The Whistle of Steel

Chapter 3--First Encounter

The week passes quicker than I want it to. I spend most days in my same routine I normally take. Asking for work at the Baker's shop, then going to the fruit merchant to sell his wares. When they have no work for me, I ask the nearby shops if they need help. Most of them decline, as expected. Nobody wants a homeless beggar around their store. It chases away good customers, and they can't trust me enough to make it worth it.

On the days I find myself with extra time, I head back to my alley early and practice throwing my new dagger into an old crate the Smithy let me use. He even used old tar to mark some circles on it for me. It's surprisingly easy to make the knife stab into the box, even with only one sharp end. Aiming is a bit harder, but I'm getting used to it.

After three days, I meet Zachary again in the streets. I don't dare spend the coin to give him a roll, but I thank him all the same, still vowing to keep my promise one day. Not just for the help the other day, but every time I get injured. He's almost my personal medic. He even admitted to me that he started collecting bandages and such because I always come to him all cut up. So yeah, a big roll. Maybe two. If I can afford it.

The fourth day, I nearly run into Sam again. I see him strolling down the merchant's street as I'm selling fruits, and I quickly duck back into the store before he notices me. I peek through the rough glass window, hoping I didn't catch his attention, then relax. He's still looking around, almost searching for someone. But it doesn't look like he saw me. Probably another poor beggar like me out there who didn't pay his 'due'.

I take this time to inspect him again, wondering if maybe there's some kind of weakness I can use if I ever get into a fist fight with him again. He's a tall man, over six feet. He probably weighs close to 250 pounds, though I'm not exactly sure. He's not exactly a muscled man, but it doesn't really matter that much when he's so big. He looks in his mid-thirties, dirty blonde hair, with a permanent scowl on his face. Even his voice sounds disappointed. It seems if he makes a living swindling and stealing from others underneath him, he'd show a smile, because he doesn't have to work. Life is given to him, no effort needed.

That's not the case, though. He's always had that scowl, a look that says 'No matter how much you grovel to me, it's not enough. No matter how much I steal from you, it's not enough'.

No matter how much I beat you, it doesn't satisfy me.

He passes quickly enough, and after a few minutes longer, I resume selling the spoiled fruits.

Day five is when I get the most practice on my new knife. The Smithy even visits me to give me some pointers on how to wield it, which I thank him profusely for. My respect for the man had skyrocketed since he sold me the knife. He's not at all what I had first expected out of the man. I'm truly lucky I chose to ask for this alley. No other shopkeeper I met is this nice. Not even Sally, after all her time of giving me work. She's nice, mind you. It's just that the help she does for me still benefits her. I don't blame her, I would do the same. But the Smithy, he blatantly sold me a weapon that could sell for four, or even six times the price I bought it for. If I can even count what I did as buying it.

Regardless, as the week comes to a close, I managed to earn a total of fourteen coppers after spending a few to eat. I gave the Smithy five coppers yesterday for the next-coming week, and in two days, I'll have to give Sam eight coppers. That leaves one extra copper, plus whatever I can earn extra in two days. A freshly baked roll from Sally's Bakery is 3 coppers each.

I smile as I settle down to sleep, already looking forward to seeing the surprise on Zachary's face when I give it to him.

–

I wake up to a boot in my chest. My eyes pop open as I try to reflexively gasp in a breath, my gut screaming.

"Rise and shine, Fenn." A low ugly voice says above me. I groan, trying to take in my surroundings. I'm in my alley, behind the Smithy's shop. Is it morning?