The Tome of Agrimar

Chapter Three

The clop of horse hooves, clatter of wheels on stone, and shuffling of feet polluted the air with such a cacophony of sound that the bustling hubub of the city seemed deafening compared to the quiet stillness of the open road, and of course Kendra walked right into the center of it all... the marketplace.

Vendors were shouting and calling from every which direction, commanding and pleading with people to check out their stalls and buy their wares, promising great deals, excellent quality, and one-of-a-kind offers. Children and street urchins were running freely through the streets, weaving between the shopping crowds and carts, snagging items from the shops when their keepers weren't looking, waving about sticks, tossing stones, and skipping over cracks in the road. Parents called after their runaway miscreants, classy businessmen turned up their noses at the lowly commoners, the occasional shout of thief or brigand rang through the air, and guards attempted to keep things under some semblance of order.

It was controlled chaos, exactly what Kendra liked. She smiled brightly as she skipped down the cobbled road, deftly avoiding collision with those that stepped in her path, even making it into a bit of a game as she twisted, turned, and spun, attempting all the while to maintain her joyful skipping gate. A twinkle and sparkle of reflected sunlight caught her eye, bringing her to a sudden halt, leaning forward on tip toes to catch herself, as if one more step would send her plunging into the depths of a canyon. She cartwheeled her arms, desperately seeking balance once again, and she finally fell back on her heels, safe and sound.

Kendra looked up to find the jewelers stall, and her eyes went wide with excitement. "Oh, how pretty!" In mere seconds she was at the edge of the stall, tip toes once again so she could see over the counter, gazing at all the fine sparkling jewels. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, lockets, pocket watches, chains, rings, finely cut gems, ornately carved figurines, bejeweled knives and letter openers, and even an exquisitely decorated music box. The young woman's eyes dashed from one object to the next, each one seeming more beautiful than the one before it, the glamour of their bright colors and twinkling magic was simply captivating.

"May I help you?" the shopkeeper asked, briefly drawing Kendra’s gaze to acknowledge that she'd heard him.

"You have the most beautiful wares," Kendra exclaimed with a smile, even hopping slightly in her excitement. "I've never seen such fine jewelry before. Except maybe in Kyrie, but that's to be expected. After all, they’re the biggest trading center on the entire continent. Awfully far away from here though. I've only been there once. Beautiful place. Lots of people. They're not really all that friendly though. You'd think a trade hub as big as that would be more friendly toward visitors."

"If you are interested in my wares, then allow me to aid you in your purchase," the vendor said. "If you wish only to speak of Kyrie and share tales, perhaps a tavern would be better suited to your company. This is not the place for storytellers."

"Oh, excuse me, sorry," Kendra smiled sheepishly. "I don't mean to let my mouth run away with me like that. I just get so excited, you know? I don't think I'll be buying anything though. I haven't really got all that much need for jewelry. It's just so very pretty. Fascinating really. I love the way it sparkles and twinkles. It's like looking at the nighttime sky, so full of bright beautiful stars. It's so very wonderful. Sometimes I like to just stay up all night, gazing at the stars."

"I'm sorry," the man interrupted again. "But if you are not planning on making a purchase, I must ask you to step aside for prospective customers."

"Right, right," Kendra nodded in understanding, pumping up and down on her toes. Her gaze lingered on the lovely gems as she slowly turned to walk away, but she hadn't made it two steps before she remembered the dragon in her bag and an idea suddenly crossed her mind. "Oh!" Kendra turned back around and raised herself up on her tip toes once more in an attempt to grab the jeweler's attention. "Excuse me!"

He turned back around to face her, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot with impatience, and a woman who had just been in the middle of inquiring about the price of a necklace huffed haughtily and narrowed her brows at the interruption, but Kendra didn't even seem to notice. She pulled the statue up out of her roughsack, unwrapped it, and placed it on the edge of the counter, and the jeweler was immediately interested. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" the short young woman asked, gazing up at him hopefully.

"That's a fine piece of work you've got there," the vendor said with a nod, eyeing it greedily and waiting for permission to examine it.

"I found it on the road," she replied honestly. "I thought I might be able to find its owner. It is a rather lovely statue. I thought for sure, whoever lost it must be missing it. It's rather unique, too, so it can't be too hard to find its owner, right? I figured with all the lovely jeweled and be-gemmed items you've got here, maybe you might be able to point me in the right direction?"

"Well, I could give you information on the make of the figurine, but that would cost you."

"What do you mean?" Kendra asked innocently.

The man's eyes narrowed angrily. "Nothing's free, missy. Not even information. You want something you've got to pay for it."

"Well, just how much would information cost then?" Kendra asked, a little huffy now herself. She had to duck under the counter as a cart jostled by, clattering through the cobbled street and sending pedestrians scattering every which way. It gave Kendra just enough time to consider the absurdity of the jewelers suggestion she pay him to answer a simple question before she was back on her tiptoes glaring at him. He didn't have to be so rude.

"Depends on how much you've got."

"Well, excuse me, but I don't feel like dishing out everything I've got just so you can tell me some lousy information. You'll probably make some lie up anyway. I doubt you know anything about this statue. I'll figure out who it belongs to on my own, thank you very much." Kendra picked the dragon back up from where she'd placed it on the counter and returned it to her bag, her nose turned up in a huff. "That jeweler was just as rude as the people in Kyrie," she said to herself, scuffing her foot on the ground and sending a stray rock careening across the cobbles.

"Thief!"

"I mean I just wanted to look at his pretty jewelry and ask him some questions about the statue," Kendra continued talking to herself as she walked away, unaware of the guards weaving through the crowd in her direction. "What ever happened to people just wanting to help others out, out of the genuine interest of their hearts? I just want to give it back to whoever lost it. I'm sure they miss it. It is a very lovely statue."

"Thief!"

The crowd parted around her and a pair of guards dashed forward, seizing her from behind, each grabbing one arm and lifting her into the air between them. She was caught completely unawares by the action and glanced at the guards in disbelief. "Hey!" Kendra shouted, pedaling her feet in the open air beneath her. "What's going on?!"

"Come on, quit your struggling," one of the guards said.

"Little street urchin," the other scoffed.

Kendra kicked back and to the side, catching him in the ribs, and he almost dropped her. "That was uncalled for!" Kendra turned her head to glare at him. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"We'll see about that," the first guard said, failing to hold back an amused smile as he looked at his injured partner.

"That's right; she's the thief! I want her locked up!" The guards turned with Kendra between them, and the young woman saw the jewelry vendor standing in front of her, pointing accusingly.

"I didn't take anything from you!" Kendra glared.

"She took a dragon statue from my shelf of wares and tried to walk off with it!"

"Did not!"

"She did so. She has it in her pouch, and I demand to have it back or have it paid for, and for her to be arrested." The vendor crossed his arms over his chest, his face set in a demanding scowl.

Kendra's jaw dropped down in shock and outrage, silent for a full two seconds before she shouted, "Liar!"

“What do you say, youngling?” the injured guard said through gritted teeth, still rubbing his side. “You going to pay for that?”

“I’m not paying for anything! That’s MY statue! I didn’t steal it!” Kendra shouted, kicking and squirming in an attempt to free herself, but they had a good grip on her arms. “He’s a liar!”

The jeweler crossed his arms over his chest, giving Kendra a smug look when the guards weren’t looking and Kendra glared back at him. “Look! Look at his face! He knows it’s not his. He’s lying! Stop! Liar!”

The guards did not listen, and though she pedaled her feet and tried desperately to free her arms from their grip, they retrieved the figurine from her bag and handed it to the shop owner, who grinned triumphantly.

"Give that back! Let me go! I didn't do anything wrong! Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Don't I get a chance to defend myself?! Someone here must have seen what happened! He's a liar! Let me go!"