Myxa Sporalis's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Myxa climbed aboard her cauldron ship and pulled the tarp off the main deck. Dust scattered in the morning light. She had learned enough—now it was time to build. She marked out space for the first vendor stall with chalk, measuring twice like her teacher had shown her. She needed something to catch travelers' eyes from the harbor. Something that announced her marketplace before they even climbed aboard. She left the ship and walked through Nereidum's outer district, where traders displayed exotic goods from distant islands. Near the spaceport dock, she found it—a tall crystal tower with spiraling ridges that glowed purple in the shadows. The bioluminescent veins pulsed softly, visible even in daylight. Myxa negotiated with the seller and arranged delivery to her ship. This would stand at the entrance to her marketplace, a beacon for anyone approaching from the water. Back aboard the cauldron ship, she continued marking vendor spaces. The first stall needed good lighting for evening customers. She remembered seeing glowing ferns at the same trader's stall—plants with curved silver-edged fronds that lit up after dark. She purchased several and placed them in clay pots near the chalk-marked boundaries. The white light they gave off was gentle but bright enough to read price tags by. Natural light meant no oil lamps to refill or maintain. By afternoon, her deck had structure. Four vendor spaces outlined in chalk. A crystal tower waiting to be mounted at the entrance. Ferns lighting the pathways between stalls. She walked to the ship's edge and looked toward the red-orange stone study hall where she'd learned her trade. That building had taught her the basics of alchemy and business. Now her cauldron ship would become a place where others could practice what they knew. The marketplace was taking shape, one careful measurement at a time.