Theron felt the grip of his mother's hand get firmer as they turned to the right. They walked along the side of the road through the river of people for a hundred meters or so, until they reached a finely crafted pedestrian bridge of stone and metal, which they used to cross the street.
After passing a quiet alleyway free of the traffic noise, the space in front of them opened up once again to reveal a market street that snaked into the distance.
A cacophony of yells and voices assaulted Theron's ears, while the bustle momentarily disoriented his vision. There were many times more people here than at the earlier main road, a counting of their numbers would be difficult to do. This was the first time in his two lives he saw so many people existing in the same area.
"Come on little Teri, let's go." said Alicia in her gentle voice, helping Theron regain his focus again, while also guiding him through the market.
Back to having his acute senses, Theron examined in detail this snakily path and what it entailed, as he walked.
Densely packed together on both sides of the street were buildings containing the stores and shops, both high and low ones, while in front of them wherever there was available space small stands were erected. Above the buildings, colorful shade sails were connecting their rooftops with each other while obstructing the little sunlight that was left at the same time; their myriads of colors blending with the golden sunlight as they illuminated the market street in a colorful fantasy-like ambience.
The street's stone-paved ground could barely be seen through the gaps of the many people walking it. Their boots and shoes' hard leather soles produced loud and distinct clicking sounds as their feet stomped on it, while metal poles, like the ones on the main road, were proudly making their presence known with their high tips sprouting out of the human sea.
All the stores, shops and stands were open; the business was good.
People kept always entering or exiting the buildings. The clamor and noise from the vendors' efforts to attract customers and the pedestrians' constant moving about and chattering filled the place but did not drown it. Instead, they were bringing a unique liveliness to the area.
One other thing Theron took notice of amidst the crowd were the many prosthetics shining every now and then. The number of those who possessed prosthetics was not overwhelming but not small either. Although he didn't know what to expect of their individual use in relation to the entire population when he first saw his father Frank having one, he sure wasn't expecting them to be so many.
Most of them males, but females not to be left out, two out of twenty of the people in this street had one or two body parts at least that were prosthetics or replacements. Some had only their palms to be prosthetic, while others had all their arm just like Frank. The were also those who had for both legs prosthetics ones, while others had wheels as their feet's replacement. Seeing one of those sliding next to him from behind in a flash, had got Theron almost jumping from the surprise.
If the ratio of the ones with prosthetics to those without was the same and for other regions and not just these few streets' area, then their numbers in the populace were ought to be significant. But it was not as if they were so great to be attributed to cultural aesthetic choices, and the many visible scars at the end of their prosthetics most likely indicated to another, more plausible cause for their body parts' losses. Accidents!
'D*mn, this world must be teeming with dangers and hazards at every corner, for so many accidents to happen. I must plan for my protection and that of my new parents promptly!' Theron shockingly realized.
He was already beginning to plan ahead on how to safeguard his new life and that of his new parents as he continued to walk. Alicia's was a must, while he calculated if it was possible to do so for Frank too.
'Well, it wouldn't be too much of a trouble to arrange for him as well.'
Alicia kept Theron close to her as they moved through the gaps in the crowd.
They passed stores and stands selling ordinary and common things, like clothing, meats, spices or even jewelry, all of which Theron found unsurprising; not at all too unusual for what he was accustomed to from his previous world.
But there were always exceptions, especially in a world that had a different energy source with multitude and amazing usages.
Throughout the long market street, they passed many vendor stands that were glowing green with mekron crystals for sale, at least half a dozen stores selling home appliances powered by them, some shops with various kinds of prosthetics on the shelves and, testament to this world's people leaving a big part of their lives with traditional, bordering historic lifestyles, even blacksmiths were present!
For Theron, it was like seeing a holographic reenactment of the extinct profession in a museum. Even half a millennium before his past life's era, blacksmiths and their trade were considered history of the history; that's how ancient the profession was. But here they were now, making repairs and hammering away next to their scorching furnaces!
There were also even shops having on display showcases cold weapons and even armors for sale, all inlaid with green glowing lines and mekron crystals embedded on them!
'Those are some insane fantasy-themed battle gears! And it's obviously science based on the energy crystals behind them, not some magic mumbo jumbo...!' that was the only thought that crossed Theron's mind as he eyed the displayed items with a near crazed gleam.
He wanted them, and he wanted them badly. To take them and disassemble them, to find how they worked, what made them tick the way they did.
But he had to endure, now was not the time to be impulsive! There will be a chance to get his hands on them in the foreseeable future. Either way, even in the off chance he couldn't control himself and went to rush towards the items, Alicia was holding his hand in a vice so strong, it would be impossible to escape it.