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Andarien's brow furrowed. "But what if he just started? This other guy, I mean. If he's just started then it would make sense that she hadn't heard of him, wouldn't it?"

He didn't see what the big deal was, personally. After all, if there was someone else out helping people, it would make things easier for Kyrie, wouldn't it? Was it a bad thing?

Andarien shrugged. "I don't know, it was just a suggestion. You'd have to ask her if you want to know why she thinks the guy's been around for such a long time."

"Later," Earendil interrupted the children's conversation. "There's still more to see, we've only been down one street. Come on, let's see the next one."

Down the next street, as with the street before, the names of the shops were in runes that the travelers could not read, though what the shops did was again evident in the image on the signs: on the left side of the street, there was a mason, glassmaker and jeweler; on the right, music shop, bow shop and armoury; and at the end of the street, a larger shop than the others, just like the physician's clinic had been, a blacksmith's shop.

"I could use some more arrows," Andarien spoke up sheepishly. "I lost most of mine when I was practicing."

Earendil smiled ruefully. He was still proud of how Andarien was sticking with the bow, the only weapon he actually felt even remotely comfortable learning, but though he had grown and did practice quite regularly, he had a far from accurate shot.

"Actually, now that you mention it," he realized, "you haven't gotten a new bow since you've grown. You do need a new one. And it's pointless getting you new arrows until you've got a new bow."

Andarien blinked at his father. "It is?"

Daeron nodded, chuckling softly. "The arrow needs to be made for your bow or else you'll never be able to shoot it properly," he explained. "The spine needs to bend according to the weight of your draw."

Andarien still looked confused, but he accepted what his father and uncle said without question. He simply shrugged. "If you say so."

Andarien paused at the door, looking at his Pokemon sadly. He didn't want to put them back into their Pokeballs. To him, it was unfair.

Iorlas saw the look on her nephew's face and put one hand on his arm gently.

"I will stay with them out here," she promised him, smiling softly at him. "This is something that does not interest me in the least. Go ahead."

Andarien smiled back at her. "Thanks," he murmured; and then he followed Earendil and Miyuki into the shop.

"Go ahead, Lin," Daeron told her, nodding towards the door. "I'll stay out here with Iorlas and the Pokemon."

The bow shop smelled of various types of wood, glue, wax and leather. There was one person, a man with pale brown hair and tanned skin, manning the shop, though at the moment he was busy tending a customer.

There were no shelves in the shop, and only one small counter, little more than a high table just big enough to write on. All of the bows on display - and there were only about a dozen or so - were set across pegs on one wall. Along the back wall were canisters of arrow shafts, buckets of feathers, and cans of arrowheads of all different kinds. The third wall had other equipment hanging from pegs: quivers, belts, arm guards, gloves and more.

It seemed the shopkeeper was just finishing up with his customer, for the customer bid the man farewell and smiled at Lin and Earendil and their children on his way out of the shop.

"Good morning!" the shopkeeper greeted the four of them warmly. "And what can I do for you today?"

Earendil put one arm around Andarien's shoulders and brought him forward. "Looking for a new bow for my son," he replied. "And equipment to go with it. He grew a while ago - quite a bit, I must say - and he's not had a new bow since then."

The man eyed Andarien curiously, taking in his unusual style of dress and the goggles on his face. "Mm, I see. Brand new or off the wall?"

Earendil shrugged. "What can you do in a week or less?" he replied in answer to the man's question. "We're just passing through." After a moment, he added, "He's relatively new to archery, so whatever you give him, he will have to get used to it."

The man broke into a wide grin. "Well, now, that makes all the difference!" he exclaimed cheerfully. He stepped beside Andarien and put one hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come with me, son, and let's see what we can do for you ..."

Andarien looked at his parents uneasily. He wasn't used to shop owners quite like this man ...

Andarien nodded dumbly and went off with the shopkeeper, who seemed thrilled to have someone like Andarien to help.

While the two of them were busy, Earendil watched half-interestedly and moved to stand with Lin and Miyuki.

"It's always interesting to see someone so into their occupation," he grinned. "There aren't so many people like this anymore."

So few people showed such enthusiasm for their occupations, he found.

Earendil laughed at that. "True, true."

He looked around a bit, still chuckling softly over Lin's comment. "I wonder if I shouldn't get another dozen or two arrows," he mused aloud. "They do have a tendency to get lost or broken, after all ..."