FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 1 Part 9d
By the seventh day in GreensBridge Adwin could walk normally with little to no pain. In fact he had felt so good that morning he was up before Tipper, he dressed and left the inn. He paused at the door, looked left and then right down along the street and after a moments consideration he headed right. Westward.
The mage orbs, or mage lights or whatever they were called still lit up the street and nearby intersections. A few people were about, most walked past without even a glance, while others gave him a considering look as they approached and sometimes a quick nod. He started to smell freshly baked bread and turned northward at the next intersection following his nose.
He found the bakery on the west side of the next intersection at the corner of PineHollow Road and Meave Street. A couple of women were exiting with large baskets piled high with bread. They smiled and said hello as they passed, it made him smile. He walked through the bakery’s open door, two young men greeted him with happy smiles.
“Good morning sir. It nice to see a new face. What could I get you?” said the fair fellow.
“Am I smelling meat pies?” Adwin asked as his stomach growled.
“You are indeed, though it’d be a bit before they are done. Would you wait?” the dark haired man looked him up and down.
“Yes, they smell great.”
“Would you like a bun while you wait?” The fair fellow offered with a smile.
“Sure.” He ate the bun in a couple of bites.
“You’re from the east by the sound of it.”
“I am, Hadden’s Fort.”
“Wow, I’m from Predost myself, though I left a few years back.”
“Yeah, I came through Predost. Oldways.”
“Oh, for sure. Can’t imagine living there.” he rolled his eyes.
The darker fellow’s accent sounded Pwhanna, but he could not be sure. “What brought you to GreensBridge?”
“Adventure. Stories. Didn’t want to stay in Hadden’s Fort and settle down with a wife or nothing. If you know what I mean.”
“We sure do.” They said in unison, laughing.
“Do you know a place where I could get a good cut and a shave?”
“Sure, just a block down PineHollow, Dowby’s.”
At that point a couple more customers filed in with cheerful greetings, they bought bread for the day for their households and left together, babbling about babies. Then someone from one of the dairies brought in a large box of milk, butter and curds, collected a modestly high payment in Adwin’s opinion and left with a nod to him as he passed.
“Another roll?”
“Sure.” he caught the roll the fair fellow tossed him. The other guy had taken the dairy delivery into the kitchen.
“I’m also going to need some clothing. Everything I have is travel worn.”
“Cloaks and Capes does everything you would need, latest fashions without emptying your pouch. They are family with Condra Shoe Repair across the way, good reliable shoes and boots. Honest folk. Just a few doors down from Dowby’s.”
“That sounds perfect.”
The dark haired fellow came from the back, a rack of tarts, pies and stuffed bread. Adwin paid for one of each and left a couple extra copper, “Thanks.”
“Please come again.”
The barber had not opened his shop by the time he arrived, he sat on the step and ate the meat tart, keeping the others wrapped in the cloth they had provided, since he had no basket. Around the area he heard a few voices raise to the dawn. The sun soon brightened the eastern sky. Another fellow walked up to the shop, gave a nod and waited a pace from the stairs.
A while later the barber showed up and opened his shop, waved Adwin over to the seat by the window. In moments he had a shave and a trim, the guy only charged him a copper even though his sign said shave and a cut, two weight. When he asked why the old guy said his fuzz didn’t really constitute a beard and a trim was not a cut.
Adwin shrugged, thanked him and went on his way.
He found the tailor and cobbler, spent a while being sized and fitted at both places, though the cobbler took longer. By mid morning he was finished, having paid half the cost up front and was asked to return in two or three days at both places.
He kept heading up the street, found a park, stopped to eat and discovered someone sleeping behind the bushes. The fellow was rugged and soiled, long coat and broad hat, heavy soled boots. He was very scruffy looking. He woke up sniffing, drawn to the smell of bread and meat. Adwin gave him his pie and a couple copper weight. The fellow wolfed down the pie like he had been half starved and wondered away in a bit of a daze. Adwin enjoyed the stuffed bread, watching folks walk along the street.
He then spent the rest of the morning walking around to see what was available for work. Nothing really, was the answer, at least not in this area. The businesses were fairly small, usually run by a family and often had an apprentice or two in their employ. No one seemed to need any carpentry or general property work done. He did get a few suggestions to try down along the docks, especially the east docks, they were always looking for labourers.
When he returned to the inn around midday he had a meal and sat out front for a while watching folks go by, resting his knee.
Mokha showed up a while later, “You were up early.”
“Went looking for a job.”
“How’s your knee?”
“A lot better. I figure we could see what Raven is up to tomorrow?”
“Sure. I’m curious as to where she is going when I can’t detect her.”
“Why does the heart tree nut interest you so much?”
Mokha seemed a bit embarrassed. “Well, I’ve heard that the fruit of the world trees can be used alchemically for a number of things. Mostly it’s the life extension qualities I’m interested in.”
“Life extension eh. That’s interesting. How does it work?”
“Well, it would be best to consult a master alchemist. Or, maybe we could find some answers at the Arcanium. However, it’s not something you want a lot of people hearing about and the city does have some fairly strict rules about the use of magic and the legalities of magic items.”
“My nut is magical?”
“Pretty much.”
“That’s nifty. I guess Tipper regards it as some sort of sacred gift.”
“I think so.” Mokha said with a bit of a frown.
“I’m going to have to figure out where the temple is for the Goddess of Mercy. Del had given me some letters that she wanted delivered.”
“The city has temples all over the place, most of them are on the south end of the island, but there are others here and there.”
A piece of paper fluttered down from the sky and then another and then a lot more. Adwin stood and went to the edge of the street picking up one of the pieces of paper.
Seasonal and regular work available.
Many positions; labour, clerical, security.
Roburns Trading Company.
North Docks.
Adwin wondered if this was a sign from the gods. The script was weird, too regular and kind of block like. The N on north was crooked. Mokha joined him just as a shadow passed over them. They looked up and beheld what appeared to be a boat’s hull, strange wings along the sides, both front and back. It was only a few dozen paces above the roof tops. A square hatch was open in the bottom and a person was looking down at them.
Adwin waved. The fellow waved back.
Another person appeared, she hefted a heavy sack to the edge of the hatch and upended it. Pieces of paper fell towards the ground, the breeze causing them to flutter to the university grounds.
Mokha picked up another flyer from the ground gave it a quick glance and then picked up another and compared the two. Other folks had come out into the street and were likewise picking up the slips of paper. They did not seem too surprised or concerned that there was a ship flying above them. Then one woman told the three kids beside her to gather as many as they could find.
The airship floated southward and was soon lost to sight behind the city’s buildings.
“Mokha held up his two pieces, “Look.”
Adwin could see it was the same message, written the same way, including the crooked N. “How do they do that?”
Mokha seemed a bit bemused by what he was seeing. “Honestly I don’t know, I’d heard there was magic that could copy one page to another, though this is not magical.”
“Well, its on the north end, maybe after we investigate Raven we can go take a look. I do need a job.”
Mokha, “Maybe, though I don’t think Tipper would be too impressed if you decided to work for them.”
Adwin shrugged awkwardly and changed the subject. “That was a really cool sky ship. I wonder if they’re all like that?”
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