บท 22: Merchants Guild
After we headed out of the house, there was a guard waiting for us with a leather pouch that had my coins in it. I was sure that Eliza had money, but you weren't supposed to let a lady pay for things, or at least that's how my knowledge went.
"Where do you want to go first? The market is pretty close if you want to eat right away," Eliza explained, and I nodded.
"That sounds like a great idea, but you are going to have to lead the way," I said, and Eliza took my hand as we walked down the steps from the mansion.
The two of us walked down and out of the metal gateway, I had entered earlier to walk down the first row of houses. Once we reached the end of the first row, we turned to head west, but a group of women in brightly colored dresses stopped up.
"Eliza! You are back from your rounds? Did you scoop up any more lowly peasants?! This one looks like she could use a bath and a push-up bra, hahaha!" An annoyed sounding woman with blonde hair asked, making Eliza stick closer to me.
Ahh! The good old hens with nothing better to do than cluck!
"Ladies. I suggest that you all run along, or I will turn you all into frogs," I said in a serious voice, making my hand glow green with Water and Earth Magic, but it was nothing more than for show.
"Hey! We were just going anyway! No need to get excited! We were just asking questions!" Another woman beside the first said, and I turned my glare on her, and she flicked back.
"Did I stutter?" I asked, and the group all shook their heads in unison, running off.
Eliza relaxed beside me but didn't say anything, so I left her be. I knew what must be going on inside of her head right now, but this was the result of her previous actions.
"Those girls weren't wrong," Eliza said from beside me, and I nodded.
"Probably not, but they are lucky that I didn't have them flogged for those comments. No one in this city should ever talk to you like that as the Countess. While you might have made some mistakes, you are working to fix them. The people in this city live safely because your guards protect it. Many people forget simple things like this," I explained as we headed west a short block that opened into a large diamond-shaped area.
The entire place was filled with people, stalls, and the smell of great food. I could ignore the first two things, but the smell of the food was making me weak in the knees.
"I get scared around women when they start talking down to me like that. I used to yell at them, but then they would throw everything back into my face, and I would just embarrass myself," Eliza said quietly, and I barely heard her over the women all around us talking.
"Well, you have me by your side, so don't be afraid. Always remember that I am scarier than anyone in this city, and if they are mean to you, they will deal with me!" I laughed, and Eliza hugged my arm as we walked into the throng.
There were all sorts of stalls selling all sorts of odds and ends, but there were some things missing. It was almost like I had gone into a women's only section, but I should have expected just as much.
"You seem to be looking for something, miss? Is there anything I can interest you in?" The Lady in a stall beside me asked, and I turned to look at what she was selling.
"Oh, these are pretty hair ornaments!" Eliza said as she let go of my hand to start looking at them.
"Well, hello, little Countess! I didn't see you there in the shadow of this one! Is this your new Partner that the city is abuzz about?" The Lady asked, and Eliza nodded with a smile.
I looked over the ladies' hair clips, but they were really something that I was interested in. Eliza, on the other hand, looked very interested in a pretty little clip with a gold flower and green gems hanging from golden chains.
"Do you like that one?" I asked, and Eliza looked up at me with a cute smile, and I nodded to the Lady.
"Ah, this is a very good choice, Madam! You are very observant of the Countess! I can sell you this one for eighty silver!" The Lady exclaimed, and I frowned at her.
"Thirty silver," I said in a flat voice, and the Lady put her hand to her chest, and Eliza looked up at me strangely.
"But the price is eighty silver!" The Lady declared, but I shook my head.
"The gold has only been guided on, which really makes it no different than this one," I said, picking up a rougher-looking version of the same items, but it was in a discount bin for ten silver.
"What?! I don't know what you are talking about?! All my jewelry is one hundred percent authentic!" The Lady cried, but I narrowed my eyes on her.
"It's not that big of a deal! We can pay for it!" Eliza pleaded, but I shook my head and picked up the clip in question.
I brought it up to my face and then bit it, but it was hard as I thought, and part of the gold leaf was wrecked, revealing the silver to me and everyone around.
"You see this? Fake. Meaning this woman is trying to take advantage of people to take their money for cheap products. While yes, we can pay for this, is it really something you want now that you know it's fake?" I asked, and Eliza's eyes went big and then narrowed as she turned them on the woman who flinched back.
"What are we supposed to do about her?" Eliza asked, and I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean? Send the problem to the merchants guild, and they will fine her properly, so she is less likely to do it again," I explained.
"Merchant Guild? What is that?" Eliza asked, and I looked down at her with shock.
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