Morning lessons being done, Haut and I walked down to the dining room where Kayle had our mid-day meal prepared for us, while Azabooth had gone to his room to change for some afternoon meetings.  

The meal consisted of bread, berries and grapes, and cheese.  Most commoners in Geaury ate fish and grains, as Geaury was established on one of the continents 4 Huric Lakes.  Most fruits we ate were imported from the elves, making it a luxury.

Kayle's klee form was an average sized woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and green eyes, in her 40s.  She dressed as simple as one could as the wife of a successful merchant, wearing common dresses and a gold necklace with an emerald stone that Azabooth gave her when they were bonded.  Today, her dress was a dark blue, and her hair was in a french braid.

Kayle is our shoomitah, which is sort of like a mother in the cultures of men.  Unlike men, changelings cannot father their offspring, and require a male of another race to mate.  Changelings call this "The Curse of Amerish", or simply "The Curse."

"How were your lessons, podimae?" Kayle asked us in dwarven.

"Karuptik g'nasha sumpti fant," I replied, stuttering a little.

Kayle snickered, "Death as boring, huh?"  Her eyebrow raised, waiting for the correction.

"Sumpti fant g'nasha karuptik," I corrected, putting a grape in my mouth.

"If you could keep the words in the right order, you could pass as a dwarf," she said smiling.  "They might think you mad though, so don't choose smart looking guise."  Her smile continued, looking at Haut.  "Tisa?"

"Rohm.  Lostama untar Lontic Cleanse.  Imitak dumodo, Imala krusha dum," Haut replied.

Kayle nodded her head and pierced her lips.  "Yes it is...  The Lontic Cleanse is interesting..."  Her eyes teared a little.  

Haut's reply referred to the Lontic Clense, which was the invasion of the dark races in the north against the settlements of hill dwarves and humans in the south, about 35 years ago.  When all humans and dwarves were nearly wiped out, having pushed our armies and survivors to the King's Peninsula, the invasion mysteriously ended.  No one had a rational explanation for the retreat, and while ravaged, lands held by hill dwarves and men were left unoccupied.

"Sorry," Haut replied.  Our kishoomitah and kikoomitah died in the Cleanse, and Kayle never reacted well to the topic.

It was silent for several seconds, while Haut and I continued eating, not knowing what to say.

"I'm thinking about changing my hair red," I said, breaking the silence.

"Red?" Kayle asked, smiling.

"Yes, I love red.  And freckles!  I feel so bland in my klee," I replied.

"A red head would match your personality," Haut said, "All fire and attitude!  Besides, I agree.  Your klee never was very appealing,"  He laughed.

"Haut!" Kayle exclaimed in a scolding tone.  "Your aundin is beautiful in her klee!"

a'choo!

I shifted my face to match Haut's face, with a lazy eye.  "Huh huh!  Look at me girls, I'm so witty!  Come dance with me!"  I bobbed my head and shoulders, mocking him.  Pinching my nose, I shifted back to my klee and laughed.

Haut and Kayle both laughed with me.

Haut jumped up from his chair, and started shifting into random guises, while mocking my sneezes with every shift.  "Guess who I am!" he said, continuing on, hands out as he walked around the room shifting.

We all laughed a harder.

Azabooth entered the room in his dark green merchant robes, with a smile on his face. "What's going on in here?" he asked.  Seeing Haut continuing the act, he began to laugh too, though not as hard as the rest of us.

The laughter died down, and Kayle wiped her eyes.  "Headed out?" she asked, grin sill lingering.

"Yes, Bradley is meeting me and Mr. Dugerand at the tavern to discuss a shipment of stone," he said.  "Bradley and I have some preparation to do before we leave to Fork tomorrow, so we'll be home later this evening."

Bradley is my other aundin, 4 years older than Haut.  Haut and I help Azabooth with minor matters of business around town, but only Azabooth and Bradley do the traveling.  Fork was a day and a half ride from Geaury, and served as a meeting spot between here Safe Passage and Reavric.

I asked, "Where is Bradley now?"

"Rhumba V'lar is in town with a stone shipment," he replied.  "He's taking a look through their stock to see if there's anything we want.  I'm sure there's not, we only get good product from them when we do the visiting."

Kayle walked over and gave Azabooth a long hug.  "Bring home some honey, if you find some in the market," she said.  "Itock never has honey.  Given the connections he has in Good Burrow, you'd think he'd have a supply."

"We'll see what we can find, love," Azabooth replied, hugging her back in his large arms.  Looking briefly at us, he said, "excuse us, aundinae."  Then he pulled her around the corner.

I smiled at Haut, as he rolled his eyes at me and shook his head.  We continued to eat the rest of our meal.

"Ohh!" Kayle exclaimed.  Then they both snickered, coming around the corner.

"Come, give me a hug, audinae," he said.  "I may not see you tonight."

Haut and I both walked to Azabooth and gave him a hug, each in turn.  Azabooth looked at us both with a smile of a proud koomitah.

Azabooth's face pressed together, as he thought of something.  Turning to Haut he said, "I haven't forgotten about last evening.  We'll discuss your punishment when I get home."

Stepping back, looking at both of us, Azabooth said, "Next week, we'll discuss some added responsibilities for the both of you."

Haut and I both looked at each other, uncertain what to make of that.

Azabooth turned to Kayle and kissed her one last time on the cheek and whispered something in her ear.  Kayle giggled.  Then he walked out.

"I have some errands to run today, audinae, so I'll be out," she said. "If you go anywhere, be home by 5 bells to help me with dinner," she said to me.  Looking at Haut, "As for you, you better be home for dinner, and on your best behavior while Azabooth is gone."

We both replied with affirmative answers, and Kayle walked to the door saying, "take care of your plate wear!"

I looked at Haut, and grabbed his plate as well as my own.

"Not arguing who washes the dishes?" Haut asked.

"Not if you're helping me with..." I trailed off, not wanting Kayle to hear if she was still lingering around.

"Thanks!" he replied.  "I'll go get my stuff and meet you down here when you're ready."

I quickly took the dishes into the overly-large kitchen, and placed them in the sink, while grabbing the empty water jug next to it.  Stepping outside the door, I placed the empty jug with the others, and grabbed a full jug of water from under the small enclosure by the door.  We may not have house staff to do our choirs, but that didn't mean Azabooth neglected all luxury.  Azabooth paid one of Mrs. Gible's house staff to deliver water to us every two or three days.

I quickly poured some water over our dishes, and scoured them clean with a sponge, not that there was much to clean.  The way Haut and I would fight over this, you'd think it took hours.  After returning the plates to the cupboard, it took all of about 5 minutes, and then I went to my room.

I disrobed once again, and put on one of my nicer green dresses.  I went to the mirror, finishing the front tie, and smiled to myself, as I grew taller and slender, filling out the dress.  Holding my sneeze in, I drew out my hair, changing it light blonde, as my eyes changed to a deep blue.  My face slimmed out, taking on the appearance of a young beautiful woman I once saw at the market.  Of course, I changed a few features, lest someone recognize me and ruin the day.  I grinned at my deviance.

I grabbed my sack, and walked to the first level quickly.  It was difficult running in the dress.

Haut looked up at me, his face somewhat taken aback.

"I also think I look stunning," I smiled.

Haut frowned at me.  "Noo...  I mean yes, but no, you're way over dressed and your appearance is too pretty."

I scoffed, "too pretty?  Pfft..."

"No, really," Haut said.  "Look... First, you're outclassing these men, whoever they are.  If they're robbing men in the dark, they're obviously not upper class.  If you're dressed too nicely, they're not going to be themselves, much less find you approachable.

"Second," he continued, "My guess is that these men aren't on the top of the food chain, and shy away from groups of men that don't find their way of profit... honorable.  If you're the prettiest girl in the room, they'll shy away from their competition."

I wrinkled my face, "Right... And you're an expert at attracting men?"

"I'm not," Haut said.  "I have been known to catch a girl or two though, and the concept isn't much different.  Women start out passive, especially when alone, but in a group, the same pack mentality comes out as with men.  The alphas always chase away the rest of the pack, unless there are more attractive prey in the room."

"So... put back on my other dress?" I asked.

Haut nodded then said, "Wait...  Nothing flashy.  Remember, you're not a merchant daughter.  You work for a living today."

I went back to my room, and found an off white blouse and light brown dress.  "At least this will be more comfortable to walk in," I thought.

Walking back to my mirror, I shifted my features a little, but my general features until I thought I was a little less attractive.  I shifted my eyes to a dark brown.  I guess I've met people who are really pretty or handsome, but I've never spent much time thinking about what exactly made someone pretty or attractive.  "I guess this will have to do," I told myself.

I walked back downstairs to where Haut was standing, and spread my arms in a curtsy.  "Ugly enough for you now?" I mocked.

"Yep!" he replied.  "We need to find out who these guys are.  You said you didn't recognize them, right?"

"No, I figured they're part of a merchant caravan or something," I said.  "It was dark, and I guess I didn't really see how they were dressed.  I just know one was average height with darker hair and kind of a deep voice.  The other man was shorter, and had a high annoying voice.  I think his hair was lighter, but I didn't see."

"Did they wear a guard's band or anything around their right arm?"  he asked.  "You know, like they were in a garrison to the outposts?"

I looked up trying to remember details.  Nothing came to mind.  "I guess I don't know," I said, looking back at him.  "I don't remember seeing any. They didn't have any cloak or anything on if that helps."

"Nah, it's summer," he said with a slight smile. "Only you wear a cloak outside during the summer."

I wore my reply on my face, squeezing my lips together and opened my good eye wider, while bobbing my head side to side.

"Fine, let's start looking at the store houses."

"Geaury Mannor!?" I replied.  "Didn't you say you were at The Pig And Hallow with me?  Isn't that where we start?"

"No." Haut said.  "They only sleep there.  All the work done in town is at the stores, and merchants do their dealing at Gheejis Inn and Gammery.  They could also be making a delivery to Geaury Mannor, but I'm betting they'd still be delivering it to the stores."

"How do you know any of this?" I responded, palms out to my sides.  I started doubting my idea to get the lute back.  Haut just showed me I knew nothing about seduction, and revealed that my knowledge of my own town was pretty much non existent.

"My lessons with Azabooth," he said.  "I think he wants me to do work with him and Bradley, so he's been telling me more about how trade works."

Jealousy started boiling inside me.  I'll be the only one not working in our pod's business.  Like, maybe I wasn't good enough?  "Why didn't Azabooth talk to me about any of this," I wondered to myself.

I kept my feelings in, though I'm sure some of it showed on my face.  "Let's go," I said as I pushed past Haut to the door.

---

As we began to walk out our alley down the street, I started at a voice, "You never told me your name." 

Whirling around, I saw Haut had shifted before we left.  He wore long curly dark hair, about a half foot taller than me.  He had a clean shaven face, with light brown eyes.  He looked to be in his early 30s.

"Schiel Ovey," I replied, contracting my voice a little, just enough to change my voice.  "You know, you look about 10 years older than me.  Are we to say you're my brother or a child thief that took me when I was 6?"

"Thomson Ovey, nice to meet you," Haut said back.  "You should age up a little so no one asks where you're mommy is."

I glanced around briefly and then placed my hands to my face, pretending to cover a cough.  As I did so, I increased the skin volume around my face, and released my facial muscles ever so slightly to get the right affect.  It only takes slight adjustments to have a big impact.

"So my husband then." I stated.

"Mhmm, that should work if anyone asks," Haut replied uninterested.

We continued walking down our cobblestone street towards the market again.  Haut was in the lead.  Today was much like any other day, with people walking up and down the street, visiting this shop or that.  Most of the people were likely staff running errands for their masters.  The shops were primarily for the upper class, but rarely did they come here on their own.  Unfortunately, much of the wares here were too expensive for common folk to buy.

Soon, we entered the market.  It was quite busy compared to the last evening, though it was hard to suppress the memories as we came upon the location.  I stopped, looking at the spot I feel.  A feeling of anger welled inside me as I stood there.  I stood there for long moments, remembering the details.  "I am not a victim," I mouthed to myself.

"... I asked if you wanted some fresh fish, ma'am" I heard someone say.

Not registering the voice speaking to me, my eyes focused on one of the posts of the stall.  It appeared to be marked with three lines of red running at a downward slant.  Had the man been bleeding?

I looked at the man in the stall.  He was staring at me, having obviously given up talking to me, but still somehow expectant.  He was a short old man, with wild gray beard and matching hair around the crown of his balding head.  He seemed to be chewing on his gums as he looked at me.

I started to shake my head at the men when I felt my arm lung away from me at my side.  "There you are, Shiel.  We cannot afford fish tonight, I told you," Haut said in an exasperated tone.

I glanced back at the man as Haut gripped my hand and kept me moving through the crowd to the other side.  The man continued chewing at his gums watching as I was pulled on.

Haut lead me up the street past Gheejis Inn.  Gheejis Inn backed to the outer wall of the manor, which I guessed made it a short distance for patrons to walk to the manor yard.  The building was large, and I counted 5 levels of windows.  Passing the front, I could see guards posted at the door.

I looked at Haut and asked, "Why are there guards," trying to keep his pace.

Haut said, "The two inns are for upper class merchants and state dignitaries.  The guards make them feel important, I guess."

Again, I kept silent.  State dignitaries?  I didn't even know what that meant, though I could probably guess.  It didn't matter that Haut was three years older than me.  I prided myself in my studies, and Haut knowing this much about something I never heard of just got under my skin.

"What's the hurry?" I asked.

Haut didn't look back as he replied.  "We have about 5 hours before we have to be home," he said.  "We need time to figure out who they are, and then figure how to get the lute back."

He was right.  I just assumed we'd find them at The Pig And Hallow and figure it out from there.

It didn't take long before we entered a section of town I had never been to.  The street we were on was lined with row houses.  At one point, we crossed a road that was wider than the rest.  On my left side was a large entrance to the manor, with several guards on either side.  A street sprung directly out from it, more row houses.

We kept walking and finally reached a cross road that didn't enter the manor.  Haut slowed.  "Start looking," he said.  "A block or two more to the stores."

Haut turned and looked at me.  "This isn't a place to meander," he said.  "We need to walk like we belong here, or the guards will question us or make us leave."

I felt out of my element.  "Ok," was all I could muster in reply accompanied with a nod.  Then I paused and asked, "why?"

Haut pierced his lips.  "Because, this is the supply depot for the northern garrison," he said.  "That makes this a great place for thieves, which guards don't take kindly to."

"Ok," I said once more.

"Keep looking for these guys as we walk.  Oh, and this would be a good time to use Seech, if you need to say anything to me," he said.

Seech is a the changeling language.  At least, it's sort of a language.  Changelings have a second set of vocal cords that make sound at pitches that only animals can typically hear.  We can only activate them by making sound with our lower vocal cords.  It doesn't matter what sounds we produce to activate our Seech vocal cords, as even humming can activate them, which is usually even more convenient.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

Then, he turned and straightened his posture and put his head back, giving an air of importance.  Perhaps it was an air of arrogance.  His pace slowed a bit from earlier, but he held a purpose in his walk, ignoring the guards as he past.  Tilting my head back, I imitated Haut and trailed after him.

It was odd.  Merely adopting this new posture made me feel important.  It was as though, the act itself produced the feeling that came along with it.  I almost felt like I had business here!