Two months before his thirteenth birthday, Zelnard found himself on an important task far from the tranquil confines of the monastery. He had been sent to the bustling port town of Crystal Quay, accompanied by Ferson, who was an avid supporter of Zelnard as he could see his potential. He had instructed him to participate in a vital, albeit not the most exciting task: selling the monastery's world-famous seaweed cheese. It was an essential source of income for the monastery and without it boys would go hungry or worse, they might have to stop taking in orphaned boys. So when this task was offered to the quickly maturing  Zelnard he was eager to prove that he was no longer a child and that he was worthy of being entrusted with the chore.

The market center of Crystal Quay was an assault on the senses. A tall central tower overlooked the entire city and sat at the market's core. It was a chaotic, vibrant tapestry woven from a thousand threads of sound, scent, and colour and one of Z’s favourite places to go even if not everything in the market was edible at least according to the taste buds of a teen mage. The air vibrated with the urgent, rhythmic calls of merchants hawking their wares.....“Fresh fish! Get your fresh fish!” and “Silks from the Sylvan Isles, finest quality!”......mingled with the cheerful chatter and bartering of the CQ citizens. Underneath it all was the fresh, sharp, salty tang of the nearby sea, a constant reminder of the town’s primary livelihood.

The market itself was a labyrinth of temporary stalls, each one a flash of vibrant colour....deep red cloths providing shade and denoting meat sellers, brilliant blues for the fishmongers (Zelnard recognized some Bulbus eels from his neck of the woods), and earthy greens for the vegetables and fruit sellers shaded their wilting wares. But most importantly of all were the crystal sellers with their pristine white awnings. The shielded power crystals from around Aethoria and the commanded a pretty gold piece for the privilege of wielding them. The scents of the market circle were intoxicating: the sweet, heavy aroma of freshly baked breads from a nearby baker’s stall clashed delightfully with the savoury, mouth-watering smell of roasting meats and fish... zargos, fresh from the ocean skewered and prepared with herbs and ganets and teegwin, skewered and sizzling over beds of glowing hot coals. Above the din, the shrill, mournful cries of dive birds punctuated the air, the brazen birds swooping low over the cobblestone streets, opportunistic pirates snatching discarded bits of food or unwary crumbs. Crystal Quay was a true nexus of trade, a place where everything and anything imaginable could be found, from the most exotic spices imported from across the continents to rare magical trinkets and essential goods sourced from every corner of the many crestrealms of Aethoria.

Solve the puzzle to move forward.. fish, zargos, eel, crystal, ganet if you get it right in Thy Quests you will move forward.

Time to Explore