Chapter Four Hundred and Ten - Booking it After Negotiating

It took some time to get the price down to an amount that satisfied Amaryllis and Caprica. I wasn’t quite as invested in the negotiations as they were, but I did pitch in to try and help when I could.

The price Pecorina had quoted was... well, it was a lot. More than an explorer probably made in several months, if I were to guess. Though it had been a while since I’d had a hard time with money.

I supposed I was very lucky there. Preventing wars, saving kings and fixing up dungeons had paid pretty well so far, so I wasn’t too concerned about our finances, especially with Amaryllis holding a tight leash on the pursestrings.

She wasn’t going to let those go for a book, not one that seemed so expensive.

Pecorina, for her part, seemed to mostly want to haggle for the sake of haggling, and she was very good at it. She went on about how rare the book was, its incredible, mint condition, how much Booksie would love it, and sometimes when she was done, I was convinced that she was being generous in not charging us twice as much. That feeling only lasted until Caprica scoffed and returned fire, pointing out little scuffs on the cover, the scorched edges of the latter pages, and how it hadn't sold yet so it couldn't be worth that much

In the end, the book was down to about a quarter of its original price. (A sum that was still quite high. I think it was about four times as much as the room in the hotel we’d booked for the night, and that was a really nice room.)

Once hands and talons were shook over the final price, Pecorina floated the massive book up and then wrapped it up in several thick layers of canvas and cloth which she cinched up with a little bow.

She also packaged up Awen’s own books. Those didn’t come with any real negotiations. Pecorina quoted a price, Awen stuttered a bit, but she reached into her coin purse and started counting coins. Then Pecorina rolled her eyes and quoted a second, much lower price.

I held back a giggle at the exchange. Pecorina was nice.

Something told me that Lavinia would be just fine.

With a heave, Calamity slung the big book up onto his back like the world's biggest, most unwieldy backpack. We thanked Pecorina for her time, while she hurriedly penned a small letter of introduction for Booksie. (Pecorina seemed interested in becoming penpals with another bookstore owner.) With that done, we headed back out onto the streets of Inkwren.

It was surprising how late it had become as we stepped out.

How many hours had we spent in the bookstore? It only felt like one or two... or maybe three or four? I had kind of lost track of time with no sunlight to help. In any case, the city was busier than it had been earlier in the day. It felt like the final manic energy of early evening. People were heading home, stopping by the grocers and bakery and butchers to pick up something to eat. There were a lot of students out, every pub we passed seemed packed to the brim.

The hotel was a bit quieter. On entering, a harpy in a manservant’s outfit approached us, bowed, and then led us to the elevators where we rode up to the floor where Valerian was staying.

He was pacing by the entrance when we slipped into his apartments. The harpy jumped, then glanced over us all. “You made it back! Fantastic! I was entirely too worried about whether or not you’d made it. Did you deliver the letter? How was my dear Cottage?”

“Hello, Valerian,” Amaryllis said. “It went... actually, surprisingly well. We didn’t encounter any real trouble. And yes, Cottage was fine.”

“Haha! Joyous day!” Valerian said. He pulled Amaryllis into another hug, then he did the same for me and then all of my other friends. “You must stay for the evening and tell me everything. My chef will prepare a meal fit for a king and you can tell me about Cottage and the school. Did she look well? Is she eating enough? Is her wit still rapier-sharp?”

My friends and I shared a look, and it was Calamity that made up the choice for us. “I could eat,” he said. “Besides, I want to get changed.”

“Right, these uniforms will have to go,” Amaryllis agreed. “But before that. Cottage penned a reply to your letter. Here.” She pulled out Cottage’s letter, and it was snatched away from her in a hurry by a grinning Valerian.

“Oh! Spectacular! Thank you, lady Albatross. You may consider the Hawk family in your debt for this.”

“Oh, I will,” Amaryllis purred. She sounded more like a cat than a bird right then.

All of our gear was folded away in Valerian’s massive closet, so we took our time changing out of the Mitytea Academy uniforms and back into our normal clothes. It was nice being back in my normal clothes.

Calamity especially seemed happy to be back in his vest and trousers. “I don’t care what kind of mess we get in, I’m not dressing as a girl again,” he said.

I patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll try not to get into too many situations where that’ll come up,” I promised.

Calamity snorted, but he didn’t seem in that bad of a mood. Mostly he looked like he thought it was funny.

With everyone all dressed up, we joined Valerian in his dining room where a few appetisers were already being set out for us to nibble on. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I smelled the fresh food and my tummy decided to start grumbling because it didn’t have that food in it.

Valerian was looking quite flushed, and he was clinging to Cottage’s letter in a way that suggested that he wasn’t about to let go of it for a while. I could almost see the hearts radiating off of him.

The appetisers were delicious. Smoked blue cod atop crisp bread, skewers of grilled vegetables, and a selection of exotic cheeses. As we nibbled and chatted about the day’s events, Valerian's eyes remained locked on Cottage's letter, reading it over and over, a sentimental smile playing on his lips.

Our main course was a big platter of roasted meats, creamed potatoes, and a vibrant array of salads. Valerian had told his chef about the different species he’d invited over for dinner, so the chef had made a wide array of things so that everyone had something to enjoy.

The wine flowed freely too, though I didn’t try any past giving Amaryllis’ cup a sniff. As the evening progressed, we took turns telling Valerian of our adventures and impressions of the Academy and of course, of Cottage. He listened with rapt attention, occasionally interrupting to ask for more specific details or share his own stories.

After the meal, with tummies bloated full and happy, we said goodnight and goodbye to Valerian. There was another round of hugs before we grabbed our gear and left. We navigated around the hotel until we found our less-opulent rooms.

It was still a nice suite, with plush carpets and a warm living space. I found myself looking over Inkwren from a window. The hotel was only a few stories tall, but it still afforded a spectacular view of the city.

It was strange, seeing a city like this, but knowing that I wouldn’t have a ton of time to explore it.

Well, not right now. I smiled. One day, maybe! There were so many cool places to visit and see on Dirt, at the pace we were moving I’d get to snoop in on all of them, at least for a little bit. Then maybe we could go back and revisit the neatest places!

As we retired for the night, I took a moment to appreciate the comforting murmur of the city, the low whisper of conversation from the rooms around us, and the pleasant fatigue setting in from a day well-spent.

When I woke up, sunlight was already streaming in through the windows. I could hear birdsong from outside and the low hum of activity beginning to stir in the city below. I stretched my arms and legs and ears out until they trembled, then got out of bed and moved to the window, taking in the morning view of Inkwren. The city was coming to life, merchants opening their stores, people heading to work, and the occasional clatter of a carriage passing by.

We had a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading out onto the busy streets of Inkwren.

The atmosphere was more vibrant than the previous evening; there was a sense of urgency in the air that spoke of the day's potential. We moved with the flow of the crowd, dodging vendors and pedestrians, making our way across the city.

We were heading in the rough direction of the docks, but since we weren’t in too much of a hurry, we stopped by a few shops, nosing around and checking out nick-knacks. Calamity had us stopping by every-other street vendor to grab more snacks for the road, and I wasn’t sure where he was stuffing it all.

I could see why Inkwren was known as a city of academics. There were teashops on nearly every corner, and we ran across a few small scuffles on the street. Mostly it was between groups from different academies, and they were... not exactly violent? Instead, they’d be arguing about some magical theory or about some history text, with lots of gesticulating and arm waving and even some shouting.

The people here were very enthusiastic about their academia.

After hours of journeying through the city, we finally reached the airship docks. The Beaver Cleaver was parked in place, and I could make out the silhouettes of the crew leisurely making the ship ready to go.

“Where are we going next?” I asked Amaryllis as we entered the docks proper.

“Do you not pay attention to the maps?” she asked.

I shrugged. “A bit. But I’ve hardly memorised them.”

“Either Walker’s Rest, or Smoulderglen,” Amaryllis said. “We’ll go over the choices once we’re ready to depart. Awen, did you need any more equipment before we headed out?”

“Ah! Um, Clive said he’d take care of refuelling, but I do want to give the Beaver another inspection before we head out. I think the rudder has a bit of looseness to it? It might just be something that needs tightening. But I still have a list of things I want. I think we can get most of it nearby though.”

“Do you need help with it?” I asked.

“Oda and Steve and Gordon volunteered to help,” she said. “Give me two, maybe three hours?”

I nodded along. “Then let’s try to aim for an afternoon launch. Maybe before lunch? It’ll be hard to do ship stuff while in a post-lunch daze.”

My plans rammed into a wall as a small group rushed out from hiding and came to stand before us, blocking our path to the Beaver. They were all students of one of the academies. Or at least, they wore the robes. Six of them, and one familiar mousefolk person was riding on the middlemost student’s shoulder.

“Halt!” Adjunct-professor Cornelius said. The little mousefolk seemed exceptionally proud of himself as he got us all to come to a stop. His students spread out around him, and I noticed that they were all holding staffs. Then I looked a bit closer and noticed that they were yardsticks, not staffs.

“Hi,” I said. “Can we help you?”

“You can, by submitting to the law! Did you think that Inkwren would allow you to so easily smuggle books out of the city?” he asked.

“We have receipts,” Amaryllis snapped.

The mousefolk blinked. “Pardon?”

“What, you thought we stole these? We purchased them with good gold, obviously we have proof of purchase. And if we didn’t, then you should have brought a lot more students.”

“We outnumber you,” he said, ignoring her counterargument and launching a different attack

“You don’t outlevel us,” Amaryllis pointed out. “And our airship is right there, and it’s designed for hunting pirates. Honestly, did you do any thinking before trying to set up this little ambush?”

***