Balthazar started his day the same way as always, crossing the wooden footpath over the water while mung on a sweet pastry.

  On that m, the crab carried a raspberry se in his pincer and hummed away as he went, taking little bites off it while thinking about all the business and he would make on that day.

  And as he arrived at the ter of his bazaar, he heard the chatter and otion of people outside by the road.

  “Ah, early ts today, excellent,” he excimed, tossing the st bit of se into his mouth and heading to the front gate.

  As he ope and stepped outside, the hubbub grew louder, the sounds of multiple voices happily talking and ughing like music to his ears. Whoever they were, their spirits were high, and Balthazar liked that. People in a good mood teo have much looser purse strings.

  “Fret not, adventurers, Balthazar’s Bazaar is now open for—”

  The mert’s words faded as he quickly realized the small group of about half a dozen adventurers on the road was not waiting by the path to his pond, but instead were all huddled up around something else on the opposite side of the road.

  As they began to disperse, st their purses and other belongings ba their bags and satchels, Balthazar saw a wooden stand behind them, like a market stall pnted on the side of the road.

  Anger quickly grew inside him. Whatever that was, it wasn’t there the previous day, and he had some choice words for whoever was behind that little stunt.

  “Excuse me, excuse me,” the crab said, while trying to pass between the adventurers. “What’s going on here?”

  “Oh, hey, it’s the talking crab,” one of the adventurers said, as he stored two bottles of potions in his pack. “You came to see the new mert too?”

  “New mert?!”

  “Yes,” a deep female voice that resembled a croak said, “that would be me, dear.”

  Balthazar looked up at the stall, and on the edge of the ter area, a toad appeared. The creature had rough dark green skin that resembled that of a melon and was about the same size as os eyes matched the color of the skin and had horizontal irises that looked down at the crab as its already wide mouth extended even more into a smile.

  [Level 9 Toad]

  “And who the hell are you?!” the gilded crusta asked, with no friendly manners.

  “The name’s Hea, and I’m looking to settle my new business on this road, neighbor,” the smiling toad announced.

  “Like hell you are!” Balthazar excimed. “This road already has a mert, and that’s me. We don’t need anyone else.”

  “That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?” the other mert said. “A petitive market is always a positive. I’m sure our ts would agree, right, fels?”

  “You mean my ts!” The crab turo the surrounding adventurers. “You guys already have oalking animal trading jun—tradings goods with you down here. You don’t need a bad copycat, right? The inal is always better.”

  The small crowd grew quiet, and they all looked up at the sky or in some random dire to avoid eye tact.

  “Well,” one of them finally said, “having variety is always nice, and truth be told… her potions were cheaper than yours. And also not watered down.”

  Balthazar’s mouth opened in ed shock.

  “My prices are perfectly reasonable!” he excimed. “And I don’t water down my potions. I just add pond water as a special bonus to my ts. You should t yourselves lucky. Not my fault the potion bottles don’t have enough spad I o take a bit of potion out from each to add the water.”

  “Right… I don’t know about you guys,” the human said, looking at the others, “but I think I’ll be on my way now, let these two get to know each other, settle their affairs, and all that.”

  The others quickly started nodding and pig up their things, clearly gd to exit the situation.

  “Oh yes, you’re right. Look at the time, really o get moving.”

  “Absolutely. Those dungeons won’t loot themselves.”

  “Would love to stay, but I left my goblins in a pit. See you all ter!”

  As the adventurers walked away, the crusta and the amphibiahe only two left on the road, staring at each other.

  “Well, I will be the first to say it is o meet you,” the toad started. “You haven’t had the good mao introduce yourself yet, but I know you’re Balthazar. Your reputation precedes you.”

  She gave the crab a nod nition that was not returned.

  “If you’ve heard about me, then you should know I’m the only mert around these parts,” the displeased mert said. “We don’t need no stinking frog stealing business here.”

  “First off,” the other mert calmly started, “I’m a toad, not a frog, as you tell by the name of my stall.”

  She pointed one of her forelimbs up at the top part of the stall. On the front of the wood, two words were written.

  “Toad Stand?” Balthazar read. “That’s a stupid name.”

  “Really?” Hea said, resting an elbow on the edge of the stand and nodding at the wooden pque oher side of the road with a desding air.

  “What?!” the crab asked, looking behind at the sign and then back at the toad. “Balthazar’s Bazaar is a great name!”

  “Oh, bless your heart, honey, of course it is,” she responded, with the friendly expression of someone who is just hum the other. “Whatever floats your lily pad, I ain’t judging. And you shouldn’t judge others either.”

  “Whatever! Stop being so friendly when I’m trying tue with you!” Balthazar yelled out, throwing his pincers up in frustration. “The point is that this road is already taken by orader, me, and if you don’t scram, I’ll… I’ll call the guards on you for settling down without a permit!”

  “The guards?” the toad asked, before letting out a deep chuckle with some croaking mixed iween. “Everybody knows this area here is outside the town’s boundaries now, thanks to yourself, I might add. The guards have no business here. This is free nd for ao settle. And I found this pce very nid pleasant to settle down and start my business.”

  The fuming crab took a step bad looked at the small stand again.

  “What is your business anyway?” he asked. “This stall is tiny and has nothing on dispy.”

  “Oh, a little of everything,” Hea answered, hopping around and reag down into the back of the stall and away from Balthazar’s sight. “And appearances be deceiving. I got everything I need right here. Something you'd like, dear? Maybe a Potion of Mouthwashing?”

  She appeared at the front of the ter again, pulling a small green bag with her.

  Feeling suspicious, the crab looked at it through his monocle.

  [Bag of Holding]

  It was a magical bag simir to the one he carried everywhere for his money, except that one was not restricted to just s. From what Balthazar had read, those could carry nearly anything, and were extremely rare and valuable.

  “Where did you get that?” he bluntly asked.

  “My bag?” the female toad said. “A dy ells her secrets, and a mert never reveals their sources. You should know that, dear.”

  The crab squi her, growing even more irritated. She could aid friendly all she wanted, but Balthazar would not buy it. The toad was interfering with his business, and that was a mortal offense by his standards.

  “Toads don’t just go around talking and trading stuff, so where did you e from, anyway?” he questioned.

  “Says the talking mert crab,” she responded, followed by a low-pitched ugh. “Why don’t you answer first? How did you e to be what you are now?”

  Balthazar hesitated. He had no iion of getting into the details of his background with anyone, let aloh a toad stepping into his market.

  “That’s none of your business,” he finally said.

  “That’s right, it’s not,” she agreed. “And likewise, my business is my own.”

  The frustrated crab exhaled sharply. The obvious question picked at his brain: could she be like him? An unwitting animal who touched a strange scroll, gained aranger system, and decided to start dealing with humans?

  Something told him she did not feel like any of the other adventurers he saw every day, but he had no ratioo back that up. For all he knew, he also was nothing like them, yet he could level up and acquire skills, unlike all the non-adventurers.

  As curious as the crab was, he had no way to find out without tipping his own cards, and more important to him than finding out the background of the peculiar talking toad, was to get her out of there quick, before she could steal any more of his business.

  “I don’t care who you are or where you came from,” the exasperated mert said. “You’re not iowory, but you are in my territory, so either leave et thrown out!”

  “Are you threatenihe toad said with a deep, low croak.

  “I’m warning you,” Balthazar decred. “Leave on your own, or I’ll have to remove you.”

  “I’m sorry to say, but I’m not going anywhere,” Hea said, crossiubby arms. “I’ll be here earning my , whether you like it or not.”

  “We will see about that.”

  Turning around, Balthazar stomped his way back down to his pce. Given his crab legs, however, the stomping was more akin to an angry g.

  Halfway across the deck, he yelled out. “Bouldy, get over here!”

  The golem peeked over the tent oher side of the water befetting up and quickly making his way across.

  “Friend?” the walking boulder said, as he leaned down to ehe bazaar.

  “e with me,” the crab anded. “I got some smashing for you to do.”

  Doing his best not to hit the hanging nterns with his head, Bouldy followed Balthazar out through the front gate and onto the road.

  As the crab and the golem arrived in front of the Toad Stand, Hea was already tending to another t, a young mage girl admiring a sele of jeweled neckces the toad resenting to her on the ter.

  “Alright,” Balthazar started, “st ce. Pack your things and go peddle your wares elsewhere.”

  The girl took a step back, looking surprised and fused by what was happening.

  “Goodness me,” the green mert excimed. “I’d heard you could be a bit grumpy and hard to deal with, but I never expected you’d resort to violence against a poor, old, defenseless dy.”

  “Wow, easy now. I’m not going to hurt you,” the golden mert said.

  “Well, that’s good to hear, at least—”

  “But I will have my golem throw your stuff out of my territory.” Balthazar turo the giant rock. “Bouldy, smash this stall.”

  “Friend?” the golem asked, looking unsure.

  “Yes, I’m certain. This crab doesn’t do sharing, and if I don’t show who’s the boss around here now, hing I know there’s a dozen knock-offs settling up and cutting into my business. Thrash this stand!”

  With a great deal of hesitation, Bouldy raised his thick stone arm above the stand’s cloth opy, ready t it down on it.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” the mage girl asked in a loud and ed tone.

  The golem froze and looked at the girl and then at his maker.

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” the grouchy crab said. “I’m taking out the petition that is trying to occupy my turf.”

  “Seriously?! You’d have y dumb golem smash through this poor little Toad’s stand just because she’s trying to earn a living, too? You big bully!”

  “What’s going on here?” a voice asked from down the road.

  Another pair of adventurers approached, looking intrigued by the se.

  “The crab is about to smash this toad’s booth because she has better prices than him,” the girl answered.

  “Oh, hey now, who said anything about prices?” Balthazar said.

  “Friend?” said the golem, his fist still suspended above the market stall.

  “Not now, Bouldy!”

  “Wow, unbelievable,” one of the other adventurers said, as they reached the group. “I actually thought you were an alright guy, crab, but guess I was wrong.”

  “Yeah,” his partner said, “this sweet dy just sold us some refreshments a little while ago, and now you’re threatening to crush her business? Shame on you!”

  Balthazar looked around nervously at the adventurers. “Guys, e o’s all calm down and…”

  “Hey, guys! e see!” the mage girl yelled at a trio of fighter adventurers ing down from town. “Looks like Balthazar let pet to him and has turned into a bully.”

  As the crowd grew rger, the crab began stepping bad away from the Toad Stand, unsure of what to do or say.

  The adventurers were turning against him. They were siding with the toad over him. He could not believe it. What had he ever doo deserve that?

  “Bouldy, e o’s go baside!” he yelled out, as he hurried up the path to his bazaar, amid boos and disapproving thumbs downs from the humans gathered around the toad’s stand.

  Stopping by the gate and gng back, Balthazar gred at the booth and muttered to himself.

  “You may have deceived them today, but this isn’t over yet, frog.”

  H0st