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Over Unquiet Stones
Apr. 8th, 2012 03:26 pmIt had taken them few months to get insinuated into the workings of the city of Arberth. Hiccup had taken up blacksmithing and to his surprise, upon submission of his work to the forge he was trying to get work at, they'd decided he should have the status of a journeyman rather than an apprentice, so he got a day's wage even when they didn't feel he was a master blacksmith yet.
Apparently he'd learned more from Daja than he thought.
It was good to have the income. The city of Arberth, like much of the rest of this country was in the grips of economic depression, and the government was only able to keep its tenuous grip on the populace through intimidation, through spiriting away people in the night, forcing them to sign confessions under extreme duress.
They'd had to take great care during all this to not find themselves exposed to the Inquisition. After all, the point of the mission was to find, join, and help the rebels against them.
That took work, though, sneaking, talking to the right people and making sure they didn't say anything to the wrong ones. So far, they'd managed to talk to a guy who knew a guy who had a cousin who had a sister who possibly maybe could get them in touch with someone who knew someone that could get them in touch with someone who may or may not have been a rebel member.
Maybe. Possibly.
Or they could be a witch-hunter in disguise, looking for Adepts trying to join up with the resistance. That was what made it all so dicey.
Hiccup made his way through the city, ignoring the proliferation of homeless people in empty doorways and watching his pockets to make sure his coin purse wasn't stolen. People hawked their wares in the streets and canny thieves made off with said wares when the shop-keepers and stall owners weren't looking. It was shame it was so rundown because it must have been a beautiful city once, full of houses with charming steepled roofs in deep reds and greens and blues and creeping vines covering their outer walls. Some of the woodwork reminded him of home, even if the designs carved into it were smoother and more flowing, reminiscent of the ocean.
He was done his work for the day, but Zuko's shift ran longer, and after a long day in the forge, Hiccup enjoyed getting out in the open air for a while on the walk over, settling in until Zuko finished his shift to have a cup of tea. Someone with his callused hands, who was often dusted with soot, made for an interesting sight in such a place of refinement, but then a place of such refinement made for an interesting sight in such a run down city. (Also, it was a bad idea to piss off one of the few fine craftsmen in town that could make you things you needed, so blacksmiths were generally tolerated anywhere.) Tea was a foreign treat for some of the people in the city, who were only just getting used to contact and trade with the east. Luckily, Hiccup's tastes ran towards the herbal teas, usually the apple, which were very cheap because the ingredients were local. The actual tea, imported from the east, cost more per cup than Hiccup made in a day.
"Oh, teaaa boy. I'd like my usual."
It was his solemn duty as Zuko's best friend to sometimes bust his chops. After many a day of Zuko busting his chops while training, it was possibly a tiny bit of friendly payback.
Apparently he'd learned more from Daja than he thought.
It was good to have the income. The city of Arberth, like much of the rest of this country was in the grips of economic depression, and the government was only able to keep its tenuous grip on the populace through intimidation, through spiriting away people in the night, forcing them to sign confessions under extreme duress.
They'd had to take great care during all this to not find themselves exposed to the Inquisition. After all, the point of the mission was to find, join, and help the rebels against them.
That took work, though, sneaking, talking to the right people and making sure they didn't say anything to the wrong ones. So far, they'd managed to talk to a guy who knew a guy who had a cousin who had a sister who possibly maybe could get them in touch with someone who knew someone that could get them in touch with someone who may or may not have been a rebel member.
Maybe. Possibly.
Or they could be a witch-hunter in disguise, looking for Adepts trying to join up with the resistance. That was what made it all so dicey.
Hiccup made his way through the city, ignoring the proliferation of homeless people in empty doorways and watching his pockets to make sure his coin purse wasn't stolen. People hawked their wares in the streets and canny thieves made off with said wares when the shop-keepers and stall owners weren't looking. It was shame it was so rundown because it must have been a beautiful city once, full of houses with charming steepled roofs in deep reds and greens and blues and creeping vines covering their outer walls. Some of the woodwork reminded him of home, even if the designs carved into it were smoother and more flowing, reminiscent of the ocean.
He was done his work for the day, but Zuko's shift ran longer, and after a long day in the forge, Hiccup enjoyed getting out in the open air for a while on the walk over, settling in until Zuko finished his shift to have a cup of tea. Someone with his callused hands, who was often dusted with soot, made for an interesting sight in such a place of refinement, but then a place of such refinement made for an interesting sight in such a run down city. (Also, it was a bad idea to piss off one of the few fine craftsmen in town that could make you things you needed, so blacksmiths were generally tolerated anywhere.) Tea was a foreign treat for some of the people in the city, who were only just getting used to contact and trade with the east. Luckily, Hiccup's tastes ran towards the herbal teas, usually the apple, which were very cheap because the ingredients were local. The actual tea, imported from the east, cost more per cup than Hiccup made in a day.
"Oh, teaaa boy. I'd like my usual."
It was his solemn duty as Zuko's best friend to sometimes bust his chops. After many a day of Zuko busting his chops while training, it was possibly a tiny bit of friendly payback.
