Tamora Pierce owns the entire universe of this story, all the characters,
the world they live on and the very air they use to sustain life. Only the
vague plot is mine and the dialog I have attributed to TP's characters in
this tale. I freely give my permission for Tamora Pierce to use any or all
of the plot/story/dialog/concept if she so desires in any way she desires.
The Circle Expands
Chapter 3
Through the bond they heard Brier, "Sandry, Tris we're ready to go if you are. We have Russet, Oama and Kwaben."
"On out way." Sandry sent back, "Come on Tris time to go."
Tris finished her tea and got up from her chair. Picking up Chime she walked down the table and handed the book to the Duke, "Sir, why don't you read this now, I have almost finished it and when you finish we can discuss its classification."
"Thank you Tris, I get it back to you." Pulling out the letter she had used to mark her place he handed it to her, "Daja wanted this back."
"Oops," with a sheepish grin Tris took the letter, "Thank you Your Grace."
"Go, enjoy."
The two young women walked out the front entry of the Citadel where Briar and Daja were waiting. Sandry's usual bodyguards were waiting with her horse.
"Good morning Oama, Kwaben."
"Morning M'Lady." The two guards replied.
Sandry and the guards mounted their horses and Briar assisted Tris into the cart where Daja waited.
"Where's Bear?" asked Daja.
"Out chasing or be chased by Evvy's cats."
"Being chased?"
"They seem to take turns, Bear chases them for a while then they chase him for a while. They appear to make a game of it. Funny, I found Bear in the stable the other day sleeping in the hay, he was almost buried in cats."
"And Glaki?"
"She went over to Evvy's for breakfast, probably at the shop by now."
With Sandry on Russet leading, followed by her guards the group left the Citadel headed into Summersea.
The main gate to the Citadel opened on Spicer Street, group rode East past Fountain Square to Market Square. A large building on the west side of Market Square had burned a few years earlier and the owner had died in the fire, the Duke had to seize the property for nonpayment of taxes. Sandry, Daja, Briar and Tris had bought it and renovated the burned out building. The design was loosely based on the market in the city of Chamur in Sotat where Briar had sold his miniature trees. The outer walls had be cleaned up and the remains of the roof removed, an open patio in the center of the area was surrounded by shops all owned by the four and rented out on a weekly or monthly basis.
One of the shops was being rented by a musical instrument maker, who sold his instruments and gave lessons in making and playing instruments.
Another shop space was reserved for the Trader Caravans that came to Summersea. When the Trader clans found that Daja, the Trader who created with the living metal, was involved in the Circle Four store the clans came to buy her highly sought after creations and ending up setting up in the reserved space and selling their wares bringing in customers that shopped in all the stores.
As you entered the door and walked into the patio, on the north wall was a large glass building where Briar sold his seeds, bulbs, potted plants, cut flowers and miniature trees. With Rosethorn he also had one corner of the store set aside for medicinal items of all types that did not need a healers skill to use. On the south wall was a large shop that combined a glass, stoneware and metalwork shop where Keth, Tris, Evvy and Daja and occasionally Frostpine sold their work. At the west wall at the end of the open area was Tris's bookstore.
Throughout the area were numerous young people dressed in brown uniforms cleaning floors, counters and waiting on customers. These were the children that the four had salvaged from the streets. Because, Sandry, Daja and Briar were orphaned and Tris was discarded by her family, the group had decided, once the financing was available, to help as many as possible, of the lost, abandoned and orphaned children of Summersea. Once the Duke discovered what they were doing he assists with funds.
The four started a school to teach the basic skills of reading, writing, calculating and some history. The children were invited to come to the school and were given food, clothing and a safe place to stay. The school also gave the children chances to learn a skill or trade for later in life. Each year the children were tested for magic, both ambient magic, the magic that works using magic inherent in people and things and academic magic, the magic that works with learned spells. If any child displayed a talent for any magic or skill that talent was cultivated and helped to develop.
The children helped in the stores as a part of the learning process and had come up with a small business of their own, with the four's permission they had started to make deliveries of notes and packages throughout Summersea, the brown uniforms had become a familiar sight in the city. A small fee could get a quick delivery of anything that could be carried and it cost a bit more if a cart had to be used. The uniforms had become such a familiar sight and had gained such a reputation the even the Provost Guards used them to move messages from coop to coop.
The reputation of the couriers started when a street gang attacked a courier and stole the package he was delivering. The entire group of former street rats in brown uniforms tracked down the attacking gang recovered the package and delivered the gang to the harriers. Since that time no courier has been attacked. They had taken to calling themselves the Uniformed Package Shipping or UPS,
When they arrived at Circle Four a group of brown clad older kids came trotting out and started unloading the cart. Each member of the uniformed group was wearing a medallion on a chain. The medallions had been cast by Daja and was a circle with a 4 in the center the background of each was enameled was with the color of the mage they assisted, green for Briar, red for Daja, white for Sandry and blue for Tris. The younger members of the school had medallions with a four-color background indicating that they were still in school and had not picked a specialty as yet.
Sandry and her bodyguards tied their horses to iron posts set in front of the store and loosened the girths on the saddles.
As Daja, Tris and the contents of the cart vanished into the door Briar asked one of the older assistants, "Conan, do you have anything that needs the cart to deliver?"
"Not yet, Master Moss, but a noble lady is looking a one of Evvy's stone sculptures, one of the larger ones."
"That's good, until we need it, stable the horse and put the cart in back."
"Sandry, are you going to be here long enough to warrant stabling your horses?"
"It would probably be best to get them out of the sun."
"Anna, will you Arthur and Doyle take the horses back to the stable, please?"
Sandry and Briar followed by Oama and Kwaben the bodyguards assigned to Sandry followed the last ot Briars plants into the Circle Four while the four assistants led the horses down the path beside the building to the stable in the rear.
The Circle Expands
Chapter 3
Through the bond they heard Brier, "Sandry, Tris we're ready to go if you are. We have Russet, Oama and Kwaben."
"On out way." Sandry sent back, "Come on Tris time to go."
Tris finished her tea and got up from her chair. Picking up Chime she walked down the table and handed the book to the Duke, "Sir, why don't you read this now, I have almost finished it and when you finish we can discuss its classification."
"Thank you Tris, I get it back to you." Pulling out the letter she had used to mark her place he handed it to her, "Daja wanted this back."
"Oops," with a sheepish grin Tris took the letter, "Thank you Your Grace."
"Go, enjoy."
The two young women walked out the front entry of the Citadel where Briar and Daja were waiting. Sandry's usual bodyguards were waiting with her horse.
"Good morning Oama, Kwaben."
"Morning M'Lady." The two guards replied.
Sandry and the guards mounted their horses and Briar assisted Tris into the cart where Daja waited.
"Where's Bear?" asked Daja.
"Out chasing or be chased by Evvy's cats."
"Being chased?"
"They seem to take turns, Bear chases them for a while then they chase him for a while. They appear to make a game of it. Funny, I found Bear in the stable the other day sleeping in the hay, he was almost buried in cats."
"And Glaki?"
"She went over to Evvy's for breakfast, probably at the shop by now."
With Sandry on Russet leading, followed by her guards the group left the Citadel headed into Summersea.
The main gate to the Citadel opened on Spicer Street, group rode East past Fountain Square to Market Square. A large building on the west side of Market Square had burned a few years earlier and the owner had died in the fire, the Duke had to seize the property for nonpayment of taxes. Sandry, Daja, Briar and Tris had bought it and renovated the burned out building. The design was loosely based on the market in the city of Chamur in Sotat where Briar had sold his miniature trees. The outer walls had be cleaned up and the remains of the roof removed, an open patio in the center of the area was surrounded by shops all owned by the four and rented out on a weekly or monthly basis.
One of the shops was being rented by a musical instrument maker, who sold his instruments and gave lessons in making and playing instruments.
Another shop space was reserved for the Trader Caravans that came to Summersea. When the Trader clans found that Daja, the Trader who created with the living metal, was involved in the Circle Four store the clans came to buy her highly sought after creations and ending up setting up in the reserved space and selling their wares bringing in customers that shopped in all the stores.
As you entered the door and walked into the patio, on the north wall was a large glass building where Briar sold his seeds, bulbs, potted plants, cut flowers and miniature trees. With Rosethorn he also had one corner of the store set aside for medicinal items of all types that did not need a healers skill to use. On the south wall was a large shop that combined a glass, stoneware and metalwork shop where Keth, Tris, Evvy and Daja and occasionally Frostpine sold their work. At the west wall at the end of the open area was Tris's bookstore.
Throughout the area were numerous young people dressed in brown uniforms cleaning floors, counters and waiting on customers. These were the children that the four had salvaged from the streets. Because, Sandry, Daja and Briar were orphaned and Tris was discarded by her family, the group had decided, once the financing was available, to help as many as possible, of the lost, abandoned and orphaned children of Summersea. Once the Duke discovered what they were doing he assists with funds.
The four started a school to teach the basic skills of reading, writing, calculating and some history. The children were invited to come to the school and were given food, clothing and a safe place to stay. The school also gave the children chances to learn a skill or trade for later in life. Each year the children were tested for magic, both ambient magic, the magic that works using magic inherent in people and things and academic magic, the magic that works with learned spells. If any child displayed a talent for any magic or skill that talent was cultivated and helped to develop.
The children helped in the stores as a part of the learning process and had come up with a small business of their own, with the four's permission they had started to make deliveries of notes and packages throughout Summersea, the brown uniforms had become a familiar sight in the city. A small fee could get a quick delivery of anything that could be carried and it cost a bit more if a cart had to be used. The uniforms had become such a familiar sight and had gained such a reputation the even the Provost Guards used them to move messages from coop to coop.
The reputation of the couriers started when a street gang attacked a courier and stole the package he was delivering. The entire group of former street rats in brown uniforms tracked down the attacking gang recovered the package and delivered the gang to the harriers. Since that time no courier has been attacked. They had taken to calling themselves the Uniformed Package Shipping or UPS,
When they arrived at Circle Four a group of brown clad older kids came trotting out and started unloading the cart. Each member of the uniformed group was wearing a medallion on a chain. The medallions had been cast by Daja and was a circle with a 4 in the center the background of each was enameled was with the color of the mage they assisted, green for Briar, red for Daja, white for Sandry and blue for Tris. The younger members of the school had medallions with a four-color background indicating that they were still in school and had not picked a specialty as yet.
Sandry and her bodyguards tied their horses to iron posts set in front of the store and loosened the girths on the saddles.
As Daja, Tris and the contents of the cart vanished into the door Briar asked one of the older assistants, "Conan, do you have anything that needs the cart to deliver?"
"Not yet, Master Moss, but a noble lady is looking a one of Evvy's stone sculptures, one of the larger ones."
"That's good, until we need it, stable the horse and put the cart in back."
"Sandry, are you going to be here long enough to warrant stabling your horses?"
"It would probably be best to get them out of the sun."
"Anna, will you Arthur and Doyle take the horses back to the stable, please?"
Sandry and Briar followed by Oama and Kwaben the bodyguards assigned to Sandry followed the last ot Briars plants into the Circle Four while the four assistants led the horses down the path beside the building to the stable in the rear.