Chapter 33

As the sun was rising on Greenside, Kai soon learned this day was different. The moment he got his nose out of the door, he heard excited conversations of the passersby about a merchant ship.

It wasn’t the usual brig that stopped once or twice a season. A different vessel, no one had seen before, had docked this morning.

The whole town buzzed with the news. For an out-of-the-way settlement like theirs, this event was a rare occasion to break the tedious routine. Doubly so when it was a mysterious new ship that graced their shores. Like a wrapped present full of potential and dreams.

Everyone wanted to see what strange treasures and exotic goods the merchants would have on sale. It could be the chance of a lifetime to get their hands on rare products that would never reach Greenside otherwise. Or the possibility of selling their own goods to an outside party to get an extra payday. No one was willing to miss out.

The local merchants also wanted in on the fun—and the money. It didn’t happen every day that the whole town came to the market with their wallets full and ready to spend.

In the time it took Kai to finish his morning exercises, Greenside had transformed. Stalls, tables and large colorful blankets had been promptly set up with all kinds of products and general shiny junk.

Some quick-witted individuals set up food stalls selling snacks and refreshments. In a town where everyone lived a few minutes’ walk from their house, it wasn’t a luxury people usually indulged. Only during such a festive day would people opt to pay for such luxuries.

With an untold and universal agreement, Greenside decided to host the biggest event since the Festival of the Tides the year before.

Whether as curious customers or excited merchants, the whole town was present, Kai included. He wasn’t that thrilled by the merchant ship. He doubted any curiosities could beat what he saw back at the estate. Instead, this was the perfect opportunity to sell some of his potions.

Plenty of new faces walked the streets, all none the wiser to the origin of his goods. Any dumb story would seem more believable in the excitement of the day. Maybe he could add a little spice to his stories and pretend he came with the merchant ship.

“Okay, Mom. I’ll go take a look. See you around.” Before Alana had the chance to respond, he jumped into the sea of people crowding the streets and disappeared.

If he had to lie his way to a good price, he preferred not to have his mother watching him.

Adjusting the satchel at his side, Kai started his search for the right targets. New faces, excited looks, possibly well-dressed with more money than common sense. A surprising number of people satisfied the requirements.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself he was only a young apprentice sent by his master to sell his potions. His ‘new’ master wasn’t a hermit living in the jungle, but an old man who couldn’t be bothered to get off the ship. Much more believable story already.

Kai tried to find the right kind of smile.

Not too eager, but still confident in my goods. Thank the spirits for Acting.

Even with many factors playing in his favor, it wasn’t easy to sell his creations. Potions to help heal wounds, cure fevers and infections were always in demand, but not in line with the mood of the day.

People were looking for entertainment, to escape their boring lives and be amazed by random trinkets the merchants brought. No one wanted to be reminded of their daily life.

He was having better luck with his pesticide powder and sweet-dreams tea. Those were also his cheaper products, so he only made a copper mesar after selling half his stock.

More success might have been possible if he claimed his concoctions had extravagant effects like making you grow taller or improving luck. The streets were full of gullible individuals who couldn’t resist the temptation of believing they had found the deal of a lifetime.

Alas, he was not willing to go so far as to actually scam people for a couple mesars. He had no problem lying with a straight face, but his goods did what he advertised. He was only convincing people to look out for their best interests.

Pushing away his disappointment, Kai continued looking for possible targets. He had to contend with other peddlers without a stall but didn’t want to miss the chance to make an extra mesar.

Patience and persistence.

Being a child had a particular advantage with one demographic: women. Specifically those with a strong motherly instinct. Playing on the pity of an old dour master that would punish him if he didn’t manage to sell his creation, he was making quite a killing.

“What are you doing here, kid? Are you trying to scam good people?” The sudden comment ruined the sob story he was weaving to a well-dressed middle-aged woman, who wore a double necklace of pearls.

Kai’s pitiful expression changed into a frown as he turned around ready to deal with another merchant who didn’t like competition from a child. Instead, he came face to face with Uncle Moui.

“Uncle, it’s not nice to ruin someone else’s business.” Did he make such a bad impression that the hunter thought he was scamming people? He did play a little with him, but it was all honest fun. His fun.

Moui eyed him like he just found a child with his hands in the cookie jar. Worst of all, his usual intimidating appearance was scaring away potential clients.

He didn’t even look apologetic, doubling down on the false accusations.

“Didn’t your mom tell you that lying to people is bad? Does Alana know you’re scamming good people?”

“I’m not scamming anyone,” Kai defended himself.

Moui shook his head disapprovingly. “I know for a fact you are not selling potions on behalf of an old master from the merchant ship.”

Okay, maybe he has a point there.

“Well, I didn’t say I wasn’t lying, only that I’m not scamming people. My goods are authentic and reliable.”

“And where would you have found such incredible potions exactly?” he asked as if that fact was undeniable proof.

“I brewed them myself. Why do you think I have Mana Sense at such a level? Do you think I trained it for fun?”

The hunter was at a loss for words. His brain trying to find a reason to justify his suspicion. “But— Then— Why were you lying about where they came from?”

“Do you seriously think people would buy them if I told them I made them myself?” Kai raised an eyebrow to emphasize his point.

“Didn’t you tell me you were an apprentice mage? Are you also an experienced apothecary now?”

“Actually, I’m an apprentice alchemist.” Not that he was likely to know the difference. “Do you want to listen to my whole life story or are you going to admit you were wrong? Didn’t your mother tell you to not accuse people without evidence?”

Kai watched the much bigger man with a judging gaze, the same Moui used with him. His last sentence might have been overkill, but he was dead tired of people doubting him because he was a child. So. Damn. Tired.

It hadn’t been a problem at the estate, but now that he was back in Greenside, he had to jump through hoops to make people take him seriously. Any random shady adult on the streets seemed to have more credibility than him.

“Just because I’m a child doesn’t mean I don’t have a fucking brain or can’t do anything besides playing with the waves.”

He was huffing for breath. He had not realized how much he had been suppressing his growing annoyance every day.

Moui watched his outburst in silence.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Forgiven. Now get out of my way. It’s hard enough trying to sell something without your stern muzzle making things worse.”

After this spectacle, he would have to go somewhere else, except Moui had no intention of getting out of the way. He stood rooted to the spot with an unreadable expression. As he was about to walk around the burly man, the hunter put a hand on his shoulder and held him in place.

Kai glared at him. Moui didn’t let him go.

“I’m sorry I accused you of scamming people.”

“Thanks. But I told you it’s already forgiven. I just need you to let go of me.” Kai tried to wiggle out of his iron grip without success.

Moui cleared his throat. Kai took a deep breath and tilted an expectant gaze up at the big man. Waiting for him to say his piece.

“Have you tried selling to the foreign merchants at the docks?”

The snarky remark he prepared died in his mouth. “No…” Kai was forced to admit.

“It might be a good idea to check them out then. If your potions do what you say, you’d make much more selling to them.”

“Maybe you’re right, but why should a proper merchant take the risk and trust my words? Wouldn’t they be even more suspicious?”

Moui looked at him with a smirk. “Because proper merchants have ways to examine goods and find their true value. How else could they close any deal?”

Kai stared at his feet, thoughtful.

Okay, fine. I hadn’t thought of that… If I have an Inspect skill, any respectable merchant should have something better.

Moui removed his hand from his shoulder. “C’mon, I’m going there too to sell a few things myself.”

The hunter started to walk, and people parted before him. Kai followed behind, conflicted emotions in his heart.

After how I acted all the times I met him…

“Uncle…” Kai tried to say.

The hunter glanced over his shoulder at him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been… so annoying and… thanks for the help.”

Moui might have doubted him unjustly a couple times, but he overreacted and behaved like a total brat.

“No problem, kid. It’s always complicated being different.”

They continued on in silence. Kai was lost in his head. People seemed to magically part before Moui’s presence and Kai stayed right behind. It didn’t take long before they reached the docks.

Kai could see the highest mast of a ship sprouting over the heads of people. Even the hunter’s presence couldn’t open a path through the dense cluster of humans. He stood on the tip of his toes, trying to get a better look at the infamous merchant ship.

Before he could react, two strong hands grabbed him at the sides and lifted him over the heads of the crowd.

“I’m sure one day you’ll grow up too, shorty,” Moui said, amused.

Was that his attempt at a joke?

Kai wanted to retort he was considered quite tall for his age. In the end, he opted to ignore the comment and focus on the view before him.

Anchored not far from the shore, the mysterious ship gently swayed in the waves in all its glory. According to the bold golden letters on the prow, it was called the Fortuna. And its owner must indeed be lucky. The vessel was quite the sight, from its silvery sails to the immaculate condition of the rich mahogany of the hull. It wasn’t particularly big, but it was by far the most beautiful ship he ever saw, Republic’s ships included.

Moving his gaze closer, he noticed the area near the dock housed two large tents. Queues of more or less orderly people moved in and out, under the watchful eyes of a group of foreign men and women. The crew of the Fortuna if he had to guess.

Some of them appeared to be from the archipelago, with dark wavy hair, tanned skin and green eyes. Others had lighter or darker skin tones with a great variety of hair colors and features.

Two people held his attention, a man and a woman, siblings probably. They sported dark green hair. The sun highlighted too many subtle shades of green, that didn’t look like a dye.

Moui put him down before he could get a better look. After asking around, they discovered one tent was for selling and the other for buying goods. They joined the shorter queue for the first tent. Better to decide whether to buy something after they knew how much coin they had available.

Waiting in a queue under the sun, Kai observed the large bag the hunter carried. The contents weren’t hard to imagine, with a couple pelts and what looked like animal bones peeking out.

“You think they’ll be interested in buying?” Kai asked, more to kill time than for actual concern.

Moui shrugged. “Worth a try. I found a couple interesting things in the jungle.”

The jungle… It was so close and yet Kai had never ventured inside, warned by the numerous stories of dangers. Maybe it wasn’t as deadly as they said.

“How is the Veeryd jungle? The inner parts, I mean.”

“Hmm… It’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Each year there’s some fool that pushes too deep without the right knowledge or levels. Most people fear poisonous critters. But those are just an annoyance compared to awakened beasts.”

Kai had made the right decision. The jungle sounded like a death trap to him. “If it’s so bad, why do people go there?”

“Most go for the money. Meat sells well, and the deeper reaches of the forest have a higher mana density. Plenty of valuable animals and materials there. As for me… I think I enjoy the challenge and I also find it beautiful.” He stopped talking, looking at Kai like he expected some kind of reaction.

Kai stared back confused. Those were perfectly valid reasons for him. “Maybe you could give me a tour one day. I only need to learn how to brew an antivenom for all those critters first.”

The queue had considerably shortened. He couldn’t see inside the large tent, but he noticed most of the people who walked out looked dispirited, still carrying all their items. A smaller group were happy, clearly able to conclude some kind of deal. A few individuals had bizarre expressions. Was that relief? Fear? Maybe disgust? Kai couldn’t really tell from the distance.

He would see for himself soon enough, better not ruin the surprise. He was excited for what he would find inside. The flap of the tent was pulled aside for them, and the guard made a gesture to go in.

Stepping in, the air wasn’t stuffy. It had a nice smell like⁠—

Kai’s thoughts stopped the moment his eyes fell on one of the three individuals. One was a normal, boring human being with green hair. The other two were not.

Standing behind a large wooden table, one sitting one standing, were two individuals covered in tiny blue-grayish scales. Two thin holes instead of a nose, a colorful crest on their head going down their neck that disappeared into their luxurious clothes, and what appeared like gills on their neck.

Kai stared dumbfounded.

“Here we go again…” the one who was sitting said with a surprisingly young and annoyed voice.