to Booruby. For now, we should tackle the smaller items. Let’s find the blacksmith and order the irons, pipes and the hardware for the gaffer’s bench. Then we’ll talk to a woodworker about building the bench and cracking-off box.” He glanced around the crowded market. “It might take us a while to find anyone.”
“We should hire a member of the Helper’s Guild,” I said. Seeing his confusion, I explained how Yelena had inadvertently started the guild by paying a young beggar boy to help her navigate the market. “He expanded on the idea. With his friends and family’s help, they were soon earning a living by providing services from haggling with vendors to carrying and delivering packages.”
“We don’t need to waste the money. With a little extra work, we can do it ourselves.”
“You risk being cheated or hiring an unskilled craftsman. The Helper’s Guild knows all the best merchants.”
“I’m sure they do. I wonder what percentage they get paid by the best merchants. Twenty percent of the amount of business they bring in?”
Ulrick’s cynicism surprised me. I never would have thought the guild would be dishonest. And why not? Just as there were deceitful merchants, there could be corrupt guild members. Zitora warned me to be careful and not get cheated.
“You’re too nice, Opal. One day, someone is going to take advantage of you. Best to let me handle all the negotiations with suppliers. Come on.”
He strode into the heart of the market, but I didn’t follow him. Letting Ulrick make the decisions and be responsible for the outcome was an easy way to dodge my responsibility. But Zitora assigned me with this task. If I could escape from a group of rogues, I could handle ordering equipment for a glass studio. I grew up in a glass factory. I knew every inch, every procedure and every tool. The same could be said of Ulrick. Atinge of doubt touched my mind. I suppressed it with sudden—foolish?—determination.
I hovered on the edge of the market, creasing my forehead with uncertainty. As expected, a young girl appeared by my side.
“Lovely Lady, can I help you?” she asked.
Fresh faced with hopeful kindness radiating from her brown eyes, it was hard to believe this ten-year-old member of the Helper’s Guild could be capable of deceiving me. But the possibility stained my thoughts.
“I want to hire Fisk,” I said.
She shook her head. “He is very busy. Clients hire him weeks in advance. I’ve been working here for years. I can get you the best prices. Fisk trained me himself.”
Her adult words contrasted with her youthful appearance. Keeping a smile from reaching my lips, I assured her that I wasn’t worried about her skills. In fact, it was hard for me not to hire her on the spot. I collected my resolve and pushed past my reluctance. “My friend, Liaison Yelena Zaltana, told me to hire him.”
“Lovely Yelena is your friend?” She peered at me with suspicion. “What is your name?”
When I told her, she instructed me to wait and disappeared into the crowd.
Shoppers ebbed and flowed. Ulrick returned, looking for me. A scowl etched on his face.
“Why didn’t you follow me?” he demanded.
My voice locked for an instant, and I wondered if his ire was from concern or annoyance. I reached for the list clutched in Ulrick’s fist. Tugging at the paper, I met his gaze. “You’re helping me with this project. I’m hiring a guild member. Wait.” I held up a hand. “You’re right to be cautious, so I’m insuring we get the best and most trusted member.”
Ulrick released the paper, but his scowl deepened. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
“The market is filled with people.”
“Doesn’t matter. In fact, it’s easier to disappear in a crowd.”
The girl returned with a young man.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Fisk said.
He had grown since I last saw him. An inch taller than me, his lean frame was all arms and legs. But intelligence and confidence radiated from his movements. Only fourteen years old, Fisk was the founder and leader of the Helper’s Guild.
“Thanks for coming,” I said. “I need your expertise.”
“One condition,” he said with a smile.
“Besides your payment?”
“Of course. That goes without saying.”
“What’s your condition?”
“That you deliver a message to Yelena for me.”
It seemed a simple request. One he could do on his own. “She’s on a mission.” I hedged.
“I know. But my message is too important to wait until she comes back from Moon lands. And you have the needed connections to get the information sent via those wonderful glass messengers of yours.”
Understanding dawned. “You know about them?”
“Of course.” He winked.
“I’ll try to send her a message.” Another thought occurred. “How did you know Yelena was going to the Moon Clan?”
A mischievous grin spread. “To quote my mother, ‘I see all, hear all and know all.’”
Ulrick huffed in disbelief. He crossed his arms, attempting to intimidate the youth. But Fisk had grown up on the streets. His neat appearance and fine quality tunic and pants gave him the look of a pampered teen, but the cold calculation in his eyes as he studied Ulrick revealed his hard childhood.
“Obviously, you’re new to the Keep,” Fisk said. He turned to me. “A glassmaker from Booruby. Can he make magic glass?”
“That’s none of your business,” Ulrick said.
“We don’t know yet,” I said.
Ulrick shot me a betrayed look.
“Then there’s hope he may be of use.” Fisk gestured to the young girl. She had stood beside him without uttering a word. “Jayella, help my client this afternoon. Madam Uriy wants to buy a pearl necklace for her granddaughter. Do not spend more than two golds. Anything above that price is robbery. Try to get one gold and ten silvers. That’s a fair price.”
She nodded and disappeared into the crowded market with a lithe grace.
“My best apprentice,” Fisk said. “She uses her sincerity and innocence to get her way when haggling for prices. In another five years, she’ll have merchants tripping over themselves to make her happy.” He seemed to relish the prospect.
“It’s deceitful,” Ulrick said. “Using a young girl to coerce the merchants. She should be in school.”
“She should,” Fisk agreed. “Of course, if she was in school, she would starve to death. Her parents abandoned her when she was four. No money
