Driving the ATV on the road was muicer than in the valley. In the valley, I had to navigate around mushrooms, ponds, and rocks, and the ground was uneven. Whereas here, it was a smooth ride. Rue, still pumped from the fight, wouldn’t stop exg.

  “Rue dangerous! Rue make all crabs run away! Crabs big, but Rue bigger and stronger! Rue’s teeth like super sharp knives!”

  His mental volume went up a notch.

  “Rue feel good! Rue bit crab and shook spt! Rue is best making crabs go away! Rue show who’s boss!”

  A up another notch.

  “You see Rue jump? Rue jump higher than crabs! Rue like flying hero! All the crabs scared of Rue!”

  And some more volume. By this point, I was getting a slight headache.

  “Rue had most fun ever! Rue was bestest fighter! All the crabs run from Rue’s super awesome skills! Rue thinks cool crabs go squish! Rue made everyone safe! Rue super proud how amazing Rue! Rue loves fights and beiest!”

  I rubbed my temple and asked him, “Buddy, lower the volume. You’re killing my head.”

  “Rue sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Just don’t shout.”

  “John see crab pieces? Rue make crab pieces! Rue hero in fight!”

  And the volume went up again.

  “Rue had most fun ever! Rue’s paws are muddy, but Rue no care! Because Rue was amazing!”

  Suddenly, his tail stopped wagging a huimes a sed, and he hung his head.

  “What happened, buddy? Why are you suddenly sad?”

  “Rue level from crabs. Rue like levels.”

  I scratched his ear with my free hand. “Yeah, I know, buddy. I like levels, too. But after level ten, it takes loo get them.”

  Fortunately, his bad mood only sted another five seds. Theuck his head out of the open part of the windshield, and his tail wagged again. It was so simple being a dog.

  A few minutes out of town, Mahya stopped and waved us to stop as well.

  “What is the reason for our halt?” Al asked.

  “We have two options,” Mahya said. “We drive into town and listen to people until we learn the nguage, or we go on foot invisible, listen and learn the nguage, and then bee visible in a secluded er.”

  I haven’t thought of that.

  “I prefer to acquire the nguage prior to iing with others. Otherwise, it is undignified,” Al said.

  “I don’t care either way,” I said.

  We heard hooves approag, so Mahya said in an urgent tone, “Store the bikes.”

  A cart pulled by a strange animal came into view. It looked like a horse, and a pig had gotten frisky together.

  Okaaaay, fantasy creatures.

  The cart passed us, and a kid sitting in the back waved; we waved back.

  “I thought there was no problem with the bikes?” I asked.

  “Riding them, no. St and taking them out is aory.” Mahya said.

  “I thought Iory is a skill in more than one world?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “So what’s the problem? We’re traveling merts from the mainnd. As proof, we even have the boat.”

  “We ’t take out or store the boat. No iory skill store that boat even at level twenty-five. The same problem applies to bikes and the ATV.”

  “Perhaps it would be advantageous to access the town by approag it from the sea via a boat,” Al suggested.

  “We won’t be able to do it while invisible,” Mahya warned.

  “I will hahe indignity,” he said with a sigh.

  “Won’t it us to the boat? If we ’t store it, we’ll have to travel on the boat all the time.” I said.

  “How will you expin us being here otherwise?” Mahya asked.

  “Will they inquire about our jouro this location?” Al asked. “I never inquired about the methods by whidividuals arrived at a particur location. Additionally, we always cim that we were transported by a boat from the mainnd. When repared to depart, we will locate a remote shore to take out the boat. We eveurn to the crab’s beach if necessary. And this time, they will not take us by surprise.”

  “Sounds good,” I said, and Mahya nodded.

  We all turned invisible and tinued on foot. After half an hour of walking, we arrived in town, and I liked it. It had a Caribbean feel, with cobbled streets, colorful flreenery everywhere, and palm trees—actual palm trees, like oh. With the mountains as the backdrop, I saw the sea. It was breathtaking and serene.

  The town wasn’t big or didn’t look big from where we came from. Oskirts, there was a big fenced area with a lot of the pig-horses we saw with the cart and a separate area to park the carts. I saw people unloading the carts into smaller handcarts and pushing them into the town, and some guards with spears guarded the cart area.

  “We should get close to learn the nguage,” Mahya sent.

  I found a pce against a tree where I was out of the way, but could hear the guards talking. I spent the mana for the skill for myself and Rue and listehe more I listehe more I uood, and again, I decided I loved the nguage skills—they were exceptional.

  After ten minutes, I felt I knew enough of the nguage to get by and was ready to move, but Al wanted more time. After awenty minutes, he was finally ready. We walked around the bend in the road, verified we were alone, and became visible.

  “We need practiguage,” Mahya said in Lumisian? Lumirian? Whatever it was called.

  After another half hour of talking and having fun at each other’s expense, we finally and sounded maybe not native speakers, but good enough—or at least that’s how it souo me.

  We returo town and walked in. No oopped or questioned us, but everybody looked at us. It made se was a small pce, and probably everyone knew each other. I saw people’s eyes lose focus and assumed they were identifying us. Judging by their smiles afterward, they liked what they saw.

  I asked them telepathically—in Lumisian for practice—“What are your profiles showing?”

  “Alchemist.” Al sent.

  “Wood Artisan.” Mahya sent.

  “Good Boy.” Rue sent.

  The three of us ughed; Rue had a way with words. Mahya asked a passer-by about an inn, and we headed there. Quickly, I uood why they transferred the goods from the big cart to the handcarts. The streets were narrow, with walls surrounding all the houses. From what I could see above the walls, the houses were mostly two stories high, built of stone, and had snted roofs with shihat appeared to be made of wood. The walls had doors io ehe yards. Very picturesque.

  When we arrived at the inn, we decided to ask for a suite together, and Mahya took the lead in talking to the innkeeper. It made sense. Oh, it was my turf, so I took the lead. Here, it was their domain, and it was a better idea for Mahya to hahings and not Al, with his princely attitude that came out around unfamiliar people. She waved for us to follow her. We went to the third floor, and she opehe door to the suite.

  Stepping into the suite felt like entering an isnd paradise. The living room acious and cozy, filled with rattan furniture, vibrant tropical sketches, and a fents here and there. The open floor pn led seamlessly into a dining area with a round table and wicker stools. Three bedrooms branched off from the main space, each with light, airy decor, o-colored bedding, and French doors that opeo a shared baly. The pce had a id-back vibe and was muicer than expected.

  My room had a door that led to the bathroom. There was no plumbing, but it was still pretty had a rustic vibe with a big wooden tub, and a brass pitcher and a bowl on an oak washstand. Soft, handwoven towels sat ly stacked on a shelf. The toilet was simple but practical, with a woode over a chamber pot tucked away in a private alcove, good ventition, and a basket of herbs to keep things fresh. All in all, I approved of it.

  “I have some great news,” Mahya said.

  “What?” Me and Al asked simultaneously.

  “The s we bought in bulk oh are more valuable here than I thought. This suite costs one silver and fifty coppers daily, not including meals. I paid with those s, and it cost thirty s a day, including meals. They were even different s. I just took out a fistful.”

  “That’s amazing!” I excimed.

  “Why is this news positive?” Al asked.

  “Those s cost us an average of 30 per kilogram, including shipping, and we have about one and a half tons of them—and I mean an actual one and a half tons,” I said.

  “Nice,” Al said.

  “I love being rich,” Mahya said in a dreamy voice with a huge smile.

  When we went to dihe innkeeper approached us and asked, “Are you pnning to offer your services and goods in town, or are you just passing through?”

  “We io offer them, but only in a day or tant to rest from our trip first,” Mahya answered.

  “Of course, I uand. The reason I’m asking is that tomorrow is market day. That’s why all the carts are at the towraomorrow is a great opportunity to offer your services and goods.”

  “Does the market take p all the towns at the same time?” I asked.

  “Of course not. The merts ime to get from town to town. The market is held between two or three days between pces.”

  “Thanks for the information,” Mahya told him.

  During dinner, we discussed our pns.

  “I think we should take a break and explore the pce a bit before we start w,” I said.

  Mahya nodded. “I agree. Rushing to the market tomorrow might be too much.”

  Al chimed in, “But we do not want to miss the opportunity. The market has the potential to be highly beneficial for us.”

  “We catch the market in the own,” Mahya suggested. “It’ll give us time to rest and be fully prepared.”

  Al thought for a moment, then nodded. “That appears to be a well-ceived strategy.”

  The following day, we did exactly that. We toured the town, which was more extehan it appeared at first gasted the food from the stalls, ehe sea, and rexed. We did a quick market tour, which wasn’t very iing, but the town was beautiful and tranquil. I took pictures when no one was around a myself rex and unch mentally. I eraveling with the group oh, but being in another world was different, even if it didn’t have plumbing.

  After three days, we moved on. It took us less than an hour to reach the own. Mahya asked the first person about the market, aold her it was yesterday. This town looked like the other one, so we moved on and reached the own in two hours. After asking around, we discovered that the market would be the following day.

  In the m, Al asked me, “Would you be willing to loan me one of the mert booths you purchased to sell my potions?”

  “Sure,” I said, moving some of the furniture to make room for the stall. “Here you go.”

  “ I have ooo?” Mahya asked.

  I gave her one and asked, “What are you selling?”

  “I’ll see if there is an i in mage staves. If not, I’ll sell stuff from Earth.”

  “You make staves? Why didn’t you make me one?”

  “Do you know what to do with a wizard staff?”

  I scratched my head and had to admit that I didn’t. I shook my head sheepishly.

  “The day you do and have a use for a staff, I’ll make you the best ience,” she promised me.

  “Thanks,” I said. “We should coordinate our sales so we don’t sell the same stuff.”

  “My iion is to offer potions exclusively. I desire to advance my level,” Al said.

  Mahya’s eyes unfocused, and after a few minutes she said, “Fabrid tableware.”

  “Okay, so I’ll sell some of the weird stuff from Vegas.”

  We went to the market, found a spot for our stands, a up. Rue went off to make friends with kids, sparking an idea. Initially, I had po sell to adults, but selling to kids seemed more enjoyable. I called Rue over and told him, “Bring the kids here. I’ll sell things they’ll like.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  Despite their higher Appraisal value, I priced smaller items at one copper and bigger o five. These items were just junk in my Ste, but kids would love them.

  Rue did an amazing job. Ihan five minutes, he brought two kids with their parents, who bought a few things and spread the word. Soon, a line of kids was at my booth, especially after the parents heard about my prices.

  It made me ugh, but the differeween boys and girls was also apparent in another world. The boys bought whoopee cushions, fake dog poop, chatterih, and spring-loaded snakes in a . The most popur product with the girls was Barbie dolls with accessories. Still, they also bought inftable bananas and palm trees, pstic fmingos, uni pool floats, and rubber duckies—especially after disc the duckies squeak. All the kids and even some adults loved the glow-in-the-dark bubble wands.

  That was our season. We kicked ba the isnd, swam, ate good food I didn’t have to cook, slept te, and occasionally sold at the market. I occasionally healed people if the need arose, but didn’t advertise or look for sick people specifically. We learhat the crab dunes, as they were called here, were quite on, and the locals occasionally sent adveo clear the crabs ahem to the inns aaurants. I tasted a few dishes from the crabs, and they were delicious. I had a lot of pns for the crabs I had in Ste.

  Al reached level ten and was ecstatic. Mahya made a lot of money and was ecstatic. Rue made a lot of children friends and was ecstatic. I sold a lot of junk from Vegas and earned a level in my mert profession, so I was doubly ecstatic. I gave Agility the 3 free stats—it was the lowest of the main stats.

  The only annoying part was the temperature. We learned we had arrived in spring—or Bloom in the loguage. The summer—Sun—on the isnd was brutal. It was 35-38 degrees Celsius in the shade, with high humidity. Thank you, Spirits, for the refreshing sea. We sidered clearing a dune or two to get more crabs and talked about it more than once, but ultimately, we felt too zy actually to do it in the oppressive heat.

  At the beginning of Moon (Autumn), we couldn’t bear the boredom and sailed to the main ti.