The innkeeper nodded slightly, stuffed the coins in his pouch and turned away. “I got you a private room, lad,” the Bursar declared. “Sometimes a young lad can be led astray in a strange city. Remember your promise to me and I will see you back here in three days. Come join me for part of the walk and then you can get started on your work.”
They left the inn and crossed the market. Rejji shook his head as he began to realize how massive the market was. After several blocks of the market, another row of inns appeared. Behind the inns, Rejji saw the first houses. The houses were larger than anything he had seen in Fakara, and as they progressed, the houses got even larger and fancier until he saw houses larger than the mansion at the Pikata estate. Once again he was dazzled by the wealth in Khadora and that was before the houses stopped.
When the rows of houses did stop, Rejji stepped into a park that was enormous and he stopped.
“Come along,” the Bursar called.
Rejji shook his head and ran to catch up. The park was like a paradise with pink stone paths and the finest grass he had ever seen. Tall stately trees dotted the grass and lined the pathways. Finely maintained flowerbeds were everywhere and the air was deliciously sweet. Every forty paces along a path was a stone bench. Morning birds were chirping and singing and squirrels were frolicking from tree to tree.
When they finally made it across the park, Wicado stopped. Rejji gazed across a broad plaza at the most magnificent structure he had ever seen, more magnificent than anything he could have dreamed of. Rejji craned his head all the way back in an effort to see the top of the palace, but he was already too close to be able to see the top. The palace was made of highly polished white stone and was so wide that he could barely see the ends of it. A black metal fence ran around the building but so far away from it that the front lawn between the fence and the building was many times larger than Rejji’s whole village.
The Bursar opened his bag and extracted a smaller bag, which he gave to Rejji. “Writing materials for your task,” he explained. “It is quite a sight isn’t it? It is the Imperial Palace. That is where I will be for the next three days. I must go.”
Rejji watched Wicado cross the street and approach one of the gates in the black fence. Guards dressed in white stopped him and inspected some papers before allowing him to enter. Rejji watched until Wicado mounted the massive steps leading to the palace. He appeared so small and insignificant at that great distance, but he thought he saw Wicado turn and look at him as he entered through the large doors.
Rejji stood gaping for a few moments and then turned around and entered the park on his was back to the market. Rejji’s mind turned to thoughts of how to organize his task in the market. There appeared to be thousands of shops and he only had three days to finish the task Wicado required of him. Rejji figured he should start at one corner of the market and systematically proceed along the entire row and then loop back on the next row. At least this way he would not miss any shops.
Rejji reached the first stall and gazed at the merchandise. The stall sold only gold jewelry and most of the pieces were one-of-a-kind. Rejji scratched his head as he wondered how he could possibly record all of the prices of all of the items in three days. To make matters worse, some items had prices on them and some did not. He asked the merchant about that and the merchant laughed at him and told him if he wanted a particular piece the merchant would quote him a price. Rejji sighed and opened the bag Wicado had given him. He was surprised to see the paper already had a list of things on it.
Rejji walked away from the merchant and sat with his back against the wall of an inn. He reviewed the list Wicado had given to him his spirits soared. Rather than having to record every item at every stall, Rejji only needed to seek out those stalls that sold the items on the list. Most of the items Rejji recognized as things the mansion would need on a continuous basis. Rejji began to understand what Wicado was after. Most things needed for daily operation of the estate were produced on the estate itself. The Bursar shopped for price on items like wax, which was used daily, but not available on the estate.
Rejji stood and started going down the row, checking each stall for one or more of the listed items. When he found a stall selling the items, he wrote down the row and stall number and the price. Many of the vendors wanted to haggle with him on price, but he told them he was getting the price for someone else and they always stated a price for him to write down. Around the middle of the first row, Rejji halted in front of a small but lavish stall. There were very few items displayed for sale, but one caught Rejji’s eye. It was a petrified shark’s tooth.
Rejji reached for it and the merchant grabbed his hand. “I don’t believe for a minute that you can afford that, lad,” the merchant said. “What is a Pikata slave doing running free in the market?”
“I have permission,” retorted Rejji as he pulled his hand free. “I just wanted to see if it was real.”
“As if you would know,” chuckled the merchant. “Do not take me for a soft touch, lad. I have the most expensive merchandise in the market and I know my customers well. You are not one of them.”
“How much is it?” Rejji asked.
“For you I have a special price,” laughed the merchant. “Four hundred gold coins.”
“Four hundred?” Rejji repeated as his jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious. What is the normal price?”
“Four hundred,” smiled the merchant.
“But you said that was a special price,” argued Rejji.
“All of my prices are special,” grinned the merchant. “Now why don’t you run along before you start to dissuade real customers from coming to my stall. You don’t even know what the item is anyway.”
“It is a petrified shark’s tooth found only in one location in Fakara,” Rejji stated as he bit his lower lip.
The merchant’s eyebrows rose as he asked, “How did you know that?”
“Because I am the supplier,” grinned Rejji, “or I was until recently. I only sold them to Brontos.”
“My apologies,” nodded the merchant appraisingly. “I would assume that the fact that you are now a slave is the reason Brontos has stated that the supply is exhausted.”
“Yes,” nodded Rejji. “My village was wiped out. Why do they cost so much?”
“The price hike is most recent,” acknowledged the merchant, “which is why I sell them now. I would not handle them when they were plentiful. I believe he used to sell them for around twenty gold coins, but he has raised the price since he returned from his last trip.”
Rejji did some quick numbers in his head and realized why Brontos was willing to travel so far for merchandise. If Rejji sold four hundred teeth and got merchandise worth four hundred gold, then Brontos could sell the teeth for eight thousand gold and probably buy the merchandise for two hundred gold. So Brontos would make forty times his investment Rejji realized.
“Can you really sell them for that high?” asked Rejji.
“Oh yes,” smiled the merchant. “I only carry rare items and Brontos is hoarding his last shipment. The ones I have are probably the only ones on the market right now. That makes them worth whatever I choose to charge. When someone wants to purchase something really unique, they come to Wendal. I have a very good reputation.”
“My name is Rejji,” offered the Pikata slave. “I do not see many people crowding around your stall.”
“No and you won’t,” chuckled Wendal. “I do not have a lot of traffic to my stall, but I probably make more money than any other merchant here.”
“I could learn a lot from you,” smiled Rejji. “What would you pay me for one of those teeth if I had one?”
“Fifty gold if you had one,” stated Wendal. “I would give you more for that pin you are wearing though. Would you care to sell it?”