image [https://imgur.com/A1sB3MR.png]

THE BAKERY

The two of them crossed the town square towards Alaya's café. When Monte had crossed from the Inn to the station this morning, it had been devoid of any life. Now the square was more vibrant than he remembered it. Townspeople crisscrossed in front of their path, going about the morning business.

"I don't see any rats. That's a nice change." Monte said.

"They haven't been an issue since you were here. In fact, things are mostly back to normal." Alaya said.

"Mostly?" Monte said. He looked over at Alaya. She gestured to her head to a pair of Guard standing on the outskirts of the square. Neither of the man were looking in his direction, but Monte could tell they were surveilling the area. Likely they were watching out for someone in particular. He could only guess who their target was.

"I think the whole episode scared some people away. Fewer folk coming from out of town. Guard have been much more present to try to make visitors feel better." Alaya said.

"Has it impacted your business much?" Monte asked. He knew Alaya depended on people from out of town. The Old-timers and regulars ordered very sparsely, when they ordered anything at all. Alaya let them occupy the prime tables every morning anyway. The morning commune in her café was part of the charm of this town.

"The shop's doing fine. We all hoped the festival would generate interest in the town. But not this kind." Alaya said.

"I'm sorry." Monte said. They had arrived at the shop. Alaya stepped forward to unlock the door.

"It's not your fault! You're the town hero." She said, as she removed her key and opened the door. Monte heard the familiar tinkling of the bell above the door.

"I don't know about all that. Besides that's not really what I mean. I'm sorry I was never totally open with you before." Monte said. Alaya stopped and turned to look at Monte. The smile she'd been wearing fell away and she narrowed her eyes in his direction.

"I forgive you. Anyway I never really asked did I?" Alaya said. She turned her back to him again and lifted up a portion of the counter so she could walk back into the kitchens. The cat jumped down and followed after her.

"No… I guess neither of us did." Monte said. He walked through to the kitchens and closed the counter behind him. The act gave him the strange sensation he'd never left this place, though everything was different.

"And we still managed to have a little fun and a few good rollicks eh? Nothing to be sorry for." Alaya said. She was smiling at him again.

"I suppose you're right. It's just…" Monte said. He couldn't help but grin himself.

"Come help me roll out a little dough if you must atone." Alaya said.

She had apparently left in the middle of prep for the next day. Everything in the kitchen was still covered in flour and in various stages of completion. Monte had watched her a few morning as she worked. The cat found her old spot upon the baking oven and curled up for a nap.

"I figured out what I need to do. I didn't plan on coming back but since I'm here I want you to know. I have to go home." Monte said. He had picked up a rolling pin and was studying Alaya's movements. She was so elegant in her movement, the way only someone who has practiced a motion hundreds and thousands of times can be. She kept working without looking up.

I wish I had Orna's ring right about now.

"Are you going to help me or are you just going to stand there?" Alaya said finally.

Monte was taken aback and his face showed it. He started rolling out the ball of floured dough in front of him.

"Like this." Alaya said, emphasizing her motions. Monte couldn't tell what she was doing differently, but he did his best to mimic her. A few more moments of silence passed between them. Nine tolls rang out from the clocktower. Even though they were inside Monte could hear them clearly.

"I'm happy for you. I am. When you showed up I just thought of you as a tourist passing through. I never saw much of a future between us…" Alaya said. Her tone didn't fluctuate as she pressed her body weight into the rolling pin. She folded the now long thing sheet upon itself and began rolling again.

"But… for some reason I'm glad you came back. You being here feels right. I'm not entirely sure what else to tell you." Alaya said. She kept rolling. Monte stopped.

"How about you start with why you had to close today?" Monte said. He offered a friendly tone, letting Alaya know he was ready to move on and was only interested in being friendly. She stopped rolling and smiled at him. Even without the ring he knew she understood.

"I've been waiting for you to ask, hero." Alaya said, adding some lilt to the last word.

"I lied earlier. Things aren't back to normal. Strange things keep happening. The old timers won't let me forget about it." Alaya said. She dusted her hands off and a cloud of flour flared up around her waist and began to slowly settle over everything within a few feet.

"What kind of strange things?" Monte asked. Instinctively he patted his hands against his trousers. The resulting cloud of flour was much less impressive.

"At first it was little things. More strangers in town who didn't seem interested in the local fare. Men who looked like the ones who kidnapped the old mayor on the Night of First Tolling" Alaya said. Monte nodded along.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"The night of what?" Monte asked.

"The Night of First Tolling. It's what we've taken to calling the night you rescued the old mayor. The night half the town lost their minds. As you can imagine it's come up once or twice around here." Alaya said. Monte simply nodded.

"They would come in for a few days, then disappear. Then another crop would show up. Nobody could figure out why. When they had to eat or drink, and when they left the inn, they paid with these." Alaya said.

Company men.

She had walked over to the counter and opened a small drawer. Inside were coins. She brought out a few and dropped them into Monte's hands. At first glance they appeared to be typical republic copper hits, there was one silver shine.

"So they paid for room and board with coins? What's the issue?" Monte asked.

"Look again." Alaya said.

Monte really studied the coins in his hands. He had no sense of what to look for. The silver sparkled like it always did. He jingled the coins in his hand and the clinking of coppers was as recognizable as always. Then he thought he noticed something, just as his eyes became unfocused. The edges of the coins began to fade away into a haze. When he focused his vision again, they appeared to be republic tender.

Monte shook his head and tried to unfocus his vision again. Just faintly, around the edges, he could see the plating of the coins recede and reveal they were nothing but wooden blanks underneath. He shook his head in disbelief.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Alaya said. Monte almost instinctively checked her finger for a ring like Orna's. She was, of course, just reading the bewildered look on his face.

"What's wrong with these?" Monte asked.

"We haven't quite figured it out yet I'm afraid." Alaya said. She extended her hands and Monte dumped the coins back into them.

"First, it was just some of the old drunks saying the coins were wood. Then someone had the bright idea of getting blind drunk like them to see what they were on about. Turns out all you have to do is not really look at 'em and you realize they're fakes." Alaya said, as she dumped the coins back into the drawer. The sound they made was entirely convincing.

"Best counterfeit coins I've ever seen." Monte said.

"Us too. In fact most folks are still using them. Some refuse to believe it. That's what I needed to meet with the Guard for. Today at ten bells was the only time they had. And they asked me if I could bring a little coffee over first thing." Alaya said, almost spitting out the last sentence.

"I thought that brew tasted familiar." Monte said. He was staring absently at the drawer that contained the fake coin. It seemed fairly clear to him that the Company men were bringing in the counterfeit coins. Why they were doing it, and to what end, Monte couldn't yet guess.

"That's right, you were there too. Your turn to tell me what business you have with the Guard here." Alaya said.

Monte paused to contemplate his response. He wanted to be more open with the truth and his intentions. Still, he felt the fewer people knew about his business with the pirates, the better.

"I believe they're still working on old mayor Padrig's trial. I gave them my account of the events of the night of… what was it again?" Monte asked.

"Night of First Tolling." Alaya said without missing a beat.

"Right. I told them what happened and that was that. Then Orna came in, I'm guessing for the same thing." Monte said. Alaya stared at him, eyes squinting, then she cocked her head to one side.

"Mayor Padrig's trial finished up ages ago. He's been in a cell ever since." Alaya said.

Monte felt a piece of his stomach drop. If the trial was over, why was he still being questioned? He wanted to pry Alaya for more information, but he felt certain she'd already told him everything she knew. Until this point it hadn't occurred to him that coming back to this town could mean trouble for him. Had he given something away in the interrogation? He could run now, but if the Guard wanted him they would eventually find him. Monte decided it was better to learn what he could. He knew who he needed to speak with.

"Have you seen the Clockmaker?" Monte asked. His attention returned to the room and Alaya wore a look of alarm, eyes wide now and searching Monte's face.

"The Clockmaker? Are you okay Monte?" Alaya asked.

"I'm fine, but I would like to go see the Clockmaker if I can." Monte said. Alaya's alarm turned into concern, the edges of her mouth curled down.

"Monte I'm so sorry nobody told you, the Clockmaker passed away a few weeks ago." Alaya said.

The rest of his stomach dropped now. Alaya came close to him and put her hands on his shoulders, then she pulled him into a hug. Monte felt like he couldn't get a breath for a moment, before finally managing to relax. He put his arms around Alaya.

What have I gotten myself into?

"What happened?" Monte asked.

"What?" Alaya replied.

"How did she die?" Monte asked. Alaya pulled herself away and looked at Monte.

"I suppose she was just getting on in years. To tell you the truth she seemed fine to not a week before. It was a terrible couple of days here as you can imagine." Alaya said.

Monte had so many questions he'd never bothered to ask her. He felt as though one of the only real links to his father was now gone. He barely knew the Clockmaker but she had helped him so much. Monte knew it would take some times to accept he would never see her again.

Just then there was a knock at the front window. Monte and Alaya turned together to see who was there. Alaya gestured for the knocker to come in. The bell above the door let out its song as Kieran stepped into the shop.

"I thought you were going to be closed today!" Kieran said.

"I am. I set aside a few things for you, but don't tell anybody." Alaya said. Monte noticed she was suddenly a little stiffer.

"Monte! I thought that was you, but I can't trust these old eyes anymore. They'll see whatever they want to see I guess." Kieran approached the counter and extended a hand. Monte was still shaken up by the news but remembered his manners and accepted the old man's hand.

"It's good to see you Kieran. I'm sorry about the Clockmaker." Monte said. Keirans cheery demeanor turned grave.

"Well… thank you. I am too. I reckon we all are." Kieran said, turning to Alaya.

"How much have you told him?" Kieran said.

"Just showed him the coins, told him about the dark clothed men, Padrig's trial, just about everything I think." Alaya said flatly. Monte saw Kieran raise his eyebrows in Alaya's direction.

"No. Not that." Alaya said as she placed a steaming mug down next to a plate with a scone on the counter. She didn't look at Kieran as she did it.

"Well you're all caught up then Monte. I'm sure tomorrow when the shop is open again you will learn many and more things. Some of them might even be true!" Kieran said, then chuckled.

"I almost forgot!" Alaya said, suddenly animated again. She ducked her head down to the counter and looked out the window.

"I'll be late if I stick around much longer! Take your drinks and go now I can't miss my appointment or I'll have to close up again!" Alaya said. She began frantically moving around the kitchen putting her belongings back together.

Kieran feigned haste and gave Monte a look of playful shock as he took a sip of coffee. Monte whistled to the cat and ducked under the counter opening. The cat leapt onto his pack as he slung it across his shoulders again. The bell above the door sang again as the two men stepped outside.

"Keiran, what was it that Alaya didn't tell me?" Monte asked as the two of them meandered away from the café towards the square.

"My boy, I'm sure you will learn. We were never fully partners, you know. But I did love her. What happened to her…" Kieran shook his head gravely as he spoke.

"It's enough to say I'd rather not relive it. Not on a glorious morning such as this one. Come! Let's bask in the sun and catch up. I want to hear everything about those pirates." Kieran said, letting a knowing grin slip across his face.

The sound of the bells filled the square with ten peals. Kieran and Monte watched as Alaya moved as quickly as she could across the square.