TE17 Mysterious Montenegro

Thekla Kraußeneck

“You are a coward. You’ll never improve...”

The door closed behind the girl, a bell rang and the airship took off. An electric arrivals board announced that the next airbus would be arriving at the port in fiveminutes. Zack started tomake his way through the crowd, without really knowing where he was going. His eyes scanned the place from left to right, without really stopping to focus on something for very long because there was always something newcatching his attention. Themarket traders were selling pots full of seeds and nuts, sweets in all shapes and sizes, books with the damp smell of cellars and chattering plants. In front of a quest supplies shop (owner: Rioli of the Rivers) an origami peacock folded out of paper that was covered in blue ink was sat in a cage. The peacock rattled its beak and said: “Come on in - fairy berries, Grinnetók eggs with breeding instructions, tickets to Rooton, on sale now: crimson cloth worth twice its value - very rare and in high demand. Come on in!” Next to it there was a shop selling instruments. The tags on the instruments revealed their unusual names: a Hypnokaí lute, a Thairién drum, Glàs violin, a Sax guitar, a Lusk-Lugo harmonica... Baskets were neatly arranged in front of the store, with a child- sized figure arranging easy-to-handle cylinders that glowed like amber: “Special offer - Maquoia resin - suitable for violin bows with covers from the feathers of the prophets and Atziloth garuda – grab them while you can!” (Zack read the last sentence three times over before daring to believe that he had understood it.) The figure got up and casually walked back to the shop. Zack

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