I went around to some different shops, the tailor's, the cobbler, and a leatherworker, collecting the receipts as I went. I really hoped I wasn't spending too much, because the costs of the things I was buying were adding up fast. Soon, the only places that were left that Alex said I needed to go were the bag maker's shop, and the blacksmith's. Seeing how many packages I was carrying, I decided to go to the bag makers first. I asked a woman on the street where I might find it, and she was kind enough to point me that direction.
As I was about to get close to the shop, I tripped on a loose cobblestone and all the packages that I carried went flying.
"Are you okay?" someone asked me, and I looked up to see a young man offering a hand to help me up. He couldn't have been any older than twenty, and he had tousled light brown hair, a wide smile, and was very handsome. I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet.
"Thank you," I said, brushing some dust off of my pants, and then bending down to start gathering the things I dropped.
"You're welcome," He said. "Can I help you with those?"
"I don't want to trouble you," I started.
He swooped down and grabbed the packages I haven't managed to pick up yet. "It's no trouble at all! Besides, helping pretty woman is something I don't have to be asked to do. My name is Anders Goodseed, but everyone calls me Andy. I would usually shake your hand, but mine seem to be full."
I laughed. "Well, Andy, I'm Alexia. I was just going to the bag maker's shop, so if you could bring my things there, I would be very grateful."
Andy smiled, and we walked the last little bit of the way together, and once we were inside, he set my stuff down on an empty table. Before he could walk out the door, I stopped him.
"Excuse me, Andy," I said. "But I don't really know much about magic bags. I was hoping that maybe you could help me with this one last thing."
Andy smiled, and nodded. "I'd be happy to." He led me over to a long counter, and rang the bell that sat there. The shop keeper came out of the back door, and beamed at us.
"Ah," he exclaimed. "Master Goodseed! Helping a new adventurer get on their way again?"
"I don't know," Andy laughed. "She's not in my adventure, but she might be in one of her own."
"Well, do you know what model you want?" The shopkeeper asked me.
"Um, a friend of mine said that I should get one with an ice room, a library, a bedroom, a bathroom, an expanding treasure room, and 3 other regular rooms," I listed off what Alex had told me to get.
"Your friend must think that you're going to spend a lot of time on the road," the bag maker commented.
"Do you have a sample model we can look at while you do that?" Andy asked.
"Over there on the table to the east," the bag maker said. "Standard passwords!" then he disappeared into the back room again.
"Come on," Andy told me. We went to the table the bag maker specified, and Andy picked up a crumpled leather bag. He handed it to me. "The password to get in is Enter. The one to get out is Exit. You go first."
"Enter," I said, and I felt a sensation like I was falling, but it stopped after a moment. I was now standing in a well-lit stone room, with three doors leading into other ones. Andy appeared beside me, and laughed at the shocked look on my face.
"Little disorienting the first time isn't it?" he asked.
"Are we really inside the bag?" I breathed. "This is so cool!"
"Yep," Andy smiled. "We should go back now; the bag maker should be almost done." I nodded, and Andy reminded me of the password out, and the sensation was like the one coming in, only reversed. I was still holding the soft leather bag in my hands, and it didn't seem as if Andy and I moved at all. The bag maker came back into the shop, with a black leather bag in his hands, so I set the one I was holding back on the table. He grabbed a thick book, and flipped through the pages before stopping on one near the middle.
"Name," he asked.
"Alexia," I replied.
"Full name please, miss."
"That is my full name," I insisted.
"Come on," Andy laughed. "You must have a last name."
"I don't," I said firmly. The bag maker must have seen that arguing with me further would be pointless, so he scribbled my name down in the book.
"Do you wish to name an heir?"
"A what?" I asked.
"The person the bag and it contains will go to, if and when you die."
"Oh, um," I thought for a moment. "Alexander Taylor, will be the heir."
Andy almost fell over in surprise. "Did you just say Alexander Taylor?"
"Yes," I replied carefully. "Is there a problem with that?"
"No problem," Andy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I just didn't know you knew him. He's an old friend of mine; we went adventuring a few times together. You guys must be really close if you named him your heir."
"He saved my life," I said softly. "Anything that is mine is his, for it would not be mine if he hadn't called me back."
Andy let out a long sigh. "He's been up to things again, hasn't he? I actually came here to meet him, he said he was setting up an adventure, I just left right before I ran into you."
The bag maker cleared his throat loudly. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but if you want me to bind the bag to you miss, it would be better if I did it now."
"Bind the bag to me?"
"It's so you can't lose it, and if you set it down somewhere, no one can move it but you," Andy said.
"Oh."
The bag maker proceeded to wave his hand over my head and my bag, chanting as he did so. "There all done," he proclaimed after a few moments. "Standard passwords for now, but I suggest you change them as soon as possible."
"How do I do that?" I asked.
"Just tell the bag to change the passwords to whatever you want them to be, but be sure to specify which one is which. Payment?"
"Alexander Taylor will stand good for it," I said. The bag maker handed my receipt, and I put it in my pocket along with the others. I moved back over to the table where all my packages lay. "There has to be an easier way to put all these in there then carrying them in one at a time."
"There is," Andy told me. "Just hold the bag close to the pile, and say the room you want it to go into."
"Okay," I held the bag over the pile, and said. "Bedroom!" The pile shimmered momentarily, and then disappeared with a slight popping noise. I slung the bag over my shoulder, and left to leave the shop. "Thank you!" I called over my shoulder before the door closed.
"Are you going anywhere else?" Andy asked me.
"Alex wanted me to go to one more shop before I met with him at the Golden Swan," I said. "I think he said it was Mr. Blackburn's smithy?"
"I know where that is," Andy said. "Would you like me to show you? I was going to go to the Swan after this anyways, so I can take you there too."
"That would be lovely," I smiled. "Let us be off!"
Andy led me through the city, to a big building with black smoke bellowing out of its chimney. Andy opened the door for me, and I walked in. There was a thick shouldered man with soot on his face, polishing a sword with a rag. He looked up at us, and beamed.
"Customers!" he exclaimed. "Welcome! What can I do for you this lovely day?"
"I need a good weapon," I said. "I don't know which one though, they're all so fine." I walked over to one of the weapon covered walls, and stared at my reflection in the polished blade of a war ax. "Do you have any preferences?"
"Well," Blackburn scratched his chin. "I could measure you, and see what the book says. The book never lies."
I smiled. "That sounds great. How do you measure someone?"
Blackburn took out a tape measure, and told me to move into different positions, such as holding my arms out to the sides, touching my toes, etc., measuring different parts of my body every time I moved. He finally stopped, and opened a small book he kept in his pocket. He studied thee pages for a moment, then he closed it and stuffed it back into his pocket.
"I can't believe it," he exclaimed. "The second person to walk into my shop, and be able to use a staff."
"Wait, what?" Andy exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means you have the capability to use powerful magic," Blackburn said. "But if you're not trained to use a staff, I suggest a small, lightweight sword, such as a rapier."
"Do you have any I could look at?"
"Most are in the back room, but there's a fine one over there," he pointed to the wall to the north. "You're most welcome to look at it."
"Thank you." I walked over to where he pointed. On a shelf, there rested a long thin sword, which I guess was a rapier. I had no knowledge of weapons, but I could tell that this was a fine sword. It's blade was sharp, and the hilt was wrapped in black leather. The cross guard had designs etched into the metal, and embedded in the pommel, was a polished chunk of obsidian. I carefully picked it up, and held it in my right hand. It felt perfectly balanced, and the leather was soft enough it molded into the shape of my hand.
"I'll take it," I said to Blackburn. He smiled and gave me the scabbard. It was hardened black leather, with golden designs painted on it. For a moment I thought the patterns looked like letters, but I blinked, and the moment passed. The sword slid in easily, and Blackburn and I started discussing the price as I stored the sword in my bag. Paying was simple, and I stuffed that receipt in my pocket too. As we exited the shop, I turned and smiled back at Mr. Blackburn.
"To the Swan?" Andy asked.
"To the Swan," I replied, and Andy took my hand and we walked down the streets to the place where Alex was waiting for us.
