While they have time before the next experiment, Cain decides that a bit of traveling is in order. The former puppet left him a single book here in this city, which suggests to Cain that she had no intentions of staying nearby. The problem is that it has been so long that the Quest Hall had almost forgotten that it even existed, much less where it had come from or where the donator might have gone.
So, without a lead, the best that Cain can hope to do is simply visit more and more cities within the awakened areas and hope that he comes across more mysterious books, and maybe a clue or two.
Thinking about it logically, it does seem a little bit hopeless, but fate has always favored Cain in this life, so he is certain that given enough time he would find something about her, even if she wasn't still alive.
Not that he has that kind of time right now, but there should be more than enough to go see a few more sights. The major cities can almost all be reached within two or three days of each other by wagon. By dragon that means that the next one should only be a two-hour journey. That is workable for him, and visiting a city every day or two should give him time to look around, see what the awakened zone has to offer, and maybe even pick up something new and interesting to send home.
With that in mind, Cain makes his way out of the Mage Association, saying his farewells to the recovered soldiers, who are already looking less stressed than they did a day ago. They won't be ready to go anywhere for a while, with the number of questions that the Mages have for them, but they really don't mind. Especially with the catering service that is so far beyond the field rations that they had been living off during the war.
The most logical direction to search was to continue south towards the center of the continent and then possibly East, where he had heard that a large number of very reclusive Youkai had chosen to make their home, sheltered by mountains. If there are no clues along the way, that would be the best place to go hunting for an elf that didn't want to be easily found or bothered.
Once he made it out of the south gate of the city, Cain called for a Mythic Forest Dragon and get everyone securely seated.
"Just follow the road south to the next major city. If we see anything interesting along the way we can detour for a while, the trip shouldn't take too long." Cain informs it and the dragon nods its head in acknowledgment.
They haven't even made it to the edge of the last quest's search zone when they spot something that Cain would qualify as "interesting", a collection of carnival tent-style pavilions, in bright colors set up in a clearing, with what looks like a fairly steady stream of visitors.
What they could be selling way out here in the middle of nowhere is a mystery to Cain, and a little mystery is exactly what this day needs.
He orders the dragon to land out of sight along the road, and then dismisses it, only to replace it with a group of Pegasus for everyone to ride. They don't fly as fast as the dragon, but if there is an issue, they can easily take to the skies and not have to worry about ground-based enemies. The fact that most of them can actually fly on their own isn't lost on Cain, but he really doesn't feel like running the rest of the way under his own power. It's much better to let the summon do the work on his behalf.
When they got close to the pavilions they saw that the group had put signs out. Madame Curie's Pet Sales and Oddities was written on the sign in a delicate script. That certainly wasn't what Cain expected. How could a knickknack shop even survive out here? Or perhaps it is selling tamed and trained beasts of higher qualities as pets? They are about to find out either way, as the bright red and green tents have come into sight.
"Welcome traveler, won't you stop in for a while? We have a most excellent chef here, as well as a fine selection of items for sale, sourced straight from the Spirit Woods, home of the most dangerous beasts within a thousand kilometers." The woman standing beside the road greets them.
"It couldn't hurt to have a quick look around." Cain agrees following their greeter to one side of the field where the rest of the mounts are.
"You can tie them up anywhere around here." She offers, and the Pegasus all give her a disgusted look. They are intelligent magical creatures, not horses, they're not going to wander away.
"They'll be fine. But if you bring them some apples as an apology for calling them stupid, they might refrain from kicking you the next time you walk by." Cain laughs stroking the Pegasus back after he dismounted.
The woman finally realizes her mistake and pulls a basket of fruit from her inventory before apologizing to the group of Pegasus. "I am very sorry, it's just habit, I didn't mean anything by it."
Pegasus are kindhearted by nature, and Cain can tell she is mostly forgiven even before he reaches the first tent, which has a collection of jewelry in cabinets scattered around the carpet-covered floor for customers to browse.
"Welcome. It's this your first time here?" The attendant, a plump and friendly human woman greets them. No, make that a vampire, not a human. They look the same at first glance, and for some reason, Cain can't search the description of anything in here using his interface. They must have put some sort of restriction over the tent.
"It is. I was traveling between cities, looking for books that had been left behind by an Elf about a thousand years ago. One of them should be on child care for rare species, and I'm hoping it is more than just a rumor." Cain answers, hoping she might have information. Vampires are functionally Immortal if they aren't deliberately killed after all, so there is a good chance either her or one of the other workers here might have been alive at the time, or soon afterward.
"I heard that rumor many years ago. But I didn't hear that she left them in more than one city. Just the mystery book of the Quest Hall." She shrugs, then continues her Welcome speech.
"As you can tell, all item descriptions are hidden here. We have often been called scam artists in the past, thanks to our flamboyant sales technique, so now we are selling items based on appearance alone. What we do guarantee is that they all come from the awakened area." She explains, her whole body jiggling in time with her hand gestures.
Cain hadn't noticed how wide the variety of items was at first, only seeing that they were various pieces of jewelry, but this game of chance looks like it could be a lot of fun.
"Well then, why don't we find a new set of jewels for my bodyguards and for my wife back home?" Cain suggests, making the large woman give a happy clap.
If all the items here come from the awakened zone, none of it should be utter garbage, at least not to the lower-level guild members, who are always short on accessories, since they take so long to make. Even if the stats are mismatched, they should still have one bonus that is enough to make them worthwhile to someone on the Central Continent, but in case they don't Cain is planning to pick them out by sets, so they can be worn as a simply decorative accessory.
Every class will make them look a little different, but if they match, then they should still match when worn, even if the design drastically changes, as it often does for Spirit Folk and Forest-loving classes.
Cain activates [Mana Sight] and takes a short stroll around the room. He might not be able to see the stats, but [Mana Sight] will allow him to see the approximate quality and overall power level of the item before he picks it up.
"Boss, I found Cyrene, but in a necklace." Laura laughs, pointing at one of the cases.
The item she is looking at is one of the more powerful, most likely a Legendary grade item. Going by the aura of the items doesn't help in a place like this, because it more easily indicates level than quality, and a lot of these items are Uncommon Quality drops that Cain routinely discards as crafting materials. But the lattice of the spells embedded into the item is dense and steady, so it is above average, Cain just lacks the experience to more perfectly assess it.
Looking more closely at the item itself, it is a long and curving piece of White Jade, with Rubies embedded in it on a white gold necklace. It really does look like Cyrene's body hanging from a chain, even the odd shape of the rubies looks like the runes on her scales.
"Are there matching earrings, or maybe a bracelet?" Cain asks, pointing at the necklace behind the glass cover.
"Oh, that is a lovely one, for sure. Not the most precious of materials though. Are you sure that your wife won't get upset that it's not a rare and precious gem?" The saleswoman asks and Laura bursts into laughter.
"One of our good friends is a Lamia with a scale pattern that looks just like that pendant. The quality of the materials doesn't matter, this one will have sentimental value." The Opal Dragon assures her.
"In that case, yes, I've got both earrings and a bracelet in similar materials, that would make a great set." The motherly vampire smiles, showing a hint of fang as she digs through a box under the counter.
"Here they are love. Remember, I can't guarantee anything about their abilities, but they do look wonderful together." With that, the vampire sets them all out on the counter and writes a price on a small piece of paper.
5 Gold Bars. That is the price they want, and Cain wonders if they also didn't bother to check the description of the items before they put them up for sale. The whole set is matched in quality, and most likely both Legendary and over level 300, but any single piece of the set would normally go for that much.
"You've got a deal. She will love them." Cain declares, handing over the gold bars before taking the items into his inventory and again searching the room for shiny objects.
After a lot of searching, he finds four more items that he likes. Two of them are large rings sized for hands even larger than the ones of Cain's demon form, both made of solid white jade. They're exquisitely carved and have a very dense pattern of enchantments on them, but otherwise, look quite ordinary. The other two items are completely plain black bracelets that contain an incredible level of mana that Cain hasn't seen before. They are either very powerful, or they are mana storage items, which are equally invaluable to the right owner.
The shopping has made them hungry, so Cain thanks the clerk and heads to the tent that smells like food, only stopping twice along the way to buy bolts of cloth in an unusual material that he is sure the Tailors will appreciate, as well as one huge block of chocolate fudge for Laura. That's much more efficient than letting the Companions wander alone, Cain decides, recalling times when they have spent all day in markets only a little larger than this collection of pavillions.
