“How do you get so much into your bags?” Enchanter asked in selkie. She was sitting on one side of the pay pillar that stood between the humans’ two market stalls. Grandmother was sitting on the other side. It was late in the day in their third selkie shore. Most of the selkie sold their spells to the humans in the morning. Afternoon saw the crowds move on to their second stall, which was selling magic books. Ellen and Alex were busy enough that Todd stepped over to help out.

“It is a perk,” Grandmother replied in her own language. “I think everyone has one, but they are fairly useless before you reach tier six.”

“Perk?” Enchanter echoed. She didn’t know that word. She thought she’d managed to say it fairly close.

Enchanter was wearing wizard silks in a darker purple than standard indicating her tier four status. Grandmother wore cloth armor, which most people called hunter’s greens, only hers were in a dark, dark violet. Enchanter was seated on a small sturdy bench provided by Alex. Grandmother was still using her leather and three pole stool which she used in all the human squares last season.

“A special ability,” Grandmother responded. “I knew a man who could tell where every blade was around him. That one was more useful.”

“Ah, blade sense,” Enchanter replied. She considered it a innate ability. “I have heard of this. There is a very complex enchant that will turn a stone into a danger sensor that is similar to that talent.”

“Do you know that enchant?” Grandmother asked.

“Of course,” Enchanter said. “Sarah has many to go before that one. Where is this blade sense man now? Is he your ruler?” Selkie with blade sense usually rose high among the rulers of the federation.

“He was killed,” Irene responded. She locked eyes with Enchanter. “It only worked on integrated weapons.” Enchanters liquid eyes rolled in her head as she studied the blade at Grandmother’s waist. It was a smaller version of the one on Todd’s belt. Neither were integrated.

“I understand,” Enchanter commented. “At what tier did you notice your ability?”

“I didn’t really notice it at the time,” Grandmother admitted. “Looking back I can see signs of it early on. Like blade sense, it only works on integrated items. When I load a bag with non-integrated items like apples or tubers, the bag struggles with them trying to pack them tight. I can remember that happening at tier three.”

“Struggles? I would like to see that,” Enchanter replied.

“Todd brought a ton of apples with us, when we get back to Seagrass tonight I’ll show you,” Grandmother responded. Todd’s apples were part of the reason they ended up getting to their first square two days later than expected. He packed enough food for the six of them for the full season.

He also insisted on bringing along two potted plants. One was the poisonous arrowroot. The second was a berry avocado. It produced a small fruit, the size of a strawberry that was very fatty, like an avocado. It was one of the few fruits that Companion really loved. The arrowroot was a gift for the brewer. Todd planned to give the berry avocado to the potter as a tip for making him the larger planters.

When they arrived in Seagrass Enchanter took a day to prepare for the trip. Grandmother had to admit it worked out well in the end since she was able to pick up her thirty six human dolls from the tailor.

Grandmother handed the bag with the dolls to Enchanter and told her to give them to any child she liked. Enchanter handed out twenty dolls in the first square. Grandmother went back to the tailor for more. Luckily the tailor’s nephew gathered a lot more sponges than were needed on the first run, so the tailor promised partial delivery fairly quickly. He was a little surprised at how many more Grandmother wanted.

“How does the blade sense stone work?” Grandmother asked.

“It vibrates when a weapon gets near. If you set it on the ground, or suspend it on a string, it will turn to point at the weapon,” Enchanter explained. Suspended on a string sounded like an amulet. Grandmother wondered where Do-Fa-Ti’s jewelry and Enchanter’s stones started to overlap.

Sarah dismissed her muffle and blur spells. Her current interviewee reported to Grandmother with a sheet of vellum that reported what was owed to them. Grandmother paid out the coins, with Enchanter translating when needed. The selkie was a potter with a shop in the square. They would demonstrate most of their spells tonight in their shop. Grandmother wrote down the details of where their shop was located. There were three spells listed on the vellum with an asterisk beside them, meaning they were new spells. Grandmother told the selkie if they demonstrated those spells that evening, she would pay him three times the new spell bonus.

The excited potter hurried off to tell their pod of their good fortune.

“How can you afford all those bonuses?” Enchanter asked. She wondered about that since the humans first showed up at her own shore.

“I’ve received a lot of discovery bonuses over the years,” Grandmother explained, “And I never really spent much. New spells are getting rarer, but we haven’t had many potters willing to speak to us. I wish I had clay or sand to offer them, but those resources aren’t common in human territory. Is there such a thing as clay scrap?” she asked Enchanter.

“No,” Enchanter responded.

“Interesting. I don't think there is any stone scrap either and glass scrap is extremely rare. It must be something to do with the higher tier crafts. None of us have found any bone in the structure at all. Well, except for what is in the animals.”

“Bone?” Enchanter asked. “Why would you want bone?”

“For crafting,” Grandmother responded.

“Why do you think you can craft with bone?” Enchanter asked.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ellen got a visit from the Tinkerer in the arena,” Grandmother said. “It taught her how to repair bone items. If they can be repaired, it must be possible to craft them.” Enchanter almost fell off her bench.

The Tinkerer was a legend. Enchanter remembered Companion asking her what she knew about the Tinkerer visiting the winner in the arena. She told him the Tinkerer wasn’t in the arena, but in the under darkness. That information was pulled from a story her mother told her when she was a weanling. She didn’t think any of it was true. She knew the Tinkerer was just a weanling’s tale.

“You saw it?” Enchanter said in a high squeaking voice. Grandmother looked at the old selkie with concern.

“Yes,” she said. “We all saw it. A portal opened in the wall and it stepped out. It motioned for Ellen to follow and stepped back in again. Ellen said that was the last she saw of it too. After that it was all ghost images and glowing patterns.” In Enchanter’s agitated state she didn’t really follow all of that. Actually she didn’t understand most of it. She focused instead of what she knew about the legend.

“What did she trade?” Enchanter asked.

“Repairs,” Grandmother answered. “She repaired items in wood, leather, metal, cloth and stone to learn how to repair glass, ceramic and bone. Ellen is very good at repairing things, I think her perk might be related to it. After that Sarah put off trying the arena. She wants to enchant more items before giving it a try.”

Enchanter decided not to even think about the young human enchanter challenging the arena. This whole conversation was just getting out of hand.

“Are there books on repairing?” Enchanter asked. The question slipped out because her brain was on overload.

“You know, I don’t think so. You should suggest it to Ellen,” Grandmother responded. The two old women of different species sat together in silence. Grandmother was fiddling with her staff. She was using the end of it to scratch her back. Enchanter was struggling to get her worldview straightened out.

Sarah dropped her cloaking spells and the last selkie emerged from the interview circle. Grandmother paid the selkie for the known skills described. Companion went with the selkie to the training yards to witness the warrior demonstrate their imbuing spells. Since there weren’t any more selkie waiting to sell spells, Sarah went over to help with the magic book sales. Todd took the opportunity to escape, and came back to stand guard by Grandmother.

“It was really the Tinkerer?” Enchanter said finally.

“I don’t know what else it would be,” Grandmother responded. She went on to describe the entity using a large number of words Enchanter did not know. What little she did understand matched with her mother’s stories.

“I don’t think we’re going to get any more sellers,” Todd commented. “Most of the book shoppers are just looking. We should start packing up.”

“I agree,” Grandmother said. “Start ushering the book buyers out and breaking down the furniture. When Companion returns with the last warrior, I’ll pack the bags.” Todd nodded and went to tell Sarah, Ellen and Alex that they were closing up.

“Hurry and make your final selections,” Alex called in selkie. “Remember you can always visit the shops in Home Square. The portal keeper in Seagrass knows the path.”

Both the old women tuned the salesman’s speech out. This was the third repetition of it they’d heard. Somehow in these last few minutes Alex was able to sell off two or three of the furniture pieces they traveled with. Companion returned with the last warrior and Grandmother paid out the demonstration bonus.

Enchanter rose to her flipper-feet and discovered that Alex sold the bench she was sitting on. “My apologies,” Alex said. “They want the one the famous Enchanter sat on. I’ll leave one of the others for you to rest on while Grandmother packs.” Enchanter watched the human carry the first bench off and thought if she sat on another one, he would sell that one too.

Ellen sorted out the demonstrations to be witnessed and split them between the three teams. Grandmother, Enchanter and Todd were assigned the least number of demonstrations. They got a late start since Grandmother packed all the stacks of furniture components and books into bags before they headed out. Once Grandmother secured the bag tops closed, she handed them off to Todd to carry.

Enchanter was surprised at how much she enjoyed the demonstrations. Translating for Grandmother she got to see the inside of half a dozen crafters workshops. It was amazing at her age to discover a whole world of different crafts. She also saw a lot more potential apprentices. Selkie children were rare and treasured. Mothers liked to keep their calves close. In the safety of their own workshops, mothers allowed their calves a peek at the strange newcomers and the famous visitor. Enchanter handed out the human dolls to the children who dared to approach them. The calves squealed with delight at the small gift.

“The luggage seems lighter tonight,” Todd commented. The three of them were waiting for the others at the outdoor tables of this square’s inn. Even after their late start, they finished their list before the others.

“I think Alex has sold most of his extra’s. We’ll take a break and head back to Home Square for a couple days. Alex and Ellen can restock and we can get an update from Harry,” Grandmother commented. “Does that sound alright to you, Enchanter?”

“Fine,” Enchanter responded. “Maybe the tailor has more toys,” she commented. “I am running low again.”

“We can hope, I know he is limited by how long it takes to process the sponges,” Grandmother commented.

“Why are we giving out toys?” Todd asked. He wondered that for a while. This seemed like a good opportunity to ask. He knew how much Grandmother was spending on the things.

“A toy is an item you control, it isn’t a threat. It is fun and brings joy. It’s familiar and when you think back on it as an adult it seems like an old friend. It isn’t something you fear and go to war with,” Grandmother responded.

“Why did you order the selkie one?” Todd asked. This was news to Enchanter. She thought all the dolls were newcomers.

“That’s for human children of course. I thought Ellen’s version was really good, but she hasn’t got time to make a hundred dolls. I don’t want the dolls to wear out before we tour the human settlements again, so I will put off ordering them until we are ready. Although I think I’ll get a set to hand out in home square this season,” Grandmother commented.

“I’ll buy them,” Enchanter said suddenly.

“You don’t need to,” Grandmother said. “This is my crazy plan.”

“I like your plan. I’ll buy them for the human calves. I’m old and don’t spend much either,” Enchanter explained. She was already thinking about what kind of enchantment she could put on them.

“I’m surprised you are giving them away,” Todd said. “Shouldn’t we be selling them?”

“Well children are different from adults. They do put value in free things, as long as they are fun. However, you're right about a toy shop. It is a good idea. We need to find someone to open one.”

They returned late to Seagrass. The transportation system left them feeling energized. They all went up to the top floor of apartments, where the humans stored their market items between squares. Enchanter found herself following the group into the unit next to her own.

Sarah sat down at a desk next to a tall bookcase. She planned to take advantage of her energized state to work on creating enchanting books. She picked a stylus up from the desktop and a starter enchanting book from a shelf. Soon she was immersed in her work.

“The Elder told me you traded repair work with the Tinkerer. Do you have books on repairing items?” Enchanter asked Ellen. The sight of Sarah working reminded her of the Elder's suggestion.

“I did,” Ellen commented, “and I don’t. I need to fix that.” Ellen went over to their stack of blank notebooks and picked one up.

“Well done,” Grandmother told the much older selkie. “I’m calling a three day break,” Grandmother announced to the group. “I’m going to head back to Home square and check in with Harry. If anyone wants to stay here for the break, that is fine.” Grandmother thought that Companion might want to spend time with his family, or Ellen with the master jeweler. “I’m going to leave late tonight, so I’ll arrive in Home Square in the morning,” Grandmother announced before turning to Enchanter. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you the apples.”