Michael rose early the next morning. He was not surprised to see Salora quietly working with some herbs, nor to see Tri still firmly asleep. When Salora looked up at him, he pointed at himself and at the front exit of the waggon. She nodded, and he proceeded to open the knot and slip through the hole. Early sunlight greeted him outside, shining brightly on a wild assembly of colours. Many other market stands, mostly also mobile waggons, were already opening for business. In contrast with the grey and dull covers Michael had seen the night before, the fancifully decorated inside of each stall seemed all the more vibrant now. There seemed to be no order to what type of wares was sold where. Michael climbed down from Salora's waggon and made his way through the market place. He occasionally paused in awe to marvel at some of the wares on display. There was beautifully painted pottery, some wild assemblies of furs, herbs and spices reminding him of Salora, vegetables and fruits both familiar and very foreign looking, and somebody even sold exotic pets.

Michael had asked Salora the night before where she'd purchased her horses from, so he now followed her directions away from the market. To his surprise, the city was quite easy to navigate. Salora had made sure to emphasize whenever he should be getting into a different ring of the many city walls, so Michael knew he was still on track even after numerous turns. The part of the city he found himself in at last was much busier than the others. He could not tell for sure whether it was because these people could not afford to sleep in, or whether he'd simply spent so long finding his way that all of Perborough was up by now. However, Michael was now surrounded by strangers, all rushing off to some places, many carrying empty buckets, some leading animals.

It did not take him long to spot the massive stables Salora had described to him. How anybody could afford to own a building this large in the city, and for animals to live in it at that, was a mystery to him. He entered the open gates and walked between the rows of boxes with horses, cattle, and donkeys in them. Before long, a middle-aged woman called out to him. She had clearly recognized him as a potential customer, and though she appeared to not be fluent in his language, she managed to make him understand that he should walk to the far end and wait at some desk. Michael nodded gratefully and swiftly made his way along, not wanting to linger and look at animals in case the woman would find that rude. The desk she had mentioned was simple, but large, and an elderly man sat behind it, busily counting coins.

"Just a moment," the man muttered to Michael, who waited patiently. "Ah, forty-seven." He scribbled the number into an open book in front of him, closed the bag of money in his lap and finally looked up at Michael. "A new face, how nice. My name is Idekay, how may I help you?"

"Good morning, my name is Michael, I am looking for a donkey to carry some wares over the mountains to Limben."

"A donkey? Over the mountains..." Idekay thought deeply for a moment. "Well, I suppose you would need a strong young male, perhaps even a mule, depending on how many wares you have." Idekay got up and waved at Michael to follow him. They went into a different row of boxes and Idekay quickly made his way toward the middle where he presented Michael with a large brown mule.

"He does look strong for sure, but I do not know whether I have that kind of money," Michael admitted. What ensued was a fast-paced back and forth, Idekay asking questions about Michael's wares and finances, and Michael trying to answer as best he could. Finally, Idekay paused to think deeply once again.

"Look, young man, I could try to upsell you, but it would cost us both time, and you would not want to ever purchase from me again. I will be honest with you, for what you can offer and what you need, I believe you are best suited with two goats, not a donkey. The mountains can be tricky, and while donkeys aren't bad with rough terrain, goats are still far superior. Your wares could be evenly distributed, the goats would walk faster and be easier to handle. You'd probably also be able to resell them at a fair price more easily than a strong young donkey. Come, let me show you." Before Michael could even think, he found himself once again following Idekay. They came to a halt in front of a large box with half a dozen goats in it. The goats were bigger than what Michael was familiar with, and they did not seem skittish at all. "You see, I would give you two of these, you can either take them with you now or come get them when you depart from Perborough." The price Idekay named seemed doable, so Michael agreed.

They headed back to the desk where Idekay drew up a quick contract, copied it, and signed both. He then handed Michael the pen and pointed to where he should sign. Michael read through the document as best he could and was thankful that Idekay had neat handwriting. He handed Idekay the money and signed the copies, carefully stuffing one into his belt pouch. They shook hands and the deal was done. Michael would come get two goats at some point later in the week, whenever suited him best.

On his way back, Michael got lost twice. By the time he arrived back at the waggon, it was all set up to serve as a market stall, and Salora was serving a whole line of people. Tri was standing behind her, paying close attention and looking fairly content. Michael did not want to interrupt them, so he just waved at them as he grabbed his backpack. He then went around the market once again to find merchants selling similar wares from what he had brought from Limben. The rest of his morning was taken up with pitching his wares to various merchants until most was sold.

He returned to Salora and Tri before lunch. Salora handed him some money and sent him off to go fetch some food for all of them at a specific bakery where he was to mention she had sent him. The sandwiches he returned with were larger than he had expected for the money, and Salora and Tri agreed that they were most delicious. They only had a short break as more people were already waiting to be served by Salora. Michael allowed himself to sit and watch for a while before he would go out and buy some wares for himself. The people who came typically described some ailment to Salora, who then quickly mixed a badge of her herbs into a small bag to be used for tea or added to an ointment. One woman begged Salora to come to her house to help her daughter with childbirth, but Salora, after carefully listening, insisted they would have to wait.

"Come again at nightfall if the child is still not born. Until then, just make her more tea from these," Salora pointed to a bunch of flowers unknown to Michael. "It should lessen her pain. Make sure she drinks enough and get a midwife for the meantime. If things get worse, she will know what to do and when to send for me." The woman looked disappointed, but thanked Salora politely before leaving. Another customer was already waiting. "Michael, if you can arrange it, please be back from your shopping by nightfall so you can watch the waggon if we have to leave. Else I'd have to pay a guard and charge the poor woman more for it, they are expensive."

Michael smiled, nodded, and got up. He had a lot to do and only limited time. There were other markets in Perborough he intended to visit. Today, he was unlikely to buy anything yet, as he preferred to scout out the prices of different wares from different merchants first. His late master had taught him enough math and common sense to instil a great awareness for this kind of thing in Michael. If he intended to make a profit, he had to calculate not only how much he paid for his wares here and could sell them for elsewhere, but also how much supplies he would need for the trip, any expenses for repairing his gear, and recently the purchase of his two goats. He went off with a smile on his face, taking in more of Perborough and juggling numbers as he walked.