As Mark and Anabel walk away from a stall near the play they had just watched, hand in hand, Mark focuses on eating the meat off of the kebab he just purchased. Anabel is just giggling to herself in joy as she occasionally takes a bite of her own food.
'He still doesn't realize that he is walking around town holding hands with me!'
Her cheeks were flush with excitement and she noticed the looks they garnered from the other villagers from time to time. No one was obvious with how they were looking at the apparent couple, but she knew that they would be the center of gossip for a while to come.
Mark, on the other hand, was more focused on the meat he was eating.
'hmm this isn't monster meat but it is pretty good. . . did she just squeeze my hand?'
Mark looked down at their hands and realized that she had indeed tightened her grip. He looked up at her as she was looking around to see if everything was ok with her.
'She isn't scared, she seems more excited than anything. I guess she is still worried I will run off to the forge before she can show me around her favorite spots.'
Mark, of course, had realized a while ago that they were still holding hands but he just thought it was like when they were kids and she wanted to make sure he didn't slip away when her back was turned.
Mark noticed the music in the air as they finished their skewered meats.
'Seems like we are going to be listening to music for a while. It sounds nice at least.'
Anabel took Mark to a spot under a tree with some shade where they could sit and relax while listening to the music. The musicians nearby were playing a smooth melody with instruments that were made of wood. One of the instruments looked like the person had to blow air into it while another had strings that the person plucked.
The notes were high pitched and the flow of the music was at a medium tempo that kept the music at the edge of the listener's attention as they relaxed and listened. Mark and Anabel just leaned against the tree with their eyes closed as they took in the sounds.
Mark ended up falling asleep because he was so relaxed and a few minutes when he woke up he had his head in Anabel's lap. She looked down at him as he began to stir and Mark opened his eyes to her smiling down at him. He was confused at first but after waking up he realized that he had fallen asleep.
"It's quite comfy here, very relaxing."
Mark had no intention of moving as he really was comfortable and Anabel seemed content with letting him lay down a while longer.
She ran her fingers through his hair as she watched the musicians play their instruments. They listened to the music for a while longer, enjoying the mild weather under the shade of the tree.
After the music ended, Mark got up and helped Anabel stand as well.
"What next?"
It seemed like Mark was enjoying himself since his question sounded a bit enthusiastic to Anabel.
She grabbed his hand and started to pull him to another part of the park where sports were usually played.
"We are going to the stick-hoop field! hahaha!"
Anabel looked very excited to Mark which kind of confused him.
'What the heck is a stick-hoop field? Is she really that excited for a game with sticks and hoops or is that just what the field is called?'
Mark, of course, followed along as she pulled him by the hand.
The stick-hoop field was over a hill in the park area they were in and as they approached the crest of the hill they could hear shouts and cheering.
Mark was curious to see what would make such tame villagers so enthusiastic, usually, the villagers just kept to themselves and tried not to cause a ruckus. He had never really seen them talk loudly to each other, so to hear such energized cheering was a surprise to him.
Anabel continued to pull him along, oblivious to his shock, and they quickly found a crowd around a square field where there were about a dozen people with sticks in their hands.
The players were in two distinct teams with one side having white clothes on and the other side with blue clothes on. There were a couple of people pushing around a woven hoop with their sticks while the others were trying to either block the opposing team or help the person pushing the hoop.
It looked odd to Mark but the way they were pushing the hoop around and even passing it across the field to their teammates made it look like they were dancing.
Anabel looked over at Mark, seeing that he was actually a bit interested in the game.
"The way they move, it seems like there is a certain harmony right?"
Mark looks away from the game to see that beautiful smile coming from Anabel.
"They look like they are quite enjoying themselves and the villagers are also certainly enthusiastic about the game, but what is the goal here? They just keep pushing the hoop back and forth."
Anabel giggled a bit at his inquiry.
"Those tall poles at either end of the field are the goal!"
Mark looked to the poles as the game continued and then looked back at Anabel.
"You mean to say they are going to somehow get those hoops on the poles with just their sticks?"
Anabel was amused by his curiosity, but she just looked at the field as if to say 'watch and see'. Mark, though, noticed another detail that confused him.
"Why do they only stick to the sides of the field or the center of the field and only by passing the hoop to each other?"
Anabel just smiled before explaining.
"See those lines on the ground? They might be a bit hard to see from here, but if someone is pushing the hoop then they can't cross the line, but they can roll the hoop over it to someone else."
As Anabel was explaining how the game is played, the red team managed to get the hoop past the defenders by crossing the hoop several times over the lines and at the end of the field they had multiple people pushing the hoop in different directions. With the opposing forces of the hoop, it flew up into the air with the assistance of another person directing it and it went over the pole after the person guiding it jumped with their stick touching the hoop.
The people watching the game started cheering and Anabel turned to Mark.
"And that is how they score points."
She was smiling at Mark who had a look of incredulity on his face.
'He must be thinking the game looks fun'
Meanwhile, Mark was also thinking to himself.
'What a boring game! I can't believe I actually wasted precious forge time watching such a dumb game!'
But when he looked at Anabel with a pleased look on her face he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.
"Well that was quite interesting, should we go check out the other events before the merchants get here?"
Anabel nodded her head and led Mark away from the fields.
"There is a spot where the village chief is telling stories about the history of the village over this way."
They walked across the fields to the main road and made their way back to the village center where they were able to see the merchant caravan that had just arrived. The merchants were still walking to their area and had not begun to set up yet.
"Well Mark, it looks like this will be our last stop before you talk to the merchants."
Mark looked at the merchant's arrival with no emotion but nodded in acknowledgment to Anabel.
'Finally, I can get them to buy some of the weapons and armor I've got piled up at the smithy.'
They turned down a side street that led to a large flower garden that had seating in the middle of it around a central platform where the village chief was telling his stories. As they approached the small crowd, they were able to hear the end of the current story the chief was telling.
". . . and he thrust his sword deep into the heart of the vile-beast that had nearly destroyed the village, ending the terror of the villagers and restoring the peace that had been lost in the months prior to the beast settling near the village."
The crowd erupted into cheers and clapping as the end of a good story left them entertained and ready for more thrilling tales of the village's past.
The village chief noticed the newcomers as they found a good place to sit and listen to the stories, and a knowing smile crept onto his face when he noticed they were holding hands. Anabel didn't miss his change in facial expression and she unwillingly smiled bashfully as she grabbed Marks arm with her other hand as she blushed.
Mark figured she was just having trouble balancing as they moved through the outer layer of the small crowd to get a good seat near the village chief. He failed to notice the surprised looks they were getting from the nearby villagers that they passed.
Mark and Anabel finally found their place to sit together and some of the people started whispering to each other but before Mark could hear what they were saying, the village chief cleared his throat which cut the whispers as everyone turned their attention to him.
He then looked around the crowd as he introduced the next story, locking eyes with Anabel at the end of his introduction.
"This next story is one of young love and words unspoken, and it demonstrates the need for one to be clear with their intentions so as to avoid heartbreak and regret."
With his words, Anabel, still holding onto Mark's arm with her other arm, turned and buried her face in his shoulder in embarrassment.
As the young couple nestled into their spot together, the rest of the village that was gathered around the wise old man quieted down until only the soft howl of the cool wind blowing through the mountains could be heard. The occasional trailing voice off in the distance, carried by the wind, could be heard without being able to make out what they were saying. Such was the solemnity the villagers gave the chief.
Chief Kertak stroked his white beard as he leaned against his hand-carved bow staff, letting the tension build as he looked around at the villagers who sat in anticipation of the next story, devoting their rapt attention to the chief.
"In these mountains, a few hundred years ago, there were two young adults from this village. One was Varek, the son of one of our hunting parties and the oldest of his siblings. He was often hunting with his father after coming of age, learning to lead his own party as his father did."
The old man began slowly pacing back and forth as he told the story, utilizing the bow staff as a cane.
"The other person in this story was named Rachel, and she was the daughter of a seamstress in the village proper. They grew up as child companions since they were born in the same season, and as you all know, they ran around the village together until their coming of age."
At this point in the story, Anabel already got the point the village chief wanted to make but she didn't want to leave since Mark seemed to be interested in the story. Mark, on the other hand, was just thinking about how he would approach the merchants at the caravan and who he would need to talk to so he could sell his extra weapons and armor.
"Since the hunting parties needed their garments often repaired, it was up to Varek to take care of his father's team as part of his initiation. Thus, he crossed paths with Rachel quite often. He had begun to notice Rachel as a woman after spending less time with her as a friend, but he was always too enraptured with her beautiful smile to form any coherent words when he intended to confess his feelings. Rachel on the other hand, found Varek to be quite charming and hoped he had developed similar feelings for he but she was too bashful to make the first move."
The chief took on a more solemn tone as he continued the story, "The growth that year had been ominously absent, and the village annals document the problem with such quietness in the mountains quite explicitly."
There were heads nodding in the crowd at this point, tension building in the air as the story began to look bleak.
"The unfortunate truth to a quiet growth year is that, without fail, at the end of the year there will be a growth that will shake the mountain as if it is splitting from the base to the tip. During this time of the year, Varek and his father were on patrol for the village. It was during their shift that the massive growth began."
The crowd looked devastated. There were some people staring straight at the village chief with wide eyes and a couple of people let out a quiet 'oh no'.
The chief continued on regardless. "Rachel was at home, sewing a heart gift for Varek, as one would normally give to someone they were interested in but couldn't find the words to tell them. She had complained to her mother that Varek had been unresponsive to the hints she had left for him to express how he felt for her and how he seemed to be oblivious to her desire. Her mother had convinced her to sew the heart gift, and she reluctantly agreed, though you could hardly tell she was initially against the idea if you could see how happy she was sewing away. That is until the growth began. At first she was just scared, but then she gasped and softly said 'Varek. . .' as terror was evident in her eyes."
A look of sadness came over the chief's face as he continued the story. "Varek and his father led their team back to the village through the north gate as safely as they could. They avoided rock falls and fought off packs of wargs and even a Uruk. They lost no one from their team, but they did have a couple that were hurt during the trek back. Nevertheless, they lost not a single man and made it to the village to reinforce their defenses."
The village chief shifted uncomfortably as he prepared to finish the story.
"They passed through the north gate and headed to the crevice to get an idea of what the village situation was like. When they arrived there was already panic and when they pinned down a guard, the man informed them of a breach in the west gate. That was all Varek needed to hear before he sprinted off with hardly enough time for his team and father to register what was happening. As it turned out, Rachel's house was near the west gate."
This time there were audible gasps from the crowd. They knew what was about to happen but they couldn't bear to look away from the village chief, they had to hear it with their own ears.
"His team came upon the loosely contained breech. It was a pack of wargs that were desperately fighting to get into the village, with a litany of bodies both man and beast strewn about from the makeshift line put up by the remaining west gate guards and those that come to reinforce them. Immediately they threw themselves into the fray and fought hard to force the wargs back past the gate and beyond until the breach could be sealed. When they returned to the safety of their village walls, Varek rushed to Rachel's house finding it completely fallen down. He yelled for Rachel and moved the rubble aside as his team and father arrived to help him. They only managed to find a bloody heart gift and a trail that led a roundabout path to the new sealed gate."
There were tears in the villager's eyes at this point, but the chief continued on to deliver the last few lines.
"Varek rushed to the crevice, hoping against all evidence that she had made it to safety. By the time they got back to the safety of the crevice, the growth had stopped and people were already coming out of the safe area. Varek spotted Rachels's mother, who could only shake her head with tears in her eyes. Varek could feel his heart break in two."
The sad villagers were now trying hard not to cry. Anabel, though, was trying to get Mark to leave without making it obvious.
'That tricky old man said that last bit when he was looking at us! What a manipulative old coot! I need to get Mark out of here before I die of embarrassment!'
With Rachel getting ready to leave, Mark realized that they could head over to the merchant area so he stood up and practically pulled Rachel through the crowd of sad villagers, oblivious to the tears falling down their cheeks.
As they got out of earshot of the villagers, Rachel asked Mark: "Why are we leaving in such a rush?"
Mark slowed down and looked at Rachel at this point and thought about his reason.
"Well, I thought I really wanted to go talk to the merchants but now that I think about it I suppose it is because I was feeling really awkward back there...hmmm."
Rachel felt her heart skip a beat when Mark mentioned something he felt.
'Oh crap! did he realize what the chief was trying to hint at?'
She tried to ask about it as innocently as she could, batting her eyelashes as she said: "Was it the story?"
Mark still had an inquisitive look on his face when her question pulled him out of his thoughts of forging another sword.
He shook his head to answer, "Oh, no . . . no the weird feeling was the atmosphere or something, I am not sure it just didn't feel right back there."
Perplexed, Anabel decided to just walk with Mark and enjoy holding his hand and arm as they made their way back to the village center to see if the Merchants were done setting up.
When they arrived, they could see that the merchants needed more time to finish their preparations so Anabel suggested they go back to the music area and grab a bite to eat while they waited. They got some meat skewered sticks and sat under a tree again as they enjoyed the soft melody playing. They sat cross-legged next to each other this time, and when they were done, Mark helped Anabel up and they went back to the village center.
Upon arriving, they could see that the merchants had finished setting up for the most part and they wondered around until Mark recognized the merchant from this caravan that is father used to do work with. As soon as the merchant noticed Mark, his eyes became as big as saucers and he rushed over to greet the giant.
"Mark! It is good to see you, young man." The merchant exclaimed as he reached out to shake Mark's hand. Mark was a bit confused has to why the man remembered who he was, but no one else would be confused considering how much larger Mark was than any other villager on the mountain.
"I have been meaning to talk with your father about our arrangement, as we were unable to procure a supply the last time we were here."
Mark nodded his head in understanding and casually said, "Yes, well I can talk with you about what you need since my father is dead."
The poor merchant looked mortified. His long black mustache seemed to droop as his entire demeanor deflated.
Mark misunderstood the situation and hastily mentioned, "Oh! Don't worry! I still run the forge and I can easily supply you with anything you might need, now what is it you need exactly. . . Mr.?"
The merchant looked over at Anabel who gave him a sheepish smile, indicating the situation was rather odd but something she would expect from Mark. So the merchant gathered himself and put on a professional attitude.
"You can call me Mr. Li. . . Well, Mark, my team ran into quite a ferocious pack of monsters as we ascended the mountain, and while we managed to prevent any casualties my guard did end up with many pieces of broken armor and some weapons that are no longer usable. I have a list of things we need forged and a small pile of armor that can be repaired."
Mark nodded thoughtfully as he listened to Mr. Li before he replied. "Oh yes, we had a growth so you must have run into the mountain beasts that were displaced. I am glad to hear that no one was killed. Let me grab the armor you need repaired and you can get the list of items you need forged from scratch."
As Mark moved toward the visible pile of armor, Anabel grabbed him to wait.
"Hold on, what about the price? You are a merchant and you didn't even mention the rate you would pay for these items? And Mark, what are you going to just do all this work for free?"
The merchant looked a little bit embarrassed and Mark started scratching his head as he thought over what Anabel was saying.
"Well miss, I suppose I should state the price I am willing to pay per piece. Generally, I pay 2 copper per repair and from 30 copper to 80 copper for each new piece of equipment depending on the piece. I am told that weapons are harder to create than armor so I am willing to pay closer to 80 copper for weapons and each one is up for negotiation or we can average the cost upfront based on what needs to be crafted. For the armor, I could pay a rounded 40 per piece when we do bulk orders since that would be about average."
Mark just nodded his head as he listened, but Anabel started to look furious when the man was done talking. The merchant just ignored her and talked to Mark, but Anabel stopped Mark as he started walking off again and talked to him in a low tone.
"Mark, you need to ask him about his ledger. He is required to keep a ledger with the history of each store he deals with and he is also required to show the owner of the shop the ledger when requested. The ledger will show you how much he was paying your father for the work that was being done."
Mr. Li was now the one who looked angry, but he was also starting to look a bit nervous as he knew he had messed up.
Mark just did what Anabel said to do, and interrupted Mr. Li as he began to question the situation.
"Young miss, are you talking for the owne. . .
"Ok Mr. Li, it shouldn't be a problem to show me the ledger my brother told us about would it?"
Mr. Li cursed the damned mountain hick that had learned about the merchant trade and blabbed to these simple mountain folk. He was supposed to be able to get fine craftsmanship from this place from peanuts, and he almost got away with paying only half the peanuts.
If he were able to accuse the girl of talking for Mark, he would have been able to wiggle out of the requirements, but it seemed that Mark had a good sense about him and just did what the girl told him to do before Mr. Li could counter.
He reluctantly pulled out a small book and handed it over to Mark, as he was legally obligated to by The Empire.
'I could just try and refuse, but if any word got back to the village I would be hunted down by the merchants association. The prices the old man charged were cheap anyway and I bet I can talk this young one down even with the incessant wench at his side.'
When Mark opened the book, he and Anabel immideatly realized the large gap in the amount Mr. Li had just offered and the amount he was paying Mark's father for the work that Mark had been doing the past year.
Anabel gasped as she pointed out the obvious.
"He was trying to pay you less than half what he paid your father for the same services!"
Mark looked a bit offended and looked to Mr. Li for an explanation.
Mr. Li looked embarrassed due to the accusations and the look that Mark was currently giving him.
'If I have learned anything in the last few decades of being a merchant, it is that you don't want the people that are repairing your equipment to look at you like that.'
Mr. Li decided to drop the previously angry front and do some damage control.
"Wait, wait, wait, it's not like that!"
Mr. Li looked frantic and apologetic so the two youths listened to what he had to say.
"I was offering you the standard rate for an apprentice, you must understand that I would not be willing to pay the same price for craftsmanship done by a less skilled worker. I would not try to rip you off, I just need to get my money's worth on these kinds of deals."
Mark nodded his head but began talking without having to include Anabel anymore. While he didn't care for money, he did understand the need to do deals like this for the prosperity of the village and he had learned a thing or two from his father about this over the years at the forge. He just didn't care much for it.
"Mr. Li, would you say you got your money's worth from this date to this date?"
The dates he was pointing at were the past year, and he even gave the man some leeway in when Mark had actually taken over as the main smith as it seemed his father waited a couple of months to ask for an increase in the price of the goods.
Mr. Li nodded his head as he looked at the exact dates that Mark was pointing at, wondering where the previously silent young man was going with this.
"Um, yes I would say that the best work your father ever did was during that past year and after the work gradually improved over the few months before that beginning date it seemed to reach the pinnacle of what was possible with these materials so he asked for an increase in the price then. Since the work was so good and it caused the repaired and new gear to last much longer, I was more than happy to oblige. But that is also why I am offering you a lower price at this time."
Towards the end of his explanation, Mr. Li looked like he had regained his confidence in the offer he was making to the mountain blacksmith. But he did notice that Mark had not lost his confidence either.
"Mr. Li, I would have to ask for an increase on the original offer you made me since I am the one who has been repairing and producing the gear for the past year in this mountain."
Mr. Li looked a bit confused at this statement but before giving his retort, Mark continued.
"We can head over to the smithy right now if you would like to see the proof?"
At this point, Mr. Li was quite perplexed. If the boy was lying he could even demand even less for the initial work from the young blacksmith, but if he was telling the truth then Mr. Li would need to jump on the asking price of the young genius that he had never seen in all his years as a merchant. It would be unprecedented to meet such a young master of the craft and he might even offer to sponsor the young man with better materials to further improve on his craft.
To put the nail in the coffin, Mark then mentioned further his current progress.
"And if you think that I had reached the peak previously, you will be quite surprised to see what I have made recently."
At this point, Mr. Li had to agree, since the young man did not seem to be simply boasting.
"Young man, if you have done what you say you have done then I would be willing to pay you the previous price and much more."
Mark smiled to this reply but wanted further clarification. So he grabbed Anabel's hand before turning back to Mr. Li.
"Is it ok if I bring Anabel along? She is my good friend and I would hate to leave her here."
Finally, the pieces clicked together in Mr. Li's head as he realized why the odd girl was still hanging around during the business talks. He put on a knowing smile as he looked at the now-blushing Anabel.
"Oh, you can do anything you like young man. We are going to your place of business after all."
With confirmation, Mark turned to walk to his forge while holding hands with the unusually silent Anabel.