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Karp entered the general store through the side entrance in the alley next to the Traitor's Tavern Inn. Customers almost always mulled around inside since no other store outside of the Crossroads or major provincial capital sold non-leather clothing. Common knowledge stated that twenty years ago, Korg the Whitecoat invented a way of creating cloth in the Shift World. Since then, clothing had become a sign of wealth for the peasant class. Cloth was too fragile for everyday use but fashionable to wear during festivals and holidays, so most people needed to buy at least one set.
Based on Karp's description, Korg and Slart guessed that Karp's storehouse sat in the southern part of the Arid Desert. The Whitecoat claimed to be established in the Lush Forest. Because monster-infested ruins sullied the destitute plane known as the Shift World, training between master and protégé was so implausible that The Whitecoat could probably never teach Karp how to make cloth. The Shift World's Crossroads teemed with monsters. Fighting through crowds of angry monsters made passing between the regions incredibly dangerous. Even if Karp fought every beast in the Crossroads and bloodied herself on the way to find Korg, time made a master and protégé meeting impossible.
Karp and Korg existed in the same point of time in Karp's world, but there was no way to know how much time separated the two in the Shift World. Cultures and civilizations disappeared in the long-forgotten past, and therefore no one tracked the year. If Karp fought through the Crossroads and waited in the ruins south of the Iron Gate, Korg may appear ten years later. If Korg arrived first, he might have to wait ten years for Karp to show. Shifters often trained indirectly by explaining the nature and limits of their powers and describing the feelings of using powers. So, one day The Whitecoat might be able to confide his secrets to his protégé, but there was no guarantee she would ever be able to make cloth based on the information alone.
Three years of training and collecting goods to trade had given Karp valuable experience, but to continue her progress, she needed better equipment. Therefore, to upgrade her dagger, Karp had brokered a deal with Slart, the general store manager. Now, Karp walked up to the counter and addressed Slart.
˝is it here yet?”
˝Ummm, yeah, it's uh in the back.”
Slart ended every sentence with a rising intonation. People who didn't know her well tended to think she was unsure of herself or easily confused. Slart and Karp had become close friends in the three years since Slart saved her life, so Karp knew better. Slart might sound unsure or even a little ditsy, but internally she exhumed confidence and intelligence. Karp liked Slart's carefree attitude and appearance because talking to her felt relaxing, almost like the danger of the Shift World was some distant person's fear and no threat to her. Despite feeling a kindred spirit in Slart, she and Karp had lived very differently.
Compared to Karp's journey, Slart had lived a mundane life. She had lived in the Village of the Traitor's Tavern her entire life and worked at the general store for as long as she could remember. The death of Slart's parents cast a shadowe on Slart because they had died during her teens, and even as she grew into her thirties, she still wouldn't discuss what had happened. Instead, she buried herself into her work and now ran the store as a general manager.
Slart placed a little rectangular box on the counter, opened the top, and spun the opening. Karp greedily eyed the water steel dagger. A light metallic blue blade shone with a gleam when held at just the right angle. The dagger handle's glossy, vibrant blue contrasted with the dagger's blade. Enamel created the handle's ornate look, but the uncoated edge was the natural color of water steel. The color of enamel created an armor's distinctive look and not the steel itself. By law, blue enamel only coated water steel, and black only coated demon steel, and only one color coating matched the corresponding type of steel. Sometimes, counterfeiters created armor out of a weak but common metal, such as iron or regular steel, and coated it in the enamel of a stronger, more expensive metal. Veteran tradesmen like Slart could recognize counterfeits, but many lords only learned after their armor was pierced.
˝how is nort?”
Slart had a history of taking in damaged people. Eight years ago, before saving Karp, Slart had found a starving, crying child wearing his father's armor and wandering the road alone. Slart took him in, but his parents never came looking. The upset Nort didn't speak for almost six months. Slart had struggled to raise the problematic child like her own son ever since.
˝Well, uh, you know, he's as spacey as ever. Just daydreams about being a shifter and uh, well, if he doesn't shift soon, he's probably not one. It'll break his little heart!”
˝the whitecoat still training him?”
˝Uh, yeah, it's not helping, though. It'll just hurt him more.”
˝he with him now?”
˝Nope, just cleaning the shelves in the vault.”
Slart pointed to the stone door at the end of the counter. The vault in the general store was the village's only room made entirely of stone. Originally the room was a secure storehouse in the old lord's stronghold. Korg the Whitecoat had built the whole store around the stone shed to safeguard valuables.
Karp stepped back from the counter and shifted to her storehouse in the Arid Desert. She turned to face the largest cabinet, which housed her accumulated wealth. She recoiled at a shadow moving in her peripheral vision. An unknown man brought his arms down as if he were just reaching toward the top of the cabinet. His noticeably too-small pants and top momentarily distracted Karp. He must have sensed her presence, though, and stepped back and faced her.
˝Have you seen my book?”
Karp shifted back to the store empty-handed, and Slart gave her a strange look.
˝i'll get it tomorrow.”
Karp didn't wait for a reply, but just turned around and left.
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