Autumn was a good season to throw a little party for the crew. Their shipments were slowing down because the harvest was over and most of the traders were returning home for a small break. While trickery ran throughout the city, Ephrym hoped for something quieter and with far more sweets. It was a good season for candies, the cooler weather making it easier to work with the hot fires necessary to make certain delicacies, and there were plenty of apples and other seasonal fruits that came with the autumn weather. Such thoughts had taken the ship’s captain away from the docks and towards the center of town where a bakery and candy store stood. Locals had directed him there while promising that the goods inside were top notch and popular with many travelers. So it was only about an hour later that Ephrym entered the store and found himself entranced by what was inside. So much candy! How is one to decide on what to buy? Ephrym studied the candies before him thoughtfully. One, two, three, four, five… He started counting down the rows upon rows of colorful treats, their shimmering colors a testament to the sweetness of the sugars that he saw in every swirl of vibrant reds, blues, greens, yellows, pink, purple and even orange, The ones made out of the mint leaves reminded him of those from his local bakery back in southern Belrea. The minty chocolate flavor was his absolute favorite and so Ephrym found himself gesturing towards a pile of the chocolate truffles with green sugar flecks. “One bag of these please.” He asked with a smile before moving on to another display to study its contents. There were cookies in this one and he found himself nodding thoughtfully. Those would be a good table setter, right? Easy enough to reach and grab one if it’s arranged on a plate nicely and there’s different flavors. “What all do you have?” He asked sweetly, his elbows leaning on the counter as he smiled warmly at the girl who immediately flushed at the attention from the talkative stranger. She had already witnessed him talking up a store with the owner and had been told that if he ordered enough a discount was well deserved. How he had managed to convince the owner of such a thing she did not truly know but once his bright teal gaze caught her violet one the girl found it hard to not go along with what he was saying. At least that’s how Ephrym believed things and he played it well as he continued talking to her while she helped him with his shopping.

“So these are walnut cookies?” He asked as he gestured towards a set. “I can have a few of those as long as they have some sort of cinnamon or something with it. I have someone who loves nuts on the ship but they also like to have a bit of something else for flavor. I’m sure you guys have some of the best cookies though so I don’t even know why I’m worried.” Ephrym grinned as she scooted an extra cookie into the bag.

“That one is slightly broken so I’ll give it to you. Since you think our flavors are the best it’s good to not let it go to waste.” Replied the worker with a small smile in return, her cheeks flushing slightly as she moved along the display to more cookies and helping Ephrym to pick out others. “Are you going for two dozen?”

“I think so. That should be good for a small gathering, right?” Ephrym tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully, his gaze almost fixated on the ceiling while he pondered the question. “Maybe with a few more hard candies and then some of those berry pastries I should be good. It’s an afternoon affair so more like tea and sweets than anything savory like dinner would call for.” They had been working hard to clean his ship all day and he wanted to treat the crew to a snack after all. Plus it would look nice if anyone he was trying to recruit dropped by and saw their little affair on deck. It was perfect, especially now that they were preparing to ship to Kahikana soon. He just needed a navigator but that would come in due time…..hopefully. Two more weeks and we’ll see what happens. He thought to himself before focusing back on the task at hand. “Let’s see so about those sweet rolls over there….”

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