Civilisation, round 2

The Meir family, as I found out their name was when we parted ways some kilometers before the city, thanked me for the ride, and took a few coins for the clothes they’d - now permanently - lent us. They recommended a few inns and food stalls in the city, but were overall quite eager to part ways. They stayed behind, saying they needed to prepare for the road, while I unsummoned my train.

The outline of Schwanwal stood out against the cloudy sky. Domed white brick towers rose from above a wide wall. The closer we got, the easier it became to distinguish the trees and crawling vines that covered that wall. As wide as an intercity motorway, it no doubt served as one of the larger food supplies for the city.

“We need to talk about the 35 Rolai,” I spoke, as we walked over a paved road.

Rain had washed away the sand, creating deep puddles in now-empty cobblestone lodges.

“Do we?”

Danyar, now dressed in a green tunic about two sizes too big for him, and an old red embroidered jacket thrown over it to hide the fact that it was simultaneously also too short, asked. He seemed as disinterested in the topic as he’d been in the events after the fight with the caterpillar.

I took out several yellow gems of various clarity out of my pocket. I did some quick calculations, and even with a ‘stranger surcharge’ which I was somewhat expecting, and expenses for food and gear, I calculated that we’d make about 600 Rolai. That wasn’t counting the gems I got from the centipedes, for which I didn’t know the price yet.

“Here,” I handed him 6 gems, “That’s your half of the pay, minus the 35.”

Danyar made no effort to take them.

“Do you know that no one will buy those from me, right?” He asked.

If he’d had pockets, that’s where he would have put his hands to mark a decisiveness to his refusal. Instead, he rested them on his belt.

I remained silent enough for him to figure out that I, in fact, did not know that, and that I hadn’t given that possibility any thought in these past few days.

“Alright, let’s trade them in first,” I replied instead.

As we arrived at the city walls, I noticed that many of the vines scaling them were more weathered and dried than they had appeared from afar. Higher still, wet colourful ribbons hung from the dry, leafless tree branches.

“Halt,” A woman in armour emerged from within the arch leading into the city. “That one is with you, I presume?” She pointed at Danyar.

I nodded.

“I’m going to have to check your class, mana, and active skills.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m going to have to check all the classic: class, mana, and skills.”

Crap. I'd better reactivate the seal.

“Do I need to do anything -”

“No, just allow me to access the information.”

The guard sounded exasperated, and the dark bags under her eyes linked this to a very visible and prolonged lack of sleep.

“Okay, what do I -”

White sparks flashed around her eyes. The sparks moved, lagging a bit behind her irises, which seemed to read off letters only visible to her.

“If you wish to enter, which I presume you do, you will have to update the soul-bound domination skill with the following sub-requirements. Automatic activation conditions: damage to property of value over 4 Pavai, theft of property of value over 10 Netai, attempt, successful or not, at impersonating an official in the Chamber of Royals, …”

The list went on for about two minutes. Towards the end, the guard repeated some of the items that Danyar wasn’t allowed to do several times and started stumbling over her own words. She yawned and added:

“All of that being said, just stay out of trouble. We’ve had two blights now, so people are on edge. That one might be yours and all, but the common folk will assume it’s with the Demon King.”

I nodded, not too sure what to make of that.

“Let me check that you added all of this to the skill,” The guard continued. Her eyes shone again, and she nodded before gesturing to the side. “Welcome to Schwanwal.”

I twirled the hem of my shorts as we walked under a long brick arch. I was getting a bad feeling about this.

Danyar tapped me on the leg with his tail to get my attention.

“Don’t be so gloomy,” he said, bending down, “I can still breathe and steal a third of a loaf of bread without getting into trouble.”

“I don’t think that’s funny,” I whispered back. “Do you know where we can sell the gems?”

“Any adventuring guild will take them,” He replied, as that now familiar coldness returned to his voice. “Or any desperate merchant, really. But what will you buy with that money, Chiyo?”

“Some food, a map, then we need a few things for the locomotive -”

“And then?” He insisted.

I fidgeted with the hem of my shorts some more. I didn’t have an answer .

---

“Give me the gems,” Danyar extended a hand as we approached a wooden stand that seemed to have grown from a hole in the wall of a larger building. A wooden sign with the words ‘core trading post’ hanging over it.

I obliged. Danyar put two of the gems on the counter and asked for the price. Instead of an answer, the seller told him that they didn't trade with his kind here with enough disdain to feed an orphanage. The seller then proceeded to insult him in hopes of getting him to leave.

I quickly intervened, not bearing to watch it longer than the few seconds it took me to get there.

“Hey, hey, you can’t speak to people like that!”

“Ah, the demon kin is with you, sister? I meant no offence.” The seller ran a hand along his beard, quickly shifting his demeanour. “This lot is worth 95 Rolai. Quite a haul you’ve got there…” A faint swirl of yellow light briefly loomed over the gems. “Say, sister,” he leaned towards me, “That one is quite good at hunting, eh, you wouldn’t happen to want to sell him? I can match any price.”

“Hells no!” I exclaimed, loud enough for Danyar to hear, unfortunately. Although chances were he’d heard what this man had said as well. I glanced at him to see his reaction, but he seemed utterly unbothered. He was glancing around at the other stalls, deciding on where to go next.

What a hypocrite I am…

“I just want to sell the gems - I mean monster cores.”

The seller scoffed, leaning back into his booth.

“Here,” he counted the purple coins, giving me nine stacks of 10, all neatly tied with mismatched threads going through their centers. “If you change your mind, Martin Lechant will be waiting right here,” He pulled out two more coins and tapped them onto the counter in front of Danyar.

“I’ll make sure to remember that,” I replied. For a second, I hesitated about taking the bribe, but the worry that he would get offended and send the city guards after me quickly changed my mind.

“I believe those two are mine,” Danyar whispered as soon as we walked away from the stand.

“Yes, and these …” I handed him two sets of purple coins. “Do we -”

It all clicked together. He wouldn’t have been able to enter the city without being accompanied by me, and even then, no seller would have traded with him. I hoped, for the briefest of moments, that that man’s temper was the exception, but as I looked more around the streets, I realised that there was no one like Danayr around. Or maybe there were, and I wasn’t seeing them, which wasn’t much better of an option.

“You’ve figured it out now?” Danyar asked, glancing down at me.

“Yes …” What I actually wanted to say contained a few more words, most of which were insults to this country. I almost got into another spiral of swearing at that god for taking me away from my perfectly planned and comfortable life, but I also almost instantly realised that things could have been much, much worse for me. “I guess … do you want to keep travelling together then?” I asked.

Danayar chortled.

“Want is a strong word. But I don’t have any complaints to voice. Other than about the state of my living quarters, which I am about to remedy,” He flung up the string of coins, then caught it in his palm.

“Hey,” I tugged on his sleeve, “I’ll pay for that, it’s my fault that the locomotive is so … minimalist.”

Shabby. Dingy. Sad… I’d convert one of the carts into a proper living quarters if not for the risk of it getting squashed by some monsters. Oh well, we can make this work.

Danyar gave me a long, hard-to-decipher look before agreeing.

After asking for directions, we made our way to the central market. It turned out people were much friendlier to me when I didn’t mention that I was the one to get those monster cores. For some reason, they were very keen to believe that Danyar was some kind of monster-slaying beast. I didn’t care much, if at all, for the credit, and by the fifth or so encounter, that stinging feeling in my gut that came with lying went away.

We bought a few items for the train: two cots, mattresses, linen, buckets, soap, a reserve of clothes, and a commode to store them in. Most of the artisans were more than happy to deliver them to the city gates for a few extra coins.

“I’ll go rent a carriage to get all the stuff to the train.”

“I’ll have a look around,” Danyar replied, before heading off into the metalworks section of the market.

I watched, perhaps for longer than was needed, as he checked out a weapons stand before moving to a jewellery stand.

The day was getting older, and with that came the heat. The narrow and busy city streets had already offset any coolness the rain might have brought, so I got on with my task.

Danyar joined me just as I was finishing negotiating horse rentals. He was carrying a sack of five brand new spears, as well as two new daggers on his belt.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurd amount of weapons.

“Spears break easily.” He shrugged in reply.

“So, the 15 Pavai deposit,” The stable hand crossed her arms over her chest.

“Right, and I’ll bring the horse back to the east gates at sunrise tomorrow,” I confirmed, reaching into my pocket.

“Wait, wait,” A short man squeezed through the crowd.

The stable hand raised an eyebrow, and both Danyar and I turned around to watch him. He was wearing a dark-blue felt hat that shielded most of his dark-skinned face from the sun. The hat was decorated with various feathers and shells, which matched the designs embroidered on the thin scarf he had thrown over one shoulder. His a thin white tunic, made of the same material as the scarf, loose-fitting trousers, and leather shoes.

The motifs on his clothes were rather distinct from the geometric ones everyone wore here.

“You’re that mage who saved Lucas and his kids, right? Lucas Meir. I’m his cousin, Alvos Meir,” the man caught his breath.

“That’s us. Is he alright? Did that other man - the uncle - get healed?” I asked.

“Paul? Yes, yes, don’t worry about him,” Alvos gestured dismissively. “Lucas told me you’re a mage, if you’re looking to borrow a horse, you can borrow mine for free. I’m a merchant, you see.”

“If you’re not going to do business, go away.” The stable hand snapped.

“Sorry,”

“My apologies,”

Alvos led us to the side before starting over.

“I’m looking for an escort, you see,” He explained. “I’m joining the Bastt Caravan, and I would feel mighty safer if a trusted hand, or two, were to come with.”

“You trust us?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Alvos grinned. He looked at me, then at Danayr, and his grin only grew wider.

“I trust skill, and I trust business. You bring the former, and I bring the latter. 30 Pavai per day, bed and board, what do you say?”

I looked at Danyar, who nodded.

“I say yes, thank you for the opportunity, mister Alvos.” I eagerly shook his hand.