We never asked for this

A bit nervous the young thrall walked over to the office of the harbour master. The man had summoned him without giving a reason, and Maurr thought he had done something wrong. Why else would he want to speak to him in person? The man normally didn’t care much about his thralls as long as they performed their tasks properly. Only when there had been complaints he got involved with them. So now he was thinking about the past few weeks over and over again. Trying to figure out what could have reached his master and what could possibly be bad enough for him to want to punish him. Because his mind was fixed on that, and he tried to prepare himself mentally for whatever would come. He could handle it when people yelled at him, he could even take a beating, but this was a different situation. It had to be severe, so he might be at risk for a whipping or even losing a hand. Of course Maurr didn’t steal anything, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to put the blame on those lowest in the social rankings.

When he entered the building, the harbour master was sitting at his desk in the back of the room, near the fire. He didn’t look up, but waved at him to come closer. ”I need you to go to Zakarias Leifsson, the carpenter. He is currently working on my order and needs to be paid. You will take this to him”, The master started, after which he opened a drawer from his desk and pulled out a heavy-looking bag that jingled when he put it down. It had to be full of gold coins. ”And Maurr.. I counted these coins myself. If I hear one was missing, I know where to find you, am I clear?” He continued, only now looking up. The young man nodded a couple of times. ”Yes sir”, He replied, after which he rushed forward and took the bag off the desk.

Walking around with a lot of gold was weird, certainly because he had no idea what to do if someone would try to take it from him. Surely, no one would want to mess with the harbour master himself, but a thrall? He tried to shake the thought and walked towards the village. The carpenter wasn’t hard to find. Maurr entered the shop, still not entirely calmed down. He would feel a lot better if he could give the man his payment. ”Hello? Anybody there?” He dared to shout after a couple of minutes. Hopefully the other man wouldn’t be in a bad mood, as he didn’t know if shouting at him to come up front would be considered rude or not.

&Zakarias

The bag of gold seemed to become heavier with every step he took. It was irrational, but he thought that everyone that passed him, knew what he was transporting. A funny way of thinking, as no one would ever expect a thrall to carry such a huge amount of coins. But maybe someone had overheard the harbourmaster speak to him. Maybe someone was preparing an ambush somewhere along the way, to steal the gold. By the time he arrived at the center of the village, he was almost crushing the bag between his hands. Not that it was possible, but it felt like they coins would crumble any second by the way he was clenching his hands around them. He tried to relax, but he was still not at really at ease. For now, the payment was his responsibility and he struggled hard with it. He wasn’t used to being asked to do tasks like this. He was just a simple thrall who dragged heavy logs or tools around the harbour all day.

So naturally he felt kind of relieved when he stepped into the shop. At least now he was at his destination. But the man he was supposed to deliver the bag to, was not in sight. He got nervous again, to the point where he decided to shout through the shop to draw someone’s attention. Normally he wouldn’t do something like this, as he was not supposed to speak unless spoken to. From the back of the shop, he heard noise, and in a few seconds a man entered the room. He was tall, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. He smiled, but Maurr couldn’t smile back. Instead, his eyes were focussed on the chisel in his hands. It was not a weapon, but it sure looked sharp. ”What can I do for you?” The man asked, and he snapped out of it. ”Eh.. Eh I’m looking for Zakarias Leifsson”, He replied, stammering at first, although that got better from the moment he teared his eyes away from the weapon in his hands.