Mission 6

"Oooh, and we have to transport all of these?" 

Storyteller's eyes widened when she saw the goods in the open baskets. The Fire Lilys seemed to glow in the sun as one by one they were carefully wrapped in thin paper and then disappeared into the basket. Whisper smiled briefly, but didn't look up from her list where she ticked off the goods as they were prepared, wrapped and stowed.

"Is this all very heavy?" Storyteller carefully peered into one of the baskets before putting the lid on it. Whisper still didn't look up.

"It's not like you're alone," she said after a moment's thought. "The adults will help you out with that."

Storyteller nodded briefly, unconvinced, as she looked at the other baskets. They, too, were already mostly filled with merchandise, some of which she didn't even know what was inside because they had already been closed when they arrived. There was only one basket left empty, but the Only Seaweeds were already waiting next to it to be stowed away.

It amazed Storyteller how many different goods were to be transported today, and she was also not quite sure whether she had perhaps overstretched herself when she had accepted the assignment. Fortunately, she had been able to persuade Azalek and Kin Amir to join in, because otherwise this really would have been too much for the child.

"We'll be ready soon," Whisper said, finally looking up from her list. Storyteller raised his head. "You should go get your dad and your uncle." Whisper let her eyes wander over the baskets and seemed to be calculating who had to carry how much. "Then we can divide the goods between you fairly, and then you can go." She looked up at the sun. "You're already late, and all this stuff is supposed to arrive in the neighboring village today."

Storyteller looked at the sun as well, then nodded to get up and pat the dust off. Her father and uncle were sitting in a nearby cafe, and neither seemed too pleased when the child came for them. But they had agreed to come this morning, and so they could not back out now. So they came with her, albeit looking slightly grim, while Storyteller looked at the baskets again. She nudged one with her nose and looked briefly at Whisper. The latter looked somewhat critically at the two adults. "They look really heavy," Storyteller pointed out, drawing the witch's attention to herself. She turned away from the adults and looked at the child, then just nodded. This didn't really encourage Storyteller, but he couldn't voice any further concerns as the witch turned back to the adults without providing the child with a more detailed answer.

She raised her eyebrows and eyed them both. "A little more motivation, gentlemen," she reprimanded. "You'll be transporting my goods, so I expect more motivation. Not that you'll handle it sloppily and break something." She raised a paw threateningly. "You know there'll be real trouble if you do that."

Azalek screwed up his face and Kin Amir grimaced as well, but then they nodded in agreement. Yes, they could guess that. It was even one of the reasons why they were so unmotivated. Transportation was risky because they had a lot to carry and a child in tow. And the child didn't really have much patience and bumblebees in his butt. It could quickly happen that the basket slipped off the child's back and ruined everything. 

Kin Amir cleared his throat. "Everything will be fine," he answered the witch, even though it didn't sound very convinced. It soundes more like he had to say this to believe it himself. He pointed to himself and Azalek. "There are two of us, it'll be fine."

Indignantly, Storyteller protested and so Kin Amir had to correct himself, "Three... there are three of us. It'll work out." He tried a smile, but it seemed contrived.

Storyteller now nodded in agreement, while Azalek raised his eyebrows unconvinced. He had already checked off the number of baskets and doubted the whole operation. It was three baskets per adult, if Storyteller was to carry one. That was critical and they would reach their breaking point depending on the merchandise and its weight. He fervently hoped the kid could handle it. And his back, he thought about that too, because he could already imagine what kind of pain they would have to face. They were no longer the youngest.

"What's in the baskets?" He looked at Whisper and pointed to the baskets.

Whisper shrugged her shoulders as if it were irrelevant. But then she revealed the contents as Azalek continued to stare at her as if expecting a more detailed answer.

"Seaweed, Fire Lily," she opined, "The stones were not ordered this month, so they are lighter goods. But," she added as Azalek relaxed. "That doesn't mean you can be sloppy with them! They are fragile and delicate, respectively. Woe to you if anything breaks!"

Azalek nodded off this objection without elaborating further. He looked at the baskets again. Light goods, that sounded good. He looked briefly at Kin Amir, then nodded. "All right," he said. "Let's strap this stuff on and get going. Let's not dawdle any further."

Kin Amir sighed, but said nothing. He stepped closer and put a paw on one of the baskets. Whisper jumped in between. "Wait, wait!" she called shortly. "You're not going to put those on yourselves! You'll break something." She reached for the basket, causing Kin Amir's paw to slip down. "I'll put them on, too. Turn around." Her tone brooked no argument, so the man hastily turned to have Whisper strap the basket to his back.

"Wait here," she said, pushing Storyteller aside briefly, then reaching for the next basket. With a deft movement, she hoisted it onto Kin Amir's back and strapped that one on as well. Kin Amir's face contorted as he realized the weight was increasing. After the third basket, he didn't look so happy. Meanwhile, Storyteller had her basket strapped to her back and was beaming.

"It's not as hard as I feared," she admitted, and Kin Amir had to pull himself together not to contradict her. Azalek, too, looked as if he wanted to say something to the contrary as Whisper fastened the last basket. It was light stuff, but the bulk still added up to quite a bit of weight.

"We can do that!" Storyteller looked adventurous as she had little weight to lift. Whisper nodded. That was the right attitude, as long as it didn't make them let their guard down.

"All right, set out," she said, "but remember to be careful! Nothing must happen to the merchandise. It is expensive, it has value, and it will only bring me losses if you damage it." She gave the two adults a stern look and they lowered their heads slightly. They had understood that and it was weighing on them, even though they hadn't even started walking yet.

Storyteller nodded. "Yeah sure," the child replied. "We'll be careful." She tapped the manor on her shoulder. "Nothing will happen to the flowers and stuff."

Whisper smiled briefly, then pointed toward the road. "Off you go, then. See you tonight."