by Brian Keller
Yoren turned to the officer, “I thank you, captain. We’ll take it from here.” He turned to face the sergeant, “Please lead the way to the quarry.”
*****
As the sky began to brighten in the east, Cooper opened his eyes. It only took a moment to realize where he was. He rose quickly and looked around the room. His movement drew Balat’s attention and the boy waved him over. When Cooper drew nearer, Balat spoke quietly, “A few of them have been moaning and mumbling for the last hour. Nobody’s really woken yet, though.” Cooper replied, “Start heating up a pot of soup with some of the preserved vegetables, salted fish and rice. The smell should wake most of them but make sure all of them eat, even if it’s only broth. In case Mister Ysel asks, I should be back in a couple hours.”
Cooper was careful to merge with the growing numbers of merchants and customers as he made his way into the Trade Quarter. He kept his ears tuned, listening for any indication that the breakout at the quarry had become public knowledge. He heard nothing but the sounds of normal morning commerce. He entered an apothecary’s shop that was at least partly owned by the Guild. The owner looked nervous as Cooper pushed his cloak back over his shoulders. Cooper spoke, “I’m not here for collections. I’m here to make a purchase.” The apothecary had a small stack of slate boards, each about the size of a floor tile, and stubby sticks of chalk that he used to write out customer orders. Cooper wrote out his order and slid it to the proprietor, while adding, “I’m also in need of a Talented healer. I’d prefer someone from outside the University, as long as they’re skilled enough to handle several patients at one time.” The apothecary paused. The old man appeared noticeably unnerved. Cooper even considered recommending a tonic for the man, but figured the condition would abate as soon as Cooper left his establishment. As the man rummaged through boxes and shelves he managed, in a shaky voice, to reply, “There’s another apothecary a few blocks away. He got a new apprentice a few months ago who’s supposed to be a skilled healer. Ever since then, he’s almost putting me out of business. I’ve even lowered my prices and the customers are still going to him!” The old man placed a bundle on the counter, “There’s your order, young man.” Cooper laid a small stack of coins on the counter and he took the bundle. The owner looked at the coins and then at Cooper, “You’re paying?” Cooper grinned, “Of course. I wouldn’t want you to go out of business on my account. We’ve our interests to protect, after all.” He drew his cloak about himself again and he walked toward the door, “Which apothecary was that, sir? With the new apprentice?” The old man was still looking at the stack of coins, as if wondering whether it was safe to touch them. His head snapped up and he cleared his throat noisily, “Cleor’s. On this same street, about three blocks toward the river.” Cooper nodded, “I know the place.” He pulled the door open and called back, “Thank you.” The man was nowhere in sight, and neither were the coins.
He made a few other stops along the way to pick up items he knew would be needed. Once he reached the door to Cleor’s, he could see that there were already a few customers inside. Economically, this was a good thing. The Guild owned a significant percentage of this shop, as well. Cooper stepped to one side of the shop. The owner was tending to one of the clients when he glanced up and Cooper caught his eye. The owner went pale and he stopped speaking in mid-sentence, “Now for the afternoon dosa-” The customer followed the owner’s gaze and froze in place, managing to stammer, “I-I ca-can come back l-later.” Cooper hadn’t wanted to create a scene. He assured everyone, “Please conduct your business. I’m not here to interrupt anything. I’m just here to satisfy my curiosity.” The owner looked remarkably relieved, and replied, “How may we help?” Cooper pointed behind the man, “I'm here to speak with your healer. I’ll just step back there and you can continue your business with your clients.” A mixture of dread and panic crossed the owner’s face, but it passed quickly to be replaced by an expression of defeated acceptance as he nodded, “Please go ahead, young sir.”
Cooper stepped through and allowed his eyes to adjust for a moment. The only light in the workspace was reflected sunlight from the open stairwell leading to the family rooms upstairs and a few short candles on the ends of the work table. Cooper’s eyes came to rest on the slim figure bent over a collection of vials and beakers. There was no mistaking, despite the threadbare robes and the unkempt hair… It was Miss Camilla.
Chapter 11
Cooper’s heart surged up into his throat and he couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face. He thought, “This changes everything.” He silently slipped forward and stood just behind her to the left and whispered, “Don’t shout. Don’t call out my name.” She froze and he continued, “It’s good to see you, Miss.” She spun around in her seat, her eyes wide. As her gaze settled on him she looked almost tearful as she recognized him. In the next fraction of a second her face reflected an entire myriad of emotions as she relived the last few months and then settled on relief and joy as she swept her arms around him and gathered him into a hug, “Coo- uh, Kinsman! Oh, what a sight you are! And you’re alive! And free!” Cooper returned the hug, assuming that she wanted the additional assurance that he was actually here, and replied, “Not just free, miss. Active. There’s much to be done. We need you.” Miss Camilla broke the embrace and held him at arm’s length, “We?” He winked, “Yes, and I don’t mean the royal ‘we’, either. We have several members in need of a skilled healer. Dire need, in fact… And Balat has a broken arm.” She appeared flustered for a moment as she processed all this new information. She managed to ask, “Where?” He smiled, “I’ll take you there now. I need to get back anyway before Mister Ysel thinks I‘m avoiding him.” Miss Camilla’s eyebrows raised, “Mister Ysel was taken prisoner! I saw him being shackled as I slipped away.” Her gaze lowered as she remembered, her voice filled with shame and regret, “There was nothing I could do… so many dead… and dying. So many others being taken away... I had to escape!” Cooper gave her arm a squeeze, breaking her reverie as he assured her, “And it’s a good thing you did, otherwise you’d not be in a position to help them now.” He gently took hold of her elbow, “Come with me. Gather your things. I’ll help you carry them.” She looked around, “None of this is mine. I left with nothing. And I haven’t tried going back.” Cooper considered telling her that there was nothing to go back for, but that was probably a conversation better saved for later. He kept her focused, “Come with me. Come take a look at everyone and tell me what you’ll need.” Miss Camilla followed him back out to the shop floor. Cooper told the owner, “She’s coming with me.” The owner looked aghast, “But my business! What will I do?” Cooper bristled, “The same thing you did before she arrived.” Miss Camilla stepped between them and spoke, “Kinsman, please.” The proprietor appeared to choke, his eyes darting from him to Miss Camilla and back, then he blurted, “Kinsman?!” Cooper shrugged and walked toward the door and waited. She spoke to the shop owner, “You took me in and gave me a place to live. I know you did this at some risk to yourself, and I am grateful for that. In exchange, I helped increase your business. It was the least I could do, but you knew I wouldn’t be staying.” The apothecary looked dejected, “So things will go back, just the way they were?” He looked at Cooper, who replied, “You will be expected to honor your obligations to your partners. It need not be more than that.” Miss Camilla gave him a slightly pleading look, and Cooper added, “It won’t be a priority to send anyone around to collect any time soon. Fair enough?” The owner nodded vigorously, though his original question had been posed to Miss Camilla. She smiled in response.
As they walked, Miss Camilla looked around her, “It’s been awhile since I’ve been outside.” Events and the earlier conversation caught up with her and she almost blurted, “But Mister Ysel! How did you-?” He held up a hand, cutting her off, “I’ll explain soon enough. Not here in the street.” She recovered her composure, “Of course. Silly of me. But it’s quite a lot all at once, you understand.�
� One corner of his mouth turned upward as he replied, “You don’t know the half of it, miss.” They continued in silence. They had almost reached the first House in Miller’s Flats when she asked, “Aden?” Cooper replied simply, “I wish I knew.”
When they entered the House, they could see that almost everyone was awake. Several were even in good spirits. Mister Ysel got up and shuffled toward them. He managed a few steps before he recognized Cooper’s companion, “Camilla! I didn’t know you were here!” He immediately faced Cooper, “You should’ve told me!” Miss Camilla stepped forward and gave the man a brief hug, “He only just found me and brought me straight here. He hasn’t even seen fit to explain any of this to me yet.” She looked sideways at Cooper with one eyebrow raised. The gesture was not lost on Mister Ysel, who chuckled in reply, then added, “I don’t know yet either, and I’ve been here most of the night… but I suppose there’s plenty of time for that. I imagine you’ve been brought for them.” He made a sweeping gesture to the Guild members behind him, a movement that nearly caused him to lose his balance. Both Cooper and Miss Camilla stepped in to steady him. She replied, “And I’ll count you among that number until you’ve proven I’m no longer needed.” Cooper interrupted their reunion, “Miss, take a quick look around and put together a shopping list. We have a fair amount of coin but no equipment. Please keep your list to necessary items only. We’ll outfit your classroom later, once it’s built.” This brought a rise from both of them. They spoke almost in unison, “Built?” Cooper hung his head. He hadn’t meant to reveal so much, so soon. He replied, “We’re in the process of rebuilding in a new location.” He spoke to Miss Camilla, “You have patients that need you, miss. Those in this House, and in one other. We’ll get you caught up soon.” He let the sentence end abruptly. She acknowledged and stepped away to begin examining the other Guild members. He then turned his attention to Mister Ysel. The teacher spoke first, “Last night you told me that I was one of the reasons for freeing prisoners from the quarry…?” Cooper nodded, “Yes, sir. Originally, the “you” would’ve been plural, but once I learned that you, Mister Ysel, were among the prisoners, the short-term goal of the quarry raid changed to an imperative. We have need of your skills.” Cooper revealed the other purchases he’d made on his way to Cleor’s; several rolls of fine parchment, ink, quills, sealing wax, carving tools and a chunk of ivory. Mister Ysel looked across the small collection then back to him. Cooper explained, “The Library has been emptied. Not destroyed. Emptied. I know that we held deeds to most, almost all, of the Ruins. I know you’ve seen the documents, sir. We need you to reproduce those deeds.” Mister Ysel’s eyebrows pulled together, “The Ruins?” Cooper nodded, “Yes, sir. That’s where we’re rebuilding. Construction has already begun.” Mister Ysel started to protest, “But the Ruins-” Cooper interrupted, “The Ruins weren’t safe. They are now. And they belong to us. We just need to be able to prove it.” Realization dawned on the teacher’s face and a grin soon followed, “A meaningful project… A feast more nourishing than any food you could offer. You certainly know how to welcome a man back into the fold.” He picked up the ivory, “For the seal?” Cooper nodded, “I still have to get you an example so you can make the carving match it, but I’ll work on that. You just put together the wording and make the writing look perfect.” Mister Ysel was rubbing his hands together and Cooper reminded him, “Eat. You look like a sliver of your old self.” Mister Ysel patted his trim midsection, “It’s probably better that I lost some weight, but I’ll admit that I don’t feel right without a little excess. I’ll work on that, too.” Cooper left the supplies with him and stepped to join Miss Camilla. She’d been delayed by a series of greetings and short conversations. It seemed that she knew everyone in the House. He waited patiently for her to finish seeing to each person, then gestured that she should follow him. As they left the House he told her, “Keep those necessary supplies in mind, miss. Add them to whatever needs you identify for the next House. It’s over by the Brickmaker’s kilns. None of those people are Guild, though before all is done we might recruit a few, if not several, of them.” Miss Camilla had become silent. Now she asked, “These Houses in Miller’s Flats, they haven’t always been Guild owned, have they?” Cooper shook his head, “We recently bought them so we could assess the work of several masons and carpenters. As it stands now, it was fortunate that we did.” She was quickly sorting through all she’d learned today, “You have been busy, haven’t you?” The corner of his mouth turned up again. There was no point in repeating himself.
They remained silent until they reached the second House. Once inside Camilla spoke again, “I hadn’t heard anything about a quarry prison break but then, in my hiding place in Cleor’s shop, I don’t often stay abreast of the latest developments.” Cooper glanced around before he answered, “We did it during the thunderstorm last night. The rags they were wearing before we put them in dry clothes are probably still wet. My feet are likely wrinkled beyond recognition. I haven’t taken my boots off yet. Truth be told, I’m a little afraid to.” She smirked, “Afraid?” He chuckled, “Yeah.” He glanced around again, “Grief always said that if I were to dangle my feet off the boardwalk, all the fish in the bay would come to the surface. Half would be dead and floating and the other half would be gasping.” Miss Camilla smiled at that, then asked, “Grief?” Cooper shook his head, “I don’t know, miss. Either held in Serpent Tooth Prison, or already dead would be my most likely guesses. He wasn’t at the quarry.” Miss Camilla glanced east, “Serpent Tooth Prison…?” Cooper stopped her and looked her square in the eyes, “We’ll talk more later. Right now, these people need you.”
After she’d finished her assessment, Cooper took Miss Camilla’s shopping list to the first apothecary he’d visited earlier this morning. The shopkeeper greeted him with an ‘almost smile’, “Hello, young sir. So good of you to grace our shop again so soon… I hope.” Cooper smiled and held up his list, “Your competitor has lost his unfair advantage over you. I might suggest that you adjust your prices accordingly once you’ve reclaimed some of your previous clientele.” The old man nodded approvingly as Cooper continued, “I want to fill this list. While I realize that it’s still winter, and almost none of these items will be fresh, I don’t want to see you trying to pawn off two-year-old stock.” Before the man could protest the affront to his credibility as an apothecary, Cooper added, “I’ll know the difference.” The shop owner fell silent and he held his hand out to accept Cooper’s list. Part way through the list the owner confessed, “I don’t have a couple of these items. At least not in the condition you’ve specified here on your list. I hate to admit that Cleor might have them, but I even doubt that he does. There’s another apothecary, western side of the Trade Quarter. He’s likely to have most of what I can’t provide for you today. He keeps a larger inventory since he’s the closest apothecary to the University.”
Cooper thought about what the man had said and asked, “I know we own a percentage of your business.” The man deflated but Cooper continued, “I also understand the difficulties you face, owning a small shop and with a competitor so near. Let me ask openly, are you in a position to fill your shelves this spring?” The old man continued to look at his shoes and took a deep breath. Cooper saved him the anguish, “I ask this because I expect I’ll need to fill another order like this, but likely twice or even three times this size in a couple of months, maybe sooner. If you can be prepared to fill that order within that time, I’d be willing to pay in advance. No strings attached. And no ‘collections’ until we’ve concluded that business. Deal?” The old man looked stunned. He managed to stammer, “I can. I will. Yes, we have a deal!” He set to work feverishly tallying up the amount and paused, “So… this order, plus three more in two months’ time?” Cooper shrugged, “Perhaps sooner. Would forty days be too soon for you to manage?” The shop owner began counting on his fingers and reported, “The soonest I could be absolutely sure to manage would be a month, but that depends on
the ship and the winds. Forty days should be enough, as long as the ship comes through.” Cooper glanced at the bill and asked, “How much more for the items you don’t have now? Those that I’ll have to find elsewhere today?” The old man didn’t trust his voice. He scribbled on one of his slate boards and turned it for Cooper to read. Cooper quadrupled the total in his head, counted out the amount and laid it on the counter in gold and silver, along with two extra gold coins, “For special order and shipping costs… and silence.” The old man looked speechless. Cooper tilted his head to the proprietor and said, “I’ll be back in forty days.”
As he left the apothecary shop, he had a faint smile. It felt good to help someone, even though he had the ulterior motive of helping secure the future of a business they were already invested in. Even then, it wasn’t ‘something for nothing’. It was coin that they’d be spending anyway, it was just being spent in such a way as to benefit the most people.
He didn’t look forward to shopping so close to the University. It was also close to the former Guild Headquarters. It wasn’t any greater risk than being in any other part of the city, but it felt riskier, and he’d learned to trust his instincts. Still, Miss Camilla needed those ingredients.
He crossed the Trade Quarter, quickly entered the shop, placed his order and requested to be told the cost. He didn’t haggle and had already counted out the coin before the attendant brought his items to the counter. He left with the bundles under his arm as quickly as he’d entered. He didn’t slow down til he’d passed the University walls and Miller’s Flats was on his right hand side. Something stopped him from turning south to enter Miller’s Flats. It was more than the tickle he felt on the back of his neck. This was an outright suspicion. Someone noticed him as he left the apothecary shop. They hadn’t responded obviously, but they had reacted. He’d seen it many times before, the body language that signified “recognition from a distance”. Whether it was personal recognition or just professional, he couldn’t be certain, but there were ways of finding out. He headed for the Dregs.
