Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 15

“Excuse me,” Ilyshn’ish said in the clearest and most pleasant tone she could muster. “How does one acquire coins?”

The dubious expression on the female’s face, which had formed while Ilyshn’ish was preparing herself to speak, grew even more so after she asked the question. Ilyshn’ish grew uncertain: she didn’t think it was an unreasonable thing to ask. Maybe Humans, Dwarves and Quagoa were more different than she had initially believed.

“You work,” the Human finally replied.

This ‘work’ again. Why was everything described as work? The Frost Dragons sent their Quagoa slaves to do work, but they never went about treating it as anything other than toil for slaves and tribute for Dragons. The Vampire Brides always treated it as something to be proud and happy about, but Ilyshn’ish did not understand why anyone should be proud or happy to be a slave. Now, before her, was a Human who looked very much in the position of a slave, going on about work…except now it had something to do with acquiring coins.

“What does this ‘work’ entail?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Uh…labour? You can sell stuff too,” the Human eyed her up and down. “Though, with your looks, I bet you could manage a lot more than that.”

At what she thought was a compliment, Ilyshn’ish puffed out her chest proudly…but then the female frowned. Her voice faltered at the Human’s darkening expression – why did she look so displeased?

“H-how does one acquire this ‘work’?”

Ilyshn’ish furrowed her brow. Nothing about that made any sense.

“That’s too complicated for now: what about the ‘work’ that you’ve already acquired?”

The Human looked down at the crates, eyeing them balefully.

“I need to move these to a warehouse in another part of the city by the end of today,” she said, toeing the nearest one lightly.

“So…delivery?”

“I suppose you could call it that…”

“Excellent!” Ilyshn’ish brightened, “This ‘delivery’ is a ‘trade’ that I’ve recently acquired. Where might I find the ‘delivery guild,’ that I may acquire coins–er, ‘work’?”

“There’s no ‘delivery guild’,” the Human scowled. “Are you some rich girl making fun of us poor folk?”

“No,” Ilyshn’ish replied sadly, turning her gaze down to the cobblestones of the plaza, “I’ve become poor myself, recently.”

“Oh. I, er…sorry.”

“How kind of you to say so,” Ilyshn’ish was touched. “I will see what this ‘work’ of yours entails – I’ll understand once I’ve seen it.”

The female glanced over her again. Why did everyone keep doing that?

“I don’t think someone as pretty as you needs to do something like this,” she said. “You’ll ruin your hands, too.”

Ilyshn’ish pondered the Human female’s words. By all appearances, she was pitifully weak in comparison to a Dragon. The idea that Ilyshn’ish could be injured by any of her ‘work’ was laughable indeed.

"Nonsense!" She scoffed, “If you can do it, then so can I. Go about your work: I promise that I’ll pay careful attention.”

“That’s not what I meant – ah whatever, I’m falling behind here. Just please don't get in the way or break anything…”

Ilyshn’ish received one last, suspicious look before the female turned back to the crates. She withdrew a long, ragged cloth: using it to wrap one of her hands. Another cloth followed to bind the other. Slowly working one of the crates from the pile, the Human let out a small grunt as she lifted it.

Ilyshn’ish stepped from one side to the other, noting every detail.

“Hm, hm. I see,” she said, nodding to herself. “What now?”

“Then…I carry this crate…to the warehouse,” the Human said in a strained voice as she shifted her burden around.

“Just one?”

“Does it look like I can carry more? I’ll return for the others later.”

“They won’t be stolen?”

“Of course not. Thieves’ll get dragged off by the Death Knights to gods knows where.”

"I see,” Ilyshn’ish said. “Very well, Human. Show me more.”

The female shook her head as she shuffled away, muttering something with a meaning Ilyshn’ish was uncertain of. She followed the Human and her crate before arriving at a large, hollow building constructed from thin lengths of wood. A Human male standing near its wide entrance eyed the two as they approached.

“You’re slowing down girl,” he grumbled. “I don’t send you out to chatter with your friends.”

“That’s not–”

“You keep at it like this and I’m docking your pay.”

Ilyshn’ish observed their exchange, noting familiar methods in the male’s manner. It was similar to how Olasird’arc had often dealt with the Quagoa: searching for faults in their bargains in order to renege on his obligations or impose new terms upon standing agreements. The male was much larger than the female, so the female would be hard-pressed to challenge his authority.

The female said nothing, but Ilyshn’ish sensed that she now nursed a grudge for the interaction. Perhaps, in the future, the female would grow larger and kill this male, taking over his warehouse. Then she would be the one with authority and harry smaller Humans with her demands.

Ilyshn’ish nodded in satisfaction at finally being able to draw a sensible comparison in this bewildering place. The female stomped off, and Ilyshn’ish followed. Back at the pile of crates in the crowded plaza, the Human glared up at her.

“Why are you still following me?” She said in annoyed tones, “I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”

“Because you’re still doing your work, yes?” Ilyshn’ish replied, “I promised you that I would pay careful attention.”

“So you’re going to be following me all day? I don’t understand: just what is so interesting about moving crates around?”

“I don’t think it’s very interesting, actually.”

“Faugh!”

The Human turned away and took several deep breaths as she prepared to pick up the next crate. She leaned over to grasp one, then stopped halfway as Ilyshn’ish spoke again.

“Say,” Ilyshn’ish said. “Must you carry them one at a time?”

“It’s not like I can carry more,” she replied.

Ilyshn’ish looked around, then pointed to a wagon nearby.

“Why not use one of those?” She asked.

The Human unbent herself and turned to look in the direction indicated.

“I don’t own a wagon,” the Human answered. “They’re expensive, and it’s not as if I can pull one by myself. Even hand carts are expensive.”

“Then your ‘work’ is not carrying crates one at a time to that building?”

“No…? I just have to move them over – ugh, why am I wasting my time answering you?”

She turned back to the task at hand, lifting the next crate with the same, strained, expression.

“I do not wish to follow you around doing this for the entire day,” Ilyshn’ish stepped forward, “so allow me to speed things along.”

“Like I said, you’ll ruin your pretty hands if you…”

The female’s voice trailed off as the crate she was struggling to shift around was lifted out of her hands. Her mouth gaped as it disappeared into Ilyshn’ish’s bag, which was slung over her shoulder and rested against her hip. One by one, the entire pile of crates on the ground disappeared as Ilyshn’ish grasped them lightly in one hand to place into the bag held open with the other. When the space on the plaza floor was cleared, she turned to face the Human girl.

“Is that everything?”

“That’s, uh…yes.”

“Good. Let us ‘work’.”

She strode off, and the female trailed after her. When they reached the street leading out of the plaza, Ilyshn’ish took a turn into a lonely, shadowed alley. The girl spoke up in alarm.

“W-wait, that’s not the right way!”

“It is, though?”

“A-are you trying to steal everything?” The Human’s voice rose, “I’ll call for a Death Knight!”

“Don’t be silly,” Ilyshn’ish said over her shoulder. “I do not wish to steal anything, because I have no desire to fight all the things that will chase after me. Your line of thought leads nowhere sensical.”

The Human’s mouth hung open silently mid-shout and her face screwed up in confusion at Ilyshn’ish’s reply. She picked up her pace, following Ilyshn’ish as she navigated the dark and narrow alleyways. Several minutes later, the warehouse was in clear view.

“I thought you didn’t know where to go,” the female muttered.

“I didn’t,” Ilyshn’ish replied, “that’s why I asked you to show me. After that, I knew where this warehouse you were referring to was, so I knew where to go.”

“Then you’re not new to the city?” The Human asked, “You don’t look like you’re from anywhere I know of.”

“I am new here, actually,” Ilyshn’ish answered. “My family recently arrived from the north.”

“It must be really far north, then. Everything about you makes me think of cold things. You do seem to know your way around, though: I’ve lived here all my life and I didn’t know about that shortcut – not that I’d ever try it by myself.”

“It only took an hour or so to see all the city’s paths on the surface,” Ilyshn’ish said. “This much is natural, no?”

“If you say so…wait, what did you mean by ‘the surface’?”

“There’s more below, yes?”

“I guess…”

“It’s as I’ve thought,” Ilyshn’ish nodded. “All of the cities I’ve visited so far are mostly underground. This is my first day exploring E-Rantel, but I do plan on seeing the rest whenever I have the chance.”

The same male was waiting in front of the warehouse when they arrived. His face set into a deep frown after he looked them over.

“I don’t see anything,” he said. "You quitting?"

“Ehm, we didn’t quit,” the Human female said, “Just one moment…”

The female shot her a look.

“All of them?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Yes, all of them!” She hissed.

Twenty-three crates, neatly organized into a pyramid, occupied the space in front of the warehouse a few moments later. The male had long risen from his seat to inspect them. After a few minutes, he shook his head and disappeared into the building.

“Did we win?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“What?” The girl answered in a puzzled voice.

Before the female could come up with a proper response, the male reappeared. The girl held out her palm, and he deposited one silver coin, followed by four copper ones. Ilyshn’ish looked over her shoulder and frowned down at the meagre quantity.

“Did he ‘dock’ your pay?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“N-no,” the girl answered, “this is what I was offered for the job.”

“If he was willing to reduce your reward for being slow, doesn’t that mean he should increase it for being fast?”

The two of them looked up at the warehouse male. Two more copper coins clinked against the others in the girl’s hand.

“Only because we got the space on the caravan goin’ out at noon,” he said. “This wasn’t supposed to be a courier job or anything…”

The man turned away, shouting into the warehouse for someone. The girl turned and walked back in the direction they had come from; a happy little smile on her face. Having had nearly all of her possessions stripped away recently, Ilyshn’ish thought she could understand how one could be so pleased with obtaining such a pittance of treasure.

“What will you do now?” Ilyshn’ish asked after she caught up and settled in to walk beside the female.

“I should pay you back for your help – let’s head back to the main plaza.”

They returned using the shortcut Ilyshn’ish had used; the plaza was even more crowded than before.

“It’s about lunchtime,” the female said, looking around the throng of people baking in the sun. “I can treat you to something if you’d like.”

“What do they offer for ‘lunchtime’?”

“Light meals for the people in the market and all the shops around here, usually,” she pointed to a stand where meat was being placed over a fire. “The skewers are fast and good, usually.”

Ilyshn’ish studied the selection from where they stood. The portions were pitifully small – the Frost Dragons were allowed to hunt for their food in Tob Forest and throughout the ranges of the Azerlisia Mountains. She could get far more for little effort.

“I prefer cold food – frozen would be ideal,” she said. “Is there something like that here?”

“Cold? Hm…it’s not really a meal, but they do have ice cream.”

The Human led her through several rows of stands to wait at the end of a long line.

“It’s quite popular,” she said as they settled in to wait, “but expensive. I’ve only had it once myself.”

“What do you do with your coins, then?”

“I’m saving up,” the girl replied. “Mages are in really high demand nowadays. One day I’ll have enough to learn magic…are you a magic caster as well? I haven’t seen a magic item like the one you have.”

“I can use magic, yes,” Ilyshn’ish said. “I believe your people would refer to me as a Bard.”

“Oh!” The female exclaimed, striking a fist in her palm, “It all makes sense now. You’re so beautiful – enough to easily attract attention wherever you go; the way you carry yourself is full of charm, too. Even that miser of a warehouse manager was so easily swayed…I should have known.”

“I don’t think I did anything special…ah, we appear to be next.”

They looked down at the stand. There were five barrels of different colours, each radiating an enchanted chill.

“Welcome – what flavour would you like?” The Human awaiting them said.

“Is there something meaty?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Er, I can’t say that there is,” she replied. “How about Hyueri? It’s got a refreshing flavour.”

“I’ll give it a try.”

After receiving three copper coins from the girl, the female manning the stand handed her some sort of object wrapped in paper. Ilyshn’ish peered at the small, yellowish sphere that rested on top. Doubts arose over the appearance of the ‘ice cream’: being frozen and yellow was a distasteful combination.

“Let’s head over to the fountain,” the girl handed the ice cream over to Ilyshn’ish. “You can enjoy your treat there without anyone bumping into you.”

Ilyshn’ish licked the yellow sphere gingerly, making a face as she rolled the flavour around in her mouth.

“You’re not having this ‘ice cream?’”

“No,” the girl shook her head. “I need to save up as much as I can so I can start learning magic as soon as possible. I don’t want to do this sort of menial labour forever – mages get paid a lot more.”

“What work will you do as a mage?”

“Um…I don’t even know if I can use magic at all, yet, but if I can I suppose I’ll be conjuring spices or paper or something like that to start out with. If I get better at it, I could afford to learn enchanting: that’s where the real coin is. What about you? I can’t actually imagine someone like you being poor – a Bard with your looks would surely earn plenty.”

“I would? What sort of work would this be?”

“You’re a Bard, so you can perform, right?” The girl asked, “You have a pleasant voice, too, so you must be a good singer.”

“I can sing,” Ilyshn’ish admitted, “but I only know Dwarf songs, mostly.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant by ‘up north’,” the girl seemed to think for a moment. “Strange, I didn’t think any Humans lived with the Dwarves. Do you play any instruments?”

“I have a drum…”

“I guess you sing while playing it…well, Dwarves are starting to show up here so maybe there’ll be enough to earn decent coin from soon – most of the ones I’ve seen are merchant types, and they seem to love frequenting the taverns. How about Adventuring? You’re way stronger than you look…”

“A-adventuring?” Ilyshn’ish shifted uncomfortably.

“Yes, they’ve been recruiting like crazy, trying to find talented people,” she pointed at a building not far away. “Their guildhall is that one right there, between the cathedral and the Magician Guild.”

Ilyshn’ish stepped around to the other side of the female, putting the Human between herself and the Adventurer nest.

“Aren’t Adventurers dangerous?” She said in hushed tones.

“Dangerous? If you mean what they do then yes, I suppose so. I just thought that since you’re so strong you’d do well there. They tried getting me to join too – offered to pay for my learning magic and everything – but once you’re in, you’re a government worker with no say over what you’re going to do; most people can’t stomach the danger that comes with adventuring.”

“That is a wise choice,” Ilyshn’ish nodded, “danger should be avoided.”

The food was somewhat pleasing in temperature, but she had no taste for sweet things. There was wild fruit and honey during the brief summers in the mountains, but the food that crossed her palate was from prey which she hunted down herself. As she suspected, a meatier flavour would have been superior.

“This ice cream is interesting,” she said after she finished the crunchy remains of what had held it. “I will investigate other flavours later.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” the Human said. “Um, here’s the rest of your share.”

She fished out a handful of coins from her purse and offered them to Ilyshn’ish. It was an unexpected gesture – valuables should not be so easily relinquished, after all. Ilyshn’ish held out her hand, and eight copper coins were deposited into her palm. Several calculations ran through her mind as she peered at the slightly tarnished pieces of metal.

“What will you do now?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Well, that shipment was supposed to take me all day,” the girl answered. “I’ll see if I can find some other job for the rest of it..”

“More work?”

“Yes, I can’t let the opportunity slip by: the sooner I start learning magic, the sooner I can start earning a decent living.”

“I will come with you,” Ilyshn’ish declared.

“Y-you will? I thought you didn’t find it interesting.”

“I don’t,” Ilyshn’ish agreed, “but you’ll divide your…‘pay’ with me if I come and work with you, yes?”

“Well, yes, of course,” the girl replied. “Hmm…if you’re coming along, I should find jobs that are worth our time…”

“It’s possible to work for more?”

“The city is so busy right now that they’re short on wagons for everything – hundreds of Soul Eaters were moved north for something going on in the Dwarf Kingdom, and they took as many wagons along with them. The ones left here have been fully hired out to move things around, but it’s still not enough. The demand isn’t as high as it was during the grand opening of the city, but all the local transport companies are still working on clearing up the backlog.”

With little reference to what she was talking about, the words came out as a meaningless jumble to Ilyshn’ish. She would review their conversation at a later point after she had learned more about Human society. For the time being, all that she understood was that the shortage created work, which could be exploited for personal gain.

“Show me this work,” she said. “Standing around profits us nothing.”

“Uh, right,” the Human looked around before turning back to speak again. “If you’re ready to go, I guess we should be off.”

She wiped her hand on the cloth apron over her belt and held it out towards Ilyshn’ish

“I'm Pam, by the way. Pleased to meet you.”

Pam? It seemed remarkably short and meaningless, even for a Human. Perhaps using an alias was a common practice amongst their kind, or maybe Humans were just unfortunate and meaningless beings in general.

“Just Pam?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“Just Pam,” the girl answered. “I never knew my parents, so that’s all that I have.”

The rationale was absurd. Why did one need parents for a name? Barring her father’s enclave, Frost Dragons were more likely to lay their clutches on a glacier or iceberg somewhere and leave their wyrmlings to fend for themselves than raise them personally. Names were the essence of self – the idea that one wouldn’t naturally know their own identity was preposterous. Though…she supposed that it would be safer to use an alias. Since the people here appeared to do so readily, using one herself should not draw suspicion.

Looking down at Pam’s outstretched hand, she reached out to grasp it lightly before answering.

“You may call me Shiver,” Ilyshn’ish said. “It’s a…pleasure to meet you as well.”

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