I watched Aydin for a while as he worked on his private field, then decided to explore the village a little.
"Be careful, there are lots of scammers at the market," he said as he saw me leaving. I sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll be careful." I shook my head as I walked toward the market.
The weather was very warm—much warmer than during the journey. At least the village had a few trees that were still alive. That was thanks to the nearby river, which, according to the map, stretched across the entire country.
You could hear the vendors from afar.
"A skeleton fish for five gold coins!"
"A grilled quail for seven gold coins!"
Food seemed very expensive in this region.
The moment I stepped onto the marketplace, everything went quiet. My appearance apparently wasn't very inviting to the merchants. My blood-stained robe, the curved saber, and my snow-white skin made people nervous, and some tried to leave the square as quickly as possible.
Slowly, I walked up to the first stall.
"What do you sell here?"
The vendor stayed silent. Only when my hand moved toward the curved saber did he start speaking out of fear.
"Fish. We have fish," he said, trying to hide his anxiety.
I flicked a dirty coin onto the counter.
"Give me two fish. The best ones you have."
I stared at him while he hurriedly wrapped two fish in foil and handed them to me.
The next stalls offered only quails, quail eggs, and dates. So I brought the fish back to Aydin.
"Could I use your kitchen?" I asked, holding up the bag with the two almost-mummified fish.
"Just be careful not to break anything. It was very expensive. My wife and daughter should be home in about an hour."He kept working on his field while talking. It seemed to be his pride and joy.
"I can't cook. I paid for these fish—prepare them for me. I want to go to the forge again."I let the bag drop and simply walked away. I wasn't interested in Aydin's complaining; I just wanted something to eat, and to talk to the guardian god.