Chapter 33 - Marketplace

"Shit Liora, that's not right," Haggar exclaimed hearing the massive debt that had suddenly been lumped on his adoptive sister. "How do they expect you to pay that off?"

Liora shrugged, her head hanging slightly, "they don't," her voice came out slow and tearful. "They know I can't pay it off and they can't just kick me out so they went for the next best thing."

Haggar's expression softened to a faint anger, his singular eye narrowing to hold within it unending spite but quickly put it away to calm himself and say. "and here I was beginning to like this king," Haggar growled, hands that gripped the bar causing the wood to splinter. "I've got a few buckles saved up. It won't be enough to save the farm but it'll be enough for you to set something up, get yourself a nice cottage somewhere and settle down."

Liora jolted, "what? No, no, I don't need your money Haggar," she said, "especially if I'm going to go back to mom and try to get her to help. I've still got the farm for another six months so, I've got time to find something I can convince mother with."

Haggar frowned, "still, take it. I'm in no rush to go anywhere and this tavern's doing pretty well for me, so I'll earn it back soon rather than later. Plus, I doubt you've got much in store now. If you don't use it to get yourself a nice home, use it to at least keep yourself full and alive. That being said, do you want me to get you anything to eat? On the house of course," lifting his flagon of red—as Noah learnt from his own flagon—fruit juice, he downed it in one. "Morgan's got the flames lit and recently got some fresh Parle cattle in."

'Great, a unis.e.x name. Please be a woman, please be a woman…' Noah's pleading mind paused upon a new plead, 'please be monogamous, please be monogamous.' His fear for the orc having left him seated as far away from the man as he could with Caina between him and Haggar.

Liora tilted to Caina and Noah and got shrugs from them both, "not now, do you think we could have it for dinner tonight? I want to head to the market now and get a few beds and stock up on food," she paused upon another thought and looked to Noah, he was still wearing her husbands old clothes that just barely fit him, "and get Noah some actual clothing of his own. He's been wearing Harv's stuff since he arrived."

Haggar's head bobbed in understanding and from beneath his counter he pulled out a sack of clanking buckles, dropping it on the bar before Liora, "use this." He said with a voice unrelenting and unwilling for refutation, "there's about five thousand in there so it should be more than enough for anything you need to refill the house."

"But-"

"Nah, silence ye little sister of mine. Take it and enjoy, you've got two more mouths above your own to feed. You can do with the money," Haggar pushed the sack forth and crossed his arms.

She stared at the brown leather bag strung shut with a red lanyard with a conflicted expression. Eventually sighing out, she took it in both hands and clutched it to her chest. Casting Haggar a thankful smile, "Haggar, you are a brute of a man but you've also got the kindest heart I've ever known. Thank you."

"Don't thank me for anything sister. I was planning to head over to Alder soon anywho, you just saved me a trip. Now, I think you'd better get to the market, shops'll be closing up soon and I doubt you'd be wanting the leftovers."

Nodding along, Liora agreed, "we really should, are you two ready?" she asked.

"I've been waiting for you." Caina responded.

"Anything to get away from…" pausing before he could say anything untoward, Noah corrected himself. "Yeah, I'm good." Still shivering from the fervent gazes the orc was giving him.

"Then lets go," lifting herself from the stool she'd pulled up while chatting with Haggar. Liora gave her brother a swift goodbye and began to walk away with Caina and Noah following suit.

"Noah boy!"

Noah halted, spine tingling with fear as Haggar called to him.

"If you're ever looking for a good place to lay, I've been looking for a hire in the tavern. So feel free to come back anytime. I'll pay you good."

A shivering Noah gulped fearfully, not daring to turn and meet the heated mans eyes. Lifting one leg up, Noah practically shot for the door which Liora and Caina were already pushed through into the outer world of the bustling Redle.

Its Victorian esque building bathed in the evening light reflecting the warmth down onto the streets where the inhabitants were meandering about doing their daily rituals.

Catching up to the two, Noah brought himself next to Liora with a slight hunch to his back and exhaustion to his eyes. "Liora… is Haggar… gay?" he decided to ask the most pressing issue immediately and get that over with.

"Gay?" she tilted her head unsure of the new word Noah was using.

"Does he like men, like, as his lover?" he answered for her.

She made a realizing expression and smirked, sending a teasing look his way, "a bit. As far as I know Haggar's had both boys and girls. Currently though he's gotten himself a cute husband, this little halfling boy named Morgan. So you shouldn't need to worry about him sneaking into your room… mostly." She turned away, refusing to look him in the eyes after her afterthought ending of her sentence.

'What do you mean mostly!?'

***

After what felt like a good fifteen minutes of walking, the three had found themselves entering the outer rungs of Redle's main square where a few dozen stalls of various focuses were set up. Textiles took up at least two from Noah's initial scans. Then fruits, vegetables took up a decent six which wasn't that surprising considering farming was likely to be a large portion of the villages marketry. Some of the more one off stalls included things such as jewelry and pottery.

Noah and Caina's head's spun around inspecting everything they passed by.

"Noah," Liora got his attention. When he turned back to her he saw her burrow a hand into the sack of buckles and pulled out two silver heater shield shaped coins and held them out to him. "There should be a shop a little down the way which sells some clothes. Why don't you go and get yourself something to wear while me and Caina do the rest of the shopping."

Taking the buckles Noah was thrown through a loop. Not because he was being sent to do his own shopping but because of the two silver coin. "Uhh…" he trailed off, "how much is this?" he said with a faint hue of embarrassment.

Caina looked at him dumbly while Liora looked more amused than anything. "five hundred," she answered, "a silver buckles worth two fifty so two makes it five hundred." Digging around in the sack of metal clanks, she pulled out two more different shades and shapes of shield, the first was a small circular coin with an indented centre coloured with the sheen of bronze, "this is one buckle." She handed it to him to let him inspect it while she showed off the next, another bronze hued circular shield with two inwardly curving sides and a bright green stone at the centre, "and this is worth one twenty five." Like a patient mother, Liora laid the coins out to Noah and explained them.

"There's a few more for five hundred and onwards but I haven't got any of them in here," she gazed into the sack finding indeed none of the more expensive variations of coin.

"Got it," Noah returned the two bronze buckles to Liora and clenched the silvers tight so he wouldn't misplace them.

"Good, so, shall we meet back here when the second bell from now tolls?"

'And bell tolls are how people tell time. Fun.'

"Yeah, I'll be here," he said parting words to the two girls and watched them disappear down the ways, stopping at every stall to inspect their wares as they did leaving behind a confused about what to do Noah, on his own.

Gazing over the crowd of women, Noah sighed, "I guess I better find that tailor then." And scratched his head confusedly.