Jane

- seasoned traveller; has scoured every corner of Sornieth to travel to each and every market
- master bargainer but never seems to buy anything
- rarely ever gets sick
- always smiling, but not an ear to ear smile, more like a warm grin
- often accused of stealing minerals when in reality her familiar is to blame
- spends no time grooming but strangely is never dirty

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Jane loves markets. She goes to the local trader's market every week, and knows the names of every stall owner (but no-one seems to remember hers, unfortunately). One day she overhears Alexis and Emilia, the owners of the miniature pot-plants nursery, discussing the mysterious “Emporium” that’d popped up from seemingly no-where and stolen all their customers. Jane is throughly intrigued by their descriptions, and promises herself that she’ll explore it thoroughly, after she makes her routine visit to the swipping family.

The stand is less busy than usual. Jane could see Swipp energetically advertising Tricolor Yapper familiars. As usual, the price is in the form of miscellaneous items; in this case black wolf pelts and micro deer. Jane watches as a snapper approaches lugging the pelts while his guardian friend herds the deer. Swipp welcomes every item and animal into the depths of his cart and politely asks the snapper and guardian to wait while he returns with the yapper.

Jane, being a naturally curous dragon, pokes her head just a little into the entrance of the cart, so that she can see inside. The small cart disguises a tunnel which crawls deep into the ground - the family must’ve enlisted ridgeback help to dig it.

Sounds of squeaking echo upwards, and lantern-light approaches. Jane sees Swipp wheel a cartload of wolf pelts to the bottom of the vertical tunnel. No … not just a pile of pelts. A nest.

3 or 4 yapper puppies squirm in the hollow of the nest. Swipp picks up the largest sibling, calms it down with a juicy leg of deer, and begins climbing the ladder leading to the outside.

Jane moves aside. Soon Swipp appears and presents the snapper and guardian with their new familiar, as well as a brochure on yapper care. The trio leaves happily, and so does Jane. Her day is just beginning, there’s an emporium to explore, and she can tell it’ll be a long day.