The Mimic Becomes a Merchant King

Essine had agreed to stay in the inn during the day, and seemed rather happy to do so. Given what she had gone through last night, it was perfectly understandable. Physically, her injuries weren't too severe. Bruises and minor cuts.

Mentally and emotionally, however, she was doing far worse. It wasn't the first time she'd been attacked by humans, but that hardly made the experience any more pleasant for her.

But she had been somewhat pleased when Elijah gave her a new dress. It was a simple blue thing, with a many-pocketed white smock. Many women wouldn't even react if given it as a gift, but Essine had nearly been brought to tears by it. The garment was perhaps the only gift she had gotten in a long time, if ever.

Coin wished he could do more for her as they were leaving, the fear in her eyes made his stomach twist something fierce. But she had smiled and tried to reassure him, and Elijah said such wounds were not easily mended. It was best, he had reasoned, to give her some time to herself to process what had happened and ideally relax.

And so they pressed on toward Hightown.

The Merchant's Quarter had been a fancy spot, by Coin's estimation. The streets well cleaned, and the people generally looking rather fancy. But Hightown, even at a glance, made the home of the Mercantile Guild look like a hovel.

Just about every home they passed was a stately manor, looming massive in size, framed by sculpted statues and fringed by lines of gold. Even the people seemed to be of a different breed compared to those in the Merchant's Quarter. Beautiful, radiant elves, gnomes and humans adorned in suits even finer than those sold by Rosenstern and Guildencrantz.

And Coin, deeply impressed by all of this, spent the whole walk looking this way and that with his mouth slightly ajar. Elijah chuckled.

"Common reaction to seeing Hightown for the first time," said Elijah.

"It really is massive," Coin murmured. People had the money to own such opulent houses? As soon as the thought hit him, Coin glanced again to his mentor. "Wait... considering how much money you have... do you own a house here too?"

Elijah gave him a teasing smile. "I may," he replied.

"But... you're still paying to stay in an inn?"

"Indeed. I know it may seem strange to you, lad, but for me... the money was only part of the joy of being a merchant. Living a migratory lifestyle, the thrill of travel and adventure, that's always been the draw for me." Elijah chuckled. "I'm sure the housekeepers don't mind my absence too much. Takes some pressure off of them."

Coin frowned, trying to wrap his head around Elijah's statement. He supposed it made some sense, even if it was odd from his point of view. All the travelling he had gone through thus far had been an exciting experience for him, exposing the mimic to things he never would have seen before.

But being able to sit down and relax in a mansion did sound very nice too.

The Greatglow estate, much to Coin's shock, somehow loomed larger than the other mansion houses in the area. So much so that it was bordered by a large wall, topped with black iron spikes, with a path to the front door flanked on either side by sculptures of beautiful, and rather curvaceous men and women.

Fortunately said statues had their nudity tactically covered by sculpted strips of cloth, protecting their modesty. A thin strip of fabric was the dividing line between high society, and baseborn perversion.

A gnome in a fine suit met them at the date, watching the duo behind the dark lenses of his glasses. "So, you're the two new aspiring couriers," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Indeed," Elijah said. "Elijah DiVenture. And this is my apprentice, Coin Thaeka," he explained.

"I thought that girl from the Mercantile Guild was playing some kind of joke, but you really are him," the gnome murmured, toying with his skinny moustache. "Very well. The last petitioners will likely be finished soon." He led the way up the path, moving rather quickly on such stumpy legs.

The interior was even grander than the exterior, the tiled floors buffed to a fine sheen, while the wooden bannister of the spiral staircase gleamed in the light of a hanging chandelier. Coin glanced down the lengths of the various halls they passed, and found each one was dotted with suits of armour and hanging paintings.

His skin itched. That old primal part of his brain wanted to turn back into a treasure chest, and devour anything golden in his line of sight.

Eventually, after a walk that felt nearly as long as the walk to the mansion itself, they were led into a sunroom at the back of the house. "Please," the footman said, motioning to an array of padded seats, "make yourselves comfortable." Elijah did so, and Coin followed his lead.

A slim elven maid offered them a tray with freshly brewed tea in little floral cups, and a stack of plates covered in tiny cakes. She left almost as quickly as she appeared.

"Well, she does know how to make her guests comfortable," Said Elijah, helping himself to a lemon-scented wedge.

Coin ate, fighting every natural instinct to shovel fistfuls of food into his mouth. "So Lady Greatglow is a pretty wealthy and important woman, right?" Elijah nodded while slowly sipping his tea. "Then she must have a lot of offers for this job. How are we going to stand out?"

"Reputation, partially," Elijah replied, sinking into the padded embrace of the chair. "There are a few large mercantile companies in Sentinel these days, all vying to be the top dog and become an official arm of the kingdom under Velasco. In their arrogance and excitement, they're likely to trip on their own two feet trying to impress such a valuable potential client."

"So we... want to appear competent and humble," Coin proposed.

His mentor grinned. "You have a bright future ahead of you. It's all well and good to take pride in your accomplishments. But high-class clients don't respond well to arrogance."

The door at the far side of the sun room creaked open, heralding the entrance of a tall man in a finely-tailored white suit, and slicked back ashen hair. There was a supreme confidence in his eyes, and his smile carried no joy or mirth.

He was flanked by a marginally taller woman, near as large as Illyana had been, her sleeveless jerkin exposing the scars on her sculpted ebony arms. Her hair was tied in dreads that fell over her broad right shoulders. A sword was sheathed on her hip, the scabbard sporting a series of strange golden symbols hewn into the leather.

The man's eyes widened as they settled on Elijah, while his guardian lazily rested her weight on the doorframe. "Well now, as I live and breathe," the man said in a crisp, confident voice.

"Unfortunately," Elijah growled. His expression sported a bitter anger Coin had never seen from the man before. "I suppose it's not too surprising to see you here, Ashur."

"But of course. The Venture Company is the premiere mercantile company of Arcadia, and it's only natural to make connections with clients as esteemed as Lady Greatglow. Though it's surprising to see a man so... humble as yourself trying your hand at it." Ashur smiled faintly. "Cute. In a pathetic sort of way."

Coin clenched his jaw, watching the newcomer warily. Aside from the bandits, this was the first man he'd ever seen mistreat Elijah. Ashur's guard was dispassionate, folding her arms and watching the flowerpots hanging from the ceiling.

Ashur seemed to notice him at that moment. "Ah, and who's this? Some young buck to help your decrepit husk climb up and down the stairs."

"Keep it up, and this young buck will knock your teeth out," Coin warned. After what had happened to Essine, he was in no mood to see one of his people mistreated.

That seemed to draw the eye of the mysterious swordswoman, who gripped her curved blade by the hilt. "Your courage will falter in the attempt," she said, her accent thick with a foreign influence alien to Coin.

"Now now, Yasuko, no need for that." Ashur smiled, but there was a newfound venom in his eyes as they settled on Coin. "Really, Elijah, taking an apprentice on at your age?"

"I aim to learn from my mistakes this time," Elijah pointedly replied.

"Mistakes? Oh, my dear old man," his smile vanished, replaced with a mocking sneer. "Nobody likes a sore loser." He turned to leave, his guard following behind him. Her footfalls were silent, despite her size.

Silence fell between the two men. Coin, eventually, overcame the awkwardness and asked "Who was that?"

"Ashur Clyde," he replied. "He was once my apprentice."

Again the two men fell silent. Coin watched the last traces of the man as he vanished into the corridor beyond. "He had my role?"

"Aye. And when he was younger, he was a good lad. Ambitious, had a great head for numbers, was dutiful. But the money went to his head eventually, and then my company..." He fell silent, his hands briefly trembling with anger. "Sorry, my lad. Best not to talk about him right now. It'll put me in a foul mood for this meeting. I'll tell you everything in due time."

Coin nodded slowly. "And that woman he was with? I can't recall ever seeing a human like her before." Well, he had seen a few humans and elves with dark skin before. But never ones so... tall.

"I'd imagine not. It's rare to find folks like her outside of the far Southlands," said Elijah. "She's an asimi. They come from the Aseim Steppe, and are... I suppose a mix of human and elf. At least, that's how the old tales go. Some ancient tribe of humans intermingled with an equally ancient tribe of elves, and many centuries later you have a group of people who are a mixture of... both. Again, so the stories go."

Coin considered this, picturing the looming woman in his mind's eye. Illyana had been a considerably strong woman, and Yasuko looked nearly as imposing. As far as bodyguards went, Yasuko certainly cut an impressive figure.

The footman emerged from the same door Ashur and Yasuko had used. "Her ladyship will see you now." He vanished back the way they came with the practiced swiftness of an upper class servant, who could put assassins to shame.

Elijah sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "Come on my lad, let's go. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

Coin helped himself to another lemon cake before going.