Chapter 955 955 Tourists Are Tourists
The Nobles quickly spread out through the city with the escorts from the city guard, or from among the craftsmen, in the case of Thorin’s apprentices. They had been extremely confused when he was dragged away, but when the weapon smiths and armourers came to guide them through the city they went willingly, intrigued by the oddity of Forest Grove.
King Petros was a tourist in his element in the market. He had found himself a selection of floral shirts, then went for the snacks, and was currently eating a Kebab wrap as he perused the locally made charm jewellery.
The charms were all small things, by Witch standards. Luck, cleanliness, garden charms, water creation. The sort of things you would use around the house or while travelling, as many of the customers were merchants, and having a necklace they could hang from a tree branch as a shower was a quality of life improvement for everyone.
But for Petros, whose world had none of these things, except the Luck Charms, which could be made with unholy magic, it was all treasure.
Wolfe was happily footing the bill, as what the man had wanted so far was all within reason, and their currencies were completely incompatible.
“Those beastkin in the flashy clothes, they just tap their hand on the counter then leave, is that some sort of local custom to put it on their tab?” Petros asked as he watched some of the travelling merchants shop for fresh produce.
“No, it’s a payment method. We have cards as well as coins for payment, and they all use the same unified currency. I marked a massive amount of mana with my aura, and used it to charge the coins and cards. The cards can transfer between one another, so they are just tapping the two cards together and willing a transfer of funds.
The merchant will check to make sure that it completed, and the payment is done.
Many of the people in this world can use Earth Magic, so you can’t just have gold coins as currency, anyone could make mountains of it given time. So, we use an aura marked mana, and the value of the currency is set.
You can use it for casting spells as well, and many do, as not everyone is competent with magic, but that is more of a secondary function than the primary value of the coins.
I’ve got some in my pocket. Here, take a look.” Wolfe explained.
Petros examined the coin carefully as they moved between shops.
“Are robberies common with such a useful currency?” He asked.
“The cards are linked to the owner, nobody else can use them, so there is no point in stealing them. But the crime rate here is exceptionally low to begin with.
Some of that is due to the defensive spells placed over the city, but most of it is cultural. The villages here in what they call the Frozen Wastes have had to band together to survive for the last two centuries, and that has left a definite mark on their personalities.
The fact that everything is generally priced by Rank Hours also helps. You’ll notice that the haggling is over the quality of the products, not the total price. Once the quality is determined, the price is already fairly well established.
You’re in for a treat at dinner.
The higher ranked Garden Charms create magical food products, infused with mana. Hopefully, the humans can all eat it now that they can use magic. We do keep some faster growing gardens with lower mana content, but not nearly as many.”
King Petros looked at the Kebab wrap in his hand and nodded. “I don’t see it being a problem. This isn’t a potent mana infusion, but if it were stronger, some of the weaker Nobles might have issues with their digestion when the mana overflowed.”
“I will warn the escorts, so they don’t take them to a fancy restaurant which will serve the magical plants they might not digest. The food from the vendors is excellent, but it is street food, made to be affordable and instantly available.” Wolfe agreed.
Then Petros found the weapon vendors.
As it was the monthly Festival in Forest Grove, the artisans had brought out a number of ornamental pieces to sell, not really intended for combat, but still powerful magic weapons.
“Does that blade cast Lightning when it is used? Your spells are unfamiliar, but I am quite certain that should be Lightning.” Petros asked.
“Right on the first try. Technically, that is sheet lightning. If you swing the sword in an arc, it will send out a wave of electricity to hit distant targets. Rank Three, and it looks Fae made, going by the metal and the designs. It’s quite the lovely piece.” Wolfe replied with a smile.
The merchant preened with pride. “Saint Noxus, it is good to see you home again. You are quite right, I am half brownie, and the blade is Fae magic. Would you like to buy your Royal friend a gift this afternoon? I have a few more blades with me that are quite lovely in appearance.”
Petros shook his head. “Perhaps later.”
“We will keep browsing for now. But the festival runs all weekend, so we may be back to see what remains tomorrow.” Wolfe explained.
The merchant waved and began calling out to others in the crowd, hawking his wares and doing his best to sell out early so he could beat the traffic rush back home.
For those few days every month, the underground roadways became incredibly congested with every merchant on this side of the continent vying for the best spot at the market, and envying the permanent stalls who didn’t have to compete for space.
Wolfe and Petros were exploring the market when suddenly the mage froze in place, and Wolfe turned to see what was so shocking.
Rail came flying his way, using her wings to assist her leap, and landing with her legs wrapped around Wolfe.
“Welcome back. It’s been boring without you here. Who’s your friend?”
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