The town market was still bustling, even under the night sky. Karan and Luke walked through the lively streets, the weight of the two captured boars pressing against their backs. Karan glanced around in disbelief—this place was massive for a town.
"This market is huge," Karan remarked.
Luke chuckled. "Not really. It's just about a kilometer long."
Karan raised an eyebrow. "A one-kilometer-long market? This is supposed to be a town? I’ve never seen such a big market in a town before."
(Though he thought to himself, "Well, this would be normal in my world, but that’s a city. This, on the other hand, is just a town.")
Luke pointed ahead. "Look, that’s the shop I was looking for."
Karan followed his gaze to a shop with a wooden sign reading “Rory’s Goods and Exchange.” The two stepped inside, where a man stood behind the counter. Luke walked up to him with a friendly grin.
"Nara, this is my friend Rory. Ro, meet Nara."
Karan and Rory exchanged greetings before Luke unveiled the boars.
Rory’s eyes widened. "You brought them alive?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, Nara said that if we kill them, they’ll start to stink. Keeping them alive means fresher meat, which should fetch a better price."
Rory nodded approvingly. "That’s absolutely right. But you won’t get the best deal here. Take them to the restaurant in front of the guild—they’ll pay you well for fresh game. Let me just take the tusks first."
After Rory extracted the tusks and promised to exchange them for silver the next day, Karan and Luke carried the boars across the market. The restaurant stood near the guild, its warm glow inviting weary travelers and adventurers alike. Inside, the head chef greeted them, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the live boars.
"How much are you selling them for?" the chef asked eagerly.
Luke scratched his head. "Well, I used to sell dead boars for about 50 silvers each. This is my first time bringing them alive, so I’m not sure how much they’re worth. Just offer me whatever seems fair."
The chef nodded. "Sounds good."
But before the chef could settle on a number, Karan interjected.
"Wait, wait. 'Whatever seems fair'? No way." Karan folded his arms. "We carried these boars alive all the way here. If we wanted to take it easy, we could have just killed them on the spot. We put in the extra effort, so we expect a fair deal. Just because we don’t know the exact price doesn’t mean you can pay us anything and we’ll take it. A live boar is worth more than a dead one, and we want a price that ensures we can continue doing business with you."
The chef smirked. "You must be new in town."
Karan shrugged. "What does that have to do with anything? You want to buy, we want to sell. That’s all that matters."
The chef chuckled. "Fair enough. I’m an honest man, and my restaurant has a reputation. I won’t cheat you. Ask around—no one will offer more than me. I’ll give you 70 silvers per boar. That’s 140 total."
Karan didn’t hesitate. "No deal. 200 silver coins, minimum."
The chef frowned. "That’s too high."
Karan turned to Luke. "Forget it. Let’s take them somewhere else."
The chef sighed. "Fine. 160 silvers."
Luke smiled. "That works."
But Karan wasn’t done yet. He shot Luke a sharp look before turning back to the chef. "160 silvers—and dinner for both of us."
The chef narrowed his eyes. "120 silvers and dinner."
Karan held firm. "140 silvers and dinner. That’s final."
The chef exhaled in defeat. "You drive a hard bargain. Where did you learn to haggle like that?"
Karan smirked. "Spend enough time shopping with a woman, and you pick it up whether you want to or not."
The chef chuckled. "Oh, your girlfriend—"
"My mother." Karan corrected.
"Ah, makes sense," the chef said, shaking his head. "Fine, deal. But since you’re so interested in quality, I’ll make sure you get a taste of this boar too."
Karan grinned. "Good. Let’s see how it tastes."
"Give me half an hour," the chef said. "Your food will be ready by then. Have a seat in the meantime."
Karan and Luke settled at a nearby table.
Luke leaned in. "I have to admit, that was impressive. You got us a great deal."
Karan exhaled, relieved. "Honestly, I didn’t expect him to agree. I was ready to settle for 120 silvers and dinner. But I figured I’d push my luck one more time—and it worked. Now we’ve got 140 silvers, and dinner is taken care of. All that’s left is finding a place to stay for the night."
Luke nodded. "There are plenty of inns nearby. This town sees a lot of adventurers passing through, so you’ll find plenty of places that offer a one-night stay."
Karan leaned back in his chair. "Good to know. By the way, is that the guild over there?"
Luke followed his gaze to the building across the street. "Yeah, that’s where adventurers register. Want to check it out?"
Karan thought for a moment. (If we’re going to keep moving forward in this story, joining the guild seems like the next step.)
"Yeah, let’s take a look," he said.
Karan called out to the chef. "Hey, how much longer for dinner?"
"Still a little while," the chef replied.
"Alright. We’ll check out the guild and be back soon."
The chef waved them off, and with that, Karan and Luke stepped out onto the bustling streets once more, heading toward the guild.
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