The Merchant [5]

Pulled through the city, Noah couldn't help but let his gaze wander of the assortment of buildings they passed. Houses, shops, and even one larger building where numerous armoured and weaponed men and women were streaming in and out. It reminded him of an adventurers guild considering how battle ready and rowdy the people inside were. Someone even came barrelling out the door like he'd been hit by a cannon and just laid there with eyes white.

Further on Noah was noting more guilds, though their buildings much smaller looking more to the likeness of small branch then the main headquarters of anything like a crafting guild. By far the smallest was the one with a small witches hat hanging from the front door. In fact, that building looked like it had been abandoned, he'd had believed it was were it not for the woman who appeared in the window with tired eyes and began to batter her blanket with nothing at all. Her hand was empty though fingers curled like she was grasping a club, when she walloped her hand down a light thump would resound and the blanket would move as if hit.

'Magic.' Noah figured with the slightest shade of excitement.

Magic as far as he was concerned was possibly one of the most exciting things he could think of. Yet he didn't and internally he was berating himself for that. 'Should check the book, see if that has anything about it.' Noah patted his side and quickly paled and paused. He looked down his body and to Meira on his arm, she looked down at him with curiosity to her sapphire blues as he realized he'd forgotten it back at the stall. 'Shit.' Noah groaned, 'please no one steal it. I need that.'

Noah looked to Meira hopefully, "I forgot something back at the stall. Do you mind if I quickly go get it?" he asked and Meira inclined her brow.

"No worries," she beamed, "once the representative gets there he'll ask your friends to pack up whatevers left before leading them to us." Her answer though perfect did little to wane his worries.

Minutes drew by as her guiding continued until they came upon a large standalone building that stood at the least three stories high. The design was quite elegant with the small ornaments that gave it a fullness and beauty that the other buildings simply couldn't live up to. Hanging over the door was a sign, on it a small painting of a carriage with a sack overflowing with buckles. Noah guessed it had something to do with merchants and traders moving from one place to the other.

Just as they drew close a man,lanky and tall and with a beard as curled as Jaffar. The man forced a kindly smile and clasped his hands together in greetings. "Madame Meira! How pleasurable, I had been expecting you to return much later." His smile was false, his words spoken through grit teeth. He looked to Noah and some form of spite rose in the mans cold black eyes, "and who's this?" though never once did he let his tone falter.

"Just a potential client of mine, Davor" Meira strained clutching Noah's arm tighter with a slight tremble that drew his attention for a breadth of a moment before narrowing his eyes the mans way. "I was hoping I could make use of the conference chambers."

"Why of course Madame! Why of course. Brilliant to hear you've finally found yourself a client." There was something off to how he spoke and it wasn't only the fire of hate welling in the mans eyes. It was almost like he was drilling holes into Noah for having Meira so close at arm.

"May we enter?"

"Hmm? Oh, why of course Madame Meira." Davor slid like a snake to the side and held a hand out for them to enter. With urgency Meira tugged him deeper using more of her strength than before. Noah watched her expression as they went, it was strained, nervous, and the way her head moved to look behind themselves, it was twitchy. That man, he scared her. At least, she wasn't comfortable around him.

The clambered up stairs, through hallways and billowed into a neat and royal room lathered in bright reds and soft browns. Meira unlatched his arm to open the door and shut it behind them. When she clicked in the latch and laid her hand against the door her body loosened, her shoulders drooped and she let out a sigh of relief. She rose her head then moved to the side of the door where a small black box like that of a doorbell was and pressed in the ivory button. Noah sensed an undulation of something but that was it. Nothing else happened. Nothing he could see at least.

With that done she calmed even more and finally turned to face Noah. Her posture more lively and happy, like when she'd first met him in the market place. "Now then, please, take a seat." She indicated to the lush red couch and once Noah was seated she walked off to the side where a cabinet of fine crystal glasses were and took two from the top most shelf and from a small onnaire just beside took a dark green bottle with a parchment label wrapped around the body. 'Cragskin Winery,' Noah read as lessened the distance between them.

Meira poured out two glasses with finesse and flourish. She started off slow, pouring just a little layer of burgundy wine into the bottom of the glass but speed the flow up as she pulled the glass from the bottle and the bottle from the glass creating a perfect stream of red through the air, never once dropping or splashing a bit of the drink. The first glass went to Noah while she held onto the second, placing the bottle off to the side of the knee high table.

She swirled the glass while Noah just looked down at the ruby hued liquid with strain to his expression. Crossing one leg over the other, her wrap pulled away revealing the illustrious chocolate shading of her legs. They shone like polished metal in the soft lighting of the room. Downing a sip, she whispered a breath then stilled her expression.

"Now then, why don't we begin." She let out a little laugh, "I suppose introductions have been lacking so allow me to reintroduce myself." Once again she introduced herself and her position as a representative of the Bajan trading company. "May I ask your name?"

Noah hesitated, 'should I be honest?' he pondered but quickly relented knowing that once Caina and Liora arrived his name would undoubtably be announced. "Noah Arcturus." He curtly replied.

"Arcturus, what an interesting name. Does it have any specific meaning?"

Noah bobbed his head slightly, arching a look to the window at a flash of pearlescent light like the film of a bubble shimmering in sunlight. "It's the name of a star where I'm from. Part of the constellation Boötes, brightest star actually." He uttered with a hint of pride. He wasn't sure where that pride came from, he just chocked it up due to the brightest star thing. Meira listened intently even as Noah continued.

"Boötes, another strange name. Is that a name of a god of sorts?"

"No, not quite." Noah denied, "just a name given to it by the scholars. Most people use a different name for it, the Herdsman."

"Oh really." Meira bubbled with a laugh, "quite appropriate then considering you are a rancher."

"I'm not actually." Noah scratched behind his ear diverting his gaze from the woman's… breasts. "I just know a dryad. Plus, I don't even own the land Serris is living atop."

Meira visibly latched to his wording, "Serris, you named the dryad?" Noah shook his head refuting, "it named itself?"

"I guess. Is that a problem?"

"Not in the slightest." Meira waved away and took another sip. A slight fruity fragrance leaving her as she breathed out. "It is just unusual for dryads to have names not granted to them. Is the owner of this land a rancher."

"Farmers. Wheat farmers, at least that's the only thing I've seen while I was staying there. Just one big field of wheat." He smacked his lips. "Meeting Serris was honestly pretty damn incidental and Liora didn't know she even existed till I came…" his cheek twiched, "around."

"So this dryad was in hybernation then?" Meira leaned even closer, her eyes a shade a fervant blue desiring every bit of gossip from him she could get.

From the way she acted she seemed less like a merchant and more like a school girl latched to a cute teacher giving a lecture. "I guess? She only told me that people kept getting scared of her so she stopped coming out."

It was then that Noah watched Meira freeze, she eyed him deep confusion turned to astonisment as her thoughts caught up to her. "Wait. It spoke?"