The sun was falling low in the sky as Garinor paced the streets of Kallinoria, trying to find Erina’s. The directions he had been given were clear enough, but finding the place was still a challenge.
After a series of turns away from the more pristine areas of town, he finally came to a section that was more rundown. The people didn’t carry themselves with the same sense of self-importance, nor did they plow down anyone in their way. Each person on the street held a wary eye and kept to themselves.
A few vagabonds littered the road as well. Some sprawled on the stones, hands outstretched for donations. Others juggled rotting apples or tootled on flutes for attention. For Garinor, it felt like he had walked into a completely different region of the country.
Broken windows dotted the landscape now, as did boarded up doors. He felt more and more uncomfortable as he went, but he trusted the advice he had been given. Surely, the man had been trying to look out for him.
At last he saw what he was looking for: A drawing of a woman on her knees, staring up into the sky, her hands clasped together before her. Garinor couldn’t help feeling there was a sense of hope on the woman’s face, and it lifted his spirits as he approached the ramshackle place.
The door creaked open with his touch and Garinor walked inside, feeling timid. There wasn’t much to the place at first. The room looked like a lounge area with cushions thrown all over the floor. Four doorways led to other rooms, but all the portals were closed. He approached a bench at the opposite end of the room, thinking he might be greeted there if he waited a moment or two.
On the bench sat a small bell and a metal hammer. The bell was on an iron stand and hung steadily there. The hammer was fused to the bench by a short, heavy chain. No one was in the room and though he intended to wait, he decided the bell and hammer were there for a reason. Carefully, he struck the bell.
Moments later the door to his left opened and a gentle lady floated into the room. She was mildly heavyset and her face was very kind. Her eyes glowed with an inner light and Garinor couldn’t help thinking she would be a great mother to anyone.
“Good day to you, son,” she said with a musical lilt to her voice. “How may I help you?”
“Great lady,” he said, unable to call her anything else, “I’ve been on foot all day and I need a place to rest.”
She smiled sweetly. “Of course. Are you a paying customer or shall we barter?”
“I’m sorry, lady, but I don’t have any coin or anything to barter with. I—I don’t even know why I came.”
Her smile was warm and welcoming. “Everyone has something to barter, son. I can set you in the kitchens, for instance, and there you can clean the plates of the other guests. That would earn you a meal, certainly. You could turn down some beds, replace sheets, and that would earn you a place to sleep. Would that suit you?”
Garinor’s lips curled into a smile. It was the greatest thing he had heard all day. “That would be terrific.”
“Very well, then, you should come this way.” She led him through the door from which she had entered.
Inside, there was a handful of girls and boys, some older than others, with needles in hand, stitching up rips in tablecloths, sheets, pillows, and blankets. A large seat was empty with sewing implements nearby, and Garinor realized she had been working too when he had rung the bell. The others in the room lifted their heads and either smiled or waved as they entered.
Erina guided Garinor through to the next room where an enormous vat of steaming water stood. A fire burned underneath the oversized cauldron, while a short set of stairs rose up on either side and stopped at a platform that was level with the top. Upon the platform were some other workers—a few children, a man, and two women—who were throwing cloths of all sizes in and stirring them around with large paddles.
The balmy room emptied into a chamber with a series of cords running the length of the wall and back again. The soggy clothes were strung there to dry under a series of fans powered by people on cycles, and those that were done were carried off into the next room, where they were folded neatly and stored away for use.
Having hardly seen anything yet, Garinor was amazed at how well this place was run. The workers were of all ages and sizes and they seemed content with what they were doing. He thought of his own satisfaction at accepting a job washing dishes and setting up rooms just to earn a single meal and a place to sleep. It all made a perfect sort of sense to him. In many respects, these people were all working for themselves, under Erina’s guidance and supervision.
He was introduced to the kitchen, which was a much busier and larger room than all the others combined. Garinor couldn’t believe how many people were scurrying back and forth, running from one place to another. Some of the smaller children brought raw foods to various places, where older workers cut and chopped them into usable pieces. The prepared foods were carted off to be divvied up for various recipes, and the dirty plates were taken to the neighboring room to be cleaned.
It was to this other room that Garinor was escorted. Several tubs were there and at each were two to four people scrubbing away. The tubs were lined up in a series. The first tub was for a quick rinse and scraping. The water inside was grisly and grimy, with bits of food floating about. The next tub was for a second scrub, and so on. Eight tubs later was the final rinse. Garinor had no doubt where he was going to be assigned.
The others he was with didn’t talk much except to explain what he was to do and to tell him he would be at it for an hour. That seemed surprising to him, but they assured him that he would be getting a decent meal in payment.
“And you’ll be eating on these plates, so scrub ‘em good. Kind of gross if you don’t,” commented the oldest boy, Werrn.
Garinor couldn’t help but agree.
At the end of the hour with his arms immersed into the murky water, his skin was wrinkled and he wasn’t sure he wanted to eat any food right then. The four of them at his tub were replaced by three others and they left to another room full of shoulder-height walls.
Werrn guided Garinor ahead since he was new to the routine. “You had enough of water, but you gotta clean up proper here. And no use holding back, too. Just go all out for it.” Garinor’s confusion faded as they walked through the room and he saw that there were numerous cubicles in the room and each was occupied by a bathing basin. “Water’s cold, but you gotta scrub and get yourself clean, so go for it. See ya in a few. Oh, and the basket in there, that’s where you put your things for cleaning.”
As promised, the bath was very cold. He didn’t last long and he came out shivering from head to toe. Two cloth towels awaited him. He dried off, then wrapped himself in them to warm up. He placed Tomli’s clothes in the thatch basket and hoped he would get them back properly. He remembered that the others had been wearing their own things, which calmed his nerves.
From the wash room, he followed Werrn and the others to a small dining area. Here, some of the food that was being cooked came out on numerous trays for them to dive into. Garinor was happy to sample everything he could, and he found it was all really good.
After the meal they went down a series of corridors, still wrapped in their towels, to a set of small rooms. He and Werrn took one of them while the others split up into other places. It didn’t take long for Garinor to fall asleep.
He had no idea how long he had slept for, but he felt warm and fully rested. His clothes were sitting on a table in the room and he noticed that Werrn was already gone, his towels draped on a wall peg. Garinor dressed and left the towels on a similar peg on his half of the room and then he went to find more food.
The dining area was empty and no food was to be found. It seemed that everything happened in very specific shifts there and so there would be no food waiting for him. He couldn’t complain, however, for everything had been flowing so smoothly since he arrived.
Garinor followed an open doorway out into another room that eventually led him to the sewing area through a passage he hadn’t seen on his way in. Erina sat there with needle and thread and she looked up at Garinor with her warm, inviting smile.
Setting down her work, she rose to greet him and led him into a sitting area off the main lobby. “Did you sleep well, young one?”
“Amazingly well, thank you.”
“I’m glad.” She smiled and took the more cushioned chair, motioning him to join her beside him. “You must think this an odd place.”
“It certainly isn’t what I expected.”
“You worked well yesterday and for that you ate one meal and you slept for one night. Yes, it is morning now. Normally you would have been woken with the others, but you looked thoroughly drained.” She eyed him for a moment, choosing her words. “Might I ask what brings you to Kallinoria?”
“I seek the king,” he said awkwardly.
She laughed and smiled, “He’s not in Kallinoria, but you know this.”
His cheeks flushed. “Yes. But I don’t exactly know the way to the king and I need to keep somewhat hidden.”
At this her eyes narrowed. “Those who wish to conceal themselves often pose a threat. Why shouldn’t I report you to the guard?”
And so Garinor briefly told his tale of being summoned by the king and of all the events that had prevented him from getting there. As he spoke, Erina’s face fell little by little until her pleasant aura was diminished greatly.
“I see,” she murmured when he finished, then stayed very quiet.
Garinor sat there under her stare which seemed very cold all of a sudden. He wanted her to say something, anything, even if she threatened to have him tossed into prison. His hands fidgeted in his lap but he remained silent.
“This place runs,” she said at last, “because everyone here has a need of one kind or other. All those working for me earn back their work in some regard, as you know. Others still pay silver coins to stay at this place and we tend to their needs as well as we may. So it is that all those who work here support themselves, me, and our guests. Anyone is free to go at any time, I assure you.”
He wondered why he needed that assurance.
“I would have advice for you, young one,” she continued without pause. “There is an old man, a Seer, and I think you would do well to speak with him. He might help you with some guidance on your way.
“However,” she said, then paused to let the word echo in his mind. “He will not speak with you without gold. Silver will not do, even if it adds up to a wealthy amount. No, he requires nuggets of gold, big or small. I can’t vouch for his accuracy if a donation is pitiful, but he has been known to bestow some great words.”
Garinor leaned forward in his chair excitedly, but also with an emptiness within him, for where would he obtain gold?
“You may remain here for two nights and work a full schedule for me, son, and in that time you will earn four meals each day and a place to sleep. Your evenings will be your own, though you must abide my hours in order to remain. At the end of your tenure, if you have performed well, and I don’t doubt you would, then you will earn a large enough nugget that would be worth you speaking with the Seer.”
“That’s very generous, but I don’t understand.”
She smiled and some of her glow finally returned. “You wouldn’t,” she said simply. “This offer I make to you would take others a fortnight—if I offered such a thing at all. Your need is greater. I sense that about you.” She barely hesitated. “If you decline, you have two other options. I can still help you by smuggling you out this very morning toward the castle. You won’t go the entire journey, but it will be a restful start to your trek. Or you may leave now and work things out on your own.”
She stood up then. “Whatever you decide, you will first eat. This one meal, and one only, will be my gift, but you must endure it with the other workers. I can’t have a nonpaying guest, you understand.”
Her words seemed too good to be true. Not only was he going to eat for free, but there were opportunities for him to be had by her hand. Part of him wanted to accept her help without question, but there was a nagging doubt in his mind. People were not notorious for being such philanthropists. He remembered then the sign hanging outside the place and the depiction of a woman basking in hope. Maybe some people really did see the good in others and wanted to help them.
Hoping for the latter, Garinor enjoyed a hearty breakfast while he debated his next step.
Garinor should head off on his own.
Garinor should allow himself to be smuggled out.
Garinor should work and earn the gold needed to speak with the Seer.