The merchant took me to an inn not far from the gatehouse. His caravan had taken some rooms there, their transporters standing off to the side under some sort of carport. On the way, he introduced himself and made some small talk. I nodded and hooted where appropriate but there was not much of interest in the conversation. Though I made sure to remember his name, Servin Kinis. If we were to travel together for two weeks that might be a good idea.

Entering the building, I saw it doubled as an eatery. The ground floor had several tables with chairs and benches crowded in the room, a bar lining the back wall. Servin led me to one of the unoccupied tables, greeting a few of the dwarves with friendly words.

“Colleagues and apprentices of my caravan”, Servin said as we sat down,” They don’t have much to do after our delivery so they’re mostly sitting around, wasting their time.”

Wasting their time was chatting, drinking, mostly ale judging from the mugs, and playing dice or cards. A few had books filled with numbers in front of them. Most likely checking their ledgers.

“Now, why don’t we have some tea, right?”

Servin called over the one waiter loitering near the bar and ordered.

“Anything to eat?”, he asked.

I shook my head.

“Then that will be all.”

His smile was answered with a nod and the waiter made to prepare our drinks. While waiting, the merchant got to the topic of the day.

“Now, we are looking for extra protection, as you know. It’s not likely we’ll need it but… you can never be too sure. Especially with a journey like this. The road passes by a few areas known to host packs of wolves, predatory birds and a few vis empowered beasts. No sapients the last time I checked but those would be easier to deal with, honestly. The road isn’t taken much since most traders move through Trade Town after making the journey to Borsdown. But with all the delays we had, we don’t really have much of a choice. Spending that much time in Trade Town without having any goods to sell is just a bad idea. And they don’t need stone, last time I checked. The place is intentionally kept small. Humans, you know.”

His eyes gave me a meaningful look. As if that was enough to tell me. But I had an idea what he meant so I just nodded.

“Now, I’m not sure how strong you are exactly. I’d be willing to assume even if your combat abilities might be lacking, scouting from the air more than makes up for it. So, I’m willing to pay extra up front. Half a gold per day, one week of travel paid before leaving. Any encounters add half a gold at least, up to five depending on the danger and your contribution. How’s that sound?”

That was… not bad? With the expected two weeks and a few days of travel that was at least seven gold. Possibly much more if there was an encounter.

“What counts as an encounter? Would you pay extra if I take out a threat before it makes it to the caravan?”

The dwarf put a hand on his chin.

“That is indeed an option. Though I would prefer if you don’t hunt too much. The wilderness is supposed to be left to grow. The stronger the monsters, the more likely they become sapient. And sapient Guardians can be negotiated with to build a city around their home. I’d say, if nobody in the caravan but you sees it, it’s not an encounter.”

I nodded.

“Fair. I have another idea. How long does it take you to return to Borsdown?”

His eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a smirk.

“Hmm. There’s much going into it. We make a round tour about twice a year but usually skip Borsdown and Trade Town once. There’s just not much profit to have. What’s your idea?”

Not much profit in Trade Town? Maybe they should think about renaming it.

“My friends could use vis crystals of every primal. Single aspect would be best. Could you get those on your tour?”

The merchant leaned back.

“That’s definitely possible… Six gold apiece, for the travel expenses and we can make it here twice a year. Unless they only need one or two every time we come by.”

“I believe they would need more. You would then be able to buy thaumium from them. Possibly at a reduced price. What do you think?”

The dwarf had trouble hiding his grin.

“I’ll… have to consult my colleagues… It depends on the discount… We could bring the crystals over for half price if we get half price on the thaumium.”

“I’ll have to talk it through with my friends. When are you leaving?”

“We want to move out tomorrow morning. If that’s fine with you? Otherwise, we could wait another day or two.”

I shook my head.

“Tomorrow is fine. I’ll come back to you about those crystals.”

He nodded. From there the conversation turned to small talk. Servin told some stories about his travels and I once again spun the tale of the Battle of the Lake to the entertainment of several apprentices.

Soon, it was time for me to leave. The city council meeting was approaching.

When I arrived next to the library, Captain was already waiting for me. I had the ingenious idea to [Identify] him instead of asking for his name again after all this time.

[Identify]

Species: Felt-Ear Dwarf (Adult)

Age: 88

Name: Dor Holden

Gender: male

Level: 41

Dor Holden, huh? Right, Safrah had called him Captain Holden. Well, now I knew. I greeted him and we entered the house. This was the library head’s home and it showed. Every wall was replaced by bookshelves filled to the brim with all kinds of titles. Even the kitchen had one side filled with books, as I noticed through the half-opened door.

We entered a room opposite of the kitchen and found a set of comfortable armchairs and a couch around a low table. Books piled up on the ground as if someone had hastily made some space for the mugs on the table. There was also a bowl with a can of tea for me.

On the couch, two male dwarves sat. One of them was stocky and muscular. He wore simple leathers with the symbol of a pickaxe on top of a stylized boulder pinned to his chest. He nodded to me after taking a sip of ale and having some foam stick to his impressive moustache.

The dwarf next to him was very short, even for a dwarf. Sitting down they were normally just barely below my eye level but this man was almost a head shorter than me. He wore bright clothes from rough silk or fine cotton. I could not tell on sight alone. On his chest, a pin sat with a foaming beer mug on top of a keg.

The last dwarf was most likely the librarian. She had a mousy face adorned by spectacles and watched me attentively. A book was in her lap, a red string ready to be used as a bookmark. She wore the normal librarian robes with a pin in shape of an open book with a quill over it. I greeted her with a nod.

Captain Holden moved to sit and I noticed he was wearing a pin of a sword on a triangular shield on his gambeson.

“Hello everyone. This is Fio, the one I told you about”, he introduced me. “Fio, these are the members of Borsdown’s city council. Hopefully, that name will be more appropriate soon. The head of the quarry, Jorgun Spade, representative of the Kark Clan, Fred Kark and Les Adena, head of the library.”

The three dwarves nodded in turn as their names were called. I used the time to form a connection with everyone. Four people were more than I ever connected at once but it would be no problem if this meeting did not take too long. Les barely reacted but Fred and Jorgun both flinched when I spoke into their minds.

“Greetings. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

The librarian answered first with a gentle dip of her head.

“Just the same. Please, make yourself comfortable. I heard you like tea, so I prepared some.”

Jorgun was the next to speak. He had a large grin on his face.

“I must say, even with Dor’s warning that telepathy surprised me. You’re a crafty one, aren’t ya?”

His laughter sounded in the room as I took place next to the table. The brewer was last to speak up.

“Yes, welcome. Even though you have been here a while, on behalf of all of Borsdown, we welcome you to our humble home.”

His slightly creepy grin was washed away by Dor’s words.

“Ha! Of course I already welcomed her properly! What do you take me for!”

Good-natured laughter lit up the room and even the Kark joined in after a short moment. Maybe this would be fun?

Soon everyone calmed down and Dor started the talk.

“Now, we’ve profited a lot off your actions, Fio. Not that we didn’t pay you back but still, we wanted to give you an official thank you.”

I tilted my head. What was this about?

“You see”, he continued, “for sapient animals and monsters there’s a set of special laws. Basically, you don’t have the full rights of a normal dwarf but you’re also not expected to contribute to the community. With your contribution, however, we felt it was right to make you a full citizen of Borsdown and the Dwarven Hills.”

I looked around. The librarian gave me a friendly nod, Jorgun made a thumbs up and the brewer grinned mischievously.

“That means?”, I asked.

“You’re respected as a dwarf by any other felt-ear in the Dwarven Hills. Actions you take that harm the community will be punished harshly but you have the right to join a clan and learn their deepest secrets.”

Was that not possible before?

“The difference to before is”, Les picked up the word, “the clan you choose has to accommodate you unless you are incapable of contributing to their craft. Outsiders can join but they are rarely accepted without gaining citizenship. You are also free to found your own clan if you have a profession not held by another. There is a register in every library for all the disciplines, their respective clans and their home cities.”

That… sounded kind of good? It was an opportunity. I was basically an honorary dwarf. Or something like that. But… It felt kind of binding.

“I don’t know… I want to travel and explore the world. Beyond the Dwarven Hills. Would that not pose a problem?”

Fred answered this time.

“Of course not. Your contribution is only eclipsed by a clan-head or Guardian. There is nothing you have to do to keep your citizenship. Any support is still appreciated but you’re supposed to live your life as you want. Like any dwarf before and after. Do one thing for the community and one thing for yourself. Never neglect your freedom and never neglect your kin.”

The librarian jumped in as he finished.

“In fact, there is no clan focused on exploration. Or diplomacy, but that’s not your thing, I think. The Adena libraries would be elated if we could learn more about the world beyond. You, with your wings, have the perfect skills to fill that hole. If you just return every once in a while to tell your tales, you might be named clan-head without any desire of your own, simply for your contribution.”

The other dwarves nodded, smiles only growing wider.

“The only thing they might complain about is you not liking alcohol.”

That was the head of quarry, Jorgun. His remark provoked plangent laughter and this time I joined in with an airy chuckle.

“In fact, I haven’t tried alcohol. Maybe I’ll like it?”

That got the ball rolling and soon my tea was replaced with ale. I took a careful sip and found the taste… lacking. It was just bland. Maybe I did not have the proper taste receptors. The dwarves said it was sweet and tart but I found none of it. On top of that, the alcohol got me buzzed much too quickly so I switched back to my tea. I still had an enjoyable time with the dwarves. We talked and laughed all afternoon. Eventually, I left for Safrah’s house and spent the evening with my two friends. Tomorrow I would leave town so I wanted to get some quality time in with them. While I was looking forward to seeing new places, I would likely miss the dwarf and the ocelot. But that was to be expected with travelling. I could just fly back any time I wanted, anyway.