The protestors were in front of the mall.

  “WURN IS COMING BACK!”

  “BE PREPARED FOR THE END!”

  “OUT WITH THE FALSE GODS!”

  “WURN WILL RESCUE US ALL!”

  I wasn’t sure how the cult was still allowed to operate in broad daylight considering how much trouble they’d caused in most of the cities in the Ward. Those were just the ones that I knew about. I was sure there were other attacks that I didn’t know about.

  We walked around the sign-wielding, shouting fanatics. As we got to the doors, I noticed that Rix paused and was studying the crowd.

  “What’s wrong?” I scanned the protesters, trying to see what she was looking for.

  Aelin, Justia and Fray were already inside, with Miel standing in the door.

  “Stay with the group!” The tiny woman began motioning for us to go inside.

  I touched Rix’s arm. The golden woman looked stunned, but quickly composed herself and headed for the door.

  “What are you looking at?” I followed after her with Ether beside me.

  “I thought I saw someone I knew.” Rix shook her head. “But she shouldn’t have been this far out.”

  “Someone from your bandit days?” Ether glanced behind us. There were over twenty people milling about in the crowd. It would be difficult to spot someone in the middle of it without going there yourself.

  “Just forget about it.” Rix mumbled.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Forget about what?” Aelin put her hands on her hips as she glared at us. “You better not be talking about clothes shopping. I NEED to get out of these smelly things.”

  “Rix thought she saw something.” I waved at the blonde. “Don’t worry, we’re still going to get you new clothes.”

  “Looks like we have Andutt Apparel and Vorta Fashion to choose from.” Ether was scanning through the list of stores. “Treymire Abilities, Mogi Leathers, and…” She glanced at her mother. “Is there not a Reace or Bright Weapon store here?”

  “Zage Lumber has a small shop in it for some weapons. Warray Maps deals in secondhand weapons, but there’s nothing here that will level up your weapon. If you want that, you have to travel to Harror.”

  “I would think that would be one of the necessities to have in a city.” I looked around. “Especially one as old as this.”

  “There are some businesses that have trouble staying afloat here.” Miel sighed. “Klix does enough farming that everyone has their housing, utilities, and food covered. If you want to own your own place, there are areas to do that, but the subdivisions are nice enough…” She sighed. “Anyway, that frees up a lot of their spending money, which means that they can buy better gear, except more demand translates to higher prices. But with stuff selling for more here, the Adventurers want it to be bought for more. Some have tried that, but you wind up selling at a loss if you can’t sell it here and have to ship it to a branch in one of the other cities. If the stores aren’t going to buy the old gear for more, then they might as well go to Harror where the gear is cheaper.”

  “Ouch.” I nodded. “So some gear can be shipped in, but things aren’t kept stocked here because most people do the bulk of their shopping in Harror.”

  “It’s the sad trade off.” Miel gestured at the third floor that had booths. “Honestly, if you want to find something, the bazaar probably has a better selection even though it’s a lot less organized.” She gestured back on the main floor. “Our Dungeons might not see as much traffic as other cities, but our entertainment district is the largest in the Ward!”

  Rix didn’t seem to be paying attention, but short of going back out with her, which would split the group, I didn’t see Miel allowing that nor did I expect Aelin would be okay with postponing her shopping. By now, her friend was probably gone anyway. I’d have to see if we could arrange another trip into town the next time Klix had stuff she had to handle.

  “Hey!” Ether smacked Rix and me. “Are both of you daydreaming? Let’s go!”

  Aelin was already rushing towards the first store, which I had missed which one they’d decided. I let Ether lead me after them. I had a feeling I was going to be very bored for a while.

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