MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Bath

"Come," I cajoled the child. "You'll feel better once you take a nice hot bath."

The child looked at me with aggrieved eyes. Just what was this? I didn't think of myself as a bad person.

Midas said, "Why don't you let the child take a bath by himself."

That's a good idea. After all, it was rather strange for a stranger to take a bath together.

"You take a bath and I'll leave," I told the boy.

The boy had an unwilling expression on his face, but he still nodded his head. What an obedient child, I thought to myself. I walked outside into the corridor and closed the door behind me. I stood there to watch, making sure no one entered the room. I heard from the tutor that inns were the best place for merchants to get robbed. Innkeepers don't hold any responsibility for stolen goods. The inn lodger held all the responsibility for their belongings.

I was nervous. Would the child know how to wash properly? Would the child know how to dress properly? These types of questions whirled in my mind.

I whispered to Midas, "Do you think he is doing fine by himself? He won't drown in the bath tub right?"

Midas said, "Wait for a moment please."

Then she skillfully walked through the closed doors like nothing was in her way. After a moment, she returned with a smile on her face. "There's no need to worry. The child is fine."

I let out a sigh of relief. I must have come into this child's life to help him out. But traveling on a long journey was no place for a child. From the tutor I had learned that merchants faced bandits and all sorts of other dangers on the road. When walking over the mountain range, there were no food, only the freezing cold. A considerable obstacle for many merchants.

The door soon opened and a clean faced child appeared in front of me. The child wore the same clothes as myself. It was the only clothes in the tradeshop. However, the clothes fit the child properly. This was because when I took the clothes out of the tradeshop, I thought about the child. Midas told me that when I do this, the clothes will be sized correctly to the person I'm thinking of in my mind. This meant I could also sell different sized clothes in the future.

I took the child with me and paid for the room. Then I told the child, "Here are some silver coins. You can join a monastery as an acolyte."

I had learned from the tutor that even the monastery expected an entrance fee for new acolytes. The child took the silver coins. I felt relieved and walked away.

I still had to meet up with my group of fellow travelers. I hope I wouldn't anger them for being late.