"I don't understand why you brought apples."
The priest reached into the grain sack and rummaged around for a while before pulling out an apple that was still a little green, smaller than half his fist.
This fruit might one day find its way into every household, but for now it had yet to be fully domesticated by humans. The climate around Solace Port was hardly suitable for growing it, either, and the apples were less than impressive.
The skin, red blending into green, was slightly shriveled. Its moisture had been carried off by wind and sun while it waited to be transported. The buyer had picked out a few that looked decent and packed them in the vendor's bag, which still contained prickly bran.
Adrian wiped the dust off the peel against his white robe, took a bite, and chewed the fluffy flesh. The meager juice wasn't even enough to make up for the saliva his mouth had produced.
"Average. Not as good as the ones I grow, and not suitable for drinking with liquor, either." The priest finished the apple, unimpressed. His thirst from walking across half the port under the sun still hadn't eased, so he decided to try a plumper one.
Kraft tightened the bag's opening and slapped his hand away. Finding somewhere that sold fruit hadn't been easy. Most fruit didn't travel well, after all, and the apples people usually saw were mainly in the form of cider.
"Isn't it customary to bring fruit when visiting a sick person?"
"What kind of logic is that? Aren't you going there to treat him?" The priest tossed the core aside and wiped his hands on his clothes a couple of times. The apple hadn't had enough sugar to make his hands sticky. "Besides, I've never heard of