It didn’t take them long to finish eating and start off for the fair. They saw a few people along the way, other early risers eager to get to the fair as well. Everyone was chatting excitedly as they walked down the cobblestone road on the way to South Gate.
Once outside the gate, the view opened up on a wide valley. To the south of the Caer, even more trees had been cleared to make room for the fair grounds on the eastern side of the road. The road, of which the cobblestone portion extended from the Caer for maybe two hundred yards or so, cut a wide path through knee-high grass, which had taken over the cleared areas all around the Caer. The bright morning sunlight shone down upon the grass, which swayed in a gentle breeze. Ahead, beyond the trees, fuzzy and tinted by distance, a row of low hills marked the far southern edge of their valley. And above, the sky was crystal clear and blue. A perfect day for the start of the fair.
They made quick time to the fair grounds and noted that there were already quite a few people wandering around. Fairgoers made their way around the craft booths, signs above them indicating their affiliation, and among the caravan tents, front flaps billowing in the morning breeze.
“You two have to come look at Trader Dellia’s jewelry,” Sharrah said, taking the lead. “She’s the wife of Trader Methon, the owner of this caravan, and makes the most beautiful jewelry.”
“Sure,” Aeron said.
“Alright,” Willem agreed.
“I first saw her items a few years ago at Caer Tengish as my mother and I walked around the fair. I was immediately taken with Trader Dellia’s work. I’ve seen work by other jewelers at other trade caravans and fairs, but she remains my favorite.”
She slowed down as she approached the rows of tents, appearing to examine each tent very carefully. “It’ll be one of these two in front,” Sharrah said. “The owner of a caravan always gets one of these for themselves.”
“How will you know which tent is theirs?” Aeron asked, also scrutinizing the tents.
“Those pennons above the tents,” she replied, pointing. “Each merchant has a pennon with their maker’s mark that they raise over their tent on the poles provided. There!” She pointed to one flapping in the breeze and increased her pace.
She took the path in front of the tent she had indicated. They walked up to it, and a young man, who was standing next to the tent flap, nodded in welcome, a smile on his face.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” they replied.
“Please, go inside. And good trading to you.”
Sharrah smiled at him, and when he raised the flap, entered the tent. Willem and Aeron were right behind.
It still amazed Aeron how large the tents were and how incredibly some of them were embellished. In this tent were three tables, each with display cases beside them. On the near table on the right, Aeron saw all kinds of interesting items on display. There were also many apparently decorative items around the tent that made it feel very exotic and exciting.
“Hold on,” Sharrah whispered. “She has a customer.”
Aeron glanced over to where Sharrah was looking. On the left side of the tent, a woman was sitting on a short plush chair in front of a low table, behind which another woman sat. They were talking quietly, looking over several items.
“Let’s see what else they have on display while we wait,” Sharrah said, moving to the table Aeron had noticed. He and Willem followed her over.
“Good morning,” said a man as he walked from behind a large screen. “I am Trader Methon,” he continued in his quiet but powerful voice. “Welcome to my tent.”
He smiled at the three of them, and when he spied Sharrah said, “Ah! Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Sharrah?”
She laughed and said, “Your eyes do not deceive you, Trader Methon.”
Willem raised his brows and Aeron glanced from Sharrah to Trader Methon and back.
“Why, the last time we saw you, at a spring trade fair if I recall, you were still in . . . Caer Tengish, was it?”
“Yes, I was. That was over two years ago. I came here at the Caer opening to seek a trade for myself,” Sharrah said, a smile on her face.
“Very wise, young miss, very wise. And who are these fine young men at your side?” he asked, indicating her friends.
“Trader Methon, may I introduce Aeron and Willem,” and she pointed to them in turn. “Two of my very good friends.”
“Well met, Aeron and Willem. If Sharrah considers you very good friends, then so shall I.”
“Thank you,” Aeron said and bowed his head.
“Yes, thank you,” Willem said, imitating Aeron.
“What brings you to my tent,” and he looked at Sharrah, “as if I couldn’t guess?”
“You know me too well,” Sharrah said, a rueful smile on her face. “I did indeed come to see the beautiful items your wife has on display. And to show my friends her incredible craftsmanship as well.”
“I’m sure Dellia will be flattered and grateful of your praise,” he said.
“But as she is with a customer,” Sharrah continued and nodded toward his wife, “we thought we would look at the other items you have on display until she is free.”
“Excellent,” Trader Methon said. “Then browse away, my young customers. Feel free to ask about anything you see.” He stepped back, sat on a tall stool not too far behind the table and began reading from a small book.
This table was not as low as the other, being about stomach-height to Aeron. And upon it were many curious and interesting items. There were various small mechanical items, mysterious boxes, both wooden and metal, a few bottles, large and small, along with several semi-precious stones in raw or cut states. All this and more were in evidence atop the table and in the two cases to either side.
“This stuff is amazing,” Aeron said quietly as he looked over the items on the table and in the cases.
“Oh! Look!” Willem exclaimed quietly, pointing to an item in the case to the right of the table. “That’s a pocket chronometer. Look how small it is; it really can fit in a pocket!”
“Wow,” Aeron said, leaning over and examining it closely. Even through the glass of the case he could hear a very faint ticking sound coming from the chronometer, and with each tick, a thin hand moved over the face. “That must be counting off the seconds,” he muttered out loud.
To his side, Willem nodded and said, “It’s amazing.”
“Oh!” Sharrah said, from Aeron’s left.
He looked over and saw her staring at an open small box sitting in front of her on the tabletop. He leaned over and glanced inside and a smile spread across his face. “A dragon’s eye!” he said excitedly. “That’s the same kind of crystal I told you guys about that Master Doronal and I were practicing with on my first day.”
“You are correct, Aeron,” said Trader Methon, who placed his book on a small side table next to his chair and walked over to them. “That is indeed a dragon’s eye. They are found far away in the Kas-Tella Desert, which is a bit ironic, in that dragons are from the north. Though the southlanders have tales, legends really, of dragons as well.” He smiled at them. “The dragon’s eye gems are semi-precious, but they have been enchanted to increase their well-known trait, the flashes of light.”
The dragon’s eye, which was about the size of a cherry, sat upon a lining of black velvet in the small wooden box. Small beams of light occasionally shot forth from the crystal. Aeron moved closer and leaned over the small box for a better look at the sparkling gem.
“Legend has it that they are named such because they look just like the eyes of those great and wondrous beasts,” Trader Methon said, looking down at the glittering crystal.
“Dragon’s eyes don’t really look like that, though,” Aeron said.
Trader Methon looked at Aeron and asked, “Oh?”
Sharrah and Willem both stared at him.
Aeron, his brain catching up to his mouth, panicked. Luckily his head was down as he looked at the dragon’s eye,
so Trader Methon didn’t see his horrified expression. Recovering quickly, Aeron carefully put a questioning look on his face, looked up at the trader, and asked, “Do they?”
Trader Methon stared at Aeron a moment and then said, “I have not been close enough to one myself to know.”
“I see,” Aeron said and looked back down at the crystal. “It’s rather nice, even so. How much are you asking for it?” Aeron was hoping to shift the trader’s focus away from his slip of the tongue.
“Well, for a friend of Sharrah,” and Trader Methon shot a smile at her before continuing, “I suppose I could let it go for, say, two marks?”
It seemed to be working. Aeron nodded. “A decent price, though I have seen a dragon’s eye two or three times the size of this one.”
Trader Methon’s eyes narrowed, and he smiled. Most traders enjoyed a good haggle. “I see. Well then, perhaps one and a half marks?”
“I was thinking a half mark,” Aeron countered. “The enchantment on it doesn’t seem very powerful. Does the box come with it?”
“Why yes, the box does come with it. It is a rather fine box too.” He paused, watching Aeron, a faint smile on his lips. “Perhaps one mark?”
Aeron looked up and said, “An excellent price. I do have some things I must purchase for the winter, but should I have the marks after, that is a very fair price.”
Trader Methon let out a gusty laugh. “Sharrah, I do like your friend. He has a haggler’s spirit, he does.”
Sharrah let out a nervous laugh and said, “When he doesn’t lose his head.”
“And it looks like Dellia is finishing up with her customer,” Trader Methon said.
Aeron looked over, and sure enough, the two women were now standing and talking, smiles on their faces, finishing up their business.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Trader Methon,” Willem said.
“Yes,” Aeron said. “And I have to say, you have many, many amazing items for sale. I will probably be back to look at more of them in closer detail.”
“It was good meeting you both as well,” Trader Methon said. And with a twinkle in his eye, he told Aeron, “I do try to offer a wide range of interesting items for the discriminating buyer.” He winked, smiled, and sat on his stool, returning to his book.
As the customer left the tent, Sharrah walked over to Trader Dellia, Aeron and Willem trailing behind.
“I thought that was you talking with Methon,” Trader Dellia said as they walked to her table. “It is good to see you again, Sharrah!”
“It is good to see you as well,” Sharrah replied, smiling. Turning, she pointed to her friends and said, “I’d like you to meet two of my best friends. This is Willem and this is Aeron.”
Willem bowed his head as Sharrah said his name, and Aeron did the same.
“Greetings, Trader Dellia,” Aeron said.
“Greetings,” Willem said.
“Well met, Willem, Aeron.” Trader Dellia smiled at them both.
“I wanted to show my friends your exquisite work,” Sharrah said, looking down at the small cases on the table and also taking in the cases to either side.
“Well then, please, have a seat,” Trader Dellia said, indicating the low chairs.
After they were all comfortable, Trader Dellia asked, “What were you interested in looking at today, Sharrah?”
“Oh, anything, really,” Sharrah said. “Why don’t you show us your latest designs?”
“Well, I do have something I just finished a few days ago while we were traveling here,” Trader Dellia said. She stood and walked to a small trunk behind her and after rummaging around inside a moment, returned with a small box. She placed it on the table and opened it. The box was lined with rich red cloth, and sitting within was a small pin, about the size and shape of a craft pin, but wrought in gold.
Sharrah gasped and Aeron’s eyes widened.
“Wow,” Willem said.
“It just came to me one day earlier this month,” Trader Dellia said. “That happens sometimes. An idea will occur to me like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky. So I made it.” She shrugged, smiling as she looked down at the miniature dragon pin in the box.
“Oh, Dellia,” Sharrah said, so taken with the pin she forgot to include the honorific. “It’s beautiful.”
Aeron, almost unable to speak, finally choked out, “Can . . . can I see it?”
“Certainly,” Trader Dellia said and handed the delicate box to Aeron.
He carefully took the box and looked inside at the pin. The little dragon was crouching on the pin, wings partly unfurled on its back. It was like a tiny version of Anaya! He checked the link, but she was deep asleep.
Something flickered in the box, catching Aeron’s eye. Was that—? No. It couldn’t be, could it? He reached for the pin but stopped halfway. “May I?” he asked the jewelry trader.
“Please,” Trader Dellia said, motioning for Aeron to go ahead.
He gently removed the pin and looked at it. Yes! There was a small crystal mounted on the lower portion of the pin. The end of the small dragon’s tail was curled around it, and it gave off small flickers of light every now and then. “A dragon’s eye!” he said in awe.
“Yes,” Trader Dellia said, smiling. “Methon had a few that were very small. On a whim I decided to style the pin after a craft pin with the dragon’s eye as the rank stone. Silly, perhaps.”
“No,” Aeron said, reverently. “It’s beautiful.”
“You have to get it Aeron,” Willem said. “It’s practically made for you.”
“He is crazy for dragons,” Sharrah said quickly, flashing Willem a look. “Aeron has been going on and on about them for months. You know how boys are,” she said, smiling at Trader Dellia.
“Yes,” laughed Trader Dellia. “I remember when my son was younger. The tales about dragons he would tell.” She smiled at the memories and then looked at Aeron.
She cocked her head to the side. “Have you ever come into my tent before, Aeron?” she asked.
He tore his eyes form the pin and looked at her. “I don’t think so.”
“Odd,” she said. “At any rate, you seem to be quite taken with the pin.”
“Yes,” Aeron said, wistfully. “But it is much too fine for me, I think. And I have many things I must purchase still.” He placed the pin back in the box. “It is without doubt the most beautiful piece of jewelry I have ever seen,” he said, staring at the pin a moment before closing the box and handing it back to the trader.
“Thank you,” Trader Dellia replied, bowing her head.
“It really is gorgeous,” Sharrah agreed.
They spent the next half hour looking at other remarkable jewelry Trader Dellia had on display. Brooches, necklaces, rings, earrings, pins, bracelets and more. Even some miniature statues of various creatures and well-known locations. All of them of exquisite quality and workmanship. When a customer arrived for her, courteously waiting for them to finish, they said their goodbyes so that she could assist the customer and perhaps make a sale.
“Please, drop by any time,” she said as they departed.
“I told you she did amazing work,” Sharrah said, once they left the tent.
“That you did,” Willem said. “And you were not lying.” He turned to Aeron. “You really liked that pin, huh?”
Aeron shrugged. “Yeah, it was pretty golden. In more ways than one.” And he smiled.
“Well, shouldn’t you have bought it then?” Willem asked.
“It was much too nice for me, and I’m sure it will be expensive. I do still have to get a few things, and I’m not sure what they will cost.”
Willem nodded slowly and glanced back at the tent.
The sun was slightly higher in the sky and the breeze had picked up a bit. There still weren’t very many people about, but those that were walked along the paths, smiling and laughing. Roaming performers, jugglers, minstrels, jesters and others, were also about, wending their way along the paths and among the
people.
“Where to now?” Willem asked, watching a juggler who managed to keep four apples in the air at once and was able to walk at the same time.
“Well, I was going to see about a new winter coat and some clothing,” Aeron said, rubbing his arms. The breeze was a little chilly this early in the morning.
“Oh, that’s right,” Sharrah said. “I could actually use a new coat too.”
“Alright,” Willem said. “Where are those tents?”
They made their way to the information booth just off the central courtyard and asked where the clothiers and clothing merchants were located. Though leatherworkers often made some kinds of clothing, and many people in the Caer knew how to make and repair clothing, the Caer had no Clothier Craft Hall, so the friends knew there weren’t going to be any clothier merchants at the booths. The trade caravan, however, did have a few traders who sold clothing. Clothiers always did brisk business at Caer Baronel, and some even had standing commissions with the Caer to provide various uniforms.
Like Trader Dellia, who was a jeweler and made most of the wares she sold herself, there were other crafters in the trade caravan as well. There were also traders who were not crafters, who merely bought and sold wares. However, most clothing traders who were not crafters only carried clothing for adults. Fortunately, there were two actual clothier crafters in the trade caravan. The three friends headed to the closest one.
The tent, once they walked in, was about as different from Traders Methon and Dellia’s tent as Aeron could imagine. There were racks and racks of clothing in rows on the left and completely filling the back. In the front of the tent, on the right, were three tables, along with a stand of some sort with several mirrors. People sat behind two of the tables, working studiously on various bits of clothing. There were no purely decorative items at all. As Aeron was taking in the details of the tent, a woman walked over to them.
“Good morning, good sirs and madam,” she said, smiling. She had what looked like a pencil tucked behind her right ear and a rolled up measure tape in her left hand, which she tucked into a pocket of the apron she wore. “I am Trader Seelin. How can I be of service this fine day?”
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