Before the conversation truly began, Aisha pulled out a tiny bead of aether, rubbing it between her gloved fingers, and weaving it into a spell. “Worry not, this is only an appraisal spell.” She explained, drawing the azure spell-knot with the same amount of dexterity and poise as a dancer. Liam paid close attention to the way she prepared it, the many twists and turns, and how she’d continuously poke here and there to keep the weave stable as she kept adding twists and turns. Though the spell barely consumed any aether, its complexity was greater than even the fire-spell Umira had used to melt a hole in the aqueduct. The way she moved her hands into and around the weave also had a softness to it, as if she were caressing the mana into shape.
“You are very skilled.” He commented as she tucked the final strands into place and the spell began to collapse into itself.
“Are you a mage by any chance?” She inquired, gaze never leaving her work.
“Not really.” Liam gave a wry smile, trying to pretend he wasn’t carrying aether concealed between the things he’d brought. “But the mark of an expert is making something complicated appear easy.”
Aisha’s gaze didn’t turn his way, keeping her focus on the pile of gold and precious items, regarding them ever so carefully as the blue light uncoiled itself like a snake and danced directly towards her forehead. At her gesture and prompting, servants came in to pick up items from the pile one by one, parading them in front of her before gingerly placing them back down on a second pile. Each item that she looked at, she wrote something down on her parchment, ink flowing freely as she made a list of some sort.
Glancing over at the text, Liam’s blessing of translation took a moment to kick in, and he confirmed it was an inventory of everything he’d brought, weighed to the gram, and detailing exactly what was enchanted and what wasn’t, as well as the likely magic that was on the item. Apparently the translation skill was working overtime, because he knew that the locals used different measuring units. So the blessing had to be doing some sort of interaction with his own knowledge to convert the measurements to ones he could make sense of.
“This is a considerable find.” Aisha finally proclaimed, reviewing the list with a deep scowl. “You got this while exploring the Twilight Jungle?”
“I stumbled on a few treasures, and brought what I could carry.” He carefully chose his words to stick to the technical truths, just as he’d practiced with Maridah.
“So there’s more?” She was writing small notes next to some of the items, some were comments detailing a need for a more thorough appraisal to confirm the enchantments.
“Yes, but I don’t really want to go back there.” Picking up a piece of dried meat, he gave it a bite, savoring it. “I missed the taste of good food.”
“And after you left the jungle?” Her tone was aloof, distant, clearly thinking about something other than their current conversation, eyes never having left the parchment.
“Excuse me?” Frowning a little, he took a sip of the beverage he’d been served. It was juice of some kind, though he couldn’t place it exactly.
“Ignore my question, it’s not relevant.” She quickly waved it off, reaching for her cup and downing it in a single gulp. She presented the itemized list while she began writing down a copy. “Would this suffice?”
Liam almost choked on his drink, this was half-over what they’d been expecting out of the transaction. “Is… this correct?” He nervously asked.
“Yes, though due to the upcoming festivities we are short on spare coinage.” She took out a third piece of parchment, quickly jotting down the same amount, and then glancing at the servant. “Bring me the seal.” As she said this, her focus fell on the pile of items, there was a distant look on her face, one of complicated emotions.
The elf woman quickly ran out, returning a moment later with a featureless copper box just large enough that one might fit a shoe inside. The box was devoid of seams or gaps, and Liam would’ve believed it to be a solid block of copper, but the way the servant carried it betrayed it to be far lighter than that.
Aisha took the box and pressed her thumb against one of the sides, watching silently as a panel slid open, revealing just enough to expose a gemstone within. The gemstone was shaped like a chess piece, tall and cylindrical, with a flat bottom that she pressed against both pieces of parchment.
“This is a promissory note, I should have enough to pay you what you are owed once the festivities are over. But if not, anyone in the Caliphate should respect its authenticity.”
There was a faint burning sound, and the gemstone left an intricate pattern of squiggles and knots that looked entirely random noise.
“Oh, I know about these!” He excitedly took the promissory note. “The enchantment creates a pattern based off of the contents on the parchment when you press the seal into place, so when put into an enchanted box, it will take the pattern and verify the parchment’s contents are valid as well as indicate who stamped it.” Catching up with himself, he winced. “...right?”
“That… is indeed how it works.” Aisha gingerly placed the gemstone back into the metal box, the copper panel locking back into place. “You are not of the Caliphate, are you? I can’t place your accent, and you are…” She turned to look at him for the first time since starting her work, and froze, her glowing eyes going wide as her gaze trailed over him, mouth agape. “Bitajr!”
“Is something wrong?” He asked, leaning away, unsure of what was going on. The translation spell had attempted to kick in, but with it being just one word, he hadn’t reacted in time.
“No, excuse me.” She’d closed the gape, reaching out to grasp his right hand, staring at his arm and all the way back up to his face with intensity. “I am currently with too many things to do and far too little time.” Tightening her grasp, he noticed she wasn’t wearing her gloves. “Would you find amenable to continuing at a later time?”
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“Uh… sure?” Put on the spot, he wasn’t even sure what else to say.
The woman pulled away hastily, giving him a polite if hurried smile. “Then please be at home, and do not hesitate to ask the servants for anything you might need.”
She left, closely followed by the elf servant.
Liam found himself staring at the curtain she’d used to exit the room, staring down at his hand and then at the other servant in the room, an ochre scaled draxani. They simply bowed at him. “Once you are finished here, I will take you to the guest room if you so choose.” If not for their deeper voice, Liam would’ve had a hard time guessing whether it was a male or female, the clothes were a bit too baggy and airy to properly distinguish anything.
“Wait, really?” He startled, giving another long look at the curtain. “Did I do something wrong or…?” Liam wanted to contact Wolf, ask what was going on, but he couldn’t risk someone detecting the telepathic communication somehow. She needed to be the one to initiate, and she’d only do it once certain the coast was clear.
The servant hesitated. “I would dare claim it was the opposite, sir. If I may be so bold, it seems you impressed the Amil.”
How? For the life of him, he couldn’t fathom why she’d offer hospitality. The whole conversation had not unfolded as he’d anticipated, and now he was left mostly confused. “Uhm…” Liam scratched his cheek. “I am currently traveling with a leonid companion, and we’d sort of planned to book a couple rooms at an inn…”
There was a slight bow. “The Amil’s generosity extends to your companion, they are equally invited to be guests within this household.” He paused, giving him a meaningful look. “I must warn you that vacancy in the city ran out a few days ago. As we speak, the number of camp areas are being increased, but even then, many will be forced to sleep outside the city walls.”
Even if there was vacancy, Liam was absolutely certain they would find a great deal of problems if he turned down the offer. Within the Caliphate to be a host was seen as a very important duty, and to have the offer rebuffed an equally great insult. And it wasn’t like it was just one-sided either, most of the deities that had a foothold within the empire viewed breaking hospitality harshly.
It had been part of the reason why the collector murdering guests would’ve caused a massive ruckus were it to occur anywhere other than a forgettable tiny hamlet of a place.
“I… will openly admit I am unfamiliar with some of the finer details of customs in this land.” Liam gave a slight smile, trying to keep it friendly. “If I slip up, please correct me. I’d much rather learn here than make a mistake in front of the Amil.”
The servant straightened, tail flicking in a sign of what could only mean approval. “Certainly.” Another slight bow as he returned to the corner he’d previously occupied.
Now free to think, he tried to put together how to move forward. He was… the Amil’s guest, right? For how long? As far as he remembered, there were people infamous for abusing hospitality and overstaying. But what about the other way around? Was there such a thing as people being seen as overly rude for staying as guests for too little?
The question was quite legitimate, in this world traveling was hard and time-consuming. It could take several months to cross the Caliphate on an airship, and though teleportation was a thing, the cost-to-range ratio was abysmal. Travel in general was just a slow process, people weren’t expected to depart the very night after they came to a city unless they had something severely urgent going on.
Still, his first instinct had been to suspect something being off, even if not in a nefarious kind of way. It was a change of pace Liam was probably going to need a while to adjust to.
Even if it still left him wondering why she’d extend the invitation. Maybe she was more curious about the gold’s origin than she’d let on?
Taking his time to properly enjoy the snacks and juice he’d been provided, he was led out of the building and towards the main structure. The architecture inside was just as well-kept, if perhaps a bit less lavish, than the “trade” room. There were high arches and geometric patterns on every ceiling, with water being one of the stronger themes of the abode as you would find either a fountain or a tiny open aqueduct in every room and corridor. The place felt lived in, with tiny scratches and worn out places, yet holding an air of quiet sophistication to it.
The guest quarters were no less interesting.
Liam had to guess that, viewed from up top, the guest quarters looked like a circle with eight boxes attached to it. In the middle there was a large garden with enough foliage to give a semblance of privacy to the other rooms, the sound of running water betraying the presence of fountains further in. The room had the wall leading to the garden missing, covered instead by two layers of semi-transparent curtains, these being the only way in or out of the room.
“We do not wear shoes within the private quarters.” The servant pointed at a small square hole in the stone steps leading up to the room. It had a small hole from which water flowed, and a discreet drain through which it left, leaving the illusion of being a basin that had been freshly filled. “I could wash your feet if you wish, though I’ve heard some human cultures are squeamish about such things.”
“I… definitely am of the squeamish variety.” Liam acknowledged. “Anything else I should know? Just… assume I’m not from here.”
“Certainly, sir.” He pulled the curtains back, revealing an open-plan room the size of a small apartment. At a glance, the whole thing was covered in thick rugs. There was a pile of cushions and blankets marking the bed area, with a low table and a hookah near the garden, alongside what he could only guess was a tea-making set. “We brought your belongings.” He pointed at the pile next to the curtain. “And there will always be a servant within ear-shot, if you need for anything, just speak and we will do our best to satisfy it.”
“That’s very generous.” The whole thing felt equal parts grand, impressive, and uncomfortable. This was not the sort of lifestyle he was used to. “Would there be a problem if I left for the time being?” It was also important to ask, just in case this whole thing was, potentially, leading into some bizarre form of kidnapping.
“Of course not. You are a guest, you may come and go as you please.” The servant hastily bowed. “The Amil has also invited you to share the morning meal with her tomorrow.”
“When did she…?” He paused when he noted the servant pointing at the jade pendant hanging around his neck. “Ah, I guess there’s some sort of communication enchantment?”
“Indeed.”
“Then I guess I appreciate the offer, and I’d enjoy the meal.”
“The Amil has been informed and she thanks you for your patience.” The servant let go of the curtain, stepping away from the room. “Do you wish to head out now, or would you rather freshen up first? The central area is a shared bath pool, though if you wish for a proper hammam, I will lead you to it.”
“Hammam? You mean the hot-baths?”
“Yes.”
He hesitated glancing at the room and then at the garden, it was as if he could feel every bit of grime, sweat, dirt, and muck he’d gone through over the past several months clinging to him like an oil-soaked cloth. The thought of the bath being shared wasn’t exactly appealing, but the apprehension was severely outclassed by his desire to feel properly clean for the first time since coming into this world.
The hammam on the other hand were hot baths, which were typically more public, though he figured that the Amil had her own private one.
“You know what? I think I will quickly try out the pool.”