Morning had arrived, though I was still somewhat dreary, as I was restless much of last night, not in anticipation for the work ahead, but from the sight of the slave trade I'd witnessed the evening before. Father was already awake and getting our wares ready. Our wares had included some cheap pots and crudely woven clothing, along with a handful of cheap copper trinkets. We'd moved along the main road, towards Traer's market, not within the market, as such was a privelage only granted to wealthier merchants and select craftsmen. Upon setting up the stall I asked father if he could teach me how to read the ledger, which would usually be comprised of cheap linen or wood strips written over with charcoal, as paper and other higher quality materials were only used for the wealthiest classes.
Arnold: "Very well, at the very least you should be able to know how to read the ledger, wouldn't do us much good if you misread the ledger after all. I'll teach you whenever business is slower."
Landyn: "Thank you father, I'll do my best not to be a burden."
Father smiled upon hearing my response, and had begun showing me the ledger, reading it off to me for the next 2 hours while we waited for the rest of the townspeople to awaken. Father had explained to me before we went to bed that we must setup the stall right as the sun was rising, a few hours before most townspeople awakened, as doing so would maximize the amount of goods we could trade. I paid close attention, as he'd shown me the relative pricing of our goods, but would remind me that the prices were subject to haggling, but that the end goal would still be to make profit on the trade.
Compared to the other merchants that had their stalls filled with average to high quality pottery, silverware, trinkets, and so on, our stall had appeared rather destitute. While the other merchants would charge silver, and in some cases gold (greater) coins for their goods, most of our goods were bought with copper, the lowest currency in the nation. Our most expensive wares were the copper trinkets, valued between 70 and 80 copper, the woven clothing was sold for between 20 and 30 copper, and the pots were valued between 5 and 15 copper. Suffice to say, it was now very evident to me why father was discontent with the income he'd bring home.
small groups of nobles and guard browsed the markets for higher quality goods, the nobles often coming in to purchase the highest quality goods, along with slaves, their class very much loved flaunting their wealth. They did not dare sully their eyes with our shoddy stall, and those that did glared with disgust. The common townspeople, with their ragged appearances, with barely a silver to their name, would stop by our stall to browse our clothing and trinkets. Commoners having silver was an extreme rarity in the nation, the exceptions to this rule being Traer and the royal capital, as they were built along the main road, and thus major centers of trade for the nation.
by the end of the day, we'd earned a total of 2 silver and 68 copper, selling all of our trinkets, about a third of the pottery, and 3 sets of woven clothes. For father this was slightly more than the average he'd bring in so he was quite happy with the result. As we packed up our wares and made way to our lodging, I once again had requested that he teach me to write. Though tired, he did acknowledge that such was a promise, and had pulled out 2 strips of wood, and some charcoal.
Arnold: "First lesson will be the alphabet, is that acceptable?"
Landyn: "Yes father."
Father began scribbling, etching the alphabet into the wooden strip. The alphabet, much to my astonishment actually resembled the English alphabet, letters ranging from A to Z, though some letters were written differently. Instead of B, it was written as Ƀ, instead of W, it was written as ￦, and E was written as the Greek letter for S (Σ).
I'd followed father's lesson with the alphabet with extreme focus, making sure not to miss any details. The next day, we repeated the process of opening shop, selling, returning to the lodge, and teaching me how to write.
We'd only remained in Traer for 3 days, leaving the dawn of the 3rd day and headed back for our own village, Lodroestein, with father repeating some of his lessons when we'd stopped and before going to bed. By the time we'd reached our home, I could adequately read and write the common language, without the assistance of my translation skill. Speaking of my translation skill, I'd decided to try and reopen my status screen in my mind again, much like I did when I was younger.
Landyn Raye
Str - C
End - C
Agi - B
Pie - E
Int - A
Luk - C
Skills - Language translation (vocal), Common Magic*
*Fire lvl 1
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I could make total sense of the status before me, though I had little means of understanding the value of any of my stats, I'd played some rpg games when I was younger, so I knew what each stat represented, but I had no way of gauging any of their values. My Int stat was A, and I could apparently use basic fire magic, though such knowledge did me little good, as I was unaware if spells (aside from the firestarting spell father used during our trip), required chanting, or if there was a set amount of uses they'd had. I decided not to invest my time into developing my magic, and instead focussed more on craftsmanship, and in my spare time, teaching local village children how to read and write.
Of course, I did not teach them all for free, though I did not gouge them of their wealth. of our village, we had about 8 children besides me that were close to my age, and 12 that were in about their late teen years. of the children my age, I had taught them for free, as requesting anything of them would be morally wrong, so they received free lessons. Of the older children interested in learning, I'd charged 5 copper per group of 4, though I also permitted them to bargain and trade in goods of equal or greater value as an alternate form of payment for those groups who could not afford to spare the copper.
I would teach them how to read and write, though I would also bring to them the idea of organizing, strikes, the horrors of slavery, and class warfare. The purpose of such ideas was part of the grand plan to change the very foundations not only of this kingdom, but of the whole world, along with the class system that the elites had put in place. To hammer home the horrors of slavery, I'd asked each of them a simple question, "Should you or someone you know come to be enslaved, be it by our kingdom, or a neighboring nation, would you lie down, chained and enslaved, with your labor and creations to be stolen by your masters? Or would you stand tall, even if you must do so alone against your imprisonment?"
Many of the younger children did not fully understand the question, asking why they'd be enslaved, to which I reminded them that if their parents or any other in their family was enslaved, there is nothing stopping them from being enslaved as well. They're response was as I'd imagined.
"I don't want to be a slave!"
"I won't let anyone make my family slaves!"
Then I asked if they'd fight to not be a slave, and if they'd fight to prevent the people they know, from being slaves. Though hesitant, some voiced their will to prevent others being enslaved. When told who they would be sold to, and who did the selling, and what happened to those sold into slavery, the girls were revolted, and the boys were livid.
"I don't want to be a noble's slave!"
Some had asked why it was that the nobles and wealthy purchased slaves. My response was quite simple.
Landyn: "Power and control. to the wealthy of this world, there is no greater pleasure for them than to look down on those less fortunate than them, and to exert their control over those they believe to be inferior."
The children were outraged, almost in disbelief.
Landyn: "Their desire for control runs so deep that they would even go as far as raising taxes to a point of starving their own citizens, forcing some of them to turn towards their own enslavement simply to avoid their own deaths, simply to survive."
They'd asked me how such a thing could be stopped, and though it was a difficult question, the answer was simple. "The villages, the common peoples must organize, unite as one to overcome such tyranny."