Chapter 2:

On the continent there are two mountain ranges. The largest one belongs to the Trudo clan. The Trudo mountains curve around the southwestern part of the coast and stand as an imposing wall between the ocean and the rest of the continent. The tallest mountain in this range is actually a dormant volcano that has not whispered or stirred since ancient times and is often considered a sleeping giant. It is on this mountain that the Trudo have their temple built and where teachers and disciples of the Trudo clan live and train.

Not many people have ever encountered a member of the Trudo clan since they believe in isolating themselves as part of their cultivation. It is only during the most troubling of times that they’ll descend from their home and offer aid to a righteous cause.

The second mountain range is much more humble in size. It marks the border between the lush plains of the Song clan and the harsh deserts of the Aira clan. Many merchants travel through this mountain to deliver good and supplies to the Aira clan and so the village sat at the foot of the mountain, while small, is prosperous and offers a variety of services to all who pass through.

Sae walks into the village with purpose in his steps. The money he’d taken from the bandits had been a decent haul and luckily for Sae he requires little to sustain himself, his shadow servants even less. The most expensive purchase he’s made on his travels so far has been a change of clothes—a rough hewn tunic, trousers, and a pair of sturdy boots. His own robes had been weaved together from shadows and are hardly appropriate attire for the lightlands so he’d packed them away in a sack that he now carries on his back. To anyone passing by he looks as average as anybody else walking down the street in this village. If he wasn’t so deathly pale he could easily be mistaken for a farmer.

The first shop Sae enters is a post and stationary shop. From there he purchases a sheaf of blank papers and envelopes and a small calligraphy set to write with. He packs these things carefully in his sack before heading off. His next stop is a smithy where he goes about purchasing a bucket full of nails, a small hammer, and a hefty axe.

The black smith, who of course, has never seen Sae before is curious about the purchase and so asks, “Are you building something?”

Sae nods his head with a glance down at his wares which he easily hauls around despite his slim frame. “Aye, a temple.”

The smithy frowns and gives Sae a dubious look, “A temple? You mean a shrine, for the Song clan? But they already have one just a few days travel from here.”

“No, a temple for myself. On the mountain.” Sae explains. “If I remember the mountain is part of the Song territory, but they don’t monitor it or use it in any way. I’ll clear away the ghosts and monsters and build a temple there.”

At his words even the smith’s apprentice stops what he’s doing and stares in disbelief. Both the black smith and his apprentice stand there speechless until Sae starts setting out his silver coins for purchasing the materials.

When he leaves his initial plan is to go straight to the mountain and start surveying the land and deciding where his temple should be built, but as he leaves the smith’s shop his eyes catch sight of the wares from the silver shop next door. Most of it is fine and delicate jewelry, but there is also a selection of intricate combs and hair pieces. Sae’s attention catches on a hair pin specifically that has a design of the night sky. The moon, round and brilliant, sitting on a bed of clouds with little stars dangling under it. The ornament is attached to a hair pin, but Sae wonders if he could have it altered to be worn with a hair tie.

His fingers tap against the pouch holding his remaining coins, it has gotten much lighter after his visit to the smith’s. Spending it on something frivolous like a bit of hair jewelry would probably be unwise, but Sae’s mind is already wandering ahead to what the finished piece would look like dangling from the end of a braid. The silver would shine out especially bright against the glossy black hair…

The silver smith eyes Sae distrustfully as he makes his entrance. Sae leaves his bucket of nails and tools by the door as he enter the shop. “Excuse me sir,” Sae uses his most polite voice as he addresses the craftsman fully aware that his current attire makes him look like a country bumpkin. “I was wanting to inquire about one of the pieces you have on display. The pin with the moon and stars.”

The silver smith nods his head, “Yes, that piece makes a wonderful gift for women. It is highly admired.” The wise shopkeeper intentionally attempts to oversell the jewelry in the hopes of getting rid of Sae quickly, but Sae is not disheartened.

He nods his head and proposes his thoughts, “What I’m wanting to know is if it can be altered so that instead of being attached to the pin it has brackets on the back that one could string ribbon or cord through.”

The silver smith frowns and with a questioning look towards Sae goes to the window to remove the jewelry from the display. He comes back and lays it down on a black mat to inspect it better. As he turns it over in his hands and thumbs where the pin is soldered on he subtly nods his head. “I suppose such an alteration is possible, but it would cost extra.” He explains.

Sae grins, “How much then? For the pin as it is now and how much for the alteration?”

“For the pin as it is: twenty silver. For the alteration: another twenty silver.”

The silver smith’s words cause the grin on Sae’s lips to fall, “Ah, that much? I only have twenty and five.”

The shop manages to hide his disbelief that Sae even has that much coin on him. To not appear completely heartless he offers this instead, “If I’m removing the pin from this piece I suppose I could remove five silver from the price. That would bring the total to thirty and five silver.”

Sae rakes his fingers through his hair as he thinks on this price and how best he might be able to pay it. “I know!” He cries suddenly, “How about a trade in services?” His eyes sparkle as the idea comes to him. “I can bless some silver for you, you can work it into any manner of trinket you wish, but as it’ll be blessed silver it’ll be able to ward away evil spirits and protect from curses. Surely you’ll be able to sell such an item at a price higher than your normal wares? And a percent of the profits you make can go towards the alteration I wish to make on this piece.”

The shopkeeper’s generous expression slips to one a bit more stern. “And if this blessed silver is no more useful than regular silver, what then?”

“Then you’ll have jewelry that does no more or less than any of the other wares in this shop.” Sae points out. “But I truly can bless your silver and give it such effects like I described.” He leans in closer eager to hear the silver smith’s reply.