CHAPTER TEN: CAPITALISM IN ANOTHER WORLD
It was still early in the afternoon as Carter and his escort, Guardsman Rann, walked through the busy streets of Culvert’s Rock. They were in an area of the city called the Merchant’s Quarter, which was basically the commercial district where most of the city’s higher-end shops and vendors were located. The streets were packed with people and Carter was surprised to see many different ethnicities in the crowd with him. So far, he had only seen white people in this world, so he figured he had landed in a fantasy version of Europe. But Culvert’s Rock was a thriving port city, one that catered to trading with various ships from around the world. Thus many people from outside the continent came here, and he could see that in the various mix of races around him.
He saw numerous Asians walking the streets, or, as they were known in this world, Lacotians. Most were dressed in long coats and tall, peaked hats. The style was like a mix of Victorian London and traditional Korean clothing. Lacotians also tended to prefer wearing darker colors, so Carter was glad that his dark blue suit blended in well with their style.
There were many black people in the crowd, whose dress styles often consisted of fur-lined cloaks with colorful robes underneath. Most of them also wore sunglasses with lenses made of various tints of colored glass, purple being the color that seemed the most popular. Carter was reminded of his own pair of sunglasses, which had unfortunately been stolen by Teeth. He hoped that he could get them back once the bandits were properly caught.
Carter saw many different people that day. There was a man who looked of Indian descent traveling alone, wearing all white. There were Middle Easterners in samurai-looking armor wearing cloaks made of colorful feathers. He even saw a group of what looked like Maori warriors marching through the streets, though their tattoos were glowing brightly upon their skin like neon street lights.
The only group that Carter did not see walking the streets of Culvert’s Rock were the traditional fantasy races found in books and movies, like elves, orcs, and dwarves. Despite the hundreds of people in the streets, he saw no sign of short, stocky, and bearded craftsmen nor did he find a sharp ear anywhere to be seen. He was slightly disappointed. What kind of fantasy world didn’t have elves or dwarves or hobbits? This place had goblins, right? Why not any of the others?
Rann lead Carter through the busy city, to the place Reeve Lannok suggested. It was a high-end area that contained several high-end shops and restaurants. The place was known by the locals as Finan’s Circle. It was supposedly named after the famous architect who designed most of the buildings here. Carter could definitely see the unified style of the place. Most of the structures here were constructed from white and brown stone and were a unique blend of rounded arches and curved columns. The streets were also built to curve around each other, the pathways forming a circle that surrounded each block of stores. Thus the name.
“There are a lot of places to shop around here,” Carter told Rann as he looked around the various shops and boutiques in the area.
“Is there anything you were looking for in particular, Ser?” The young guardsman asked.
Carter thought for a bit. “Well, more clothes, for one. All I got is what I’m wearing. I also need supplies for the road. Maybe a map. Also, a backpack or satchel to carry everything in.”
Rann nodded. “I see. Well, we should probably start with getting you that pack, Ser. That way we can use it to carry everything else you buy.”
“Ah. Good thinking.”
Rann smiled and lead Carter towards a large shop nearby. The dark-haired man looked up at the sign over the door and saw that it was written in a completely alien alphabet that he had never seen before.
Logher’s Emporium.
And yet, he could read it with no problem.
“Ser?” asked Rann in concern when he noticed Carter had stopped moving to stare up at the sign. “Is there something amiss?”
He shook his head. “No, nothing.” Just more magical bullshit. “Let’s go.”
Logher’s Emporium turned out to be some sort of fancy store that sold upscale travel items. It had everything from luggage to traveling clothes, as well as maps of local and well-known areas. It even had camping equipment, though the well-to-do clientele that the shop catered to didn’t seem too keen to buy much of those goods.
Carter walked into the large store’s main floor and began to look around. He noticed that Rann had positioned himself by the door and was discreetly scanning the area. Carter decided to leave the teenage guardsman to do his job and quickly went in search of the items he needed.
One of the shop’s well-dressed employees saw Carter and immediately noticed his fancy, expensive-looking attire. He pasted on a wide smile before rushing towards the foreign-looking man, hoping to beat any of the other store clerks in reaching him. His greedy nose smelled a fat commission coming.
“Good afternoon, good Ser!” The employee greeted Carter happily with a wide, white-toothed smile. “Welcome to the Logher’s Emporium. How may I serve you?”
Carter was a bit taken aback by the clerk’s intensity and almost took a step back. He quickly steeled his frayed nerves, ignoring the man’s creepy smile as he stated his business. “I need to buy some travel clothes. They need to be rugged and waterproof. I also need a pack or satchel, something that can hold a lot of items but isn’t too heavy.”
“I see! Very, good, Ser.” The clerk nodded happily, his wide smile never leaving his face. “Please allow me to show you our fine selection of goods! I’m sure you’ll find everything that you are looking for!”
The smiling man led Carter around the first floor of the shop, which contained mostly luggage, books on travel, and the untouched camping equipment. Here he was shown numerous pieces of baggage such as trunks and suitcases, all of which Carter rejected due to their size and weight. He wanted something lighter, a bag that he could carry by himself.
Near the back of the store, he found what he was looking for. There was a long shelf of rucksacks, each one looking very tough and well-made. Carter chose one of the larger ones, this one basically a fancier leather version of the seabags he had been given in the Navy. Like the seabag, this pack was light and could carry a lot of items easily.
He also found a water canteen on a shelf nearby. This one was made of tightly stitched leather and not the plastic that he was used to.
The clerk passed the items he had chosen to another employee, who took the bag and canteen to the front desk register where they would wait until he was ready to pay for them. The smiling man then escorted Carter up to the second floor of the establishment. This area had all of the shop’s travel clothing, containing a wide selection of items including cloaks, boots, hats, and walking canes. Carter began to peruse the aisles, picking up several shirts, pants, and sleepwear. He also got several pairs of socks, though the clerk tried to get him to buy some stockings and hose instead, claiming that they were more in fashion these days.
Yeah, no thanks.
There was a dressing room on the floor, and Carter went over into the curtained-off partitions to try on the clothing he chose. Each dressing room was wide and spacious, with numerous mirrors hung up at different angles for the patrons to see themselves with. Carter had just turned around to close off the curtain when he noticed that the sales clerk had followed him inside the dressing room. Carter frowned and waited to see what he wanted, but the man just stayed quiet, patiently smiling all the while. He then realized that the man was there to stay, probably to watch and observe in case he needed help. (As well as to prevent him from stealing anything.)
Oh well, Carter wasn’t shy. He was once a military man after all, and communal showers had been a thing. Besides, when in Rome…
Carter removed his suit jacket, folding it up neatly before looking for somewhere to place it. The ever-helpful (and still smiling) clerk took the jacket from him and placed the folded-up item onto a nearby desk. He stopped smiling for a moment as his hands felt the blue fabric, his expression looking amazed.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Ser, but the material of this coat is remarkably well-made!” The clerk stated, in awe at the uniform cut and machine-stitched item. “Can I ask what it is made from?”
Carter blinked in confusion as he removed his tie. What was so impressive about it? It was just a regular suit jacket. “Oh. I think it’s made of polyester.”
“Polly… esther? I have never heard of such a fabric.” The clerk continued to feel the coat before shaking off his wonder and placing it down on the desk. “It’s so soft, like silk. Yet strong, like cotton! Is this polly esther plant grown in your homeland, good Ser?”
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“Uh, yeah. It grows in a really, really remote area. Of Lacotia.” Carter said, hoping his lie would prevent any more questions from being asked.
“Well, if you don’t mind me saying so, good Ser, you could make quite the killing if you were to import the plant here.” The clerk flashed his bright-white smile once again. “There are many well-to-do individuals who would gladly pay a king’s ransom for such fine fabric. Not only here in Western, mind you, but all of Gloria!”
“I see,” Carter mumbled as he tried on one of the shirts he had chosen. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The rest of his time in the dressing room was spent trying on clothing. The clerk remained mostly quiet, the vast majority of his attention spent admiring Carter’s suit. After about twenty minutes of going through various clothing pieces, he finally settled on an outfit.
“You are looking marvelous, Ser!” The smiling clerk said.
Carter looked at the image in the mirror and had to admit that the guy did have a point. He didn’t know about looking marvelous, but Carter had to agree that he did look pretty good. In a 17th Century sort of way.
His reflection showed a young man with dark, slicked-back hair wearing a crisp white shirt and black trousers tucked into a pair of brown leather boots. Over the shirt was a dark green double-breasted waistcoat with shiny silver buttons. Completing the outfit was a blue hooded cloak that hung from his shoulders.
All in all, it was an impressive outfit. It was made of fine materials, which marked him as a wealthy man of high status. But it wasn’t as flashy and out of place as his modern suit was, which was good since he wanted to blend in a bit more with the crowd. During the walk here, Carter saw several shady-looking individuals eyeing him with greedy looks. He was certain that if Guardsman Rann wasn’t with him then he would have been mugged several times already. Having clothes that made him look ordinary would help him fit in more with the surroundings and attract less attention. He would wear his suit on more formal occasions.
“I’ll take it,” Carter told the clerk, this time returning his smile. “May I wear this out?”
The clerk nodded. “Of course, good Ser.”
His joy was quite diminished when the time came to pay for his purchases.
“All in all, your tally comes out to twenty-three gold, good Ser.” The clerk said after he had added up all the items Carter was buying at the front desk register.
Thankfully, Carter had a good poker face. While outwardly he seemed quite calm and stoic, internally he was shrieking in panic. In his coin purse was the haul from the bandits, and he only had 13 gold coins along with 41 silver ones. Maybe he should have gone someplace less expensive to shop at.
While mentally trying to figure out how many silver coins went into a gold coin (was it 3 or 5?) his body went on autopilot, reaching into his waistcoat’s pocket where he had put his wallet. Before he even realized it, his hands had pulled out several dollar bills and handed them to the clerk in payment.
“Hmm? What are these?” The smiling man’s lips dipped down into a frown as he began to examine the paper he was given. His eyes then boggled wildly as he looked each of them over. “Oh my! This is quite remarkable! Are these… Oh dear me. The portraiture on these is quite exquisite!” He held it up closer to his face and turned the bills over, examining the back. “Oh! There is more on the back. What wonderful works of art. Are you selling these, good Ser?”
Carter looked at the bills in the clerk’s hands and nodded. Sure, why not? They were pretty much useless to him now, anyway.
The clerk turned to another employee and called him over. “Quick! Get the master, right now! Hurry! He will wish to see this!”
The employee rushed off to the back rooms. He returned a few minutes later with an older gentleman with gray hair and a bushy mustache. He eyed Carter with curiosity before turning his attention to the smiling clerk.
“What’s with all this Hubbub, Percy? I was having my tea.” The old man complained.
“My apologies, Master.” The clerk bowed before handing him the bills in his hands. “But you must take a gander at these!”
The old merchant’s eyes widened upon seeing the paper bills. He reached into his coat pocket and took out a pair of spectacles which he put on. He then took a closer look at each bill, wonder evident on his wrinkled face as he stared at each one.
“Remarkable. The drawings are obviously etched onto the paper, yet the texture is smooth. I can’t feel the pen marks at all. Could it be from a press? No... there’s no smudging of the inks and paints. The paper itself is strange, I’ve never felt its like before.” The old man held it up to his nose and took a sniff. “Even the scent is strange and truly unique. Very fascinating!”
He turned the dollar bill over and began to examine the back. “Ah, the back is also decorated. Strange. How do they display it then?” The merchant looked up and his blue, bleary eyes looked straight into Carter’s own. “You are the one selling these, I take it?”
“Y-yes, sir!” Carter blurted out.
“Now, now. None of that, young man. I am not a Knight. I work for a living.” The old man chuckled and Carter couldn’t help but do so himself. “Let’s see… you have six works here, I see. I hate to just call them sketches, as they are truly remarkable.”
“I have more,” Carter told him before removing the rest of the money from his wallet. He had no further need for them, after all. He needed money that he could use in this world.
“Ah, even better.” The old man’s wrinkled hand snatched the paper from Carter eagerly before laying them carefully across the desktop. All in all, the bills amounted to $79.00, with two twenties, two tens, three fives, and four ones. “I see you have different ones, as well. Very good! Very good!”
The old man opened a drawer and took out a large magnifying glass. He then started to examine each and every bill, his appreciation for their quality growing more and more. “Ah, even under the glass the exquisite pen work can be seen! Marvelous! Simply marvelous.” The merchant put down the magnifying tool and turned his eyes once more to Carter’s. “I can make you an offer of forty gold coins for the lot of them. No more, no less.”
Carter tried to haggle the old man into paying him more for the bills, but the merchant would not budge. He eventually relented, agreeing to the old man’s price. Percy, which was apparently the smiling clerk’s name, quickly opened up a safe located below the register and removed seventeen gold coins. They were obviously subtracting the twenty-three gold he owed them for the goods he had purchased.
“A pleasure doing business with you, good master…” The old man was quickly cut off by Rann, who had obviously been following the conversation from his spot by the door.
“Ser,” Rann informed him.
“Ah, of course. My apologies, my good Ser.” The old merchant corrected himself.
Honestly, Carter didn’t really know what the difference in such titles was. He just shrugged and accepted it. “Lee. Carter Lee.” He held out his hand.
Like Reeve Lannok, the old man looked surprised at the gesture. He eagerly shook Carter’s hand, a wide smile on his face. “Ah, good Ser Lee. A pleasure to do business with you. I am Hiernan Logher, at your service.”
“Pleasure is mine, Mr. Logher.” Carter told him. He then had a sudden thought. He still had a whole load of items from Earth he could offload on the old man. He wouldn’t sell his phone; such a device would be too valuable to have in this world. And he wouldn’t sell his ring; that item was priceless to him. But he had other things he could get rid of.
“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in buying other things from me?” Carter asked.
Logher laughed. “Ho. If whatever else you have to sell is as good as the last bunch, then I’d be happy to take them off your hands.”
Carter quickly checked his pockets where he had put his keys earlier. He pulled them out and looked through them until he found what he was looking for. It was a small pocket flashlight that served as a keychain. He undid it from the rest of his keys and handed it to the old man.
Logher took the keychain in his hands, eyeing the device curiously. “Curious. The material is light and unknown to me. What is it?”
“There’s a black button on the top of the device. Push it.”
The old merchant did so and with a click, the LED in front of the flashlight was activated. Logher's surprised face was lit up with light and the old man almost dropped the keychain in fright.
“What in the blazes?” He asked, looking at the light in curiosity. “Is… is this an Artifact?”
“Magic? Sure.” Carter shrugged. “It’s like a miniature torch or lantern and will help light your way in the dark. Just push the button again to shut off the light.”
Logher did so and the small light was quickly extinguished. The old man, as well as Percy behind him, let out relieved breaths. It was strange; they’d been acting as if the flashlight would blow up in their faces.
Carter didn’t understand it, but it was obvious from their expressions that they had misgivings about the flashlight. He quickly searched his pockets, looking for something else to grab their attention. He opened up his wallet and fumbled through its contents. His driver’s license had his photo on it, but he doubted that would be enough to wow Logher. While searching through his credit cards, he saw that one of them featured a holographic sticker depicting a dove in flight on the front.
“Have a look at this one, as well,” Carter told the old man.
Logher took the card in his hands and began to examine it. His eyes suddenly widened in awe. “Is that the soul of a dove captured inside this piece? Truly? Is this another Artifact?” Percy, who was looking over his shoulder, gasped in shock upon seeing the hologram.
Carter felt worried. The dollars he sold them had been met with amazement and joy. This time, the things he showed them only made Loghar and Percy act anxious and seemingly afraid. The old man called them both something. What was it? Artifacts? Was the sale of magical items prohibited here? Shit. If they were, he might have just made a very big mistake.
“Is there a problem with me trying to sell these?” He asked them.
Loghar shook off his stupor and sighed. “Well, no. Not exactly. But these are Artifacts, you see! True, magical items. You should be selling them at an auction or to museums, not some shop in a third-rate city like Culvert’s Rock! There’s no way we could afford these!” The old man pushed the flashlight and credit card back across the desk toward Carter. “How did you come into possession of such wonders, anyway? One I could see. But two?”
Carter cursed. He should not have been so eager to share items from Earth here, at least while not knowing how the people would react. It looked like selling these magical artifacts wasn’t illegal, so he was safe there. But He should have found that out first before trying to sell his things. He would have to do better in the future.
“My family, in Lacotia, is well known for being treasure hunters,” Carter told him. He found that the best answer to give someone when you couldn’t tell them the truth was a very heavily-constructed lie. “Over the years they’ve accumulated a large stockpile of treasure. A lot of them happen to be magical.” Carter paused for a moment, then gave them a sad-sounding sigh. “Unfortunate circumstances have left me very far from home with little to no funds under my name. I am thus forced to part with these family heirlooms.”
“I see,” Loghar was looking down at the flashlight and credit card that was still on his desk. This time he had an eager look in his eye. Good, he was buying the bullshit.
“Although rare, these artifacts aren’t very powerful, as you can see,” Carter told them. “The lantern can only light dark paths, and the dove in the card is basically just a decoration and good luck charm.” Not to mention that its interest rate was way too high. “But I am willing to part with them. For the low price of a mere fifty gold.”
The speed at which Loghar agreed to pay made Carter believe that he should have definitely asked for a higher price.