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Janu had been kind and had given Hye-jun some tally. She had promptly refused until Janu reminded her she now had a student to take care of. “Give to those who can’t. Accept from those who can.” She had glowered at Janu but relented before giving some of the tally to Gage. He had received fifteen tally, “Enough for a day’s water and a meal.” As Hye-jun had put it.
It wasn’t much, but it took him out of the equation for expenses each day. If he could earn just a little more, then he could help pay for the tent. A three-day rent period… that was going to be rough. Gage thought it over as he walked down the alleys towards Rosehip’s stall. This late in the evening, the stall had customers but was not overrun, as it had been that morning.
“Good evening, Rosehip. How went the day?” Gage asked as he approached the counter.
Rosehip smiled brightly at him as she wiped down the wood surface. “Well! If it isn’t the new one! Gag, roight?”
“Almost, its Gage.” He replied with a grin.
“Close enough dear, close enough. How can oye help you?”
“I am not sure how tally works, exactly, and, well, it is a very different currency system than I am used to.” As he spoke, Gage pulled the token from his pocket and set it on the counter.
Rosehip settled down at the counter across from him. “It’s different from most, oye would assume. It’s quite rough and tumble, it is. A lot of strangers, strange beings, showed up out of nowhere in an entirely new place, almost all at once. The kumdahari of the Akalahari wanted to help but there was no way their supplies were going to last just handing it out, and they couldn’t flat out refuse, or they would have had a riot on their hands.” She shrugged, “One of those who showed up was this old git. He came up with Tally. Kind of like a contribution currency almost. It ain’t supposed to be long term with how simple it is, but it should be a good start.”
With a glance at the token, Rosehip poured a bowl of broth and set it down in front of Gage. Then sat down a hunk of bread next to it. “Cheapest meal we got, two tally.” She waited for Gage to nod before she put a finger on his token and two of the marks disappeared. “It works for now. Most of the basic necessities, like water and tents are priced in sets of fives. Water doubles in cost at certain intervals throughout the day, and tents cost anywhere between fifteen and thirty tally every three days, dependin’ on the size. Your tent should be twenty. If you can provide the materials and build your own home, you don’t have to pay none. So long as it is done on the outskirts and beyond. The basic jobs usually pay fifteen tally a day. Gets you water and either a single decent meal or a couple of small ones.”
“That is actually pretty useful to know about the homes, but it sounds like most days…” Gage frowned and closed his eyes, doing some mental math. “You would have to choose between eating, drinking, or having shelter.”
Rosehip smiled sadly at him, “It’s true. It ain’t ideal, not at all, but so far it has kept things civil. What most dens have been doing is selecting one or two to do all the financials and mind the tent while everyone else goes out and works, earning what they can.”
“That isn’t a bad idea, help keep everything on the right track, I suppose.” Gage took a bit of bread, dunked it in the broth and let it soak a moment before eating it. He in shock, the brothy bread held on his tongue. Slowly he chewed and swallowed it as nostalgia began to overwhelm him.
Rosehip reached out and patted his arm. “Thank you for the compliment and oye am sorry for your losses.”
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Gage took a moment to collect himself and nodded. “How did you know?”
“Lad you are by far not the first to come here and try my food. You get good at readin’ their responses to it.” She let her hand drop and pushed the bowl towards him. “Take your time, flag me down when you’re done. I might have an opportunity for you.”
He nodded and continued to eat. A little bit of bread soaked in the broth at a time. It was like nothing he had ever tasted. The flavors, the spices. He could name a few, or at least a few, that tasted similar from home, but there were even more he was not familiar with. Everything he had eaten up to this point had been prepackaged food from home. Energy bars, dried fruit, and even a few cans of beans. This broth had been so fresh, so flavorful, that while it tasted nothing of home, it still took him back there.
It was a memory of a Thanksgiving meal that had come up. It had been in his grandmother’s condo, before she had moved back to the city on the other side of the state, years ago. A table was laden with food and surrounded by immediate family members. While he had still talked to them quite frequently, it had been a few years since he had seen them in person. After the bread had gone, he stared at the broth and let himself remember.
The liquid had cooled by the time he picked up the bowl and downed the rest of it. “Whew! Threw some more salt in, when I wasn’t looking, did ya Rosehip?” He sniffled and ran a thumb under each of his eyes before smiling.
“Couldn’t get that past you, could oye?” Rosehip slipped back over, after waving off another customer. Gage was thankful for her playing along. “Now, how would you like to make a few extra tally?”
…
It was a short while later that Rosehip had brought Gage to a tent hut near the edge of the village. It looked like the others, for the most part.
Rosehip stood at the front flap and clapped her hands in quick succession. After a moment’s pause, “Mr. Canalor? Are you in? Oye have someone oye would like you to meet.”
There was silence in response. Rosehip pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. “Canalor, you ambulatory bean water, oye know you are in there. It’s Rosehip and guest. His name is Gage, and he is a… what are you darling?”
“Uh, a Terran.”
“He is a Terran, dear. Oye don’t think you’ve met one of them yet.” Rosehip waited once more. Just as she was about to speak, a voice spoke up.
“Ms. Rosehip.” The voice was clear, sharp, and faintly… British sounding? Gage perked up slightly at the prospect. “I thank you for your enthusiasm, however, I am not ‘bean water’.”
“Mr. Canalor you are crustier than my bread.” Rosehip countered, a wide smile on her face. “May we please come in?”
The voice sighed, “Very well. You and your guest may enter.”
Rosehip looked at Gage and nodded. He pushed aside the flap and stepped in. Coming up short, Rosehip stepped around him. The tent was bare but for what looked like a wide, shallow bowl filled with an inky black liquid. The space was illuminated with the cosmos. Almost quite literally. It’s like a sci-fi movie, only in person. Stars, nebulas, comets, and much more than he actually knew about floated in the space, idly turning about the room.
His attention turned to Rosehip as she approached the bowl. As she did so, the liquid inside moved. It lifted into a wobbly central column and then slowly took on a humanoid shape. From the hips down into the bowl, it was still liquid. Though from the waist up, Gage could see the contour of muscle for the torso and arms. Its face was smooth, like a mannequin’s.
Mr. Canalor nodded to them both. “Ms. Rosehip, and guest. Welcome.” Seeing this… this liquid stand up into a person was weird enough, but it wasn’t until that moment and seeing his face while he spoke, that Gage realized he was speaking inside his head.
“Mr. Canalor, this is my friend, Gag.
“Gage.”
“Gage. Oye brought him here because oye believe he may be of use to you in your studies.” Rosehip gestured Gage to move forward.
“Mr. Gage, I see you have brought a guest with you as well.” Mr. Canalor said, his head tilting.
Rosehip frowned and looked up at Gage. Gage gestured to Ma’tuk. “Apologies, Rosehip, but I don’t think the two of you had been properly introduced. This is Ma’tuk, a gift from my god, Kin.”
She just looked from the orb to the liquid, shrugged, “Who knows anymore,” and threw her hands up in the air while shaking her head.
“Ma’tuk.” Mr. Canalor nodded to the archon. “I welcome you all into my home. Now, Ms. Rosehip, you mentioned my studies, hmm?”
Rosehip nodded, “Yes, Mr. Canalor. Oye do not believe you have catalogued this lad’s language. Oye know you have a fascination with words. Oye figured he may have a few to add to your repertoire.”
“For the standard fee, then.” The ooze man looked to Gage and looked him up and down.
“What would that be?” Gage asked, shifting.
Mr. Canalor reached out a hand and opened it. Resting in it was a small, stone coin. “A translation tab.”