“I hadn’t thought of that,” James exclaims. “Thanks, you’re already coming in handy.”
Miko beams at the praise.
Knock! Knock!
Miko immediately crosses to the door and opens it for James. The waiter who brought the food walks into the room. “If you are done, sir, I can take them back to the kitchen,” he says, indicating the dirty plates.
“Go ahead, I think we’re done,” James says. “Oh, and could I get some of my clothes cleaned while I am out today?”
“We can take care of that for you, sir,” agrees the man. “Just leave what you wish cleaned on the table. Then on your way out let one of us know and we will come and collect them. You should have them back by this evening.”
“Excellent, thank you,” says James. “Also, is it possible to have a bath here in the room?”
“Yes, we do have tubs that we can bring in for the guests,” explains the man. “Would you like one now, sir?”
“No, I can wait till tonight. How much notice do you need to get it ready?” he asks.
“Very little, just let us know,” replies the man. Gathering up the last of the dishes, he walks over to the door and leaves. Miko closes the door behind him.
“What do you want a bath for anyway?” asks Miko.
“Feels good, you don’t stink and you stay healthier,” replies James. “Haven’t you ever taken a bath before?”
“Naw, don’t like ‘em,” says Miko emphatically. “Fell in the river once, though.”
Miko waits patiently while James changes out of his dirty clothes and puts on a clean set he purchased back in Trendle. Once he has them on, he looks at himself in the ‘native attire’. Admiring himself, he thinks, Not bad. He folds and places his dirty clothes on the table then grabs his backpack. Indicating for Miko that it’s time to go, he follows the boy out the door and locks it with his key.
Downstairs, he informs a member of the staff about his dirty clothes and arranges for their cleaning. Turning to Miko he says, “Let’s go.” Following the boy, James heads out the door and enters a street filled with people going about their business.
Miko leads him through the throng and after a short distance, come to the bridge they crossed the day before on the way to the inn. He crosses the bridge and soon arrives at what James assumes is the temple district. Several large buildings that have the look of temples line the street on both sides. Some are made of simple stone and wood while others are quite impressive with ornamentation and delicate architecture.
Passing the temples, Miko stops in front of a modest shop with a single door and window. He opens the door and goes inside.
James can see that this must be Brockman’s, the place Miko had told him about. Many shelves line the walls and are stacked with reams of paper, quills, and ink bottles. Ten tables are spaced about the shop, several having men busily copying manuscripts. He peers over the shoulder of the nearest and can tell that this scribe has a good, artistic talent. The page is beautiful with multiple colors and flourishes highlighting the script.
“Welcome good sir to Brockman’s Manuscripts.” James turns to find a man who’s smiling at him warmly. “I am Brockman,” he says as he extends a hand in greeting. James shakes his hand and asks “You copy manuscripts here?”
“Many nobles pay for copies of important works so they may have them in their own personal library.” Motioning to the man whose handiwork James had been admiring, he says, “For instance, Lord Beleron has contracted with us for a copy of the Story of Beltine for his daughter. It’s a favorite storybook among the nobles these days.”
“That is very good work,” praises James.
“Nothing but the best from Brockman’s Manuscripts. What can I help you with today?” Standing patiently, Brockman looks at James expectantly.
“I need a kit containing paper, ink and quills that I may take on my travels,” he explains. “What would you suggest?”
“I may have what you need,” Brockman says, “follow me.” He leads James around the room to one of the shelves and pulls down a wooden box.
Brockman opens the box and James can see it’s what he wanted. It has holders for inkwells and even an enclosed compartment for quills. There is also an open area where unused sheets of paper are stored. It reminds him of a briefcase, only bulkier.
“Would this be to your liking, sir?” asks Brockman.
Taking the case, James sees that it is not as heavy as he expected. Nodding he says, “Yes. I think it will suit me just fine. I would need to purchase the ink, quills and parchment as well.”
Taking James to another table, Brockman launches into an explanation of the various items he carries. He didn’t realize there were so many different types of each to be had. He finally settles on three bottles of ink, two black and one red. A set of ten quills, half fine points and half broad points. Selecting parchment takes the longest time, for there were more choices. There was thin parchment, but it wouldn’t hold up long and very high quality parchment that would last a lifetime but at a gold a piece. He finally decides on something in between, not too thick but would last for a while.
When he finally settles on all the items he wants, Brockman tells him how much and James digs into his pouch and hands over the amount requested. Brockman takes the money and says with great enthusiasm, “Thank you sir. Would you like me to have it delivered for you?”
“Yes,” says James. “I am staying at the Flying Swan and I’m staying in room ten.”
“Very good sir, I’ll have it over there this afternoon.”
Once they were out of the shop and back on the street, Miko gives him a disapproving look and says, “You didn’t even haggle with him!”
“Haggle?” queries James.
“Yes, haggle,” states Miko. “Didn’t he seem just a little too happy when you handed over the money?”
“As a matter of fact, he did,” agreed James.
“That’s because you paid almost twice what the stuff you bought was worth!” he explains.
“I’ve never haggled before,” James admits.
“Never haggled…?” Miko just stares incredulously at him. “Just where do you come from that doesn’t require haggling?”
“A long, long ways I’m afraid,” he answers. “I guess I’m going to have to get the hang of it.”
“Yeah,” agrees Miko. “And if you don’t, you ain’t gonna have any money left after a while.”
James mulls over Miko’s words. He comes to the conclusion that there needs to be changes in the way he does things. Need to adapt them to this place and their customs. When in Rome… James thinks to himself.
“Where to now?” asks Miko.
“Is there a library in town?” he asks.
“The only libraries belong to the nobles,” explains Miko. “They don’t let anyone use them. Why do you need a library anyway?”
“Oh, I just like books is all.” James misses his collection of books back home. Seeing the books the scribes were copying brought back some of the homesickness that James had thought he had begun to get over.
“Is there a candy shop in town?” he suddenly asks.
“What’s candy?” responds Miko.
“Just something I use to like back when I was home,” James explains. “How about a bakery or pastry shop?”
“There are a couple bakeries,” Miko explains. “One is famous for its tarts.” He looks expectantly at James and a light enters his eyes when James nods.
“Let’s go,” James agrees. “We’ll see just how good those tarts are.”
Miko takes the lead and they are soon out of the temple district. After making several turns and walking down a couple streets, they find themselves outside a shop with a mouth watering aroma emanating from within. Hanging on the outside of the shop is a sign with a loaf of bread cut in two.
Upon entering, James sees a wide variety of breads and pastries displayed behind the counter. A fat lady in an apron is currently helping another lady so he waits patiently as he looks over the various selections.
