Hesitantly, I knocked at the door.
"Come in," a gruff voice sounded from within.
I cracked the door open and was greeted by a large, bearded man sitting behind a counter with a bored expression on his face. The wall behind him was filled with shelves each with numerous cloth-wrapped packages.
"Would you like to have a package delivered?" he said with something approximating a smile.
The attempt at cheerful customer service seemed to physically pain him.
"Are you Mr. Ewin?" I inquired.
"Who's asking?"
His eyes narrowed.
"I was looking for a job as a courier."
"Well too bad. I don't hire random brats off the street so piss off kid."
I stuttered for a second at his brusque response.
"Uhh, Niko sent me."
"Well why the hell didn't you lead with that then?"
He sighed.
"Sorry for the hostility. A lot of cocky welps come in here thinking they can take a job and run off with some expensive deliveries. That's why I have my boys scout recruits themselves as it means less chance of hiring some brainless thief."
"I understand." I said for lack of anything more intelligent.
"Also give 'em a couple of coppers for anyone useful they happen upon which is maybe 1 out of every 10 mind you."
Well that at least explained why Niko had come on so strong. Anyone could set aside sincerity for a little coin.
"Well, if Niko really did recommend you - which I will be confirming by the way - I suppose I should explain to you the basics. First off, let's get this out of the way, your pay will start low as you're only gonna be getting cheap packages. The rate is flat but the faster you are, the more likely it is I'ma be giving you a raise. Prove your worth and that I can trust you and you'll be compensated accordingly."
"How low is low?"
"1 copper a day." he said flatly.
I winced. It was a pitiful amount.
"I got a couple folks making a silver every day though. That takes time however. They been working at this for years without ever messing up."
My eyes bugged out.
'A full silver per day! That's insane. Not that I'm one to look a gift horse in the mouth.'
"You're probably a bit confused right? Why would a simple delivery service cost so much that they can pay a courier such a salary. The answer is that it doesn't. Most people only wanna pay a few irons to send some flowers to grandma but our premium customer, the ones who'll fork out half a silver for a single package, they ain't paying for a pair of legs. They're paying for security, the guarantee that they could hand me the Crown Jewels and I would get it to where it needs to go. That's why the boys I trust make the big money."
"I'll do it. I'll take the job."
The opportunity was too good to pass up.
"Not so fast kiddo. Who said I was even offering in the first place. There are a couple of details that need to get sorted first. I'll need to actually see you run and also I'm gonna need to know your home address along with some proof of residence. If you do something stupid I need to know where to find you. I rarely need to punish brats if I can rat them out to their mom and pops and get them to do it for me."
"I don't know how easy it's going to be to get confirmation from where I live." I said hesitantly.
"Why, you shacking in a whorehouse or something?"
"Not exactly…"
"Listen kid, remember what I said about trust? I can't exactly trust you if I don't even know where to find you so either spit it out or scram."
"I live in the royal palace." I said with a wince.
"Come again?"
"The royal palace. My family lives there. We don't exactly receive a lot of letters and I doubt they would let you in to check in person."
"So you're some kinda prince or some shit?"
"Not at all. My father's just a tutor."
Something of a misdirection but still technically the truth.
"Well how do you get in?"
"The guards recognize my face."
"Well I suppose if I see it for myself that should be adequate. I still need your name though."
"Calin Ghylthaine."
"One last question and this is just to satisfy my curiosity: even if you ain't proper royalty, your family can't be hard for coin. They surely give you some stipend so why do you need this job at all?"
"I require more than just pocket change and if I asked for more they would wonder what I am spending it on?"
"What are you spending it on?"
"That's private." I said cagily.
He looked like he might press the matter but with a sigh he let it drop.
"As long as you ain't wasting away on drugs, whores, or gambling I won't bother you but if I catch a hint of anything suspicious I wont hesitate to boot you."
"I understand sir."
It seemed like the safest response.
"Without further ado, let's see you run. If you impressed Niko you must have something going for you."
Walking outside, he pointed me to a building further down the street.
"That right there's the central courthouse. I want you to run there and back while carrying this" he handed me a small satchel "and when you get back I want you to strike up a conversation with me."
I held the bag out from my body slightly so as to not jostle the contents before sprinting forward.
Almost immediately, I found the greatest challenge of my task: the crowds. Rather than a straight shot to the courthouse, I was forced to weave between pedestrians seemingly hellbent on intercepting me at the last possible moment. Luckily, if there was one thing I had learned from my swordplay, it was how to dodge. It was less a question of running forward and more of darting back and forth like some kind of directionally challenged crab. Regardless, I made a pretty decent time.
When I arrived back I did my best to start a random conversation with Mr. Ewin but the results were less than stellar.
"Well at least you're fast, kid. Customer service can come with practice I suppose. That being said, how well do you know the layout of the city?"
I winced. The answer was not at all. Being cooped up in the palace didn't exactly do wonders for one's navigational skills.
"That's what I thought." Ewin said, reading the look on my face "Most don't when they start out to be honest. I'll just have you follow Niko for a few days while you learn the ropes. Learning the city itself will take longer and you'll be slow to start while you have to glance at a map every minute but that's just another reason why the beteran couriers are paid more."
"One last thing sir. I can only work on Saturdays and Sundays. Will that be a problem?"
"Not really. Plenty of people have their own schedules; as long as you stick to yours it should be fine."
Those were the days I had managed to wheedle out of Mother. I had told her about becoming a courier but as far as she knew, I was simply looking to 'explore the city'. The fact that I would be building my nest egg in the process was an insignificant detail that I hadn't felt the need to share.
Mr. Ewin followed me back to the gates of the palace and kept an eye on me from a distance to confirm my entrance.
The next day Niko was waiting for me outside of the… shop? Office? What did one call a courier service building?
"You ready?" Niko asked.
As soon as he saw me nod he was off. Even with my superior speed it was a struggle to not lose track of him as he slipped through small alleys and shortcuts, weaving in between carts and carriages with mere inches to spare. I had to admire his skill, were it not for my sheer physical advantage, he would have far outpaced me. In addition, he didn't once glance at a map which would doubtless be my biggest hindrance.
It took perhaps 15 minutes to travel halfway across the city. Only a few miles as the crow flew but a remarkable pace nonetheless given the density of the crowded and winding streets.
Niko slowed down as we reached the correct building, glancing at the placards until we saw the correct door. After a quick knock we were greeted by a middle aged man with greying hair. Niko plastered a cheerful smile onto his face.
"I have a package here for a Mr. Summers. Would that be you sir?"
The man nodded and signed the slip of parchment that Niko proffered to him.
There were no pauses for the next 4 hours as we ran back and forth across the city. Normally Niko would carry 3 packages at a time with variations depending on weight but with me there to act as a mule he could take twice as many before returning to Mr. Ewin for more. According to Niko it was improving our pace quite considerably so I wasn't being entirely useless. The entire procedure was surprisingly streamlined: Mr. Ewin organized the packages by both priority and location and provided a specific order of operations so that the route was as short as possible. We only needed to return to grab the bags and the accompanying list of names and addresses. The levels of priority went hand in hand with the level of the courier with only the most experienced being given the more valuable packages.
Niko was currently bragging about his own ranking as we ran.
"I made it to express standard in just 6 months and Mr. Ewin's giving me a few secure standard ones as well, sorta to test me ya know. Once I make it to secure express then I can make some real money. I ain't never had a package stolen ya see so Mr. Ewin knows I'm good."
He seemed to wait expectantly for my appropriate gasps of awe but I just stared blankly.
"I do hope you are aware that I have absolutely no idea what these arbitrary rankings mean."
"Oh…" he laughed sheepishly. "You'll be starting with standard delivery - the basic stuff. Standard express is the same except Mr. Ewin gives it priority. Secure means the courier has a good track record and the package automatically comes with some insurance on it while premium is just all of that shit but with one of the best of the best couriers. Other than that there are only custom packages where the customer can give specific instructions but those are rare and usually expensive so it would take years before old Ewin would even let us touch one."
I nodded in understanding. It was probably those that delivered the premium and custom packages that got the purported silver per day.
"My mate Gideon's gotten a few customs. He's been doing this for 9 years already since he was 10. Just seein' him move is a treat in itself. He sticks to the rooftops, jumping and swinging and the like. I'll introduce you to him later. He buys us younger couriers cream puffs sometimes. He came outta the slums ya know so he says he likes to give back now that he's hit it big."
I found myself coming to enjoy Niko's incessant chatter, not for the conversation itself which was entirely one-sided, but for the pleasant hum of noise that helped break the monotony of running.
As my shift wound to a close I found myself dreading the moment when I would be forced to confront Elliana once more. I had prepared myself for awkwardness yet upon entering the Sanctuary she was the same as always which was to say brusque and ruthless. Once my training was complete, even more exhausting for the day of labor that preceded it, she was unchanged for our recreational routine as well, curling unabashedly against my side with a book in hand. I felt no need to make a problem of nothing and felt perfectly content to accept her relaxed attitude, not to mention her warmth in the drafty attic loft.
Looking down at her slightly sleepy face. I couldn't help but smile.
'She's actually quite cute when she's not being snarky.'
She glanced up at me and her eyes narrowed immediately with suspicion.
"You just thought something that deserves a slap didn't you?"
"I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean princess." I demurred.
"Tread carefully knight or I might have you strung up for your lip."
"You mean my thoughts."
"That too." she said with a devious grin.
I grinned right back.