Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII

In the world of Eden it was common for travelers to pick up supplies from passing traders or even small outposts between the larger towns and cities in The Outerlands. Maybe rations were running low, medicine was needed, or they wanted to fix their armaments, there were some things that couldn’t wait until they got to a larger marketplace. If luck was on their side they would find the right merchant for the right goods, otherwise they would have to make do with whatever was available to them. Many traders that relied on passing travelers for business would try to offer what was generally wanted by their customers. Items such as food, medicine, clothing, tools, and weapons.

And sometimes even special services, either of the peaceful kind or the violent.

*****

Flying through the air a bird made its way over The Outerlands below, passing by fields of wheat and corn before swooping down and snatching a small mouse from between the tall patches of grass. It carried its lunch off into a wooded area near a large cottage that was built next to a wide dirt road. The two-story building of stone bricks and smooth pinewood had a cozy appeal, with its white chimney letting off smoke from a stove inside while the windows were clean and glimmered in the sunlight. A swinging sign mounted on a post next to the road had an emblemized sword and pitchfork crossed over each other, the words ‘Trixton Pass’ written in bright white letters below.

Next to the cottage was a young boy, dressed in dirty blue overalls and working up a sweat under his straw hat as he lifted a heavy axe up before swinging down with a grunt onto a stump to split a piece of wood into two. His messy brown hair matched the color of his eyes along with his boots while the pants he wore had rips on the knees and smudges from his daily chores.

“I wonder what normal boys do for fun in the big cities,” he muttered to himself before placing another piece of wood on the tree stump. With a quiet grunt he lifted the axe up and swung down again, hacking the lumber into smaller pieces that he then tossed into a growing pile to the side.

It was quiet all around the cottage as it normally was, the boy showing no fear or even caution to living in the middle of nowhere in The Outerlands. He casually glanced around to seeing nothing out of the ordinary, a tired sigh coming from his lips before he placed another block of wood onto the stump.

“Those three get to have all the fun while I get stuck doing the chores. This blows. I hate being the youngest.”

After striking the wood cleanly down the middle he noticed something further down the road, the sight of three figures slowly coming up over the bend towards the cottage. He squinted to make sure he was really seeing other people approaching and not just imagining things out of sheer boredom then smiled brightly.

“Holy shoot, customers!”

With a swift motion he struck the axe down into the stump then raced into the cottage through the front door. The large front room was arranged like a shop with a sales counter and shelves stocked with trading goods and supplies set all around the main floor. The boy sprinted over and leapt across the counter before sticking his head in behind the back curtain.

“Hey, there’s- what the heck are you doing?” he exclaimed before quickly turning around and covering his eyes with a blush forming.

“What does it look like?” a playful girl’s voice replied. “I’m working back here.”

“You’re half naked! Why are you strutting around like that?”

“I’m not naked, I’m wearing some new leather armor Mika’s been working on. It’s called a fitting, dummy.”

“Hold still, Milly,” another girl ordered from behind the curtain. “Max, what are you doing in here anyway? You’re supposed to be chopping us some more firewood, remember?”

“Did you get another splinter?” a gentler female voice asked. “I keep telling you to wear gloves when you’re chopping wood.”

“No, I didn’t get a splinter, Mae,” Max groaned while rubbing his hands on his face. “I came in here to tell you that there’s some travelers coming our way, they could be customers.”

“What?” the three girls exclaimed.

Max heard a loud ruckus from the backroom as the three girls scrambled around, pots and boxes banging around while footsteps quickly pattered about with the girls moving in haste. The boy sighed and rubbed his eyes before hopping back over the counter.

“I’m going to go greet them. Make sure Milly is at least dressed properly before she comes out.”

He walked out the door and brushed down his overalls then removed his hat and tried straightening out his hair. With a bright smile he put his hat on and walked over to the signpost, leaning against it and waving to the three approaching figures on the dirt road.

“Hey!” he called out in a cheery tone. “Welcome to Trixton Pass. Anything I can help you fine people with today?”

Walking towards him Daniel was eyeing the large cottage with a curious smile, dressed in clean clothing with his vest’s buttons giving off a small gleam in the sunlight. To his left Triska watched the young boy waving them over with an amused smirk, hand leisurely resting on her sword’s handle at her hip while her hair gently flowed down where her yellow shirt was now open in the back. At Daniel’s right Clover was glancing around with a careful eye from under her hood, her cloak gently fluttering behind while her long pigtails dropped down her front out of her cowl.

“Hello there, young sir,” Triska greeted as they came up to the boy. “We read on our map that there’s a trading station around here. Know where we can find it?”

“You’re looking at it,” Max presented with a proud wave to the cottage.

“Here?” Triska asked curiously. “Um, isn’t this your house?”

“You betchya. It’s both our home and our place of business. We offer any kind of services you’re looking for. What is it you’re needing? We’ve got food and drinks if you’re hungry, any and all tools you could need for any situation, weapons if you want to be prepared for danger out here in these parts, or if you’re in the need of other services my sisters are trained professionals and are always available for the right price.”

Daniel and his companions blinked then turned to Max with bewilderment as he watched them with a confident grin on his face.

“I’m sorry, what was that last part?” Triska asked with a weak smile.

“Trained professionals?” Daniel repeated.

“You got it,” Max agreed with a wink at him. “Mika, Milly, and Mae are the best in these parts. If you got the gold they got you taken care of.”

“Is this kid whoring out his own sisters or something?” Clover dryly asked.

“Must be desperate for business out here,” Triska reasoned with a raised eyebrow at the boy.

Max looked at them confusedly before they heard the door to the cottage opening. Triska glanced to the three girls that were walking towards them while Clover merely looked over to them without any interest. Daniel kept a bewildered expression on his face as Max’s sisters came over to them while the young boy smiled proudly.

“These are my sisters. The eldest here is Mika,” Max presented with a wave to the girl. She stood taller than Triska and appeared a little older, the woman having a daring smile on her face with dark blue eyes and long brunette hair tied into twin pigtails down her back. She wore a leather vest with a studded shoulder guard on her left, her bosom being tightly squeezed into the chest piece that appeared durable enough for protection yet just barely sized to contain her large assets. Dark leggings with a leather combat skirt were worn along with white boots that had dark furry tops on them. Her hands were clad with fingerless gloves while her elbows had plated guards on them with small fins raised up along her arms.

“Welcome,” Mika greeted with a wink at Daniel, the boy smiling nervously while Triska’s hand gripped her sword’s handle slightly.

“And this here is Milly,” Max continued as the second sister waved to the group. Her long blonde hair was curled down to her shoulders while her green eyes going over Daniel in a playful manner didn’t go unnoticed by the travelers. She appeared to be the same height as Triska, sporting a white and blue summer dress, a belt that had a few pink and white pouches at her hips, and a breast size that Daniel and the girls thought could rival even Kroanette’s. On her feet she wore black shoes with tall white socks, though that wasn’t really noticed by anyone as the girl giggled with a hop that bounced her real assets a few times before the travelers.

“Nice to meet you!” she welcomed, with Clover baring her teeth slightly in ire of the girl’s development over her own.

“And finally the youngest, Mae,” Max finished with a wave to the last sister. She was a little shorter than Milly, her short brunette hair curled around her ears while her hazel eyes were hidden behind her rounded glasses. She wore a long-sleeved black shirt with a leather vest, her bust size being around the same as Clover’s which eased some of the travelers’ tensions with the sisters. Wearing baggy brown pants and having a large satchel slung around her shoulder at her side her figure was mostly obscured by her clothing, her feet clad in leather boots which she lightly tapped one behind her in a timid fashion.

“Nice to meet you all,” she spoke in a gentle voice.

“Um, nice to meet you too,” Daniel replied while Triska and Clover remained quiet.

“And I’m Max,” Max mentioned with a smug point to himself. “I help run the place with them.”

“So what brings you out to these parts?” Mika questioned crossing her arms.

“Just passing through, and we were hoping to purchase a few things as well,” Daniel explained, and then glanced to Triska and Clover as they just stood beside him in silence. Clearing his throat the two girls looked to him then to the sisters with Triska showing a smile again and Clover having the same dull expression on her face.

“Yeah,” Triska agreed. “We read that this was a trading post we could pick up some things. So what all do you sell here?”

“You name it, we got it,” Milly declared with another giddy hop.

“Really?” Clover mockingly replied as she crossed her arms in discontent. “Alright. I’m looking for an elven-grade bow, finely polished, with a sturdy quiver, and as many steel tipped arrows you can shove into the darn thing. You got that or what?”

Max and his sisters looked to each other curiously while Daniel and Triska turned to Clover with dull stares.

“Clover, they’re not going to have that,” Triska dryly pointed out. “Elven-grade bows are really rare.”

“I’m sorry,” Milly replied at Clover with a saddened frown. “But we only have half a dozen arrows at the moment, would that be alright?”

Daniel and the girls jumped with surprise before Clover stepped forward and pointed to the cottage.

“Hold up, you’re saying you
do
have an elven-grade bow in there?”

“We’ve got three,” Mae answered with a happy smile. “Well, we did have four but one was sold with many of our arrows a few days ago to a nice man.”