Chapter 3- The Black Lizard Village

Echo's shopping throughout the Kokuja Village.

The Black Lizard Village

 

            I walked down the street, looking at all the buildings. I passed homes, small, grey buildings, on my way to the business part of the village. I arrived at the square, the water fountain of four swords-people, two men, two women, watching each major direction. Water flowed from the tips of their swords, each pointing directly forward.

 

            I stared at the four swords-people. I didn't know their names, or what role they had in this village's history, but I knew they were great. Why else would their statues be twice the size of their human counter-parts? Or cleaned daily by men, all working side by side under the watchful eye of another? I had always wished to have my own statue erected in a village square.

 

            I went around the statues, to the path leading from the tallest statue, a woman whose ponytail went over her shoulder, then down to her waist. I followed the street, heading into the business section of the village. Stores, inns, and eateries lined both sides of the street, a mix-match of buildings. Tall, narrow stone buildings sat between wide, low-ceiling wooden restaurants.

 

            I headed straight to a small, squat, square edifice with wooden walls. I pushed the door open, ringing the tiny bell as it swung on oiled hinges. Candles burned brightly throughout the windowless store. Hanging on the wall, swords hung in even rows. Hipflasks, purses, sacks, and medicinal boxes sat on display. Armor stood in a corner, red breast plate with a black helmet and scaly gauntlets displaying a mixture of both colors. A number of shields, some wooden, others metal, leaned against the wall.

 

            I headed straight to the counter. "Hello? Susan?"

 

            "Yes, how may I help you?" said a young woman, walking in from the backroom. Her arms were burned, making her thick muscles seem strange. "Oh, Echo. What do you need?"

 

            "Oil and a dagger. Actually, two daggers, please," I said the store owner. Susan had run the shop for five years, taking over for her father. "Father didn't say if it should be a straight edge or curved dagger, so I'll just get both."

 

            "Alright. A gallon of oil, and two daggers. Alright. I'll get you the oil. Daggers are where they've always been, left side of the door." She turned on her heel, striding back to the backroom.

 

            I went to the wall, and grabbed a small, sturdy looking blade. It tested the edge with my finger, tapping the tip for sharpness. I tried to bend the blade, unsuccessfully. I set the straight edge aside. I looked at an assortment of curved daggers, some basically tiny katanas, others shaped to resemble an animal's tail or body. I picked a dagger resembling a snake, the blade being the body, and the handle was the snake's neck and head. The detail was incredible, right down to the pupil of the eyes. The black blade was very thin, yet strong. Taking my chosen daggers, I went back and waited for Susan.

 

            She returned with a jug, a plug in the top to hold the valuable liquid inside. "I'll charge you one gold piece for the oil. The straight edge is five silver pieces, the snake is twenty-five," Doing the math in my head, it'd cost only six gold pieces for all three things. I opened my purse, tugging the old drawstrings. A handful of the golden coins fell to the ground, clattering on the stone floor. "Echo, you should be more careful with those. Plenty of people would steal those. You treat them as if they're copper!"

 

            I laughed softly. I really did have a habit of dropping gold coins and then just leaving them. Though, I had only seen the copper coins inside the villages. I had yet to see Father own anything less than gold. I had always taken it for granted. I thought about the value of these coins as I picked them off the ground.

 

            A gold piece was worth six silver pieces. A silver piece was worth fifteen copper pieces. So, in total, one gold coin was worth ninety copper ones. I carried around over forty thousand copper coins in my purse, in essence.

 

            I straightened up, handing Susan her payment. "Here you go. Oh, by the way. You wouldn't happen to have anything to wear for shins, armor-wise, would you?"

 

            "Yes, I had a shipment come in. A very nice pair of greaves, but they're expensive."

 

            "Susan...?" I said, bouncing my purse in my hand so the coins jangled. "May I see these greaves?"

 

 

            I left without buying the greaves, as the guards were far too big to fit on my narrow shins. I went down the street to a very large, three-floor shop. I opened the heavy door, walking into the biggest clothing shop in the village. An assortment of different style suites were all over the first floor. I knew that gowns and dresses dominated the upper levels.

 

            I walked to the back of the shop. I skirted the desk and headed into the back. "Maryl? Are you in?"

 

            "Echo, welcome! Oh, phewy. You ruined another shirt?" said the tiny, petite woman with the child body who was mending a dress.

 

            "Father trains me hard. Do you have the kimonos I ordered?"

 

            "Yes, I do. Ten kimonos. I also have some of those tight shirts with the loose sleeves that you took a liking to over the winter."

 

            My eyes shown in excitement. "With the black leggings and skirts?"

 

            "Yes. Ten pairs, all made especially for you. My workers labored all month. It'll be pretty costly, though. 78 gold pieces should cover everything. It'd be more, but you had been paying since you ordered them. Do you have my pay?"

 

            "Of course I do, Maryl." I took out my purse, then started counting coins. I handed her seventy-eight cold coins, then gave her an extra two for getting them done so quickly.

 

            "What do you do with all those coins? You have so much money, Echo." Maryl said, her child voice full of envy.

 

            "I take it home, because I'm saving up my money for something special."

 

            "Please say you plan on spending it on kimonos. You're amazing for business."

 

            "No, silly. I want to get a statue made. For a village square; like the four in Kokuja Square."

 

            Maryl was about to ask something when I turned around. "I got to go home. It'll be late when I get home. Father wants to help me train more." With that, I started out of the room, after collecting the boxes that contained all my clothes and the cart Maryl allowed me to use to bring my stuff home. I put everything in the cart and started out the store, some of Maryl's workers barely avoiding getting run over. "Sorry!" I said to the women, who were wearing tied together bracelets, so that one of them wouldn't wander off.

 

            My heart ached. The people here care so much about their workers. It was so nice for Maryl to tie her workers to one another, so the old women wouldn't get lost. Tobi is so sweet, watching the dumb workers, making sure they wouldn't leave the peaceful confines of the village, I thought. It was all Tobi's idea to build the wall. Workers had wondering off and getting lost, never to be found again, for years before it's erection around the village. He was so kind, watching the poor dumb men and women.

 

Author's Note

Ok. First. Forgive spelling. Next, be mature. Yes, I used "erection" alot in this chapter. Grow up. Lastly, do you understand what is ACTUALLY going on in this village with the "workers?"