Daughter of Treason Ch. 04

"Attention, prominent personages of the Rat Gang:

"It has come to my attention that you have been recently attacking both Craftsman guild members and attempting to seize control of territory under the protection of the guild proper. While the running of your guild is your own affair, this belligerent expansionism is unacceptable. Therefore, let it be known that for every life the Rat Gang takes from the Craftsman Guild, through direct skirmishes or indirect bounties, one life shall be taken from this residence until none remain. Furthermore, in the event that I snuff every life in this building, I shall find new hunting grounds from which to exact justice.

"I will be watching."

At the bottom was, in a sloppy stamp, the Feyuni family crest, made with Kei's very own signet ring. Initially, she had kept it first as a reminder of her mother then, when Vera passed away, her foster-one. Now, for the first time, she had found a use for it, and so she kept it for herself. As she made her way back towards home she would have been whistling if anyone had ever taught her how. Yes, she thought, things are certainly looking up.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully; as promised, Kei had dropped off the soon-to-be cook at his house just before posting the letter, leaving her free for the rest of the day. She had changed back into her old work clothes and set to work cleaning. She hummed happily as she scrubbed out the basement, sang wordlessly when cleaning the ground floor, and remembered some of the lyrics when she got to the second story.

"Hush, my child, the sun is setting,

"the moon rises over the sea.

"And silent Sandman is meting

"out his fine sandy grains of sleep."

She paused, finding the next lyric on the tip of her tongue, but her thoughts were interrupted when, from the doorway behind her, Shino said, "That's a pretty song. Where did you learn it?"

Kei blushed. "My mother."

Shino smiled and nodded, moving around to lean against the wall before her. "Hey," he said in a surprised tone, "I don't think you've told me much about your family."

Kei shrugged. "I don't think much about them." Her neutral tone seemed to only provoke curiosity, prompting her to explain, "They're dead."

"Oh." Shino's face fell, and her own good spirits sagged. She didn't like stopping Shino from smiling. Immediately, she began to think of ways to cheer him back up. Remembering how excited he had been at setting up the forge, an idea popped into her head. "Hey Shino," she said, a grin forming, "want to go for a walk?"

<<<<>>> >

The shop was small but cluttered. Pottery stood on shelves which crowded the ceiling. The jars, vases, bowls, cups and ceramics of all kinds seemed to be very well made, though only a few were painted, and those that were seemed to be colored only sloppily. Nonetheless, all were functional and, Kei might guess, sturdy. "Kressik?" she said uncertainly. She called twice more before a rough voice shouted back, "Keep your pants on, I'm comin'!"

A few minutes later, a familiar dwarf wearing a heavy work apron appeared, took a look at her and blinked. After a few moments of silence, he said, "So, it's the lass with her own side. I take it you have more questions?"

"Not exactly," said Kei. The walk over had made her uncomfortable. "I have a friend who's interested in joining the Craftsman's guild.

"Good t' hear." Kressik waited for her to continue. She didn't. He waited as long as his dwarven patience would allow which, in this case, amounted to roughly four seconds. "Where is he?"

"That's the thing," she said, shifting her weight from foot to foot and sincerely regretting the very idea she was presently pursuing. "He's interested but he... is different."

Now it was the dwarf's turn to be amused. "We don't discriminate here, lass. Not against Halastians, Miasians, dwarves or humans."

"He's an elf, actually, but that's not the source of my concern-"

"Ah, an elf!" he said, face brightening. "I know a few elves. One of 'em is one o' the best craftsmen I know."

"Yes," she said, still unconvinced, "well-"

"He is?"Interrupted an excited voice. "Can I meet him?"

Kei winced as Shino, hood down, stepped out from behind a shelf. "I thought I told you to stay hidden until I determined it was safe." She hissed.

"Don't worry," he said to Kei who, despite herself, was worrying, "he said they don't discriminate, so it should be safe. Besides, he said he knows a really skilled elf!"

Kei's hand was hovering around her dagger, and she felt like the owner of an adorable puppy which loved to chase after carriages and didn't seem to realize the peril it so cheerfully put itself into. But Kressik seemed unshaken, if a bit cautious. "Come here, lad. Let me have a look at you."

As he inspected Shino, she grew more and more agitated; she picked up a mug and began shifting it from hand to hand. Finally, he spoke, nearly causing her to drop it. "You've got a bloodline."

Shino nodded vigorously. "Yup! I'm originally from the Wastes, back in Halast. The elf you mentioned, where is he from?"

"I don't know," said Kressik, "You'd have to ask him yourself. Your bloodline, what is it?"

"Efreeti," chatted Shino with a carelessness which made Kei set the mug back down before she broke it, "though I don't know which of my ancestors it was. We're nomadic, you see, so we have a hard time tracing much of anything too far back."

"You..." said kressik, trying, it seemed, to be diplomatic, "You're not very bright are you?"

Ah, yes. Thought Kei. Dwarven Diplomacy.

"Hey," said Shino, "I'm plenty smart, I'll have you know." He crossed his arms and raised his chin defiantly then, as if as an afterthought, "How do you figure?"

"Well, you don't seem to realize or care that your ancestry would make most folks take a dislike to you."

"Oh." Said Shino, who thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I don't think I would act any differently. I mean, if I try and be all secretive, people will just get more suspicious, but if I'm myself, they'll learn to understand me, and then there won't be any problem, right?"

Kressik clapped the much taller elf on the back. "I'm not sure about that, but I think we'll get along just fine. So, you want t' be a craftsman. What's your trade?"

"Well," said Shino, "I was training to be a weaponsmith."

"A smith?" he asked. "Well, I think you'll have plenty of business. If you have the skills, that is."

Kei was still dubious; although Kressik was sending all the right signals for someone warming up to a new acquaintance, there was something about him which made her uneasy. "Well, I haven't really worked on my own before, Shino said. "I mean, I was an apprentice before, and my mentor said I was good, but he was still there in case I needed him, you know?"

"Ah, you'll be good enough." said Kressik, and her mind gradually formed the thought, He wants something. The conversation continued as Shino launched into another explanation of his tribe and its customs while Kei tried to think of some subtle way to assess the exact nature of his desire. No opportunity presented itself, and her impatience pushed her towards the guileless method.

"Kressik," she asked, "what do you get out of this? Sponsoring Shino, I mean."

There is a saying, 'Subtle as dwarven muscle', which flashed through her mind in the instant between when she asked the question and when he answered. As luck would have it, however, Kressik gave a sheepish grin and said, "You caught me, lass. Y'see, it costs me ten gold to sponsor a new member, but I get a share of the profits they bring into the guild."

"You think I'll bring in profits?" Shino exclaimed, touched, at the same time that Kei asked, "How much is a share?"

Kressik smiled at Shino, but answered Kei first. "Well, members give one copper out of every gold for wares that they sell themselves to the guild, and of that, the guild as a whole has eight shares, the chairman has one, and the sponsor has one."

Kei did a quick mental calculation. "And you expect him to make ten thousand gold to recoup your losses? Forgive me for thinking that there's something you're not telling me."

"Hey, there's no need to get all huffy. I was jut about t' tell you that the guild gets most of its money from bein' the middleman." When, to his disappointment, neither Kei nor Shino gave an exclamation of 'oh, it all makes sense now!' he gave a long-suffering sight before explaining, "Alright, so, most craftsmen can make things, right? Right. So, they make things. But most of them aren't merchants; they either can't draw the crowds they need t' sell what they make, or else they find, as your friend here might, that they're a bit too soft, a bit too new to the city to turn a good profit. So they go through the guild.

"The guild," he continued, "is willing t' buy most everything a craftsman makes, but at little more than the cost t' make it. The craftsmen can live off of this, but it 'aint exactly royal living, which is why most of us keep our own shop. But most of what we make, we sell to the guild. The guild, bein' as large as it is, carts all these wares to where buyers are and sells 'em, making a tidy profit. The profit is split the same way, eight shares to running the guild, one share to the chairman, and one share to me, the sponsor, and since the profits of this sort generally run at about three gold for every one the craftsman makes, all I have to count on is your friend here making forty gold before he calls it quits and I come out ahead."

He stood, staring at them and, she thought, expecting censure. But all she said was a dry, "I see." He was out for himself, that much was plain, but this wasn't a zero sum game; his gain didn't mean Shino's loss. Quite the opposite, while it may not be the best arrangement, if Shino still wanted to join, it might be for the best; as Kressik had said, she doubted that he would have the heart or cunning to haggle any but the softest customers up to a fair price. And besides, though the dwarf was obviously acting on selfish motives, she knew what they were, and they did not conflict with her goals. He was a known quantity, and that made him predictable and, for the moment, no-factor. Besides, the thought to herself, if anything changes, I know where he lives. "Well, I'm satisfied. Shino?"

The elf blinked. "You're- Uh, I mean, yeah, I'm satisfied." He flashed her a thrilled smile which put butterflies in her stomach. "If I can live off the wages, it's fine by me."

"Great!" said Kressik, clapping Shino on the back roughly. "I'll go get the papers you'll be signing. They're pretty basic, just letting us know who you are and where to look for you. I'll be back in just a moment."

As the dwarf waddled off, Shino turned to Kei and, shyly, said, "I thought you would keep me from joining."
Kei blinked. "Ignoring the implicit assumption that I could have stopped you, why did you think I would?"

"'Cause he's greedy." Shino said simply.

Kei shrugged and said easily. "Everyone has their sin. Now I know his, and in this case, it doesn't hurt us." A smile crept on to her face. "Though, if you ever suspect him of cheating you, I trust you'll let me know."

"Oh, I'm just glad to have a job." said Shino with a grin so infectious that Kei couldn't help but to return it. They were still smiling like idiots when the dwarf's heavy footsteps heralded his return. Schooling her features into neutrality, she leaned against a shelf lazily and feigned disinterest while Kressik went over the forms with Shino.

They left several minutes later after Shino had been given a riddle and instructions. It was a variation on an old riddle about the ship of some great hero which had, bit by bit, been replaced over time. Theseus' Ship Paradox, it was called, but Kressik had framed it in terms of a family's heirloom rather than an ancient vessel. Kei didn't think too much on it, mainly because she thought she already knew the answer. To boot, Kressik had told Shino to meditate on it, and she got the feeling that the answer didn't matter so much as the reasoning. The instructions, on the other hand, were much more daunting, and revealed a hidden cost to joining; because he had identified himself as a weaponsmith, Shino had been tasked with making his own hammer, and making it out of solid mithril.

Mithril, sometimes called Dwarven Steel, was sturdy as its iron-based counterpart but weighed half as much, and was second only to pure adamantium in terms of both strength and skill needed to work it. Fortunately, a hammer was a relatively simple object to make, as unlike a chain, sword, or axe, it needed neither fine parts, perfect balance, nor keen edges. Still, the task was daunting, and he had been given only two days to do it.

"I mean, I just don't have that much experience with mithril." Shino said, "I've only worked with it once before, and we thought that'd be the only time we'd ever touch such a valuable metal. It's hard enough to lug around an anvil with your family without breaking your back to afford high-quality metals, you know?"

Kei shrugged. "I imagine it's less expensive than you seem to think here, and I doubt they expect a work of art; Kressik is willing to wager his ten gold that you'll make it, so I'm not too concerned."

"Yeah, but... Kei, mithril is expensive." He stared at her, as if waiting for her to get something.

She stared back. "And?"

"Kei, it's..." he struggled a moment for words. "You've sort of been spending a lot of money lately..." He trailed off.

Kei smarted. He wasn't intending it as an accusation, that much was made clear by the pained look he wore, but she still felt guilt. "Do-" Her voice quavered, and irritation at even such a small sign of weakness quickly overpowered her guilt. Schooling her voice and features, she tried again. "Do we lack the funds you need?"

"Not at all," said Shino quickly, looking momentarily relieved before relapsing into the look of an elephant in a glass shop trying very, very hard not to break anything. "It's just... we're going to have to start being much more frugal, you know?"

Kei sighed. That 'we' was clearly a 'you' in disguise. "Yes, yes," she said wearily. "And?"
"And?" Shino looked confused. "That's it."

"That's all?" asked Kei. "What were you so nervous about?"

"I didn't want to offend you!"

Kei gave a weak smile." It would take more than a gentle censure to offend me." While not entirely true as she would find later, the smile Shino gave made her glad she had tempered her response. "Come on, let's get back to the house."

The rest of the walk passed in companionable silence, and what would have otherwise been a pleasant walk instead made her heart race when he captured her hand in his. Neither of them said a word, but the blush on both of their cheeks put in the minds of several observers the not wholly inaccurate idea of new lovers.

The simple joy of holding hands was broken when they got to the house. Kei broke contact for the simple prudence of opening the door, and when she turned back Shino was wearing his 'conflicted' face. Sighing, she said, "Yes? What is it?"

His response was, as usual, cautious. "Well, I probably should go get that mithril."

Kei nodded. He obviously would prefer to stick around, but if he was to make it into the guild (and therefore secure an income for the both of them,) he had better get an early start on the hammer. "Yes, I understand."

Her tone betrayed her disappointment, as Shino said, almost pleadingly, "I really would like to stay, but-"

"Shino," she said forcefully, "I understand." This, of course, only made the elf more uneasy, and a silence fell between them. She got the feeling that her impatience had only made him feel guilty. Another idea crept into her mind, and a smile began to form on her face. "When do you think you'll be back?"

He blinked, caught off-balance by the change in mood. "Um, four, maybe five hours?"

Kei nodded, a plan forming in her head. "Alright." She nodded again, this time more to herself than her companion. "very well." She drew herself up to a regal bearing. "Let's get you the money you need and send you on your way."

She turned and headed up the stairs, and Shino followed, concerned. He caught up just as she reached the kitchen where she'd been storing the money; she still kept two backpacks stocked with enough supplies and currency for a flight from the city more for the feeling of safety than anything. "Kei, I really am sorry about this," said the elf.

She turned and put one hand on his cheek, giving him an enigmatic smile. "I know." She spun back to the packs, removing the sack with the remainder of their funds and handed it to him. "Get a good price."

She hustled him out, leaving him confused but able, at least, to do what he had to. After she closed the door, she leaned against it and gave a contented sigh. She stared into space for several moments, a soft smile of anticipation on her face.

She went back to the bathroom and retrieved the package therein. She had bought a number of things earlier, and though she did use razor, oil, and the black clothes, there was one item as yet unused. Kei changed into this last item, and marveled at how different it felt; she had spent the past few months almost exclusively in some sort of work clothes, and she was momentarily glad that she had several hours to get used to moving in something so different.

She occupied herself for the next two hours putting the groceries away, drawing water from the well, washing her work and night clothes, and generally making preparations for tomorrow. The third hour was spent for a much more immediate type of preparation; more water was drawn from the well and heated, and she considered trying to make some sort of feast, but quickly abandoned the idea in favor of a stew; having cooked only for herself and drunken Raul for several years, her culinary skills were in stretching little food into as many meals as possible, not making delectable and complicated foods.

Time passed. Shino did not show up in for hours, nor in five. By the sixth, the sun had set and Kei was getting worried, and on the seventh she had run out of both calm and patience; she was pulling off her boots in preparation to re-don her black clothes when the knock came. Her first thought was that Shino had finally arrived, and it was with relief that she ran down the stairs barefoot and threw wide the door.

Shino was there.

So was someone else.

Kei wished for a moment that she had kept a knife somewhere other than in her boot which was now a floor up and a room away. Her initial fight-or-flight response was belayed somewhat by Shino's voice, "Hey, Kei."

The man was wearing armor, just some chain mail, but that was enough to mark him as one who expected to see combat. He was enormously tall, perhaps six foot four, and yet the light burden of the elf leaning on him for support seemed enough to hinder movement. Despite his size, it seemed he was not physically strong. His skin was a dark, dark brown, marking his as a native Miasian, and his smooth features seemed to exude a kindness at odds with his military-style close-cut hair.

After ascertaining that the larger man was unarmed, her attention was drawn to Shino. The elf looked much the worse for wear, with a dark stain on the front of his shirt, centered around small series of tears. Dirt was in his hair and smudged his face, and he seemed to be standing only with the aid of the Miasian man. "Oh gods, are you alright?" Stepping forward, she put Shino's arm around her shoulder and took his weight.

"Ow," he replied, more at her rough assistance than to answer her question.

"Careful," advised the large man in a deep, rumbling bass. "I couldn't heal him all the way, so he's still pretty fragile."