Serenity Valley (19 page)

“Well, we are not really set up yet.
Why not come back this evening?”

“Oh, we would, good sir, but it is the
lady’s birthday today, and she doesn’t have much time
left.”

“Not much time left, what ails the
girl?”

“I’m afraid the beautiful lass do
suffer from a broken heart. You see, she has not the tools to tame
her flaming locks and cannot suffer public humiliation with her
unruly crop as it is.”

The vendor and his wife started
laughing with Fulk. I could tell the wife liked jibes and would
help with the negotiations. He said, “Well, let us see if we can
pull the poor girl back from the brink, shall we?” The man went to
his wagon and shuffled a few things around, returning with a wooden
box. He set it on the table in front of us and said, “I have to
warn you boys, these trinkets get expensive very fast!”

“Not to worry, sir, we have our money.
Been saving all his life for this moment, he has!” The wife grinned
at me. I gave her a wink and smiled.

“Well, we will see,” the old man
responded. “Take a look at these pretties!” He laid out a number of
brushes, combs, and mirrors on the table. He explained, “You will
note that every one of these holds the guild stamp of approval.
Only the best quality do I handle.”

Fulk and I examined the fine brushes
and mirrors. When I felt Fulk was about to settle on a brush and
mirror, I tapped on his foot. I said, “Good sir, these are surely
of the finest quality, each and every one. I fear what we seek you
may not have. We seek something unique, special, one of a
kind.”

“Oh, come now, boys, nothing wrong
with these. What about this mirror with this brush?” He had placed
a pretty white brush together with a matching mirror. Both had
flowers and birds hand painted on them.

“Although they are finely crafted, I’m
afraid all that we have seen simply won’t do, kind sir. We will not
waste more of your time. Good day, sir, my lady.”

“Wait!” the old man cried. “Now, hold
on, boys! Let’s not be rash. I have others, but much more
expensive.”

“Oh, sir, I’m pretty sure they won’t
be what we seek.”

“Hold there; I’ll be right back.” I
looked at his wife, and she gave a little nod with her head. I knew
I was on the right path now. Fulk looked at me, and I winked and
smiled. He smiled back. The man returned. “Here, lads, take a look
at these. They are my very best.” He laid out three hand-carved
boxes that were works of art themselves. Each box contained a
beautifully crafted comb, brush, and mirror set. The boxes were
carved out to contain each particular object. I estimated the boxes
took at least a month to craft; who could guess how long to make
the articles within. With delicate patterns of inlaid brass and
silver, they were truly beautiful. Fulk’s eyes were popping out of
his head now.

I looked at the old man’s wife and
raised my eyebrows. She just shook her head back and forth ever so
slightly. I said, “Sir, these are truly works of art, but are you
sure you don’t have something just a little more exotic?” Fulk
looked at me and pressed down hard on the top of my foot with his
boot. I ignored him and continued, “Sir, imagine meeting the missus
for the first time, suddenly realizing she was your lifemate. To
not have her heart would end you, the terrible pangs of torment
tugging at your heart strings. Do you have something fitting to
that occasion, good sir?”

“Boy, the only thing I have left is
set aside for Lady Linota of Roschale Province, the famous
winemakers.”

“Could we see it, sir?” Fulk kicked me
this time, and I grimaced in pain.

The vendor’s wife said, “For heaven’s
sake, Hugh, shows it to them.”

Hugh said, “Now, Lora, you know they
can’t afford it, even if I wasn’t saving it.”

“Show it to them, Hugh. Can’t you see
it's young love? Nothing stronger than young love!”

“All right, then, all right!” Hugh
soon produced a white box with adorned carvings and inlays of rare
stone I wasn’t familiar with. The colors were brilliant, several
used to make a single flower on the top. Vines and small flowers
scrolled along the top edge and sides. I had never seen anything
like it. Inside was a lovely polished white mirror made of some
material I could not place, possibly bone. An intricate design
scrolled the mirror edge. The simplicity and beauty made the other
sets appear garish and overdone. The brush was another simplistic
work of art. The comb was precious, carved from a single piece of
bone. On the handle was a carving of a nude woman combing her hair.
The simple yet beautiful design of the box and contents made it
stand out from the rest. It just screamed of class and elegance.
Fulk’s mouth was hanging open, so I spoke, “Sir, I think you have
what we seek. What is it made of?”

“The box is made of marble with inlays
of garnet, tanzanite, and other rare stones. The set is carved from
single pieces of elephant tusks by master artists of the Asian
lands. The brush hairs are made from giraffe mane. I’m afraid it’s
out of reach for you boys, but I’m glad you appreciate such a work
of art.”

“The simple richness is pretty
overpowering, sir. May I dare to ask how much this set would sell
for?”

“This set would go for four gold,
young men.”

Fulk gasped for air. I looked at Lora,
his wife. She just shook her head slightly back and forth. I said,
“Fulk here has one gold, sir, deal?”

“No deal! And I don’t believe he has a
gold on him anyway.”

“Fulk, give the man your piece.” Fulk
handed Hugh the coin.

“Well, I’ll be damned!” Hugh
exclaimed.

“Hugh, you watch your language!” Lora
admonished him.

Hugh just glared at his wife, then bit
down on the coin and examined it. “Lora, brings me the scale,
please.” Lora soon returned with a balance beam scale that Hugh
used to check the coin weight. When he had finished, he said,
“Well, that’s good coin all right!”

“Good sir, are you sure that four gold
is the best you can do for the set?”

Hugh hung onto the coin. “Couldn’t go
any lower than four, just breaking even at that price.”

I looked at Lora. She shook her head.
I said, “Good sir, say my friend here had two additional gold. Do
you think you could part with it?” Now Lora was nodding her head,
indicating I had the price.

“Well, he doesn’t, but at he might, I
would have to consider it, being first sale and all.”

I said, “So, if my best friend Fulk
here had two more coin to his name, you would make the deal and
ensure a profitable festival by making first sale?”

Lora was smiling wide now as Hugh
said, “Yes, I would deal!”

I reached into my pocket and pulled
out two coins, dropping them on his scale. “Deal!” I
said.

Hugh looked at his wife. She nodded.
“Deal!” he exclaimed.

Everyone shook hands with wide smiles,
except Fulk, who was going to catch a fly if he didn’t close his
mouth soon. I finally put a finger under his chin and pushed his
mouth closed. “Hey, Hugh,” I said, “those last coins were a little
heavy; do we get change?” Hugh’s smile turned to a frown
immediately. I started to chuckle and shook his hand, and the frown
turned upward again.

“You are a hard bargainer, young
man!”

“You too, good sir. May you and Lady
Lora sell out your entire inventory at the festival!”

By now, Fulk was regaining his
faculties and said, “Thank you very much, Master Hugh and Lady
Lora. Nesta is going to love it!”

Lora spoke up now to say, “Be careful
what you wish for, young Fulk. You might be gettin' much more than
you expectin'!”

Everyone laughed, and we bid our
farewells. Fulk was carrying the box with both arms around it as if
it were a chest of gold. I said, “I say, Fulk, are you going to
seek out a certain young lady?”

“Oh, yea, before I lose this damn
thing!”

“I’ve got more business to attend to.
I’ll catch up with you later. Let me know how it went!”

“Sure, sure, and Gamel, thank you very
much. I owe you!”

“You owe me nothing. Go enjoy your
lady; after all, it’s her birthday!” We both smiled, and Fulk trod
off with his prize. I scanned the area for my next
vendor.

In little time, I found our own master
tanner setting up his shop. I called out, “Oye, Master Forwin, how
goes it?”

“Aye, Gamel, 'tis a fine day. What are
you up to?”

“I was hoping to make business with
you, sir, and give your festival profits a glorious
start!”

“Aye, why does me first customer have
to be a rogue lad out to clip me goods?”

“I promise it will be painless. I’m in
the market for some boots, Master Forwin.”

“What kind of boots ya lookin' fer,
young master?”

“The ideal boot, sir, laced to
mid-calf, soft and lightweight for running, waterproof for forest
use, and the color of the forest itself.”

“I may have the perfect thing for such
use.” Master Forwin started unloading his wares on the big table he
had set up. All manner of bridles, halters, shoes, and boots were
strewn out on the surface. I helped organize them as he continued
to unload. He said, “Here we go, Gamel. We sell a lot of these ta
message runners. They have to be tough but lightweight and
waterproof.”

I examined the boot and found it very
supple and lightweight. It had a moderate heel that blended into
the sole. “This is exactly what I’m looking for, Master Forwin. Do
they hold up well?”

“One fellow has had his boots resoled
three times, and they are good for three more
re-stitchin's.”

“That sounds great; what about
price?”

“They are not cheap, Gamel. I get a
half gold per pair.”

“What if I buy four pair, Master
Forwin, could I get a better price?”

“Well, yes, but you don’t need four
pair, Gamel.”

“Oh, just one pair is for me. Then
there is one for Fulk, one for Lady Bella, and one for
Basilea.”

“So it’s for the forest
people?”

“I’m sorry, Master, the
what?”

“That’s what people call your group.
You four spend so much time in the woods, they call you the forest
people!”

We laughed a little, then I said, “I
had no idea people were aware of our adventures, Master
Forwin.”

“Gamel, people notice most everything
to do with the lady and your horse.”

“Well, then, unwanted fame. What say
your price on four pair of your finest, Master Forwin?”

“On four pair, I can go one and a half
gold. I’ll make profit on the next one.”

“Deal!” I said.

Forwin cried, “Deal!” as well, and we
shook hands. “Let me check my inventory records, Gamel. I may have
them stitched and ready.”

“Do you want me to tell you size,
Master?”

“Hold while I get my records.” Forwin
was back from his cart in short order and said, “Okay, I have the
lady’s size because I make her boots. What size is
Basilea?”

“She is the same as the lady’s. They
swap footwear sometimes, and Fulk is one size less than me. I can
draw his foot size if you like. I know it by heart after tracking
him for over a year.”

“Okay,” Forwin said. “I have two pair
ready in the ladies' size. Take off your boot, Gamel.” I handed my
boot to Forwin. “Where is it? Ah, there it is. I always mark the
size in the boot, along with my stamp. Now, let’s see if I have it.
I have it, but it’s for another customer. No worry, I’ll have my
son start another pair and sell you these. Better draw Fulk’s
footprint to be sure it’s one size smaller than you.” I took a
piece of chalk from Forwin and drew Fulk’s footprint on the table.
Forwin measured the print with some kind of calibrated stick. “Fulk
is exactly one size smaller than you. Now, let me check...” A
minute later, he was saying, “Got that also.”

I said, “That’s great, Master Forwin.
What can you do about color?”

“I can dye them any color you
need.”

“Can you make them multi-colored to
blend in with the forest, maybe natural tan, and light and dark
green?” I drew some patterns on the table to give Forwin an idea of
what I was looking for.

“So you want them to blend into the
vegetation?”

“Exactly, Master Forwin; invisible
boots!”

“No problem, Gamel, my daughters will
have fun dying them. Come by late this afternoon, and they will be
ready.”

“Is there any way you can gift wrap
them, Master Forwin, except for mine, of course.”

“Ah, presents for the forest people.
I’ll take care of it.” I handed Forwin two shiny gold coins, and he
said, “Gamel, you don’t need to pay now. Pay me when you pick them
up.”

“I would prefer to pay now, if it’s
all right. I need to get two more things, and I don’t want to come
up short for the boots.”

“Okay. Let me make change.”

Forwin got a thin blade chisel, a flat
piece of iron, and a hammer. In no time at all, one of the coins
was cut precisely in half. I said, “Thank you, Master Forwin, may
your first sale prove good luck for the festival
profits!”