Page 27 of The Orc Chief's Baker
What if he decided he didn’t want to trade with her after all and instead wanted to pursue a conquest? She bunched up her skirts.
“Slow down!”
She blinked in surprise and glanced to find Tobbis laboring beside her, gasping for breath with his forehead beaded withsweat and his underarms drenched despite the chill of the morning.
“Sorry.” She slowed her gait.
“I’ll just go walk in back.” Tobbis gasped.
And then Ronhold showed up right next to him, pulling their own cart of shoes. “Keep pace. It’s shameful to leave a woman walking alone.”
Trinia wasn’t fond of Tobbis but she felt a little bad as he paled. His labored breathing continued as they walked on.
“So, Trinia, what new wares do you have?”
Trinia blinked at Ronhold’s question and was especially shocked that his eyes were alight with eager anticipation. “Just the usual things today.”
“Oh?” His disappointment was obvious.
“Did you want something specific?”
“No. I was just thinking that you might try to experiment with more profitable wares more often. Your mother used to come up with new recipes every moon.”
She had. Trinia’s mother had adored baking and was naturally gifted. Trinia was good, but she more often than not followed the recipe exactly.
“Your bakery could be far more lucrative if you found recipes that were irresistible,” Ronhold continued.
“I didn’t think my profitability would be much interest to you.” Trinia tried to keep the tension out of her voice. Ronhold was a shrewd and calculating businessman. He had an innate ability to find town laws that worked in his favor and did not hesitate to run competitors out of business.
She’d never worried though, because baked goods were the absolute furthest thing from shoes.
Ronhold’s expression shifted then. His eyes narrowed and his lips quirked into a grin, and Trinia suddenly felt incredibly small next to his large, burly frame.
“We’ll talk of this another day.”
Talk of what?
“Have a good trade, Trinia,” Ronhold said as he moved off toward his usual spot.
The trade took place in a location set an equal distance between Oakwall Village and Rove Wood Clan. The flanking birch trees on either side of the makeshift pavilion spiraled up and twined their branches into a roof to keep the weather out. The mossy ground was soft underfoot. The lower branches of the trees had been adjusted to make tables for each of the craftsman to display their goods upon. It smelled of clean soil and crisp frost. Birds sang in the trees above. There was an overwhelming sense of peace here. Serenity.
It had been built by the orcs using magic centuries prior and she wasn’t sure if the tranquility was their doing or if it was simply a byproduct of their communities’ continued harmony. Hundreds of years of calm that allowed their two communities to survive in these woods. They were the only ones here. The nearest human town and orc clan was a full two-day walk out of the Rove Woods completely. Too far to even trade with.
But there was security in that. Outside these woods, there waswar. A war that Trinia never even thought much about. A war that the orc she was going to trade with today had seen firsthand.
Tobbis dropped her hand cart hard enough that itthunkedto the ground and a few loaves fell out. She would have censured him for dropping them, but the boy was red faced, covered in sweat, and shaking from the exertion. His shoulders were hunched as he took a moment to catch his breath.
Despite her irritation, she was grateful he’d pulled her cart. She grabbed one of the rosemary loaves from the pile and held it out. “Here. Thank you for helping me.”
The winded boy screwed up his nose. “I don’t like rosemary.”
Trinia let out a long sigh and looked back at her wares. Despite her reservations, she plucked one of the vanilla cookies out of the basket and held it out.
His face brightened, and he snatched it. He returned to his father’s side without a word, stuffing his face as he went.
Trinia rolled her eyes. Despite having just come of age, he still acted like a child.
She spent a few long moments organizing her goods and watching for the orcs to arrive at their end of the trade. They usually arrived soon after the humans did.
