Echoes of the Past

Chapter Seven - Part Two

Chapter Seven - Toolin - Part Two

Sam smiled. "Armaments don't necessarily make someone safer. Besides, we won't find any guns and Trigger Switches in this small town. Not legally, anyway. Plus carrying guns would draw further attention to us."

"This'll do for now, anyway," James said.

He looked himself over. He stifled a laugh, knowing it would be inappropriate, and wondered if he looked as ridiculous as the armed men he would see around Tyken Town. Somehow, though, a part of him knew that carrying a sword felt right. Having a grapple hook on his belt, a knife on his side, felt right. He tried to convince himself that he was becoming more of the person he was before, who he was meant to be, however ridiculous it seemed to him.

"Why do they call it a set, if it's just one sword?" James asked.

"They usually make matching knives and staffs to go along with the swords," Sam said. "Some sets also come with guns. But even if you refer to just one of the items, people call it a Set."

James nodded. Sam smiled, his eyes softening.

"It suits you," Sam said quietly.

James nodded again and looked away, growing uncomfortable from Sam's focus.

They saw Evan farther in the market, watching a thin, bearded man who had drawn a small crowd. The tanned man held two pans, pouring an amber liquid from one to the other. He turned and twisted as the liquid shifted from pan to pan. At all times the steady stream of liquid connected both pans.

"An ice tea maker," Sam said to Evan as they came to him. "It's an entertaining way of cooling the hot tea. Good for extra coins."

The tea maker threw a pan in the air, the liquid landing in the other pan, which he held low down. With a flourish, he threw both pans up in a wide circle, the line of liquid rotating before him, before deftly catching them both.

"See anything you like?" Sam asked Evan as the bearded man finished his show.

Evan shook his head slowly. "I did not."

From his tone and the look in his eyes, it was clear to James that something had drawn Evan into a melancholic mood. He told himself there was no way of predicting the young Voarn's shifting emotions.

"Come," Sam said, clapping a hand on Evan's arm. "I have a friend in town we can say hello to. She'll certainly smell better than this place, anyway."

They followed Sam through the rest of the market, farther into town.

A group of Canarrian children played in the street ahead of them. They were bent over a collection of marbles on the ground, arguing excitedly with each other in their language. One threw a marble into the air. They watched it land among the others, knocking a few others away and causing them all to argue and laugh together.

James adjusted the sword on his hip, already finding his steps impeded by its presence.

Around the corner from the market stood a few other stalls along a small wall. A cake stand displayed tasty-looking pastries, next to a flower stall that was currently unoccupied.

Sam stopped by the flower stall and looked around. The strong scent of the flowers on display bombarded them. James rubbed his nose, thinking that they would give him a headache if he had to smell them for too long.

From the side of the building came a dark haired young woman, who was removing thick padded gloves. Her dark hair bobbed with her fast strides, her smooth cheeks red with exasperation. Faint smudges of dirt smeared her white top, and she wiped her bare hands on her dark shorts as she approached the flower stall.