She really hoped it was her imagination running away with itself. She really didn't want to be part of anything like that. Especially since she was still hoping a way out of her current situation would present itself at some point. A way that would allow her to pass the responsibility for her people to someone else. Someone who wanted it and would be good to them.
Which is something she had a feeling was even more of a dream than the feeling of this being the start of something grand.
_
"So, you're saying you found her, but couldn't afford her?" Hisith asked Beth as they walked along the streets in the evening.
Hisith had been stuck with her job for most of the day, though she assured Beth that it was fine for her to hang out, provided nothing significant occurred with the cargo she had to inspect from merchants and anything the guards felt was suspicious.
Which didn't happen today, though Hisith had assured her that it rarely occurred. That it was more likely for her to have to enter into quarantine from a slave having the spotted plague than anything problematic with the merchants.
Beth understood what Hisith had said, though she suspected that the 'problematic' things didn't happen much because of how so many were conducting the slave trade. That most of the slaves were probably 'problematic' if someone looked into where the slaves were acquired.
However, Beth also suspected that the hunger for slaves kept anyone who might be concerned about that from looking into it. As from what she recalled about how the slave traders in the US and UK were, before slavery was abolished, that they had significant power themselves. Where, in a world where it hadn't been abolished yet, that those same slave traders might be a power unto themselves in that regard.
"Yeah," Beth answered, trying to keep her thoughts on the present rather than a number of things she'd been thinking so much about. "I mean, I had enough to bid on her at the start, but where am I supposed to get a hundred and fifty ziks from?"
"Uh, I thought you said your friend sold for a hundred and eighty," Hisith replied, looking at Beth like she might be trying to pull one over on her.
Beth merely shrugged. It didn't matter the exact amount in her mind. It might as well have been two million for all she'd have been able to do about it. That was just the way things worked in the end.
"Does it really matter?" Beth asked. "My friend was bought by the Duchess Versith for an amount that I seriously doubt I'd be able to get myself, so why would it matter if I always get the amount right?"
"You never know," Hisith answered without missing a beat. "If you and your friends get a patron who pays well, you might be able to negotiate with getting your friend. Back. That is if you don't get enough yourself. Then you could go to the duchess and see if she'd be willing to sell your friend to you."
Beth felt like she should argue against that. Like it shouldn't be that way in the first place, but she at least recognize the logic behind it. Logic that she understood and could accept.
"You know, I guess I could always see what I could sell of what me and my friends have," Beth remarked, pulling out the plastic rings she found in her pack. She doubted she'd be able to get much, since they were cheap plastic, though Wes did find some more sturdier plastic rings, but even those were still just plastic. "Might be able to get something for these, I mean."
"What is that?" Hisith asked, looking rather curious.
"Just a plastic ring," Beth replied casually, handing the plastic ring with a plastic spider on top of it. "It's something common from where I'm from."
"I've never seen anything like it," Hisith commented, squeezing it and looking almost entranced at the flexibility it had. "Why didn't you try selling these in order to try and buy your friend? You could probably get several ziks for just one of these." Hisith then looked at Beth. "Do you have more than just this?"
Beth nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable at how enthusiastic Hisith was about this. "Yeah, but what's the big deal? They're rather cheap so how would I be able to get much from it?"
Hisith shook her head in exasperation. "Look, trust me. If you take this to the right merchant, you'll find that you could live like queens if you had enough of those. I assure you, no one has seen anything like that before. So, this will be worth a lot right now."
Beth felt hesitant to accept Hisith's assurance. Maybe it was the fact that she knew plastic was really cheap and mostly trash, but she had to admit that if this world didn't know what plastic was, then she might be able to sell some here and make a lot of money. Though, she probably would need to keep from selling too many at once. Not only would it attract thieves, but it might have a negative impact on the price she'd be able to get from them.
"I'll talk with my friends and see what they'd like to do about these," Beth replied as Hisith returned the plastic ring. "If you wouldn't mind, would you be willing to direct me to merchant you'd trust the most that would be interested in these?"
Hisith smiled. "Of course. Though, if you have more than just that one, you probably should sell them to him all at once. That way you can get the most for it, otherwise he might decide to buy any more at a lower price."
Beth could understand the logic behind that statement, but it didn't keep her from feeling like she was being taken advantage of somehow. She didn't really have a reason to feel that way, but the feeling was still there nonetheless.
"What if I sell these rings, but later come by with some other rings, but different?" Beth asked, wondering if the plastic rings Wes had might be good for later on. After all, they weren't even the same kind of plastic. As the rings Wes had weren't as pliable as the rings Beth had. Instead, they were more of a hard plastic. Though, Beth was pretty sure that none of them could be melted and reshaped that way.
"If they're different enough, I guess it should be fine," Hisith replied, sounding rather hesitant. "Although, if they can make it with magic, then it might not matter that much."
Beth merely shrugged. "If they can make it with magic, so be it. It's not like we'd think of these as our primary method to make some quick cash. So, if it's only a one-time deal, then I'm sure we'd be able to make it work."
"Although, I think it also might be good to see if any of my friends, who didn't accompany us to try and save our other friend, might have some of these rings. Maybe they have some, which then might allow us to get more right away for them," Beth mused, thinking out loud, wondering if her idea might work out. Even though she still had her doubts about it.
"Well, if you want, let me know when you get back," Hisith replied. "I should still be here then. I mean, I could get reassigned or something, but I haven't had that happen yet, so who knows if that'll ever happen."
Beth wasn't sure how to respond to that, but she suspected that it should be fine. Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't thought about that herself. Besides, if Hisith did get relocated, for whatever reason, she was still confident that she'd be able to track her down. Even if it was only to get the information she'd already admitted to having in regards to the merchants. Although, the only issue with that would be that Hisith wouldn't be able to provide Beth with introductions or anything. As such, it was possible that it'd make meeting with that merchant just a little more difficult in all.
"Well, let's hope you are," Beth said after a few minutes. "Though, have you ever thought of leaving that job for something else?"
Hisith merely shrugged. "Who's to say that I'd find anything better? I mean, at least with this job I' not so likely to get killed by bandits who are merely trying to kidnap people from village or something to sell in the slave market."
Beth nodded, unable to refute that. Though, she at least felt a little happy to know that Hisith acknowledged that that sort of thing happens. That not all the slaves who got put in the slave market were there through legal means.
"You never know what might happen," Beth said. "I've heard it said that if you love the job you get, you'll never have to work a day in your life."
Hisith looked at Beth from the corner of her eye. Beth wasn't sure what the problem was this time, but she had a feeling there was going to be something that Hisith found problematic with her statement.
"What?" Beth asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
"You say some of the strangest things sometimes," she answered. "I understand what you mean, but that's the first I've ever heard someone say that. Usually I get told that if I don't like something, I should have picked something else as a job."
"Sounds like someone else was either just being a jerk or maybe wanted to try and push you to leave so they might have a chance at getting your job."
Hisith didn't respond to that statement, instead she continued on as if Beth hadn't said anything, which made Beth wonder if she wasn't going to allow her to shift the topic away so easily this time.
"Maybe someday you'll be able to let me know where you get some of these ideas from," she said calmly. "I get you're not from this country, but at the same time, I can't think where even your name would likely come from."
Beth merely shrugged, wondering if it really was worth the effort this time to try and dissuade Hisith from wondering about that. Especially since she herself was starting to feel the effects of the day. "Maybe someday I'll tell you," she said. "Though, it'll probably be a ways down the road. Especially with how I'm not sure how much you'd be willing to accept."
Hisith rolled her eyes at that. "And there you go making it sound like it's some big secret that I wouldn't possibly understand. Like as if you're weaker than a man or something."
Beth merely shrugged. "Why wouldn't that be possible? I mean, strength comes in a lot of different forms."
"Ugh. Let's just continue on then," she said, clearly not interested in the direction Beth had been going with the topic."
As they continued walking, Beth suddenly noticed how deserted the streets were becoming. She wasn't sure if it was common at this time of the evening, but she couldn't help but get a little uneasy about it. Although, as soon as she thought that, she suddenly remembered something else. What that person who had appeared behind Beth and seemed to want their identity kept secret.
"By the way," she said, not sure what the best way to put this was, or what Hisith's reaction would be, "what can you tell me about the queen?"
"What's this about?" Hisith asked, arching an eyebrow. "You never struck me as someone who really cared about the state of this country."
"Well, it's not exactly like that," Beth hedged, hoping she wasn't making a mistake with her answer to that statement. "When I was in the capital, I had a strange encounter with someone." Beth took a deep breath and pressed on, certain she'd already said too much to stop at this point.
"I couldn't see who they were, but with how they kept appearing from behind me with a dagger to my back."
"Did you report it?" Hisith asked
Beth merely shook her head. "The figure didn't actually do anything other than make threats, assure me that 'they're' watching me, and let me know that they want the help of myself and my friends to eliminate the queen."
Beth kept her eyes peeled for any signs of another person. She had a feeling that she'd have a hard time convincing any guards, that might get notified, that she wasn't actually threatening the queen Even though it was what someone else had said. Which Beth was also confident that the mysterious person wouldn't accept as a reason why she wouldn't be able to help if she got locked up over just saying what she had.
"You're seriously thinking of helping them?" Hisith looked rather aghast at Beth's statement.
Beth merely shook her head. "It's more that I'm not sure exactly which side is the right one to choose. Especially when they made it clear to me that refusing isn't an option that I'd really like to take."
Hisith scoffed. "What would they be able to do to you? If you hire a guard or something, then they should be able to stop whatever that individual might try to do."
Beth shook her head. She was confident that she didn't understand what Hisith was getting at, but she knew that whatever this person wanted, they would be able to find a way to get to her and her friends, no matter what she and her friends did to protect themselves from any possible attack. Which Beth knew for a fact wasn't something that she'd be able to constantly do that. No one's mind would be able to handle that for a prolonged period of time without making mistakes, at least.
Still, she wanted to try and make Hisith understand. It wasn't as simple as that. Not when there were times when she'd be vulnerable, even with a guard protecting her.
"How long do you think that you'd be able to keep your own focus on being able to stop any attack from any direction, from anything, and from any time before you start getting worn down on that?" Beth asked, stifling a yawn. She was feeling a little bit of tired, which she was pretty sure was a result of not having had much time to really recover from all that walking without any real rest periods.
"And what's that got to do with it?" Hisith asked, sounding more confused than Beth had expected.
"Nothing really," she admitted, hoping that she'd understand her point when she made it. "Only that if you know you're going to get worn down from attacks that may or may not occur, eventually you'll make a mistake. Whether you have a guard or not, you'll end up losing."
"So, joining them is the only other option?" she asked dryly. "You realize that If the people you mentioned are really that good, that they could very well kill you afterwards and avoid having to pay.
"There's always the point that I could pretend to join them If they really aren't on the up and up. Then I'd at least be in a position that would let me find a way to stop them. Permanently."
Hisith looked at Beth like Beth had said something completely off the wall. "You seriously think that you'd be able to do that? And succeed?"
Beth merely shrugged. This actually touched a point she didn't really want to consider. After all, it potentially could lead to her death, in the same manner that Charlie had seen in that dream she'd had so long ago.
"It's not a matter of surviving," Beth clarified. "As long as I can achieve whatever goal I set to for myself. Instead, of merely going with what others either think that it is or just going for what everyone else might assume the primary or something. It can get also get a little annoying with all that others might say about it."
It wasn't until Beth had said that, that she started to wonder if maybe she was more tired than she imagined right then. With how she sounded as she looked back on what she'd said.
While it was good to have been clear with what she was thinking, Beth had to admit that she hadn't really thought much about it, but she had a feeling her being so tired was interacting with her thoughts, making them feel strange enough that she should likely talk like that only if she was already tire. Which Beth couldn't help but wonder if she was like that right then.
"Well, whatever you decide, try not to get yourself hurt, okay?" she asked, looking like her mind was elsewhere. "I'll keep your request in mind and see what I can, okay?"
Beth merely nodded, feeling like she'd lost the chance to recruit Hisith, though she could tell that it was merely what she'd been thinking about herself, but suddenly Hisith wanted to leave. Which made Beth wonder if she'd essentially scared Hisith off with what she'd been talking about.
"Sure," she mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say. Even as Hisith turned to leave, Beth couldn't help but watch her. Though, she found it s a little sad that she had to watch her friend walk away when she could have helped Beth and her friends out so much. Although, at the same time, she couldn't say that she blamed Hisith. What she'd been asking her to do was rather what interrupted this line of thought..
Besides, if she continued to think about only about what she wanted to do, she wouldn't be able to take the perspective of someone else whose thoughts didn't match up with her one. Or at least that's how Hisith's reaction had indicated to her. Though, Beth also wondered if there might be something more behind that. Something that she hadn't been able to pick up on even though she thought of Hisith as a good friend.