Even with restocking the supplies they needed and not being able to sell everything, there was still a lot of extra room left in the wagon. He had picked up a couple of small canvas tents, however he realized that they would likely all be able to sleep in the wagon if they wanted to. It seemed a comfort after how crowded it had seemed with all the Elves.
He dropped in on Smick to see if there had been any progress on selling the horses, and found that one had a potential buyer already. He settled with Smick on the price he wanted for it, based on what was being offered and the percentage Smick would take off of it. Smick said he'd let him know if anyone was interested in the second horse.
The last stop he made was to a small bookshop that he got directions to from Smick. Unlike the last one he'd visited, this one had a small family who clearly owned the shop and lived above it. The woman who was sitting at the counter smiled at him as he entered, before turning her attention briefly to one of the two children who played on the floor nearby and asking the young boy to return a toy to his smaller sister. The boy handed it back with a sigh and moved on to a carved wooden horse to play with instead, prancing it about on the floor and making horse noises as he did. The girl next to him looked up from her recovered toy to giggle at him occasionally.
"May I help you?" the woman asked as he approached the counter.
"I was told I could find maps here," he replied, looking about.
"Local, national, or beyond?" she asked, slipping off of the stool she'd been sitting on.
"Mostly national and beyond," he told her with a smile. "I'm looking to travel a bit."
"I see," she nodded. "Any particular direction in mind?"
"Not sure," he admitted. "I've already come from East of here, so I'd probably go one of the other three directions."
She laughed lightly before turning towards the door behind her and calling upstairs.
"Nicholaus, I have a young man who needs to see the map of the far reaches to decide which way to go."
"Right then," a man's voice called back. "Just a moment."
