It had been years now, and still he had found nothing. Granted he couldn't very well hunt full time, he needed to work occasionally. Survival often took money in this outsider's country.
"Too too good Chinese bowls!" a female voice was calling out from one of the booths.
It was a familiar booth that quickly drew Mousse's eyes, but the sight he saw immediately disabused him of his hopes. Though, granted he could make out little detail even through his glasses.
"Buddha statue of Hindi sculptors!" the woman added.
She was surrounded by a vareity of goods from all over Asia and a few European items as well. Bolts of cloth, hand carved statues, delicate vases and bowls along with other, more practical items. She had an assortment such as belonged to those merchants that didn't specialize in any one item so much as they bought and sold whatever could earn them a profit. And tended to advertise whatever might make them the most. The Japanese wares this woman was offering, for example, were stored toward the back to make room for those more exotic selections.
The woman herself was dressed in a high-quality and durable woman's robe suitable for frequent travel, such as was common among merchant caravans in China. Her hair was pulled tight to her head and mostly hidden under a modest and practical merchant's hat. What little could be seen of the hair appeared a midnight dark such as was common outside the Bayankala region. As for her eyes, they were hidden behind a pair of spectacles filled with darkened glass, one of those European designs.
She was speaking a pigdin version of Japanese, but, Mousse noted a strain of irritation in the tone of voice that most people with better vision would have missed. And sometimes her fluency slipped to a higher level. And, when a costumer approached to start bargaining, the pigdin fluidly gave way to a fully competent speaker of Japanese.
It was possible that Shampoo had improved her ability with the language in all that time, but for her to become a merchant. It was unthinkable. She would never content herself with such.
However, at this point it was pleasing to see a countrywoman that was not a whore or beggar. And, given the quality and upkeep of her clothes and personal items, it was apparent that she was successful enough that perhaps she'd be willing to hire him on for some work.
He approached her booth with that in mind.
"Ah, welcome customer, Aiyah!" she gasped and then switched to Chinese, the Amazon dialect surprisingly. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for work, good lady," Mousse said, impressed with the woman's fluency in his own language. This close, however, he was beginning to note some items of Joketsuzoku make.
"Work, that is all?" she asked.
"For a while," Mousse said. "I'm on a quest but these barbarian lands are ruled by these little pieces of metal."
"Ah, I see," the woman said, considering.
See other episodes by Thrythlind
(Posted Fri, 01 Aug 2003 08:49)
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