Andy had gained his first rank in all three core skills for the Fighter class: [athletics], [combat], and [martial weapons]. Morwen had suggested that Andy get his second round of ranks by studying at the Firebrand Gym in the city of Cresthaven.

  It was Wednesday, and Gerran wouldn’t have an open slot for training at the Firebrand until Friday, so Pliny insisted that he take Andy into the city and show him around for a couple of days in the meantime.

  That morning, Andy chopped wood, stoked the fire under the perpetual stew, and sat in the armchair with a cup of coffee for what he reckoned would be the last time for at least a week or so. Although he was excited to see more of this new world, and to finally explore the city he had heard so much about, he was going to miss the quiet solitude that he found here in Morwen’s Grove.

  Morwen, Noel, and Pliny all gathered in the den one by one as they woke up, joining Andy in the den with coffee of their own.

  “I have a gift for you,” Noel said, holding out a hefty satchel.

  Andy took it and looked inside. It was filled to the brim with gold coins.

  “Oh, Noel, you don’t have to–”

  “I won’t even miss it,” he said.

  It was true. Noel wouldn’t notice this pouch of gold gone. His bounty from his last adventure filled almost the entire bunk room downstairs.

  “I have one more thing,” he said. “Since you’ve trained with the shortsword, I wanted to give you this.” Noel handed Andy a shortsword, about the same size as the one he had trained with the day before, but this one was much different.

  Instead of a simple leather scabbard, this one was a beautiful blue, imprinted with intricate silver arabesques resembling serpents and vines.

  Andy accepted the sword and drew it from its sheath. The hilt and blade were made of polished steel, and the crossguard was a strange, luminescent blue metal. Andy noticed in the center of the crossguard, there was a small slot, about the size of a coin.

  A hot coin slot, he thought, remembering the appendix he had read a few days prior.

  The blade was perfectly balanced, easy to maneuver, and provided enough heft to be dangerous in a fight.

  “Thank you,” Andy said. “I don’t know what to say…”

  “You’re welcome,” Noel said cheerfully.

  “Well, that’s a fine blade indeed,” Morwen said. “I’m almost envious.”

  “I’m sure Pliny is going to take you to Tobo’s Tavern,” Noel said, “so I wanted you to have some money to put on the table, and a weapon in case things got too testy with some of the patrons there.”

  For a moment, Andy thought he was being dead serious, but then Noel, Pliny, and Morwen burst into laughter.

  Andy, Pliny, Noel, and Morwen shared a few pastries before it was time to leave. Andy packed his clothes in his traveling pack, strapped his new sword onto his side and headed out to the yard.

  Morwen and Noel waved as Pliny and Andy departed down the eastward path toward the city of Cresthaven.

  ***

  They walked for a few miles down the eastward path. At first, the trail was mostly wooded with moderate ups and downs. Though it was a dirt road, it seemed extraordinarily well-maintained, at least compared to some of the other paths that Andy had seen on his journey so far.

  After a while, the wooded path opened up to clear fields and rolling hills peppered by cattle, sheep, and other livestock. Lean-tos and stables stood in the fields, and, more distantly, farmhouses sat on hilltops.

  “This is farm country,” Pliny said, “in case you couldn’t gather that on your own. There are many generations of Farmers who have cultivated this land for centuries.”

  The sun shone on them, but a cool breeze blew, keeping the air comfortable. The brilliant green of the fields met the deep blue of the open sky.

  It felt like freedom.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  As they continued traversing the path along the rolling hills, they began to pass Farmers along the roadside. They were local men and women dressed in clean, polite clothing as they stood next to their horses, their wagons turned into makeshift produce stands.

  Andy was beginning to get parched from the walking as they approached an apple stand.

  Biting into a juicy apple would be… so delicious right now, he thought.

  “I think I’d like a piece of fruit,” Andy said, pulling off to the side and approaching the stand.

  “By all means,” said Pliny.

  As Andy approached the stand, a man with a well-kept beard and a wide-brimmed straw hat greeted him with a smile. “Care to trade for apples?” the man said, squinting and smiling.

  “Yes, please,” Andy said. “How much for an apple?”

  “I reckon it's a half-copper piece,” the man said.

  He “reckons” its a half-copper piece? Either this man forgot how much an apple costs, or this is a barter system here and he’s leaving negotiations open…

  “Well, let me see what I’ve got,” Andy said, rummaging around to open his satchel. He glanced at the top of the open pouch, and, as far as he could tell, it was packed to the brim with gold coins. He moved a few pieces around, looking for copper or even silver, but he saw only gold.

  “This is all I have,” he said, handing the man a gold coin.

  “Oh!” the man exclaimed, accepting it. “Well this is good for at least a sixth of a bushel,” he said, grabbing a woven basket and placing around 20 apples into it, inspecting each one for quality.

  “There’s no need for that mu–”

  “I don’t accept charity, now,” the man said, chuckling. “You’re going to get your gold piece’s worth.” He continued rummaging, inspecting each apple and occasionally brushing them against his sleeve to ensure they shined. Finally, he handed the basket to Andy.

  “Thank you,” Andy said.

  “Any time,” the man said. “Pleasure doing business with you, and if you have any further need for fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, wool, or meat, remember you can always count on Birbury Farms.”

  Andy nodded kindly toward the man as he and Pliny continued down the road, but now, Andy was carrying a basket of twenty apples.

  “That’s quite a haul you got there,” Pliny said, chuckling.

  “I suppose gold goes a long way here, huh?”

  “It does,” Pliny said. “Especially among commonfolk. He probably should have given you more apples, in fact. The gift Noel gave you is probably enough to live comfortably among the commoners for half a year or more.”

  Half a year? Andy thought. This satchel of coins could buy me half a year of comfortable living…

  “I don’t think I realized how much money Noel handed me this morning,” Andy said.

  He bit into a pink-red apple. It was delightfully crunchy, juicy, tangy, and sweet.

  “Well, once we get into the noble and academic districts of Cresthaven, it won’t get you nearly as far,” Pliny said. “There’s a real divide here among the haves and have-nots. The commonfolk subsist on meager wages while the nobles, wealthy merchants, and educated spellcasters have plenty of gold to spare.”

  As they crested a hill, suddenly, the skyline of the city appeared on the eastern horizon. Several towering structures rose up in the middle of the city, surrounded by intermediate structures, which then gave way to sprawling neighborhoods around the outside of the walls.

  To the north, several large rafts carrying cargo moved on a great river. The ships saddled with cargo moving eastward toward the city followed the river’s natural current, while empty vessels were pulled against the current by mules on the northern bank of the river, heading toward the western mountains.

  “The Yarrowhite river,” Pliny said, “carries resources from the mountain villages and the farmlands into the city, truly a pillar of commerce.”

  Andy noticed that the resources seemed only to flow one direction: toward Cresthaven. The rafts heading west were all empty.

  As they continued along the path, Andy noted several docking stations where farmers unloaded their produce onto waiting rafts. Occasionally, he could overhear arguments between farmers and the bookkeepers who noted all incoming cargo on a ledger and arranged for payments.

  The hilly farmland gave way to flatter, more consistent ground. Soon enough, they found themselves travelling along the road through a series of small villages. Each one had its own well, its own produce stand, a temple or religious shrine of some kind, and a few other public buildings, surrounded by residences.

  Before long, they came to a large schoolhouse, with a sign that read: Yarrowhite District Branch of General Education. Several children sat on the steps out front. It was a large, stone building, with enormous windows into the classrooms. It was certainly the most official structure they had seen on their journey so far. Inside, lecturers taught rooms of older children, while in other rooms, adults supervised younger children playing with blocks, drawing, and chasing one another around.

  Across the street from the schoolhouse, there was another stone building, this one a bit more modest. A wooden sign mounted on a post in the front yard read: Yarrowhite District Branch of Public Medicine. A young man stood with a frail old woman at the building’s entrance as a robed figure, likely a Cleric, greeted them and helped the older woman in.

  “Hi mister!” a small boy said as he ran up to Andy from the schoolhouse. “What are you doing with all those apples?”

  Andy couldn’t help but smile. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

  “It’s lunchtime, mister!” the boy said matter-of-factly.

  “Would you like an apple?” Andy said. In truth, he would love to unload the basket. It was getting heavy.

  The boy nodded vigorously.

  “Do you have friends who would like some apples too?”

  The boy nodded again.

  Andy handed the boy the entire basket.

  “Woah!” the boy shouted, struggling to situate the basket in his arms.

  “Don’t be greedy,” Pliny said. “Make sure to share.”

  “Okay mister!” the boy said, running away from them and toward the schoolhouse, sitting on the front steps and immediately biting into an apple before showing several other boys and girls excitedly. A group of children huddled around the basket.

  “Our system working for the commoner, as the Order intended,” Pliny said, smiling as they passed the schoolhouse and medicine clinic.

  As they continued to follow the road, a sidestreet jutted out to the north.

  “We’re almost to Tobston if we follow the main road here,” said Pliny. Then he pointed at the sidestreet. “If you follow that road, though, you’ll get to the Firebrand Gym. That’s where you’ll want to go later this week.

  “Got it,” Andy said, noting the sidestreet.

  The further along the road they went, the bigger and denser these villages became until, finally, the road turned to cobblestone.

  “We’re in Outer Cresthaven now,” Pliny said. “This area truly is the best of both worlds. Affordable and frequented by reasonable commonfolk, and there’s plenty to see and do.”

  As they continued through the outskirts of the city, they finally came to a small commercial district. There was a fountain in the central square surrounded by tables. Folks gathered around the tables, playing some sort of card game. Around the little square stood a restaurant called Sabine’s, several stands selling hot drinks and food, a dark-looking bookshop with latticed windows, and an establishment called Tobo’s Tavern.

  “And this little neighborhood is called Tobston,” said Pliny. “Named after the family of halflings who originally established this tavern. The owner, Tobo, is a good friend of mine, and we’ll get the best lunch available on this side of the walls.”

  Despite eating an apple earlier, Andy’s stomach was growling.

  “I’m in,” he said.