The Island of Wonder

"Now, let me show you this." Nicole pushed the chest forward and opened the lid. She grabbed the closest thing — a small but detailed figurine of a Torakai warrior — and handed it to the beeman. "Look at how many details it has. Isn’t it great?"

Jathun took it carefully, turning it in his hands and examining it from different angles. "Not bad, yes. But I thought you would have something more than just a lot of carvings." He said, as if challenging her to show more.

"Who said that’s all? Alright, if you’re not impressed by the small ones, what will you say to this?" Nicole grabbed the leather cover and pulled it to the side, revealing two dragons. "I don’t know how old you are, but I bet you’ve never seen an animal like this, huh?"

Jathun’s eyes narrowed as he studied the statues. "Now that’s something! Indeed, another unique being…" He kept mumbling something too quietly for anyone but him to understand.

"I would even dare to say it’s unique enough to be craved by many. Every important person wants to show off, right? I’m sure you and your caravan know who can pay the highest price. And right now there are only two in the world, and I am the only one who can make them." Nicole leaned closer. "Why don’t you show me what you guys brought, so we can have a nice trade?"

"Right, of course." Jathun stood up. "Let’s go check on my people. Are you interested in slaves?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

"N-no. No thanks." At the mention of slaves, Nicole’s bravery and acting faltered for a moment. So slavery really is just casual for them. Good thing I got lucky and didn’t become one when I woke up here. "Hey Soi, can you wait for us here? I need someone to look after the chest." Soi nodded, and Nicole followed Jathun toward the nearest wagon. As they walked off, Izab stood up with an elderly groan. "Though I would enjoy keeping you company, I have my duties, and my break is over." he said as he walked away.

Nicole’s first stop was the wagon filled with crates and stands holding various weapons. Two armed guards sat beside it. As Jathun approached, they both jumped up and bowed in greeting. When looking at Nicole, they gripped their spears harder. Nicole ignored them and looked inside the carriage. Bows, swords, spears, and more filled most of the space. One small box stood out — made almost completely of metal with a metal lid. It was small enough to fit in one hand.

"What’s this?" Nicole asked, grabbing it — then almost dropped it immediately. "What the? It’s so cold!" She set it on top of another box and carefully opened it.

Inside was a pair of icy-blue gloves, the fingers ending in big, sharp claws. The gloves seemed to be made of scales. She tried touching the top one. "Fuck!" It felt like a thorn of cold pierced her finger.

Jathun smirked. "Fascinating, right? I got it from some shady guy some time ago. He had a dirty rag on, and I couldn’t see his face. He was mumbling something about booze and gave me this. I’m a fair merchant, so all I could do was give him all the drinks we had for sale. And before you ask — no, I am not selling these to you. Such unique and powerful items go straight to the Queen."

Best things go to strengthen their tribe. Fair, I guess. And I’m not sure I could pay for those gloves anyway. Nicole placed the box back where she took it from. I don’t really need weapons from him. My spear is probably better than anything he can offer. Unless… I could try getting as much iron and other materials as possible and later get something else for whatever I come up with. Maybe even enough to try turning myself into iron form. But let’s first see what else there is. Nicole turned to Jathun. "Nice collection. But compared to my current weapon, nothing deserves even a glance. Let’s continue to the other goods."

The Voru’kai man nodded. "Of course. Next let me show you our general storage." He led her to another wagon. Some Torakais were there, rummaging through shelves and chests, while a few bee people watched to make sure no one tried stealing.

"So, what exactly is here?" Nicole asked, leaning against the wall. I don’t want to spend the whole day looking through everything.

"Exactly? Spices, rare minerals, and materials taken from monsters. Mostly that. As long as you’re not a smith, an alchemist, or a cook, I’m afraid there’s not much interesting for you."

Getting iron and other materials directly here should be cheaper than the scheme with the weapons. "And what if I actually am one of those, hm?" Nicole looked around. "Do you have any hard materials? Iron, maybe?"

Jathun raised an eyebrow. "Iron? Not much. Mother Hive has plenty, and it’s more effective to trade using crafted goods, not raw iron. But there are, indeed, rarer metals if you’re interested." He opened one of the crates, revealing golden plates. "This one is pretty and softer than iron. If you plan on making more of those… crafts of yours, it should be a great choice."

Gold. It would look great, yes. And by the way he talks, they don’t value gold as much as humans on Earth. It’s just a pretty metal for them. But if I recall correctly, gold has good chemical properties. Maybe it could help Iloe’s alchemy? "You’re right. But show me more." Nicole crossed her arms under her chest.

Jathun nodded, and for the next half hour Nicole looked through the materials he showed her. Alongside familiar ones like tin and copper, there were also completely unfamiliar ones. One caught her eye — an iridescent blue skin rolled like a carpet. Nicole traced a finger along its smooth surface.

"I got this Frobbitt skin from Shomari hunters. It’s durable, and water seems to glide on it instead of soaking in. I plan on taking it to Ishtarai masters — they’ll surely make perfect clothes from it." Jathun said before looking Nicole up and down. "But you already know how good their skills are, hm? Your clothes seem to be made by them."

"I made these myself. And I’ll take it as a compliment if you think they’re as good as the Ishtarai tailors’ work." Though I’m sure they’re way more skilled.

Her words made Jathun squint. "Really? Hm. I know you’re unique, but no need to lie. I won’t believe Ishtarai shared their secret techniques with someone outside their tribe." His voice was harsh but calm — like he was catching a child in an obvious lie.

What’s so secret about it? "I’m not lying." She was getting annoyed. "Doesn’t matter right now. Do you have anything else to offer?"

Jathun snorted and muttered under his breath. "See? You’re backing off, liar." Then he sighed. "Indeed, arguing with customers isn’t good. And no — if you don’t care about slaves, that’s all. Weapons and materials are the main trade for us."

Nicole nodded. Alright. It may be a good idea to get different ores for experiments, and iron should be cheap enough to buy a lot. Then a gold slab as a gift for Iloe — maybe a goodbye gift. And then this blue skin and a few materials for a coat. If it really makes water slide off, it should be great. This is a tropical island after all — rainy season might come anytime, and I have no protection. And it looks cool too.

"…Nicole?" Hearing her name, she looked up at Jathun, who seemed concerned.

"Something wrong? You just stood silent for a minute, ignoring everything."

Nicole brushed it off. "Yes, yes, don’t worry. I was just lost in thought." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed someone standing next to Jathun — someone she hadn’t seen before. The person stood still, eyes darting between Nicole and a piece of blue paper in his hand as he wrote something down. What the hell?! "Hey, what are you doing?! Who are you?!"

As the two continued studying each other, Nicole noticed he wasn’t a Torakai. His furr-covered ears were smaller and rounder, and the brown tail behind him was bigger and bushier than any cat tail she’d seen. A squirrel.

The face was that of a young guy around her age, with black eyes and short, light-brown hair. His thin body was wrapped in a red shirt and animal-skin pants. He looks cute — but also like someone who should be filming TikTok dances, not living on a dangerous island. "So, gonna explain what’s happening?"

"You really didn’t hear anything, huh?" The guy asked with a smile. "Once again — I’m Merik, from the Oak village of the Druvokai tribe. I travel with the bee caravan, gather and sell information from around the island." He said it like a memorized introduction.

"Hi. I’m Nicole—"

He cut her off. "Oh, I know. I already had a chat with some locals about what’s new, and everyone mentioned you — the Bone Witch Nicole, not part of any tribe, and with strange abilities."

Again with this ‘Bone Witch’ thing. "I don’t know who says I’m a witch, but I can assure you, I’m not. Alright, not important right now. What do you have on the paper?" She was sure he wrote things about her — likely to sell someone later.

"As an informator, I like keeping drawings of potentially important people. Look." Merik turned the sheet toward Nicole. There was a detailed drawing of her face from front and side, plus her silhouette. Underneath was writing she didn’t get a chance to read before he snatched the paper back. "Can you answer some of my questions? I’d love to hear more about you." he asked with an almost genuine smile. Nicole quickly realized he just wanted information.

Unexpectedly, Jathun saved her — grabbing the younger guy by the shoulders. "Merik, what did I tell you about annoying my customers? Go wait until we’re done here and then do your thing outside." He sounded irritated, like a grandpa scolding a mischievous kid.

Merik sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I just couldn’t wait to meet her." But he left the carriage.

Jathun frowned. "If not for his services, I’d have kicked him out long ago. He keeps bothering everyone. You can ignore him if you want."

Services…? Doesn’t matter. "Thanks. Back to business — let me go bring my goods here so we can make the deal."

A few minutes later, Nicole and Soi pushed the wooden ornamented chest into the wagon. Some Torakais looked at them with interest, and Nicole noticed Merik watching from a corner, but she ignored him. "Alright. Here is what I want — this box of iron bars, one gold bar, this small box of various small things, and these two—" Nicole pointed at the rolled blue skin and the big piece of thick black fur.

Jathun raised an eyebrow, looked at her face, then burst into laughter. "Hahahah, oh really? And what else? Maybe this whole carriage?" He said after the short laugh. "Girl, who do you think I am, a complete fool? Your little toys and two dragons, no matter how good-looking, are worth half of what you listed. And I’m being generous here."

Nicole grinned. "I know, don’t worry." Suddenly she and Soi started looking around rapidly, inhaling deeply. "Don’t you smell something, Jathun?" After a second of sniffing, the old merchant frowned. "Hm, what do you mean? I don’t—" He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes scanned around before narrowing at the girls. "Indeed. Now that I think about it, you two have a strangely sweet scent."

Hehe, he bit the bait! "You finally noticed. I expected more from a bee. Aren’t you supposed to smell flowers and fruits from afar? Alright, want to know the secret?"

Jathun’s brows went up. "Come on girl, don’t drag it out. Don’t waste our time."

Nicole leaned forward, close enough that he could smell her hair. "It’s my hair. I made something that makes the body — especially hair — have these nice effects." She reached into her pocket and took out the bottles. Opening one, she held it out to him. "Here."

The bee merchant smelled the bottle carefully. He tried to hide his reaction, but Nicole noticed the shine in his eyes. "Indeed. Hm…" He glanced at the goods Nicole chose, then at Nicole and the bottles again, chewing his lower lip. After several seconds, he stepped back. "Look, girl. I can’t give you the Frobbitt skin. The quality is too high — you must understand that. But alright, take the rest. Though I am interested in knowing how you made this… what’s the name of your creation?"

Nicole smiled slightly, relaxing. No need to keep appearances anymore. "It’s called shampoo. You just mix it with water and apply it to yourself. And I won’t tell you the recipe for free, of course~."

"Ugh, no. I won’t give you the skin for that." Jathun said, shaking his head.

"Alright then. Have a great day!" Nicole shrugged. Together with Soi, she gathered her goods and stepped out of the wagon.

"Aah, finally over!" Nicole sighed. "I’m so tired after that." They sat on a bench to rest.

But peace didn’t last. "Are you done? Can you answer some of my questions now?" Merik suddenly appeared behind them, circling to face them.

Right. I already forgot about him… But if he’s an informator, maybe he knows something about Annie? "Okay. But after these, I want to ask you something — your job might help."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, I’m always ready to help. For a price, of course. Alright, let’s start. Here’s my first question. Wanna fuck?"

Seriously?!