Rods are the pillars that hold an Esoteric Fisherman up.
They serve as the primary force that connects the fisherman to the fish, therefore having good rods was of the greatest importance of Alaric.
Thus, proper rods must be selected. Although the rods at Obese Carp were alright, they would be insufficient. Sure, for a normal fisherman, fishing up normal-ass fish, they would be awesome. Exemplary even.
But they wouldn't do for Alaric. He needed more for less. Life was all about maximization, and getting more for less. Being able to control and mediate how much more and how much less is the true greatest skill anyone could have. If one can get more for less, they will be eternally content.
Whether it be getting more food for cheaper, or anything else, it needed to happen.
Alaric decided to wander the streets. He switched gears. He now decided to head to the fisherman's guild. There maybe he could not only get some of the information that he wanted, but also purchase old rods off of a fisherman.
There were pros and cons to buying a used rod. There was a certain insurance in quality, if they had been used before there was a notion of possible usage, albeit with more damages now. There was also the pricing side of things. Used things were almost guaranteed to be of a lesser price point.
"Alright. I'll head to the fisherman's guild. It'll be fine if it takes me a sec, my boat won't be ready for a while anyways." Alaric thought. No matter what, he wouldn't be able to start fishing until his boat was ready. But now, he had entered the stage where the emphasis was on obtaining information.
Alaric started walking again. The clothes and machete he carried around with him were weighing on him a little. He wasn't the strongest person, and the stuff he was carrying was heavy.
The fisherman's guild was near the outside of the city on the west side, so Alaric would have to traverse a while. The city was relatively large, but it was easy to navigate with exclusively straight roads forming a grid-like pattern.
The farther one got from the city center, the more suburban the city became in vibes. Outside the city it was structured similarly. The city got more the closer to the gates it was. The strips of the city that headed further into the center were the expensive areas. In between and on the edge of the city was where more of the residents lived a less rich life.
The city also had external suburbs, being working class towns with tradesmen, some who would commute to in the city. The farmlands and the peasant towns were on top of the great slope, and then those spread out into plains for a while, even the agricultural towns thinning out more the further inland they came.
Human society was mostly based near the edges of continents. The other beasts of the world gravitated more towards the center, thus creating a natural spread. Despite much of civilization being centered on the outside of civilization, the truly most powerful countries were on the inside of continents. Despite the dangers of the beasts and monsters, with truly talented mages and warriors, if those beasts were to be slain, the rewards would be enormous.
The central cities often contained two or three mages and warriors that had true power over humanity.
Alaric was once again getting sidetracked thinking about the world. But it was fine. He had been sitting on a bench resting while he contemplated, so he was regaining his strength for the rest of the day.
"Ehh, I'll check out the guild tomorrow. It's already five and I haven't had lunch." Alaric thought.
He was embracing his inner sloth. His plans had already changed twice regarding the poles.
Thus, after his rest on the bench, he set off back to the inn to put stuff away for the night. He had done much the past two days, and haven't had good time for rest.
"Proper rest is the foundation of strength and consistency." Alaric remembered his father's words. Alaric used to just want to toil in the fields endlessly to distract himself from his lack of a social life or any meaning in his life, and he often got overly exhausted.
"Man, I was like the perfect peasant…." Alaric reflected on his peasantry and how peasant he was.
He imagined the feudal lord of his region crying himself to sleep knowing that he lost someone who would be in the GOAT debate for the greatest peasant of all time.
But Alaric was resolute. He was no longer destined to be a peasant. The aroma of esoteric fish made him mentally float up in the air and float towards the wafting fragrance.
It was time for rest now. Alaric grabbed his bags as he started to head over back to his inn.
He walked back through the economic district and passed by the Wolf Slayer guild. It was now six and he was entering the residential area where his inn was. The rat had remained on his shoulder the entire time. He would be fed soon. Soon.
He was enclosing on the inn before he noticed someone behind him holding a fishing rod.
They were tall, very tall. Now that Alaric was looking at them, they were about seven feet tall. Not many people were seven feet tall.
They were pointing to the fishing rod.
They kept pointing at it.
They were clearly trying to get Alarics attention.
Alaric was definitely interested. Not only did he like fishing rods, he also liked tall people, male or female. So it seemed like a win-win scenario.
Just in case, he took out his machete and pointed to it a couple times.
The tall person waved their hand no, and then beckoned Alaric to come,
"Yeah I'll go over. He thought. This would be a useful encounter if it involved getting a fishing rod.
As he got closer, he saw the persons face.
There were horizontal lines going across the length of their face, they looked like some kind of… scarring?
"Huh, they kind of look like a worm." Alaric thought.