He saw Arros standing there so casually like he couldn't see the chaos around him, like he couldn't see the trained Arcanists fleeing… Like he hadn't noticed the elite security force meant to handle major threats abandoning their posts. Like the ten trumpet blasts meant nothing at all.
The stall owner's mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. Then, as if Arros's calm had somehow highlighted his own foolishness in trying to save herbs instead of his life, the man dropped everything and ran.
"Ah..."
Arros let out a small sound of disappointment.
"And I didn't want to take it without paying..."
He set the herb down carefully and turned to face the direction everyone was fleeing from.
In the distance, rising from the vast magical beast forest that bordered the town, a massive serpentine shape could easily be seen. An eel-like creature, at least two hundred feet long, swimming through the air with massive fins extended from either side of its head, each one the size of a building.
