The Seekers: Soul Ties. Anton Anderson
by, almost knocking her down. She watched them go for a while. With their parents busier than ever, there was no one to keep them in check. Yet they were so lively! She was just like them once, so she chose not to be mad.
Walking near the Birds house, Iskrila noticed Berani, one of the lookouts. She called out to her unnecessarily – Iskrila would’ve stopped by even without invitation.
There were a bunch of sacks in front of Berani, some still tied to her tail. Judging by the sweat on her forehead, she had been carrying this weight for some time, and now was taking a break. The barrel was heavy as well, so Iskrila chose to follow her example.
«Hey, Iskrila, any word about when we’re starting?» Berani asked. «I had to cancel a few plans already. It would suck if it was all for nothing.»
«Hi to you too, Berani.» Iskrila scratched her head. «Didn’t Maia tell you?»
Berani shook her head.
«Sabiri said next week. If there aren’t more developments with her or Star, then we’re set.»
Berani’s face shone with joy. «Finally! I’m so tired of waiting for things to get back to normal! Well, thanks for the info. I need to go.»
Iskrila helped Berani load up with sacks, then watched her heading towards the pier. It was a neat idea to tie some of the sacks to her tail. Iskrila looked at her own. Why didn’t they have fingers or something on their tails? It would’ve been so useful! Feeling rested enough, she resumed her walk.
When she finally reached the storage, Iskrila was tired again. To an outside eye this place was nothing special besides the two guards posted at the door. After unlocking it and stepping inside, Iskrila immediately cursed everything in the world. The smell of flammable tar was even worse here! Trying not to breathe too much, she quickly added her barrel to the rest and locked the door.
That odor destroyed what little was left of her resolve of going back and finishing the arrows. Berani’s words made her wonder if there really were some developments. She had enough time to visit Star and to cook some lunch.
Unfortunately, when Iskrila knocked on Star’s door, no one was home. Where could she be? There was a person who would know, but did she really have to find her?
«Huh, I guess Star isn’t home.» Haileen’s voice ended Iskrila’s struggle.
Iskrila gave her a smile. «Yep. I don’t know whether I should go find her, or if I should return home and make lunch for Sabiri.»
«Sabiri should return soon, so I’d suggest you go home. I can give Star whatever update you wanted to tell her.»
«No, thanks.» Iskrila shook her head. «I’ll find her later.»
After saying goodbye to Haileen, Iskrila headed straight to the market. Most traders lived there, so they could watch over their wares while still being home. Butchers got many kinds of meat, mostly from the nearby forest. Iskrila wasn’t a specialist in how to catch prey, she just knew what kinds of meat she found tasty. The butcher helped Iskrila choose the tastiest lump.
Loaded with meat and separated from her money, Iskrila slowly continued on her way home. On the other side of the road stood tables with fish. Iskrila liked to catch a few herself from time to time, but she was hardly an expert.
Farther away stood shelves with armor and weapons. It was always pleasant to see her and her people’s work displayed for sale, but the stocks had been scarce lately. Iskrila wondered just how many people would sell their arms and armor once the battle was over. These days they were making their products much more simply and quickly, to arm everyone before the battle started. Soon those shelves would fill with rather crude pieces. She, of all people, knew that the quality wasn’t the issue, but the appearance… Those could be tricky to sell to strangers. She needed to talk to Star about making a deal directly with some poorer, smaller tribes that wouldn’t mind the way they looked.
Farther ahead there was a mishmash of stuff. Files for horns, claws, and hooves; pots, mugs, plates, brushes, soap, brooms – all sorts of stuff. The traders selling those immediately jumped at their chance to earn a bit.
«Hey, Iskrila! Look at a file I have! Rounded on one side, straight on the other – just for your claws!»
«Don’t listen to her! I got you a great file last time! Better take this broom! Long handle! I couldn’t believe just how much easier it was to clean the house with a handle this long!»
«She doesn’t need your stupid broom! Better take this robe! With a pocket for your tail! So warm when the weather’s bad!»
The first two sellers tried to stop Iskrila from leaving, but she ignored their calls. The third was standing at the last set of shelves and was selling clothes. There was all kinds of stuff there: underclothes that were smooth and light, robes that were thick and fluffy, shorts and pants that looked and felt strong.
But Iskrila’s eye caught something special. There was a shelf with various fal-lals: hide and leather bracelets, chokers, bands… Their various shapes and colors combined still couldn’t match just how bizarre one particular item looked. It was a white bow-knot. Made from the finest lace: so thin, so light – it was almost transparent. Just how long had it taken to combine the thousands of individual, incredibly thin threads, leaving gaps of air between them, painting this fine complex pattern?
Iskrila asked permission to try it on, then found herself unwilling to touch it. What if she ruined the beauty? She wasn’t careful enough to handle this delicate piece. Luckily, the trader came to her rescue. She lifted the thing from the table, then carefully placed it in Iskrila’s open palms. It felt completely weightless! Trying not to breathe, Iskrila carefully wrapped the straps around her neck and tied them gently. The bow-knot thing was huge – it stuck out farther than her chin! She couldn’t even look down without danger of messing up the thing.
«Do you like it? I’ve spent ages making it!» the trader said.
«You’re also a crafter? It’s definitely unusual and kinda cool, yeah, but I can’t look down in this thing, and I would immediately ruin it in my smithy.»
She looked at herself in a mirror – a crazy-looking freak stared back at her, smiling and giggling.
«You definitely shouldn’t take it to the smithy. You can wear it in your free time.»
At first, Iskrila wanted to refuse. Why would she need such a thing? Even if she was careful, just for how long would its beauty survive? But there was something cool in that freak that looked back at her from the mirror. Something unusual and wild.
«How much?» the words escaped her mouth.
«Fifteen gold.»
«Fifteen gold!» Iskrila wanted to yell. She could feed herself for several months for that much money! She could buy a full set of clothes! She… What, what «she»? This bow-knot was a work of art, and the trader clearly spent a lot of time and skill making it. She wanted to buy it! It was so beautiful and strange. What else would she do with her money? Why shouldn’t she spend it?
«This is a piece of art, so, here!» Iskrila was relieved to find enough gold and silver in her bag. «You did a great job!»
The trader snickered. «Thank you for your kind words, mistress. Please don’t worry – it may look fragile, but if you were to wear it gently, then it would prove strong enough to wear for years to come. You’ll see!»
Iskrila thanked her again and went home. Walking in this thing proved to be bizarre. The bow-knot was constantly putting pressure on her chin. With her every move, the fabric was rustling, scaring her shitless that she was crumpling it. But at the same time, it was so cool! No one else had anything like that. She couldn’t wait to show it to Sabiri!
Having finally reached home, Iskrila carefully took her gorgeous bow-knot off, put it away from harm on one of the shelves, then got to work. Quietly humming one of Edweena’s