Sarita's Journey
TIMELINE
Sarita's Journey takes place a few months after A visit to Sabatangan, and shortly after or during Tri-Fleet Risuner Expedition (Part 1, Part 2).
Chapters
Ch. 1: A Visit to Sabatangan
Ch. 2: The Crab-Catcher
Ch. 3: To be written
->Ch. 3.5: Sarita's Journey
Context Clues
Just some clarification for the terms I'm using to avoid confusion. Skip reading these if you want to.
Aggaya - A wealthy city located at the mouth of the eastern /nasfaqg/ strait.
Boss-man - Sarita's poor translation of Employer/Overseer/Supervisor/Master.
Coat-rifle-hat man - Republic Guard.
Edelweiss - A fledgling merchant house and also a company that operates as an extension of said house.
Gemforest - A term for a collective of /risu/ gemtrees. The mention of this might be a mistake on my part as there might not be a plausible reason for Sarita to have witnessed multiple gemtrees during her life. Depends on how common these trees are and how commonly regular risuners from the major cities would see them.
Merchant-tongue / Kat Nol - The official language of /nasfaqg/.
Sabatangan - A city in /risu/ where the Edelweiss Co. has set up a shipyard.
Squirrelfolk/Squirrelboy/Squirrelgirl - A term used for risuners.
Thomas Turner/Mr.Turner/Boss-man Turner - A character that appears in A visit to Sabatangan. He is the overseas branch manager of Edelweiss Co., House Edelweiss representative in /risu/, and the employer of Sarita.
Young Mistress/Merchant-Princess/Lady Edelweiss - A character that appears in A visit to Sabatangan. She is the head of House Edelweiss and the primary shareholder of Edelweiss Co.
Smoke and Ink
The rhythmic sound of the waves drowned in merchant-tongue shouting of the crewmen, which in turn was occasionally interrupted by the shrieks of the seabirds circling above the ship like vultures. Wind carried the smell of smoke to her nose, but something in the odor was all wrong: Unlike the warm and cozy smoke of the fires at Sabatangan, there was no aroma of wood, just a bitter sting. It sent a slight shiver down her spine.
Sarita was standing on top of a crate, looking over the railing of the ship. She had never in her life seen this many boats before. There were pretty boats and ugly boats, big curved boats that floated elegantly and small sharp boats that cut through the water like knives, boats whose beautiful sails shimmered in all the colors of the gemforest and boats that billowed dirty clouds of stinging smoke into the air. The hulls of some boats were lined with big black guns, and others had their hulls covered by sheets of some orange metal near the waterline. Some were sailing out to the sea, others, like the one she was on, were sailing towards the city looming near the horizon.
Sarita grasped the sealed letter tighter to her chest. She began rehearsing what boss-man Turner had told her to do when she arrived in Aggaya. First to the port authorities. Boss-man Turner had told her there would be a line forming, so she should just follow the others. Sarita knew a few phrases in merchant-tongue, the boss-man and others had taught her, so she was feeling confident in her ability to communicate with the locals. The port authorities should give her some paper which boss-man had told her was very important and that she must not lose it. Secondly, she would look for a man or a woman in a pretty coat who would be carrying a rifle, a sword, and wearing a big hat and show them the sealed letter. The coat-rifle-hat person should then direct her to boss-man Turner’s workers in the city, and they would take care of the rest. Thirdly, she would go find someone who sold nuts and take the rest of the day easy.
The third step wasn’t exactly a part of boss-man Turner’s orders, but Sarita was determined to fulfill that step too. Sarita felt pleased with the plan. She took in a deep breath and tried her best to ignore the stinging stench of smoke.
The sun was beginning to set, and Sarita hoped she would be done with her task before dark.
...
...
The stench of the smoke was ten times worse at the port. There was a need for a thorough grooming after this lest she smell like smoke for the rest of her life, Sarita thought, and tightened her grip on the sealed letter. She was standing in a line, and thanks to her quick feet and small frame, she had managed to slip through the crowd and secure a place near the front. She was of the fastest runners among her fellow risuners working the shipyard, which was probably partially the reason why boss-man Turner had chosen her for this mission, she pondered, feeling slightly proud over her ability. Sarita was determined to make boss-man proud and earn a big bag of nuts as a bonus for completing her task.
“Next!”
The person in front of her stepped aside and walked through the gates. In turn, Sarita stepped forward to stand in front of a very tired looking man with white-grey hair and a short groomed beard of the same color. The man was wearing a very pretty colorful coat and on his back was strapped a rifle. The man was sitting behind a desk on which a tall and elaborate hat was neatly sitting next to a stack of papers. The tired man looked Sarita in the eye for few seconds, and then looked down on his stack of papers. Without his tired expression changing a bit, the man ordered her:
“State your name and business.”
“Sarita and uh…” It was as if suddenly every word and phrase she had learnt in the merchant-tongue had disappeared from her mind. A slight panic set in as Sarita scrambled to find the correct words.
“Ah.. Eehhh.. “
The tired man looked up from his stack of papers. He expectantly raised an eyebrow at her. Sarita tried to come up with alternate ways to communicate what she wanted to say.
“Big task, Uh.. Important! Yes! Bring message to boss-man.” Sarita raised the sealed letter to her eye level and pointed at the butterfly-and-nettles coat of arms on it. As the tired man leaned forward to see the heraldry better, Sarita continued:
“Very fast. Uh… BOATS! Yes! Important!”
The man’s tired expression changed into that of utter puzzlement. He extended his hand to grab the corner of the letter.
“No! Important!” Sarita pressed the letter against her chest and shook her head. Boss-man Turner had told her to not give the letter to anyone who wasn’t part of the Edelweiss company. The tired man pulled back his hand but left it in the air half extended towards her in hesitation.
“Oh. Alright, don’t worry, I won’t take your letter; I just want to look at it.”, The tired man spoke slowly. His voice was steady and clear, which made understanding him a lot easier for Sarita. Hesitantly Sarita lifted the sealed letter to her eye level again. She grasped it tightly in case the man tried to grab the letter again. The tired man leaned forward over the desk, trying to read what was written on the cover of the letter. He kept his hands on the desk where Sarita could see them at all times. The tired man wore a silver ring in one of his fingers.
Sarita’s mind was racing to find other ways to communicate with the man. She had to succeed in her mission, not only was it important for boss-man Turner, but it was also important for her homeland! No way could she allow herself to be stopped at the port!
Then it dawned on her! Even if she couldn’t remember all the phrases, she sure did remember the most important words. She was in the land of the merchants, and here the most important word was…
“MONEY! BIG MONEY! LOADS OF MONEY!”, She excitedly yelled to the tired man, who did not acknowledge her beyond a short “Uh-huh.” After mumbling something to himself for a few seconds, the tired man sat back on his chair. Sarita pressed the letter back to her chest. She hoped she had convinced the man to let her into the city.
“Oi Larkin. Get over here!”, The tired man shouted to a young man who wore a similar coat, although a little bit less decorated. The young man, whose name was Larkin, Sarita realized, was wearing the same tall elaborate hat on his head that sat on the tired man’s desk, and he too had a rifle strapped to his back. Larkin and the tired man were both coat-rifle-hat people!
Sarita listened to the tired man say something to the younger man in merchant-tongue. They talked very fast so she could only make out some snippets.
“… Squirrelgirl … show… way … business … Edelweiss … “
“Yes yes! Edelweiss! I bring message to boss-man Edelweiss!”, Sarita yelled excitedly. She felt like the coat-rifle-hat men had finally started to understand her. The tired man turned to face her again.
“Alright, Sarita. I want you to follow Larkin here. He will show you to the road leading to Edelweiss estate. Understand?”, the tired man spoke slowly. Sarita nodded excitedly to signal her understanding.
“Good. Good…”, The tired man continued, his expression hinting at a feeling of satisfaction. He took a pen and wrote something on one of the papers on his desk, and then hit the paper with a stamp. The tired man examined the paper, folded it into two, and handed it to Sarita. “Visitor identification papers. Don’t lose them or you’ll create a ton of paperwork for one of our boys. Welcome to the Serene Republic, Sarita.”, The tired man said to her. He gave her a short friendly smile and gestured her to follow Larkin, who was already waiting for her at the gates.
“Next!”
...
...
The roasted chestnuts were delicious. So delicious Sarita could not help but smile as she ate another one. She did not know whether it was because of her hunger induced by the long travel or if the local farmers used some secret nutrient for their trees, and she did not really care either. All that mattered was that she had an empty stomach and a paper bag full of tasty nuts that were about to fill the former. She grabbed another and popped it into her mouth.
She was sitting on a rock next to a dirt road. Even though the sky was getting overcast, the rock was still warm from the sun’s caress. The rock’s warmth was spreading into her legs and butt. Here far away from the city the stench of the smoke was less offensive, in fact, whether it was because of her getting used to it or the smell of nature overpowering the smoke, she could not detect the bitter sting at all anymore.
She took another nut and ate it.
The sun had sunken below the horizon some time ago, but it’s warm yet ever weakening light still gleamed in the twilight sky. On the opposing side of the sky Sarita could already see some stars coming into view as the dark blue wave of night crept towards the sun. Some insects unknown to her were starting their nightly concert of chirping.
She put her hand into the paper bag and grabbed a big chestnut. Her fingers were stained in oil and whatever spices the vendor had roasted the nuts in. She’d lick them clean after she had finished the bag.
The coat-rifle-hat man Larkin has instructed her to follow the dirt road until she arrived at a mansion. That mansion would be where she was supposed to deliver her message, Larkin had said. Sarita was certain that boss-man Turner had told her that the place where she was supposed to deliver the message was in the city but eh, maybe boss-man Turner had remembered wrong. Coat-rifle-hat man Larkin had seemed very dependable to her, possibly because of his very pretty coat. She knew that it certainly was not the hat.
Larkin had not had a silver ring, Sarita had checked.
But mission came first. The boats were needed as soon as possible. The nut bag had become alarmingly light, and to her dismay there were only a few small nuts left.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire; A drop of water splashed on her thigh. Then another fell into her nut bag, and soon a third and fourth on the rock she was sitting on. Soon the four turned to eight, and the eight to sixteen, and so on.
“Oh nuts. “, Sarita cursed as she quickly tried to lick her fingers clean. Soon she realized she had no time for that as the raindrops were threatening the integrity of the sealed letter which she had carelessly placed beside her on the warm rock. Thinking quickly she wiped her fingers into the paper the tired man had given her, and then grabbed the sealed letter. She considered hiding the letter under her clothes, but then realized how fast they would get soaking wet, and how quickly the wetness would spread into the sealed letter. Seeing no other option, Sarita grabbed her tail and held it against her chest, with the sealed letter hidden under it. She hoped her fluffy fur would protect the sealed letter from most of the raindrops.
But now she had another problem: With one of her hands holding the sealed letter and the other holding her tail, she could no longer pick up either the bag of nuts or the tired man’s paper. Again having to do a quick decision, Sarita crouched and picked up the tired man’s paper with her mouth. The bitter taste of ink bled into her mouth. The bag of nuts had to be left behind, there was no other option. The occasional drops quickly grew into a torrential rain. Her ears and hair were already soaking wet.
She began running towards the direction where the mansion was supposed to be in, cursing her bad fortune into the bitter tasting wet paper clenched between her teeth. She wished from the bottom of her heart the mansion was close.
...
...
BANG
BANG
BANG
Just what sort of person would be coming in to visit at this hour in this sort of weather?, Aletha wondered. She had just been finishing up today’s work, cleaning the stairway up to the second level when she had heard the frantic banging at the front door. A part of her worried: Maybe there had been an accident at the road, or some poor farm boy had been robbed on his way to the city. Her mind raced to find possible motives of the visitor.
Aletha hoped the commotion had not awakened the young mistress. She needed to rest after the recent events.
She hurried down the stairs into the entrance hall. Some of the bodyguards were already there, rifles ready pointing at the door. The banging continued. Aletha could barely hear the voice of someone screaming between the banging. She rushed to the door trying her best to appear calm and collected. It was important for the housekeeper to remain elegant in her appearance even in a surprising situation such as tonight.
“Aletha, what is all this?”, she heard the voice of the young mistress behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and let out a barely audible sigh of disappointment. The frantic banging and yelling continued.
Aletha turned around to face the young mistress, who was standing at the top of the flight of stairs in her white nightgown, jade green hair messy and face locked into a stern expression. Behind her stood two more of her bodyguards, one with a rifle ready in hand, and the other carrying a lantern.
“Lady Edelweiss, it appears someone is at the door!”, Aletha tried to come up with something clever and apologetic to say, but her tired mind could not come up with anything.
“Yes Aletha, I can hear that.”, the young mistress said in annoyed tone. “Open the doors.”
The bodyguard carrying the rifle took two steps forward and without saying a word knelt in front of the young mistress, hiding most of her small frame behind his. He too aimed his weapon at the door. Aletha bowed at the young mistress, and briskly walked to the doors. With some help from one of the bodyguards, she pulled open the doors.
“Oh dear.”
In front of her stood the most miserable squirrelgirl she had ever seen. The poor thing was soaking wet from head to toe, the rainwater had turned her thin clothes translucent against her skin. The squirrelgirl was clenching a wet piece of paper between her teeth, the ink from which stained the corners of her mouth, her chin, and her chest. Her face was covered in wetness, and Aletha could not tell which part of it was rainwater and which were tears, but she knew both liquids were present. Her forehead was bruised and bloody. She was tightly grasping what must have once been a beautiful fluffy tail to her chest, and below the tail Aletha could see a wet piece of paper bearing the Edelweiss coat of arms. Between sobs the poor girl spoke in barely comprehensible Kat Nol:
“Impootant lettel. Bling to bosh-man.”
TRADE DEAL UPDATE AND NOTES
Edelweiss Co. will build ships for /risu/'s next voyage! All four shipyards of the Edelweiss Co. back in the Serene Republic are entering full production!
After being let in, Sarita received new clothes and many cups of warm and slept through the night in a comfortable bed.