Yae's Journey 4

A customer enters the shop, the bell ringing to get her attention. A large grey-skinned man with two rows of swept-back horns and large tusks jutting from his lower jaw scans the shop, looking at the luxurious furniture displayed. He wears a violet mana silk suit and stands straight-backed with an arrogant air about him.

“Welcome to Karn’s Fu—” Yae says, but the Orc cuts her off with a wave of his hand.

“Didn’t think a Fylox would be interested in clerk work, Karn,” The Orc says, turning his attention to another Orc.

Karn stands a little over two meters with long braided hair and curled horns. He, too, is dressed in a fine suit, although it’s red and not made of mana silk. When working the front shop, he often wears his finest clothes, but when working in the workshop, he swaps to his leather apron and work clothes.

“The Goblins called her a Runa… something; I don’t remember. She’s pretty enough and supposedly a good carpenter, but that’s the Goblin’s words, not mine.”

Anger simmers inside Yae, but she needs the job; she needs the money to buy a shop of her own and show these arrogant people what true craft really is!

It has been a week since she started this job, and as infuriating as it is, it at least pays well and gives her the opportunity to learn about the different races that live in this city, especially the ‘upper society’, which appears to be mostly Orcs with a few rich Kobalds and Loprae.

The others of her group are also working good jobs, having had the Goblin's help, who seems to be well respected and trusted.

“She’s got a pretty thick accent; you sure she can sell your craft?” The customer asks.

I’m right here! Yae internally complains but wisely keeps her mouth shut.

“That’s why I hired her, Thalak” Karn replies. “Many customers like her; you’ve got to admit she’s exotic.”

“That is true, I haven't seen a Fylox with ears so big, nor tail so long” Thalak then turns toward her. “Alright, let’s see how you do; a servant of mine recently burnt a lounge chair – he stupidly placed it too close to a hearth – offer me a good replacement.”

“Of course,” Yae has been taught not to bow or lower her head to Orcs as that is seen as a sign that she intends to ram him. “How do you decorate your lounge? What colors are there?”

“The walls are grey stone with dark brown wooden floors. The rug is emerald green.”

Yae tries to envision the room to help her [Perfectionist’s Eye] and quickly looks over Karn's current selection. Choosing a brown wooden chair with green comfortings. It isn’t the most expensive item, but it’s the most fitting one.

If Yae had the choice, she’d make the chair with a nature theme, carving flowers or trees into the wood and embroidering the comfortings, but Karn only does that type of work on commission and only for the very wealthy.

It doesn’t sit right with her; every work should be the best. Every project should challenge the crafter for improvement, and only when a customer requests a less decorated item should it then be made.

However, Yae isn’t the owner of the shop, so she keeps her opinions to herself; plus, she doubts Karn would listen to her. He hasn’t let her prove her skills in the workshop, believing her skills subpar to his own, but she will prove him wrong in time.

“Hmm, yes, that will do. At least you know your color palette.” Thalak buys the chair and leaves with no further comment.

“Next time, you should recommend the more expensive items, Yae!” Karn chastises her. “Sell the blues and purples; green and red are common and cheap colors. You will never be good at your job if you don’t make the most amount of money with each purchase!”

Yae bites her tongue to hold back on her quip.

The product should sell itself! It shouldn’t need anyone to tell others to buy it! Yae rants in her mind.

The rest of the day is uneventful, but a plan started to form in Yae’s mind. This city has something called ‘guilds’ which are apparently some form of crafters group. If she can make her own guild for a collection of Runalymo crafters, then she won't have to deal with these prideless people anymore.

The Goblins have explained how they work; however, she has yet to join one. Perhaps she should investigate one of them when she is done with her workday.

* * *

Yae stands before a large grand building with brass statues of Orc carpenters proudly displaying the profession that the guild governs. The building stands three floors tall and is built with dark wood atop a stone brick foundation.

Entering the building, Yae sees a clean entrance hall with a massive fur rug from a large monster. At the reception desk, there are lines under signs which indicates what the line is for; either business, purchases, or apprenticeship applications.

Yae approaches the apprenticeship line, which only one other is standing in, but the receptionist is helping the other lines at the moment, so Yae has to wait. It isn’t until a quarter of an hour has passed that Yae is able to ask about the guild and how it works.

However, the Loprae receptionist gives Yae an odd look before shaking his head and mumbling something about never seeing a civil Fylox before.

Yae keeps her anger in check; there’s no point in arguing.

“In order to join, you need a letter of recommendation from a master carpenter and be willing to pay the entrance fee.” The Loprae says before smugly continuing. “I highly doubt you have a credible recommendation and can even afford to enter this prestigious organization.”

“How much is it?” Yae asks, almost gritting her teeth. “Just for reference.”

“One gold piece”

Yae doubts that it would cost so much money, but she’s not going to challenge others on it; they’ve already made up their mind, and arguing with them will only make things worse.

Over the last week working at Karn’s furniture store, she realized that many don’t care that she’s a Runalymo, just that she looks close enough to a Fylox who generally live on the outskirts of the city and near the forest where they worship Serafae the Goddess of Nature and Destruction. From what she gathered so far, the Fylox typically don’t like to live in the city, believing it an affront to nature and believing that one-day Serafae will destroy the city through a natural disaster.

It is through their beliefs that the rift between them and the other races began and only widened with time. It doesn’t help that some fanatic Fylox sought to bring forth destruction by their own hands.

Once again, one’s belief in their religion leads to discord and distrust, something which Yae knows all too well.

Yae doesn’t even say goodbye to the receptionist; she just turns around and leaves. She understands their distrust in the Fylox, but what she doesn’t understand is why they think Runalymo would be the same. She tried to tell others the difference before, but they never listened. She will have to show this city who the Runalymo are! Actions speak louder than words.

Yae visits G’Orn in the Goblin monastery for advice, specifically on how she can establish her own guild.

“You walk a difficult path,” G’Orn says after listening to Yae’s plight. “But you are right; people don’t see you for who you are, they see you for who they think you are, and unfortunately, they see your people negatively.”

The Goblins and others in the monastery are taught to see the individual, one of the many teachings they taught her people during their stay here.

“You will first need to register your guild with the government; they too will only see you as a strange Fylox but will respect our recommendation. They will require a fee, typically between thirty and fifty gold coins.”

“So expensive!” Yae exclaims.

“Yes, the other guilds used their influence to pressure the senators, to make it harder for competition to gain a foothold in the market.”

There’s no way she will be able to afford that even if all of her people pool their money together.

Back in the Nexus, it was relatively easy to make a shop. All she had to do was pay for the builders to build the shop, and that was it. Some villages required space from the village itself, but it was that expensive. There was no need for licenses or any of this bureaucratic nonsense!

She’s starting to see why the Fylox dislikes the city; it’s so bogged down under its own bureaucratic weight. And it’s not like just starting her own shop is viable either; there are laws that specifically say that one must be in a guild to have their own shop. That’s not even considering the cost of building the shop either.

“Is there any way for us to get that kind of money?” Yae asks.

“Yes, either through very dangerous work, a loan, or through illegal means by selling enchanted goods, mostly weapons, on the black market,” G’Orn says

“Why tell me to do to something illegal?”

“Sometimes, the most moral thing to do is impossible to do legally.” G’Orn says with a shrug before explaining in more detail, “Power seeks stability, an unstable society will likely collapse, but one must understand that to walk, you must lean forward. A stable society is stagnant, those in power will continue to seek their own self-interest and the stability of it, but that has a consequence of making others unable to gain power for themselves. A healthy society is one that allows the weak to fall and the strong to rise. Stagnancy breeds weakness, those in power become weak, but when they were strong, they cemented their position in society.”

Strength and weakness. G’Orn isn’t talking about physical strength but one’s talent and determination.

“So you’re saying that if society sets up rules to hinder the strong from rising then the strong should just go around those rules?” Yae asks.

“Yes.” G’Orn answers, “Seek out Faela; she runs a monster-slaying mercenary group and is always seeking craftsmen who can make good weapons and armor. She’s a black-haired Fylox who often visits Beark’s Tavern. Tell her that I sent you.”

Yae nods. G’Orn has never led her astray so far; hopefully, nothing bad will come from this.