The common market begins right across the intersection from the Inn where Cain is staying, and the morning crowd is already getting noisy by the time he finishes eating.
"Madam, we will need another week in your lovely rooms. " Cain greets the innkeeper when she comes out from the kitchen to take a break, lighting some sort of herbal cigarette the moment she is behind the desk.
"Hear that you ruffians? That's what a man with manners sounds like. Of course, I can reserve the rooms for another week for you, darling. One gold a night for both rooms with two meals a day if you're paying by the week." Cain turns over the coins while the breakfast crowd taunts each other about who the real ruffians here are.
The first thing they see when the companions follow Cain outside is the tea vendors. They have the prime location, a corner spot at the entrance to the market only feet from their hotel room. No wonder they recommended this place.
"Alright troops, first up we find the storage boxes, then we can explore for a few hours until it is time to go look for a hunting quest." Cain declares, causing Nemu to give him a sarcastic salute.
"If you need storage boxes for your inventory, you might as well follow me. I'm on my way to open up." A friendly voice comes from below them causing everyone to look around in confusion until they see the Gnome trying to make his way through a packed crowd that mostly pretends they don't even see him.
"Oh, there you are. My name is Cain, and these lovely ladies have all found themselves short on inventory space." Cain explains, mentally signaling the ladies to circle the artisan to keep him from getting run over.
"Four sales to start the morning and an escort to work? Today is looking up already." The small, bald man exclaims, the top of his head turning red when he gets excited.
With Cain pushing through the crowd on his behalf and the companions surrounding him, the artisan has a much easier time getting to work than usual. The inventory container maker's shop is a small place, a bit off the main row, as Cain was informed last night. Either the gnome prefers to be low-key, or the Demons intimidated him into picking this spot. If they hadn't known where they were going, there is no way they would have happened across this place by accident.
"Thank you for the escort. Getting through the morning rush can be a bit of a nightmare sometimes when you're as short as I am. Nobody cares enough to look down, so they just run right over you." The gnome explains, unlocking the shop door.
Inside, the shop contains a small variety of chests, bags, backpacks, and other containers for sale, most of which are designed to be placed out on counters or dressers. That makes sense to Cain, most people aren't adventurers, so having their stuff handy in their room makes much more sense than carrying everything with you everywhere you go. The weight might not matter much to a higher-level transfer, but it does still slow you down a little when you have too much in your inventory.
So, decorative containers that can be placed out at home, and only picked up into your inventory on occasions that you need to go somewhere make a lot of sense for the majority of the city's population.
"I don't suppose you have a pantry, do you? Something large with shelves to organize my snacks?" Laura asks, flitting around the room happily inspecting the workmanship.
"A whole pantry is a lot to ask, but I do have some that are organized inside. If you take a look at this chest here, you can see that it has two internal layers, with adjustable dividers." Fizzbert, as Cain's inspection of the man's interface says, informs the curious dragon, activating a levitation spell to come up to the upper shelves where she is looking.
The shop has a strange layout, by Cain's estimation. The most decorative and expensive items are at the top, while the simple budget priced sacks are down on the lower levels of the shelving. It all ends just below waist height on Cain, but the vertical organization by price point just feels unnatural, especially for a gnomish shopkeeper, who has to use a spell to be able to reach the most commonly sold middle-range items. Surely it would make more sense to put those ones where he could easily reach them, or provide a walkway for himself on top of the display benches?
"Laura, what about this one?" Nemu suggests, holding up a large cloth bag with a divider inside. It is among the cheapest of items, but it is reasonably large.
"A shopping bag? No, you have a point, the cloth is flexible so I can fit oddly shaped items inside and still stuff it right to the top." Laura answers after a moment of contemplation.
"Might I ask, what criterion are you using to select today? Do you need something for the home? or for travel?" Fizzbert asks, trying to decide what items would actually be best for his customers.
"We are in a situation where we have very limited inventory space and will need something to keep our snacks, groceries, and miscellaneous traveling items with us in safety," Vala explains, causing the gnome to hover while he thinks.
"If money isn't too tight, I would recommend a grocery bag and a backpack each. Everyone who travels knows how to pack a backpack, and we all know how to use a shopping bag, so that is why I made them that way. Plus, in an uncomfortable situation, they can be worn or carried instead of put in inventory, reducing suspicion that you might have valuable items in your possession." He suggests, grabbing a camping pack from the other side of the room.
These are commonly used by travelers without a system or at least their mundane versions are, and they are also used by merchants, who already have their inventory full of trade goods, and have no room to be carrying a hundred small items in inventory. Adventurers also frequently carry backpacks that they can leave by the door, giving them more room for random drop items from the dungeon, so that they don't have to sort until they are finished.
It is an excellent compromise, and the plain undyed cloth of the shopping bags would fit into any marketplace without catching any attention. You could walk around all day filling it and then put it into inventory without anyone noticing it is a magical item at all.
"You know, I really do think people are underestimating the genius of your products. We heard a bit about how the quality was good, but not a single person mentioned the versatility." Cain commends the man, picking a few more backpacks for everyone, himself included.
"I appreciate your kindness, Duke Cain. I know you're not from here, but my status in town is rather low, so it isn't often that I hear good things about myself." Fizzbert sighs.
"Because you're a gnome?" Nemu asks quietly, so the people outside won't hear even with sensitive ears.
"Oh no, not at all. The problem is that my grandfather was one of the original exiles that became the crazed. He was not a good businessman, and then one of his get-rich-quick schemes killed a passerby while he was trying to come up with a way to pay off his debts to the local loan sharks. It tarnished the whole family's name, and my mother was only allowed to stay because her husband vouched for her." The gnome explains.
That explains why nobody even bothered to look down when they kicked him. It's not that they didn't see him, it's that they didn't care. If they hadn't seen him, they would have at least been expected to look to make sure it wasn't a child they had collided with, at least in Cain's estimation.
"I'll have his debts paid off soon though. It is demon law that family must pay off the debts of their ancestors, and after that, all is forgiven." Fizzbert explains on a much brighter note.
"In that case, I am glad we can help. We will need the five shopping bags, five backpacks, and that gold and obsidian jewelry box." Cain decides while the others sort through the backpacks for colors that they like.
The price is quite steep, almost a thousand gold, which severely depletes Cain's personal savings, but the happy look on the Gnome's face when the money is transferred is well worth the shopping. Plus, with the shiny black magical stone that makes up all the buildings in the city, the expensive little box will make a great souvenir to send home. Just looking at it reminds Cain of this place.
As they are about to leave, a group of large demons in suits much like Cain's barge in, then stop and give him a confused look, thinking he might be one of them. But after a moment, they scanned his system details and realized that he is a customer, who only looks like an enforcer for the local loan sharks.
"How is business, shorty? Six months left on the loan and only 500 gold left to pay off your family's debts. You've been doing pretty good." The leader commends Fizzbert in a much friendlier voice than Cain had expected.
The gnome only smiles and tosses him a large bag full of gold coins, not saying anything.
"You really did it. Just wait a few minutes here and we will get the boss over to clear out the contract." The goon smiles, happy that for once someone actually paid in full when he showed up at their door and didn't even argue about it.
That's not something that happens often. You don't take loans from his boss if you can actually afford to pay them off, but the boss was fond of the Gnome's mother, who married a friend of his, so he had bought out all the other debts that the family owed and waived most of the interest so that they had a reasonable chance to pay it all off. It took them almost a century and well into the second generation, but they did eventually get it all paid. Today is a big day for the boss, as well as for Fizzbert the Gnome.
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