266: Puzzle
The next morning, when I woke up and made my way downstairs for breakfast, I couldn’t help but notice that Clara had spent some of the night entirely rearranging behind the bar. It now featured the statue front and centre, where there used to be bottles of alcohol and mugs; they were all shifted to the side and had clearly found homes elsewhere.
“You like it?” Clara said with a beaming smile.
“It looks great!” I said, as Crisplet let off a big shower of sparks.
“I don’t really speak with nobles, but you lot are alright, nothing like I would have expected, and if you’re in charge of this town, it makes me think we have a good future,” Clara said.
This comment surprised me, but it actually gave me a great idea.
“Just wondering, do you have much leftover food on an average day?”
Clara shrugged. “Really depends, nights like last night don’t happen often, but it’s not unheard of and we sell out quick, but I suppose on a normal night I’d have a little left over. Why’s that?”
“I was wondering if you’d be able to make a dish for the orphanage in town once a week. I’d happily pay you for it, of course, or you could just send your leftovers,” I asked hopefully.
Clara waved it off. I was expecting her to say no.
“Save your money; your friend gave me enough coin in two days to cover my expenses for a year or two. I’ll do it free of charge; you have my word.”
I couldn’t hold back the giant smile across my face. “Thank you so much; it’ll be really helpful.”
“Let me get you breakfast, take a seat!” Clara called out, already heading into the kitchen.
Turning around, I saw Liane half asleep at the same table, sitting with Gilain, who was already having a drink. Everyone else, however, was missing.
Taking my seat, however, I got my answer. “Milo told me to let you know, because she’d be asleep, that he’s at the guild with Hari making sure everything is going ahead, and Jen is making sure the teams start work on the orphanage today.”
Clara had arrived with a plate made up from what looked to be fried toast, several small sausages and two eggs, placing it in front of me. “Your merchant friends went to the market early this morning as well.”
“Thanks, Clara!” I said, digging in. I was surprised Lily wasn’t here, but I suppose she was getting some extra sleep.
The mention of the markets, though, gave me a great idea. I had a few hours to kill, and there was no point sitting in the inn watching Gilain drink, so I would make a quick visit to the market myself. After all, this place was supposed to be pretty special for wood-related crafters. I also wondered if they’d have a lot of foraged goods from the forest as well.
I didn’t waste any time once breakfast was done. Covering up with our travel cloaks, I also managed to drag Liane with me, knowing full well once we walked past some food stalls she’d come alive.
The market itself wasn’t far from the inn, and I was surprised to see it was quite unlike all the others I had visited so far. This one was incredibly craft-focused, but what really stood out was the smell. The first was a smokiness, but there was also a rich earth undertone to it, even the smell of damp moss.
It was strange for the power of the wood and the forest to be stronger than any smoked or roasted meats that may have been available, unlike all previous markets.
“Crisplet, stay close. I wouldn’t want trouble here,” I muttered, concerned as many eyes were turning towards us.
Though I had no need to worry, as I walked past a stall a man called out, beaming,
“Lord Ashmoon! Can I interest you in some of the finest furniture The Pinch has to offer?”
I heard Liane chuckle from next to me, “So much for the travel cloaks,” she muttered.
“No thank you, we leave today, unfortunately,” I said back.
Though it was disappointing, the man had some of the nicest tables and chairs on display that I had ever seen. They wouldn’t even look out of place in the palace.
As I continued to walk, it felt like I was recognised by nearly everyone, and when I finally stopped at a store selling herbs, I couldn’t help but ask.
“How is it everyone knows who I am?” I said to the owner.
He let out a hearty laugh. “Half the crafters were in the inn last night, and the rest found out about it from them. Combine that with your fire elemental friend there, and there is only one person it could be. Oh, and you don’t need to worry about your friend, word on the street he’s a master craftsman in his unique medium; that’s seen as a badge of honour around here.”
Crisplet let off a small burst of sparks, clearly keeping it very contained, but overjoyed at being called a master craftsman.
I translated for the man, “That was a thank you.”
“It’s alright, lad, I felt the mana. Most of us learn that early. Now, what can I help you with today?” he said with a giant grin.
There wasn’t anything particularly rare in the stall, though I did find several fresh bunches of mana tears, virfolium, lemon tea grass, which was suspiciously expensive now, and plenty of garlic grass.
“I don’t suppose you have anything rarer stashed away, do you?” I asked hopefully.
The man shook his head. “Unfortunately, not at the moment. If you came in a month, I would be loaded with goods, and it’s looking like a great season this year, but this close to winter, the options are slim.”
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Saying goodbye, I moved on, surprised at how many different wooden products could be sold, from woven baskets and wooden spoons to cutting boards and spatulas. What caught my attention next was a giant shop that looked to be set up out front of a workshop, which was selling dozens of barrels of all shapes and sizes, both cured and uncured.
I didn’t have a chance to get a close look, however, before Crisplet caught my attention, throwing a small piece of coal at me before gesturing towards a small stall to the side where there appeared to be an ancient-looking man who was entertaining a child with some sort of wooden puzzle.
As always, I couldn’t say no to Crisplet, and the barrels were not going anywhere, so we made our way over.
“Oh, wooden toys, some of these are incredibly intricate,” Liane said from behind me.
And she wasn’t kidding; the child seemed to be trying an interlocking wooden puzzle and was growing frustrated with it, while the man let out a chuckle.
Crisplet was interested, fascinated by the puzzle. The child, however, seeing him, seemed to lose all interest in the toy as his full attention was now on Crisplet.
“Don’t stare, I’m sorry about my grandson,” the man said, taking the puzzle back.
This did not work at all, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Crisplet, however, let out disappointment, clearly at not seeing the puzzle work.
“That’s not a problem. I don’t suppose you could show Crisplet how the puzzle works?” I asked hopefully.
The man’s face looked to be in confusion. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, sir. Is he able to handle the wood? I don’t know the etiquette when dealing with elementals.”
I laughed at that. “Nor do I. How much is the puzzle?” I asked.
“Oh, these are one silver each,” the man said, gesturing to others on the counter.
And clearly with the same train of thought that I had, Liane already had a silver coin out and handed it to the man.
“It should be fine, though it might be a little charred.”
The man, clearly practised at doing so, took the ball and held it out towards Crisplet.
“The goal here is to be able to dismantle this ball into its twelve parts, and then get it back together again, without using any force or breaking it.” He held the ball in his hand and almost in an instant three pieces came off.
“It’s not as easy as it looks; here, you can have a try. It’s had my grandson stumped for half an hour so far; this is a new design I came up with,” he said.
Again, in the blink of an eye, the three pieces he took off were back together and it was once more just a regular wooden ball as he handed it to Crisplet.
As expected, we were worried about nothing, as the wood darkened slightly, but Crisplet’s control over heat and especially burning wood meant it was not touched at all.
We didn’t interrupt him for a good five minutes as the man was explaining his other stock, when I turned around to notice that Crisplet was utilising a skill I’d never seen before today: the wooden ball was floating in front of him, his hand underneath, and it was slowly rotating when finally the first piece came off the ball.
Crisplet burst into sparks at this, the piece that came off now floating next to the ball as he kept rotating it to get the next one.
The man looked impressed. “Well done!”
The man’s grandson had spent the entire time just watching Crisplet solve the puzzle in fascination, even offering advice that didn’t seem to help much, but Crisplet took it all the same, attempting it, as the old man chuckled from the side, clearly knowing it wouldn’t work.
“I’ll buy one of each of your puzzles, please,” I said happily, knowing that even when Crisplet was finished with this one it would be nice if he had some more to study. My mind raced to the idea of Crisplet possibly creating his own fire-based puzzles, but that was getting too far ahead of myself.
“Absolutely, I can give you a discount for the bulk purchase,” the man tried to say, but Crisplet immediately sent off an ember.
“Crisplet wishes to pay the full price,” I said with a smile, knowing full well Crisplet just wanted to support a crafter, though I wasn’t sure what understanding of money he had. Come to think of it, it might have been better than my own.
I was surprised when the man pulled out an ornate-looking wooden box, and opening it up, I saw him packing in his puzzles.
In the end it cost us twelve silver, and I gave him a couple extra for the box as well, as Crisplet kept pushing across thanks, fascination and joy.
“You’re welcome; don’t lose that spark in the crafts. I never thought I’d see a fire elemental doing a wooden puzzle, but you seem to really appreciate the craft, nurture that,” the man said, sounding incredibly wise.
Crisplet took it very seriously, pushing back the feeling of a promise and letting off some sparks.
Leaving the store, I made my way past the coopers, which was funny in its own right as everyone just seemed to be fascinated by Crisplet still working on his puzzle as he followed behind.
I got several cured barrels of three different sizes, all with lids, and two uncured ones, just so I had options and had some should I need them for drinks in the future. Milo might have written off my rum as barely passable, but I’d have another go at it.
I wondered if Gilain would like the rum.
Before we finished up for the day, we managed to find a stall that was selling all different sorts of meats, but something that caught my eye was wings coated in a breading, then fried in buvul fat, which were then tossed in a spicy vinegar sauce; it seemed so simple.
“What’s in the sauce?” I asked.
“Secret, I’m afraid! Though we do sell bottles if you’re after some for your travels.” The man gestured to the back wall.
I caved and purchased five, convincing myself I would try and work out how they did it before I ran out.
Liane, on the other hand, purchased four different skewers of meat, and was rotating through them, now far more awake.
“We better head back to the inn; I’m sure we’ll be leaving soon,” Liane said.
She wasn’t wrong; the moment I walked in I saw the wagons already outside the inn, and Hari was readying all the horses, seemingly noticing us as we approached.
“Ah, good, I was just about to send Jen to find you,” he said.
Crisplet, however, just rushed towards Jen and started to show off the puzzle along with the three pieces he had removed from it so far.
I didn’t get more than a few steps towards the wagon when a voice caught me,
“Uh, sorry, Lord Ashmoon?”
Turning around, I was surprised to see Rhyn here, clutching what appeared to be a small brown sack.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you were leaving; we had sixty-six gold delivered to us this morning from Lord Farrow, and I just wanted to bring it to you,” she said, holding it out.
“Oh no, that’s not for me; that’s for the orphanage. It’s all the gold that should have gone to the orphanage over the years,” I said happily.
Her eyes went wide. “Sir, it’s too much.”
“Nonsense, use it to buy equipment, books, expand the orphanage. I will come back in future and look, but I hope to see it invested in their futures,” I said.
“What if it’s stolen?” Rhyn asked, looking genuinely concerned.
“If it’s stolen, you contact me right away and Lily will sort it out.” I said.
Amusingly, Lily decided that moment was a good time to appear at my side.
“Don’t be afraid to spread the word about that, Rhyn. If anyone messes with the orphanage or tries to take advantage, contact me immediately.” I said this very seriously.
Looking back, I saw that everyone was mounting up and it was all ready to go. Gilain had even secured himself an absolutely giant horse from somewhere.
“I have to leave now, Rhyn, but please, look after them. The system needs to change, and it’s starting here,” I said, waving as I quickly made my way over to Sable.
“Thanks for everything. I will ensure it’s spent well,” Rhyn called.