Merchant Crab

After a late night, Balthazar was not too keen on getting up with the sun, but morning came, and with it the sound of Druma hitting rocks on wood and Blue flapping her wings.

“Ugh, just five more minutes,” the crab grumbled while burying his face in his backpack.

But it was too late, the damage had been done, and he could no longer unhear all the noises of nature surrounding him. Sleep was gone, and he would not be able to pinch it back no matter how hard he might try.

Groggy and grumpy, the crustacean got up and decided to just accept his fate. At least he had something to make him feel just a little better.

[You have reached level 19]

[Choose a base stat to increase by 10]

“Alright, let’s see…” he mumbled to himself, while chewing on a little dried fish.

[Health: 200/200]

[Stamina: 30/30]

[Mana: 20/20]

I should keep going with health. After all, I’m still alive, so that must mean I’m making the right choices.

The lazy crab looked past the text in his eyes, observing the goblin and the drake going through their own little routines.

Look at them. Went to sleep as late as I did, but there they are, spry and full of energy. Must be nice.

He looked at the stats on his system screen again.

Maybe just a little bit more stamina wouldn’t hurt…

He thought back to the ghost and the zombie from the night before.

Then again, better tired than dead.

With a shrug, Balthazar selected the first stat and increased it by 10.

[Health: 210/210]

As healthy as a bull-crab!

Taking a bigger bite off his breakfast fish, he carried on to the next screen.

[You have 3 unspent attribute points]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 5]

[Endurance: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Perception: 5]

[Intellect: 10]

[Charisma: 61]

Mhmm, this is where it gets trickier. In fact…

The traveling merchant reached into his backpack and retrieved the Scroll of Potential he had obtained from Sir Edmund’s treasure chest the night before.

Maybe I should check this first, before I make any decisions on attributes.

Setting the half-eaten fish down, the crab unfurled the piece of parchment and let its blinding glow hit his eyes.

“Argh, why did I do that…” he moaned, while rubbing his sore eyestalks.

Squinting, Balthazar tried to make out what the floating words in front of him said.

[Revealing skill…]

[All-Tongue]

“Huh?!” said the squinting crab.

For a moment, Balthazar pictured himself with a frog-like tongue.

Eww, no thanks!

After his eyes adapted to the brightness, he read the rest of the text.

[All-Tongue]

[Skill - C tier]

[Requirements: 40 CHA, 20 INT]

[Cost: 5 mana]

[For 5 minutes, your tongue can reach anyone’s ears. No, gross, not like that. Sentient beings will understand your words no matter their language.]

[Would you like to learn this skill?]

[Yes] [No]

Hold on, never mind, this actually sounds pretty good. Much better than a bug-snatcher in my mouth.

The crab excitedly moved his eyes to the confirmation prompt, when he noticed the required attributes.

[Requirements: 40 CHA, 20 INT]

Bah, really?!

He pulled his attribute list back.

[Intellect: 10]

Great, I can’t even get it right now. I’m ten points short, and a level up only gives me three to spend.

Grumbling, he performed some quick math in his shell.

I’d need another three level ups to even take this skill!

Begrudgingly, the merchant spent the three points he currently had on his Intellect, raising it to 13.

I just want to go back to maxing my Charisma, but no, this system just has to keep pulling me away! Hmph, I guess it will be worth it. Being able to speak to any living thing is a huge perk for any merchant, especially a traveling one!

With no use for it at that moment, Balthazar rolled the scroll back up and stored it in his backpack, saving it for later.

“Druma, Blue,” he called. “Pack it up, we’re leaving. I want to reach this town soon, so hopefully I can find the right way to get to the coast from there.”

The trio returned to the road, bathed by the warm sun of that autumn morning and the scents of fruit trees, as the woods around them gradually turned from a wild, dense forest, into open fields of clearly man-made orchards.

As Balthazar admired the colors of the season all around, with brown fields dotted by orange foliage and golden leaves blowing in the wind, he spotted something appearing over the horizon.

“There, that must be it!” he said.

The tips of a few stone towers emerged over the hill ahead of them as they moved forward on the road, revealing their arrival back to civilization.

“I can’t wait,” Balthazar joyfully declared. “I hope this time I at least get to explore the town for a bit longer without having to make a quick escape through the sewers.”

As the crab doubled his pace up the road, a shuffling sound from the side of the road made him stop and stare at the shrubbery lining the path, a soft breeze blowing through its dense foliage.

“Hmm,” he said, squinting at the underbrush before shrugging and returning to his path.

Another noise came from the bushes, and the alarmed merchant turned around with a jump.

“Who’s there?!”

There was no response, save for the whistling of the wind.

Unsatisfied with nature’s response, Balthazar approached the undergrowth carefully.

With a cocked eyestalk, he glared at one bush in specific.

“Hey, Blue,” the crab called, without taking his eyes off the shrub. “Get ready to incinerate this bush, will you? I don’t like the way it looks.”

“Oh, alright, you got me!” exclaimed a voice, followed by the figure of a man standing up from the vegetation.

Balthazar jumped back, startled and holding his pincers up as if he actually intended to fight. Which he certainly didn’t, because he knew he was a talker, not a fighter.

“Who the hell are you?!” the crab blurted out.

“Seriously?” the man standing up from the bush said. He was scrawny and was wearing traveling clothes with some leather padding, mostly brown and beige, with a logo patch of some kind stitched to the left side of his vest. His face was thin and bony, with a chevron mustache over his lip. “You don’t recognize me?”

The merchant frowned. “Should I?”

“It’s me, Rob!” the other said.

“Rob?” Balthazar repeated, lowering his pincers. “Is that really you?!”

“Of course it’s me! Do you not recognize me?”

“Since when do you have a mustache?!”

Rob shook his head in bewilderment. “I’ve always had a mustache! How did you not notice?!”

The crab rubbed his chin, thinking.

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s because I’m so used to thinking of you as a talking bush.”

The adventurer facepalmed. “You’re still as face blind as ever, I see.”

“Well, not my fault you also changed your entire outfit,” the annoyed merchant retorted. “How am I supposed to recognize you if you change your clothes?!”

“Oh, you noticed?” the suddenly proud human said, doing a little spin while still standing in the bush. “How do you like my new threads?”

Balthazar looked at him with arched eyestalks. “What happened to your thief armor?”

“Oh, I had to replace that,” Rob said. “I’m not a thief anymore.”

“Say what?!”

The adventurer puffed out his chest.

“That’s right, you inspired me, made me believe that it’s never too late to make a change and try something new in your life, so I got myself a change of class!”

The merchant chuckled. “So what are you now, a beggar-class adventurer?”

Rob’s chest deflated, and his shoulders dropped forward as he scowled at the crab.

“Really, man? Come on…” he said. “I’m a courier now!”

“Ah, close enough. Probably pays just as much,” Balthazar remarked. “So, what, your thieving days are over now?”

“That’s right,” the novice courier said, regaining some of his previous pride. “Not that I was ever very good at it. I think my talents are much better used this way.”

“Right, right,” the crab said. “So what are you doing in this neck of the woods anyway?”

“I’m here for you, actually! You’re my first job. I got a letter for you!”

“Oh, for me?” the surprised merchant said. “Who sent it?”

“It’s a letter from home! Your guys at the bazaar asked me to deliver it to you.”

Rob reached into his vest and retrieved an envelope.

Excited, Balthazar took the missive the courier was offering him and called out to his companions, “Hey, guys, look! It’s a letter from Henrietta and Tristan.”

The drake approached lazily, while the goblin hopped his way to the crab’s side with great glee.

Nodding, the crustacean began quietly reading through the message, with Druma looking over his shell.

“Boss, boss,” the assistant said. “Druma don’t know how to read.”

“Oh, right,” said Balthazar. “Tristan wrote it, because, you know, Henrietta has no thumbs, but he says she’s there with him as he’s writing it. They say they miss us all and hope we are all well.”

The goblin nodded along as his boss read the letter, with a wide grin on his face. “Druma miss his friends too!”

“Repairs on the bazaar went well,” the crab continued. “John got everything back up in place in just a few days, and has since started work on a few extensions.” He paused and lifted his gaze from the paper. “Extensions? Those better not be coming out of my pocket.”

Rob, who was still standing with his legs inside the bush for whatever reason, let out an amused chuckle as he crossed his arms. “I see you haven’t changed that much. Don’t worry, last time I was there I saw the old man working around the place. They’re really turning it into an impressive trading outpost.”

Balthazar’s shell swelled with pride and a bit of homesickness.

“Oh, my precious bazaar and my beautiful pond,” he said, with a melancholic smile. “How I wish I could see them right now.”

Lowering his eyestalks back to the letter, the crab continued reading through its contents.

“Business is going well. Adventurers have been visiting in droves every day. The bazaar is more popular than ever, and everyone is always asking for the famous talking crab.”

He paused and laughed.

“Hah! I always said a talking toad didn’t quite have the same charm as a crab.”

He went back to the letter.

“Henrietta has been focusing on the daily maintenance of the bazaar, while Tristan has been keeping himself busy overseeing the relations between Boulder’s Point and Ardville. Mayor Bergen has been true to his word, and business has been going smoothly with the town. Great. They also say there has been no big trouble ever since I left. Also great. They hope our journey is going well and hope to hear from us soon.”

“That’s right,” the courier piped up. “They asked me to see if you’d have any message to send back home.”

“Right,” said Balthazar. “I don’t think it makes much sense to draft a letter right here, but you probably can just take my message and relay it to them, can’t you?”

“Of course,” said the bushed adventurer. “I got a great memory. Tell me what you want me to tell them.”

The merchant pondered for a moment.

“Tell them we miss them too, that I’m glad to hear my trading post hasn’t burned down again yet, and that I can’t wait to go back and see it and them again.”

The cross-armed human nodded along as the crab spoke. “Mhmm. Don’t worry, it’s all going into the memory box up here.”

“Oh, and also say hello to John for me! And tell Henrietta and Tristan to make sure the old guy is accepting payment for his work this time, even if just in the form of lunch. But don’t pay him too much either!”

Rob chuckled. “Sure, sure.”

“Other than that, yeah… I think that’s all. I’ve been to lots of places, seen some crazy things, and can’t wait to share the stories with them. We are still looking for the dragon. No leads yet, unfortunately, but I’m still determined to find Madeleine and won’t be giving up. Oh, and let them know I got a lead on someone who can help me with Bouldy. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear that.”

“Got it,” the courier said. “Hey, and what about Rye? Wasn’t he with you when you left? What happened to him?”

Balthazar’s smile faded slightly at the mention of the archer.

“Ah, that’s right, they’ll probably ask about him too,” the reticent crab said. “We… We split up for now. He wanted to go his own way, do his own thing for a while. It’s… complicated. We will meet again at some point, though. I hope. Tell them Rye is alright, they shouldn’t worry.”

The former thief nodded, his previous smile replaced with a serious expression. “Understood. I’ll tell them that, then.”

The merchant let out a long sigh and looked up at the adventurer again. “Right, and I think that’s all. Just tell them you found us well and safe. We weren’t exactly sure where we were for a while, but now that we found… Hey, wait a minute. How the hell did you find me all the way out there?!”

Rob’s chest puffed out again, and he placed a hand over his new patch on his chest. “I’m a courier, that's what we do!”

Balthazar stared at the man with an expressionless face. “That doesn’t really answer the question.”

The human’s chest deflated slightly and he shrugged. “Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, I’m not entirely sure how it works myself either.”

“Bah, whatever,” said the crustacean, throwing his arms up. “Doesn’t really matter right now anyway. Got more important things to focus on. Like reaching that town over there!”

Turning to where the crab was pointing, Rob placed a hand over his brow and gazed at the looming buildings in the distance.

“Oh yeah, I should go there after I take care of some errands too. They must have a courier post that I should check in with.”

“Well, alright, maybe we’ll see each other again there before you leave.”

With a few nods and waves, the crab’s party said their goodbyes to the thief turned courier, before heading back to their route towards the new town ahead of them.

After a few minutes, the merchant finally got a proper look at the settlement. From the outside, it looked about as big or even larger than Ardville, with old but colorful brick walls protecting it, and a lowered bridge over a moat leading to the entrance.

This place looks busy. Balthazar thought as he watched the droves of people coming in and out, pouring onto the many splitting roads.

As the group made their way through the bridge, a town guard in metal plate armor stepped forward to intercept them.

Oh, here we go again…

“Hey there,” the crab said before the man could open his mouth. “Yes, I am a talking crab, and I assure you that my friends and I are—”

“Greetings, travelers,” the guard said, cutting Balthazar off. “Are you visiting for business or leisure?”

The crab blinked a couple of times. “Well, I… I’m a merchant, so—”

“Ah, excellent!” said the man with a nod. “So it’s business.”

“I… guess?”

“Merchants are always welcome here.”

The guard stepped aside and extended an arm towards the entrance.

“Welcome to the city of Marquessa.”