“We need to find a solution for the wagon,” Nuliyaa said as they walked away from the Nengmekian chancery. Perhaps it would have been better for her to have been visiting markets while Cheeyt hung the notices. There’d been no one for her to speak to at the boards. She was starting to feel like she wasn’t contributing as much to their business.
“Yes.” Cheeyt looked broody. Rather, she looked more broody than normal. “If we are very lean with our food rations and camp on the trail, we could buy a mule.”
“An ox would be cheaper.”
“An ox would be slower.”
That was yet another thing she would have to trust Cheeyt’s judgment on. Nuliyaa hated knowing so little about the business she suddenly found herself running.
Banging, thumps, and a pained roar told them a fight had broken out in one of the drinking houses further down. They moved to the other side of the street.
A door broke open across the way and a form much larger than what Nuliyaa had expected flew into the street. The minotaur landed not too far from their feet.
Nuliyaa and Cheeyt looked at the building to see a Keeylish man she assumed to be the drinking house’s owner step out of the doorway. That man could not have possibly knocked—ah. A group of men crowded his shoulders. The useless eyeert.
“Your kind aren’t welcome here,” the owner sneered at the minotaur as he rolled to his feet. Jeers poured out from behind him as patrons Nuliyaa couldn’t see added their opinions.
“Kachaark?” Cheeyt blinked at the minotaur, then her hands clenched and she stalked past him, violent gaze locked on the drinking house.
The minotaur barred her way with a heavy arm. “Not worth it, Cheeyt,” he said before spitting out some blood.
“Are you all right?” Nuliyaa asked. “I have some quick healing charms.” She dug into the pocket sewn on the inside of her littiichangs.
He waved her off. “A few bruises. It was better to let myself get thrown out than take on the whole place.”
“What happened?” Cheeyt asked.
“Someone objected to my presence by shoving me into the man behind me.” He rubbed the base of one of his horns. The gesture seemed almost sheepish. “I was trying not to step on him.” He dropped his hand and bowed slightly to Nuliyaa. “My name is Kachaark. May I know yours?”
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“Nuliyaa. I am one of Cheeyt’s sisters. Are you a guard?”
He shook his bullish head, sending the three tiny bells on his earring into a jingling dance. “I tried it. Didn’t work out for me.”
Cheeyt still looked like she wanted to introduce the drinking house’s owner to her fists, but she grinned at his words. “He did fine until the company took a sea job. I have never seen someone so sick.”
“Your amusement at my misery is noted.” His chuckle faded into a sigh. “I suppose I’ll be leaving town sooner than expected.”
“Where are you headed?”
He shrugged. “Upriver. Looking for work.”
Cheeyt’s eyes met Nuliyaa’s. A minotaur would be a fantastic addition to their company. But if they hired him, they wouldn’t have money for either a mage or a mule.
A city guard stepped out of the drinking house and started their way. “I’ll be needing to escort you outside the city.”
Cheeyt stepped between them. “Why? He was defending himself.”
“The owner of that establishment has made a serious charge, and he—,” the guard nodded at Kachaark, “is not a citizen and has no papers for work. It’s best you leave.” The last sentence was aimed at the minotaur. “It’ll be less trouble for you.”
Nuliyaa’s chin shot up. “What do you mean, no papers for work? He is employed by our escorting company.” She thrust her arm, Guild stamp up, at the guard.
All three people around her opened their mouths, gaped at her for a moment, then closed their mouths. Cheeyt spoke next. “Yes, she’s correct.”
The city guard looked at Nuliyaa, then Cheeyt, then Kachaark before looking up at the sky. “Of course. Pardon my misunderstanding.” He lowered his voice. “It’d be best if you leave the city on a job soon, then.”
“We’ll be leaving very shortly,” Nuliyaa assured him.
The city guard eyed them again, sighed, and then went on his way. Cheeyt jerked her head in the direction she and Nuliyaa had been headed, and they all started walking quickly.
“You have your own company now, Cheeyt?” Kachaark asked.
“We just got into business,” Cheeyt said.
“And we do need a teamster.” Nuliyaa quickly added, “Unless you object. I know some minotaurs and centaurs avoid hauling.”
He shrugged a boulder-sized shoulder. “Work is work,” he said. “As long as you don’t expect me to go out to sea.”
Maybe things were looking up.
“Are you getting ready to head out on a job, then?” Kachaark asked.
“Ah—.” Cheeyt rubbed her head, the sheepish gesture almost identical to the way Kachaark had touched his horns. “Not quite yet.”
He shrugged. “Won’t be long, I’d think. Lots of people and things moving around this time of year. What type of jobs are you taking on?”
“Escorting and pathfinding.”
“Good choices. Don’t need as big a team with those jobs, usually.”
“Exactly.” Cheeyt scowled at him suddenly. “Where’s your gear, Kachaark?”
His shoulders hunched slightly. “Don’t need much.” Cheeyt looked like she was about to turn around and go back to the drinking house. Nuliyaa slipped an arm through hers to keep her at their side.
“I’ll just go to the guild yard then, yeah?”
“With no gear? Are you just going to sleep on the ground?”
The look he gave Cheeyt was so amused, Nuliyaa almost laughed herself. “I’m a minotaur.”
“A minotaur that I know used to sleep on a bedroll like everyone else,” Cheeyt shot back. “No, you’ll come home with us. We’re in one of the old neighborhoods with the courtyards. You won’t be comfortable in our apartment, but there is somewhere for you to sleep.”