There was a small gathering at the water pump, several women from the Bottoms standing in line for their turn and talking. Work at the fish warehouse started before dawn and ended by the early afternoon, which was the usual time for leisure, rest, and – because not everyone could afford rest - the less labor-intensive errands. The pump building was at least shaded by the small ceramic roof and the fig tree.

Nua stood nearby, under the tree but several steps away from the usual washing place beside the gutter, and watched. She knew most of them. Even if she didn’t see their faces, she could recognize the silhouettes and bleached colors of their tattered shawls.

In preparation for her plan, she had a stroke of genius. She picked two large, unblemished fig leaves - it wasn’t easy to find them, as the tree, forced to drink the water from the gutter, wasn’t very healthy. Then she went upstream, almost standing in the line herself. Here the water was still clear, and the pavement was continually rinsed. She washed the leaves, shook off the water, and finally wrapped the fish. Well, as much as the leaves could cover, anyway.

With that improvised package, she waited for the right client. When she finally saw her ochre-colored, plaid-patterned shawl, she moved out from under the tree. Widow Umme was older than Hala and her teeth have long turned into stumps from the leatherworking craft because chewing was how she softened leather edges before sewing the pieces together (at least back in the day – now her daughter-in-law did that). She was nice, she had money, and she needed soft, but nutritious additions to her gruel, because she couldn’t manage to eat too much of it at once.

“Nua”, she noticed her right away, and that smoothened the scorns of women waiting with her in the line before the girl could get chased off. “You need drink? You can wait with me.”

“Thank you, grandma Umme,” Nua reflexively took the ceramic jug from her hands. If she was standing beside her, she was also helping – that was the undisputed custom, drilled into her by Hala. It also eased the atmosphere, because Nua’s presence wasn’t welcomed by the others. To be fair, she really smelled.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“That’s because I got work now!”

“In the fish warehouse, I guess.”, interjected one of the other ladies.

“Is it that obvious?”, Nua slouched. There was a collective burst of laughter. “Well, what do you say, I’m working hard, so it shows.”

More laughter followed, but they didn’t chase her off.

“Could be worse,”, said another grandma. “My son works in the tannery. I don’t need to tell you more!”

“Hey, at least yours does work. Mine just plays dice and spends all his wins on date wine.”

“Such a tiny girl working her bones off in the warehouse! Hala must be so proud!”

“If it’s more than one day, and she shows up on another, in Nua’s case I would say that’s a heroic deed. She needs her own taskmaster to work for more than half an hourglass without running off!”

Nua glanced to the side. Anki was floating nearby, giving off an air of mischievous enjoyment.

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“Just - just don’t say anything.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare.”

“It’s my third week.”, she remarked aloud. “What makes me stay are the discounted fish. I can eat them just like that, every day.”

Now she showed the package right under Umme’s nose.

“You didn’t steal that, did you?”, she frowned.

“Nope. It’s not like this is a full-priced flatfish, see for yourself.”

“A little squished, truth be told.”

“When it’s in gruel, looks don’t matter.”

“And the smell gets better,” Umme sighed. “I could have one.”

“Three coppers and it’s yours.”

“Oh, clever girl. You had that in mind from the beginning, didn’t you?” Umme’s eyes sparked with amusement. “That’s not a three copper fish. It’s past sale and barely edible, now that you squished it, too.”

“Hey, still edible. Two and a half?”

“I’ll need to cook it for a while. Two coppers.”

“Deal.”

The fish and the coins changed owners. Nua waited until Umme needed help with the jug, just to behave like a half-decent person, then took a few sips of water and left.

“As complex as your plan was, you just gained two coppers.”, Anki remarked. “Meat and fish are more expensive. With your nutrition in mind, it’s not sustainable and you know it. Care to explain?”

“It’s an even more complex plan. Just wait for it.”

“Hmm,” he mused, “It might be interesting to watch it unfold, although I keep having a bad feeling about this.”

The next afternoon, Nua waited until everyone left the warehouse, as usual. When Aton approached, she kept her left hand behind her back, squeezing two coppers.

“Fish for the fish lady.”, said the overseer. “As per request.”

He laughed at his own joke.

This was the moment everything could go wrong, depending on how corrupt and how cruel the man was. She was counting on more corrupt and less cruel and judging from what she had seen until now, that was a good bet.

“Say, Aton,”, Nua said. “What would you say for two more flatfish and two more coppers?”

He blinked.

“That’s… interesting.”, he said. “Where did you get the money?”

“Even dirt poor have the money sometimes.”

The man squinted and folded his arms. His enormous beard seemed to move on its own.

“Why make this deal with me?”

“Fish are expensive otherwise, and they’re good for nutrition”, she replied. Aton’s brows moved up.

“How do you know what that even means?”

“It’s just something I heard. Never mind,” Nua said. “Fish are tasty and I want more. It’s still not much if that’s your worry.”

A few hourglasses later there were four coppers jingling in Nua’s pocket. This time, the girl explained to Umme that she could actually try and get more for the others. Some of the women expressed doubt, but hunger for the fish meat prevailed.

“This is enough for a real discounted fish, or at least that’s the price I remember.”, Anki remarked. “I would advise you against trying again. You’re pushing it.”

Nua didn’t reply. She kept looking at the four copper, green-tinged coins with the stuffy face of an Overlord on them. That was real money with real purchase power. For that, Hala would buy them more barley. Now, if she could get twice as much…

“If things go bad, I can always run,” she said.

“I am starting to marvel at my own creation.”

“Say what?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nil, precisely zero. I cannot stop you. Just remember, Nua, that I have advised against it.”

Truth was, Nua’s heart was pounding when she offered Aton four coppers in exchange for four fish. The overseer seemed to ponder on it for a while, but this time he didn’t even comment. He just took the coppers and issued the flatfish.

“That’s the last time I’m doing it.”, Nua shuddered. “I made more than my weekly wage and I had my usual flatfish, too. Or I’ll make more when I sell the extra ones. I didn’t like the way he was glaring at the coin.”

“I’m afraid that by now he realized what you’re doing and won’t let you off the hook,” Anki pointed out. “Pretend that you’ve fumbled and lost the fish, or that you were robbed. He’ll make you miserable, but it’s better now than later, when his expectations rise.”

Late in the evening, when everybody fell asleep, Nua reached behind the amphora and pulled out the etheric lamp she accidentally brought from the Southern Temple. In the mellow, warm light, she was ogling eight copper coins and wondering what she should do with all that newly acquired wealth.