===========
Chapter 4
===========
Achievement!: Dragon’s Pet - You are possessed of such epic cuteness that a dragon has made a home for you in her lair instead of her stomach. And you didn’t even have to be born a princess!
Three days ago, I was a shepherd leaving home to graze sheep in the high pastures. Now, my flock was in the belly of a dragon, I am its, rather her, pet, and on Saturday, she, the dragon Yrog-erg, will be taking me to a masquerade ball attended by all the lords (dragons) of the land.
I am following an important looking elf past important looking buildings that ring the dragons’ landing pad and into a commercial district.
I wonder if this is “moving up” in life. I touched my neck subconsciously, I wonder if Yrog will make me wear a collar? If I meet Tarx-wargle at the party, will he eat me for losing his sheep?
The elf, Mayor Todd, led me to a shop with an odd shaped sign above the door. We entered and a bell mounted inside the door chimed. An elf woman looked up from where she sat behind an odd machine that, in profile, matched the sign.
“Mr. Anton, what can I do for you?” The woman addressed the mayor.
“Good day, Mrs. Sarovna,” Todd Anton stepped back so I was in front of him, “Lord Yrog acquired a new human. Meet Sarah. Lord Yrog wants her outfitted with a flight-suit, a costume for a masquerade ball, and various sundries.”
“And when does the Lord Dragon want all this?” Mrs. Sarovna peered at Todd over the top of her glasses.
“I imagine he’d like the flight-suit and other supplies today, the costume is needed by Saturday.”
“Of course,” Ms. Sarovna sighed. “Tell Lord Yrog the flight-suit will be ready by tomorrow, but he’ll have to wait till Friday for the costume dress.” She turned her attention to me. “Come here, child. Sarah, correct? I’m Mindy Sarovna. Let’s get you measured.”
“Then I shall leave her in your capable hands,” Mayor Todd excused himself and left.
I took a couple steps towards Ms. Sarovna. She grabbed a notepad, pencil, and tape measure from the desk with the strange machine and proceeded to measure me. While she jotted down numbers, I looked around. The center of the shop was dominated by a large work table, the left and back wall were lined with bolts of fabric on shelves. To the right, adjacent to the door, was a small desk with another strange contraption and a ledger. Farther in, convenient to the work table and the desk with the odd machine, stood a mannequin wearing a half finished garment, and a full length mirror. Against the right hand wall were shelves full of labeled baskets.
Mrs. Sarovna finished measuring me. “Alright. Let’s go pick out some fabrics. Here we have linen,” we walked along the left wall of the shop, “here is wool, here we have cotton, and here,” we’d reached the back wall, “we have silk. Go ahead and pick from these,” she indicated a section of heavy weight silk fabrics.
“It’s so soft.” I ran my hand over the bolts of cloth, mesmerized by the feel and the iridescent sheen. Mrs. Sarovna smiled at my wonder.
“I think the light blue would look good on you.”
I nodded. The seamstress pulled out a bolt of azure silk and set it on the workbench, then she pulled a bolt of undyed cloth and began making a pattern. After watching for a moment, I went to examine the odd machine Mrs. Sarovna had been using when I entered the shop.
“That’s a sewing machine,” she told me. “It pushes thread through the fabric with the needle, which in turn catches a loop from a second spool of thread and pulls it back up through the fabric. I can show you in a bit.”
After poking around at the sewing machine, I went over to contraption on the desk by the door. Mindy Sarovna again noticed my interest.
“That’s an adding machine. I can use it to add and multiply. The stick on the table next to it is a slide rule. I use it for anything the adding machine can’t handle. Go ahead and see if you can figure it out, the secret is the scale on the slide rule is logarithmic.”
I picked up the slide rule and played with the central slider.
“Logarithmic,” I muttered. Mrs. Sarovna chuckled.
I set the slide rule down and started to experiment pressing buttons on the adding machine. The sides and back were open, so I could watch the internals move while I pressed the different buttons. A couple of hours and a few well timed instructions later, I had learned how to make the machine add two numbers.
[Mathematics (Passive) - Unlocked!]
You have learned to add and thus taken the first step in learning to Predict the Future!
The bell above the door chimed and in walked a tall, stately old woman whose deep blue, iridescent hair matched the color of Yrog’s feathers.
“Lady Yrog,” the seamstress looked up from her work, “I hope you’re not expecting a dress from me too?”
“Hello Mindy,” replied the woman, “I’m here to check up on my new pet.”
I stopped playing with the adding machine. Both adults looked at me.
“I think you’ve picked a winner this time,” Mindy Sarovna said with some affection.
“Yes,” Yrog smiled. “The explorers and the curious are always the most rewarding.” She turned to me, “But you can only learn so much on an empty stomach, and breakfast feels like a long time ago.”
“One thing before you go,” Mrs. Sarovna stalled us.
She took a scrap of turquoise silk and trimmed it to a rectangle. She sewed a deep blue patch embroidered with a dragon’s feather in silvery thread onto the center of the rectangle, finished it into a two centimeter wide strip, and added hooks at either end. In twenty minutes, the choker was done and Mrs. Sarovna clipped it around my neck.
“There you go. You should wear this. Each dragon’s feathers are unique and the one here is Yrog’s. The choker identifies you as hers and most other dragons will leave you alone. Also,” she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “when you wear this, nobody around town will charge you for goods or services, they’ll bill Yrog instead.”
“Don’t tell her that,” exclaimed Yrog. “The ravenous waif will eat me out of house and home!”
