Is the next store next door?

My calves and feet might as well be blown off by cannons at this point. The throbbing pain of having to walk up and down the sloped streets to find a single store was enough; but now that we're half lost, I fear we may simply all collapse from the strain and roll all the way down to the docks. Finally finding the proper shop; one marked by a sign that resembled clockwork macinery within a skull, I plop down onto the nearest bench.

"The people of this town can't be normal. This is hell! Leg hell!" I gripe.

"The rooftops were easier to use than the street..." Angrily mutters Ashes.

Zana said nothing; simply rubbing her legs with her hands.

Gabriellaa, however, seemed to be entirely fine. Wether it was her Amazonian half, or her Dwarven half that gave her such stanima and grit; I'll never know.

Seeing the rest of us worn to the bone, however; she began faking fatigue of her own. "Oh, that was quiet a trek. Woo... Zana, Ashes, you two should head on into the store. You two know the most about machinery, me and Monster would be better suited not taking up any space."

The other two are about to finish gasping for additional air when she adds. "Maybe they have a Kinum's Sphere in there. Nice, cool air..."

Before I know it, the two Saltmoore girls are making their way into the store; leaving Gabriella just enough space on the bench to sit as far from me as possible. She sits, tensed up; her heart beating regretfully about something; not sending me in the shop with the others?

Is she's still mad about Cilla bringing Sam? I wonder. Surely not; it's been days.

"So... how's your brother?" I ask. "I haven't really had a good talk with him since the whole 'Tomoko' incident."

"...Oh, please don't mention that around him." She says; easing from her tense posture as she thinks of her kin. "He's been beating himself up about it. I keep telling him it's not his fault that she tricked him, but he won't listen."

The door to the store opens; out pops Zana and Ashes, with a few coins which jingle beautifully in the formers hands. The sound sets my senses ablaze with envy; those could be in my horde, after all.

Damn it! I need to stop doing this...

"Hey big guy; you ok?" Asks Ashes, those damn coins now gleaming in the sunlight.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I say, shooting straight up from the bench. "Where too next?"

Ashes stretches her legs, prepping for the coming hell. "We need traveling food; stuff that doesn't go bad any time soon. Cilla and Zana can hunt game on the road, but we'll need stuff for emergencies. Getting stuck in a big pit, finding someone who's starving..."

"Sam eating all the food..." Adds Gabbie.

Oh boy...

"Hey, she isn't an Acidic!" Says Ashes defensively. "I mean, I think not... She turns into objects."

Already walking downhill towards an unknown shop, I ask a simple question. "A what-now?"

"Cilla's gonna be mad if we tell him..." Worries Zana; pulling at the brim of her hat.

Gabriella smiles at hearing this. "Well then, I suppose I'll tell him then."

"Gabbie! How cooould youuu!" Ashes exclaims in jest, a massive, mischievous smile forming on her face.

Gabbie clears her throat, doing her best mock impression of my Handler; dry, emotionless, and matter of fact. "Slimes can very between three different sub-species, Solidifying, Acidic, and Multiplying. Solidifying Slimes can turn their bodies into weapons; stretching and hardening as they see fit. Acidic Slimes can melt flesh from bone; the most well known being Melt'as, who can melt someone, then assume their form. Multiplying Slimes can divide by mitosis into even more of their kind, all controlled by a single mind. Slimes are usually only one of these types, but can evolve or crossbreed to create a mixture of two."

Trying not to laugh at the impression, I say. "Well, she's definitely a Solidifying type. She smacked me across a room with a single punch. She also dissolved some food in her body..."

"Oh, that's just how they eat." Says Ashes. "She'd have to melt something stronger than food to be considered an Acidic."

I begin to thank the Gods in my mind as we approach the downward shop; it's sign being a traveling pack with teeth, munching down a massive meal.

"Aww... It's a little Mimic." Says Zana, making a small hugging motion with her arms. "Mimics are so cute."

Having being given a good few lessons on the variety of monsters out there, this was the last thing I expect to hear from our mousey mage about the "Vile Spawns of Avarice."

"Cute?" I ask.

"I mean, y-yeah..." She mutters. "They have those big goofy tongues; when they get caught out, they pop out their tiny little legs and run away..."

"They eat people." I add.

The Sorcerer fires back. "So do bears! They're so cute we made teddy version!"

Ashes giggles to herself before asking. "Do you still have that stuffed Mimic your grandma made you? Little Chomper?"

"...Maybe." Zana says as she tugs at the bim of her hat.

"It's in your hat, isn't it?" Says Ashes.

"...Maybe." Zana says, pulling the hat down over her blushing face.

"Sorry to interrupt, you two, but how much gold do we have?" Asks Gabbie. "Those parts were, what, four pieces?"

Ashes nods, handing over the gold in question. "I'll admit; it was quite a bit less than I thought the fuel pump would sell back for..."

"With how much we spent on other supplies, we're going to be a bit short to buy all the food we'll need..."

The three collectively turn to me, and I instinctively grab my coin purse and assume a defensive positon. "Well, doesn't Zana have any..."

"I'm actually out of gold..." Says the once affluent Elf. "Ashes used a lot of it to buy the parts to make my arm, and I gave her the rest for the general supplies."

"Well, maybe we could just get some from the Runacathy..." I suggest.

"They already gave us shelter and food for days." Says Ashes, tapping her foot.

I look down at my precious, lovely, jingle-jangle-ing coin sack; filled with my horde.

"H-how much." I ask, gritting my teeth.

"Just nine more..."

That only leaves me with... one.

I begin to tear up as I pull out my first ever coin, and throw the sack over to Gabbie; at which point, I double over, falling onto my hands and feet in primordial disgust.

"I'd like to die now..."