The Mimic Becomes a Merchant King

Two days had passed since the group met with Pearl, and they were apparently within walking distance of Gilly Froth's estate. With the moons hanging in the air, framed by a series of parting clouds, Essine prepared a freshly cooked moussaka for the group.

Coin's mouth watered as a bowl was offered to him, the top saucy layer having been cooked to a crispy golden hue. The scent of cooked ground beef filled his nose, and he proceeded to scoop a spoonful up to inspect the dripping contents.

Elijah took his own bowl, nodding graciously to essine. "Fine work, lass. Glad we got some more ingredients to work with." He idly stirred at his bowl. "But... I am curious. Where did you learn to make a recipe like this?"

Essine paused as she handed Pearl a bowl, her tail flicking lazily from side to side. "This one and her family lived near a roadside inn for several years. The owner was... kind to koboldkin. Taught this one several recipes."

"Ahh. Well now," Elijah downed a spoonful, and happily exhaled a coil of steam from his wrinkled lips. "Must have been a damn fine roadside inn." He looked to Coin at his side, who was wolfing his down without barely stopping to breathe between mouthfuls. "Oh for- have some manners lad!"

"Mhnnhrs?" Coin asked, his cheeks stuffed with meat and eggplant.

"Good grief. How can you eat that much in one go?"

At least Coin had the common sense and restraint to not eat the entire bowl in one go. But Essine, watching him enjoy her cooking, smiled faintly.

Pearl inspected her bowl, sniffing the contents a few times. She had enjoyed Essine's cooking only the night before, but was still hesitant when it came to food prepared by a kobold. "It... does smell rather nice," she admitted, eventually, as if discussing some deeply embarrassing personal secret.

"This one has thoroughly practiced cooking," Essine said, giving the bard a pointed look.

"Well... I suppose even kobolds need hobbies." She ate slowly, at first, but with each bite she seemed to grow more and more invested in their meal.

By the time Elijah was halfway finished, he looked up to their newest member. "Say, Pearl, how about a bit of a song? Some entertainment before bed."

Pearl's mood quickly brightened. And so, setting her half finished moussaka aside, Pearl lifted her lute to her hands and took a few practice strums on the strings. She tuned it, hummed and muttered to herself, and then set about singing in time with her slow, measured strumming.

"The clouds were black and thick that night. Around a crackling flame, the brigands laughed and schemed. And this humble bard was shackled and chained, shoved out of their sight. But lo, the clouds parted to reveal the Goddess' radiant moon, and I beheld a figure I never could have dreamed..."

Come the morning, the group broke up their camp and made their way further up the road. It was a radiant morning, the grass glittering with a layer of damp dew. Birds twittered and fluttered about, breezing over the group in flocks.

A black wren arced around the group and perched itself atop the branch of a nearby tree.

Reaching the crest of a hill, Gilly Froth's estate finally and fully came into view. A side road branched off toward the manor, which was bordered by a four meter high red brick wall, which was rendered even taller by the row of black iron spikes protruding from the top.

The house itself, also constructed from red bricks, was slightly smaller than Lady Greatglow's urban home. But it did have the benefit of having a larger garden, populated by a veritable zoo of topiary animals.

Two guards, adorned in sturdy armour, stood to attention at the outer gate. Both of them were purple-skinned elves, which was intriguing to Coin. It seemed Vez wasn't just a strange anomaly.

They chatted briefly with Elijah, checked their cargo, and then let the group through. As Dancer scuttled up the gravel-strewn path, Coin turned to his mentor. "I've never seen elves like those before," he lied.

"Hm? Dark elves? I suppose they're a bit of a rarity in these parts. Back in the day you'd only ever really see them in large numbers in Eldergard, or the other eastern kingdoms. But, in the past few years, they've been slowly migrating to Arcadia."

Elves alone were a rarity for Coin, having only seen a modest number of them in Sentinel and Wheat Valley. "Are there other kinds of elves?"

"Oh, none that I'm aware of," Elijah replied.

Pearl chortled, a twinkle of mirth in her eye. "Oh, my good man, clearly you lack much whimsy in your life. There are more than two kinds of elf in the world. You've never heard tales of the sky elves, the sea elves, and lunar elves."

"Lunar... elves?" Essine asked. The blunt look on her face spoke volumes.

"Why, the elves who hailed from the moon of course. Indeed, the old songs and tales say that all elves were born from the moon, while humans were born from the soil of this land."

Coin, who know nothing about history, decided that this was complete nonsense.

"Oh please," Elijah replied. "What next? You going to tell me the one about the gnomes who dwell underground? Or the non-existent lands beyond the western sea?"

Pearl tutted, elegantly flicking her dark hair back. "No whimsy," she repeated.

"Well... there's bound to be a lot of strange things in the world," Coin admitted. "Guess the only way to know for sure is if you travelled to every country, and saw everything with your own two eyes."

"Believe me, there are some things you know to be bollocks even if you never looked into them with your own two eyes," Elijah said. "If I told you I was attacked a twenty meter long serpent made entirely of fried chicken, would you think I was being truthful?"

The mental image of something so delicious earned a pleased sigh from the mimic. "I'd hope something like that is real."

"Because you have an imagination, my sweet," Pearl replied. "The world is vaster and wilder than any of us dare dream. The old stories weren't just imagined by storymen."

"I'm quite certain they were," Elijah bluntly replied.

Before the argument could progress any further, a man came bustling from the front door of the manor adorned in a silky red robe. The sight of him made Coin briefly recoil in his seat. The man's face was so angular and ratlike that Coin nearly mistook him for some kind of shaved kobold.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Coin murmured.

"Apparently," Elijah replied. "Nobody ever said aristocrats were attractive by default. And more than a few of them come from family trees that could pass for a family wreath."

"That one has a poor smell," Essine grumbled, sinking deeper into the wagon.

Pearl stirred in her seat, a grin breaking out across her face. "Wait a minute, is that..." she let out a shrill gasp. "Gilly!" She spurred her steed ahead of the group, and her approach earned a grin from the rat-faced man.

"Pearly!" he cried, his voice high-pitched and silky.

Elijah tugged Dancer to a halt just as Pearl dismounted and embraced the stooping, wrinkled man. "Good grief!" the girl exclaimed, glancing back at her companions. "You didn't tell me Gilly was your client."

Coin shrugged. "You never asked. And anyway, you didn't recognise that we were heading to the house of your friend?"

"Oh, she's never been to my home. But we met when she was providing musical entertainment at the wedding of Lady Garlant and Lord Fleischer. I gave her the sheet music for 'Prince Oren has a Rotten Cock.' T'was a huge hit on the dance floor."

"The title is admittedly a bit of a mouthful, unlike the late prince's alleged genitalia, but it really is a catchy song."

"Aladar Burly really was an amazing songwriter." Gilly sighed and shook his head. "Damn shame Prince Oren had him torn apart by a pack of rabid dogs."

Silence lingered in the area for several moments. "We... uh... brought your paintings," Coin eventually said.

"Hm?" Gilly stood to attention. "Ah, of course, my thanks," he said, shuffling his way around to the rear of the wagon. "I suppose I should fetch some of my lads to help hoist the bo-"

Coin moved into the back of the wagon, pushing the tarp aside, and hoisted the crate with ease. Essine shuffled aside, watching him with widened eyes. The mimic set the crate down and set aside, while the older man hummed and stroked his chin.

"The er... kobold didn't touch them, did she?"

Coin narrowed his eyes at the old man. "No, she didn't." But he'd put his hands on Gilly if he didn't choose his words carefully.

"Jolly good, jolly good," the old man said, nodding. "I suppose I owe you lot some payment for a successful delivery." He snapped his fingers, drawing over a guard who carefully pried the lid open with an iron bar. "I was, admittedly, hoping to stiff you on that bill. But I suppose I can't do that with Pearly present."

"Points for honesty," Elijah muttered.

One by one the paintings were examined, and Coin had never seen so many naked women in one spot before. And, occasionally, naked men. But they were all posed in sensible ways, and regularly flanked by winged cherubs, so they crossed into the threshold of being high art.

"Yes, the full set is here. Wonderful. Morise, fetch them the full sum," Gilly said. He snapped his fingers again, heralding another guard who approached with a sack of clinking coins.

Elijah took the bag and counted each one in turn. "Now this is a generous tip," he admitted with a chuckle. "Essine," he said, handing the bag to the kobold. "You can make a note of this in the ledger, yes?"

She bowed and nodded. "Of course." She scurried back to the rear of the wagon.

"My... trusting a kobold with your money," Gilly muttered.

Coin grinned, flashing his teeth and highlighting the sharpness of his incisors. And while he was smiling, his eyes radiated nothing but crushing malice. "That's not a problem, is it?" he asked in a low voice.

Gilly Froth paid, a nervous smile breaking out across his face. And in the back of his mind, some animal part of his brain was filled with ancestral memories of a treasure chest suddenly lurching to life with rows and rows of teeth embedded in the lid, and he hadn't the foggiest idea why.

"Aha, no no, not at all!" he replied, a bead of sweat rolling down his wrinkled brow. "Fine work lads, very fine work. Good to know there are still people who can be relied on for deliveries."