Chapter 28
Allora glanced at the paper in the darkness and checked some of the buildings, and then indicated that they should take the left at the next intersection.
"You can read that?" Mitchell asked.
She glanced at him briefly before returning her gaze to scan their surroundings.
"Elves usually have better senses than humans," Allora answered quietly. "We are generally stronger, too. I myself am as strong as an average human man, despite being a female. Most elfin males have even greater strength."
"That doesn't seem very fair," Mitchell remarked.
"Humans breed much faster so they usually have a numerical advantage. And magic seems to mix among the various races with equal measure -- with the exception of cambions like Revos, who have magic in their blood."
Mitchell changed the subject.
"So that 'Glass Sea' stuff you said to Yarlest. What was that about?"
"The Glass Sea is on the eastern coast of the continent. It is sacred to the people of Islivaria. Families bring their children to the shore to bathe in it and to be blessed on their seventh name day. It is said to be the resting place of an ancient and forgotten god."
"Why do they call it the Glass Sea?"
"Because it has no waves. The surface of the waters are as flat and smooth as a perfect pane of glass."
"That... doesn't seem possible," Mitchell said, astonished.
"Yet it is so. It is the dream of every Islivarian to be returned to the waters before the sun sets on the day they have died. It does not usually happen that way, but it is their hope. I only heard of it from delegates that visited the palace when I was young. I gave her a formal greeting that I heard the nobles use and she mistook me for a noble myself."
They walked through a few more small intersections before Allora found the sign she was looking for. The lantern outside the door was indeed still lit. Without preamble, Allora pushed the door open and they went inside.
The shop smelled of leather, iron, and dirt. It was decently bright inside despite the late hour and Mitchell could see the shelves full of digging equipment and survival gear of all shapes and sizes. Some of it looked new, or newish, and the rest ran the gamut of slightly used to barely serviceable. Mitchell couldn't imagine why anyone would buy things in such bad condition but it wouldn't be on the shelves if the dwarf who owned the place didn't think someone would take it.
At the sound of the door, a squat and grizzled old dwarf appeared from behind the counter and gave Mitchell and Allora a quick once over as they approached the counter. He was about five and a half feet tall and had the look of a block of granite that had been softened around the edges with clay with the skin tone to match. His face was broad and flat and his eyes were like glittering pieces of obsidian sunk deep into a worn and wrinkled face. Across his cheek from his ear to his upper lip was a line of four scars that looked to be decades old given the fading. His beard extended below the rim of the counter and it was filled with trinkets and gemstones that had been woven into the coarse hair. His shoulders and arms were broad and thickly muscled and he wore a plain tan shirt of some sort of thick canvas material and leather pants tucked into sturdy workman's boots.
"You would be the one Yarlest sent word about, aye?"
"I would be. My name is Chell and this is my companion Allanen. We wish to sell what goods we no longer need and buy provisions for a journey over the mountains."
"You can call me Nothok, aye." the gruff man said. He then paused and gave Allora a closer look. "Have you made the passage before? Something about your face be a mite familiar."
He squinted his coal-black eyes and gave her another up and down.
"I have crossed the mountains before but it was further south last time," Allora reassured him, trying to sound casual. "We have not met before, master Nothok."
The dwarf grunted.
"Aye, maybe it is as you say. Me eyes are as tired as me bones."
From beneath the counter he pulled out a ledger, opened it before them and produced a quill and ink.
"Do you recall all that you be wishing to sell? I was led to believe that most of your goods are being stored at Yarlest's place but if you have a recounting, I can give you a rough estimate of the prices I can give ye, aye."
Over the next few minutes Allora gave him a list of the things they wished to offload, including the wagon and the clorvol. Nothok seemed particularly interested in the beast.
"How be its temperament? And be it a male or female?"
"Female, and as long as she is fed regularly, she pulls the wagon without complaint," Allora reassured him. "She is a most agreeable beast of burden."
"Female you say? Aye, that's good. I can fetch a good price for her then, if she be as ye say."
"Why is that?" Mitchell asked. He remembered he wasn't supposed to talk as soon as the words were out of his mouth but if the dwarf picked up on his very strange accent he didn't show any sign.
"Clorvols are popular with those that search the desert for lost ruins, or for those who wish to be moving things between the towns and cities out of sight of the Scorpion Guard. And one of good temper that doesn't try to eat those that be sitting on the wagon is even more valuable."
Nothok offered them a hundred talons for the clorvol, assuming it was as docile as Allora promised, and another fifteen for the wagon and they settled on an even ten for the last enchanted water barrel and the tent that warded off insects. Allora said they would need sturdier camping gear for the mountains. She requested the coin in Awenorian crowns, which seemed to annoy the shopkeeper somewhat, as he said he didn't like doing the calculations and the exchange rate was likely out of date, but Allora allowed him to take two talons off the price for his trouble.
The next twenty minutes or so was spent going over the gear they would purchase and the supplies. He offered an even exchange for the water barrel for a small sack that he said contained an extra dimensional storage space that would hold enough food for a party of five for up to three weeks. Longer if they rationed it. It also had an enchantment that would slow down spoiling on things like fresh fruit, vegetables, and even meat. Allora accepted the offer as it meant that carrying additional food wouldn't require extra yulops, which Mitchell assumed were some sort of pack animal.
Throughout the negotiations, Mitchell noticed that the shopkeeper was giving Allora longer and longer looks and, from the tension that entered into Allora's shoulders, he could tell she noticed it too. Her speaking became a little more clipped and she seemed to agree to prices that she might otherwise have negotiated on.
"And, one final thing, Master Nothok. If it be Stollar's will, we wish to depart in the morning. Before dawn."
Nothok stared at her for a long moment before blinking again.
"Good lady Chell, this is a large order, aye. I would ask for at least a day to put this all together. It's already well after sundown."
"I understand," Allora said and somehow managed to look somewhat embarrassed at her request. "Asking you to put off your sleep is no small matter. If it be Stollar's will I can offer another ten talons to help you find the strength to work through the night."
