Merchant & Monster Girls Ch. 08 Pt. 01

The trio made their way back to the bustling ring of the shopping district, stopping in front of a statue of what must have been some iconic blacksmith when Devin turned to the girls.

"I have a shop I want to visit. I thought of a few presents I wanted to buy the two of you. Do you mind getting a head start and finding a seamstress? Oh, and Azalea, can I borrow the drawing you did of... my... er... me?"

Azalea gave him a quizzical look. "You mean the one of your penis? Sure." She dug around her bag, found her notebook, and handed it to him.

Fluttering around his head excitedly, she demanded, "Does it have something to do with our presents? Does it? What is it? Tell me!"

"Azalea, dear. Herd-mate probably wants to surprise us, or else he wouldn't be going alone," interrupted Reina.

"Ahhh, okaaaay... fine, but in return, we'll surprise you with our new outfits!"

"Won't you need formal attire too, herd-mate?" the female Whitehorn asked.

"I have an outfit from when I attend guild banquets. I'll wear that."

Devin handed Reina two pouches. "I know I said I wasn't going to spend the money from our potential client, but I don't know the current market price for formal attire, so if possible, try to haggle or negotiate a lower price."

She put the pouches in her belt. "I'll try. Should we meet you here in three hours?"

"That's a good idea. We can have a late lunch together and then go back to Jeni's to change," Devin suggested and then waved, disappearing into the crowd.

"Shopping time with Reina! I want to wander around and window shop for a while," the fairy announced, flitting ahead of her fellow mate.

"Alright."

—----------

As a native, Devin knew most of the shortcuts between all the major city blocks. He was calculating the time he'd need to get to the workshops he had in mind when he had a sudden realization. Mavis said a carriage would be sent for them, but he had failed to mention where they were staying.

He hustled back to the post office to inform the nonplussed secretary of the forwarding information for their inn. She informed him she'd take care of it personally, and he left, dashing back across town.

Nearing the western gate of the city, he slowed his pace, taking a moment to lean against the corner of a building near an alley to catch his breath.

"Lovely day for a walk!" said a rough, squeaky voice.

He looked over his shoulder to spot a pint-sized individual with arrogant, ruby eyes leaning against the opposite wall. Not sure if they were talking to him or not, Devin ignored them.

The mystery figure pushed back its mud-stained hood. Two substantial, rounded ears covered in gray fur with a soft pink interior twitched in expectation. One of the ears was missing a chunk. She brushed away her matted auburn hair. "Are your girls going to be ok with you not around?"

He put a hand on his dagger. "Is there a reason I should be aware of why they wouldn't be ok?"

She slunk back. "Hey now, let's not get hasty. It's not that I'm interested in them specifically. I'm more interested in what I can do for you or for them."

She made a little bow, and the edges of her cloak fell open to expose her bare midriff. A thick belt covered her small chest. A narrower belt wrapped around her waist. On the lower belt was a run-down pouch with a broken button and a rusty dagger attached. Two thinner belts crisscrossed around her hips, meeting between her legs and leaving the rest of her undernourished frame uncovered.

"I've been following you... sorry, no, that came out wrong. I noticed you enter the city and saw a curious sight: a rare Whitehorn, and an even rarer fairy, both together with a well-to-do merchant. I have an eye for opportunity and wondered if you might be in need of a guide."

"I'm a native of this city."

"Oh." She seemed a little taken aback. "Well, then... how about I guide your companions around... seeing as you seem to have other errands?"

"I usually don't make it a habit of entrusting things I care about to those I haven't established trust with," Devin stated with little emotion.

"Now, now! Don't be like that. I'm just a hungry ratgirl who's trying to make some coin. Trust needs to start somewhere, right? How bout my name?" She opened her arms placatingly. "The name's Chitchat. It's what most of my clients know me as. I'm sort of a rat-about-town. I take all kinds of jobs. Sometimes I'm an information trader, other times a guide. I'm pretty confident in my knowledge of most of the stores in town and where to find them."

Seeing him ponder her request, she added, "You don't want your friends getting lost or taken advantage of while you're away, do ya?"

The offer was tempting, but the person making it gave him pause. She looked trustworthy enough, but anyone could throw on some dirty rags and rub some dirt on their face. Her gaunt features were not so easy to fake, however.

While violent and major crimes were fairly rare, there was no lack of theft, bribery, and petty crime in a city where merchandise, and often times cut-throat commerce were common trades. Merchants were no strangers to risk. What required skill was knowing how to manage it and, if possible, use it to your advantage.

That didn't apply to his girls, though. As his treasure, he felt it unlikely to be too cautious with them. Yet, it seemed in bad taste to be so miserly with someone as down-and-out as this girl.

"I won't be gone long. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Then how about I offer my help to you. Wherever you're going, I might be able to suggest a cheaper alternative."

Chitchat worried he was taking too much time to decide and tried to press him. "Please, sir, it's been a long time since I've eaten." She tactically gripped his arm, pressing herself into it.

Devin expected her to smell worse than she did. Something between sour wine, wet fur, and perhaps desperation? It was, at the very least, a sense of urgency. He wasn't averse to helping someone in need. He often tossed a few coins to the most needy-looking.

She squeezed his arm. "Isn't it better to earn one's bread by being industrious instead of begging?"

Devin decided to test her a bit. "I won't be gone long, and the girls should be fine." With a curt brusqueness, he dislodged her from his arm and walked away.

Chitchat looked startled at the sudden shift in attitude. She was going to make another offer, but he was already several strides away.

Devin ducked behind a corner and looked back toward the alley. Chitchat fell back against the brick wall and sank to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest.

'Doesn't look like she has any accomplices, nor is she asking anyone else. In his experience, charlatans tended to immediately move to another target if their first victim didn't prove fruitful. Guess I'll take a chance.'

He returned to the dejected ratgirl, but she didn't look up until he was right in front of her.

"What are you doing back?"

"I changed my mind." He showed her five vols. "Half up front and half when I return. Give this to them, so they know I hired you." Wrapping the coins into his handkerchief, he held it out to her.

Warily, she held out her hand and took it. "But that is way too..."

"I'll be back in three hours. They should be wandering around the clothing ward."

Before she could say anything more, he left again, leaving her bewildered.

Without further delay, Devin arrived at his destination in the southern half of the city, on the border of the old-town district.

'This can't be right. It's too small!' Devin stood in a vacant alley, nestled at the end of an empty street. He thought this was the address to the craftsman he was seeking. Rumors told of a woodworker who took unusual commissions, but he had never been to this part of town. All that stood before him was a marble wall with an elaborate limestone door deeply inlaid with runes.

The runes he used to keep his goods cool or used in everyday life were from a branch language, a dialect of the original. The runes in front of him, while similar geometrically, were older. Devin had no idea what they meant, and few people probably did due to their baffling complexity. Aside from syntax, the timing could also change the meaning, depending on the time of day or even the season.

Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about any of that. A frayed cord hung to the side of the door with a sign that read:

Ring twice: order

Ring thrice: delivery

Ringing twice, he felt a slow rumble, a grinding of stone-on-stone, under his feet as a crease appeared down the left edge of the door frame. From the blackness, an unnaturally strong and rocky hand grabbed his shirt and yanked him inside.

The entrance sealed shut, leaving them in darkness. He put out a foot to steady himself but felt only air. As he stumbled, the strong grip held him up while simultaneously pulling him down what he quickly realized was a stairway.

"Uh, excuse me? Could you stop tugging on my clothes?" His escort remained silent but paused. He felt his shirt let go, and his wrist was grabbed instead to continue with their slow, lumbering footfalls.

"Er... if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me if this is the workshop of Antoris the woodsmith?"

Silence.

The unusual reception had him a little on edge, but a Dwarven workshop being underground most certainly wasn't unheard of. Reaching out his left hand, he felt a stone railing. It felt curved, and by the way the faint gleam of light below them kept rotating without passing behind them, he guessed they were on a circular stairwell.

The air, aside from being cool and dry, was surprisingly fresh. A faint draft issued from beneath them. He lost track of their descent after the fiftieth step, but they soon passed through an entrance in the floor.

The room opening below them was the same as the one above, only this one was lit with purple and orange crystals sticking out of the rock walls. Calling them a wall would have been an injustice to the creator. Hewn from the rock were massive pillars shaped like leafless trees with expansive branches holding the stairway and the ceiling aloft. Between the pillars were murals -- illustrations of rocky figures planting trees and maybe flowers.

He could now see his silent chaperone in the light. The most noticeable feature was her height. She towered over him. He guessed she was nearly nine or ten feet tall. Initially, he thought she was a gnome since they were known to be a quiet type of earth elemental. However, he dismissed that idea since her movements weren't quite fluid or natural. The smoothness of her skin and the massive, spherically cut rubies acting as joints were too unnatural.

She was naked... naked as a white marble statue could be. She didn't possess any of the finer details one might find on a completed work, namely nipples or genitalia, and he wondered if maybe she was an unfinished or trial design. Whatever the case, the creator seemed to appreciate large breasts and long hair.

He didn't expect an answer but attempted, "Are you a golem? Can you take me to your creator?"

For the first time, she stopped and regarded him. A pair of rough-cut ruby eyes stared down at him, processing his request. Golems had varying levels of intelligence. Most had at least basic commands they accepted or understood even if they couldn't speak.

She obliged, though not in the way he expected. Feeling himself go weightless, she scooped him up in her arms. He wasn't feeling very princess-like, despite being in the cliche carrying position, and he flailed a bit as she set off with a faster gait down the stairs.

Devin calmed down and appreciated the faster speed even though he couldn't appreciate the wall murals at leisure.

She looked down over her generous chest, squeezed him tight against it and jumped the rest of the way to the floor below. Neither the floor nor her legs were soft, so he felt a big jolt from the landing. She made a sharp turn upon landing and passed through one of four archway exits from the room.

Plunged into darkness once more, they passed swiftly through another archway. As she slowed her pace, Devin's jaw dropped. They were in an extensive cavern with cerulean-colored pools separated into square, uniform sections. Inside each pool was a singular, tall, and narrow rock-like structure, each of a different color.

"What is this place?"

She pointed at herself, then at the pool.

"This is how you were made?"

Leaving his question unanswered, she passed through a wide door on the opposite side of the room and unceremoniously deposited him in the center of a brightly-lit room that smelled dry, dusty, and yet sweet.

He stood up, brushing sawdust and woodchips off himself, and beheld the magnificent master carpenter's dream that lay about him. Planks of varying trees, cut and sanded, leaned neatly against three walls surrounding large workbenches. On the left and right tables were hand saws, chisels, planes, and adzes were neatly arranged around half-finished products.

Through a hole next to the door frame he had entered, water flowed from the previous room. It wrapped around the edge of one wall and down through a hole in the floor. It likely powered the vertical saw that adorned a corner. At the center table, a red-bearded dwarf sat whittling on something Devin didn't recognize.

Without looking up, the dwarf bellowed, "Ruby! Why in the name of the Great mountain did ya come through the pool room?"

The golem, Ruby, made no attempt to answer and instead took her place by his left side.

Without receiving a greeting or introduction, Devin stood awkwardly and said, "You must be Antoris the Dwarf!"

"Is that what yer eyes be tellin' ya's, or do you just have a gift for compulsively stating the obvious?"

"Sorry, I meant no disrespect. I was unsure if this was the right place, given the... um... abrupt greeting by your assistant and the location of your workshop."

"Woodworking is my profession. Gems and golems are my hobbies. Expensive hobbies, I might add. I don't like going above ground -- too many people to deal with! Introductions, especially so. I'm also not overly fond of talking about most things or answering questions, so place your order and don't ramble."

Devin handed him a slip of paper with Azalea's drawing.

The dwarf looked at it for a moment, frowning. "Yer wants me to make... these?" He sighed and slumped on his stool. "My first customer in weeks and they turn out to be a pervert."

"It's not for me. It's for a fairy friend."

"I don't care who it's fer."

I can make these tiny... toys, but I don't have any ravishwood big enough to make the big'un. You want the same wood for all of them?"

"Does that mean you'll make it?"

"Are ya daft on top of having poor eyes? I got a reputation for being reclusive but won't be havin' one for turnin' down a customer."

Devin thought for a moment. "Cedar for the box, white oak for the knife-sheath, and ravishwood for the others. I've heard the last is a bit rare and hard to find, so I'll pay double the normal price."

"Ya bet yer coin purse yer will. I hope you don't mean to stuff your fairy with this!"

"The big one is for someone else."

The dwarf showed no surprise. "Should take me about two-and-a-half hours. Ya can take a seat over there." He pointed a stubby finger to an overly-decorated stool in the corner.

Turning to Ruby, he whispered something into her ear, and they both separated: She went into a back room while Antoris disappeared into a side room and then returned with several choice pieces of lumber. Devin watched him measure, mark, cut, and repeat until he grew bored.

"Go ahead; ask yer questions."

"Excuse me?"

"Questions! Everyone has them."

"But you said..."

"My hobby is the small exception. Now, go ahead before it starts leaking out ya ears. Ya have the same look ever'one has when they see ma girls."

"Oh, then... um... do they have names?"

"The one er'brought a here, as you already heard, is Ruby. She's the third of four I've built. Sapphire and Emerald were the first and second rudimentary prototypes. They are out digging a new tunnel."

"Who's the fourth?"

"Diamond." Antoris rang a silver bell on the corner of the desk. From a different side room entered another golem. Earlier, Devin considered Ruby to look quite advanced, but she barely held a stalactite to her sister. Diamond was more normal in height and also naked, except for a craftsman's apron. Meticulous attention was given to her features. Her face was expressionless, fixed with either a neutral or gentle smile, depending on the angle. Her skin was glossy and smooth, with a glassy opaqueness overlaid to protect the milky white, tan and light-brown wood pattern underneath. Very fine veins of red-opal, and malachite-green just under her skin connected to the diamonds acting as her digits and joints. Her hair was chiseled to be long and wavy, a portion covering her left eye.

She gracefully glided across the room on slender legs, her movements precise and willful. Assuming a demure position slightly behind and to the right of her creator, she faced Devin, bowed, and gave him a generous view of her cleavage.

"I have an owlchemist friend who's working on her first golem," Devin commented.

"What's 'er name?"

"Jeni-feather, over in the manufacturing district."

"Why does that name sound familiar? Oh, of course! Old man Nílo's assistant. I heard a rumor he took someone in. I thought it false since he's even more of a recluse than I am -- does all his business transactions via proxy. Maybe he felt he was getting too old for everything. How far along in her work is she?"

"She's never showed me."

"Poor friend who doesn't ask about their friend's hobbies -- especially those that involve pouring a large amount of their money, time, and life into it."

"I can't argue with that," Devin lamented.

"Diamond is my latest and first fully-complete construct," revealed the older dwarf proudly.

"She's a masterful-looking piece of work," Devin agreed.

"I'm especially proud of her eyes... multifaceted semi-precious gems."

"They remind me of some insect demi-humans. Does she have..."

The dwarf pulled Diamond's apron aside, revealing two pink nubs. "Rose quartz for her nips. Interchangeable pussy."

"I like the amethyst clematis you have in her hair. My fairy friend has a dress of the same flower."

"It's slow, delicate work carving flowers from gems but well worth it."

"Is her body from stone or wood, and what are those veins?"

"You saw those things in the other room, under the water? It's petrified wood -- more specifically, petrified dryad wood. Spotted a branch from an exotic merchant. Bought it for almost nothing since he thought it was just a pretty rock. It was a small piece, so I couldn't do much with it. I regrow and graft on bigger parts."

"Why not just use regular stone or wood for all of them?"

"because certain materials are more conductive to affinity. The grandfather of golemancy discovered a way to infuse one's own affinity, into inanimate objects. I ain't sure why it works, but things that were once alive conduct better, but other things can be used. My girl's core uses a chunk of amber," he explained while tapping a honey-colored teardrop embedded under her clavicle. A lot also comes down to what's available and what can be afforded."

"Rarer materials; high cost. Makes sense."

"And lastly, what the creator knows how to work with. Since I know a thing or two about mining, gems and rocks are easy enough for me to work with. All depends on the creator, but you can find a bit of a pattern depending where you go. There are very roughly three kinds. The middle kingdom's are generally made from clay, porcelain, and clockwork. Down in the desert lands, I've heard they use the flesh of their dead or some such morbid thing."