The Firmament Saga: Book I: The Rains of Sorrow

Chapter 11: Where God Fears to Tread

Chapter 11: Where God Fears To Tread (Lou)

Waxday, Week 94, Month Decimus, Year of God 488

Rogertain Bootmaker had opened up a boot shop on Rat Boot Lane a couple weeks ago. He used cheaper leather from Lvier District rather than the high-quality material Thyrian's shop used from Allaech District. This attracted more customers, especially ones who weren't in possession of enough money to afford boots from Thyrian. Business had been the opposite of booming for Lou, and he was barely making any tips. On top of that, his salary had shrunk slightly. Fortunately, he still lived with his parents whose jobs were stable, but it was sad he couldn't provide as much as usual for them.

He was busy sewing the sides of the boot onto the sole for the day's only customer. Lou had seen Kylian buy a pair of boots from Rogertain's shop for only 40 bronze compared to Thyrian's 70 the other day. They were losing longterm customers quickly.

All of a sudden, Thyrian stood up. To Lou's utter astonishment, he sighed. "Take the day off, boy."

"What?" Lou asked incredulously. "But I'm in the middle of making boots."

"I'll take over. Not like we'll have more customers," Thyrian said, getting up. "Here, boy. Give me the boots." His voice was calm and patronly today, a far cry from his usual cynical demeanor. Somehow, the shop's hard times had the reverse effect on his demeanor than would be expected.

"Sure thing, Master Thyrian," Lou said. "I wanted to go home anyway."

Thyrian smiled. "Good. Go home."

Lou stood up and began to walk to the door. "Master Thyrian?" he asked.

"Yes, boy?" Thyrian replied.

"Do you worry that the shop'll go out of business?" Lou asked.

Thyrian sighed. "Do I think the shop will lose customers? Yes. But in the long term, quality matters over price, and we'll probably have our customers back within a few months. Even if the store does have to close down, I can sweep the streets or work for Rogertain. So no, I'm not worried."

Lou waved goodbye and exited Thyrian's shop. The man had always had an unusual personality and outlook on life, but these past few weeks had strangely affected him. This troubled Lou. How could Thyrian be acting so nonchalantly about losing his business?

He splashed down the street, making sure to step in every large puddle he could find. He had no legitimate reason to, it was just something he enjoyed doing for whatever reason. Rain dripped off his hood and into his face. He grumbled, bent over and wiped the water off.

It happened too quickly to react to, yet slow enough for Lou to experience every second of it. His foot slipped on the paving stones, and with a surprised yelp, he fell to the ground. Searing pain ran up his lower back, which had taken the brunt of the impact. The blow jostled Lou, and it took a second to recover from the blinding flash of extreme pressure.

There were a few passerby out at this time, but they were all courteous enough not to point and laugh at Lou's trip. Grumbling, he got up and continued to walk to his home.

Lou lived with his family in a modest apartment near the center of Rat Boot Street. Thyrian's shop was at the opposite end of the street, so it took a couple of minutes to walk the familiar path home. The stairs to his apartment extended out into the street. It was located on top of another apartment belonging to a family Lou didn't know very well.

He walked up the stairs and stepped under the faded grey awning that covered the entryway. Rain dripped off of it and into the gutters that carried rain off the buildings and into the great troughs that ran alongside the streets and eventually into the elaborate sewer system beneath. He removed his coat and shook the rain off of it, then opened the unlocked door and stepped inside.