Broken Mirrors

Chapter Three

Misha awoke, rubbing the crust out of her eyes and sat up, feeling determined. There was work to do today, and not just the usual kind. She helped her fathers gather the materials they needed to make more toys; wood and sap for pitch glue. After her chores were finished, she quickly got through her breakfast and gathered her gear, as well as the remaining toys left over from the day before. Misha was anxious to get going, but Karius was anxious she was going. Creed stopped Misha before she could run off, and Karius, with a weary look, he said, "Don't get into trouble, please, ember, and you're not running off without hugging your papa and your dad."

Misha rolled her eyes and embraced her fathers and assured them, "I wouldn't dream of that. I'll be back before the sun sets, I love you both."

"We love you too, now you get going, kiddo," Creed said as he slapped Misha on the back. Misha pulled away from the hug, got onto her horse and cantered away. The route to Tèarman Sàbhailte was thankfully straightforward, paths had been established since just shortly after the Calamity, but Misha kept her wits about her, on the off chance any roadside bandits hid among the trees. Without much issue, she found her way back to the city. Tèarman Sàbhailte was enjoying a warm day, typical for the month of Brussendar, which meant it's people were out and about, enjoying the sun and furthermore, crowding.

"That could be handy," Misha thought to herself. For the time being, however, Misha was at least going to try selling these toys, who knows, the shopkeeper could be quite generous. She imagined a plump, jolly Elf man with a curly moustache who couldn't be happier to take the toys off her hands at a high price, in the hopes that somehow, that would end up being the case. "Hardly," she thought, as general store owners need to make their profit as well.

Luckily for Misha, finding a store to perhaps take the toys she and her fathers had made did not take very long. In the centre of town, she spotted a small toy wagon in the window of a shop, and upon looking up, she found a very well carved signed that read, "Sapling's Toys." Misha opened and walked through the door, as a bell rang to alert the store clerk know of a visitor. The clerk, far from the vision Misha had in her mind, sat up. He was a sharp face wood elf with brown skin and curly, dark hair, quite handsome if it weren't for having a face like thunder.

"Alright?" asked the wood elf, barely making eye contact with Misha as he read a book.

"Hello there, friend. May I have a word?" asked Misha in response, pulling the bag of toys off her back.

The wood elf man folded a corner of his book, closed it and responded, "Suppose I could spare a minute, it's been a quiet day. What do you need, ma'am?"

Misha took a breath, she could feel herself getting nervous, "Ah yes! My name is Misha Nova, my family and I are toymakers, and we have some extra stock and we are looking for a buyer. Would you be interested, Mister...?"

"Almer," said the wood elf, raising an eyebrow, "Almer Saptris, ma'am, and I can take a look if you wish."

Misha began taking samples out of the bag. She took out intricately carved wooden soldiers of various sizes, little horses for them to ride on as well as other animals, even a well-carved dragon, and all of them were well-detailed thanks to Misha's painting skills. Almer picked them all up, one by one, inspecting them for imperfections, but there were none to be found. A quick smile flashed on his face, before returning to it's sulk.

"Miss Nova, I must admit these are finely crafted in every way, I commend it..." said Almer, stroking his chin, contemplatively.

Misha was ready for the part she was afraid of. "But...?" she asked, bracing for disappointment.

Almer sighed, "Well, we're not doing very well right now. My family doesn't own the building, it's rented, and recently we've not not been making our targets. Had we been doing better I'd take the lot off you for five gold, but I can only muster up one gold piece for all this." Almer was tense, it didn't take much insight for Misha to realise that.

"I can relate, Mr. Saptris. My family has to pay a fair amount to the leader of our guild for the so-called privilege of having her connections. It sucks, this sucks." Misha said, empathising with Almer, who responded with an appreciative nod. Misha at this point definitely thought her slightly less savoury "Plan B" was in order.

"Who would your landlord happen to be, Mr. Saptris, might I ask?" queried Misha, leaning on the counter.

Almer grunted, "High Elf from Arico, real pompus guy named Mormaris Sahia. He waltzed into Tèarman Sàbhailte a couple of decades ago and started slowly buying homes and buildings. I haven't ever actually spoken to him more than once, I normally deal with his goons, they aren't too pleasant either," he explained, scowling even having to say the man's name.

"Oh, a big, big city type? sounds like a nasty piece of work, Almer, I really feel for your situation. Listen, a gold is fine, it's better than nothing, and you'll turn a profit for sure." said Misha with a shrug. She handed over the bag of toys to Almer.

"Are you totally sure about this? One gold piece for all this, you're doing yourself out of a fair bit of money, don't you think?" Almer asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm positive, Almer, but could you do me one more favour before I go?" replied Misha, making eye contact with Almer, who's demeanour noticeably changed upon realising Misha was serious.

"Well, yes, sure, what do you need of me, Miss Nova?" he asked, handing over a single gold piece.

Misha leaned in and asked, "Would you happen to know of any of any taverns or bars around the city? Seedy and dangerous would definitely work."

Almer gulped and tapped his fingers on his counter, "Well... I am not a drinker, however, one that comes to mind is the Smoking Shrub, it's not far from the southern arch out of the city," he said a tad nervously.

Misha smiled and clasped her hands together, "Perfect, you have a good day now, I hope Mormaris doesn't trouble you much in the mean time," she said as she began to leave.

"Farewell, Miss Nova, it was good to do business with you!" Almer responded, still seeming a bit shocked, regardless he gave Misha a wave. For Misha, it was disappointing that the "easy way" didn't work, but, it gave her a starting point at the very least, and so she headed to the southern arch to look for this "Smoking Shrub."