Firebrand

Money to Spend

It was only morning, but Martel already looked forward to lunch. Not that he was hungry, but that would be the earliest that he could take a nap. After every fight, he rarely had time to sleep more than three bells, which did not quite suffice. At least it was only two nights every fiveday, and he had the occasional spare hours in the afternoon to catch up on sleep.

"Pretty good." Nora examined his latest work, a tonic to strengthen the heart meant for older people or those of a weak constitution. She poured a few drops onto her hand and tasted the concoction. "It looks, smells, and tastes right. I'll tell Mistress Rana that you got another recipe to your name."

"Great." Martel began clearing away the tools he had just used. After an evening in the ring, always harrowing even when he won, he appreciated the quiet, methodical work of the apothecary. Not to mention, Martel preferred using his knowledge and skills to help people rather than hurt them.

At the same time, he had to admit the latter paid a lot more. Locked inside a strongbox Martel had purchased solely for this purpose, the novice now had forty pieces of silver, except what he had paid for the box and a few other small expenditures. He wondered if he could send money to his mother. Obviously putting coins into a letter was not a particularly safe method.

"You've been here a while now," Nora continued. "At the school, I mean. When are you going to lose that brown robe and become an acolyte?"

"Still a few months away." He hesitated. "Is the examination hard?"

"No, not at all. You just do some basic magic. At the time, I was going to be an earthmage, so that was really the only part where I had to do well."

"How long have you been an apprentice to Mistress Rana?"

"Gosh, straight after I took a course on alchemy. She had been on the lookout, and she liked my work. I wasn't particularly enamoured with earth magic, and being an alchemist sounded much more interesting. I guess that was two years ago?"

"Are you still an acolyte then?"

She shook her head. "Oh no, I was released from my contract. Well, Mistress Rana paid out in order to take me on. So I have to work for her for at least a decade, but since she's teaching me everything I know, I can hardly complain."

Finishing up his work, Martel considered how many fights he would have to win in order to pay out his contract. If such was even allowed; perhaps exceptions were made for people in higher position, like Mistress Rana. Or the duke of Cheval, who had made such a promise to Martel. If it came to it, the novice would rather spend his nights in the fighting pit.

~

Once Martel had caught up a bit on sleep, he went into the city. His pockets full of silver, he walked to the market district. He felt generous enough to even spare a coin here and there to the beggars, though he only gave them pennies. His young friends in the copper lanes had taught him that giving silver to beggars on the street would get him noticed, followed, and finally mugged.

Underneath the statue of the long-dead legate, Martel sat down and waited. They were in the last throes of summer, but accustomed to much colder weather, Martel still found it pleasant outside.

"Hey, magic boy."

Martel turned around with a smile and received a hug from Shadi. "Hey, mundane girl."

"Oh, is that how you magic folk refer to us normal people? How very rude." She grinned.

"Only when you lot aren't listening." He reciprocated her expression.

"Where do you want to go? Lots of new ships in port, I noticed walking up here."

"I was thinking somewhere else than the harbour." While that particular district always promised to have new and exciting things or people, Martel preferred to give it some distance. An eyepatch could only do so much to disguise his face, and at least a few people in The Broken Crown had seen him without his mask. "I'm not busy today, so if you got time, we can eat at a tavern tonight. My treat, of course."

"If you are sure?" she asked with a cautious smile, to which he nodded. "That sounds really nice. But I had lunch before I left home, so I'm not hungry any time soon. What should we do until then?"

"I thought we might walk to the Temple of the Sun. It's supposed to be really nice this time of year, with the sun illuminating the whole place."

"It is, yeah. That sounds nice also."

They began walking, entering the crowd of people that crawled all over the market district like peas in a hive. "And on the way, let's find something for you. Like a scarf, or maybe a new perfume." He jangled some of the coins in his pocket. "We might as well spend some of this before someone steals it." He laughed a little, but left his hand by his money, just in case.

"Aren't we generous today," she remarked with a smile before her face became serious. "I should really thank you again for what you did. My dad is busy with work again, but we'd never have gotten the money in time if not for you."

"You're welcome. Have you told him yet?"

"I did what you suggested. Told him I got a job in town. I disappear for some hours every day, and I give him a handful of silver now and then. He's very proud of me. Tells me that he knew things would work out if we just kept trying."

"Well, I suppose they did, even if he doesn't know how."

"Yeah." As the street grew narrow and the massed tangle of people dense, she took his arm. "How did you get the money? If it's alright that I ask."

Enjoying the feel and touch of her presence, Martel saw no harm in sharing. "Well, it's one reason why I keep my head down in the harbour district these days…"