The Merchant Who Would be King

Merchant Quest

"Ow!" Hadiin jumped and whirled because something had jabbed him in the kidney. He was standing on a corner, just off Market Street, a cheap straw hat pulled down over his eyes to hide his identity.

Cat, back in her white dress and huge, white hat, looked at him from behind her fan, unimpressed. "You've probably got a bounty on your head. And what, this hat is your disguise?"

He flushed. "Well, it works for you, dear C—"

She cut him off with a frown. Her eyes swivelled to take in others around them. "It's Lady Lucia la Luna."

"That's a lot of Ls," he remarked.

She gave him a sour smile. "Bite me."

"I thought it supposed to be the other way around."

A long-suffering sigh. "My goodness. Are you always this bad with secrets?"

"Ah. Right." He rubbed his back. "Is jabbing me with sharp objects going to become a thing?"

"Yes," she flatly answered. "So?" She arched a brow at him. "Do you have a plan?"

"Plan?"

"Yes. Merchant stuff, remember?" She gestured with red-painted nails to the commercial district in front of them.

"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do any recon today. I've tried to keep my head down." He rubbed his chin in thought. "To be honest though, nothing jumped out at me yesterday when I was walking around either."

"Did you check at the guild for ideas?"

He blinked at her. "The guild?"

"Of course. For quests?"

"The Adventurers Guild?" He was confused.

"No. The Merchants Guild." She closed her eyes in frustration. "Wait. Don't tell me you don't know they have quests too?"

He looked at her. And was a little tired of feeling stupid so often recently. He decided to fib. "Of course. I thought we'd go check it out together. After all, it could be dangerous. There's a high chance of running into Weesely. Even if I didn't, he could find out I'd been there."

She sighed and made a slight shake of her head. "You didn't know they had quests. At the Merchants Guild."

Hadiin grew exasperated and hissed back. "And what? You're an expert on all things...related to stuff I can't mention? There are no gaps in your knowledge at all? I'm new at this!"

She face palmed, making her pert breasts jiggle. "Hmph."

He sighed and calmed down. "My lady, would you do me the honour of escorting me to the guild? I would very much value your insights into the matter."

She appeared to weigh the matter. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be seen together." She eyed his bright, shiny green shirt. "You couldn't have bought a coat to cover that with or something? If he's on the lookout for you, and he surely is, you're easy to spot."

"I will go clothes shopping later."

"Fine. Let's go."

They went to the guild together, Lucia looking every bit the lady.

Along the way, he eyed her fashion. "So you're a lady, hmm? Nobility?"

"Yes."

"Then, aren't you rich?"

"My family is rich," she countered. "I get a very small allowance to live on. Ideally, my parents would like me to find some rich, entitled noble to marry and spend his money. I have, so far, declined." Her voice grew quieter. "And since my change, I don't see that ever happening now. I may never get married now."