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Sindri so'Jofrio paused outside of the Trade Hall, leaning down to fiddle with a boot lace. He wouldn't precisely say that he was afraid. No, this was more like his hesitation before he climbed a crumbling slope to check if any gems had worked their way to the surface of Father Trothgard's skin after some recent rainfall. Sindri was assessing his chances.
Elder, who was in fact his eldest sister, had never been an easy woman to persuade. She wasn't too fond of his mentor, the master prospector Ukko so'Yrsa, either. "I don't care how wealthy the man is," Elder said. "For all his fancy tent, he still reminds me of some ancient, withered bachelor laired up in a mountain cave, cackling over a smoky fire and muttering about cryptic omens." She'd flicked Sindri’s braid. "Next thing you know, he'll have you eating spiders and casting spells like some outlander magician. Just you wait and see." Sindri hadn't told her then that Ukko could be rather rude on the subject of sorcerers and priests, and now he was glad that he hadn't. Her knowing of Ukko's cynicism wouldn’t have helped Sindri today.
Ukko's instructions had been quite definite. Sindri was to warn his three sisters, each in turn, that fearful change was coming to Trothgard. The Ice Queen's land now turned around the hinge of fate even as the stars wheeled around the axis of the heavens above. Warning, Ukko had said with a scowl on his massive, fat face, was certainly owed. He hadn't elaborated, but only given Sindri three sealed packets, one for each of his sisters.
When Sindri had started to ask questions, Ukko had grunted the grunt that meant Sindri should be quiet. Then he added, "Come back when you are done, and I will speak with you again." The brown eyes opened wide from their usual half-squint, and some fugitive glint of light from the hearth fire made Ukko’s irises seem to glow for an instant.
Sindri both snorted and rolled his eyes at being put off – he'd learned enough to tell that some stranger hid in the back of Ukko's tent – but he took the packets. Ukko wouldn't mind Sindri's expression. He never cared how rude Sindri was as long as Sindri obeyed. It was one reason why Sindri secretly cherished the great bear of a man in his heart.
Right now, though, Sindri felt more like strangling Ukko with the man's own braid ties. Elder the senior trader, Midei the dedicatee of runes, Vesa the crafter permitted within the Kona's own tent: delivering these messages to his sisters wasn't going to be easy. There were days when Sindri wished he was a lass orphaned by ice trolls, filled with the Ice Queen's anger and bound for revenge, just like all the hero-warriors described in the ancient epics. He was sure that such an origin must be as simplifying for the hero as it was preferred by most skalds.
But such broodings were self-indulgent and soft, fit only for women from warmer lands. Taking a deep breath, Sindri opened himself to the world around him. Wind blowing from the Ice Queen's sky above, press of Father Trothgard beneath his feet: Sindri was small and yet part of everything. Nothing he did mattered. Everything he did counted. Both soothed and centered by the exercise Ukko had taught him, he strode forward. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't been to the Trade Hall, to pass his crystal gleanings on to Elder for sale, tens of times before.
As he entered the great tent, an older Trothgardian warrior stepped away from the skin wall to look at Sindri, her inquiring gaze both kindly and condescending. Sindri kept his own gaze direct when he spoke, as an honorable young man should do. "Greetings, valiant warrior. I seek my sister, the Trader Elder so'Jofrio."
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The Hinge of Fate - Sindri - Samheem 27th MT
OOC: Sorry for the delay, work decided that my taz schedule was far too active for the time being. Please check your PMs, I've sent you a quick note.
IC: The veteran warrior seemed to appraise Sindri with her quiet eyes and her measured steps. She looked over him casually, with that same sneer of disdain for men that many of the older women warriors seemed to share.
Inside the large tent, the business of barter and trade went on, unaffected by Sindri's request. Several others were making similar inquires at the same time. The maiden warriors kept the shuffling and loitering to a minimum here, and the woman who had approached Sindri gestured for him to stay put. She whispered something to a fellow guardian, and that younger woman went off to find Elder.
Sindri's sister returned with the guardian and waved for him to follow her. She began to lead him through the small maze of trading booths and Sindri could witness several types of exchanges taking place. One man was selling dogs for sleds, a woman sold skins for warmth or shelter and the dried, salted meat as food, another sold freshly baked bread. Very little money changed hands in the Trade Hall of Rimmerhold, for this was a place of barter and haggle, trade and exchange. Few things were purchased with coin here.
It did not take long for them to arrive back at the booth owned by the Jofrio clan. It was a larger space, occupied by rough hewn tables with various tunics and breeches spun and woven by hand. A few trinkets of crystal jewelry were laid out as well. Behind the tables, several large wooden trunks were guarded by a member of the Jofrio Clan.
"Sindri? What is it?" Elder asked, her normally serene face creased in concern.
IC: The veteran warrior seemed to appraise Sindri with her quiet eyes and her measured steps. She looked over him casually, with that same sneer of disdain for men that many of the older women warriors seemed to share.
Inside the large tent, the business of barter and trade went on, unaffected by Sindri's request. Several others were making similar inquires at the same time. The maiden warriors kept the shuffling and loitering to a minimum here, and the woman who had approached Sindri gestured for him to stay put. She whispered something to a fellow guardian, and that younger woman went off to find Elder.
Sindri's sister returned with the guardian and waved for him to follow her. She began to lead him through the small maze of trading booths and Sindri could witness several types of exchanges taking place. One man was selling dogs for sleds, a woman sold skins for warmth or shelter and the dried, salted meat as food, another sold freshly baked bread. Very little money changed hands in the Trade Hall of Rimmerhold, for this was a place of barter and haggle, trade and exchange. Few things were purchased with coin here.
It did not take long for them to arrive back at the booth owned by the Jofrio clan. It was a larger space, occupied by rough hewn tables with various tunics and breeches spun and woven by hand. A few trinkets of crystal jewelry were laid out as well. Behind the tables, several large wooden trunks were guarded by a member of the Jofrio Clan.
"Sindri? What is it?" Elder asked, her normally serene face creased in concern.