The macellum, or indoor marketplace, was unlike anything Cow Girl had imagined. Made of amber-colored stone, it was originally an open-air marketplace set up for nundinae, established in a garden to avoid the elements. Somewhere along the line, a roof had been added, and it came to be used for regular markets.
Guild Girl had brought them to one of the biggest markets in the capital. “This plaza was originally built to celebrate an ancient emperor’s victory in battle. Today, though, it’s better known for shopping.”
Cow Girl, who knew nothing about the capital as such, was less interested in Guild Girl’s explanations than in the astonishing sights around her. This market, the cradle of the Trade God, was directly beside the library, the bastion of the God of Knowledge. It showed what fine friends the deities were.
The arcade’s elaborate construction involved five levels, like a giant’s staircase. The roof of each level formed a sort of balcony on which great crowds of people congregated.
There were the smells of meat, fish, food of every kind. Some of the smells Cow Girl didn’t even recognize. The aromas pressed in upon them as surely as the crowds. It was a horde of people, people, people, people going everywhere!
People passed in front of her who came from she knew not where, members of she knew not which tribe. They carried purchases whose provenance she couldn’t hope to identify. It almost looked like the whole of the Four-Cornered World was crammed into that marketplace.
Feeling like all five of her senses were overwhelmed, Cow Girl began getting dizzy just being there. “This…,” she said, her voice trembling. “This whole huge building is all shops?!”
“Well, the fifth floor is an administrative office. But there are roughly forty shops on each floor, so that makes…” Guild Girl put one slim finger to her chin and did some quick mental math. “About a hundred and sixty shops altogether.”
“Oh my gosh…”
Oh my gosh, indeed. A hundred and sixty shops? All operating at once? Inside a single building? Cow Girl had never imagined a marketplace bigger than the open-air ones that periodically appeared in the towns and villages along the frontier.
“True, it’s a bit more expensive than the nundinae. But what are you going to do? Come on, let’s go!” Guild Girl said.
“Uh, su-sure!” replied Cow Girl, her heart pounding in her chest. She did her best to keep up with Guild Girl.
How expensive was expensive? Would her pocket change be enough? Could she afford anything? Should she even think about buying anything? Granted, she was too old now for a scolding from her uncle about blowing her money at a festival…
Cow Girl was very impressed by the way the woman in front of her proceeded with sure steps, as if this was all old hat to her. She wasn’t sure, though, if she should really be here, given that she was just passing through.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Guild Girl said, appearing to guess what was on Cow Girl’s mind. Her braids bounced as she turned. “You might be surprised how uninterested most people here are in anyone else around them.” Then she added, “Anyway, you’re just so cute.”
“I wish you wouldn’t tease me…” That was the best objection Cow Girl could muster, but as soon as she started looking around, she understood what Guild Girl had been talking about. “Y-yikes… A pair of sandals… Two gold pieces?!”
“Well, they are very good sandals. Hmm… They do say fashion starts from the feet.”
Cow Girl didn’t have a spare moment to glance at the bustling crowd all around her. She was too busy taking in the shops and their wares.
What’s that? And that? And what are they selling over there?
She bubbled with questions like an inquisitive child but forced them back down.
Because otherwise…
Otherwise, instead of being a woman who had come out for a fun time with her friend, she would be more like a kid tagging along with her big sister.
Finally, though, even Cow Girl with all her resolve couldn’t restrain an “oh, wow!” She stopped cold in front of a small open shop. Even though most of the locations in this marketplace were proper storefronts, this was a stand-alone, open-air establishment set up in front of a statue of the Trade God tucked between a couple of other stores.
A quick look around revealed that there were several other areas like this, with establishments of their own around them. It seemed that at the gods’ feet, one was allowed to set up shop.
On display here were fabrics and textiles more lovely than anything Cow Girl had ever seen. They shimmered and sparkled as if they were treasures in their own right. She couldn’t take her eyes off them. Moreover, the seller was a sweet young myrmidon of pure white. You didn’t have to be a rustic farm girl to be enchanted by this stall.
“Ah,” Guild Girl said, taking a look and pointing. “The wormfolk have come to offer their silk.”
“This is silk?!” Cow Girl exclaimed.
Silk: It was the first time she’d ever seen it. She’d had no idea it was such a fine, rich material. She felt her heart pound as she looked at it; the fabric sparkled like a sea of silver sand. She’d heard tell of noble girls wearing silk dresses or even silk underwear, but this…
It’s incredible.
She’d always believed silk only came from across the desert on the eastern edge of the world. Had the wormfolk maiden woven it herself?
“Will you…,” inquired a voice as delicate and sweet as a bell, “…be buying?” The wormfolk girl turned her big black eyes, lovely and beseeching, on Cow Girl.
How beautiful a dress of this material would be. Fit for a princess.
Cow Girl could almost see herself clothed in the silk—whereupon she waved away a passing thought that it didn’t look like her at all. It was so lovely. Such beautiful silk. She swallowed hard. Asking was free, right?
“H-how much is it…?”
“You tell me. Name a good price, and I will be happy to give it to you.”
“Umm…”
“Hee-hee! You see, the wormfolk view selling their silk as an offering to the Trade God,” said Guild Girl. Just the sort of help Cow Girl needed. Now she understood—not clearly, of course, but enough.
I didn’t know there were people like that in the world.
She took the silk gently in her hands. That was all.
“If I may say,” the wormfolk maiden began with a tip of her head, “you will be putting a price on my very life.”
“I guess I can’t buy this too cheaply, then!”
A price on her very life? This wasn’t just any minor purchase. Cow Girl didn’t even know the value of her own life.
When she informed the other woman of this with an ambiguous smile, the wormfolk maiden only said, “Is that so?” and nodded. She didn’t seem disappointed that no price had been named for this, her life. She only gazed at the passing crowd like a fisherman watching the surface of a river. Cow Girl thought of herself on the farm, watching the people going by on the street, waiting for her childhood friend to come home.
Much to her surprise, someone said, “If I might have a look, then.” An arm clothed in a fine black sleeve reached past her and picked up the fabric with a practiced motion. The arm belonged to a beautiful woman in masculine clothes, her eyelashes fluttering as she blinked. “What do you think? It would make a fine piece for your traveling outfit.”
“Hmm… Yes, it’s not bad. Especially since it was handmade by such an adorable young lady!”
The response came from another woman about a head taller than the first. Her ears, which stood straight up and down, flicked, and her eyes sparkled like lightning. She laughed. “How about it, girl? Sell me this cloth?”
“…At what price, may I ask?”
The centaur racer with eyes like lightning ignored the sigh from the female merchant beside her and answered: “One victory dedicated to you.”