Peli's Journey : Chapter 7

The taskmaster turned out to be a middle-age man wearing a pair of round and thick glasses. Sitting behind his office desk with an large, open ledger full of names and figures, he looked like an overworked clerk rather than a man who had power over numerous “labours”.

He was studying the ledger when the three entered the office, and he only lifted his head long enough to give the newcomers a quick glance before returning to his ledger.

“Welcome to the Iron City Labour Office, my name is Rus. Please give me your name and your work experience in order, starting with the lady.” The taskmaster spoke with a gentle voice, devoid of any emotion.

“My name is Rossa. I have been trained in literature, formal social etiquette, and various social skills like dancing.”

“That is all very nice, but we have no use of these skills in 10 days. Unless you are willing to take up a 3-month contract, we only have menial labour task for short term contracts.”

Rossa folded her hands, and stared at the taskmaster for a while.

“What does it take to leave the city on the other side?”

The taskmaster stopped looking at the ledger and fiddling with his quills, and looked up.

“Why would you want to leave the city?”

“Well, we entered the city in order to pass through it.” Rossa replied calmly.

The Taskmaster paused for a while, studying the three travellers carefully for the first time.

“There is nothing on the other side of the gate. It's a mountain passage that is basically dead. No vegetations, no animals, no water, only large and sharp rocks.”

“We met people who came from that way, so it can definitely be crossed.”

“We haven't received any one from that directions for over ten years. No one knows what happened on the other side.”

“We will find out.”

The taskmaster paused again, and then he shrugged nonchalantly, and continued, “There is no price to pay to exit the City as long as you have paid your due for entering the city, in this case your ten-day contract. However, that gate on the other side of the city has not been opened for a long time, so you'll need to find someone influential enough to persuade the Guards to open it for you.”

“Sounds like the gate is deserted.” Peli asked.

“It is. Except of the daily patrol, nobody ever gets near the gate any more.”

“Why?”

“Well, we used to get occasion trading caravan from that route, but since about ten years ago they stopped arriving. So after a while the gate just lost its meaning.”

“Did you find out what happened?”

“No. What's the use? We don't rely on the caravan.”

Peli and Rossa looked at each other in disbelief. This city really had no interest for the outside world.

“Well, back to the business at hand.” The taskmaster said in his unique gentle monotone, “since you don't intend to stay in the city for long, I have a perfect task for all three of you.”

He took a sip from a porcelain cup at his right hand.

“The Marshall is looking for people to perform spring cleaning to his mansion. He pays well. Usually he has his own helpers for the task, but this year he is a bit short-handed, so the housekeeper is looking for extra help.”

“Sounds reasonable. As long as we can stay together.” Rossa said, all business like.

“You'll be staying in the Mansion for the period. I'll contact the housekeeper to pick you up, so please wait for a while.”

The three sat idly in the taskmaster's office while the taskmaster summoned a page to inform the Marshall's housekeeper of her new help.

Waiting had the quality of making people's mind wonder. Who was this Marshall? How would the next ten days be? Compared to living in the wild, Rossa was secretly glad to be able to stay in a proper resident again, even though she had to do so as a servant and only for a short period.

The page returned amidst their wild guessing and wondering, with a young boy dressed in some sort of uniform. Rus the taskmasters took a quick glance at the young boy, and said to him, “Nasil, the three helpers assigned to your household are over there. Let your ma'am knows that the contract is only for ten days and they are subject to our monitoring. Any mistreatment will be punished.”

Nasil replied quickly, “Yes, sir, I understand.”

Without further explanation, Nasil approached the three and indicated that they should follow him.

“Please follow me tightly as we don't want to waste time getting lost.” was the only words the young boy said to them.

The streets of Iron City was packed dirt instead of cobblestone, and they were all lined by iron railings. The streets were used exclusively for carriage, while pedestrian utilize the walkway on the other side of the iron railings. The streets are busy, but a lot more quiet than the streets of Yan. The movements of people were so purposeful it was almost eerie. The three followed Nasil quietly, having no mood to appreciate such a strange city.

They soon arrived before a large mansion, away from the busy area of the city. The mansion, like the rest of the city, was build mainly from iron, the only difference was a small garden in the front yard. The city hardly featured any green, so a garden with green shrubs and some flowers must be a symbol of prestige and wealth.

Nasil introduced proudly, “This is the Marshall's mansion, one of the most well designed building in the whole city. You will be staying and working here for the next ten days. How lucky of you.”

“Since our houses are mainly build from iron, every year we need to spend some time scrubbing away the rust and coating the iron surface with oil or paint. The housekeeper will see you during dinner time and assign task to you. You will start working tomorrow. For now, follow me and settle in your sleeping quarter.”

xxx

The housekeeper turned out to be a stern, cold and almost mechanical old lady. Standing with a poise that reminded people of a statue, she moved with a brisk efficiency. She led the three helpers to a large backyard, where ironwares were lay out in the open. She explained with a stiff voice that they were to scrub the ironwares and coat them with a new layer of oil. Should any ironware appeared to be damaged beyond repair, they were to immediately alert Nasil. With the task assigned, she left the three to the young Nasil.

Nasil, being merely a boy, was more prone to emotional display. He led the three happily around the mansion, introducing various important places to them along the way to the dining quarters for servants.

There must have been a few dozens of people who worked as servants in this household. Most of them ate quietly without conversations, a few who talked did so in whispers. The dinner was plain, but it was at least properly cooked food. To the three travellers who had been living in the wild for the pass few weeks, that was not unlike a feast.

They were lucky to get their own quarter, apparently, every servants had their assigned place, so the three temporary staff got the quarter to themselves. Sleeping on iron bed wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't the worse they'd seen either.

XXX

The next morning, they woke with the sun and sought out breakfast. On their way to the dining hall, they met Nasil who brought them three uniforms.

“You have to wear these whenever you are in the mansion, so that people know how to identify you. Once your contract is up, you have to return the uniforms, as fabrics are very rare in our city.”

“Got it. Anything else we need to know?” Peli had a natural liking to Nasil, who reminded him of his own childhood.

“Nope. Oh, if mistress go to the backyard, try not to get in her way.”

“Who is this mistress?”

“Well, she is the daughter of the Marshall, and she is the only one who would occasionally go to the backyard. I quite like her, but people warned me to stay away from her. They say she was...”

Nasil caught himself mid-sentence, and stopped abruptly.

“I shouldn't be saying things about her. Just don't get in her way!”

Nasil sprinted away with a waving hand after the sentence, seemingly hurrying to his own tasks.

The three had a good breakfast. Nothing too fancy, just plain bread and cheese, but it fed them well. Rossa was reminded of her own home. Her meals back in Yan City were of course much more extravagant, but she had gotten used to eating poorly handled food in the wild. She might not have noticed, but she had lost some weight because of that. She realized after being reminded of home, that she missed it terribly. On the other hand, she was amazed by how much she had changed over the pass few weeks.

After breakfast, they proceed to the backyard, and there, they saw the Mistress Nasil was talking about.

She was just standing there like an ivory statue, long, black hair mixed with some silver flowed around her frame, and she seemed to be enjoying the sun with her eyes close.

The three tried to be quiet, but she had heard the footsteps. She opened her eyes and smiled warmly at the three newcomers.

“Hi, I have heard about you. You came from out of town, isn't it?”

“Hi... yes, indeed, we are travellers from afar.” Peli smiled back shyly. Rossa, on the other hand, was alerted. This... mistress seemed unusual. What Rossa had observed since she entered the city, was she had never seen a smile from any adult. The genuine smile from the mistress seemed very out of place. Rossa chose to remain quiet, but she was watching the lady much more closer. Han'li, however, seemed oblivious to the whole situation. He merely walked to where the ironwares were and started working on them.

“Tell me about your journey. It must have been fun!” The fine lady said with unusual excitement, her smile revealing wrinkles around her eyes.

“It has been very difficult, our journey, but we managed to come this far. Thanks to Han, he has saved our lives several time. And Rossa here too helped us a lot.” Peli was strangely drawn to this lady. He had been feeling enstrange ever since he entered this Iron City, as he could sense no warmth from the people around him. This woman, however, was very different.

“Tell me about how you get this far!”

“I would love to, but I have to polish these iron wares as part of the my contract.”

“Oh, but please do tell the story as you work. I can work with you!” The fine lady sat down besides the ironwares and started working on them.

“That won't be appropriate!” Peli exclaimed, while Rossa observed intently, trying to figure out the motive of the woman.

“Nonsense. These are my properties and I can do what I like with them.” The lady said proudly. “Now, please tell me your stories!”

“If you wish, M'lady.” Peli complied.

As he was retelling his stories, Rossa noticed the expression of the mistress changed to one of melancholy. It seemed like she was lost in her memories. Rossa was suddenly reminded of the expression of the River Merchant. Could this lady be...

“You were married to a traveller before.” Rossa blurted out.

The mistress visibly shook. She turned and looked at Rossa with wide open eyes.

“You have met him!” She exclaimed, and it wasn't a question.

“So you really is the wife of the River Merchant!” Rossa said excitedly.

“River Merchant? What do you mean River Merchant?” the mistress looked puzzled.

“Well, he is living beside the river now, trading between the people on this side of the river and the lizard folks on the other side.” Rossa said animatedly. She couldn't believe her luck. That would mean they have a way out of the city! Peli was dumbstruck, but he soon understood the situation and joined the conversation. Although he had something else on his mind.

“Why did you divorce him all these years ago! You are such a fine lady!” He asked directly, while Rossa winced at the question privately. Such matters were not easily discussed.

The mistress didn't speak for a while. She was obviously trying to collect her thoughts and emotions. None of them spoke, and they used the ironwares to keep themselves occupied.

“I left him because I wanted him to move on.” The mistress spoke again, with a most tender voice, her eyes misty.

“I could see how he withered in this accursed city. He was so full of live! He always brought joy and laughter to me, but I could see how ill-fitted he felt in this city.”

“So... I thought he should continue his journey. At least leave this city!”

“Well, he didn't exactly leave far. He told us he couldn't bare to leave you behind.” Peli was both moved and excited about the story that was unfolding.

“Why!” Tears started to roll down the cheek of the mistress.

“Because he loved you.” Han'li, who had been quiet since the beginning, suddenly spoke with a force.

“I don't deserve him! I used him to escape an undesirable marriage! I made him stopped his journey! I almost destroyed his life!” The mistress was agitated. She was almost wailing.

“None of that change the fact that he loved you.” Peli said quietly. “Do you still have the stone he gave you?”

“Yes! Oh, Yes!” The mistress cried, and fished out a black, round stone from her breast pocket. “I don't know what is it, but I keep it with me all the time!”

“It is the seeker stone.” Peli said, answering a question he wasn't even sure of the answer himself. “It will bring the traveller home. So, the fact that he gave you the stone, means that you are his home. His destiny.”

“Oh... but he never said...” The mistress broke down and cried. Tears that was held back for over twenty years burst forth. And like a broken dam, it washed away the hurt and sadness that was carefully nursed in her heart.

As her tears subsided, Han'li spoke.

“If you really wanted him to continue his journey, you should go with him.” Han'li stole a glance at Peli, who sat back facing him, and added, softly, “Like I did.”

“But oh how could I leave this accursed place? How can I be any more of a burden to him!” The mistress shook her head in despair, burying her head in her hands.

“Oh that's the easy part.” Rossa said, not without irony, as she asked exactly the same questions when she was leaving Yan City, “Just go. You'll never figure out how if you don't start your own journey.”

By then, the commotion in the Backyard had alerted the housekeeper. She arrived in the backyard with her stiff upper lips.

“Have these three new servants somehow offended you? Do you want them exchanged?” she asked the mistress mechanically.

“No, you stay out of this. I'll let you know of your task when I am ready.” The mistress spoke now with a certain authority: cold, metallic and harsh.

The housekeeper nodded once and walked away.

The mistress tidied herself and turned to the three travellers.

“You have brought me an important news. How can I ever repay you?” She smiled, the tear-streak face now slightly puffed.

“Let us out on the other gate!” Rossa said quickly.

“Go find the River Merchant!” Peli said almost at the same time.

The mistress smiled at both of them, but turned to Han'li and asked, “How about you? You who gave me a wonderful lesson about love, what do you want?”

Han'li shifted uncomfortably. “I would like to get out of this Iron cage.”

“Alone?” the mistress winked.

“Of course not! Together with Rossa and Peli, obviously.”

The mistress smiled again and looked at them fondly for a while.

“Well, it can all be done. I will speak with the housekeeper. I have enough authority and my own money to buy all of you out of the 10 days contract and arrange for your exits on the other gate. I will also tell her to supply you with some food and water.”

“How about yourself?”

“I will leave to look for my husband. And I will travel the remaining journey with him. I will not be stopped, and my father had learnt to not get in my way.” She smiled with resolution.

Han'li started to realize, perhaps there were some good qualities that associated with iron: iron-will being one of them. And in the next two days, he learnt a very important lesson about determination and love from the mistress.

As the gates of Iron City opened again after three sunrises, the three travellers found themselves on the other side of the Iron city, a new, harsh and strange path awaited them. And the mistress continued her journey of love from 20 years ago.

They set off in different directions, but they were all heading to their destinies.