On the way to the general store, Maddox reached for his satchel, an old satchel that used to belong to Kaiden before he was gifted a new one on his 16th birthday by Old Miller. Having no use for it, Kaiden gave it to Maddox to use for his daily errands around town.
'Alright let's see what we got here' thought Maddox as he pulled a list of ingredients.
List of Ingredients:
Bell Pepper,
Canned Meat,
Beans,
etc
Mrs. Callie gave him a list of ingredients this morning and instructed him to buy them after he was done with all his chores for today and also gave him 3 silver Hydrex to buy the ingredients.
Hydrex as Maddox came to learn, is a mix of purified water and minerals sealed in coin sized capsules that the government produced. Hydrex can be consumed in replacement of regular water.
A regular adult man needed to take only three copper Hydrex a day in order to survive while taking a silver Hydrex can satiate a person for days.
In the world of Iron Ridge, 90% was desert while the remaining 10% was water. Due to this, drinkable water was considered a very valuable resource.
Because of the scarcity of water, Hydrex became the official currency of the world and became the most single important thing you needed in order to survive in Asheworth.
Asheworth, a region of Ironridge located in the west is barren of water for miles on end.Almost everything in Asheworth revolved around Hydrex.
Maddox reached into his satchel and counted his money. 8 silver Hydrex and 9 copper Hydrex which included the 3 silver Hydrex that Mrs. Callie gave him to buy ingredients.
Over the month that he's been here, Maddox after finishing his daily chores and helping Old Miller at the stables, would go around town looking for work. He did everything, from carrying out crates at Mrs. Callie's general store to helping out Mr. Cask, the local butcher, cut meat. This way he was able to make 5 silver Hydrex and 8 copper Hydrex for the whole month.
Walking along the path, around half a mile east of Old Miller's place, Maddox finally saw a big sign that said Mrs. Callie's General Store.
Maddox approached the store and walked in causing the chime at the top of the door to ring.
"Hey Maddox, you looking for some work again? I do need help to sort out some goods that came this morning. You know my old hands don't work like they use to anymore" said Mrs. Callie.
As Maddox walked in he saw Mrs. Callie, an old lady in her 60s with white hair and dark eyes wearing her usual blue high collared blouse and over it is a layered duster Apron coat.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Callie, I would love to help you out but I'm heading home early today. I heard from Old Miller that the Big Bang Bandits are back so I should probably head home before the sun sets" said Maddox.
"I heard about those rascals, bunch of outlaws ransacking towns and attacking shipments of goods coming into Redhold. My usual crates of vegetables are delayed because of them. I heard their leader has a 2 gold Hydrex bounty on his head" said Mrs. Callie.
Thinking about this, Maddox knew that 1 silver Hydrex is equivalent to 10 copper Hydrex while a gold Hydrex is equivalent to 10 silver Hydrex. A bounty of 2 gold Hydrex is equivalent to 20 silver Hydrex or 200 copper ones. This whole month, Maddox has been helping around town and barely made 5 silver Hydrex. That's four months worth of work.
Maddox gave Mrs. Callie the list of ingredients.
"Alright that will be 2 silver and 8 copper Hydrex but for you I'll make it 6 copper Hydrex. You don't know how much time and back pain you've saved me this last month" said Mrs. Callie.
Maddox gave Mrs. Callie the money and said "Thank you Mrs. Callie, I'll come by early tomorrow to help you sort out the goods if you still need help".
"Alright, I'll prepare some of the goods for you especially the canned meats that go in the top shelf. That way I don't have to use the ladder every time. See you tomorrow, you best go before the sun sets" said Mrs. Callie.
"Thanks again Mrs. Callie see you tomorrow" said Maddox waving goodbye.
'Alright one more stop before heading home' thought Maddox.
Maddox walked across from Mrs. Callie's General store and onto an establishment with a sign that said The Iron Cleaver.
"Oh speak of the devil, I was just looking for you lad. It's been pretty busy today, you mind helping me cut some meat" said Mr. Cask.
Mr. Cask, a man in his late 40s, big man, 6 foot 3 inches about 240 pounds pure muscle. Heard from some of the locals he was a veteran battlefield surgeon during the Steam Rebellion. Maddox tried to ask him one time about it and he just shook his head and said "War is one hell of a thing".
"How's it going Mr. Cask, wish I could help you but I gotta go home early today. I actually came here to buy meat" said Maddox.
"Alright lad no worries, it's probably best I heard the Big Bang Bandits are back. Tell you what lad, there's still one chicken there I haven't butchered yet. Grab a knife and butcher it and it's yours" said Mr. Cask.
"Are you sure Mr. Cask? A whole chicken is a little less than a silver Hydrex" said Maddox.
"Go ahead lad, consider it a gift for helping me out . My sales this month rose because of you ahahaha" said Mr. Cask.
"Well if you insist, I won't say no especially not to a whole chicken" said Maddox salivating a little bit thinking about the dinner he'll have tonight.
Maddox has actually been thinking of using some of the money he made this past month to buy something for everyone to eat as a thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Miller for helping him out ever since he came into this world.
Now he can treat them and he didn't even have to pay for it thought Maddox grinning from ear to ear.
"Alright let's head home" said Maddox with a little bit of a skip on his step.
-Outskirts of Devil's Canyon
"Boss everything's ready" said a bandit nervously.
On a log sat a man in his mid 30s, scar on his right eye sharpening a knife. On his waist two custom made revolvers, his left arm made of metal with a saw blade attachment at the side of the forearms.
Without saying anything the man kept sharpening his knife for a good 30 seconds.
Each second that passes the bandit grew nervously. Until finally the man whispered in a low voice "is that right" startling the bandit.
The bandit clearly shaken finally said "yes boss everyone is ready just give us the go ahe…".
Before the bandit could finish his sentence a bullet grazed past his ear. The bandit stopped right in his tracks and clutched his ears nog daring to say another word.
Finally the man stood up walked to the bandit and said "nothing's ready until I say it's ready, do you catch my drift".
"Ye.. ye.. yes boss" said the bandit.
"Alright tell everyone to get ready by the time the sun sets" said the man looking over the direction of Redhold.
"I'm finally gonna pay you a visit" said the man with a calm voice but beneath his eyes was a flicker of uncontrollable rage.