Frontier of Blades and Walls

After getting treated by a priest at a church near the eastern gate, Ken turned in the Wooker's Rope to a guild receptionist, and had asked her about the adventurer's tag he had found on the goblin. He took it off and showed it to her. She explained that goblins collect and wear anything shiny, and that it must've plundered it from an adventurer's corpse. She took the tag, gave him a reward for finding it, thanked him, and claimed he had done a great service to the guild for finding it.

Next, Ken asked some of his senior adventurers around the guild office about the talons he ripped off the goblin.

"Yeah, some of the wilder goblins have those. Kinda rare, I think," chatted a blonde swordsman in scale armor. "Might wanna ask someone else," he said. "I don't pay attention to the details too often," he snickered.

After talking to someone actually helpful, Ken gathered that Forest Goblins have talons and claws unique to their subrace. After asking a handful of other people, Ken found out that there was a store that would buy the claws for a fair price. Ken left the office and started down the road.

The Guild office was located in a district known as the Adventurer's Square. Many businesses catering towards adventurers orbited around it. The businesses eventually got so numerous that they essentially formed their own district. Shops, inns, taverns, restaurants, smithies, boarding houses, and even libraries were densely packed next to each other. All shapes of stalls, shops, and peddlers sold weapons, medical supplies, and adventuring tools like torches, rope, and provisions.

Ken turned down a roofed alley that was overgrown in woody vines and green ivy. It was lit by hanging metal lanterns, cats wandered between fences, and a group of female adventurers were sitting outside a shop enjoying tea. Ken thought that this alley must be in a different dimension. The chatter of the city didn't reach his ears, and he felt incredibly at peace.

"The Crys'al Pestle," Ken muttered to himself, looking up at a wooden sign. It was the shop recommended to him by several adventurers. It dealt in monster parts, magical curios, and rare herbs.

Ken grabbed the ornamental door handle, and opened the door. A bell sounded, and he walked inside. His eyes began to adjust to the dark room.

"Woah," Ken uttered simply.

Planters hung from every inch of ceiling and draped Ken's shoulders with vines. Shelves hung from the wall and held any kind of relic you could imagine. Racks were strewn about the floor space in rough isles. Artifacts sat on the racks, and monster parts hung from the sides. The aromas of incense, monster parts, and plants didn't mix at all. The room didn't smell like one single thing, and depending on what you focused on, you could either gag or feel refreshed. Ken strolled between isles, and he quickly noticed that the only things he could afford were the pharmaceutical ingredients that were typically bought in bulk.

Ken eventually reached the front counter. No one was there. He waited for a minute before getting impatient.

"Hello? Anyone here?" He called.

Ken heard a crash and a rumbling in one of he rooms behind the counter. After a few seconds, he heard footsteps coming closer to him. A small girl of no older than ten appeared from around one of the dark corners behind the counter. She wore a dark blue, silk, mage's robe several sizes too big for her. Her hair was brown, frizzy, and everywhere. She was rubbing her eyes vigorously and stifling a yawn. Ken waited until she was done.

"Excuse me?" Ken asked politely.

Then and only then, did she notice Ken. Her eyes flew to his face, widened, and then squinted with disdain. Ken waited a few more seconds while she examined him. He had an immense sense of déjà vu wash over him.

"Um, can I talk to the owner of the store?" Ken asked.