Alaric was dejected.
But his journey wasn't without fruit. He could come back to the same place and do the same thing, and hopefully fish up a new fish.
If he was even luckier, he would fish up an older drunkard fish that would have a higher quality of alcohol inside.
If he were to catch up a younger fish however, he would have a way prepared to store it. A large bucket filled with water should suffice.
From what Alaric could tell, there were different varieties of Esoteric Fish. Some were literal fish that have abilities themselves that need to be used through the fish by the fishermen.
There were also more directly usable ones, such as the shotgun. If it was truly just some kind of shotgun, the sentience element would be taken out.
Other varieties likely existed, however Alaric didn't know about them quite yet.
He would eventually need a place to keep some of them, a large fish tank of some kind. But that would cost a lot of effort and money. Alaric could provide plenty of effort, he was just lacking in the money department.
Alaric decided that he now needed to head back. It was late enough and he needed to be ready. He considered asking the worm person about the drunkard fish, or just Esoteric Fishing in general.
"I'll see when I get there. If I get the idea that there is a reasonable level of trust between us, then I might ask something." Alaric decided. He didn't quite know the character of the worm person well enough to make a definitive choice as to what to do.
Alaric sailed back with the rat fast asleep. The rat was very sleepy, and was running of alcohol and bread scraps.
Alaric looked at the fishing rod. Maybe it was just him, but it looked different somehow. The golden shine of the rod was slightly dimmer, maybe a little brown now. But it could be just the light.
"Yeah I don't think so. If it's cursed, it would definitely make sense that the appearance changed." Alaric decided. He wanted to closely monitor the curse that was allegedly present on the fishing rod.
Alaric now truly headed back. He sailed back over to the gate.
The sky was a dark red, almost bloody. He was a little tired. He would continue to stay at Cornelius' inn for the night, but he would need a more permanent situation eventually. He would need more privacy.
Alaric was now at the gate.
There was a different guard.
"Are you coming in or just returning?" The guard asked. They were alert. They were likely the night shift, so they would have to be able to be awake and attentive during the darker hours.
"Returning. I have a token." Alaric brought out the token, and reached through the bars of the cage to give the guard the token.
The guard brought the token close to the torch that was in the cage to get a good look at it. The guard turned it in their hands over and over until they seemed to be content.
"What's your name?" The guard asked after examining the token,
"Alaric." The man himself responded truthfully.
"Alright, head on through." The guard cranked the door open, and allowed for Alaric to head through before closing it after him.
Alaric stared at the city in front of him.
There were many lights on, and it was dark enough so that he could see the lights prominently. There seemed to be some faint music coming from the city, which meant that it would be loud if he were to get closer.
"Oh yeah… the Wolf Slayer Guild party is tonight. Eventful day." Alaric thought. Unfortunately, he couldn't partake in the festivities due to him not being a mage, or rich enough.
"Hold on, hold on." A light went of in Alarics head.
"Party….. at parties people drink alcohol. Mages are weird, they might want some strange alcohol. I could turn around these immediately to get a sense if there is a possible market for them. If people like them, it would be a good indicator that I should pursue getting more. If not I could just try another fish," Alaric decided. If he could walk after the flesh cutting, he would want to go out to sell the alcohol and try to turn a profit.
Alaric now headed back in to Matilda's dock after sailing a while longer into the city. He tied the boat to the dock and took his stuff out, along with the rat. He put the rat in his pocket to keep the sleeping guy safe.
Alaric now hurriedly headed out to Cornelious' inn. He wanted to get his meat cut off as FAST as possible.
He waited in front of the inn, waiting for the worm person. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Turning around, the giant person was there.
They were still tall, they were still bald, they still had the scarring lines along their face.
"What's up man!" Alaric hurriedly turned around to face them.
The worm person gave a brief wave to Alaric.
Then, they pointed to Alaric's machete.
"Yeah I know, do you have the painkiller, disinfectant, and bandages?" Alaric wanted to make sure everything was prepared beforehand.
They nodded.
They had a small bag on their back. It was actually a normal sized bag but it looked a little small because the worm person was so tall. They then let off the bag from their back.
Opening it up, they came prepared.
They had another flask full of some kind of liquid, bandages, and an antiseptic.
"Just do it." Alaric handed the machete to the worm person.
He also got in an ally and lowered his overalls.
He quickly chugged the painkiller and got mentally ready.
Shwick
In one swift motion, the worm person took off another chunk of meat.
The deed was now done. Alaric's pound of flesh was now repaid in its full.