Spirit Taming

"What else are we looking at but junk now?" The second stall that Ralph had gone to with Clark was just another one with pottery and other art pieces. There weren’t even any materials. The only reason that they had gone was because Isa had not gotten any information about them other than that they were solitary merchants with unknown goods.

"This one is just nothing too. We will have to look at something else I guess..." Clark really thought they would have better luck. But at least Ralph had found something so far. "We have one more stall to look at. It’s the biggest one led by a small family. The note that Isa had by them was about traveling merchants. That should mean that the family doesn’t stay in any one city. That could be a good thing."

"So what? We might find random things from every single city they have been to. Why wouldn’t they settle down? It’s safer in the city." Ralph had preferred growing up behind walls than in the wilderness. The vastness of the wilderness was not something that he would want to face alone.

"Just because there are walls and guards doesn’t mean a city is safe. You know why I say that. Just think a little before you speak." The harshness in Clark’s tone softened a little at the end. However, Ralph still saw the twinge of anger that had come over Clark.

Even though Clark didn’t openly show it, he was always angry and in some form of pain for the loss of his family. He had built a great face after spending time with Clara training. He had seen the faces that others built up to protect themselves. Being in the elite class had just furthered this, so many of the well off students had created the perfect facades for their every day life to guide their overall goals.

The difference between them and Clark was what the goals were. Some wanted power and others wanted to take over their family when they grew up. There were even a few with the grand desire to defeat other families. Yet, it was very abnormal to want to completely erase a corrupt family and all others that were corrupt. It almost sounded heroic. That would be the case of erasing wasn’t part of Clark’s desires.

"Let’s just check this last place. Maybe your luck will show up. I probably used it all earlier since I found a good necklace." Ralph smoothed things over a little. He didn’t want a rival to be driven by hate and anger. He had some hopes that Clark would just keep getting stronger like him. Not that Clark would go off the rails.

"Yeah, that’s a better idea. I can see them now too. Isa was right, this is a large stall." Clark stopped on the street. The city stones were not so bad to walk on, however, the amount of people on it easily melted any slippery spaces. What was really stunning were the things that the merchants had made or organized for the building of ice stalls or even some wooden stalls.

The only thing that was not built on the spot was the fact that the family had a very large carriage, the beasts on it were very common and tough.

They were called stone horses, this wasn’t because they were made of stone or anything, but these beasts were specifically bred for mining. They were bred tougher and stronger to carry more stones out of every mine. At the end of the day, they became able to absorb earth energies and grew even tougher and stronger after that. It was hard to keep them unless someone was very experienced with them from a young age.

"Hello! I see you are interested in our stone horses! I am sorry to say they are not for sale. However, we do have some other beast eggs that we have picked up here and there. If that isn’t what you are after, how about some materials? You seem to be some young tamers. My father is in charge of the good materials. Come right this way!"

The very energetic young girl literally grabbed and dragged Clark and Ralph forward. Her strength was stunning. "You must be the tamer responsible for the stone horses. I have heard that their tamers gain a lot of strength from them so that they can carry stones too. It’s impressive." Clark grunted a little while he noticed Ralph’s completely stunned face.

"Hahaa, you have that right! My father taught me to tame them. We have the same spirit beast so it was perfect that he knew what was what. Oh, you have a nice set of boots there. Rugged and perfect for the cold. You must have bought them for this journey. My mother is in charge of weapons, armors, and clothing. Speak with her over there if you need anything. You should be students, right? I have to be right!"

"Alright, this is weird. Is this like a rabbit version of Isa?" Ralph’s response made Clark choke back laughter. He could only imagine this girl as a miniature Isa with a rabbit’s energy.

"Hm?" The girl was confused after hearing Ralph. She had no idea who Isa was.

"Sorry, he is just talking about our business partner Isa Rolly. She is dealing with some connections and sent us here since you were a mystery. I hope we aren’t sounding impolite. Ralph just thinks you have some of the same skills as Isa. she is also very adept with sales." Clark complimented the girl but did not miss the flash

"Oh, I see. In that case you should speak to my brother. He has some ties to a jeweler with the very same last name." The girl made a sharp whistle with her hands and a slightly older boy with a decent beard came up to them.

"What’s going on Sis? Have a repair job? I don’t see anything broken. If there is though, my metal slimes can help fix it." on the boy’s wave, two shiny liquid metal blobs slowly creeped from under a table nearby.

"No, these are friends of an Isa Rolly. Apparently they are in business with her. Do you think it’s the same one that worked with you? That guy who needed some gold melded together?"

"That depends, what beast does Isa Rolly have? If you know, I might believe you and your connections." The boy was skeptical. It made sense. Clark and Ralph didn’t look like they were merchants at all.

"She has an ice maiden and a flame sprite. Not one, but two. And she also has a crystal golem no. you will see it waddling around with her. She is letting it scope out some stalls for its own food." Isa was indeed doing this. And as Clark finished his sentence, the boy relaxed and smiled a little.

"Well, that brother of hers is a very fair business man. He had all this gold that needed to be molded together without a seam. The blacksmiths were afraid to mess with it. So, he hunted me out while I was in town with the carriage. I have some beasts perfect for delicate matters." The boy showed off the two slow moving metal slimes. The cold was clearly making them lag behind a bit.

"Speaking of slimes, Care if we introduce one of my beasts? If you find it interesting maybe you will show me some additional goods?" Clark threw this out. Ralph caught on easily. As well. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Make that two interesting beasts and you show us your personal goods." Since Ralph had the molten boar, he knew that it would also count as an interesting beast.

"Oho, and if you don’t you will be buying three of our top items at full price. How does that sound?" Clark and Ralph grinned and looked at each other before releasing their beasts from the taming spaces.

The molten boar caused steam to form around it as it touched the icy tone. The molten aspects of its body hardened even more due to the cold, but the slimes clearly felt threatened. "My partner is a molten boar. He and I went through a lot to be unique like this. He eats metals and ores. Sorry for the shock, Partner, head back in." Ralph shows a unique side of himself. He loved to show off his partner. It was just not something he could do often. Naturally, the boar grunted in joy before heading back. It had its own pride.

"That was not something I have ever seen before... you win that one. But you said two. I can’t just bend like that without having a perfect score. Even if that guy spoke so highly of his little sister and the future genius she would be." The boy laughed before he felt a change in the air. He had no idea what was coming from Clark’s taming space, but he had not felt this kind of energy. He had not felt this kind of strong emotion from his beasts either.