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Gage marveled at the sight before him. A roughly cylindrical pillar of rock towered into the sky above them. It was wildly thick, roughly a quarter mile wide, if he had to guess. And he did have to guess, judging distances had never been a strong suit of his.
It was not just the size of the pillar, but everything else about it. Carved into the stone was an artistry of stairs, doors, windows, platforms, and awnings. Settled around the pillar was a chaotic and colorful city of tents. Awnings were hung between them, creating alleys of shade.
The dwarves split away from the group almost immediately. Taan waved good-bye to the group, reassuring them he would see them again soon. He then left with the wolf-man, which they learned was a nuridain named Nakia.
That left Gage, Elfric, the alajin, Eshu, and Ma’tuk with Kossi at the edges of the settlement. “Come. I will show you to where you may stay.” With that he strode between the tents.
The alajin quickly followed him. As Gage moved to join them, Elfric put a hand on his shoulder and slowed him down. “I would like to tell you this now. I have never met an alajin before, but there are… stories. I will not speak to their character, for I do not have the experience. Regardless of if the stories are true or not, there are those who will make trouble for them, and for you. I see you as a friend, which is why I tell you this.”
Gage looked at the elf and nodded. “Thank you for letting me know, I suppose? Look, this is all very new to me,” they both watched as what looked like a humanoid crocodile lumbered past them. “Very new.” He shook his head, “But I am glad to have a friend by my side.” He held out his hand. Elfric grinned and they clasped their forearms together. “We should catch up with them, yeah?”
…
As Kossi led them through the maze of tents, Gage became overwhelmed. It wasn’t just the twist and turns through the tent alleys, the dazzling array of colours, or even the vast variety of species he came across. It was the smells. His poor nose was assaulted by the smells that were trapped beneath the awnings. In the open desert, smells lingered but he had never come across anything as concentrated as this.
In the labyrinth of tents, spices perfumed the air. Incense wafted through the alleys, curling little spirals of smoke up among the cloth. The earthy scent of dry soil mingled with sunbaked sand. The pervasive scent of sweat and dust tinged the air, mixed with an acrid smell of charcoal and soot.
Gage walked with his shirt pulled up over his nose, though it did little to help. He carried Eshu, who was used to sifting through multiple smells at once, because he had been stopping every five feet to sniff something else in fascination. His gaze was fixed on Elfric’s back as the elf led him through the crowds.
“Rosehip!” Kossi’s voice rang out over the din. This was enough to ground Gage, allowing him to take a look around himself. They were in one of the slightly more open areas. A great many people were about, most were selling services and skills, while only a few were selling any actual goods. Gage glanced around. It seemed it was primarily one of the dwarves, for he had seen several distinct variations, that was selling things. The common theme among them seemed to be sandy red hair and tanned olive skin. They were each wearing orange and brown clothing.
Many of the alleys and plazas they passed through had a good number of people throughout them, but this particular bazaar seemed packed. It was his nose that told him why. He began to drool, his eyes fixing forward once more. It was food.
The air was infused with the rich, earthy scent of roasted vegetables, their caramelized edges releasing a tantalizing sweetness that mingled with the smoke of the cookfire. Fresh herbs that smelled like basil, mint, and cilantro perfumed the air with their freshness. A fragrant whiff of rice passed by, the thick steam carrying the heady aroma of spices. Underneath the dominating smells of cooking plants, the occasional scent of smoky meats, butter, and rendering fat cut through.
“Is Kind One well?”
Gage blinked and looked around to see Aeliana, Faelenor, Eiravela, and Elfric all staring at him. He glanced to Eshu in his arms, whose face was looking forward at the cooking tent at the center of the bazaar. The dog’s eyes were transfixed, his nose quivering, his lower lip trembled, and little drops of drool fell to the sands. Gage ran his sleeve over his mouth and chin, wiping up his own drool. As he did his best to act like he hadn’t been doing the same as Eshu, he replied “Yeah, yeah, of course.”
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He stepped forward, ignoring Elfric’s chuckle and Faelenor’s giggle. In mere moments he managed to push his way through the crowd to rejoin Kossi, Sarnai, and Roshani. The trio had made it to the counter where Kossi was deep in discussion with a… mouse-woman?
She wore a full-length, long-sleeved kirtle made of a coarse fabric that Gage could not identify. A simple belt was cinched at her waist, holding an apron in place. The sleeves were loose fitting and so were tied up above her elbows, leaving her arms and hands free. A head cloth was neatly pinned into place between her ears.
“Rosehip,” Kossi’s annoyed drawl had a more serious note than it had back in the desert, “Do not act like you can’t understand me. I know that mage sold you a translation tab. Where did you manage to get all this food? You shouldn’t just be giving it all away either.”
“Oh, don’t you get ya loins in a twist.” Her voice was as clear as brass and cut clear through the disjointed clamor of the crowd. “Oye’ve been checking the tokens. No one has been getting more than they earned.”
Kossi eyed the active cook space, which was teamed by a family of the mice-folk. Before he could get a word in, she continued. “While you were out, the Respected was finally able to get those green mages access to the gardens. They collected enough seeds that even his ‘Highness’,” the sarcasm in her voice dripped like honey, “couldn’t argue.”
“He is not royalty.” Kossi said smoothly, with a rather neutral tone. “They were able to grow this much already?”
“Oh right, he calls himself the ‘Son of Something’ or other, yeah?” As the two of them spoke, she had not stopped moving. Going back and forth between cooking, seasoning, plating, and handing out the food. “Well, yes and no, dear.” Each time someone came up to the counter, they showed her a stone token. She would glance at it, plate up some food and pass it over to them. “From what oye hear, they are tryin’ to help the plants adapt to this desert life. Only some of it has had some rapid growth to see if what they did succeeded or not. Tis what we got here.”
The kumdahari elf just snorted. “Are you still friends with that Inscriber? We have some new people.” He stepped aside to reveal Gage and his group.
The mouse-woman, Rosehip, stopped what she was doing to come over to the counter. She looked them all over. “My sweet thing! You could have started with that!” She glared at Kossi, who just smiled back at her. She wrung her hands in the air and stepped out from behind the counter, making shooing motions at Kossi as she did so. “Get along you, oye got this now.”
“Hello! Oyem Rosehip, you all must be exhausted. Follow me and oye can help get you settled in.” She stopped to turn to Kossi, “Are you still here?” He laughed, before walking off into the crowd.
“Hi, I’m Gage. This is Eshu, Elfric, and Ma’tuk.” He then nodded to the alajin, “And these are Aeliana, Eiravela, Sarnai, Roshani, and Faelenor.”
“Well, aren’t you precious!” The mouse-woman winked at Faelenor. “Follow me my dears. Oye will get you squared away.” The crowd parted before her, and the group quickly followed. It was only a short distance, a few alleys over. It was much smaller and less crowded than the main throughways. Eventually she stopped at a tent of white cloth. A rope was hung across its entrance, holding up a wooden placard.
She reached out and removed the rope and placard before gesturing them in. It was a large square space, larger than Gage was expecting. A few bundles were piled around the pole in the center of the tent. The entire room was cool compared to the open desert. “This space is yours for three days. Within that time, you each will have to contribute something to the village. Skills and labor are typical. If you do not, well then, the Son will ask you to leave. Not even the Respected can stop that. There can be some overlap though. Let us say you are really good at your job or have a rare talent, then you may be able to cover for someone else who may not be doing so well.”
With a swish around the place, Rosehip checked it over before nodding to herself. “These bundles here have cloth and rods so you can divide the place up for some privacy. You can relieve yourselves at the end of the row, the only place with wooden walls around here. Water is rationed, and deliveries are made in the morning.” A serious look crossed her face and she spoke solemnly. “Do NOT steal water. It is the most serious thing you can do here.” She suppressed a shudder and put her smile back on. “Your first meal will be standard fare, but it is free. Oye’ll have it delivered this evening. After that you will have to work for it.”
“Thank you, Rosehip,” Gage looked around at everyone else. Sarnai and Roshani both looked relieved. Eiravela was keeping Felenor’s attention. Only Elfric and Aeliana stood with him, giving Rosehip all their attention. “This means a lot to us. We were expecting to stumble our way out of the desert before we ran into Taan escorting Aeliana and their family.”
“It is the stone tokens that prove what we do, yes?” Elfric asked the mouse-woman.
She nodded, “Ah, yes. Oye suggest you spend the rest of today setting yourselves up in here. Oye’ll have the Inscriber stop by to get your tokens situated. They will tally everything you do for the city, usually granted, or verified by a superior or overseer, depending on the job. You can sell things for tallys as well. Tallys are removed when you purchase something, get your rations, and every three days for the tent.”
The mouse-woman jumped. “Oh dear! Oye must get back to the stall. Oye wish you well dearies! Oye’ll see you this evening with your meal.” They each bade their farewell as she skittered out the door.