Chapter 2: To The Market We Shall Go

"The Market of the capitol is the greatest soup in all of Prydain. Nobles, Soldiers, Commoners, and even the dispossessed all walk the same stones, and breath the same air and hear the same sounds. Yes sir, the greatest soup, in the greatest pot of them all: Avindr ---- quote scrawled on the wall of Mr. Bisthrain's pub, Market District, Avindr, date unknown

The high-pitched sound of steam escaping from large smoke stacks in the distance was the morning alarm. As Coal City, the industrial sector of the great city, awoke and started its day, it signaled for the rest of the metropolis to do the same. Alexandra's eyes reluctantly opened, a bright blur coming slowly into focus. Near her on the floor were her compatriots yawning and stretching the soreness of sleep away. Through the gaps in the ceiling, rays of sunlight streamed through and highlighted portions of the dirt floor. Alexandra did not want to wake, waking up brought the all too familiar hunger pains, the pain all over her body back. An especially loud yawn came from Zooey's direction as she sprawled out from under her raggedy blankets. Sophia was already sitting up, fastening the two buttons that remained out of four on a faded red shawl she was wearing. Luca was already fully dressed and standing up near the door looking out into the street.

"Everyone up already huh?" Alexandra let another yawn escape as she tried to drag herself up to a sitting position.

"You looked so peaceful," Sophia fastened the last button, "you were even smiling. We wanted you to sleep for just awhile longer."

Luca checked the street every morning before they left just to make sure no one was waiting for them in surprise. They had many friends among the Oonskat, just as many enemies as well. Doing good deeds rubs some people the wrong way. "Street looks OK."

"I hate the Market District," Zooey picked up her dagger from the floor next to her, "just a bunch of housewives shopping and Nobles spending more money then we'll ever see in our lifetimes."

"All those people and money," Alexandra brushed mud from feet while wishing she owned a pair of shoes, "someone is for sure going to need work done and they'll pay for someone else to do it."

Luca smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. "Hopefully we'll find some lazy people."

"Noble's aren't lazy," Zooey reminded him, "they just like to see others do their work for them."

"That's not fair and you know it," Alexandra chided while running her hands through her hair.

"I'm ready to go." Sophia raised from her knees, straightening out her skirt, trying to adjust so the tears and holes were in benign spots.

"I guess me to." Zooey did not want to go but knew she had to, they all had to try to find work so they could eat today.

The past few weeks had been especially hard and they could not live on the amount of food they had been squirreled away for very much longer.

"Remember, " Alexandra looked at her friends, "begging for work is not shameful. We want to work and get paid to eat, that's what everyone does. But don't do anything that you feel is off. There's honest work to be found and we just have to do the finding. Even if everyone else doesn't think we're people, we are, and we can work just the same as them. We have to eat the same as them after all. And Zooey, no fights please"

"If you insist," shrugged Zooey, "but I'll have you know that he started it and I only told the fat merchant what I thought."

"If we avoided all the people you've gotten into scraps with, we'd never leave this room"

"Somebody's got to do it when things get thick"

"I'm always there fighting next to you," Luca protested.

It's true that when Zooey did get involved in a dust-up Alexandra would leap in to stop it and Luca would usually leap in to join the fight no matter how outnumbered or out-sized they were.

"Yeah, but since you're younger I have do all the heavy lifting pipsqueak." Zooey loved to tease Luca about his age, a sore subject for him.

"You are right about that fat merchant," Alexandra recalled with a grin. "He did have what was coming to him by a long shot!"

"Vindicated," Zooey threw her hands to the sky in mock rejoicing.

Luca was already a few steps out the door and down the street. "Are we leaving yet?"

"I think someone is already thinking about dinner," giggled Sophia as she put her shawl over her head and ducked under the cloth flap and outside.

"All right then." Alexandra stood also, straightening her top. "Market District here we come!"

The Market District was basically a neutral zone in the City for social classes. Everyone had to buy, sell, and trade, and the only real place for that was the Market District. From members of the Noble Houses, to soldiers, to the common peasant, all mingled in the stores of the Market District. Even the Oonskat were present, usually doing manual labor or simply begging on the side of the road.

The district is large, filled with open-air stalls and stores of all kinds. From armor merchants to food sellers, anything legal could be found in this part of Avindr, and some things illegal as well. It was a known fact that many criminal organizations peddled wears under other guises in the Market District, some of the stores are just fronts for these groups. No proof can ever be found, and the system goes on working, no one wants to rock the boat and upset the peaceful balance the citizens of Avindr enjoy.

In the past few years there have been more soldiers stationed in the Market District however. Most are at the gateways into the area, keeping tabs on who goes in and out, making sure it does not get over-crowded at any one time. An inconvenience and an annoyance for the people wishing to shop, but it lets them feel even safer knowing there are many soldiers nearby. The Market is a hustle and bustle of activity, thousands go in an out every day. It is the single largest point of economic trade in the entire nation, as well as an important social one.

With everyone from the nobles down the some of the Oonskat mixing, it was hot bed for gossip, being seen by the public, and small-scale economic deals. It was a chance for peasants to try to meet their idolized nobles, perhaps steal a word with them to brag to their friends, or attempt to sell something to the rich upper-class. The Oonskat are there to try to find lowly work, or food, or to steal money and food. Alexandra and her friends were there to work and earn they lives honestly, but not all, in the fact the majority were not.

The outcasts, while a common sight in the Market, are still disdained and avoided by most. The soldiers posted around the Market keep most of the Oonskat out these days, despite there being no law to instruct so, they try to keep their numbers minimal so that the rest of the shoppers can feel better. If they had money, some of the merchants would sell to them, but the Oonskat in the Market usually had to find the black-market sellers to try to obtains items or food.

There were few soldiers inside the actual market zone, the shoppers liked to feel safe but did not like to see armed men during their pleasant afternoon out. Disturbances were few in the Market: everyone, including the criminals, knew that it was a vital part of Avindr and if it became disrupted by any party, all would suffer. The larger criminal organizations rely on the legitimate and illegitimate business they conduct there, so they avoid drawing too much attention to themselves or the ire of the soldiery. The only time problems arise are if a lone low-life steals or robs and is caught or if someone sees an Oonskat that upsets them as has them thrown out for any reason.

Bright greens and reds from vegetables, fruit, meats help break up the dusty brown colour of the city as merchants from all over Prydain peddle their wares. It is an incredible hodepodge of farmers from the nearby fields outside of Avindr and merchants from towns and villages all over the map. On some days there was even more exotic items for sale: sometimes scavengers from the border of the Distansera would bring items they found, abandoned by adventurers and dug up from the earth. Flower sellers would sometimes come all the way from the northerly Rotsen Mountains, selling highly sought after mountain blooms that did not grow anywhere else. Second-hand item stores were especially popular with the peasants, some stores were expensive enough that only nobles perused them.

The current hot-ticket item though, and a new favorite novelty among the Nobles, were steam-powered self-walking high-heeled shoes for woman. At the moment, inventors were hard at work adapting the concept into boots for possible military use as it would decrease marching fatigue by almost half.

It was six fifty-five in the morning when the group, Alexandra in front, arrived at the south-western gate to Market District.

A soldier stood in the gateway, blocking Alexandra's path. "No entry."

"Please sir," Alexandra had to look up to meet the man's gaze, "we would like to enter the Market."

"There's already enough of you dust-breathers in there for everyone's liking, so why don't you just take your little friends crawl back into whatever hole you came out of."

"There's still plenty of room," Luca peeked past the man into the busy market, "it's not the busiest it's been."

"Look kid," the man stepped closer to Alexandra, "why don't you take your bunnies and go play."

"What'd you call us..." Zooey was about to reach for her hidden blade when Alexandra spoke up quickly.

"Sir, we need to get in so we can beg."

Alexandra was thinking fast. She knew that the guards would like to hear that.

"Ha ha," the other of the two soldiers let out a laugh, "that's all your kind is good for."

The guard in front of Alexandra stepped closer, scratched his chin. "I'll tell you what, we'll let you in if you beg me for it. Beg to be let in."

"We'll find another way in," Sophia put her hand on Alexandra's arm as to lead her away.

"Sorry babe." The guard's smile was not a kind one. "Closing the rest of the gates in a few minutes. House Cornelius wants regulate foot traffic, keep people in manageable numbers. Only way in is through this gate. Some more soldiers are coming to this gate in a few minutes and I know though they won't be as nice as me. Door is closing soon. So beg."

"There's only two of them," Zooey whispered.

"They're soldiers," Alexandra shot back quickly under her breath.

"Alex..." Zooey did not know exactly what to say except "don't."

Luca could not bear to see what was about to happen. "We'll find some work elsewhere, it's not worth it"

"Sir," Alexandra swallowed, choosing her words very carefully. "We need to get in so we can beg it's true, but we also are dying to maybe see a Noble. They're so spectacular in their robes and jewels. It's...it's more than we could ever hope to see. We just want to see them, see them and bow to them."

"So, you know your place then do you beggar girl" the guard said ponderously, his smike growing sickeningly wider. "It's rare to see an Oonskat with any sense to them."

"Yes, indeed. Most of us can barely even speak properly. It's no less then we deserve for being who we are," Alexandra murmured, keeping her eyes focused on the ground right at the guards feet.

"OK, you're talking a good game but I'm still not convinced." The guard was still blocking their path.

"Alexandra!" Zooey said forcefully, "what..."

"Quiet girl or I'll end you." The second guard flipped a switch on the handle of his sword.

The distinctive sound of gears clicking was audible; a small hiss of steam escaping from a pipe running down the length of the hilt.

Alexandra slowly got down on her knees and leaned her head forward.

"Oh sir, who will carry the bags and boxes of the shoppers if we cannot enter. Surely there cannot be enough Oonskat in the Market to serve all the nobles and commoners. Do we want them to carry their own belongings? It's below them, it's a shame if it has to happen. Let us in and we can serve them, we can do the work we're meant for."

She stayed kneeling, she knew she had to be subservient to the guard or else they would be in a world of trouble, more than they could handle. Some soldiers loved the fact that they were above the commoner folk, it made them feel special. They especially like lording their power over the Oonskat, a fact Alexandra knew and sought to exploit.

"Ha ha!" the guard let out a bellow. "Finally, someone who knows to respect their betters! Get in before I change my mind. I'll look forward to kicking you out in a bit anyway as soon as you look at a commoner the wrong way."

Alexandra carefully stood upright and again and made sure to avoid eye contact with the guards as her and her friends slipped past. They stayed silent until they were safely inside the Market District and we out of sight in the always-moving crowd.

"I can't believe you talked our way in." Sophia came up next to Alexandra as she stopped at a puddle on the ground in front of them.

"I was just lucky that he was arrogant enough." Alexandra leaned down to cup some water with her hands, splashing it on her face. "A little flattery in the right place goes a long way."

She managed to smile for the sake of the others.

"Alexandra, what if the guard got angry, it was dangerous! He could have..." Luca started to say but Alexandra cut him off.

"Look, never resort to violence first Luca, everyone's reasonable somewhere. You just have to find the right way in. Yeah, it was a little embarrassing to act like mouse before a swine but embarrassment I can get over pretty quickly, a hungry feeling is a little harder to handle."

"You're unstoppable," Zooey now finally smiled as well. "I can't believe you did that; were able to stomach saying all that. I would've hit him."

"And that's why I do the talking, remember?"

"Oh yeah," nodded Zooey, "that's why."

"I wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say." Luca was trying to imagine in his mind what he would have done if their places had been different.

"Yeah, but you would have had a harder time maybe, the guard probably would have thought I was prettier than you." Alexandra hit him gently on the arm.

"Maybe try some lipstick next time!" Zooey hit him a little harder on the opposite arm as she let out a laugh.

Sophia was looking to the sea of people now flowing all around them. "So many people today."

"We're far enough inside now," Alexandra quickly got her bearings. "Let's split up and look for some work."

"I'll head over near the food shops," Zooey took off waving as she darted away.

Luca headed the opposite direction, holding his hands up in defeat. "Typical."

"Stay away from the fat one!" Alexandra called after Zooey, who was quickly disappearing from view. She turned to the last remaining member of their group still next to her. "Where are you going to try your luck today?"

"Near the flower sellers," Sophia took the shawl off the top of her head, "at least I'll be able to look at something nice. Maybe they'll have one of those mountain flowers, I do so love the blue colour they have"

"We'll meet back outside the gate at sundown!" Alexandra hoping the quickly departing Zooey and Luca could hear.

"Got it. Good luck Alexandra," Sophia's smile was radiant as she turned to begin the long walk across the Market District to where the flower vendors usually were.

"OK," Alexandra sighed and looked around. "If I were honest to goodness work, where would I be hiding?"

The glint of sunlight reflecting on a silver sword hilt is what caught Luca's eye. The gears on the handle were even ornately engraved and the steam pipes running along the length of the sword were beautifully curved. One of the newest long sword designs, it cost more than Luca had ever had even thought of existed in this world. The vendor was busy trying to sell a set of daggers to a tailor and complaining about recently levied taxes and travel restrictions with another merchant to shoo Luca away at the moment. In hushed tones, he bemoaned that House Cornelius pushed through these new regulations that would never have passed the Landskyp when House Archdeacon was still around.

All those matters very far above Luca's head, he focused his eyes on the beautiful weaponry before him. The only weapon Luca carried was a small rusty knife he had found years ago when he was first sent to the slums. He dreamed of carrying a blade like the one he was admiring one day: it was a blade of distinction, of honor, of courage. Luca thought to himself that with a sword like that he could stand up to people, protect his friends.

He considered for a moment about trying to steal the blade, but then the disappointed look that Alexandra would give him afterwords dissuaded him from that course of action. He shook his head, ashamed that he had even thought about stealing it in the first place. He may be put in with the criminals but he refused to be one.

"Hey!" the vendor had finally spotted Luca. "Get moving! Stop wasting space!"

Luca frowned, he was upset at the treament, but knew that if he protested the soldiers would come and throw him out. Instead, he nodded and back away from stall, refusing to turn his back on the abrasive merchant who was still yelling unkind words regarding Luca and the Oonskat in general. Distancing himself from the source of slurs, he began looking anew for opportunities to work. It could be anything from delivering messages to carrying boxes for a merchant, or bags for a generous spender. It was almost seven thirty and he had a long day ahead of him.

Sophia was smelling a sweet bright orange flower, her eyes closed in a rapturous moment of peace. The flower seller at this particular stall, a kind middle-aged woman who hailed from a village a little south of the Rotsen Mountains, was always kind to her. She never chased her away just because she never bought anything, she even sometimes gave Sophia a flower if it was about to wither and she could not sell it.

This was Sophia's favorite place in the market, the sights and smells of the flowers truly brightened up her entire day and she looked forward to visiting this stall each time. She would delay as long as she could there before she continued looking for ways to earn some pennies. Sometimes she would work here, moving crates, re-arranging the displayed flowers. It was not often that she was allowed to touch or arrange the display, only when there was not a crowd nearby. It was a simple fact that people would not buy flowers they knew an Oonskat had touched.

"You!" A disgusted woman's voice suddenly hissed.

Sophia pulled back with a jerk and looked around for the angry voice. A woman dressed in a very fine and expensive silk dress standing in front of the stall next to her was staring at her.

This woman was someone Sophia knew: she was Alicious Beleskey, a member of House Bradana. Alicious was several years older than Sophia and they had played together when they were both younger and Sophia was a part of that Noble House. She had not seen Alicious since her sudden and unfair banishment from the prideful House. In eyes that used to see Sophia with joy and laughter now only conveyed disgust and anger.

"Hello Alicious," Sophia found it hard to keep eye contact. "You look lovely..."

"Keep your thoughts to yourself traitor!" The young woman spat back with such venom that Sophia took a step back and cast her eyes to the ground. "Look at you...finally where you belong!"

"Alicious, I..." Sophia fought to get the words out but was cut off by the angry Ms. Beleskey.

"We took you in. A peasant. A no one! We gave you everything you never deserved and look what you did to repay that: you embarrassed us! I called you my friend, we shared dresses. The thought of that now turns my stomach."

Sophia flinched, the words from her former best friend hitting her like direct punches to the gut.

"I want you to know that after we sent you away we had everything you owned burned. All the toys you played with and all the clothes you wore. It took a long time to cleanse the Bradana House from you and your commoner stench."

Sophia was still looking at the ground, unable to lift her eyes while the hate-filled stare of Alicious bore through her. "I... I never did anything to..."

Her attempts to explain the truth met an immovable wall. "Get away from me! Clear out before I call the soldiers to kick you out of here beggar! Go on! Leave!"

Sophia turned and ran full-tilt away from the raging Alicious, tears blurring her vision. She ran and ran until she ducked behind a store and fell against the wall sobbing. She slid down the stone wall until she was sitting in the dirt, tears still freely flowing. Sophia remained there a good awhile, until she could be sure that Alicious had left the area.

Today the flowers had been ruined, that small joy taken from her by a member of a house that had already taken everything from her. She was not sure how much time had past when she began wiping the last drops from her eyes. Sophia stood and patted the dirt from her knees and skirt. Breathing deeply to calm her heart, she stepped back out into the Market in the pursuit for paying work.

Zooey meanwhile had already had some small luck: she had happened upon a farmer moving heavy boxes from a close-by warehouse to his stall. Apparently his usual helpers had had a long night at the tavern and had never showed. For a few pennies, Zooey moved the boxes for the farmer while he finished setting up his stall. As she worked, she could overhear the merchant talking with a passer-by

"...and they actually believe that crazy stuff up there!" the merchant seemed amused.

"Bunch of weird folk. Probably from living too close to the Mountains. It messes with your mind y'know," the other was agreeing.

"Yeah, but they say a lot of people in the north believe in magic."

"Northern superstitions," the customer dismissed the notion with a chuckle. "No place in our rational world for such nonsense."

When she was done, she stood for a moment bent over, hands on her knees, panting, sweat dripping down. The farmer tossed five pennies on the ground in front of her and kept hawking his wares. No 'thank you', but that was more than an Oonskat could expect. Zooey reached down and collected them. She was lucky to get as much as five pennies, the farmer must have been very thankful for her assistance all things considered.

"Are you OK?" Zooey's reverie was interrupted by a young voice coming from behind her.

A little girl in a ripped sackcloth dress was standing in front of her, gripping what was probably once a teddy bear, now only half of a head and some hanging strings.

"I'm good," she nodded, "who are you?"

"I'm Lavi." answered the little girl. "I'm six."

Zooey glanced around the immediate area.

"Where's your mom? You shouldn't be alone in the big Market by yourself, you could get lost."

"She's begging for food," the girl touched a hand to her stomach. "We've missed dinner a lot."

"Are you an Oonskat?"

"Mom says we are. She seems sad whenever someone calls her that. I think it might be a bad word."

"Don't ever feel bad about what someone calls you." Zooey worked to appear as upbeat as possible, trying to believe the words she was telling the kid.

Truth be told, every time Zooey heard the word herself, she burned with anger. It reminded her of her unfair lot in life. It reminded her that people no better than her were considered so. It reminded her of the hopelessness her life was faced with.

Zooey glanced down at the pennies she was gripping in her hand and then back to the girl. Maybe it was Alexandra and all of her optimism and big heart, maybe some of it had rubbed off on her. A few years ago she would have pushed the kid to the side and kept walking, her hard-earned money in her hand. Back then she was just concerned with looking out for herself. Now, she knew her conscious would not let her do that..

Zooey stood up, hands on her hips. "Look, I need some of this money because my friends are hungry too. But hey, I passed a stall a ways back that had biscuits for three pennies. C'mon, my treat."

The Market District was so huge that the four friends did not bump into each other for the whole day until it was time to meet back up. The sun was beginning to set behind the tallest buildings and smoke stacks; the stores were closing up. Soon the Market would be deserted for the night and the soldiers would eject them back to the slums. Alexandra walked quickly out of the gate past the soldiers standing there to meet up with the others. Zooey and Luca were already waiting for her in the middle of the street across from the Market gate.

The pair of them were clutching tightly to the pennies they had earned during the long and humiliating day. Alexandra had her own pennies in one hand, and some groceries she had managed to buy in the other. It was difficult to find a merchant who would sell to her, but among the hundreds of sellers, someone could always be found. She had managed to afford some stale tomatoes, only slightly moldy-bread, and some milk only a couple of days past expiration. She skipped a little as she came up to her friends, it had been a very long and grueling day but now it was over and she was carrying the rewards for her labor. In the distance, the sound of industry from Coal City slowly grew quieter and quieter as one by one, the factories shut down the evening.

"Hey Alex!" Zooey called out to her as she approached.

"Hi Alexandra." Luca never used the shortened version of her name, he thought it was too beautiful to cut short.

Zooey had already spied the cloth bags Alexandra had swinging at her side. "What do you have there?"

"Just some stuff," Alexandra smiled, thinking about the food they were going to enjoy. "If we're not too greedy, we can make this last a week, maybe even two!"

"And you got milk!" Luca peeked down into the bag Alexandra was carrying as she came up to stand with the two of them.

"And it's only a few days past." Alexandra was quite proud of this particular find.

Zooey was already scheming about how to make more money with their new treasure. "If there's any we don't drink we could sell."

"Wow, thinking like a true businesswoman. How refreshingly unlike you."

"Oh be quiet Alex," Zooey feigned hurt feelings. "I got quite the brain. Milk's like gold where we live. If we sell most of it, we'll triple our money. After that we can buy more food and then eat it!"

"Ah, smart when food's involved," Luca rolled his eyes. "Makes sense"

"How did you two do?"

"Okay." Luca was a little disappointed in his take but had not been idle. "I have thirteen all together. I first carried bags for a noblewoman, House Dorsey I think. I dragged her bags around as she bought new clothes, new appliances. After a few hours she gave me a few pennies once her servants arrived to take the things back to their city estate. After that I walked around a bit until I helped a merchant stock his supplies, he of course watched me every move I made.. I guess he was surprised I didn't steal anything and he gave me a handful of pennies as well. Some odds and ends after that, but just a few more coins."

Alexandra put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "That's really good, you did a great job. Those thirteen pennies are fortune."

"I got seventeen for my part," Zooey proudly declared, not to be outdone. "I helped move boxes for a good part of the morning. Then I spent some time doing some honest begging and that netted a few more coins. Some manual labor here and there, some more begging, and here we are: seventeen coins."

She left out the part about helping the little girl, she knew Alexandra would approve and be proud of her but she did not want to look as soft as she actually was on the inside. Random acts of kindness were something Alexandra got them into on a an annoyingly regular basis but they were not something Zooey usually undertook on her own.

"About the same for me," Alexandra's adventures for the day echoed her two friends for the most part. "Twenty-six pennies"

"Wow!" Luca's eyes went wide, "that's so much! How did you get so much?"

"You know her," Zooey did not like to be beaten and was actually sulking a little, "she's good at talking. She probably did some work and then sweet-talked whoever she did it for to give her a lot more than they originally were going to."

"Yeah sure," all Alexandra could do was shrug, "something along those lines"

"Little swindler. Yeah, she looks fine, but her words will rob you blind and you won't even know it." Zooey was acting haughty but actually she was proud of her quick-witted friend.

"That's not nice," Luca was laughing now too.

"We made a good haul today," yawned Zooey, "it's time to hit the hay, quite literally."

Alexandra paused, something wasn't right. She stood there not moving.

"Wait a moment," she looked to both her friends gathered around her. "Where's Sophia?"

Both started at the sudden realization that their fourth party member was absent.

"We...thought she was with you..." Zooey stammered, panic noticeably rising in her voice.

"But where?!" Luca frantically looked up and down the street.

Alexandra looked back at the gate, now blocked by yawning soldiers."Maybe she's still in the market?"

Something had caught Luca's keen eyes just a little ways off.

"Look over there!" Luca was pointing down a nearby alleyway.

A red shawl, just the same as Sophia's, was caught on a broken fence and fluttering in the soft evening breeze. The three ran over and Alexandra plucked it off of the decayed wood, fingers trembling.

"Definitely Sophia's," she held it close, her hands trembling.

"Where can that girl be?!" Zooey searched the street and stared keenly at all the darkened windows around.

"Maybe she just lost it heading home, maybe..." Luca was deathly afraid and trying to avoid the obvious.

"She wouldn't. Something bad happened." A cold, terrible feeling was creeping up Alexandra's spine.

Zooey noted the fence that had very recently been kicked in. She bent down to inspect the many shoe marks in the dust around where they found the shawl. Her eyes narrowed. "It looks like there was a struggle here of some kind."

"They've got her. This alley only leads one place." Alexandra slowly turned her head towards the quiet alley, shrouded in deepening shadows. "The Dark District."