It wasn’t long after leaving the Guildhall that they could hear the hustle and bustle of the market. As they walked, the noise built into a clamoring racket, indistinct sounds of motion mixed with the shouts and cries of those hawking their wares. It was bad enough as they walked towards it, but as they turned the corner into the town square, it was like walking into a solid wall of sound.

  The town square itself was indistinguishable from the space they walked through yesterday. Nearly every inch of free space was taken up by stalls and carts, and what space was left as a thoroughfare was packed full of people. They jostled against each other as they fought to get in front of the carts or stalls that had the items they wanted, digging in with elbows and shoulders to shove others out of the way. Eres expected to see people shouting and snarling at each other, but instead everyone was smiling and laughing. It all seemed good-natured, and he noticed that the few people shopping who were old or infirm were still getting in on the rush, but never seemed to have anyone jostle them back.

  It was an interesting system if nothing else. Freya and Myla were nearly vibrating with excitement, already glancing at various stalls and pointing out things that could be useful or interesting. They turned to him simultaneously with an expectant gaze.

  I don’t think saying no to those faces is even possible at this point, he thought.

  With a smile and a shake of his head, he gestured forward and followed them into the press of bodies.

  ***

  Eres very quickly remembered why he hadn’t enjoyed shopping in his previous life.

  There were people everywhere, and while they stopped jostling them as soon as they realised he wasn’t taking part in their strange game, they were still just constantly touching him. He managed not to lose his cool and glare at anyone, but it started to work on his temper surprisingly quickly.

  The irritation was worth it, however, when he got to watch Freya and Myla hurry around like children given too much sugar. They scampered from stall to stall, getting involved in the playful barging, shouting and haggling. So far, they had each bought some long flowing dresses from an Aradorian merchant, sweet rolls from a baker's stall, a collection of soaps and oils for baths and a matched set of long silver hair pins with ornamentation that looked like a dragon's head. Currently, they were gazing around for their next stop, and Eres had to stop himself from laughing at the way their eyes flitted around excitedly.

  He hadn’t been idle, though. He had purchased a few pouches of various spices to improve his travel cooking, as well as a few sets of dried ingredients that would keep on the road. He had also picked up some inks and pigments from a very polite man who was a similar size to Gregor the armorer, though he was much softer spoken.

  He had also been keeping his eye on the type of things the girls liked as he thought about their gifts. Freya was easy enough, he noticed her gazing at a silver pendant at one of the jewellery stands. It had what looked like an opal set into a ring of silver, then surrounded by a net of the same metal made into tiny wire. It was beautiful, but it was expensive and after looking at it longingly for a few moment's she had sighed and moved on to another stall. He had quickly swooped in and purchased the piece without her seeing.

  While his companions were somewhat reticent to spend the sum his mother had given them, he had decided to just accept and enjoy it, and getting high-quality gifts seemed a perfect use to him.

  Finding a gift for Myla wasn’t so easy. She seemed to flit between so many stalls that he couldn’t easily tell what she was interested in. One minute she was looking at the jewellery with Freya, the next a well-crafted skinning knife, and then she was handling some sort of painter’s easel at a third stall. She talked to every merchant she could, asking questions about their wares and their travels, and generally being kind and conversational to everyone around her. It was lovely to see, but it didn’t help him narrow down any ideas.

  It was as he was watching her look at a set of hand carved figurines of various aquatic animals that he felt a finger poke him in the ribs. “Struggling for ideas there, love?” Freya said from beside him.

  Eres barely managed to avoid darting away from her like he had all of the various people jostling him, and turned to her with a mock glare. “Don’t give me that, I’m still thinking. You find anything else useful? Or just anything interesting, I guess.”

  Freya pouted, but sidled closer and clasped his hand. “A few things, sure, but nothing worth mentioning right now. A few trinkets that looked pretty, too. Probably a waste of gold, in the end, but someone grabbed them before I could go back and grab them.”

  Eres felt his stomach clench. Freya was sharp, and he was sure she knew he had been the one to buy them. “Oh really? That’s a shame. Come on, let’s catch up with Myla, who knows what trouble she is getting in,” Eres said, squeezing her hand as he did his level best to play dumb.

  He walked forward with purpose, pulling Freya gently behind him. He could see Myla’s blonde hair bobbing up and down as she bounced from foot to foot excitedly. It looked like she was talking to someone selling various weapons, whether a bladesmith or just a merchant, Eres wasn’t sure. He could barely see her, let alone the person behind the stall.

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  What he could see, though, were three men moving towards her with grins on their faces. Taller than the majority of the crowd it was easy enough to spot their partially shaved heads and armoured shoulders. Something about them was familiar, but it took Eres more than a few strides to place them. They had been drinking in the Guildhall, and staring after them as they left. They must have followed them to the markets.

  “Damn it all,” Eres swore as he shouldered his way through a particularly animated group shouting about meat prices, angling directly towards Myla. “A few guys from the Guildhall are heading towards Myla. Not sure if they are assholes or not, but I figure play it safe. What rules am I working with here, Freya?”

  “What?!” Freya shouted, quickening her pace so she was next to him, trying to peer over the crowd. “They shouldn’t do anything in a place this public, and neither should we. If they are Guild members, they might issue a challenge or a duel. Those are what the sand-filled partitions are for in the Guildhall. It's an insult to use one to try and force someone into something, but it isn’t unheard of.”

  “And I have to accept the challenge?”

  “No, not unless they have a legal reason to force the Guild to act as a intermediary, which they don’t. But for most members, it is a pride thing,” Freya explained as they neared Myla. Eres could see the three men were getting close too, but he and Freya would reach her first.

  “Well, pride can get fucked,” Eres laughed as he pushed through the final throng of people. “Who cares about pride when it comes to keeping your friends safe?”

  He tapped Myla on the shoulder as he finally managed to get behind her. She spun on her heel, her face lighting up as she went to gush about something before she saw their faces. She instantly sobered, looking them over. “What’s wrong?”

  Eres gestured over her shoulder to the approaching men. “Maybe nothing, maybe a bunch of assholes. Didn’t want you to have to find out on your lonesome.” He could see the three men better now, and what he saw didn’t lend him much hope.

  They were moving through the crowd easily enough, as everyone gave them a wide berth. All three had the sides of their head shaved and the top pulled back into tight buns and badly trimmed beards. They had piece-meal leather armour covering clothes that looked a week past needing a wash, and each was clearly fine paying the extra tax for bringing weapons into the city as they carried them on their hip or back.

  The one at the front had a pair of broad-headed axes hanging from his belt, and his grin showed he was missing more than a few teeth. The one to his left had a dagger at his belt and a bow and quiver on his back, and his eyes never stopped moving, shifting all over the place nervously. The third man had a large sword on his back, the blade covered in rags rather than a sheath, with another one-handed sword swaying on his belt.

  “I thought I saw the newbies over here!” Gap-tooth said with false sweetness, hands resting on the heads of the axes as he smiled at them. He turned to Eres and spoke directly to him, his grin never faltering. “Sorry buddy, don’t mean to get in the way of your party. Just wanted to come over and ask Blondy here if she wanted to come to dinner, have some time with real Adventurers, you know?”

  Eres slowly let a breath out. Were people really stupid enough to fall for such simple provocations? Sure, it pissed him off but not so much that he was going to swing on the man, and judging by the subtle shift of his weight, that was what he was expecting. Eres looked down at Myla, her face dyed with disgust, and he had to choke back a laugh.

  “She’s her own woman, feel free to ask her,” Eres said with a shrug, nudging the sea of Mana in his Core into motion just in case. “Somehow, though, I doubt it will mean much. What do you think, Myla? Want to go spend some time with these fine gentlemen?”

  Myla looked up at him, brows creasing. If Eres didn’t know her as well as he did, he might have bought the confused and innocent act, but he could see the mischief dancing behind her eyes. “No? Why would I? They look boring, and weak too.”

  Eres fought not to slam his palm against his forehead as he watched the three men bristle with anger. He heard Freya stifle a laugh behind him, but Myla kept her face blank and innocent. He tried to speak, but Gap-tooth got his words out first.

  “What about a challenge then, if we are so weak?” He sneered, loosening the axes on his belt. “Nice and simple, a duel for your women.”

  Eres stared at him in complete surprise. “What? No, you fucking idiot.”

  “Huh?” Gap-tooth responded dumbly.

  “They aren’t my property, dickbag,” Eres spat, anger getting the best of him. “I’m not going to use them like a pile of coin to bet with. I will happily beat your face into the dirt, but I’m not betting with other peoples fucking lives. Why would I bet one of them just to soothe your fragile-”

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Myla interrupted suddenly, smiling up at Eres. “If we lose, then sure I can spend some time with you, but what about when we win?”

  Eres stared down at her open-mouthed. What the hell was she doing? He looked back at Freya, but she just shrugged at him, a grin still tugging at the corners of her mouth. By the time he gained his bearings, Myla was already nodding alone to something one of the men had said.

  “Sure, 1000 Leons from each of you if you lose, and you fuck off to another town so we don’t have to see you again, that sounds fair,” Myla said as she nodded and smiled sweetly. “Oh, and one other thing. You won’t be fighting Eres, you will be fighting me.”

  Eres nearly choked as he finally understood what was happening. Myla was pissed off, and she was going to show these assholes just how badly they had fucked up. He didn’t know what had set her off, but by the set of her shoulders and how sweetly she was smiling, Eres knew she wasn’t going to be pulling any punches.

  “You, Blondy? Really?” Gap-tooth laughed, his little bun bouncing as he did. “You aren’t even carrying a weapon. You want to take me on? Alright, fine, but no backing out after I beat you down.”

  Myla smiled, her eyes turning cold as she turned to Eres. “Eres, hon, I can’t be bothered to go back to the Inn and grab it, can you make me a weapon when we get to the duel?”

  Eres blinked back at her, and then grinned as he realised what she was asking. “Sure, can do. You want to go do this right now, then I assume?”

  She just nodded, and Eres had to stop himself from laughing.

  These assholes had no idea what they were in for.