wares than the actual stores in the Financial District, however they do not guarantee quality and satisfaction. The marketplace is normally filled with people who are low on coins or desperate, others would normally go to actual stores to buy their gear. It’s not to say that all the items on sale are all junk, it just requires a trained eye to spot the flaws in the items. Some items are sold at the marketplace in desperation for coins and can be very well maintained. Another positive is that other adventurers can barter and trade item for item. The city benefits from the Marketplace because the money received from selling permits is split between the Guild and the City.

Theun POV

Walking along the pathways made by the vendors, I see that everyone has kept to their lot and refrained from crossing the boundaries that are set. It’s quite the sight, really, to see such organisation in a large group of people. In fact, adventurers with certain types of items seem to gather into separate sections of the marketplace. It really makes it convenient for someone to find certain things they are looking for. Organising a large group of people is no easy feat, and the fact that each adventurer has taken it upon themselves to abide the rules and go out of their way to vacate certain lots really says something about the community.

My goal for today is to get a grasp on the economy of this world and understand how many coins is needed to sustain myself for a week. From there, I intend to find a means of income and begin to save up for the journey ahead. From what I know, the money I received from Sandra is not a small amount. With it I should be able to afford a backpack and camping set for myself. The pack isn’t really necessary since I intend to borrow one of the Storage Disks from Rusaria, but it still is convenient to have in the scenario that the Disk breaks.

Browsing through the equipment section of the marketplace, it wasn’t long until I came across a simple leather backpack. Its size and weight is reasonable but it does have a fairly large amount of pockets and sections to separate your loot and is in great condition. Asking the vendor about it, he said that it was his own backpack and he was selling it for a larger one. I look around the pack and see that there are no holes or loose seams that would warrant a discount. The price is 20 silver coins which seems reasonable enough. When I walked by the vendors earlier, I made a mental note of the cost of their backpacks and found that on average, a single pack would cost around 17 silver coins. 20 silver coins for this pack might not be too expensive since it is in a good condition compared to those I came across.

I continue throughout the Marketplace for the next hour looking for a suitable camping set. Apparently a camping set is rare to find since most people tend to keep theirs until it is in tatters, at which point they throw it away instead of keeping it to sell at a marketplace where no one would buy a wrecked set. Sandra is with me and only stops every so often to browse the wares of some stores. When I told her that she could leave to shop on her own, she denied the request and told me it was her “duty” to follow me and she is quite fond of my company. According to her, I am much more mature than those she speaks with and certain wisdom is found in my words. Her family is often busy and the only people she speaks to often is her siblings and the Royal Guard. Christi is intelligent but she often has nothing to talk to Sandra about and Kayden is much like his father and often childish; the knights aren’t much better as they don’t have much in common to talk to Sandra. I try to be as accommodating as I can to Sandra and we talk about many topics before I realise we are reaching the end of the Marketplace. Just as I was about to turn and continue the other way, a low ragged voice stops my steps.

“You there… Young man. Destiny has led you to me. At the ends of the Market where no one goes, you wander and arrive before me. A clear sign that this is more than it seems. Come sit and let this old one tell you of your future…” (???)

Theres a horrible truth to this chapter that I'm sure you all noticed. There were NO JOKES! D:

Also, tell me if there are typos. I need to fix them if there are.