Stop and look at some scrolls

Many of the vendors here are trading various commodities such as grains, furs, or lumber. Such offerings are of no interest to you, obviously intended to be resold again by many of the traders that travel through here. Between those, however, are a good number of stalls selling things important to resupply for what undoubtedly is a long journey ahead for most of the customers.

With great disappointment you have to pass by these stalls without buying anything. While both you and Siora wish you could simply buy some new clothes and food, you don't have any money or even any items you could trade with.

Siora finally stops at a small stall manned by a lone old geezer dressed in a simple robe. He is surrounded by piles of rolled-up scrolls only lit by a few dim candles. You wouldn't have given this stall a second glance but she obviously sees something here that you don't.

"These are very well-crafted scrolls," Siora opens. "I could feel the mana coming off of them as I walked by."

The shopkeep nods before answering in a low, raspy voice. "You are a very sensitive and powerful mage," he compliments her.

"Yes, she is! She knows so many strong spells!" you answer enthusiastically. Siora probably would have been a bit more modest but you want to try hyping her up to possibly get a better deal later.

"Yes, I can see that," he answers with a grin. "Many strong spells, indeed," he continues as he reaches a hand out from under his cloak, pointing a finger at Siora's mark on your lower abdomen.

"May I browse these?" Siora asks in a much more professional time than before. It's obvious in her voice that she wants to change the subject.

She already has one in her hand when she gets a nod in response. "If you have any questions please ask," the shopkeep offers.

Siora doesn't even respond to him. She's already opened the first scroll and is intensely analyzing the text and diagrams on it. You can't read the text and the diagrams make no sense to you but the way she studies it so intensely makes it obvious that it's some type of spell scroll. Unhappy with the contents of the first scroll, she rolls it back up again and opens another. This one has the same type of script scattered all over but the diagrams are completely different. Siora only glances at this one for a few seconds before tossing it aside and opening a third.