The carriage shook slightly as it moved through the unsteady stone streets of the city, its pace was slow and unhurried as she had ordered.
Morena sat back against the cushioned seat, her arms resting loosely at her sides as she gazed out through the open window upon the people and buildings passing outside.
The city wasn't particularly grand by kingdom standards, but it had a life to it. One that could only be found in such a small border city, with a steady flow of people and life.
Her past self had never bothered with this. She had been too focused on escaping the pressures placed upon her, too focused on drowning herself in fleeting pleasures to ever truly appreciate the world outside.
But now, Morena found herself watching everything closely.
The heart of the city was alive with color and noise, merchants peddled wares from vibrant stalls, children wove between crowds laughing, and people haggled along the streets, filling the air with the sound of life.
They passed through the merchant district—a place filled with dozens of travelers, adventurers, and foreign merchants selling oddities from nearby kingdoms and beyond.
Spices, strange clothes, minor trinkets that came in all shapes and sizes. There was much to see, but little of true value.
"AI."
[Listening.]
"Passive scan. Look for anything unusual. Books, items, elemental energy, artifacts. Notify me if anything stands out. Also, pick up on any conversations worth recording."
[Command acknowledged. Passive scanning in progress.]
Morena returned her gaze to the city as the carriage continued its slow crawl through the crowded streets.
The AI fed her small bits of information as it worked—some interesting-looking items but had little use, fragments of conversations and rumors overheard from travelers—but nothing of immediate value.
She allowed herself to relax slightly, simply enjoying the day.
Until—
[Unusual Elemental Fluctuation Detected — Source: Store on Right.]
Her eyes sharpened instantly as she turned her head, catching sight of the store in question.
It was a small, tidy building tucked between two larger shops. A hand-painted sign swung gently above the door, reading: Wanderer's Curiosities.
It was nothing suspicious, nothing secretive. In fact, Morena recognized the place vaguely, popular among locals and travelers who wanted to buy small souvenirs or odd trinkets brought back by adventurers.
From what she remembered, it was commonplace to find interesting things, but most of it was junk. However if the AI had detected something unusual, she wasn't going to ignore it.
She tapped the front of the carriage.
"Stop here."
The driver obeyed without hesitation, pulling the carriage neatly to the side of the road.
Morena disembarked, adjusting her cloak and clothes slightly to better blend into the busy scene around her.
She approached the shop quietly, pushing the door open with a small chime of a bell that announced her arrival.
Inside, the store smelled faintly of old wood and herbs. The interior was clean and well-organized, with neat shelves filled with trinkets, small jewelry, odd stones, glass bottles, weathered maps, and worn leather books.
It looked exactly as she expected—ordinary, almost disappointingly so.
Still, she remained cautious.
"AI. Active scan. Everything."
[Understood.]
She moved slowly through the store, allowing her fingers to lightly brush against shelves as she passed so that her body could get a feel for the place; old hardwood, aged but kept surprisingly clean.
The AI cataloged dozens of items almost immediately, but most were dismissed just as quickly: non-elemental, mundane, decorative.
No hidden treasures. Nothing she could use to her advantage.
Just colorful stones and fake relics polished to shine. Still, Morena trusted the AI's earlier detection, whatever it should still be around somewhere.
Her gaze eventually settled on the counter, where an older woman, probably in her middle age, sat behind a thick book, scribbling something in a ledger with a slow, careful hand.
She looked up when she noticed Morena, her face creasing into a warm, practiced smile.
"Good afternoon, dear. See anything you like?"
Morena approached slowly as she glanced around, replying in a friendly tone.
"Not yet."
She returned the smile politely, then shifted her tone slightly—she spoke as if she was inquiring, but her voice held some level of certainty to it.
"Have you gotten anything unique in recently? Something a little different from the usual things out here."
The woman tapped her chin thoughtfully, setting her quill aside.
"Unique, you say... hmm..."
She thought for a few seconds before she seemingly remembered something, standing up she moved toward a shelf tucked behind the counter.
"Had a traveler in just a few days ago. Said he'd been poking around some old wrecked village far east of here. Not much left after a landslide years back, but he swore he'd found something interesting."
She bent down, rummaging through a few boxes before pulling out a small bundle wrapped in faded cloth.
"Most folks just want something shiny to hang on their walls, so I haven't put these out yet."
She laid the bundle carefully on the counter and unwrapped it.
Inside were a few objects: a dull, cracked stone about the size of a fist, a small pendant shaped like a teardrop, and what appeared to be an old, tattered book missing half its cover.
They didn't look like much.
But the moment the cloth was pulled away, the AI reacted.
[Source confirmed. Elemental fluctuation originating from — Object: Stone.]
Morena's eyes sharpened, but she maintained her calm expression to not seem suspicious.
She leaned slightly over the counter, examining the items casually with her eyes, and before reaching to touch them she asked the lady for permission.
"May I?"
The woman nodded with a smile.
"Of course, dear. Take your time."
Morena reached out and carefully picked up the stone between her fingers.
It was cold to the touch—unnaturally cold.
[Scanning...]
[Sealed Elemental Energy Detected.]
'Is that so?'
The stone was interesting, Morena had very little information about elemental energy, but from what she knew being able to seal elemental energy into something was very difficult.
It was commonly found in legendary weapons and items forged by skilled blacksmiths and warriors; it was not something that could be sealed in a simple stone.
But she couldn't just buy the stone, if she wanted it she would have to buy everything to seem less obvious. As such as put the stone down and showed little interest in it, instead, she picked up the pendant.
The pendant itself was simple, little more than polished stone in an iron setting. But the moment her skin made contact, she could feel it—a faint pulse that didn't make any sense.
It was weak, unstable, but unmistakably real.
[Unknown Energy Detect.]
She couldn't stop opening her eyes in shock, but she quickly played it off as if she just found the pendent intriguing; instead, her mind ran with countless thoughts.
'Unknown energy? Can you analyze what type of energy it could be?'
[Information lacking to properly determine type. Requires more information for accurate details.]
'But do you have any details at all?'
[Affirmative. Basic scanning indicates something roughly similar to Elemental Energy.]
She lifted her gaze back to the shopkeeper, already calculating her next move.
"How much for these three things?"
The old woman chuckled softly, waving a hand.
"These old things? Two silver pieces, dear. Hardly worth more than that."
Morena smiled inwardly but outwards she frowned, as if debating the price. The woman, noticing her hesitation, panicked and replied before she could speak.
"But for you dear, just one silver piece is enough."
She nodded slowly and pulled the coin from a small pouch at her side and placed it neatly on the counter.
"Done."
The woman seemed pleased, wrapping the other objects back up and handing them over to the girl.
With a polite nod, Morena turned and left the shop, stepping back into the bright afternoon sun.
As she reentered the carriage, she wanted to return home as soon as possible and look into the items more deeply, but doing so might stand out; instead, she decided to ride around for a while more than head back.
The carriage pulled away from the curb, rolling deeper into the city streets.