Chapter One - The Locked Chest

The bells above the door chimed as a man stepped into the shop, with a look in his eyes that spoke of a determination born out of desperation and of urgent need. He had a large forehead and a highly receded hairline. His remaining thinning black hair was tied back in a braid that hung to his shoulders. He had round cheeks, a wide nose and a goatee. He wore an oversized traveller’s cloak overtop an undyed cotton tunic, with a loose pair of pants held up by a rope belt, and an old worn set of boots. On his back was a woven straw hat, and slung over his shoulder was an old sack. Hanging at his side was a straight sword in a scabbard inlaid with brass.

He did not stop to peruse the items on the shelves, but instead walked straight to the back, where a seventeen year old girl with long black hair was attending the desk. She was one hundred seventy two centimetres tall, with a thin frame of a girl who exercised little and ate even less. She wore a simple beige summer dress and a woven black cardigan whose sleeves were rolled up to her elbows.

“I need a loan.” He said, then added quietly, “Just for a few days.”

The girl did not stir, her attention focused on the book in her lap. She was so still that the man thought she was perhaps asleep. After a moment, he cleared his throat and began again,

“Excuse me, I am looking for a loan-“

He was interrupted by a single finger held out towards him as the girl signalled for him to wait. He was so surprised by the surliness of the action that he stopped speaking and waited. She finished the passage of the book calmly, then held her thumb on the page to mark her spot, not even bothering to close the book.

Light grey eyes looked up at him inquisitively. She glanced over him once, and in that simple motion he felt that he had been thoroughly appraised.

“What are you offering for collateral?” She asked.

“My hat-“ He started to pull it off his back from where the round conical hat was hung.

“Ten bells.” She said abruptly. “With five leafs interest per week.”

The man stuttered briefly, startled once again by the girl’s curt attitude. “Sorry, how much is that? I’m not familiar with the currency of this nation.”

With a heavy sigh the girl pulled a slip of paper out from under the desk and slid it into the spine of her book, marking its spot as she closed it and set it down on the counter. She leaned forward on her stool, propping one elbow on the counter top as she pulled a set of coins out from a tray inset into the back of the counter.

“You are from the nation of Huan, yes? I can tell from your hair style. The main denomination in Huan is the silver crown. Here in Kumin, our coins are smaller and called marks. Three silver marks are worth one of your crowns. One mark is worth twenty copper bells. One bell is worth ten copper leafs. I can offer you ten bells for your hat at five leafs interest a week. Got it?”

She placed a few coins on the wooden counter. The marks were circular, about the width of two fingers, their tarnished silver surfaces imprinted with old seal script on one side and flowers on the other. In the center of the coin a square hole was cut out. The bells were slightly smaller, about the width of a thumb, made of copper, and also imprinted with seal script on one side. On the reverse side, instead of flowers there were bells and ribbons. Like the silver marks, the bells also featured a square hole in the center. The copper leafs were identical to the bells, but featured leaves on the reverse side, and circular holes instead of square.

“You are travelling, right? If you’re looking for a meal, you can get a cheap bowl of noodles next door for five leafs. If you want meat, add two more leafs.” The girl said with an almost bored expression. She had clearly given this spiel many times. “At the end of the street, the Black Horse Inn charges seven leafs a night. If you need cheaper, you have to go down to the River district.”

The man listened to the girl’s explanation patiently, his brows knit in thought as he digested the information. When she finished, he said, “I see, thank you. That is more clear.”

He rubbed the side of his nose, agitated, “Actually, I am in need of a larger sum. There are some items that I need to purchase from the market - the merchant quoted me a price of six marks.”

“The sword at your side looks fairly ornate.” The girl said, gesturing lazily with her chin, “Shall I have a look?”

He hesitated, fidgeting. “That is not something I can part with.”

“Well, certainly you wouldn’t expect that straw hat of yours to be worth six marks.” The girl said. The man nodded in response, glancing briefly at the girl’s expression before looking off into the corner. Both parties were clearly aware of the unspoken situation - that the man had something to provide as collateral, but he had not yet readied himself mentally to reveal it.

As if to stall for time, he began idly looking around the shop. It was a modest space, with a large front window that let the daylight stream in. A suit of armour, antique but in good condition, stood in the corner of the window. The shelf next to it displayed a variety of miscellaneous goods - a curved sabre in an ornate sheath rested on a wooden stand. An assortment of necklaces and amulets sat on a velvet cushion. A brass pocket watch shared a podium with a wind up wooden bird that dipped its beak in a bucket with a steady rhythm.

Solid dark stained wooden shelves lined the walls, about half full of various trinkets and items. They were sorted according to broad categories. Clothing and accessories were displayed along the wall near the main door at the far right corner of the room. Smaller, every day items such as calligraphy brushes, cutlery, dish ware, etc, made up most of the left side of the room. A few large pieces of furniture and a Guqin formed an island in the center of the room. Behind the counter where the girl sat was another shelf with an assortment of more valuable looking items - a bonsai tree, a set of bound scrolls, an ornate hand mirror, a broken geode with lavender crystals inside.

“Your shop is very well organized, miss-“

“Yuzu.” She said as she returned the coins to the tray under the counter.

“Miss Yuzu. It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Hakuya, I’ve travelled here from Huan, which you have so expertly deduced-“ He trailed off as he noticed her irritated expression. “Well, the truth is, I have something here - for collateral. I will be back for it in a few days. It is very important to me, you see...”

He reached into a large inner pocket of his cloak and slowly pulled out the item. With utmost care and a slightly overdramatic flourish he placed it on the counter between them.

For the first time in the conversation, Yuzu’s eyes shone with interest. She sat up a little straighter in her chair as she reached for it.

The item was a small wooden chest, about twenty five centimetres wide, fifteen centimetres deep, and ten centimetres tall. It had four small carved legs. Its colour was a deep reddish brown with an intricate, wavy grain that caught the light from the window as Yuzu rotated it in her hand such that it looked like that pattern on the wood was dancing.

The chest was inlaid with gold, which formed delicate curved lines that encircled the rounded corners of the lid. A geometric design cast from silver was seamlessly inset into the center of the lid. It was a series of concentric circles, broken up by straight lines that connected the circles together. The lid was locked, with a keyhole clearly visible in the front of the lid. As Yuzu carefully picked the chest up, she realized that it was much heavier than she expected from its size.

“The contents?” She asked.

“The chest should not be opened.” Hakuya said, “And I would rather not say what is inside. But I believe the chest itself is ornate enough to be worth... twenty one marks.” He did the math in his head. “And so its contents are not important.”

“Ten marks.” Yuzu said, turning the chest around and examining the bottom, “With six bells interest per week after the first two weeks.”

“The gold and silver alone on the chest is worth ten marks.” Hakuya protested.

“Yes, but no one is going to buy a chest they cannot open.” Yuzu countered, “Twelve marks, if you include the key.”

“I can’t give you the key. The chest should not be opened. ” Hakuya repeated his statement firmly. “Besides, I will be back in only a few days.”

“You are a traveller, and from the looks of it, not a well off one.” Yuzu set down the chest gently, “I have no guarantee you will return. Not only that, but you already admitted to me you are going to spend at least six marks on other items. Where are you going to get the funds to buy the chest back?”

Hakuya bit his tongue in mild frustration. His brows knit together as he shook his head, “Alright. Ten marks.”

“Eight.” Yuzu said. “I especially don’t trust you to come back, now that I’ve thought this through.”

Hakuya squirmed. This girl, who seemed to be so uncaring and aloof at the beginning, was now cornering him like a trained hunter. She was truly a frightening professional.

“Alright.” He said quickly, before she could further change her mind. “Eight marks. And your guarantee that it not be sold or open in the five days before I return.”

Yuzu pulled out two identical pieces of parchment from beneath the counter, an ink bottle and a brush.

“This is a pre-written form that explains the terms of the contract.” She said, as she penned in the agreed upon price on both papers. “Your item, the locked chest, is collateral for the loan of eight silver marks. We guarantee that the chest will be kept in safekeeping for a period of one month from today’s date, with an interest rate of six bells per week, up to a total of four weeks. If you pay off the interest, you can extend the safe period.”

“After the safe period is over, the item will be available for sale at any time. You may purchase the item back at any time for the original cost of the loan plus the interest owed. Please keep this parchment as proof of ownership of the chest and present it when you return. If you have any disputes, we are registered with the merchant’s guild in the city, so a complaint can be lodged with them and they will begin an investigation. If we are found in breach of contract then you will be compensated by an amount of three times the contract price, and we will also face further penalties through the guild. If no breach of contract is found, you must reimburse the guild for the cost of the investigation.”

“Any questions?” Yuzu asked, pulling out an ink pad and a carved stone seal from under the counter. She had recited the entire contract from memory.

“No, but-“ Hakuya began.

Pa! Pa! Yuzu stamped the papers with the seal with the red ink. “Please add your seal here. Or if you don’t have one a fingerprint will suffice.”

Hakuya took a deep breath in, looking contemplatively at the chest. “The contract can be altered before I sign it, right?”

“What would you like to change?” She asked, making minimal effort to hide her annoyance.

“I would like to stipulate that the chest cannot be opened. Under any circumstance.” Hakuya said.

“That’s not necessary. This chest is still technically your property until the one month period is up. We will only store it in safekeeping. Plus, if you don’t give me the key then I can’t open it regardless.”

“It would ease my mind.” Hakuya said. “Please.”

Yuzu huffed briefly, picking up the brush. “Very well. The contract will be amended to state that the box will not be opened while the contract is active.”

“Opened or unlocked.” Hakuya specified, leaning over to read what Yuzu was writing.

“What’s the difference?” Yuzu muttered, but she wrote the words as requested.

Satisfied with the contract, Hakuya rolled his finger on the ink pad and stamped both parchments. Yuzu promptly retrieved eight marks from the tray, setting them on the counter to count them with a satisfying clink.

“These are for you.” Yuzu handed the coins and one copy of the signed contract to Hakuya. As she did so, her hand brushed his hand. A shiver ran up his arm from the point of contact.

“Your hand is very cold!” Hakuya said, surprised.

“Sorry.” Yuzu said, “They are always like that.” She then took the chest and placed it underneath the counter with the second copy. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“Yes, thank you. This will help me very much.” Hakuya said, feeling the weight of the coins in his hand. He counted the coins again and dropped them in his inner cloak pocket. Then he folded up the parchment and tucked it into a different pocket. “I must be off.”

“Take care.” Yuzu said, picking up her book without looking back at him.

Hakuya headed for the door. It chimed gently as he opened it. But rather than walk out of the store, he hesitated, his heart heavy. He looked back at the girl, who was already immersed in her book.

“Miss Yuzu,” He called. She looked up at him with her piercing grey eyes. He swallowed nervously and looked away as he gathered his thoughts, then said, “If... If something strange occurs... In the days before I return for the chest... lighting some sandalwood incense may help.”

Hakuya glanced over to the girl. She was already looking down at her book, evidently uninterested in his parting words. With a sigh, he turned and left the shop.