Richard Tuttle - Web of Deceit

Rejji shrugged and started devouring his stew. He realized how hungry he was with the first spoonful, and vowed not to skip the midday meal again tomorrow. Rejji’s skin prickled again and he slyly peeked up to see the man in the black cloak staring at him. The man looked away quickly and Rejji returned to his stew. Rejji swallowed the ale and stuffed the bread in the small bag Wicado had given him and left the table. He went up the stairs and unlocked his door and relocked it after he was inside. He made sure the window was shuttered and then fumbled around for the candle and striker. He lit the candle and sat down on the floor with his bag.

Rejji removed the bread and started nibbling on it as he retrieved his notes. He studied the different amounts charged for the same commodities and found a wide variance in price. Studying the figures further, he also found out that the prices appeared to be affected by their location, so that there was never a severe change in price in any one location. The further apart physically though, the more opportunity for a larger difference in price. This tended to make Rejji think that competition of neighboring stalls had more of an effect on price than the cost of the item. Rejji saw that the candle had burned down quite a bit while he was working on the numbers and he decided it was time for bed.

When Rejji woke the sun had already risen. He gathered up his papers and stuffed them in the bag and went down for his morning meal. The innkeeper told him to sit in the same seat and returned to the kitchen, but Rejji intentionally chose another. When the innkeeper came back and saw Rejji sitting elsewhere he scowled and came over to the table.

“You do not sit here,” he stated. “You sit over there.”

Rejji looked up at the innkeeper and smiled, “That was a wonderful roast last night. It is a shame I was fed stew from the day before. I can understand that you are not comfortable having a slave stay here, but the gold you took was a fair payment for the services the Bursar requested. I may be a slave, but I am not your slave. If you wish me not to be seen, then serve me what is served others and be quick about it. I will even do you a favor. Send me off with a bag for my midday meal and I will not come back until the evening meal.”

“Who do you think you are to tell me how to run my business?” growled the innkeeper.

“I am someone who has finished the task that was supposed to take me three days,” smiled Rejji. “That means I could just spend the next two days sitting here. It is a nice place to rest.”

The innkeeper huffed and stormed into the kitchen. A girl promptly came out with a large plate of eggs, a slice of wasooki, coffee and a roll.

“I will have a bag meal ready for you by the time you finish that,” she smiled.

“Thank you very much,” grinned Rejji.

He devoured the morning meal and snatched the bag the girl had brought to the table and moved swiftly out the door. He wasn’t sure what had made him defy the innkeeper, but he chuckled to himself as picked up where he had left off in the market.

Rejji finished the last row and stood at the last stall in the market checking his notes to see if the pattern matched. He smiled inwardly when the new figures matched what he had seen the night before and he stuffed the papers into his small bag. He wandered around the nearest stalls, which were all low-priced used merchandise. He wondered if he could find something cheap that Mistake would like. He checked the pouch that Wicado had given him and saw that it contained five gold coins. Certainly he would have to stick with looking at the ends of the rows, but he might find something that would pick her spirits up a little.

He browsed the ends of several rows finding nothing suitable that could be purchased for the gold he had. He looked at one stall whose merchandise was in terrible condition. The jewelry was all broken and dirty and not laid out well like the other stalls. He wondered why a merchant would bother setting up a stall and not even take the time to clean the merchandise or lay it out nicely. He was ready to skip over the stall when something caught his eye. He moved quickly back and peered closer at it.

He looked at the old woman selling the merchandise and she didn’t even bother to get up off her crate when he reached for the necklace. It was a terrible piece of workmanship and made with inferior metal. The chain was broken and the casing was cracked.

“How much is this?” he asked the woman as he held it up.

The woman groaned as she got up and waddled over to the stall. She took the necklace and made a great deal out of admiring it.

“Oh you have good taste,” she smiled toothlessly. “Very expensive piece it is. Twenty gold I think it is,” she stated as she watched for Rejji’s reaction.

Rejji frowned and closed his eyes and she continued talking.

“But I think maybe ten is what I was selling it for,” she bargained.

“The chain is broken,” Rejji pointed out, “and the casing is cracked. Where did you get this?”

“Oh so it is,” she nodded. “So it is. Got a girl do ya?” she smiled. “Nice gift for a young girl. Give me five gold and it is yours.”

“Five gold is all I have to my name,” declared Rejji figuring she had probably picked it out of someone’s garbage. “I think I will look around some more.”

As Rejji turned to leave, the woman shouted, “Three gold then. I’ll let it go for three gold but no less.”

Rejji heard the old man in the next stall cackling. “From the garbage to your sweetheart’s neck,” he was chuckling.

“You be quiet, old man,” the woman shouted. “The boy don’t care where it came from.”

Rejji turned back and fished out three gold coins and handed them to the old woman. Her face glowed with the feel of gold in her hands and she made a show of rubbing the necklace on her tunic, as if that would clean it up. Rejji took the necklace and thanked the old woman as he headed away briskly. He reached the center of the market and turned towards the first row. As he walked he fiddled with the necklace. The chain came completely off in his hand, but he smiled when he thought about how happy Mistake would be. A couple of rows later, the casing gave way completely and Rejji dropped the inferior metal to the ground. As he reached the first row, he saw Wendal watching him. Wendal’s stall was without customers and Rejji smiled and walked up to the stall.

“Rejji,” greeted the merchant, “you look happy this morning.”

“I am very happy,” grinned Rejji as he held out what was left of the necklace for Wendal to see.

“Looks like I owe you a hundred gold,” chuckled Wendal. “Where did you find it?”

“It was part of a cheap necklace,” Rejji admitted as he handed Wendal the petrified shark’s tooth.

“You have the making of a merchant inside you lad,” laughed Wendal. Tell me though, what is a slave going to do with a hundred gold?”

“I am going to buy somebody’s freedom,” grinned Rejji.

“Yours?” inquired Wendal.

“No,” Rejji answered. “A friend of mine was captured the same time I was. She will not last long in slavery and I fear the thought of her dying when she tries to escape.”

Wendal counted out the hundred gold coins and put them in a small pouch before handing them to Rejji. He was unusually quiet and wasn’t smiling.

“Is something the matter?” Rejji asked. “You are happy with the deal, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am satisfied I can make a profit,” Wendal said. “Rejji,” he frowned, “slaves cannot be bought for one hundred gold coins. If this girl is around your age, she certainly cost more than a thousand gold coins. Probably much more than that.”

“Then I have to figure out how to make more gold,” sighed Rejji.