A Little Spending Money

What Du Pont had not expected was that although the Skeleton Soldier had struggled a little and wobbled when it first stood up, it quickly found a stable balance. Other than walking somewhat more slowly than usual and the red flames in its eye sockets becoming dimmer, it was almost entirely unaffected.

Such a counterintuitive sight made Du Pont marvel inwardly at the wonders of magic.

This entire skeleton weighed less than twenty pounds at most. How could it carry a load five times its own weight?

Magic truly could not be judged by common sense. If he continued viewing things according to the framework of his previous life, he would definitely suffer for it someday.

If only he had a miraculous Bag of Holding like Boulderstone's. Then he would not have to worry about such things at all.

One man and one skeleton swayed their way down the mountain. The village militiamen on guard were startled when they saw the Skeleton Soldier wandering about before sunset, but after checking Du Pont's mage badge and hearing his purpose, they quickly let him through.

"Please dismiss that servant promptly after the transport is complete, sir. It would not be good if it frightened people. Things have been unsettled in some places lately."

Du Pont nodded to show his understanding. After asking who bought wolf carcasses, he made his way to the village Leatherworker.

"This wolf pelt is of good quality, and the beast was larger than normal. It should fetch a good price." The Leatherworker was a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty, though his hair was remarkably thick. After inspecting it, he said regretfully, "It is a shame the fur on its chest and belly was punctured, and one eye was scratched as well. Those areas are the best and most expensive materials for making gloves and hats. That will cost several silver coins."

Du Pont said nothing. Seeing that he did not respond, the Leatherworker became somewhat awkward. After examining the carcass carefully again, he cautiously asked, "Mage, might I ask whether you know Lord Boulderstone?"

"He is my friend. He gave me this wolf for practice." Seeing the other man visibly relax after he spoke, Du Pont thought that Boulderstone's reputation seemed quite high. "How much can this wolf sell for? We are short on money and want to trade it for more good liquor."

"Rest assured, sir. Since you are Boulderstone's friend, we will naturally offer the fairest price. This wolf pelt should sell for twenty-five silver without issue. The wolf meat, however, is not worth much. Selling it to a tavern would probably only bring around four silver. I am sure you know that its taste cannot compare to the livestock we usually eat. Of course, if you butcher it yourself and negotiate separately, you might get a slightly higher price."

"Twenty-nine silver, then. Handle it as you see fit." The extra money was not worth wasting time over.

At those words, a heartfelt smile blossomed across the Leatherworker's face, nearly splitting his mouthful of rotten teeth.

Du Pont thought the old man had probably been driving down prices quite a bit, but business was supposed to leave everyone with something to earn. Saving time was what mattered.

After putting away the money, his shriveled coin purse was finally somewhat full, containing three gold and thirteen silver. That gave him at least a little confidence.

At the very least, he no longer had to worry about something as minor as food.

Just as he was about to leave, Du Pont suddenly thought of a question. "By the way, if I manage to hunt a bear, roughly how much would it fetch?"

"That depends on the bear's size, as well as whether the pelt is intact. If it has been struck by magical fire or lightning, it may not be worth much. Acid and poison can also damage the quality of the hide." The Leatherworker gestured with his hands. "If you can preserve the pelt as well as you did this wolf's, then the hide of a four-hundred-pound grizzly would be worth about eight gold. A six-hundred-pound male could sell for fifteen gold."

"As for Brown Bears, the size difference is much greater. They range from five hundred pounds all the way to two thousand. A common one weighing around eight hundred pounds can sell for thirty gold, while one over a thousand pounds is worth roughly fifty gold. Larger ones are rarer. If you had one weighing sixteen hundred pounds, it might sell for over a hundred gold. The exact price would need to be confirmed in town. A small shop like mine cannot afford to buy one."

Du Pont was somewhat surprised. "The price rises that much for every increase in weight?"

"Rare things are valuable. The harvests have been good lately, and city folk with some spare money all like to buy things like this to show off. We do not care about such things here. What use is grandeur? Being well fed and warmly clothed is what matters most."

"What about bear meat?"

"Bear meat is quite valuable. It even costs a little more than beef." As he spoke, the Leatherworker wiped his mouth, his face full of longing. "It has a gamey smell, but it is quite tasty if you use enough seasoning. Bear fat is also purchased at high prices by specialized alchemy shops in town. They say it can be melted down into cold-weather essential oil and sells well in the Northlands. We have no use for that here, though."

"Fine. If I get lucky and kill one, I will haul it over to you. By the way, are there any suitable contracts in the village lately? Something fit for low-level adventurers to get some practice?"

"Hmm." The Leatherworker thought for a while. "I heard there was a haunted graveyard about ten miles north of the village. Further north, there is supposedly a goblin tribe that threatened passing carriages before, though the horses ran fast enough that it did not cause much harm. If you are interested, you can ask at the tavern or the village chief's place."

A haunted graveyard and a gang of goblins that could not stop a carriage?

Du Pont immediately perked up at the news and began calculating silently.

It was known that there were no high-level dungeons nearby, so the graveyard naturally would not contain especially powerful undead. Whether zombies or skeletons, they were relatively manageable monsters.

But ghosts would be troublesome. Without enchanted weapons or attack magic, ordinary people had almost no way to hurt ghosts. If he wanted to go, he would need to prepare items such as Holy Water and Holy Oil that could imbue attacks with the Radiant Property.

By comparison, goblin tribes were the targets of countless novice adventurers. These cunning yet frail creatures might not even defeat an adult man one-on-one, but their high fertility and short maturation period had made them one of the scourges of rural Faerûn. They were suitable practice targets.

Still, not many people truly enjoyed exterminating goblins. Those things could be genuinely troublesome at times.

A small goblin tribe might have fewer than twenty members, but it could also have forty or fifty. Sometimes they even had troublesome leaders or other goblin variants. They liked firing arrows from hiding, and would even coat them in feces. It was disgusting.

Furthermore, goblins were notoriously poor. It could be said that if villages did not offer bounties, few people would want to fight those disgusting, crafty little green monsters.

Their spoils were pitifully scarce, and their nests stank to high heaven. They were nowhere near as appealing as kobolds occupying the same ecological niche. Still, for the sake of bounties and easy targets, adventurers put up with them.

When he arrived at the clothing shop, Du Pont naturally did not choose to mend his old clothes now that he had some spare money. Instead, he replaced everything from the inside out. After trading in his old clothes for thirty copper, he spent a total of five silver coins. The quality was no worse than his Apprentice Robe, and the color was similar as well.

The clothing shop owner was an old woman, and she was delighted by Du Pont's praise. "Of course. The academy's ordinary clothes are actually made by tailoring shops like ours. Sometimes, when they rush to meet deadlines, the clothes they turn in may not even be as good as what we sell here. Whenever you have time, you can come pick out clothes from us. They are cheap, and we can tailor them to fit you. They will definitely fit better than what the academy issues."

Du Pont's mouth twitched after hearing that. If he remembered correctly, this Apprentice Robe had cost one gold apiece. His entire set, including underwear and a complimentary face covering, had cost less than half that.