"We haven't got much time. If you're not in Jamal's shop by the time it opens, then we're stuffed!"
Maggie ran down the stairs, Jayden following close behind, stumbling a little on his tired legs.
"But I can't read this at all", he said.
"I thought you said you can read?", she said, clearly exasperated.
"I can read. I can read Solari, Lupian and Capellan, but I can't read this!", Jayden said, feeling equally frustrated.
"You can't read Deltari? It's the most common language we have!"
"I'm sorry", said Jayden, "It's not common where I'm from".
Maggie sighed, "All right, fine."
By this stage they'd left the building and were walking-not-quite-running through a maze of streets. As they walk-ran along, Maggie endeavoured to explain what was on the sheet. "It's Lachlan's biography. Jamal is a leather worker. His nephew Lachlan is coming back from Safforn, where his family lives, to work for Jamal.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"He's an apprentice, so you'll be able to get away with not knowing much. But you'll have to know about your family. And about Jamal. It's all written down there.
Jayden gave her an exasperated look. "Yeah, I know, you can't read it", Maggie responded. "Well, hopefully Jamal will have time to get you up to speed before his first customer comes in, or at least before his first customer starts asking questions. For now, just remember that you're from Safforn. And that you don't know much about this town. At least you won't have to pretend for that."
"And you walked here. That's important. I don't know how they travelled back in your world, but here you'd be too poor to travel by carriage or horse. So you walked, and it took you days. And you had to sleep in the fields.
"Just make sure you don't sound fancy. If you're not sure, then just be quiet and turn to look at Jamal. After all, he's your uncle. He's looking after you. You're apprenticing to him. So it should be okay if you feel foolish and look a little scared and unsure."
"What if someone has met Lachlan? On what happens when the real Lachlan turns up?", asked Jayden.
"We'll worry about that when he gets here, but not many people will have met Lachlan.", Maggie replied, "Jamal does most of the talking to the customers himself. Lachlan would spend his time out the back in the workshop, making things.
"You should be okay. If anyone does ask, just tell them you got a haircut or a shave or something. Hopefully Jamal will help you.
"Now, keep moving, it's just around this corner. Maggie dragged him sharply around the corner and pushed him straight through the door without hesitation.