SHORT STORY

A FAIR TRADE
BY RAYLA HEIDE

A FAIR TRADE
BY RAYLA HEIDE
The market smelled of burning incense and rotting cabbage.

Ahri wrapped her cloak around her nine tails and fiddled with her twin sunstone
tokens to distract herself from the stench, rolling them between her fingers and
snapping them together. Each one had the shape of a blazing flame, but they were
carved in such a way that their sharper edges fit together, forming a perfectly
smooth orb. She had carried the golden stones since before she could remember,
though she had no knowledge of their origin.

Though Ahri was in a new environment, she was comforted by the latent magic buzzing
all around her. She passed a stand with dozens of woven baskets filled to the brim
with polished rocks, shells etched with legends from a seafaring tribe, gambling
dice carved from bones, and other curious items. Nothing matched the style of
Ahri�s sculpted tokens.

�Care for a gem to match the blue of the skies?� asked the gray-bearded merchant.
�For you, I�ll trade a cerulean bauble for the cost of a single cryraven feather,
or perhaps the seed of a jubji tree. I�m flexible.�

Ahri smiled at him, but shook her head and continued through the market, sunstones
in hand. She passed a stand covered in spiky orange vegetables, a child selling
fruit that shifted color with the weather, and at least three peddlers swinging
tins of incense, each of whom claimed to have discovered the deepest form of
meditation.

�Fortunes! Come get your fortunes told!� called a young woman with lavender eyes
and a soft jawline. �Find out who you�ll fall in love with, or how to avoid unlucky
situations with a pinch of burdock root. Or if you�d prefer your future left to the
gods, I�ll answer a question about your past. Though I do recommend finding out
whether or not you�re at risk for death by poisoning.�

A tall vastaya with feline ears was about to take a bite of a spiced pastry. He
froze and stared at the fortune teller in alarm.

�The answer is no, by the way. Yours for free,� she said, curtsying at him before
turning to Ahri. �Now, you look like you�ve had a dark and mysterious past. Or at
least some tales worth sharing. Any burning questions for me, lady?�

Beneath heavy layers of incense, Ahri paused at the scent of wet fur and spiced
leather lingering at the woman�s neck.

�Thank you, but no,� she replied. �I�m still looking around.�

�You won�t find any more Ymelo tokens in this market, I�m afraid,� the woman said,
nodding to Ahri�s sunstones. �Like the ones you have.�

The back of Ahri�s neck prickled and she drew closer to the woman. She would not
let her excitement get the better of her. �Do you recognize these? Where do they
come from?�

The woman eyed Ahri.

�I think they�re Ymelos, anyway,� she said. �Never seen a pair in person. He only
carved a small number in his time, and many of the sets were separated in the war.
Dead rare, those.�

Ahri leaned closer with each word.

�I�m Hirin, by the way,� the woman said.

�Do you know where I might find this craftsman?� Ahri asked.

Hirin laughed. �No idea. But if you come in I�ll tell you what I know.�

Ahri wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and eagerly followed the fortune teller
past her booth, and into a caravan decorated wall to wall with animal skins.

�Tea?� Hirin said. �I brewed it this morning.�

She poured two cups of liquid the color of plum wine, taking one for herself. The
tea tasted of bitter oak bark, masked by a cloying dollop of honey. Hirin held out
a hand for the stones but Ahri kept them close.

�I�m getting the sense that these are special to you,� she said with a wry smile.
�Don�t worry, I have no interest in peddling stolen sunstones. Bad for a girl�s
reputation.�

�Can you tell me where they come from?� asked Ahri, handing them over gingerly.

Hirin held them up to the light.

�These are beautiful,� she said. �I don�t know how they fit together so perfectly.
I�ve not seen the like.�

Ahri said nothing. She stood frozen with curiosity, and did not take her eyes off
the woman.

�Legend says the sculptor known as Ymelo collected fossilized lizard eggs from a
thousand thousand years ago that he carved into intricate shapes. These ancient
lizards lived long before the Ghetu Sea dried up to a desert, leaving only
petrified bones and dust.�

Hirin coughed, and Ahri detected a bitter note upon her breath, as if she had been
drinking vinegar.

�Ymelo stones are designed as small pieces that fit into a larger sculpture,� she
continued.

The woman dangled the golden pieces in front of Ahri�s face.

�Just as your past has left you with information to be desired, these stones may
have many more parts that, when combined, create another shape altogether. Who
knows what you�ll become when you track down your history. With the missing pieces,
you may learn more than you�d like.�

�Those are pretty words,� Ahri murmured, staring at the woman.

After a moment of silence, Hirin chuckled. �Some threads of truth, threads of my

own invention. A fortune teller�s weaving must be seamless.�
The woman retrieved a hunter�s knife from a cabinet.

�I weave in just enough of what you desire to make you