Submission (#6979) Approved

Finally Kalea and her family had made it to the scattered settlement of Sulapei. The misty rounded mountains of the Rajasana range tower over the buildings, many of which are built on or in the sloping foothills or the surrounding area, and Kal pants as she trots up yet another hill. The early morning mists gather in the dips and valleys, leaving visibility low, especially as the sun struggles to make it through the dense foliage overhead, the distant sounds of bubbling streams and the crashing water from the many local waterfalls drifting through the woods. However Kalea is familiar with this path, having traversed it several times already in the week her family has been in Sulapei.

The market comes into view in front of her, the sounds of people chatting and bargaining filling the air. A myriad of items are laid out on tables, barely at eye height for the small kittom. Everything from produce and veggies from the local farmlands, to bits and pieces of ancient artifacts from the ruins that dot the surrounding landscape populate the wooden tables. On several tables, she even spots bits of solidified mana, although much of the view is blocked by the throng of curious shoppers milling around the table.

It may be just one of the many markets that exist in the collection of villages and towns that make up the sprawling settlement of Sulapei, but as always, Kalea finds herself enamored with the sights and sounds, and of course, the opportunity to make some money. 

Kalea weaves through the crowd, on the hunt for a particular Elnin. It takes a minute, but soon enough a flash of vibrant green on russet catches her eye. Slipping between two shoppers, Kalea trots up to Caoimhe, the older elnin eyeing bits of old pottery that are scattered across the table in front of her.

“Ms. Caoimhe!” Kalea shouts as she stumbles to a stop in front of the treasure hunter. 

Caoimhe grins down at the little kittom. By this time the sun is starting to burn through the fog that had been lingering around, and the light glints off the beads in her braids as she turns to look at Kalea. They’re just at the edge of the market, near enough that Kalea can see the inn where Caoimhe and her family had been staying, all wood and stone, sliding doors with paper screens visible through wooden arches.

“Hey kid! What’s up?”

Kalea stops to catch her breath, letting the pack slung across her back slide off and onto the ground. After a second she replies, “I have something to sell to you! It’s for Mister Llew’s store!”

“Oh?” Amusement tinged with curiosity colors Caoimhe’s voice. The older Elnin steps away from the table she’d been eyeing, joining Kalea off the side. When they are both out of the way of the bulk of the crowd, Caoimhe crouches down to reach Kalea’s level. “Whatcha got kiddo?”

Kalea looks up at Caoimhe with sparkling eyes, anticipation thrumming in her veins. She can’t wait to show Caoimhe what she and her father had found in the ruins they’d stumbled across nearly a month ago. Kalea was sure it was worth something, having seen the kinds of oddities that Mister Llew stocked in his store back in Silveil. It had fascinated her, and part of her was loath to let it go, but the money loving part of her was even stronger than her instinct to hoard the shiny. 

Soren often joked that it was lucky that they spent most of their time in Palu’au at Sunset Shores Inn, the place their family owned and ran, rather than having grown up in Silveil, because it would have been impossible to keep Kalea away from the casinos and seedy underside of the city, with her mind for numbers and love of money. Kalea had taken to playing cards and gambling for candy pretty much as soon as she could comprehend how, soon outplaying even Soren and his friends. She was just insanely good with odds and numbers, and her older sister Kaia had been teaching her how to run the books for their Inn as well.

 Kalea was after anything that could earn her more money. And Caoimhe, well, she was her ticket into the merchant world. The treasure hunter scoured the farthest corners of Eyre, from markets to the most hidden ruins, in the search for interesting items to sell to the highest bidder. Of course the highest bidder was often Mister Llew, funneling most of her finds to his oddity shop. Caoimhe seemed to know everyone important in the  business of trade, able to sweet talk her way into people’s pockets and out of the treasures.

Kalea wants to be like her one day. Caoimhe is the coolest! And this is her chance to impress her. 

She digs through her bag, pulling out a small figure. It is a statue formed from stone, green as jade and flecked with bits of yellowish material that glimmers like gold. Embedded in the figure is a crystal, a yellowish orange. Kalea is almost positive it's a bit of sunshard crystal, although having it found in a statue so far from the floating isles is a bit unusual. She clutches it tightly in her paws, grinning up at Caoimhe. When she’s sure the older Elnin is looking, she lets go of it. The figure floats in mid air, suspended by the crystal.

A slow grin spreads over Caoimhe’s face. “Well well, look at what you found! That is mighty interesting.” 

She reaches out and snags the small statue out of the air, inspecting it closely. She shifts a bit, bringing the figure into a patch of sunlight that breaks through the foliage of the large trees that are scattered throughout the village. Kalea looks at her expectantly. 

“Good find, squirt.” Caoimhe eyes the little kittom calculatingly. “So how much you want for it?”

Kalea smirks impishly, she has a figure in mind, and she can’t wait to haggle, like a real merchant. She gives her number and Caoimhe raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What about this instead?” 

Kalea watches as Caoimhe counts coins out. It’s roughly half of what Kalea had asked for, and she narrows her eyes at Caoi. Quickly coming up with a counter offer, she puts out the new number. “I know what I have Ms. Caoimhe. It’s worth at least this.” 

Caoimhe looks at the statuette in her paws, then at the pile of coins, counting out another handful. Kalea watches closely, adding up the numbers in her head. After a second she realizes that it matches her counter offer. 

“Alright kiddo. I’ll take it.” She sweeps the coins into a small bag and hands them to Kalea. “I’d work on your pitch a little bit though, other people are gonna haggle way harder than I did.”

Kalea grabs the bag, and nods. “Okay Ms. Caoimhe.” She tries to take the advice to heart, but she’s too excited. She’s just made her first sale. Her first bit of money that she’s earned all by herself! Cheerfully she tucks the coinpouch into her bag.

Today was a great day.