"You're a deep sleeper, man. Took me forever to wake you up," Ezra said as the two of them left the inn and made for the guild to meet up with Maria.
"Sorry," Rion replied. "I was having a… weird dream."
He kept thinking back on that dark space—Specter, the training. He thought of asking Ezra if something similar had ever happened to him, but he already knew the answer. Specter was unique to him; maybe it had something to do with his missing memories, maybe—
"Rion, we're here."
Rion looked up and saw they were standing in front of the guild. Rion shook his head I'll think about that later he thought to himself as the two headed inside. There they quickly found Maria at their table from yesterday, playing her harp for the surrounding patrons, an upbeat and fast tune. Rion and Ezra approached, and she smiled when she saw them, bringing her song to a close. After a round of applause, the audience began to disperse.
"Hey," Rion said, taking a seat.
"Yo." Ezra added.
"Morning. So, are we heading out now?" Mira asked.
A more serious look crossed Ezra's face as he nodded. "Yes, but first we're stopping by the Twins Market. We'll need supplies for the trip." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three slips of paper, handing one to each of them. "I made a shopping list. We'll split up to save time." From his other pocket, he produced two small sacks. "Here's the money."
Rion took the sack and skimmed the list. Looked like he was in charge of getting food and some bowls for eating. "Great. Should we meet back here, or…?"
Ezra shook his head. "Nah. We'll meet by the East gate, in an hour or two. Sound good?"
Rion and Maria exchanged a quick nod. Ezra smiled. "All right. Let's go."
With that they left the guild and headed toward the market, it was a twenty minute walk. Once there, they split off, leaving Rion alone. The Twins Market really was something, an entire district of the city purely dedicated to shopping. Dozens of stores, carts, performers, musicians, and everything in between filled the streets. Banners and strings of flags of various colors hung high overhead between the roofs of buildings, swaying in the wind.
Rion cut down a different road into a wide plaza. And there he found exactly what he needed: a grocery area lined with stalls selling ingredients, meats, and spices. The air smelled warm and inviting. He worked his way through the crowd, checking the list and picking out the needed groceries. He channeled a bit of force through his arms to help carry the bags, it was good practice.
The last thing he bought was a whole chicken. After getting it wrapped, he slipped it into the backpack Lie had gotten him. He paid for it himself, hoping to surprise Ezra and Maria with it later tonight. He'd never cooked chicken before atleast not from memory, but he figured he'd try anyways.
With his shopping done, he headed toward the east gate. On the way however, he slowed in front of a store window. He knew he had to keep moving, but the long black cloak with golden detailing at the hem stood out to him. He muttered a quick apology under his breath towards Ezra for taking an extra stop then headed in making a point to make it quick.
And quick it was, two minutes later he stepped out wearing his new, slightly overpriced cloak. It had an open front so his tunic and pants were still visible, and a hood which he kept down for now. With everything finished, he finally arrived at the east gate. No one else was there yet, so he waited a while. Around fifteen minutes later, both Ezra and Maria showed up with all their supplies. Rion greeted them then then they set out, heading away from the capital and toward the outer gate.
(And thus, Rion's adventure continues…)