Page 22 of The King of Koraha
The woman stared at her. “Who am I to disagree with a customer? I’ll sell it to you for four osees.”
“One.”
“It’s made from the finest gamelu fibers, my dear. Imported all the way from Tarim. I can’t accept anything less than three.”
“Two. Plus you’ll show me how to wrap it around my head and neck like the locals.”
The merchant sighed and agreed, muttering about being taken advantage of. Yet she took the coins quickly enough and taught Shyla how to arrange the fabric. Rendor watched it all with amusement.
“She probably would have taken one osee,” he said. “There’s a dozen people selling scarves.”
“Yes, but I liked this pattern.”
“You do realize that if your aim was to use the scarf to blend in, you did the opposite by picking that pattern.”
“I do.”
“All right.”
Rendor muscled his way through the crowds. Shyla stayed right behind him, enjoying the ease of traveling in his wake. Eventually, they found Lota’s stand. Yegor was stacking blank scrolls next to jars of ink and styluses while Lota bantered good-naturedly with a customer as she wrapped the man’s purchases.
“Where are the children?” Rendor asked Yegor.
Yegor glanced around as if expecting to see Anwar and Faizah nearby. He shrugged when he didn’t spot them. “Probably off scamming grandmothers.”
“Scamming?” Shyla asked. “And you allow this?”
“It’s harmless. They pretend to be lost and the woman takes pity and buys them some sweets before she helps them find us. She walks away feeling happy for doing a good deed. Sometimes we even get a new customer.” He swept a hand out. “With this amount of competition, I’m glad to get some notice even if it’s because of my two brats.” That last bit was said with affection.
“You’re here early,” Lota said to them after her customer left. “I suspect that’s bad news for us.”
“Yes, sorry,” Shyla said. “We’re going to stay.”
“For how long? I’ll be looping back this way before heading to Nintri.”
“Unknown, but if we’re ready to move on when you return, we’ll let you know,” Rendor said.
Shyla touched the woman’s arm. “Be careful in Nintri.
Those mercs know your name and since they failed to capture me, they might take their anger out on you.”
Lota glanced at Yegor. “She makes a good point. Maybe we should skip Nintri and go to Catronia instead.”
“You’re the boss,” Yegor said with a smile. “I go where commanded.”
The merchant just shook her head. “This is the same man who had a temper tantrum when we skipped Apanji because of a sandstorm.”
“Apanji has the best velbloud eggs—they’re twice the size of anywhere else.”
“Velbloud eggs are not worth—”
“Bypassing Nintri is a good idea,” Shyla said, interrupting the impending argument. “I’ll sleep better knowing your family is safe.”
They said goodbye to Lota and Yegor and continued to browse the stands, purchasing a few more supplies. Then Rendor made a few careful inquiries with some of the merchants. He passed a coin or two in exchange for information on the location of Qulsary’s black market.
The city’s guards probably knew exactly where it was, but it was one of those places where they earned a few coins by looking the other way. There was an understanding that if the merchants kept everything civil and there weren’t any problems, they’d be left undisturbed. If there was trouble, the guards would raid the market. All the merchants would scatter and in a few sun jumps there would be a new location and the cycle would start again.
“Is this so you can sell Tamburah’s statue?” she asked Rendor after he confirmed the directions to where the market was currently located.
