Wakaishu ya, Oh young folk —

shinu ga iya nara, if you fear death,

ima shiniyare! die now!

hito-tabi shineba, Having died once

mō shinanu zo ya. you won't die again.

Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴; 1685-1768)

The road seems far more interesting after a break from it. Maybe the mayor was right that forcing people to be nice to each other was the best way to make a peaceful society, but I still feel freedom is important for progress. Suoh is complaining about his wears and especially the staining on his cloth. “When people see stained cloth, they think it is old worn and cheap. It doesn’t matter what the actual quality is.” He tells me.

The next day he is still mopey, and I notice we pass thorn bushes and smaller pants laden with berries. I walk up and make a bet with Suoh. I bet that if you let me sell half of these cloths I could sell them for far more than you. He looks quizzical but then smiles and we barter over the terms. If I win I get to keep 20% of the proceeds and if he wins I have to pay back half the difference between our sales. He states that he will help me with finding my buyers but does say he will not use any special connections to help me. “Half of being a merchant is finding the right person to sell to.” He argues. I am inclined to agree.

Over the next few days I pick berries and wrap them in cloths from my half of the set. I think I am deeply annoying Suoh by eating berries near the cloth so flippantly, but he never mentions it. With the wagon jumping I am sure my berries will be crushed but that is the plan.

The caravan continues until we arrive at our destination with no more setbacks greater than the wagon getting stuck in some mud. The gates of Yaolin city are rusted open and travellers move through almost freely after paying the guards a small tax or showing a document. With hugs and smiles our travelling companions leave. Yoma asks if we want to continue traveling together when they leave. “All things come to an end.” I say. “Better to let it end now or we may want it to last forever.” Suoh proposes our meeting point for the morrow and we go our separate ways.

The city itself is not especially prosperous with beggars, thieves and shady merchants in the alleyways off the main road. However, advancing further into the city to nicer quarters gives us a peek of the luxury enjoyed by the city elite.

After asking directions from a baker we walk to a nearby inn. The main room is plain but nice. We are greeted by an old man and a middle-aged woman at the counter. “If you are staying for a while we are prepared to give a discount, but it is 10 coppers per room per night if not” The rooms are cheap, and it doesn’t seem like this is a bad place, so we book for a week and take the small discount.

For the rest of the afternoon we wander the city and gain a small familiarity with the place. Surprisingly we don’t encounter any hoodlums when we visit the edge of the slums and the day is peaceful and we sleep deeply as it comes to a close.

Still in the haze of sleep, Mari and I wander downstairs for a quick breakfast and then off to the merchant’s guild Suoh is waiting there for us and hands me my crate of cloths. I am introduced to the head of the guild branch and given permission to look at requests for cloth. I scan through and one in particular catches my eye. It is a request from a minor noble for large pieces of cloth suitable for crafting light robes. I grin, take a mental note of the place and walk out towards the inn. We stop at a washerwoman’s building and I unravel the cloth. The berries have stained it through. But there are lines and patterns of white and various shades of purple due to the different berries used and the folds which the berries never reached. The best part is that it no longer appears to be stained.

I rinse the cloths of the skins and seeds of the berries and walk towards the nobles’ quarter. Near the wall of the quarter on the outside is the entrance to the home of the one who requested suitable material for robes. I knock on the door and am greeted by a young man. “I am from the merchant’s guild, responding to a request from this address” I say. “That would mean you are looking for my father” he says. He seems flustered, but I nod. I am lead down the hall to an office. Inside is a grand chair behind a solid oak desk. The room is small but decorated in such a way that it must be more expensive than every other part of the house I have seen. The noble seems dismissive of me but then notices the young man’s nervousness and glares. I am quickly introduced before silence settles in. “You are dismissed for now.” He finally speaks. The young man nods and walks out closing the door behind him.

“So, what is this cloth you have?” He questions, and I open my crate. I unravel a piece of my oddly patterned purple cloth and begin to describe it. “This is a fine cloth from my homeland.” I say, intentionally thickening my accent. “It was spun from the finest mix of silks and cotton.” I present him my sample to feel. “It was died by artists.” I consider myself somewhat of an artist. “and would make robes that seem alive if made well. I have enough here for 7 cloaks, or 6 if you use the material for the last on extra decorations and ties to hold the robe.” He is nodding appreciatively. Little does he know that the cloth is still slightly damp at the centre of the cloth and freshly washed; that is what is giving it the softness he feels. The lord nods thoughtfully with a slight frown. “I see your doubts may lie with the colour. However, I must point out that a group in cloaks may cause a misunderstanding about the integrity of said group. This colour would remove the suspicion of fowl play.” I can see he is sold. “All this for no more than 7 gold. I did travel across the ocean to provide after all.” We haggle over the price for a few hours before we finally settle on 4 gold 2 silver and 6 coppers. I am certainly satisfied with the result. I thought the status of women would have stopped the deal but he seems to be reasonable in that sense.

I walk out with a satisfied smile. I would bet the merchant had less luck. I meet with Mari and we move to the merchant guild. After half an hour of waiting a young merchant with a confident smile and caped dress walks up to me and introduces himself as Oliver with a splendid bow. He is annoying and Mari refuses to speak to him but he is smart and polite enough that the conversation is a good distraction from boredom.

Late that evening Suoh appears with a smile on his face and a blush on his cheeks indicative of having done more exercise than usual. He waves to me and walks up with a confident grin. "I have sold the cloaks for 2 gold and 8 silvers." He states. I am impressed but I did better. " 4 gold, 2 silvers and 6 coppers." I reply. "And I was done almost before lunch." Just from looking at him you would have thought there was an invisible brick wall in the middle of the path. He looks to the guild master who nods. He hangs his head and hands me 3 silver as I give him a gold coin and 3 coppers. Even if his wallet is not harmed his pride is shattered. Oliver walks up and asks what happened. "I won a bet." I reply. A second later we were saying farewell and myself and Mari were wandering off into the night. I immediately heard Oliver giving Suoh an earful for letting girls walk alone at night. As I said, he is annoying.

On our walk I notice some people in simple, oddly patterned, purple cloaks wandering through a door off an alleyway. One of the men is cursing someone and commenting that he looks ridiculous. I wonder what my costumer is doing with his cloaks.