[51] Gifts

The merchants all met the Isi family in an office space that looked more like a garden; it even had a water feature with fish and a few colorful birds chirping happily. There was a walkway through the office space, and a small bridge to cross the water. This followed the other building philosophy of the Wendigo, an older tradition which shows reverence to the Forest Father. Wendigo believe that they must conquer nature as the Forest Father is a conqueror of the natural world. Nature bows to him, so to worship him one must also conquer nature.

The coat of arms for the Isi family, which was a raven across a sword and shield, hung proudly behind the desk where Kolbein and an older woman sat side by side. The other members of the Isi family stood, Hrolf and Tyr to the right, while to the left Drifa was holding a toddler while another small girl hid behind her legs. The Isi family bowed their heads in respect for each of the merchants.

“Thank you all for coming.” Kolbein said. “We have faced many difficulties the past few days, but we have not forgotten our manners nor the efforts you all have made to protect our people. First I wanted to introduce you to our family.”

Kolbein introduced everyone, starting with his wife Freyríðr, then Hrolf, Drifa and Tyr. He then introduced the new faces; Eydis, the five year old girl currently hiding behind Drifa, and Lif, the toddler currently being carried by her mother. Eydis made eye contact with Tanisha, then looked at Bjorn and ran to Hrolf, who picked her up.

“We will be hosting a banquet in all of your honor tonight,” Hrolf said as Eydis buried her face in his shoulder. “Anytime you are in Lavi you are welcome here. We do ask that you stay with us for a few more days, however, as we do not know when you were planning on leaving Lavi. There will be an investigation into the attacks and we will most likely be summoned to the Nazem palace to explain what happened.”

“You don’t have to worry about us going anywhere, not with a house like this,” Owen said with a whistle.

“We were also going to stay for a few weeks, to sell here in town,” Joha said. “Do you know when the summons will be happening?”

“We do not know.” Kolbein took on a complex expression. “The Nazem house has been quiet the past few days, but it is natural for the new head of their family to shirk responsibility. As for your rewards,” Kolbein continued. “We would under normal circumstances offer you money, but with everything that has happened and the rehousing of our people I am afraid we do not have the funds. So we will offer you these instead…” He motioned for someone behind them.

Tanisha turned around, and there were Isi House servants carrying chests of various sizes. A servant stopped in front of her, Joha and the goblins, each with their own chest. Tanisha’s chest was a little larger than a shoebox. The servant opened it for her, and inside laying on top was a silver necklace with small arcane symbols etched into it. Under that was a pair of beautifully crafted damascus daggers; each had runes for a magic caster to use as a wand if necessary. They were of far better quality than the combat knife she’d lost in the fight with the gnoll. The last thing in the chest looked to be a formal outfit, but she couldn’t see it well because it was folded.

The family went on about plans for a banquet for the next few minutes, but Tanisha was transfixed on the necklace, trying to figure out what the symbols meant. 

When the meeting was over Helina ran over to Drifa, wanting to see the baby. The goblin woman was a hit with the small child; Drifa let her hold Lif, and the toddler was laughing away. 

To Tanisha’s surpris Eydis walked up to her, dragging her father along. She introduced herself with a curtsy and asked about Bjorn. Eydis was initially skittish as one of Bjorn’s heads watched her, but when Tanisha petted him she wanted to give it a try. In no time she warmed up to the familiar, and even wanted to ride him when she found out Tanisha saddled him. 

“Sorry about her. You can’t go trying to climb peoples’ familiars,” Hrolf chided as he picked up the rambunctious girl. “I did want to tell you more about your gift. The necklace is a dimensional storage item; we saw you carrying a lot of stuff during the journey here and thought it would lighten the load a bit.”

Tanisha’s eye widened at that; a dimensional storage item was worth more than anything she possessed, aside from Bjorn. They worked by storing matter inside using the caster’s magic. Dimensional storage crates and bags were common, they just warped the space inside to make it bigger. But jewelry could also be enchanted; it required the creation of a small pocket dimension.

“Oh, carrying things was part of my training,” Tanisha stated. 

“See, I told you,” Tyr said to his father as he joined the group.

“I can’t accept such an expensive gift,” Tanisha said, holding out the chest in her arms.

Hrolf refused to take it. “See this girl in my hands, and the one over there makinging friends with Helina, not to mention this young man here. They are my treasures, not one necklace. If not for you I would not be here to see them again. Tyr would not be here, my father would not be here. Everything in that chest is yours.”

Tanisha stayed and talked for a bit longer. She found out that the daggers were an orichalcum; ice-silver led to high mana conductivity, meaning they were essentially sharp wands that amplified the magic of the wielder. The outfit was a gi, not formal wear like Tanisha first thought. It was well-made and enchanted to have greater protection than normal clothing. It was in the Isi’s family colors of white, baby blue, and black.

Tyr helped her put on the necklace and showed her how to use it. She already had some understanding of storage items from when she lived in the Salstar manor, before she was sent to live in the academy. She could put things into the space by holding the item and willing it in while simultaneously pushing her mana into the necklace. The pocket dimension’s storage capacity was seventy pounds.

Tanisha couldn’t stay too much longer after that, as Joha wanted to get licenses to sell in the city before the banquet, and she needed to be there for the process. She also wanted to sort out her thoughts on everything. She didn’t bring up the idea she had about them using her to gain nobility. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, but they didn’t know she was a Salstar before becoming shai; that might cause problems for them if they did make a push for nobility.

Being a noble could protect her, given the fact that the Isi were well connected in Lavi. She would be in one of the Salstar’s biggest rival’s domains, making retaliation less likely. Marriage wasn’t really that big of a deal, either. Wendigo couples could spend decades apart, and some nobles stayed together just long enough to start a family and raise the next generation. Her husband would be responsible for choosing and training the heir. Once the children were adults she’d be free to do whatever she wanted.

Tanisha sighed; she needed someone to talk to that could respond. Joha didn’t seem interested in getting involved, and didn’t really understand wendigo customs, and Bjorn couldn’t talk yet. So she resolved to talk to Helina at the banquet to get her take on things.

“We are here,” Joha said as they reached a large administration building. 

Tanisha had zoned out while riding on Bjorn’s back, and had to look around to see where they were.

There were several administration buildings around a plaza, and a large fountain with greenery decorated the middle. The building they were in front of was the Commerce and Trade Commision of Lavi, and seeing the frankly bland building amongst all the brightly-painted ones was jarring. It followed more of the wendigo building sensibility of function over form. 

“We will be here for a few hours,” Joha continued. “We are going to get permits for us both; I doubt you want to be carrying around all of those tools and weapons from the gnoll camp for very long.”

“If I can sell all of them here in Lavi that would be great,” Tanisha agreed.

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