SS [53] Lucky You’re a Princess

Aurelius still wasn't entirely sure why Tanisha had revealed she was a princess. Politics had never been his specialty. He knew how to prepare for monster attacks, negotiate caravan contracts, and keep people alive in dangerous places. Noble courts were something else entirely.

Most of the time they seemed like performances conducted in a language only the participants understood. As a mercenary for trade caravans he was far from a participant fluent in that language. What he did understand was Tanisha. She rarely invoked her title and she wouldn’t use her status unless it was necessary. 

Even he picked up on the cryptic message that Soren was saying. He knew something wasn’t quite right with them staying with the princess. Soren himself didn’t seem to be here by choice. He was not the type of person to wrap himself in things that would keep him away from his family for too long. Yet here he was with the crest of the Runecrown on his chest.

Things started moving quite quickly after Tanisha told them she was a princess. If Bofur was skeptical he did a good job hiding it. They were taken to all of the vendors she was looking for and even given a discount on most of the goods they would need on their journey. Which was no small part thanks to Bofur’s presence, but also because of the insignia of the Runecrown on Soren’s tabard. 

“I can offer one hundred gold and no lower. Any less than that and we are taking a loss,” the dwarf proprietor said. 

“It is a nice infusion basin.” Tanisha said as she ran a finger across the lip of the basin. “However, even sixty gold may even be too much for one with the imperfections.”

The dwarven man looked livid but held his tongue thinking through his words before speaking.

“Imperfection? I fail to see any such imperfections in any of our works. The quality of every piece is guaranteed,” The dwarf proprietor said. “You can’t just accuse people of imperfect work without proof.”

“Lady Tanisha, he is right, the Freshwater Association ensures the quality of all goods.” Bofur said.

“I mean no disrespect to your craft or to the Association. Every piece here is quality work,” Tanisha said.

The man looked ready to argue but deflated a little when her words registered.

“Yes, so you should watch your words before you accuse us of shoddy goods.” the proprietor said.

“The issue with this particular basin isn’t shoddy work it is…” Tanisha paused, turning the basin slightly in the sunlight filtering through the market awning.

The proprietor folded his arms.

“It is what?” The dwarf said.

Tanisha flipped the basin over and tapped the underside with her knuckle.

Tok.

A clear metallic note rang out. Then she tapped another section.

Tonk.

A slightly deeper sound answered. The dwarf's brow furrowed. Aurelius could tell that she was not just tapping the metal. She was pulsing mana through its channels. Had his sense not been so sharp he would have missed it. It wasn’t just sound it was mana resonance that echoed around the basin. 

He had no idea if the basin was flawed or not. To his eye there was no difference between that one and the others she had walked by without a second glance. It was just a basin to him, an expensive one but still just a basin.

“What exactly are you doing?” The dwarf asked

“Listening.” Tanisha said.

The proprietor's face immediately soured.

“Listening?”

Bofur stepped closer, curious despite himself. Tanisha tapped several more places around the basin before setting it down.

“The casting cooled unevenly.” Tanisha said. “Mana resonates differently through sections like that.”

The proprietor's eyes narrowed.

“That's impossible.” The dwarf said.

“I didn't say it was cast poorly.” Tanisha pointed to the bottom of the basin. “The walls are thicker here than here. Not enough to matter for normal use. Not enough for most people to notice at all but I am not most people.”

The proprietor crouched and examined the basin.

“The difference can't be more than a hair.” He said

“Less.” Tanisha corrected readily.

“Then what does it matter?” The dwarf said.

“It matters because this is an infusion basin.” Tanisha sighed and pointed toward one of the catalyst sockets. “When the stones are activated, mana doesn't flow through the basin evenly. It resonates through the metal itself.”

Soren walked over to Aurelius and stood close watching the haggling showdown. 

“I didn’t expect a royal princess to be so good at haggling over a few gold.” Soren said.

“She has far more talents than I would expect from the royalty back home.” Aurelius said with a chuckle. “Then again, I've never been invited to any of their outings, so maybe they're all secretly experts at bargaining.”

Aurelius turned to Soren and furrowed his brow a bit.

“Also, a few gold? They are haggling over more than most people make in a few years,” Aurelius corrected.

“Right, I have been working for Yrsa for so long that my own sense of money might be off.” Soren said. “Normally she doesn’t even look at prices. Ten gold here, twenty there, you would swear she is made of gold.”

“Has to be nice.” Aurelius said.

There was a pause.

“She really a wendigo?” Soren asked.

Soren’s tone sounded casual, but Aurelius had spent years guiding caravans. He knew the difference between idle conversation and information gathering. The wendigo and druids were always at war. It is one of the most well known perpetual conflicts on the continent. 

Soren was a druid but he was not from Sihau; he was an Islander like Aurelius. Tanisha on the other hand was from Yuhia, and she had explained in detail the horrible things the druids had done in the last few weeks leading up to her leaving the country. She had been clearly hostile towards the druid ever since the moment she found out Soren was one of them. There was no smoothing that over.

“Yes.” Aurelius said.

“Ahh… well it makes a lot of sense why she looks like she wants to gut me every time I talk.” Soren said.

“It is not that bad,” Aurelius lied. 

“Not that bad, I have seen umbra claws with less bloodlust.” Soren said with a chuckle.

“She is going through some things. Some druids back in Yuhia had done some awful things to her. But she is not going to attack you… I think.” Aurelius paused just a little. “You know what, stay clear of her.”

“And here I thought she was your wife. Turns out you are in the same boat as me.” Soren said.

“Wife? Royalty might be a little out of my league. No, she is my best friend.” Aurelius said. 

“I don’t know, so far us Islanders are both following around Princesses.” Soren said.

“If being hired for a job is the same as marriage then I would already be rich beyond my wildest dreams.” Aurelius said.

“So she is a client.” Soren asked.

Aurelius chuckled at that. 

“I mean, technically. I have already gone well beyond what she hired me for though.” Aurelius said.

“Right, you two been together long?” Soren asked.

“Over two years now. Would trust her with my life. Well actually I have trusted her with my life multiple times. So far it has worked out.” Aurelius said.

Soren was quiet for a time as before he turned to Aurelius.

“The last I heard about you, you had up and disappeared. Honestly, I thought you were dead. A lot of people didn’t make it out of the Chaos Lands before the storm expanded into a hurricane.” Soren said.

“We were stuck in it too but not in the same way as most.” Aurelius said.

“Two years traveling with her.” Soren said. “How did you end up here?”

“You wouldn’t believe it even if I did explain it.” Aurelius said.

“Try me.”

“We came through a rift.” Aurelius said with a smirk.

Soren shook his in disbelief head.

“I was being serious.” Soren said.

“So was I.” Aurelius said. 

“Fine, sure you came through a rift.” Soren waved off the comment. “I get it, I’ll stop, I know when someone doesn’t want to talk.”

“What about you?” Aurelius asked.

Soren opened his mouth like he wanted to say something then gave up after he lowered his head. He patted the insignia on the tabard then sighed.

“I’ve been here.” Soren finally said.

Aurelius saw the hesitation and really looked at Soren. He hadn’t known the man to be so passive. Leading caravans through the Chaos Lands chewed up passive people and either killed them or made them step up.

“What do you mean?” Aurelius asked.

The conversation between the dwarf and Tanisha reached a new peek which drew back in Aurelius’s attention.

“You're telling me you're haggling over something nobody can see.” The dwarf said.

“I'm telling you that if I buy this basin, I will spend two days recalibrating it to work with my mana flow.”

The dwarf rubbed his beard.

“Two days?” the dwarf clarified

“Possibly three.” Tanisha said with a hand on her hip.

With how much money Tanisha made in the week while they were in Drakvik he knew three days of labor from a trained infusionist was not cheap. The dwarf also seemed to know the expense of that kind of labor and rubbed his beard in contemplation.

The proprietor stared at the basin for several long moments before exhaling.

“You know, most customers just complain about scratches.” The dwarf said.

“And most customers aren't planning to separate metaphysical concepts from physical matter.” Tanisha said.

Aurelius focused back on the conversation he was having with Soren. It seemed like he wasn't going to understand anything Tanisha was talking about anytime soon.

“How are things going back at home?” Both of them said at the same time. 

They paused, turned to each other.

“When is the last time you have been home?” Aurelius asked.

“It has been a little over a year and a half,” Soren said. “Monster attacks around the Chaos Lands really increased. No one is willing to travel through it now. The caravan I was traveling with refused to pay because we didn't make it to the destination. Then I met her majesty when I was seeking refuge from a monster hoard traveling west from the central region.”

“You have been here ever since?” Aurelius asked.

Soren looked like he was going to say something then stopped himself. He patted the insignia of the Runecrown on his chest again before sighing. He glanced to Tanisha.

“Being here has been… interesting to say the least. But something tells me that with the associations that you have made you will have a different experience than I had.”

“Why did you tell Tanisha that we should leave?” Aurelius asked.

“I didn't.” Soren questioned.

“Oh, so now I am a liar.” Tanisha muttered.

Aurelius noticed Tanisha had turned to look at them. She turned back to her conversation with the proprietor without further comment.

“It wasn't… uh. Look, I meant that she should leave the scene where the assassins were killed.” Soren defencively.

He looked uncomfortable and the conversation died. 

“So. Sixty gold.” Tanisha continued.

“Eighty-five.” The proprietor said.

“Sixty-five,” Tanisha countered.

“Eighty.” The dwarf said.

“Seventy. Or I walk.”

The dwarf stared at her and she met his gaze.

“I swear merchants are worse than iron fangs.” The dwarf sighed.

“That sounds like sixty-five gold.” Tanisha said.

The proprietor pointed a thick finger at her.

“You're lucky you're a princess.” He said.

“And you're lucky I like your work.” Tanisha responded with a smirk.