When Gastho mentioned it being called Seller’s Alley, Arthur made assumptions.
He’d assumed it would be dingy. A place with lots of shadows where people in hoods would trade suspicious-looking packages. Smoke from a dozen cigarettes would fill the air as a fist fight sounded out in the distance. No patrols, and none of the pleasant atmosphere of the original mall.
What he got instead was more of an artist alley that one might find at a convention.
The entire place was a narrow hallway filled with stalls. A lot of which appeared handmade. Rather than the dragons he’d seen before, different type of creatures manned every shop. From gnomes to robots, each was hawking a specific type of product. All at prices that he considered much more reasonable.
“What’s the deal with this place?” He asked as he started forward.
His eyes started drifting over the various items for sale as he walked. Some were things he recognized, such as hairdryers or hand towels. Others glowed with magical energy or looked like something he’d read about in a science fiction comic.
“This is the one place people like you can sell. You need to register for a stall and manage it. Most don’t bother unless they have a lot of excess stock to get rid of and someone to look after back home.”
“Why should that matter? We’re in a dream?” Arthur turned to Gastho, neatly sidestepping a gnome running past with a stack of scrolls.
Gastho looked at him like he was an idiot. “No, that’s how you have to enter. You’re awake. You felt pain.”
His breath caught in his throat as he listened to that, and he looked around. He swallowed and nodded. “How long have we been here?”
“Relax. Like, two hours at most. Chill. Come on. You have money to spend.”
“The goddess get a cut?”
“Sales tax, yeah.”
Arthur felt himself sigh at the words, and he continued on. With a touch, he let a small box appear in front of him, displaying his wealth.
Current Gold amount: 1042
“I have over one thousand Golden Pennies. How much can I get with that?”
Gastho shrugged. “It depends on what you want.”
That made him pause, thinking, and a hulking orc carrying a wooden club shoved past him with a grunt. He noticed a golden medallion hanging around the orc’s neck. Other people pushed past him as well, a difficult prospect in the smaller space.
With a nod towards Pydes, the two headed towards a small nook that was out of the way.
“I’m not really sure what I want,” he admitted as he looked around. “I would have said weapons, but I don’t see any.”
That earned him a derisive snort. “Yeah, most people at your level want to keep what they have. They aren’t simple things to make.”
Arthur nodded. “True.”
For a moment, he stood and watched the crowd as he tried to come up with a mental checklist of things he wanted. There were a few items that would be helpful as simple quality-of-life things. Toiletries came to mind first. Sure, the box worked, but still.
He was glad there was a locked toilet around the back of the store they could access.
With that in mind, he headed down the rows of stalls once again. His first purchase came from a small, gremlin-looking creature with two oversized golden hoops hanging from its large ears.
It was selling all kinds of beauty products, along with slime basics. He picked up several tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and toilet paper. All of which he was delighted to find, his system labeled as common.
Though he wasn’t as big of a fan of the forty-golden-pennies price tag. The Gremlin had simply waved him off when he tried to haggle. That happened at other stores as well. Even common items weren’t all that cheap.
He picked up a few more plates, as well as some smaller bits of furniture from what appeared to be a camping supply stall. The proprietor was a talking tree, who waved at him with several branches.
“Jemima and the others should appreciate these,” Arthur thought as he walked away over one hundred coins lighter. Stores selling jewelry and blacksmithing supplies caught his eye, but he didn’t know anyone who could use them.
Though that made him think about what tools he should try to find. Lab equipment for Dr. Muriler would be amazing. While he didn’t know exactly what things the rat mutant could do, he bet it was a lot.
Even as a geneticist, it was clear he had other skills, if the chemicals he used for the transformation were any indication.
That started him looking for any lab equipment, but he ran across something more important first. He could have kicked himself as he walked up to the stall that bore the massive red cross above it. Behind it sat a stegosaurus wearing a lab coat and stethoscope.
“Welcome, welcome.” It rumbled as Arthur moved over. “Injured? Hurt? Let Doctor Spike look after you.”
He smiled and nodded at the dinosaur, looking at the collection of items on the makeshift shelves. Most were small bottles, but he saw a few medical kits all made up.
“Oh, I’m fine, actually. I’m Arthur, by the way. I was hoping to purchase some medical supplies. The box we got at the start is great and all, but not enough.”
Doctor Spike nodded. “The time limit, I understand. I do indeed have some things for sale. Please, tell the good doctor what you need.”
***
Arthur walked out with two medical kits and a collection of bandages, which set him back two hundred golden pennies. However, it had been worth it, seeing what it’d come with. After telling Doctor Spike about his world, they’d looked at him with a horrified expression and demanded a trade network immediately.
“What does this allow us to do?” Arthur had turned to Gastho, who was loitering off to the side.
“You can use the computer to access each other’s inventory and buy and sell without being in the same room. It can be good if you find someone who has resources you don’t.” Gastho shrugged. “You have limited slots, but you’ll get more as you level. Every two from now on, I believe?”
“I see.”
He’d accepted the offer and felt the wallet in his back pocket burn. With one hand, he dug it out and found a small card. There was a dinosaur holding a syringe and roaring into the sky. He laughed and replaced it.
Now he was strolling the stalls, looking to see if he couldn’t find something for Dr. Muriler.
As he walked, money seemed to flow out of his pocket on its own. A dwarf with gold wire intricately woven in his beard upsold him a set of chef knives. They cost eighty golden pennies, but Arthur figured they would do wonders for the café.
A small, red-haired robot wearing a gold and white maid uniform sold him artist’s supplies. An easel and several canvases of varying sizes on frames. All up, it was only thirty gold, which was a bargain.
“Nyssa will appreciate these. Plus, maybe we can sell her art here if we get the time.” He thought, doing his best to ignore Gastho’s sniggering.
He was about to ask someone if they’d seen lab equipment when he saw a stall.
Fur-lined hats sat on the counter, ranging from flat newsboy caps to old explorer caps he’d seen in black-and-white photos. The man behind the counter was human, with bulging muscles and a scowl. He wore a top hat covered in golden studs.
However, it was the sign pinned to the pillar that drew his full attention.
Pelts wanted!
Have pelts? Hides? Furs? We want them! Here at Harvest Headwear we’ll pay good money for what you have. Inquire within!
“You interested in the job?” The man behind the counter said before sticking out his hand. “I’m Mike, by the way.”
“Arthur.” He clasped the man’s hand and tried not to wince as Mike squeezed his fingers. As he did, he noticed an orange furred top hat sitting on the counter. “I had a question, actually. What is that made of?”
“Cat.”
Arthur blinked. “House cat or monster?”
Mike rolled his eyes. “Neither now. Why? You one of those PETA wannabes? Listen! The local adventuring guild ethically sources all my furs. Are you here for the job, or to annoy me? I have things to do.”
“What? Oh. Yes. I have some pelts and hides I need to get rid of.”
As the man examined the trade window, he nodded. “Huh. Ok. These are different. How come you have so many?”
“Have a few quests to kill the beasts in the sewers.”
“Nice. I like the sounds of the giant rat, and the walker hides could be interesting. How much do you want to sell?”
“All of it,” Arthur admitted. “I don’t have a use for it, at least not right now. Anything that I can get rid of would be amazing.”
Mike grunted and tapped at the table. “One for each giant rat; I’ll do three for the walker. Might take a few of the juvenile ones off your hands too, for the same price as the rats. Could make some decent accents. So, one hundred and ten?”
“Sounds good to me,” Arthur said, accepting the deal. It didn’t get rid of everything he had, but he hoped it would be enough to get them off the floor. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He considered asking Mike to make a trade deal, but reconsidered. As useful as getting rid of the pelts was, it wasn’t a priority. He wanted to find another that would allow him to access something he couldn’t access back home.
That was when he saw it.
He didn’t worry about the fact that he shoved past people to get there. All his eyes were on the precious merchandise that now sat before him. Even the stunningly handsome man with the butterfly wings barely grabbed his attention.
His finger reached up and he traced over the spines. None of the books on the shelf were ones he recognized, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were books. Fiction and nonfiction alike graced the miniature shelves.
“You like my collection?” The voice was smooth as syrup and overly cheerful.
Arthur nodded, barely daring to speak. “Yes. Yes, I do. I’m Arthur. Apocalypse Assortments. Can we make a Trade Network?”
A chuckle came from behind the counter. “Bumarthian Shimmerwing. Fae Lit. Bold. But perhaps. It’s not every day I see someone excited like this. What do you sell?”
“Little of everything. I’m from a post-apocalyptic world, so I take what I can find.”
“Ahh, one of those. You lot always find the most interesting stuff. In that case, sure. We can trial it.”
He accepted without thinking as he pulled a book off the shelf. It was nothing impressive—a small paperback about vampires. However, at ten golden pennies, he couldn’t say no.
“This please. To start.” With a deep breath, he shook his head. “Do you have any guides for learning trades? Whatever information I can get will help.”
“Not on me, but if I do, I’ll send a message.”
Arthur almost bounced away as he finished paying for his book. His excitement burned through him, and he wanted to smile. This trip had been worth it for that alone.
***200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwGxOOsYO0
“That was quite the deal,” Gastho said, and Arthur nodded, shuffling a deck of playing cards he’d purchased earlier as they walked away from the previous stall.
A slime with tentacles but no face ran it, communicating telepathically when they got close. They’d been selling all kinds of lab equipment, and he purchased it all. Beakers, unidentified several chemicals were his first purchases. Then he bought some bunsen burners when the slime telepathically assured him were the essentials for any growing lab.200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmMXWegPRQ
Arthur had taken his word on it, even if it cost him almost three hundred golden pennies. He hoped Dr. Muriler would appreciate it.
“I wonder what he’ll be able to make? I know he could concoct that vat chemical with no real supplies. Maybe he can change the moss to be non-carnivorous? It’s hard to know.”
However, now he knew it was time to go home. The last thing he wanted was to spend too much time here. He was already reeling at the fact that he’d spent six hundred and fifty golden pennies on one outing. Once he added the gold he’d earned from selling the pelts.
Arthur nodded to Gastho, and they parted ways at the Seller’s entrance with a few words.
“Show Pydes your purchases. I’m sure he’ll back up my claim of your growing skill to upper management.”
“Right. Sounds good. Thanks for showing me around. Will you be here every time I need to come back?”
“Nope. You know how to get around. My advice would be that you don’t spend too much time here. You still have work to do. Ask Pydes if you want more details.”
With that, he was gone, and Arthur tapped at the pedestal and vanished right after him. His eyes snapped open, and he inhaled a deep breath back on the couch. He groaned and rolled off, rubbing his eyes. He wished he’d bought a watch, but he hadn’t seen one.
That was the problem with Seller’s Alley that he’d noticed right away.
What supplies were on display were all interesting, but with a lack of order it was next to impossible to find what he wanted.
“Maybe someones made a map?” He wondered as he dressed and exited into the back room. Leo was there, asleep, next to Theobold who looked wide awake. Though the full coffee cup made it obvious why.
At the sight of him, he nodded and whispered.
“Dr. Muriler is on the shop floor, and isn’t happy.”
Arthur grimaced. He could imagine why. The sudden loss of the mutagen tank must have been a shock. Even from back here he could hear the squeaking and shuffling of feet. With hesitant steps, he moved out and smiled.
“Hi.” he said, catching the attention of the room. “So I have news, and presents. What do you want first?”
From the way Dr. Muriler stared at him, he knew that vote would swing a single way.
With a smile, he did his best to start explaining exactly where he’d been.200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7045Y8bNT
