Crossroads Inn, Kingdom of Stilyra- Early Summer 14 years AR

A few days passed and word spread through the south of Stilyra about what happened in Terra. The details were of course sketchy but people heard about the orphaned survivors of the attack camped out at the crossroads. The day after the survivors arrived, the first family members arrived from other villages demanding answers or searching for their loved ones. Some children were taken away to live with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The fact that Terra was a frontier settlement meant it hadn’t been there long, only a single generation. Many of the people who lived there had come from elsewhere and still had kin from their original homes.

Those who’d traveled on their fated journey with adult siblings or grandparents left as well. Some were invited by the nobility of other places because of the sibling or elders trade and some just left on their own accord, with a younger brother or sister waving goodbye to their friends or dragging their friends with them. Jon and the others met Leo as he rode up on a borrowed horse, its owners taking the reigns and bidding them farewell.

“Well, Everton can take us in but we’ll be sleeping in a milking barn for a while,” He said when it was just the group of six plus Elaine, Diana and Cara. They were most of the older kids and all the adults still left in camp.

“We’ll manage just fine Magistrate. No reason to fret if it’s just temporary, “Mrs. Elaine said giving Leofrith a hug to his apparent surprise. He had been on the road or in Everton so he missed her being taken on as a surrogate grandmother by many of the children. She noticed his discomfort, “I’m sorry milord. Spent too much time with the children.”

“It’s quite alright… and it’s just Leofrith or Leo now,” he said slowly. Raised eyebrows surrounded him. “In exchange for providing everything needed to move us and all the supplies we saved to Everton, a place to store it, sending soldiers and laborers to bury the dead, building a group home for the survivors, and providing everything needed until the youngest turns 16…. In exchange for all that I gave the Countess my lands and title. I’ve already signed and the letter has been sent to Novaria, so long as she keeps her word everything south of the North Grove to the border with Dain is hers.” Everyone just exchanged glances.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Aethred said and was promptly smacked by Erin, “no, I’m serious and he just said he wasn’t a noble anymore, quit hitting me. Why in the hells would you give up a title of fucking nobility for us? Lands I get, let the countess deal with what’s down there but-” Leofrith raised his hand and Aethred stopped out of habit, he was about to continue on but Leo spoke first.

“There’s such a thing as a hedge knight… A knight that owns no lands. They’re still part of the nobility but there’s no such thing as a hedge Magistrate. My land… Terra was my title. That’s what makes a landed noble a noble.” Leofrith interrupted. Jon bobbed his head in agreement, it made sense.

“Do you keep your name? Barling?” Andrew asked.

“Why wouldn’t he, you don’t have to be a noble to have a surname. Look at me and Jon,” Erin pointed between the two.

“Wait you have a house name?” Aethred asked looking confused, “Since when?”

“A clan name and since birth.”

“Clan Halladson,” Jon said, “When my da and ma moved to Terra they technically formed a new clan. He was named after his da, so his name was technically Hallad Halladson. I’m Jon Halladson and she’s Erin Halladson.” That garnered more confused looks.

“So if you have a kid their name will be Jonson?”

“No, it’ll stay Halladson unless they break away and settle somewhere away from the Halladson clan.” Jon said.

“Could I go by Aethred Peirson?” Aethred asked, now it was starting to annoy Jon, he gave Leo an apologetic look. He shrugged and said he needed to inform the Innkeeper they’d be leaving soon and he could have his pasture back. Leo headed off towards the inn.

“No young man, that’s their culture. If you have a last name it’d be what your pa did for a living. Aethred Woodsman and Andrew Hunter. Never caught on in Terra but in Ebrus there’s probably dozens of men young and old named Aethred. Saying Aethred the baker and Aethred the smith is just Aethred Baker and Aethred Smith.” Elaine decided to part with some wisdom.

“But Aethred isn’t a woodsman and I’m not a hunter?” Andrew pointed out.

“Tha’s why I said you take your fathers profession.”

“If not it’d be Andrew Niceboy and Aethred Prick,” Erin recited, “Eh, sorry Andrew but it doesn’t have as nice of a ring to it but I’m all for the idea of Aethred founder of House Prick!” Even Mrs. Elaine laughed at that. Jon stepped over to Jaesmin who’d been quiet the entire time since learning the news about the loss of her families land. They stepped away from the conversation as the other started thinking of new names for Aethred and Andrew.

“You alright?” He wasn’t sure if she was upset or not but thought to check anyways. She just looked up and him and grinned nodding her rapidly, Jon chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m fine, it wasn’t as if I was the one that would inherit the title,” she said as they walked, “I was never going to be Magistrate Jaesmin but now I could be Jaesmin Magistrate.” It took Jon a second but he smiled and shot air out of his noes as he got it.

“Sounds like a mouthful, maybe Jaesmin Noble?” he offered.

“Maybe I’ll just forget that and convert after we get to Ederath and form Clan Ellisdaughter,” She smirked.

“Ah it’d still be Ellison,” Jon said, at her look he added “Erin asked my ma the same question and ma said that she’d heard they used to do that but stopped in favor of -son to simplify it. Gives everyone the same last name.” She bobbed her head as she walked, her ponytail swinging back and forth.

“I could deal with Ellison… so what if say Erin and Aethred wed, would he be Aethred Halladson because he’s joining your clan or would she become Erin Prick?” she laughed, “I’m assuming a bride takes the grooms hou- er clan.”

“You’re right, kinda. Aethred doesn’t technically have a house or clan name so he’d probably become a Halladson,” Jon said, “Although I’m pretty sure if those two wed it’d be followed by murder, either each other or whoever forced them into it.” Jaesmin giggled as they neared their tents and she sat while he dug through his stuff and returned to her with some food and drink, just water. He sat down next to her as she stretched out her legs and leaned back.

“Okay, I get it. So if say I of House Barling married you of clan Halladson, I’d become Jaesmin Halladson? Or would you become Jon Barling because Barling is a noble name? Maybe it depends on if it’s a northern style wedding or southern… Okay what if….” Jon thanked the gods she was so preoccupied by the new name game that she hadn’t noticed how red his face had gotten. He was just glad Leo, Erin, and Aethred weren’t around. Then the invasive thought of what his mother would say entered his mind. She’d probably smirk and be ready to make fun of him later.

**********

‘Aethred Woodsman… I kinda like it. Aethred of House Woodsman. Then again Pierson? Lorason?’

Aethred walked back to the camp, the subject of his last name jumped around from Aethred Prick to Aethred Shortone to Aethred Sculptor. Erin decided to combine two of them into Aethred of House Shortprick... He got Erin when he pointed out they were both children of woodsmen and by the southern standard she’d be Erin Woodsman. Mrs. Elaine walked Erin right through it whens she didn't seem to comprehend the joke. ‘Oh my he’s right darling, Aethred Woodsman and Erin Woodsmen, people will likely think you’re siblings… or wed!’ That shut his friend right up.He had to admit, he liked the old bat.

“Aethred, have you seen Erin or Miss Jaesmin anywhere?” Cara met him on the path between tents snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Ah, Jaesmin walked off with Jon and I’d stay away from Erin,” Aethred said, “She’s got something, keeps mentioning the fucking things making her itch.”

“Things?” Cara looked concerned.

“Yeah, little white bugs in her hair. Dunno what they’re called,” Aethred knew but he didn’t have to be exact with what lice did if he pretended he didn’t know what they were in the first place. It was better just to be vague.He’d learned that to get out of chores, say you have a flu and parents expect the flu; resulting in punishment when you cant fake the symptoms. Say your head hurts and your ears are stuffy and they tell you to go back to bed. He pointed in the general direction of the inn at the other side of the pasture., “Think Leofrith went to go ask people in the inn if anyone had a tonic before her little bastards spread through camp.”

“Okay... Well If you see her let her know I hope she finds a tonic and please let Miss Jaesmin know I’m looking for her and I have her book.”

“I’ll let her know,” Aethred said with a nod and made his way through camp. As he suspected Jaesmin and Jon were sitting by the tents. He wasn’t trying to be mean to Cara, she was sweet, if a little naive. It was more because he wasn’t a messenger and Jon would put a stop to his latest way to annoy Erin as soon as he heard it. Not to mention there was a little over 30 people in camp?

‘how’d she miss a fucking forest troll sitting with it’s favorite priestess?’

Jaesmin was laying there stretched out as Aethred walked up, while Jon looked like a ripe apple. Aethred of course sat down right between the two.

“Oh Aethred maybe you can answer. If me and Jon were to marry but in the south with a southern ceremony, would I be Jaesmin Halladson or would he be Jon Barling?” Jaesmin asked with a grin. He recognized the grin, she was messing with Jon. He doubted that she was doing it to be cruel as half the village had whispered about seeing them making eyes at each other over the past couple years. ‘So if I don’t take the bait she might stop tormenting Jon, but if I do? HA! Then again...’ Aethred thought before turning to stare directly at Jon. He turned to face Jaes.

“Did he give you the damn present finally? The one he’s been carrying in his pocket since Terra?” Jaesmin blushed with a confused look and Aethred would swear he could actually feel Jon glaring at the back of his head, “He’s had it since you guys were supposed to be in the south fields. Been wondering what it is.”

His mind drifted while he waited for one of them to act. Most people thought Aethred didn’t care about his friends, he actually did but at the moment the choice was either think about how his mother was in paradise but how he wasn’t sure about his father or distract himself by messing with people and jokes, he’d choose the latter. Maybe eventually he’d talk to someone he thought, probably Andrew. The kid was good with stuff like this. His mind stuck with his father.

His da was a good man but not a strict follower of the Temple, neither was Aethred but he might one day change; his da wouldn’t get that chance. Aethred knew his da and he knew he would have gone down fighting, it was just who he was. He had almost asked Jon and Erin if their gods would take his dad to that Valhal place. He knew they burned the bodies to send souls there… That’s why he burned the hand, he hoped it was enough. If he was lucky maybe both his parents went there. So they were together, his ma had a knife near her body.

“What in Hel’s name? Aethred are you crying?” Aethred snapped his head up to see Erin, Cara, and Andrew staring at him. He knew Jon and Jaesmin were on either side of him, he didn’t turn his head to see if they were staring as well. His luck lately meant Leofrith and Mrs. Elaine were also standing behind him. The sun was at his back so a quick glance at the shadows showed that at least he was wrong about that. Erin looked like she was about to say something she thought was witty.

“Just leave him be,” Andrew said looking pointedly at Erin before turning back to Aethred, “It’s alright, I promise we’ll never ask as long as you promise to tell us when you’re ready. Jus’ know that if you have a secret hurtin’ that bad it’s best to get it out.” Aethred was dumbstruck when Erin clamped her mouth shut and stared at the ground. The fuck was that? Does Andrew actually expect something? Where’d he pick up a line like that anyways?… I really should talk to him about this, he probably knows enough from living with them’

He looked and saw Cara sadly smiling at him, Jon looked contemplative and Jaesmin, well she was back to her normal neutral expression. So he couldn’t tell if she was judging him or just watching. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he decided to improvise.

“That Valhal place, you sure your ma went there?” he asked after a moment, Erin looked mad but Jon answered.

“We’re sure, she died fighting in an honorable fig-” Jon started.

“What does that even fucking mean, honorable fight?”

“That your not out fucking robbing people and get stabbed, that you’re fighting to protect yourself or others,” Erin said, “fighting against those monster definitely counts.”

“What if your ma secretly didn’t believe in your false gods?” Erin looked even madder.

“Aethred, you’ve known us our entire lives how do you not kn-” Erin was cut off as Andrew grabbed her shoulder she looked at him for a second, “ugh, nevermind. No she’s still there. It’s not about belief. It’s about honor, courage and valor. What’s inside the person at their time of death is more important than what they believe at that moment. Our gods look at what we choose to be, how we face a challenge... If belief mattered everyone that had forsaken the gods for ‘abandoning’ them in their time of needbut fought bravely regardless would be damned to Hel.” She said it very quickly but Aethred understood, Even if he didn’t believe his father’s soul would still be accepted as long as he died fighting.

‘Thank you Erin.’

“Ahh, can never be sure with you heath- AAGHHH!” Aethred rolled back grabbing the ankle she just stomped on.

“Erin!”

“It’s not about the heathen shit! Aethred if you tell one more fucking person I have LICE….”

**********

“Wait, wait!” The Innkeep ran up to the group as they crawled on the wagons that were ready to depart for Everton a couple days later. Jon and the rest of the group, now the 6 plus Cara turned. The man held out a small clay jar to Leo who took it confused, The man spoke in short sentences while catching his breath. He wasn’t in the best of shape, “Heard you were looking for some, trader just came in had it. We chipped in to get it for the lass. Tang root oil, tell her to rub it all the way down to the skin... and let it be for half a day, won’t be a single louse left alive…. But you lot best get going, good luck.”

Leo thanked the man with a confused look while the rest of the wagon turned to Aethred. He was shifted sideways, staring out the other side of the open wagon, and whistling a tune to himself. Erin and Cara were glaring at him from the other side of the wagon. Jon was biting his cheek to keep from laughing, either at Aethred or Erin, it didn’t matter which. The wagon driver started moving and Leofrith sat down next to his sister and looked around.

“Anyone know who has lice?” Leo asked holding up the jar of oil. Jon just leaned back as predictably Aethred turned to look at Erin.

“Say it, I swear to the gods, I meant what I said… tell one person I have lice,” Erin stared Aethred down. Jon watched on as an amazing thing happened, for Aethred at least.

“Erin,” Leo rolled the jar across the floor to her and scooted further away, “Nothing to be ashamed of, you’ve been sleeping in a tent for almost a week. You heard the instructions, right?”

“I don’t have fucking lice!” Erin’s death glare switched targets to Leofrith, “It’s not funny!”

“Language!” Jon yelled out halfway serious, there were other children in the wagon with them, all younger.

They just laughed and eventually Cara broke and told Leofrith about Aethred’s stunt. He just sighed and placed the oil in his ruck. Erin looked about ready to kill somebody making the wagon driver laugh even harder. When the laughing died down the wagon driver turned on his bench.

“You lot ever been to Everton?” he asked, still chuckling and obviously offering a change in subject.

“Just me, I believe,” Leofrith spoke up after a look around the wagon.

“You lot will like it there, plenty to do for young ones. Got most of the stuff of the cities but none of the problems,” the man continued, “Older lot’s got even more to do. plenty of work, taverns, bawdy houses, the guilds. You got any questions you let me know.”

“What’s there for us to do?” a little girl sitting at the back of the wagon called up. The man turned to see who was talking and nodded before turning back to the road.

“There’s street performers that stay in town all year and many pass through. Musicians, jugglers, tumblers, story tellers. ‘sides that there’s places to fish and swim, jus’ don’t swim by the docks. River boat’ll run you right over,” He laughed turning again to look at his audience, “sides that there’s plenty of toys and games to play, some unknown toymaker sent his wares to town a while back. Poor fool that one, half the woodworkers in the area have copied his work now. Wheeled string toys, wooden disks you can throw, spinning tops, the falling tower game, dominoes, bead board game, couple different checkered board games… plenty more. All on the cheap.” He turned and Jon thought he must have expected a look of wonder and awe at so many new fun things but the children just stared at him or Jon.

“Here that Jon, you’re a poor fool!” Aethred said with glee, whatever Erin’s threat was momentarily forgotten. The driver obviously heard that and repeated the poor fool part, glancing back again. Aethred leaned forward and started pulling yo-yo’s and chest pieces out of Jon’s bag. Jon stopped him but Aethred held up what he managed to snatch, he returned the toys and chest pieces but kept a yo-yo.

“You’re the toymaker?” he asked incredulously, giving Jon the once over as he nodded, he turned to face to road again, “Well s’pose a kid would be the only one with time to think of things like that... Bit of free advice, you got anything else you wanna sell… don’t trust those traveling merchants and peddlers. Some are good folk but you end up with a bit too much scum in the mix. Don’t have ta worry bout what people think of ya if you’re leaving town in a few days anyways and everyone will forget your face by time you’re back. Nah, find a shop ya like and sign a contract with the owner. That ways even if your not in town your partner will take care of the copies. Either that or sell your toy plans to an artisan, they’ll pay good coin for somethin’ they can make themselves and turn a profit from. On that one if there’s copies showing up it’s not your problem anyways as long as you ain’t the one makin’ em. Bit of scum there too, they’ll work together to steal from some far off unknown but burn the shop next door if they think the competitions stealing from them.”

“Umm… thank you, I’ll keep that in mind,” Jon said. He was surprised at how much their driver liked to talk and how cut throat it could be in Everton. Well the driver didn’t say it was Everton and could have been speaking of other places as well. He thought it over and decided quickly he didn’t like the idea of having a partner till he knew where he was going to end up but selling his plans wholesale might not be a bad way to earn coin.

“Oh and look into throwing a lil coin towards someone like me. It’s Fredrick or just Fred by the way,” Fred said, “Just find someone like a hauler, messenger, or adventurer that gathers materials for artisans and merchants. They can keep an eye on anyone stealing your work an’ put ya in contact with folk that already work together. After all, you put three smiths in a room and two of em will wanna bash each others brains in an’ at the same time the three will be nearly brothers. Trick is you need to figure out who’s who.” Aethred got the strange metaphor.

“So what you’re saying is like me and that one back there, I make a little joke about hair bugs and she nearly breaks my ankle but we’re both friends with Andrew, making us kin through him,” Aethred said but Erin didn’t take the bait tp start another bickering match to everyone's relief. Jon noticed she seemed to be scheming something as well,

“What of the guilds?” Jaesmin changed the subject.

“There’s quite a few but you’ll only be interested in two or three. You got mine, the haulers guild. Make our coin running loads from place to place. Most of it is the same, picking up ore from a mine the same day every week for example. There’s some contract’s available that go further, the coin you make goes up but too far and you can’t guarantee you’ll make it or find something heading back home. Works not bad and you get to travel a bit, most young folk like it but havta have the coin to buy your own horses and wagon. Next is the messengers guild, they’re kinda like us but rather than bulk deliveries on a regular basis they run letters and messages between merchants and artisans. They might get a contract to run a small package here and there.”

“Wait, how far do they run?” one of the younger ones asked.

“Well they don’t actually, who would run letters like that. Maybe in town if it’s urgent but if it is whoever’s sending the message wouldn’t bother with the guild. Nah usually they get a ride from a wagon or join in on a caravan, a few keep horses. Every week I got a buddy that rides with me to Habernack while I make a delivery he drops off any letters for the village and meets with another messenger from the other direction that takes the bulk of it further on to Saena. I provide the ride, he brings the food.” Fred explained before continuing, “Last is the adventurers guild, guessing that’s what you’re wondering ‘bout aren’t you lad? I dunno their inner workin’s not being one myself but I know it’s not grand missions and heroic quests. It’s more killing of a few local beasts an’ monsters that are more a pest than a threat, that or running around the wild tryna find some magic herb or special mushroom that some one with the coin wants for one reason or another. There’s good coin in slaying monsters though, even the little ones have a use but you won’t be seeing any contracts to march with knights to slay some giant foe terrorizing the countryside. Most adventurer are fools that get themselves killed, going to climb the western mountains looking for old ruins only to fall to their death. walking into the Forest of Dain expecting to come out with drake venom or the like to make themselves rich but walk into a spider next. Themscrapping together a boat to get to the lesser isles instead of paying a charter, only to sink somewhere off the coast. Those are the lucky ones.”

“What happens to the unlucky ones?”

“Something stupid like getting drunk and tripping in the road only to be run over by a wagon, falling in the river before even leaving town while wearing heavy armor, getting caught in bed with some lass by her husband, drawing steel in front of the Countess earning a trip to the gallows. Things like that,” he laughed, he saw some confused looks when he glanced back again, “think bout it, whats better. Dying someplace dangerous where you know your team will exaggerate your death to make it sound like a better end. Stumbling off a cliff turns to getting thrown off by a gargoyle, ya know? That or waiting for a boat and accidentally drowning in the river because you were trying to get your armor off ta piss and fell in. Can’t make that sound heroic!”A few of them snorted at that. That would be a wasteful death if there ever was one. At least Fred was keeping the ride interesting. They rode on as Fred kept them all entertained with stories from Everton, warnings where not to go, where to find the best shops, what there was in the small hamlets and villages that dotted the hinterlands close to the large town. Some good information to help the group prepare quickly for their trip north.

At the back of the wagon sat a frustrated Jaesmin next to Cara. The former held a thin book her brother had pulled from the treasury in their home while the latter looked as well. Jon’s eyebrows rose when Cara’s eyes faintly glowed a whitish blue and the crackling of small bolts of lighting shot between her fingers. Only a few seemed to spot it but Jon motioned for the little ones to be quiet; you don’t disturb someone learning a spell.

**********

Jaesmin walked towards the center of Everton on their second full day in the town They had been confident they could get moving by that very morning but they were stalled out by her late father’s business in the city; turned out Leo had to organize the payments of quite a bit of debt her father had accrued through lines of credit with various artisans. It was frustrating to her but there was no going around it. The men and women they passed toiling away in the fields bearing collars or brands was reminder enough that debt could lead to enslavement. Luckily her father had only opened the lines to avoid constantly sending riders bearing the paperwork needed to release small payments to Everton. The amount held at in the Merchant guild account was enough to pay them off. They hoped again to be leaving in the morning but they’d have to wait and see if any other complications arose.

A mid sized wagon was ready to go in the pasture of the milking barn turned orphanage. They had food for the trip, clothing, tents, new bedroll, a few things to pass the time on the road. Leo had even gotten them registered with the haulers guild and himself as a messenger as a way to make money on their journey.

To pass the time, she had decided to head to the market to make any final purchases. She was joined by Erin and Cara, a girls day on the town.

“So, what else do we need?” Cara timidly asked, she was close enough to 16 and been invited to join them after it became apparent that she was far more gifted in magic than Jaesmin or Leo. A spellbook differed from a spellsheet as it didn’t automatically teach you how to cast a single spell. Instead it taught you how to first recognize your magic, then control it, and then provided over a dozen simple spells that could be slowly mastered. All that and it wasn’t imprinted in your head, you actually had to study and learn it the hard way.

People who used spellsheets could learn a spell instantly but it hindered their ability to develop magic without spellsheets. Jaesmin knew it was something about spellsheets being made with the memories of mages that could cast the spell but it also included their bad habits and advanced techniques that messed with a person’s basic fundamentals. Point being she wanted to be the one that could shoot lightning out of her finger tips and now wanted to find something new.

“I’m not sure, there’s nothing else to do at the group home. You’re sister and Misses Elaine have it covered,” Jaesmin said, mentioning the two that were actually hired to run the orphanage. She turned to Erin, “What about you? Not thinking what we need, anything you want?”

“I don’t have a lot of coin,” Erin said sheepishly, she patted her plump full coin purse, “I mean I do but everything I made yesterday was Jon’s.”

“Ah, didn’t you go around and sell his sketches and plans for him? You should get something for it,” Cara pointed out, still quiet but Jaesmin knew it was from being around so many people. When Terra fell it had around 850 people living there. Compared to that Everton was vast, an entire order of magnitude larger and three times that. Jaesmin hadn’t ever been to a place that held nearly 25,000 people either but to her it was exciting.

“Eh, you’ve got a point… paint, that’s what I want, blue face paint specifically,” Erin said and Jaesmin felt her heart skip a beat thinking of the one time she saw the northern tradition of painting their faces and bodies. It had intrigued her to no end. It wasn’t attraction, although she had thought Hild looked beautiful, it was just the contrast that set the north aside from the plain white dresses she had worn most her life. She thought the paints themselves were beautiful and loved the idea of making a symbol that only represented one thing, her. She looked at Cara expectantly.

“Umm.. clothes… maybe,” Cara looked like she was thinking of exactly what she wanted. Jaesmin just nodded and as they entered the massive market square she made her way to one of the guards to ask on where to find what they were looking for. He gave directions with a mild look of surprise on his face until his eyes landed on Erin’s features. He seemed to understand.

Northern eyes and hair were pretty distinctive, they weren’t native to the isles.Her mother had told her that the Ederathans had invaded the isles from some distant land to the east long ago; describing them as evil conquerors. Her own heritage was foreign as well and went back to the wealthy aristocrats of the Utinum Empire that had sent legions to the islands even before the Ederathans arrived. This was not conquest butin order to bring civilization and the gods to the savages that occupied them before.

The three made their way across the market, stopping to look every so often. If they’d browsed every stall it would take all day though so they pressed on. The area of the square was as big as the entire village of Terra. In the center was a large wooden market hall where the richest of goods could be bought in the open air lower floor and everything from enchanted jewelry, spellsheets and books, and land were auctioned off on a regular basis in the restricted second floor. The layout of the stalls were in nice straight lines with plenty of space to walk and inspect the goods without impeding the flow of the market. The large space was organized into different areas such as a place to purchase meats and fish, a second for grains and vegetables, an area where fabric was piled high or one where ceramics could be found.

The rest didn’t matter as what Erin wanted and what Jaesmin was looking for was an area of it’s own. Shoved away in a corner away from the main flow of the market was an area dedicated just to selling northern and western goods. They even had a sign up as you entered the space, which was noticeably divided from the other stalls, the ‘heathen market’. Her mother would have approved.

“Are they fucking joking?” Erin said looking up at the wooden sign above her. Jaesmin and Cara both looked beyond the sign at the two dozen stalls making up the remote section. It’s layout was different and each stall was painted in bright colors, a line of poles ran down the center of the walkway with a dozen stalls on each side. From the poles, ropes ran to a similar pole on every corner of every stall and each rope was adorned by a variety of small colorful banners; different fabrics, colors, some woven in patterns or embroidered. It stood out from the largely unpainted stalls of the main market.

“It’s not that bad miss,” a young woman overheard from the closest stall, “our customers know exactly where to find us.” She smiled. She didn’t look northern to Jaesmin’s eye, in fact none of them did. Hair colors and style of dress was distinctly southern, hired help.

Erin walked into the market area ahead of Jaesmin and Cara. The heathen market contained a bit of everything the north and west had to offer. Erin quickly found the facepaint’s and to Jaesmin’s excitement there WERE other colors to pick from. Besides those there were colorful tunics embroidered with northern runes, barrels of mead, strange spices, trinkets like any other market, cut crystals and gems that she’d never seen before, leather garments she recognized as similar to what Hild had worn and more. Jaesmin couldn’t help but smile as she began to browse. She had expected to receive confused or even annoyed looks from the vendors but she didn’t receive any until joining Erin at the paints.

“You know you can buy some if you want,” Erin said as Jaesmin looked at the paints.

“I apologize miss but that’s not advised,” the male attendant spoke up, “These are the finest grade paints and are an intricate part of worship of the Northern Pantheon. An attempt at mimicry could be insulting to our northern neighbors.” Jaesmin was surprised there was no mention of offending the Temple but then again, implying his customers were heathens wouldn’t be good business.

“The paints themselves mean nothing, it’s the runes drawn that have meaning,” Erin said looking between two shades of blue, “Besides I just meant as face paint.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken young miss, the various colors of the paint each represent the different gods of the north. Just using them is showing declaring devotion to the gods, a sin the northerners would not take kindly to,” He attempted to correct but was met with an icy stare.

“Jaes pick whatever color you want, he has no idea what he’s saying,” Erin told her. Jaesmin couldn’t help but notice the not so subtle tone in her voice, she was getting mad, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Umm. Light blue,” Jaesmin was taken aback by the abrupt question.

“I must insist for your friends safety,” Jaesmin watched Erin ignore the man while she picked up two jars of different shades of blue. Jaes watched her as she looked at the paint on the outside of the jar before her icy blue eyes locked onto Jaesmin’s. They shot to the second jar for a moment before again returning to her eyes. After a second Erin set down one and handed her a jar of an aquamarine blue. She also snatched up both shades of blue she previously heldand an emerald green before slapping a silver down on the counter. The man tried to protest but her glare shot at him again, although he didn’t pick it up until a voice came up from behind Jaesmin.

“Everything alright little sis?” Jon asked sounding slightly concerned. Jaesmin turned to Jon and immediately understood why the man had been so quick to change his attitude. Jon had apparently gotten his haircut to pass time as well as shopping. His hair on the sides and back were cut only a fraction of an inch long and about half an inch on top. The sides and top faded together nicely, he’d spent more than just a copper.

The new hair wasn’t the intimidating part. No it was the fact that Jon had walked up wearing chainmail from her families manor, a thick leather belt around his waist that also had a strap going from his left hip to his right shoulder. New steel pauldrons adorned his shoulders along with an attached gorget on his upper torso. The thick belt and supportive strap was there for a reason. On it hung a hatchet, a bootknife, a few pouches and the subject of the vendors attention, Jon’s broadaxe. Beige linen pants and dark leather boots completed the ensemble. Jaes couldn’t help but like the look, he looked confident. It fit him.

“Fine, just a dumb southerner trying to lecture me.. someone who actually worships the Northern Pantheon,” She said collected her change, raising her voice with the final few words, “by saying I’m wrong about my own fucking faith.” Jon snorted and shook his head he looked at the jar in Jaesmin’s hand, he just grinned and looked on down the stalls.

“Glad I found you three, Leo want’s to meet up in a few hours,” he said and continued with a laugh “don’t let me disturb your shopping… I know how much Erin loves to spend my coin.”

“I earned it… and I’m older than you by the way.”

“Still short.”

Jaesmin ignored the twins as she looked at Jon’s axe, if she couldn’t have magic… she’d find something else. Her eyes looked to the only stall selling a variety of martial goods, including an Elvanni falchion and the northern round shield sitting right next to it. Now she just needed armor.