Journey of the Messenger Cycle 2 Part 6d
Queen Neely’s Boulevard was amazing. All of West Port’s best artisans and most influential merchants had some sort of presence along either side of the two lanes, even if it was only through the display shops which were run by the various guilds. The buildings typically consisted of a store front, often a workshop and there were residential arrangements above these buildings. Everything was clean, building facades were brightly painted, many of the windows were patterned with different coloured glass. There were pennants and banners of all sorts. There were so many signs, for the shops but also along the streets, telling people of the wares available, or the guild represented. The signs along the walkways and the parkway that ran down the centre of the boulevard were mostly informative reminders not to littler, not to block other traffic or drive a transport that required more than one horse during daylight hours. There were also street vendors or performers at various designated spots. It very much felt like a festival.
There were all sorts of people, from all over the world, though most were Maldorn. Berri’s intended purpose for coming here had not been dealt with yet, in fact she had not even seen a tailor or cloth merchant so far, nor had she found a money lender or bank for that matter. The four of them had been taking a drink of gin between each of the shops they visited, at the rate they were going they would all be drunk before midday.
Berri looked up at the sun and changed her assessment, midday was not that far off. She had just spent over three hundred marks buying knives from the famous weapon smiths of Thorleaf Armoury. She had never heard of them before, but the other three had all known of them. Apparently they were one of the founding business enterprises when Maldorn was just being formed, almost four hundred years old. She thought that was keen, more so when she had figured out that word meant sharp, among other things.
She looked over to Kalitta who was taking a couple of large gulps from the gin bottle. Berri admired the woman’s neckline, it was hard not to notice, she was really liking Miss Briney’s vest. When she had finished with the gin she passed the bottle to Moon who took a sip, she was mostly intent on watching the activity along the street. Berri took a big gulp when the bottle was passed to her. She handed the gin over to Tonn and asked them, “Where to now?”
Tonn opined, “I think it’s time to get some food. I’m really hungry.”
Kalitta scoffed, “You’re always hungry.”
“Some shade would be nice, it’s getting really warm.” Moon suggested.
Berri had noticed that as well. She was regretting not having dropped her long coat off in Moon’s room earlier. She asked, “Is this normal?”
The other three indicated that it was not, Tonn said, “No. This is more like what I’d have expected if I was home.”
Kalitta made a funny face at Berri, “Anyone notice how well Berri’s been speaking since we’ve been into the gin?”
Moon gave a hiccup, “Yup, I did.”
Berri stuffed the blades she had just purchased into her pack, they were all boxed and wrapped. The proprietor had insisted on doing so apparently assuming she was buying gifts… or something. She slung the pack over a shoulder and wrestled with the coat for a bit. “Let’s get some food, then I should find a bank, then I really need to get some clothing.”
Tonn offered, “If you buy us lunch, I’ll carry your coat.”
“Deal. Where are we eating?” She passed him the coat.
He smiled, “I know a place. Hopefully he’s there today.”
He lead them further along the boulevard to a park with a number of stone arches and some naked fruit trees of some sort. There were a number of vendors offering a wide variety of food, it was fairly crowded. Moon and Kalitta went to secure one of the stone tables and Tonn took Berri over to one of the kiosks where food was being prepared. It smelled really good.
They waited for a while as a few folks in front of them were served. Berri became aware of a distant throbbing sound of some sort, before she could identify the strange noise it was their turn to be served. Tonn ordered four dishes of spicy chicken with fried vegetables on the side, it smelled great. They took the food over to where the other two were sitting. The noise had become louder, some folks were looking northward, others decided to move off as though they had important business elsewhere. Most folks seemed indifferent, more concerned with their meals.
Berri tried the chicken, it was delicious. It was also the spiciest thing she had ever put in her mouth, “Wow.”
Moon seemed distressed after her first bite, with eyes watering she grabbed up the gin bottle and drank a big gulp, “Ow, that’s too hot.”
Tonn was enjoying his meal, a bit of chicken with a bit of vegetables, one mouthful after the other. Kalitta was looking in the direction the noise was coming from. Berri took some more chicken with some vegetables, the food did not seem as spicy. Suddenly Kalitta stood on the bench and cheered, giving a loud shout, “Wooo! Freeman! Freewoman!”
Berri looked up at her in surprise. As best she knew, it was Freemen who had tried to rob her on her way to West Port, or so she had been told. Moon looked uncomfortable, Tonn just hunkered down over his food and kept eating.
There were others up on their feet now, many climbing up onto the tables or benches cheering and shouting. Folks who had been passing by moved over to the sides of the street or the centre areas, the little park they had stopped at was quickly crowded. Berri asked, “What’s going on?”
Moon nearly had to shout to be heard over the commotion, “Work Party, demonstration march.”
“Oh, some lady invited me to go to that, I had not realized it was such a big deal.”
Moon said, “I think everything is a big deal these days. What with the coming war and all.”
Tonn might have muttered “Fucking bastards,” But there was so much noise now, Berri could not be sure she heard him correctly.
Berri stuffed a few more bites into her mouth then stood up on the bench to see what was happening. Kalitta stepped up onto the table still cheering wildly.
There were hundreds of similarly dressed men and women marching down both side of the street, chanting. They waved sticks, some held brightly painted signs, a few carried drums or horns of various sorts. “We work and we labour! We toil and bleed!”
Then staves and sticks struck the stone finished street, horns blasted and drums were pounded. Then the demonstrators stomped their feet heavily, three times. “The indentured are slaves! They must be freed!”
The park was filling with more people and others fled ahead of the demonstration or ducked into shops to get out of the way. The Work Party stomped and chanted as they moved past. Kalitta grabbed Berri by the arm and tried to pull her up onto the table. Berri stepped up rather than have her fall down onto them. Kalitta had taken her vest off, waved it above her head while shouting for all she was worth, “Freemen! Freewomen!”
Berri could see much better from up here, there were a lot more than a few hundred people. Kalitta pulled her close, “Isn’t this great!”
She shouted back,”Yeah!” Though she was rather confused about the situation. The march slowly moved along, eventually Kalitta decided she needed more gin and hopped down from the table. Berri also stepped down and happily returned to her meal. Moon had not eaten much, she was looking rather pale and there was a sheen of sweat across her brow. When Tonn asked if Moon was going to finish her meal, she shook her head and slid the bowl over to him.
Berri finished hers, it had been very spicy, she thought it was one of the best things she had ever eaten. Kalitta finished the gin, still shirtless, she danced around the table shouting about free women and men. Berri enjoyed watching her and recognized that she was feeling similarly to what she had experienced while sheltering from the sandstorm with Odeena, at least she understood what was happening this time. Tonn finished his second helping of spicy chicken, then belched loud enough to be heard over the commotion.
The bulk of the marchers had passed, though dozens of the demonstrators still trickled past and a fair number of people who had been on the sidelines joined the march. Other members of the Work Party trailed behind, handing out pamphlets and encouraging others to join the demonstration. The noise slowly receded and folks gradually returned to their normal activities.
“Wow, that was so keen! Did you guys see that?”
The three of them regarded Kalitta then exchanged bemused expressions. Tonn shrugged, “I don’t even think the Work Party gives a shit about the Freeman Rebellion.”
Kalitta scoffed, “What would you know about it?”
“Enough. They’re a bunch of bigots for one thing. Their politics are mostly shaped by the Labourers Union for another…” He might have said something further but Moon suddenly spewed gin and the few mouthfuls of food she had eaten to one side.
Berri asked, “Are you alright?”
“Better now. I need to get some water.”
They gathered their stuff, Kalitta put her vest back on then they made their way to a nearby fountain. After they had refreshed themselves Berri lead them off, looking for a money lender.
Getting the promissory dealt with was more of a challenge than she had expected, even with Moon’s help. The first money lender did not want to deal with her because it was a note from one of the Lakeland lords. The second money lender said he would, but there would be a charge of twenty-five percent and of the remainder he was only willing to give her a thousand marks up front, the rest could be acquired later, after the note had been verified.
They then went to a bank, Kelhar Banking Consortium offered a much better deal. If she wanted the marks they would only take ten percent and it would take them a month to verify the note. However, if she opened an account with them, they would take none of it, instead they would pay her three percent annually, though it would still take a month to verify. Somewhat disappointed that she could not just get the value in marks she opened an account with the bank. They gave her a receipt and asked her if she was interested in some investment opportunities. She declined.
Feeling drained from her banking experience she looked to the others, “Well, what do you guys want to do now?”
“I think we should get more gin.” Kalitta suggested.
“I’m tired.” Moon said with a sulky expression.
Tonn asked, “Are you still looking for a tailor?”
“Well, probably not for the orchestra. An acquaintance has offered me the use of one of her dresses. I still need to get new clothing for day-to-day wear. Also, if we make it to the manor by late afternoon, I’m sure we can eat our evening meal there.”
Tonn seemed curious, “Is your acquaintance a noble? How far up the hill is this manor?”
Kalitta interrupted, “We can get everything we need at Prosker’s Square and that puts us pretty close to the dormitory. We can grab what we need then head up to your friends place.”
“Alright. Lead the way.”
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