章 13: The City Of Elaria
The caravan passed by the city gate. Entering into a city unlike any other. Its buildings varied from concrete, wood, and colorful bricks - a reflection of their inhabitants.
The road to their right leads to the market.
Various stalls owned by numerous races were welcome to sell their wares. One among many was a stall manned by a dwarf selling high quality weapons and armors, A druid selling healing remedies and body modification scrolls, Merfolks selling fishcakes, Lizardfolks selling tribal accessories, and a whole lot more. Any race that you might think of is here trying their luck in the city of opportunities.
The road to the left will take you to establishments where you can let your vices run wild. Casinos, Gambling dens, and at the deeper end of the road you will find the brothels. Or perhaps you just want to enjoy a night out drinking with your friends? The multitude of taverns laced in between the area has you covered.
In the middle road lies the residential districts, inns and apartments. The famous adventurer's guild is located here.
Out of the five kingdoms of Vansmir, Elaria is the first ever to transition into a city. With it came the promise of accepting every race with open arms. It wasn't smooth sailing at first but as time went on settlers who wanted to give the vision of a unified city a chance came flocking in, making the City into the economic powerhouse it is today.
After the Caravan veered into the road to the right, the couple stepped out.
"I'd love to go with you ladies but I still have a job to do and things to take care of. Guess I'll see you two around." Yulia, who was still in the caravan, said her goodbye.
Now on their own, the two faced the hustle and bustle of the market in the midday sun.
"So, where to?" Antani asked as she locked arms with Ellamir.
Being a methodical person, the next course of action for Ellamir would be to secure their lodging. That can wait. There's just something about Antani's smile that fills her heart with tranquil happiness, giving her this urge to follow Antani wherever she wants to go.
"Where do you want to go?" The dark elf answered her question with another question.
"I asked you first."
"Ugh. Okay fine, let's look around the stalls and then we'll have lunch right after. Unless you're already hungry."
"Nah, I'm still good. Let's go!" Antani delved into the clamoring crowd before them with Ellamir in tow.
+++
Although the couple weren't too keen on splurging, strolling through the plethora of stalls still proved to be entertaining. Elaria's market was like a bazaar and a circus rolled into one.
Wood elves let potential customers taut their bows and even shoot it on some target dummies.
A minotaur husband and wife selling milk and cheese with a sign labeled "Fresh".
There's a man in the druid's stall whose left arm has been turned into a tentacle. What he is planning to do with that arm? We may never know.
What we do know is that a mischievous plan had been hatched in Ellamir's mind as soon as she passed by the druid's stall. Breaking away from Antani's hold, she told the amazon to check the stalls ahead. Internally smirking as she heads towards the druid's stall, she will make sure that antani gets paid in full for what she did to her the last time.
+++
With her vulgar plan set in motion, she was about to return to where Antani was until a certain voice called for her.
"Pssst..Dark elf with an eye patch. Over here, I want to show you something."
She turned to see the voice belonging to a red scaled lizard folk wearing tribal garb, beckoning her to come closer. Curiosity getting the better of Ellamir, she approached his stall to see what his deal was.
"The one you walked arm in arm with earlier, is she your lover?"
"What's it to you!?" Ellamir's impertinence was evident, but the lizard man remained unfazed.
He whipped out a stylish intertwining leather bracelet with what appears to be a single lizard tooth in the middle. Ellamir quickly scanned if the Lizard man was missing one, which doesn't seem to be the case. She wasn't planning on buying it so not like it matters in the end.
"This bracelet was blessed by a ritual passed down from generations to generations by my ancestors. Give this bracelet to your special someone and your relationship will last until the end of time. I'll give this to you for the low low price of 5 silver."
Until the end of time. Ellamir thought it was utter hogwash. There was no way the lizard folk weren't scamming her. Probably just knocked a tooth out of his friend and strapped it on the bracelet or something. 5 silver for a happily ever after? It was completely ridiculous.
"Give me that!"
+++
Ellamir found Antani in front of the Merfolk's fish cake stand. The blue fish woman had long fins that were similar to hair.
"So, what did you buy?" The Amazon asked as she took a bite of the fish cake on a stick.
"Just a gift. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Antani missed the glint in Ellamir's eye due to her focus being on the food's flavor.
"It tastes as good as I remember. Have you ever eaten one of these before?"
"No. What even is that?" The look of the food didn't interest Ellamir in the slightest. It looked like a strip of fat soggy bread pierced with a stick.
"It's fishcake. Come on, try it!" Antani gestured the stick close to her mouth, inviting her to take a bite.
Ellamir tried to grab the stick from her but Antani pulled it away.
"Uh uh. Just take a bite."
Ellamir saw the playful grin in Antani's face. Antani knew what she was doing. They weren't the only couple in the crowd but their public display of affection is starting to draw in some curious eyes.
Heaving a sigh, Ellamir relented and took a bite.
"How's the taste?"
The dark elf chewed and it tasted…surprisingly good. It had a soft texture that oozed a fishy but sweet taste. "It's good. You're always into weird stuff, aren't you?"
"It's not even that weird, it's just regular… actually, yeah I'm into weird stuff, I'm into you after all."
Give it a moment.
Ellamir furrowed her brow, "Hey!"
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