Limits

I entered the tavern, and noticed couple of Lizards inside. Some were drinking, whilst others eating or chating. When I entered, the tavern became quiet, and all Lizards looked at me. This lasted only a few seconds, then they returned to whatever they were doing before. I walked over to the counter, where a Lizard was standing, acting as the bartender.

I asked "What type of food and drinks can I get here?". What shocked me, was not the fact that the Lizard answered, but that it sounded like a female. She said "I can give you a manu, to have a look". I nodded my head absentmindedly, and she passed me the menu. 'I have to watch out, not to offend some female Lizards here. I didn't even realise they look so similar' I thought.

When I looked through the menu, I had no idea what those things represented. I decided to ask "Can you tell me what this dish is made from?". When I said this, one of the Lizards sitting at the table shouted "You heard that guys? The kid needs a mommy, to tell him what he is eat", and all the Lizards started laughing. 'It wasn't even funny' I thought to myself, and still looked at the bartender.

She didn't seem to care as well, and replied "The dish called Lears in Crumbs, is made from Lears, that live in the caves. It is cooked covered in crumbs", then she showed me the creature. It was a sort of larva creature, but it was big enough to cover one's palm. I wasn't very picky about food, and trying new stuff out, was also a part of experience.

I said "I will take one portion then". She nodded her head and said "Have a sit, and I will bring it to you in a moment". I already checked the price of that dish, it costed only 5 Copper Hals. I decided to order a drink as well. I didn't usually drink alcohol, but I decided to have a taste of something new. I asked "Which drink would you suggest?".

While she prepared the dish, she answered "If you want something strong, then Fiery Goblet is my recommendation. If you want something regular, you can take the Opal Water". I nodded my head and said "I will take the Opal Water then". Again, the same Lizard shouted "Not man enough, to drink the real stuff eh?".

I didn't give a shit to be honest. I didn't intend to respond. I simply found an empty table, as there were couple of them, and sat down. The Lizard that shouted those things, never took it a step further. He obviously knew the rules in this village, I wouldn't be provoked either. They continued their conversation and drinking, while I awaited my food.

The bartender soon arrived, with a cooked Lears on a plate, and a wooden mug, filled with some sort of liquid. I took a sip and it was quite strong. To me, any alcohol was strong. I didn't drink for a long time. I then took a bite of the larva thing, and to be honest, it didn't taste that bad. 'It looks much worse than it tastes' I thought, and ate the whole thing. I then gulped down the rest of the Opal Water.

With my meal finished, I took the plate and the mug to the counter, and said "It wasn't bad at all. Thanks". She smiled and asked "Do you need anything else?". I asked "How much do you charge for a room?". She said "For a simple room, we charge 50 Copper Hals a night. If you want something more lavish, then it's going to be 2 Red Hals a night".

I asked in confusion "A night? But there is no sun or moon here. How do you know a night has passed?". She smiled and said "Thanks to this", then pointed at a something. It looked weird. The thing was made from glass, it had sand or something similar inside, and there were couple of containers to which the sand slowly travelled. I asked "What is this?".

She said "This is called Sand of Time. It's a tool to measure, when a day passes". I exclaimed "This is amazing. I've never seen such a thing. Can I buy it somewhere?". She said "Sure, probably on the market, but it's not very useful, if you are on the move. It's more of a stationary tool. That is why, it is here on this counter". I nodded my head and said "That's a shame. It would be very useful, when I travel around the north".

I said "That is all then, I will probably come back later. For now, I want to check out the rest of the buildings". She said "Sure. Your bill is 8 Copper Hals". I nodded and gave her the Black Hal. She seemed surprised, but still gave me the exact change. I gave her 10 Copper Hals and said "Thanks for the conversation, and the food. Take care now". She was a bit surprised, that I gave her a tip. I did that because not only was she polite, she even answered my questions. 10 Copper Hals, was not a lot anyway.

I left the tavern, and headed towards the market. 'I might be able to find something useful over there. This Sand of Time tool, would be useful, but she already said that it's useless for travellers' I thought. I arrived at the marked, and noticed some merchants shouting around, trying to gather attention around their products.

I check the stall that contained weapons, and although I saw some daggers, they were not as good as the ones I had. I also preferred my own daggers, I was used to them already. They had short swords and even bows on display. 'What I lack, is materials for my daggers, not those already created daggers' I thought, and moved to another stal.

The stal I visited next, contained random rubbish and trinkiets. I already had a solid pot and utensils, but I saw some more glass bottles and whatnot on that stal. I decided to buy them. I asked "How many of those bottles and glass containers, do you have?".

The Lizard responsible for the stal said "I have 20 bottles, and 10 glass containers. Each bottle costs 2 Copper Hals, while each container costs 1 Copper Hal". I said "I will take all of them then". He seemed surprised, but smiled and said "Of course. All together, that will be 50 Copper Hals". I gave him the money, and he handed to me all the bottles and containers.

Before I left, I asked "Do you have any strings, I need a tough and thin string". The Lizard scratched his head and said "I'm afraid, I don't have anything like that. You may ask the woman, responsible for the stal with fabrics over there", then pointed at one of the stals. I said "Thanks" and left.

'It's worth asking about those strings. Maybe I can find something, that will at least let me practice my skill' I thought. I arrived at the stal that contained the fabrics, and asked "Do you have any strings? Or perhaps very tough thread". The Lizard woman looked at me, then asked "Is it for stitching leather?". I shook my head and said "I need something much more durable than that. Something that is thin but also very durable".

She thought for a while, then said "I know about such material, but it's very expensive, and I don't have it. Maybe the tailoring shop in the Arangard would have it, but I'm not sure". I asked "Arangard?". She nodded her head and said "Yes, the Capital City of our race, but lower echelons are not allowed inside, at least without a permission. Humans are not allowed inside either, as far as I know. There are very strict requirements, in order to enter there. The royals live over there, you know".

'I didn't know that, although I already knew about other possible villages' I thought. Before I left, I asked "Can you tell me the name of that thread or string?". She nodded her head and answered "It's a thread, and it's called Iron Spider Thread. Very rare, but tougher than steel". I nodded my head and thanked her. I also gave her 5 Copper Hals, for the information. She didn't want to take them, but I placed them on the stal, and left.

'So there is a super strong thread, that I can use to master my skills. I assume, it's not going to be easily obtainable. Maybe I will ask the military guy about it' I thought, and continued to browse the stalls.