Singer Sailor Merchant Mage

Chapter 232: Finding a Market

"Primum non nocere: First, Do no harm.”

Hippocratic Oath

It was simple enough to grab an empty table and awning. Bjorn had let them know that I might be setting up a stall, and one had been left empty for me. I was told it was for travelling traders, but none were here, so it was free. It was no difficulty setting it up now that I was taller. But it looked a little bare without any goods to place on top of the shelf-like table at the back of it. Without trinkets to arrange and no curtains or silks to decorate my empty stall, it looked a little barren compared to my neighbours' stalls.

That in itself could draw attention, but I felt I needed something more than that. The only items I could currently be proud of displaying were the two statues I had created under the guidance of the goddess. A quick manipulation of the spatial vault openings had the two statues sitting in the two corners of my stall. They were not for sale, but the artistic nature of the two statues would hopefully draw some interest. The final centrepiece of my empty stall was my little companion.

Having gained a few levels in resistance, Nyx had accompanied me and drew even more attention than simply my small stature or the two statues. Despite her resistance levels, she insisted on me heating the area with my amulet. It was not a significant drain, and the awnings provided to the market area helped hold in the heat a little. There was certainly a significant difference when sheltered by the sunken walls of the Thorpe compared to being out on the open, endless ice where the heat had been endlessly whipped away. It was still cold but not as freezing as being out on the open plains of ice sunken as we were below ground level.

Admittedly, my stall was still bare compared to the other giants’ stalls, but I was novel and new, which would hopefully draw more of them walking around going about their business. Ultimately, I decided I needed to stand on top of my table to bring myself closer to their level. Even then, they would still be looking down on me. But at least I was not running around their ankles. When I stood on my soapbox, I’m sure I looked strange to the other giants. Hopefully, it was eye-catching enough to draw some interest. We were the outsiders here, and it was not hard to remember when everyone else towered over us.

Soon enough, an elderly giant stopped by, if only to enjoy the warmth of my stall; with no goods obviously for sale, the first question was obvious. “What are you selling?” he asked, looking curiously at Nyx, who was flaring her wings at his approach and casting a quick glance at the two statues on either end of the stall.

“No goods for sale yet; we’ve just arrived,” I said sadly, but also let him know that Nyx or the statues were not for sale. Once, I had a measure of the market and what we had found. I hoped to have some goods for sale. “However, instead, I have a service I can offer,” I stated before he could lose interest and leave. “Trained by the Church of the Lodestar, I am proficient in healing. Are there any aches and pains I could help you with?” Stats and magic could cure many ails, but sometimes, there was little to be done about ageing despite the magic of my new world. It was a safe offer to make considering my potential customer.

“Trained? You’re a little young to be a priest? An acolyte of the Compass Centric Church?” He questioned, sounding doubtful either of someone so young or so small. Even though I was not so small anymore. Stature was always relative, and despite my increase in size, I still looked obviously young. Although less unbelievable than I had looked only a few days earlier.

“Family friends with the local Bishop,” I explained. “He took an interest in my training; I have the mana, skill and ability to heal most common woes you might face,” I answered. Bishop Bailie had cured most ailments on the island, but I had watched and occasionally helped on top of the training we had done with my cousins. My understanding of biology and anatomy helped to reduce the casting costs vastly.

“How much?” He asked, intrigued, but he wasn’t biting yet. I wondered what his problem might be: an old wound or old age.

“How much would it be worth it to live without pain? Many would pay a premium for that.” I countered. I was unsure what things were truly worth on the edge of civilisation. Some things would be easy to come by. Others would be far harder. It might be worth far more than I might charge. If I left it up to him, I would at least gain goodwill alongside some good word of mouth. I could always slowly raise the prices as I gained in popularity.

“How much would I get for a silver?” He asked.

“What ails you?” I replied, as there was nothing immediately evident with the giant.

“My knees.” He started. “No matter how high my cold and ice resistance get, they still ache most mornings before I get moving. It would be nice to get up in the morning without feeling them grind in pain.” He explained. It sounded like arthritis, maybe, or tendonitis. It wouldn’t surprise me that giant’s joints wore out a little quicker at their size. They had to be dealing with a lot more weight. However, I was surprised that stats did not heal the issue or were not more robust to start off with.

“Do they not heal themselves when you add vitality with new levels?” I asked to check.

“Aye, for a while, but it returns in the end. At my age and level, it is not as easy as it once was to keep levelling up, young lad.” He advised as he handed over a silver coin the size of four standard silver coins. I guessed that human money would have been challenging to deal with in giant hands—an exciting form of inflation where their coins were worth more simply due to their size. I had only been expecting a single silver coin, and I was gaining four. I palmed it into my spatial vault to inspect it later.

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“Well, let's look then,” I said, jumping from the table. I did not have a seat for the giant, but that did not matter; he could use the table to lean against. He stood still as I approached and touched his right knee. Sure enough, I could sense the inflammation around the joint; whether it was the tendons or the cartilage that was causing the problem was not immediately apparent, but a general heal should sort the problem regardless.

I vocalised the skill to let the giant know I was tending to his knee. “Heal.” The skill guided my mana into the inflammation, and I watched it go down. As I continued to supply the mana, the tendons grew healthy while the cartilage smoothed over once more. “There,” I said as the spell completed the mana, unable to find any more damage to heal in his right knee.

He flexed his leg, pleasantly surprised by the cure's efficiency or efficacy. “Amazing.” He said as he continued to move his leg around. “I can’t feel it at all. What about the other knee?” He asked enthusiastically.

“Well, would that be worth a second silver?” I asked cheekily. There was no reason not to see if I couldn’t get another, seeing as he was so pleased with the results of his first healing.

He laughed at my brazenness, “Takes guts to ask that of your elder and me.” He stared at me in amusement, emphasising our size difference. “Before I would have said no, but . . .” He moved his knee once more. “I cannot argue with the effects. Yes, that would certainly be worth another silver.” He said as he handed over another silver coin. I again palmed away into my spatial vault.

It took me only a moment to work on his other knee. His silent grin was a sure sign of the success of the treatment, even if I could not sense the damage repairing itself within the joint.

“Worth every penny.” He nodded gratefully as he squatted down to my level. “They haven’t felt this good for twenty years. You need a sign for your stall. I’ll send my son round to fix you up with one.” He nodded, then strode off his strides longer as if testing out the lack of pain.

I solved a couple more issues for passers-by: a few sore joints, a cataract or two, and a cough that they had been unable to shift. There were no open wounds needing healed, life in the Thorpe seemed fundamentally safe despite existing at the ends of the earth. However, the healing was enough for my skill and metier to improve. Whether it was the number of healings or the novelty of healing a different race, I would not complain.

Ding! Heal (Lv21 -> 22)

Ding! Healer (Lv0 -> Lv1)

I added the free points gained by levelling up my metier to Charisma, seeing as I would need that more with selling my wares. Everyone had been friendly enough, but a little more Charisma couldn’t hurt.

Charisma: 180 -> 190

Most of my visitors chatted for a second or two to welcome me to the Thorpe and wish me luck when I mentioned that I hoped to have some goods for sale soon if they were not interested in the healing I was offering. What gained the most interest, though, were the two statues I had created. A pair of potential customers questioned the imagery.

The representation of Fortuna still stood gracefully, her body draped in flowing robes, and her head was adorned with a delicate crown of laurel leaves. The giants initially took her to be a spirit of healing until they looked closer and saw she held a cornucopia overflowing with gold and gems and an orb encapsulating a thunderous cloud of misfortune over a stormy sea. Then, of course, there were the images around the base.

“Not a spirit of healing?” one asked after looking closer.

“S’not Njal or Era.” The other said his thoughts aloud. “I would have thought you would have one of Era considering your healing.” He continued discussing the Northern and Northwestern gods.

“The statue represents Fortuna,” I explained.

“Fortuna?” They asked. “Not one of the great eight.” They commented. Referencing the eight Anemoi, each representing the cardinal and ordinal directions, represents a different stat's strength.

“She . . .” I emphasised that it “Represents the goddess of luck and fortune.” Considering my current location, I would not be singing her praises too strongly, but only a fool was too disrespectful of the gods.

“Good or ill?” The first asked, raising his eyebrows. We had already discussed my shipwreck on the endless ice.

“Both, I suppose,” I answered. “The storm was not great fortune, but we were lucky to survive it.” I continued.

“And this one?” Asked the other, referring to the hooded figure in a flowing robe adorned with Runes, Glyphs, Sigils, Enchantments and other arcane symbols like the constellations of the heavens. His wooden staff, crowned in a shard of the Lodestar, was planted in front of him.

“No name, but I like to think honouring the system and magic might favour me in return,” I explained. Fortuna had never explicitly specified exactly who the second statue was supposed to represent.

“Neither seems to strictly support healing.” The first one commented.

“Well, I’m more than just a healer.” I smiled. “Only this morning, I went on patrol with Bjorn, hunting. This afternoon, I’m healing. There is more than one string to my bow.” I grinned. “Who knows what this evening will bring.” I shrugged wondering when the Veivisier would catch up with me.

“Regardless of who they represent, I would be interested in a statue of my friend here if this is what you are capable of.” He continued.

“I’ll take one too of this lump.” His friend added.

“If you can provide the stone, that shouldn’t be a problem,” I said as I looked at the pair before me, taking a mental image of who they were. “What would you like to be wearing, carrying or doing in the statues?” I asked.

“As we are is fine.” The first replied.

“And the cost?” I asked.

“10 silvers sound fair?” He asked.

“Sure,” I answered. This would take more time and mana than the healing had, but perhaps I had undercharged for the healing. I viewed it as another way of creating goodwill and advertising my services. I could always raise my prices depending on how popular they were.

“We will be back with the stone.” They said before leaving.

The first elderly gentlegiant’s son soon returned with a sign for my stall and words of gratitude. “He’s been complaining about his knees for a decade. I'm not sure who is the most grateful for your healing. Him or us now that we won’t have to listen to it anymore. Thank you.” He chatted as he set up the sign for me. Business was picking up. Then Namir returned with a long list of supplies and their prices.

It was time to go shopping.

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