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The day of trade was in full swing by the time mid-morning came. Dozens of stall owners were calling out their wares from the huge circle they had gathered in, their caravans transforming from transport to a colourful backdrop on which they hung their latest displays and hid the heavy draft horses that munched contentedly in the grass they had encircled. A huge array of smells filled the air, ranging from stale and musty to rich and spicy, the scents mixing together as they flowed on the slight wind that gently brushed those who had gathered to inspect the wares and make payments and trades.
Sometimes it was hard to distinguish one voice from another in the rabble and babble of noises but Maria made sure that she stayed close to her mother behind their stall, one hand on the table in front of her that came up to her chest height, the other daintily resting on the numerous silks that rested on the table. She smiled at each person who approached and although she never saw their faces, she could tell after only hearing a few sentences what gender, race, and height they were. She would listen as her mother conversed and bartered with the customer and she offered up silks as she was asked, her light fingers being able to tell the coarse weave from the fine and the embroided from the woven.
The young half-elf heard a few heavy clinks as coins were exchanged and the footsteps of the most recent customer moving away. She heard the rustle of her mother’s silk scarf as she bent down to the lockbox hidden securely under the table.
“Martzia, can you please go see if Uncle Razdil has some copper and silver pieces?” her mother asked. “I’m starting to run low.”
“Yes mother!” Maria chirped and she turned and darted off a few steps, automatically counting them in her head and when she reached seven, she paused and reached out a hand. Sure enough, she felt the rough wood of their caravan under her hand and she went to the left and around it, brushing her hand on her tunic to get rid of the flaking paint.
Once on the other side, she paused a second time to feel the gentle heat of the slowly rising sun and turned until it was warm on her back and then she started to lightly run, confident that she was now heading north west. She couldn’t move too fast as there were obstructions and such in the way that she couldn’t predict, but she was fairly confident in the layout of the caravan-
Her foot caught on a clump of grass and she fell forward with a slight yell of surprise, her hands instinctively flashing forward to hit the ground but an arm reached out and she landed on it with an “Oof”, her arms automatically wrapping around as it caught her just before she hit the ground.
“Woah there little Maria, had a nice trip?”
“Hi Uncle Tussok,” Maria said breathlessly with a smile, her heart thumping wildly, recognising the rough accent and unusually hairy arms of the travelling woodcarver who had been around for as long as she could remember. Had Maria been a little more knowledgeable of the species of the world, she would have known that Tussok, by one way or another, had a bugbear ancestor.
“Where you heading off to in such a hurry?” Tussok asked, lifting Maria up and setting her firmly on her feet again.
“Uncle Razdil’s stall,” the young girl told him. “Mother needs some change.”
“Ah, of course.” He must have turned his head away because his next words sounded a little further away than usual and were carried away faster by the wind. “Tomal! Where are you, you little rascal?”
“Here Pa!” She heard the pattering of running feet.
“Be a gentleman and take Maria to Uncle Razdil’s stall. And no detours this time, you hear me?”
“Yes Pa! Let’s go Maria!”
Maria felt a hand as small as her own reach out and wrap around her hand and she happily followed Tomal as he led her through the circle of caravans and safely around the playing kids, his ceaseless flow of chatter easily audible over the sounds of the few children playing. Most of the children in the caravan helped their parents with the stalls, but they played like friends in the afternoons, often acting more like a close-knit family than a few families with a common interest.
“Here we are!” Maria heard Tomal say and a moment later; “Uncle Razdil!”
“Ah, Tomal and Maria, what a surprise,” said the jolly and gruff accented voice of a mountain dwarf. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”
“Mum needs some copper and silver coins please,” Maria said diligently. “She is starting to run low and she will give you gold coins or silks in return.”
“Ah, no need, no need,” Razdil said, digging through his coin box and then rusting through some other package. “Fallrunn, watch the stall for me, will you dear? I’m just going to pay a visit to Keylina to hand her some change.”
“No stopping over at Hobart’s brewery Razdil,” the female dwarf warned. “You can have a drink tonight after we close and not a moment sooner.”
“Yes my dear.” Maria heard Uncle Razdil’s heavy and sturdy footsteps approach her, having a muted thud on the grassed field. “Tomal, here’s a little treat for you, eat it quick before you return to your father, don’t want him to know.” Tomal gave a little giggle and said a rapid goodbye to Maria before his footsteps darted off. For a moment, Maria caught the scent of the sugared, sweet scrolls that Razdil sold and instantly her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered.
“Now Maria, would you like a little ride on Daisy for the trip back?”
“Oh yes please!” Maria cheered, jumping up and down a little and clapping her hands. Razdil put a light hand on her back to guide her and put her hand on the course, close-cropped fur of the goat he and his wife kept. Maria clambered on with nearly no difficulty and hugged the neck of the goat. To ride of Daisy was the daily dream of every child in the caravan.
Maria felt the goat jolt and bleat a little before moving off and she giggled happily to herself, then sat up a little straighter and moved her head around, smelling the air. They were passing Willy’s spice store, and the following scent of strange aromas told her that Fini and Rini’s fruit stall was next, then the stale and yucky smell of Hobart’s ale came, and then there were a few other smells before they were purged by freshly carved wood and Maria waved when Tomal called out to her. Then they kept moving and she heard the soft playing of a flute that told her that they were passing Lia’s store, which meant that her mother’s was next.
No matter where the caravan moved and which settlement they visited and who was present and who was not, everyone always kept their stalls in the same order in the circle to make things as easy as possible for the young, blind half-elf who had been born into their midst.
“Hey ho Keylina, I have your packages! Down you hop Maria, there’s a good lass.”
Maria slipped down and gave the goat’s coarse fur a final pat before she took a few steps away and felt her mother’s warm hand rest on her shoulder to tell her where she was.
“Here’s your coins- no no, no need to pay me back, I know what you’re going to say but really, you’ve already paid me more than enough by looking after the twins, I really don’t know how you do it.”
“A gift I suppose,” Maria’s mother said with a laugh. “But if you insist, I shall not stain your generosity.”
“And these are also for you, to get you through the busy day, goodness knows my kids eat too many of them.”
Maria again caught the distinct smell of the sweet sugared scrolls and her stomach growled again and she shivered all over, barely able to contain her excitement.
“You are too kind Razdil, too kind,” Maria’s mother said.
Razdil said again how it really was no problem and no payment was necessary and he said his goodbye as Daisy bleated and was led away again. Maria could hold her excitement no longer.
“May I have one mum? Please? Pleeeeeeease?” she begged, holding out her hands and hopping from foot to foot.
She heard her mother laugh happily and then felt the lovely, sticky food placed in her hand. “Make sure you wash your hands before you touch my silks again, okay young lady?”
Maria could only nod. She had already taken a huge bite out of the scroll.