The War of Storms

Chapter Two

It was midday in the capital of Leones in the kingdom of Linnereth. The sun was its highest, it cast it's golden rays upon everything in the known world. It was a hotter than usual day in the big city, but it was the summer heat. The streets were crowded with vendors selling a wide variety of things ranging from dried fruits to lumps of meat.

Powdered spices lay in piles based on their color, with each of them having their own distinct smell. There was dusty red or chalky green or bright yellow. The smell of the unfamiliar spices were so heavy that you could almost taste it in your mouth.

A young girl walks among the crowded streets. She looked in awe to her surroundings, the smell of freshly baked goods varying from bread to sweet pastries. freshly slaughtered meat being cut by the butcher who had later hanged the piece of meat onto a hook. People bumping into each other, each of them with an agenda they have to follow throughout the day.

A young boy enters the butchers carrying a cage with what appeared to be a chicken inside it. "Here is what you ordered sir" said as he took deep breaths mostly likely to the blistering heat caused by the sun. "About time, put it in the back" he pointed to the back of the stall with his hand holding the butcher knife. The boy did as he was told, the man reached into his pocket with his other hand and grabbed 5 silver coins and handed them to the kid. The kid slightly bowed his head and left the stall. The young girl was being bumped into by a lot of people due to her standing still watching the butcher and the young boy. She had to keep walking because she was being pushed.

Every stall was filled with produce, there was people talking as they were talking, shopkeepers yelled out their best offers trying to attract customers. Customers trying to haggle for the best possible price, this was truly was the infamous curdan market
There was not a single empty stall, even the simpler stalls who were selling sacks of nuts were still surrounded by customers. As the young girl walked she saw a bigger crowd around this stall than other stalls, she wanted to see what the stall was offering but the huge crowd was blocking the way. She was very intrigued by the crowd so she decided she wanted to see it. As she tried to walk through the horde of people screaming at the stall manger. As the girl finally made it to the front of the stall due to her small size, she had seen something she had never seen. Pieces of meat with onions and tomatoes stuck through with a stick that were on charcoal fire and were constantly being turned by a man. There were 2 people inside the stall, one was a man and the other was a woman. The man seemed to be in charge of the cooking while the woman took the orders from the customers. The woman took the coins from a customer in the front of the stall "Sam,3 sticks" the woman said.

"Coming right up"

The young girl's eyes sparkled at the piece of meat, she took out 3 silver coins from her pocket. She looked at the stall. She truly wanted to try the meat but she knew if she had bought it then she wouldn't have any more coins left. She shook her head and put the coins back in her pocket and disappointedly left the stall. She could help but wipe away sweat from her forehead due to the hot weather and her standing next to the charcoal fire that was cooking the piece of meat.
While she was walking she had stepped on a muddy spot on the floor and it got her shoes dirty. It was the shoes that her grandmother had bought her not too long, she looked at the now mucky shoes with distress. She knew she had to wipe away the mud from them however she had learned her lesson this time and decided to walk until she had an alleyway so she could take her time and also so no one could bump into her. She walked until she had found an alleyway and entered it.
As she entered the backstreet,it led to a lot of buildings that were tall and seemed to be where people lived, it was a lot quieter than the crowded market. She had seen kids around her age playing with a wooden stick, they seemed to be laughing and having a great time. The young girl looked at them with a smile, the kid didn't seem to see her, they were too busy playing their game.She focused her attention towards her shoes. Fortunately for her there was a piece of cloth that was on the ground. It wasn't s the cleanest but it was better than nothing, she grabbed it and cleaned her shoes. After spending some time cleaning them, they turned out alright, they weren't shiny or anything but she did the best she could.