Peacebringer

Chapter Four- Disturbance and Discovery

Just across the creek was the marketplace.  Asha walked through the stone archway to a street lined with small shops.  Many of the shops had awnings spreading from their storefronts into the cobblestoned streets, and were busily moving wares to the front of makeshift counters for display.  It was still rather early for the market to open, and Asha was excited to get first pick of some of her items. Stone Creek really was a lovely town, and it withstood the war in Karda well.  The people there are friendly, although still on the quiet side. Asha thought it was the perfect setting for a fairy tale, or the start of a daring adventure. She was right of course, but didn’t know it yet.  

The marketplace was already whirring and buzzing despite the early hour.  The clock tower chimed cheerily, and shopkeepers were milling about, exploring the variety of items available.  

Their town, the town of Stone Creek, was a small and sleepy town on the edge of Karda.  Asha had come west to visit the marketplace, but just a short way east was the ocean. Stone Creek was quiet, and most people minded their own business and didn’t look for trouble.  This had gotten even worse when the King had announced the ban on magic. Any magic users people did know had been hidden away with family members in other towns, any magical objects had been buried in vegetable patches or squirreled away in attics.  

The marketplace seemed to be the one exception to this.  A large number of sellers did sell enchanted objects, but in back rooms or under the table.  You had to know who to go to. Asha knew that the bookseller she went to sold the magical lamps from Sayreen.  Even during Karda’s war, Sayreen encouraged magic. Magic was seen as an acceptable craft there, and magic users were encouraged to use their talents.  Witches and wizards were especially pushed to find new ways to enchant ordinary objects to work better. Even Kardan houses still used enchanted plumbing systems instead of pumps inside their homes, but many of them had taken to installing false pumps outside to hide the fact that they were using magical artifacts.  

Asha was lucky that she had been visiting the book seller for so long.  He knew that she always liked the books with magical stories, so he always saved a few for her whenever he came across any.  His name was Mr. Seeyerto, and he always tried to pass his love of reading on to whoever ventured into his shop. “Each book has the possibility of a thousand adventures…”He always said.  “And here they are, just waiting for you!” Asha passed by his store, making a mental note to come back on her way out of town. She knew that he had said last time that he was expecting another shipment of books from Sayreen, as he had a partnership with a storyteller there at the time.  Mr. Seeyerto proudly proclaimed that he believed there was no reason for banning a book, but that didn’t stop him from hiding all of his fantasy novels whenever a ranger meandered into his shop.

Asha felt the warm smells of bread and pastries hit her nose, making her instinctively take a deep breath to drink in the flaky scent.  Mixed with the bakery smells were the faint scents of fruit, tea,and spices. Asha could almost taste it in the air, and it made her stomach rumble, even though she had just eaten breakfast. She was glad she had packed that bread and apple for later.   

She started by looking for candles.  She went to the usual seller that they bought from, but was surprised to see the shop boarded up.  Mrs. Estrella used to have a big, bold, colorful sign advertising her famous beeswax candles. She molded them into interesting shapes, like butterflies and honeycombs, but her plain column ones burned the longest.  Those were Asha’s usual purchases.

“They took her last night,” the shopkeeper next door hissed when he noticed Asha staring at the boarded up windows.  He was a burly, young blacksmith who specialized in farming tools and horseshoes, and probably one of the few craftsmen in Stone Creek who didn’t show any sign of magic use.