Silhouette

As James finally found his way to the Black Block, he took a second to appreciate the warmth of the light of day on his body.

Of course, he couldn't just spend all day basking in the sun - which he had found out was called Sola Stellis, for some reason. He looked around at all the decrepit and improvised stalls, the strange buildings, the weird peddlers and merchants and their various products, the sneaky buyers and thieves walking alongside each other, as though in a dance where the first to fail to follow the flow would lose all he had - which, considering the nature of theft and pickpocketing, wasn't that far off.

"Hmf!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

James stared at the small disheveled man that had just run into him. Oh, he wasn't stupid, considering how agile his steps were he was just as used to the madness of this black market as the rest of them. This was no accident, he had just tried to steal his money.

Sadly for the man, James had foreseen this situation. Once again being a shapeshifter with no need for internal organs proved to be very useful to safely transport objects. He could theoretically confront him, but he did not need to do so. He had lost nothing and, honestly, it felt nice going back to being James, just a regular guy, another face in the crowd.

His small appreciation of civilization no matter how dirty and cutthroat finished, James joined the crowd. He had to admit, seeing that the people surrounding him didn't care about his appearance helped ease his worries. In fact, many of them weren't fully human either. Odd mutations here and there, a couple of scales, weirdly shaped limbs, straight-up animalistic heads...

James followed the movement, letting the crowd guide him, stopping whenever a stall caught his eye. The first one was manned by a black woman - regular skin black, not whatever eldritch shenanigans was his - selling various pieces of machinery. Here was a vital piece for a photon gun, there was a gear that could fit in any Xenocorp-made robot, this was a powerful battery, half-used but powerful enough to fuel the average doom ray for a good minute, enough time to dig a hole in whatever you wanted to open...

Judging by the prices announced by the woman and the occasional passer-by's scoff at her sales pitch, James assumed this stall was either a scam or another stall or shop was offering similar services at a more affordable price or of better quality.

The next stall, manned by an old white man in blue robes, seemed to be the magical equivalent of the previous one. Cracked magical gems, gnarly wooden wands and staffs, patchworked robes, weak shielding amulets, sealing stones for lesser spirits...

As interested as he was in the magical arts, especially after Saray had mentioned the possibility of him being Soul Aspected, James didn't buy anything from this stall either. Again, it was very likely another merchant would offer better products at better prices.

His little walk around the market went on and on and was many strange sights, a stall selling grossly mutated fruits and vegetables closer to being bioweapons than food products, a giant centipede with a white curly mustache selling human bones, a goblin trading gold for cash, an old rusty automaton offering various holy trinkets from minor forgotten gods, a young couple with a collection of surprisingly well-maintained weapons, a floating orb of milky grey vapor played the fortune teller in exchange for a tenth of the client's soul...

Some of those made James curious, hence why he bought a small bat amulet of a dead god from the automaton, guaranteed to help detect vampires without any divine string attached, as well as a set of skinning knives and a crossbow, a dozen bolts included. He valued his soul too much to gamble away and he had serious doubts about the supposed origin of all those human bones, "guaranteed to come from willing donors".

His next stop was a little more remarkable. It would be the first true shop he would visit, one of the buildings surrounding the market. It was odd, hence why it had caught his eye - metaphorically, of course. Again, no eyes.

It was mostly pink and white, with hints of red and blue, run-down yet taken care of. There was a little sign with the name "Pete's" written on it. All in all, it looked the hideout of a mad candymaker from some old cartoon, yet compared to the rest of the Black Block it was strangely charming. The pleased smiles of the nearby customers and the pleasant smell of pastries and bread freshly baked further convinced James it would be worth a visit.

He entered, a small bell ringing as he opened the door. The inside of the building seemed to be in a better shape, less damaged than the outside. The smell of baked goods was omnipresent and filled James with nostalgia as he recalled not only the small bakery he sometimes bought pastries from when going to work, but also in a more subtle way the kitchen of his old pizzeria.

I wonder how they're doing. Avery must still be looking for someone to replace me by now. Didn't Joey say he had a cousin looking for a job? Or was it for a joke about pineapples on pizza? It feels like it's been ages...

Someone tapped on James' shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, I was distracted-"

As his senses focused back on the here and now, James got to take a good look at what was calling him. He wasn't expecting some kind of squid with grey leathery skin floating in the air at eye level, its conic head replaced by a purple crystal, the same color its three eyes were shining. The main body of the squid wasn't all that big, around the length of an entire human arm, but its tentacles appeared to be much longer, almost reaching to the floor before each one entered a different blue portal, apparently emerging in different places in the building from similar portals, each tentacle doing its own thing. A pair was currently serving a customer some cupcakes, a single one was cleaning with a broom and another flicked the head of a youngster who tried to pocket a donut.

"Ouh, forgive me, child. You seemed unwell."

The voice that echoed in James' mind seemed old. Of course, he was a little too distracted by the fact he was being talked to by a telepathic squid to focus on the tone of its voice.

"Oh, no, it was nothing... Mister Pete?"

"Ouhouhou, ouh no child, Pete is my sweet husband. My name is Maltodextrin. Miss Maltodextrin, if you wish."

It took a couple of seconds for James to get back down to earth - or well, Terra Stellis. He had read about many strange creatures and seen many pictures, both in his old world and this one, but dealing with one of them in real life was a brand new experience.

"Ah, sorry miss. It's just... I've never seen someone like you before."

"Ouh, I do not mind. Such accidents are quite common in these parts, child. Few can claim to know the sexual dimorphism of all the species of a planet, not to consider those that decided to forge their path."

"Ah, yes..."

"Ouh, forgive this old woman, child. In my old age, I tend to speak my mind much more than I used to. How can I help you, child?"

"I, uh... Wanted to know if this place was a bakery?"

"Ouhouhouh, yes it is, child. My husband's beloved business, made with his own sugar and spice. You must be new in these parts, no, child?"

"Ah, yeah... How did you guess?"

"Ouh, everyone around the Black Block knows about my Pete and his shop. It's his pride and joy, just like he's mine. Now child, as lovely as this conversation is I have duties to attend to. Now that you know this wonderful place is a bakery, do you wish to purchase one of our delicious products? I make the sugar myself!"

"Uhm, do you have anything a rat could eat?"

"Ouh, they can eat most of them, child! It's why nonsentient rodents are such a curse!"

"Great! I don't know what they'd like though..."

"Ouh, just tell me about them, child. I have a knack for finding the right treat for the right mind!"

A few minutes later and now richer of a dozen pastries, James went back to his shopping, though he was unable to prevent his mind from thinking back about his encounter with Miss Maltodextrin. Oh, he had fought against gigantic cockroaches and toads and some kind of slime person, but talking to a telepathic squid was something else.

He visited a few more stalls and a few more shops, taking care to pay attention to how everyone else treated each one. Those seen as scams he ignored, and those seen as hidden pearls he investigated. He bought a couple of magical trinkets here and there to research later, some cloth for when the ratlings would inevitably decide to make some superhero costumes, some books on how to build furniture...

He entered another building shop, this one looking like an old library. When he entered a ringing sound was made but there was no bell. The interior was mostly wooden, with some items being laid on low tables while others were kept in chests behind the vendor's desk and a couple of odd ones were suspended from the ceiling.

A young woman was sitting at the vendor's desk and reading some kind of grimoire, her light leather top and skirt exposed her tan skin covered in green tattoos of what looked like Arabic words, forming bands on her arms, wrists, legs, ankles, and neck. With short black hair and emerald eyes, her aquiline features were odd compared to the rest of the humans he'd seen around here.

"Uhm, hello?"

"What do you want?"

"What kind of shop is this?"

"A magic shop."

"And what kind of things do you sell?"

"Magic things."

"Uhu. And what kind of magic things?"

"Books. Wands. Lanterns. Scrolls. Bones. Herbs. Things."

"Ah. Alright. Do you... Do you have any suggestions?"

"Magic for Dummies. Casting ring. Lantern of Everlight. That'll be 500 Xerins."

That... That seems like a lot...

"Uh... Are there any discounts? Or sales?"

"No."

"..."

"..."

"Fine."

The woman raised an eyebrow at that.

"350."

"What?"

"Pay me 350 Xerins."

"Are you giving me a 150 Xerins discount?"

"No. I'm sparing you from the 'not worth my time' fee."

The next shop appeared to be more focused on technology. It wasn't that impressive from the outside, apart from the many cables that lined the walls, but the inside felt like a mad scientist's lab or a spaceship from a low-budget sci-fi flick. The merchant this time was just some kind of drone, a small white sphere hovering in the air thanks to a little rotor on top that always kept its little black camera eye on James.

The products were just more of the same, scraps and odd pieces, a few batteries, a couple of gadgets at insane prices... James only bought some of the materials and power sources, so that Goliath could make something out of them. It wasn't much but it would be enough, and he preferred to avoid buying too much from the same at once, to avoid suspicions. It was unlikely the different merchants told each other about their customers' purchases and budgets, but too much in a single shop and the merchant themself might get funny ideas.

"Enjoy. Your. Purchase."

"Yeah yeah."

As he exited the shop, a young man - or maybe a teen, James wasn't sure - wearing some kind of white homemade cybernetic armor bumped into him as he entered the shop.

"Oh, sorry."

"Hmf."

Wow, rude.

James ignored the youth as he began to make his way home. Meanwhile, the youth in question began to browse the store, looking at all the batteries he could find. He groaned when he realized none of them would fit for what he had planned. He immediately turned to the drone.

"What's the best battery you have?"

"Xenocorp. Newest. Solsimili."

"How much?"

"Fifty. Thousand. Xerins."

"... The best battery for a thousand Xerins?"

"Xenocorp. Oldest. Powerplayer."

"Any discount?"

"Half. Price. Half. Charge."

"... Fine."