Oooh Nicknacks!

We walk in silence for some time, our breathing the only sound around us. The snow is deep, but the closer we get to the City Centre, the more travel worn our path becomes which allows us to increase our walking pace and makes for easier travelling. We round the last corner of winding streets that form the maze of houses from Owen’s place to the City Centre. The space before us immediately opens up to a very large circle. The center of the city is an opening where at one time, before it was impossible to grow plants, there used to be a garden and rows of green houses. Now, the City Centre has been formed into a giant market. Rows upon rows of stalls are set up that are selling things from all over the world. Each week these stalls change, with new and rare items to be discovered.

A few people mill about moving from stall to stall, the early risers looking for good trades and rare finds. I grab Owen’s hand and tug him towards the nearest stalls. I move between the rows, browsing the stalls waiting for something to catch my eye. Owen follows suit, his eyes also focused on the items up for sale. A table sitting in the shade of a nearby building catches Owen’s eye, and he taps me on the shoulder, motioning towards the table. We shuffle through the packed snow and rows of stalls to the table. I smile at the man behind it and he nods his head in return.

“Something catch your eye, sir?” the man says to Owen.

“Not really sure.” He replies, “What exactly am I looking at?” Owen picks up a peculiar piece of wood and metal. Gears and rods of all shapes and sizes stick out of an egg-like center. Owen turns it around in his hands, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Ah, yes. A rare find.” The man’s eyes gleam with the prospect of a buyer. “That there came from,” the man pauses and looks around as if checking to see if anyone is eavesdropping. “from beyond the waters of the East.”