Completed Whether You Like it or Not

[Cor Alspach]

11 × Winter × 515

It was early when Cor woke. His Gran was already up, bent over the hearth and prodding it as she waited for a pot of water to boil. The boy closed his sleep-deprived eyes for a moment before forcing himself to leave the relative comfort and warmth. His bare feet landed on the floor with a pat. Neither boy nor grandmother said a word as was routine. Cor pulled on his warmer clothes, buttoned his jacket, stuck his cap on his head and grabbed a chunk of bread from the table then he was gone, dog in tow.

Cor always started off at a slow walk through the streets that would always be busy even at that time of the morning. Slow as he was still waking up and slow as it was nice for Pan to be able to walk part of the way. The dog snorted and snuffed trailing close behind him, licking up the crumbs of bread dropped by accident and the larger bits dropped on purpose.

Routine. The chunk of bread was always finished right around the spot where the streets started widening and the real throng buzzed of bittern districts’ finest workers all hurrying on their ways. Normally Cor loved the crowds, crowds helped him vanish. Pan, blind as he was, hated crowds and so when the boy was with his dog, so did he. The dog stood shaky on his legs and let the boy scoop him up. Pan wasn’t a small dog but he was just small enough that Cor could carry him without looking too ridiculous.

The two joined the torrent.

Normally Cor wouldn’t be thinking about much at all as he marched through the city. This morning was different though as just the day prior he had been blackmailed into a task. Collect information. He had been up all night thinking about it and the more he thought the more complicated it became. How much information? On whom exactly? What exactly? What if he said something and it was far too much that he gave away? Was it even a good deal? Would the Knight really haul him off to the tank? Was he willing to risk that?

Finally the two reached their spot near the gates. Pan was happy to be on his own shaky legs again and snuffled around in the frost as Cor sat and thought. His eyes rested on the land just outside the gate and the flocks of people who were already making their way in. His mind raced more than normal -- perhaps to rid himself of the questions bothering him -- about where these people came from. He imagined the landscapes and cities they travelled from. The monsters they were hunted by. It was proving to be rather entertaining until Cor noticed that the sniffing and wheezing sounds that marked his dog had vanished.

“Pan?” The boy asked, bouncing to his feet. The question grew louder as did the worry “Pan? Pan!?” He spun, eyes darting this way and that for the dog. He had never done that before. Cor’s breathing started to tighten and he started making his way through the crowd toward a Knight. Maybe they were good for something after all.

“Help,” he begged. “My dog, I think someone’s stolen my dog.”

The Knight turned to the voice with a question on his face. “The scruffy brown one? Headed off over there, son.” Before even thanking the Knight, Cor was off running toward the Nettle district.

Cor / Others / 583 words

[Cor Alspach]

“Don’t ever EVER do that again,” Cor scolded, holding the scruff on both sides of the dog’s face. He sniffed and blinked away the tears forming in his eyes. Pan gave a whine, licking his lips and wagging his tail with tiny strokes. The dog’s clouded eyes blinked and attempted to look away though they were sightless. He knew he was in trouble with his boy, the reactions came automatically.

Cor finally released the dog and stood back up, wiping his nose on his sleeve. It was then that he realized Pan was sitting in the doorway of some sort of shop. The boy’s eyes glanced up to find the sign Undeniable Interests. He frowned. Surely there would be some uninteresting things in the shop that would prove the title wrong, why not go for a more general name?

Still, the name had done its job, his curiosity was piqued. He opened the door and watched as Pan pushed his way past and happily took to cataloging the shop with his nose. The breeze that blew through the door as well as the breeze made by Pan’s tail stirred up quite the flurry of dust.

It took a moment for Cor’s eyes to adjust properly to the dimness and even then, there were so many shadows that he couldn’t possibly take everything in. It was a menagerie. A concoction. Everywhere he looked there was too much too see. It was mostly books piled this way and that. Scattered on top of the books like decorations on a cake were artifacts and baubles vials and many other things the boy couldn’t even pretend to know. Then there were the layers of dust and grime and cobwebs and Cor couldn’t help but feeling like he had walked into a crypt. All of a sudden he felt very small.

“Come on, boy,” he whispered. As far as he could tell there was no clerk around. He could just leave without bothering anything which wasn’t very much like his style. Style or not though, he didn’t belong in a shop like that. Cor groaned as the dog took off tail wagging down one of the narrow columns. Surely he was going deaf now too. Gritting his teeth, Cor followed at a tip-toe.

It was by pure luck that he didn’t knock anything over as he squeezed past the towers. If only that luck went to his dog listening to him then he’d be just fine. The dog became extra happy as the row gave way to more space as there appeared to be crumbs on the floor. Cor couldn’t help but give a grin.

Then he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Cor / Others / 448 words

[Cor Alspach]

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting!?” The voice came gravelly and raw from a mound. It took a few moments before the ancient man extracted himself and hobbled toward the stunned boy. “I put out the advertisement two hours ago. Two hours! You sure like to keep someone waiting, don’t you?”

Cor finally regained the use of his tongue. “Sir, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He jumped back and stabilized the tower of books he bumped as the man jabbed a walking stick at him.

“That would be Master Ariva to you! Bah! The nerve today.” With that the man threw his hands into the air and vanished mumbling into the stacks.

Cor clucked at Pan, hoping the dog might get the hint and leave the shop for surely it would be impossible to carry him out without knocking everything over. The dog didn’t get the hint though and lay down with a harumph. Cor was startled again as a piece of paper was shoved under his nose.

“This. See? Here’s a copy I made.” Cor could make out the wording of an advertisement asking simply for “Adequate Help Required.” It didn’t even have a name or address as to where someone might apply to be such help or anything that it might entail.

The boy shook his head. “You’re mistaken, er...Master Avi- Avor-”

“Ariva!”

“Yeah, that.” Cor pointed down at the beast near his feet. “My dog got lost and then I think he smelled food. I’ll just be going if you don’t mind.”

The man’s wrinkled face frowned. “Can you read, boy?” Cor nodded. “Can you write?”

Cor shrugged “Uhm...a little?”

“Good! You can start right away.” The man vanished again, leaving Cor rather speechless as to how such a cripply old man could actually move like that. He was also rather speechless as to what it was he was still doing in this strange shop and as to why he hadn’t left already.

Curiosity.

The shop was bursting with food for curiosity.

“Ahem. If you’re rather done daydreaming?” The man was holding a book that was definitely on the smaller side compared to most books in the shop. That didn’t mean much though as it was still much larger than any of the books Cor had been forced to read as a young child were. “Here’s your first task just to see whether against my better judgement there is something hidden inside your head.”

Cor scowled but was stopped from replying as he scrambled to catch the book. He dusted off the front of it and it read “Abacuses, Abaci, and the superior Abacusi.”

The man waited for Cor’s puzzled face to look back at him before continuing. “You can read it in your breaks and take it home with you, I’ll be quizzing you on it as soon as you’re finished.”

That was it. The last straw. Too much. The cons outweighed the benefits of feeding his curiosity. This wasn't the only place in the city. He could be undeniably interested is something else. The boy dropped the book on a swaying pile. “No way. You're a nutter and I didn’t come here for a job.” He crouched down and pulled the dog to his feet. “C’mon, Pan. We're done here.”

Cor / Others / 551 words

[Cor Alspach]

He would have left. Nearly did. Nearly vanished from the shop never to return, forever passing it off. “I was nearly dragged into a job there,” he would say to his other middle-aged friends thirty years into the future as they walked past on the way to their boring laborious jobs. The would have a good old chuckle and then it would be gone once from their minds. That was if Cor didn’t prematurely die in a mining accident first, or rot away in the tanks.

He would have left. One hand was on the uncooperative Pan’s scruff, the other was on the door handle. It was hard dragging and coaxing the dog through the job all the while feeling the eyes of the old man on him. Daring him to nab something on his way out. Pan was comfortable in the warm shop though and outside there were crowds and cold and he’d have to go back home. His legs stuck out at awkward angles as Cor switched between dragging the dog from under his armpits and pushing him from behind. Pan’s feet caught on the stacks and shifted things and stirred up dust but still Cor moved on toward the exit.

He would have left. Nearly did. Then a coin hit him on the side of the head.

“What was that for!?” Cor spun, letting go of both dog and door and holding the back of his head. Then his eyes caught the glitter on the ground. He picked it up. A whole gold miza.

“Two a day as long as you show up.” Now the man had the boy’s attention. “No need to clean or organize, I like me’ shop how it is. In fact, I’ll give you the sack if you do. No, I would expect you to learn where things are, help my customers and run errands. If you can actually read and write I’ll get you to help copy books which will eventually earn you better pay. Take it or leave it, I’m sure the next boy to come along will be smarter anyway.” With this the man shuffled away.

Cor blinked. Two whole gold mizas a day. Pilfering was becoming harder now that he was getting older and didn’t look quite so innocent. Two gold mizas a day wasn’t much compared to the jobs adults held, but he was not an adult. A boy could do a lot with two whole gold mizas a day.

Cor cleared his throat. “I’ll take it.”

“Speak up, boy!” the voice called from the back of the shop.

“I’ll take it!” Cor raised his voice until it was nearly a shout.

The man appeared again, a grin spread into the wrinkly face. “May be hope for you yet er...what’s your name? While I’m not opposed to referring to you as boy, so many come and go from my shop it’s nice to be able to keep track with something other than boy one, boy two, oh, boy twenty-eight -- now he was an interesting fellow…”

“My name is Cor.” The boy cut in before the man could continue.

Ariva scowled, once again waving his cane. “What kind of name is that? Core of the apple no one wanted?”

The boy shook his head, matching the scowl perfectly. “Corrin Alspach. Everyone calls me Cor though.”

The man barked out a laugh. “I am not everyone, boy. If nothing else, you remember that.” Then the man was gone again, leaving Cor to wonder how he moved so much for someone so ancient. Then he was left. To look at his feet. Look up at the books. One last look at the door, and then another at the miza in his hand. A shout called out, saving him “The book, boy!” So much for telling the man his name.

Cor / Others / 639 words

[Cor Alspach]

The hours drooled by. Cor was perched behind the counter of the shop, hunched beside a candle and over the book. He had already pitched the book across the room but scurried to pick it up when the man asked what the noise was and went back to reading. It was filled with ridiculous things as if the author tried to use the most elaborate words whether they made sense or not. The boy was struggling with a passage and resorted to whispering it out loud, tripping over the words as he went. “...Again, the abacusi proves its preponderation as a plural for the facileness of tongue. As an exercise in this, we ask the reader to pronounce ‘abacusi’ then ‘abacuses’ three times over. Though it bears the same number of syllables as the former, the latter is indeed bogged down by an extra letter. Why not utilize the shorter version, abaci, you might ask? It is all well to do in the circles you may spend time in however, the poor simpletons will have not a clue of what you verbalize of. How graceful you would appear by utilizing a word more proximate to the pristine…”

A light cough interrupted the boy who slammed the book shut. “Interesting material for one so...young.” A well-kept gentleman stood near the door, an eyebrow raised. Cor wasn’t sure if it was raised in disgust or amusement.

Forcing himself to keep a civil tongue, the boy replied “Can I help you with anything?” He stood, ready to go and get his new boss. At his feet Pan let out a yawn and stretched.

“Ohh, no no,” the gentleman chuckled. “I saw an advertisement asking for help? I’ve come to offer my assistance.”

As if on cue, Ariva appeared, giving the man an up and down look. He pointed at Cor. “Position’s been filled.”

Cor swallowed. Surely the man would be far better suited to the role? Shouldn’t he have been ousted? He wasn’t sure he could even complete his first task, let alone any others that the crazy old coot might come up with. The gentleman seemed to share these thoughts and looked confused for a moment, eyes flicking between boy and old man.

“Are...you sure? I do have talents I’m sure could be of use..”

“I gave you my answer,” Ariva growled. “I have enough so called mages coming in here enough, I don’t need yet another one poking around thinking he is entitled to something. Are you going to buy anything?”

The man looked flustered and pulled a book from the stack. “This, how much is this?”

Cor gulped as Ariva turned to him. “How much is it, boy?”

“Uhm...five gold mizas?” The boy yelped as the cane rapped his head.

“Apologies, he is still learning to ask when he is not sure. That’ll be fourty-five, no less.”

The gentleman snuck the book back onto the pile then gave a slight bow. He looked like as if he might give his name in case there was an opening and then changed his mind. “Good day to you both.” Then he was gone, as quickly as he came.

Cor’s face was wrapped into a snarl as he rubbed his head. “That’s the second time today,” he growled.

The cane pointed at his face again, causing him to flinch back. “That’s because you deserved it. You can take down the advertisement on your way home when you are done here so we aren't bothered by meddlers without a coin to their name any further. Now, what was that about the about the grace of abacusi over abaci?”

Cor / Others / 607 words

[Konrad Venger]

Hey, Corrin! Once you get back and deduct your Winter Seasonal Expenses, I'll grade this up, no problem. PM me when you get back!