Call of Ring(Compleled)

10 Out and About

         It was a bright sunny morning as Blake emerged from the front of the house and into the street. It was time to follow the advice of Gaius and Dorkus. Time to explore, but first he would eat. Blake made his way to the market, suspecting that he could observe well, and also find something to eat. The smell of the early morning market made him find his way quickly. He turned one last street corner, and there it was. The same market he had been hauled through on a stretcher by those trickster dwarfs.

         “I need to ask Gaius and Dorkus their perspective on the dwarfs,” he thought.

         He archived this thought willing himself to remember it for later.

         One of the first stalls had a large cauldron containing what appeared to be hot oil. It was sitting over a fire of coal. Beside the pot was a stack of thin pieces of dough, layered on top of one another. He must have been staring a little too long because his thoughts were interrupted by a pleasant but direct voice.

         “Can I prepare a fritter for you, sir?”

         Startled, Blake looked up to see a middle-aged woman with red hair. She was dressed in a white gown and barefoot. Freckles covered her face, but not enough to conceal an endearing smile. Her hazel green eyes awaited Blake’s response.

         “Yes, please,” he said without asking what these fritters were made of or how they tasted. It would have been a silly question after all. One that could confirm he was a stranger to their world.

         “It will only be a moment sir,” she replied.

         Snatching a piece of dough triangular in shape, she carefully placed it in the hot oil. The oil spattered, voicing its gratitude for this latest offering. Within a minute, just as promised, the dough grew to a large imperfectly oval-shaped pastry with a brown toasted hue. As if she had done this a thousand times already that day, she lifted the finished fritter out of the hot oil with a stick fashioned into a large serving fork. She then handed him the fritter on a large leaf and asked a question.

         “A coin please sir?”

         He handed her one of his two coins, uncertain of their value. She did not provide a change of any sort, so he simply thanked her and moved on.

         Blake decided to walk the length of a few booths before sampling the fritter. He was hoping it might cool down a bit in the interim. The variety of this market reflected the world upon which he had descended. He remembered the words he had been told just an hour prior. “There are two other Kingdoms, and they are often at war with each other.” He wondered what the other Kingdoms looked like, and how they might differ from this one.

“What did their markets look like?” he asked himself.

         The next booth contained fruit for sale. Apples, clementines, pears, bananas, and then two fruits he did not recognize. Little red beans and small ball sized yellow fruit. He was curious but again decided not to ask for fear of revealing his foreign identity. The next booth had vegetables and potatoes for sale. He recognized most of what he saw, except for one strange root that differed from a typical potato.

         Blake bit into the fritter as he walked. The fried dough was sweet and crunchy. Inside there was a surprise. It was melted cheese of some sort. Not a strong flavor, but one that complimented well the fried dough exterior. He was surprised at the size of it, and how it quickly removed any memory of hunger.

         Blake continued walking through the market until he came to a booth that sold trinkets of all sorts. This booth made him stop, unlike the others he had passed since buying the fritter. Eclectic candleholders were on display. Paintings of various intrigue. Dishes of different types of pottery and varied colors. Mini sculptures that were carved out of what appeared to be a soap-like product; most of them were human nudes. There was jewelry too, appearing simple and inexpensive.

         And then he saw it, the ring from the book. Could it really be the same one? Blake began to reach for the ring but was interrupted by the male vendor.

         “Please ask before touching!”

         The vendor was a formidable size. He was tall with a big gut that protruded visibly shaping his brown gown into a round form. He had a large mustache that at first glance looked unkempt, but upon closer examination was a work of art that only a man like him could grow. He had short frisky hair, with a big bald spot on top. His eyes were dark brown.  

         “I’m terribly sorry sir. Could I please see this ring?” Blake replied apologetically while pointing out the particular piece he was looking at.

         “No problem at all sir. Here it is.”

         As he felt the unique contours of the ring in his fingers, Blake suddenly sensed that he was not alone with this vendor. Someone was watching him. Blake turned quickly to confirm his suspicion and saw a man studying him carefully. The man was either interested in Blake or the ring, or even both. Given his previous experience from the day before, Blake decided he had to quickly determine if he was friend or foe.

         Seeing Blake turn around, the stranger introduced himself.

         “I am Apollos. What is your name?”

         “My name is Blake.”

         “Ahh. I suspect you are the one from the street fight yesterday. I gather that you are also the one who was carried into our city by stretcher just a few days ago by Aesar and his dwarfs.”

         “Yes, that is me. Do we have a problem?”

         “Not at all. But allow me to give you this once piece of advice: Do buy that ring.”

         Somewhat confused by this exchange of words, Blake stared down at the ring again, and when he looked up, Apollos was nowhere to be seen.

         Blake tried to recall in his mind what Apollos had looked like. The conversation was but a brief exchange of words. They had been together only a minute, but he must have been observing Blake for quite some time undetected until the moment when he turned to see him. Apollos was shorter than Blake. He was definitely a few years past middle age, but not too old to be useful. His face showed signs of aging, but held the markers of wisdom, not worry. His eyes… yes, they were blue. His hair was white, straight and long, past his shoulders. No balding was visible, but he also had a great long white beard that matched the color of his hair perfectly.

“Will I ever see him again?” Blake wondered. At least now he had a description seared into his memory. And he knew his name. Apollos.  

         The vendor must have overheard the previous conversation because he promptly said to Blake.

         “That will be one coin please.”

         “How could a fritter and a ring of great renown both be worth one coin each? Certainly, one was more valuable than the other.”

More thoughts like this crossed Blake’s mind, but he decided he would have time to muse later. He might even be able to ask more questions of Gaius and Dorkus.

         As he walked away, he slipped the ring onto the thumb of his left hand. Blake found it ironic that he had been given only two coins. He was told to explore and buy something to eat. With one coin, he fed his stomach, and with the other the satisfied the curiosity of his mind. But if the ring had cost more, he would have had no recourse with which to purchase what he thought to be an item that contained the secret power to this world and worlds beyond.

         Blake wondered if she should return to the home of Dorkus and Gaius.

“Will I be able to my questions, or is it time for solitude in the cave of books? Maybe both can be accomplished.”

Blake decided to walk back through the length of the market. Toward the red-headed fritter lady, but this time he was no longer hungry. He smiled at the lady whose name he did not know as he passed. She smiled back. But just before he officially exited the market, another lady came running into the market screaming hysterically.

         “Our children! HELP! Beasts have emerged from the woods, and they are chasing our children in the fields. I fear some of our children have already perished.”