The village itself didn't have a market. It was too small to be a true center of trade. As her eyes scanned the area, she could see a few peddlers with varied wares. Someone would have something she would desire or find to be useful.
Yet even that, though, was a challenge in itself. What was that tinderbox worth to these humans? As a dragon, she never needed any tool, but now she had to attribute a value to it. What if she couldn't find someone that would be willing to trade for it?
What if there was nothing that caught her eye? She would be carrying dead weight until she could find something else later.
Striding into the square, she could feel the eyes turning to her. More than one person shot Grima a quick look only to resume their own tasks later, but the stares from the merchants were a little different. Their gaze lingered a little longer, as if analyzing her potential as a customer. But they fell away in the end, returning to their own goods. All except for one.
"Hello!" Her voice was clear, cutting across the area to reach her. Turning her eyes to the source, it was from a smiling woman with red hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Her setting was modest - a plain yellow carpet roll lay in front of her, and she sat atop of it. "Why don't you come here and take a look, dear? I'm sure there's something I can help you find."
An invitation. She was hesitant, but she walked towards the merchant in the end, her feet slowly trudging upon the dirt. As she drew closer, she could see her face more clearly, particularly her eyes, a strong crimson, and she stopped. Behind her was a pack of her own goods and additional wares. But while her clothes were built around serviceability, there were sections made with the colors of dull golds and deep reds.
And though most merchants often knew a little about keeping themselves safe, she could sense a strong magic presence, one that ran far older and deeper than just the learned knowledge and techniques and regurgitation of mages. Rather, it was of a magic more similar to her own though more benign in nature. Still, she felt her footsteps hesitate in its presence.
"Oh? Is something wrong? Is there perhaps something else I could help you with?" the woman tilted her head to the side, a finger rising to her chin.
Blinking once, her gaze never leaving the merchant, Grima walked towards her and began to appraise her wares. "I do not have much, but I am looking to trade. What small tools do you have?"
"A trade?" her lips drew thin for a moment. "Well, if it's the right item, perhaps I wouldn't mind. Why don't you show me what you have?"
Some merchants might have attempted to deceive her, but she herself knew better than to assume that from the woman in front of her. "I have some copper pieces, and this," she pulled out the coins and her tinderbox. "What would you trade me for it?"
"Hm, a tinderbox," the merchant reached out and took it into her hand, examining the pieces within it. "Not many would give that up. Life-saving piece of work, these are." Her smile came back and winked at her. "Maybe you're secretly a dragon? Breathing fire and all that?"
Her shoulders tightened, and she had to remind herself of the gentle cloud that softly surrounded Grima in order to relax. "There is no need to toy with me like this."
She let herself chuckle, "You have to forgive me. You're a little strange and I couldn't help but make a joke."
"You would call me strange?"
"Trust me, dear," the woman looked her deep in the eye, and blinked. "You're the most interesting thing I've seen in ages. And I've seen just about everything."
She didn't doubt it. "What tools can I obtain for my goods?"
Taking the coins from Grima, she splayed them across the carpet before taking a look at the tinderbox. "Well, Lady Dragon, starting a fire is quite important, so," she took out the flint, steel, and fibers, "these individual materials are quite useful. The box itself? Not so much. It's sturdy though, so I recommend keeping it just to store small things you find useful or valuable."
She placed the three items with the copper coins. Then looking into her pack behind her, she began to fish around in some of the smaller pockets and pulled out an item - a small knife and an accompanying sheath. The blade portion was no longer than her finger, and she frowned.
"Oh, don't you worry about size, now. A knife is a very versatile tool. Cutting and separating fibers, digging, gutting fish…"
It was another choice selection of words, and Grima's eyes shot up at the woman. She only chuckled and smiled. "Well, perhaps the rumors are true, then. Some people are saying that there is a strange woman looking to catch some fish." Placing the knife neatly into the tinderbox, she closed the clasp and handed it back to her. "It's worth a bit more than what you offered me, but I think I can let it slide just this once." Taking the item back, she tucked it into her pocket. "Think of it as a thank you for the fun conversation. Maybe if I see you again, Lady Dragon, buy a nice pouch from me and we'll consider it fair, okay?"
"... Perhaps."
"Mm, well, take care for now! And if you have anything else to offer, you know where to find me. And if you're looking for fish," the woman beckoned her to lean in, and she did, "Rumor has it that there's an old abandoned cottage downstream, off the beaten road. No one really remembers who lived there, but they say that the fish there are quite big."
"... I see."
The woman winked and smiled before turning her gaze away from Grima, and she took this as her queue to leave. Within moments, she had called out to another person who was passing through the square and began to beckon them over. She set out without hesitation to determine if the rumor was true, even if it meant sleeping outside of the village for the night.
One did not discard the advice of a god, after all.
The sun set quickly after she began following the stream, forcing Grima to settle down upon the cool grass. But as soon as the sun was up and beginning to shine into her eyes, she started to walk again, following the river and winding through trees and tall grass to reach her destination. The area itself seemed quiet, lacking in travelers and coinciding with what the merchant said the other day. If the cottage was off of the well-worn path, then few would know of its existence.
Right when her feet had begun to protest, though, she saw it. Nature had started to reclaim the structure. A few vines were climbing up the side and the straw roof was in terrible condition, perhaps only good for burning. But the rest of the building seemed sound, made from stone cobbled and held in place by mortar. And as the merchant said, it bordered the river.
The size of a fish was still a rumor to be verified, but she was at least satisfied that the building was there. Walking towards the small cottage, she noticed that the door was damaged, both by time and force. Perhaps looters had made their way through it more than once in search of something valuable. And when she pushed it open, it gave way to a simple, empty innard.
Grima crossed her arms. So these were the hovels that humans dwelled in. Plain walls that generations were born into and died between. And yet from them sprung forth the kings and queens and heroes of old. How many humans were raised from the humble dust to become lords and lieges of their own? And yet these walls were shared by the worms of society. Those who were nothing, destined to be crushed beneath the heel of ambition.
To think that these creatures defeated her not once, but twice. She could feel her brow furrow and teeth clench in rage.
Pathetic.
But that was what she was here to study and overcome. Looking into each corner, the room was truly barren. There was a long rectangular hole in the wall, perhaps an area where ingredients were prepared. And in the center was a small pit where a small fire could be made. Otherwise, there was nothing else except a shelf. Taking a step closer, though, she felt her head tilt. Atop the shelf was a series of items, some narrow, some wide. But they were covered in dust and cobwebs.
Taking out her knife from the tinderbox, she brought it up and began to clear the filth. As each layer gave way to the blade, there was a bubbling sensation. It was as if her body desired to act, yet was constrained. But finally the last bit was brushed away, and Grima was looking at a shelf of books.
Pulling the knife back to herself, she summoned the meagerest of pink flames to come to the surface of her hand to gently burn away any dirt before tucking it away into its sheath. Then she reached out and grabbed a spine, yanking one of them down. The pages were yellow with age, but were still held together well enough. Flipping through, she saw that this first book held diagrams of leaves and flowers, carefully drawn. Taking down another, this one was a simple collection of stories. Grasping one more, though, she saw that there were drawings of the human body. Bones, organs, descriptions of sicknesses and symptoms.
Medicine - humanity's attempt at divining the nature of their own bodies.
Clutching the books to her body purple coat, she cast another look into the cottage. Whoever lived here has not returned for some time, and perhaps never will.
This will be her home for the near immediate future, she decided. She would stay and read and learn about the human body until she knew every inch of it. While she had crushed their forms countless times before, she had never taken the time to learn more about them. This would be the first goal of many in her path.
But before she could begin, she would fish and eat.
Perhaps she might even attempt to cook one of them this time.
A/N: Eyyo! Sorry for the delay in getting this up. It's been a busy week for me so far, but I have a good feeling that you'll like this chapter, so hopefully you'll forgive me lol.
As for what's happening here, there's not much to say. Grima gets into a business trade and it goes from there. Regarding it's slow pace, the next chapter is planned to be the last of the 'slow' parts and from chapter five and onward, I'm hoping to get to Grima running into the Awakening cast. I have a rough outline of what the overall conflict would become, but again a lot of this is still in the air. Gotta say, though, I'm relatively excited at the possibilities.
Anyway, that's it for now. Hope to see you all soon!
