Claire didn’t think it could get any worse but suddenly, a brawl broke out. Buckets were clashing, voices rising into a roar. People shoved, tripped, and shouted over each other, their desperation so loud it sounded like a choir of angry seagulls.
"Don’t push, I must trade first, I haven’t eaten in three days."
"Well, I haven’t eaten in a week."
"I haven’t eaten in a year."
"I have never eaten in my life!"
Suddenly, it turned into a hunger competition, as if there was a prize for who was starving the most.
And then, some men and women leapt into the water, splashing wildly as they swam in her direction. Those who couldn’t swim were already struggling like toddlers in the midst of their first swimming lessons.
Those who could swim fast were clawing at the boat in less than a minute, their hunger driving them mad. Their hands clawed at the side.
"I will trade my mother-in-law for a pound of rice!" A man screamed.
Claire gripped the pearl at her neck, ready to flee back to her world. For a moment she considered abandoning this get rich quick scheme that she had been counting on to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Paddy barked and growled, warning those who were trying to climb onto the boat to stay back. And it seemed to be working, because most of them hesitated. But still, they didn’t go away.
More people were jumping into the water. Claire was sure that she would soon be surrounded. If all those people climbed onto her boat, it would sink!
A thunder of hooves accompanied by roars silenced the chaos.
The knights she had seen in the city stormed the beach, steel flashing, commands booming. The brawl lost all life within half a minute. The people in the water swam back to the shore, cowed by authority.
"Stand back!" A knight commanded, his tone sharp as steel.
Another raised a banner, its sigil glowing faintly, a reminder of authority. The people shrank back, putting an even farther distance between themselves and the sea.
Claire’s breath steadied; for the first time since arriving this morning, she felt safe. One of the knights, a young man with curly brown hair and a kind smile stepped forward, calm but firm.
"Are you okay ma’am?" He asked.
Claire blinked for a moment, caught by surprise. The young man had an accent thicker than smoke choking a battlefield. If she hadn’t been listening carefully, she would not have understood him.
She nodded. "Just a little startled."
"You are safe now," he said. "Most of them don’t mean you any harm, they are just hungry and excited. It’s not every day a grain merchant comes to town."
Claire nodded. What he said made sense, especially considering that the people in this sixth-tier city were starving. She would not have been shocked if someone said they were cannibals. The way they had looked at her had been so---chilling.
But that thought was set aside as she turned her eyes back to the knight. She could have sworn that he said, "you are soup now," not "you are safe now."
"Do you need any help?" The knight asked.
Claire thought of the rice and noodles and bread and oil that she had come to exchange for seafood. She also thought of how useful it would be to make a connection with a knight. So, she accepted his help.
Together, they began to move things to the beach. Claire explained her roots, making up a fictional city from far away. While she lied through her teeth, the knights forced the seafood sellers to line up.
Claire followed the same system as the day before. 5kg of rice for ten buckets of crabs. She didn’t take more than ten buckets from any vendor. The knights seemed to be determined to see to it that everyone received a portion without violence.
It did not escape her eyes that some people were not reconciled with this arrangement. But Claire simply shrugged. To survive here, she needed to follow the rules.
Two knights climbed aboard her boat, arranging the seafood for her with the precision of men who moonlighted as grocery clerks.
Grateful, Claire urged them to remain back after she finished her business. "Wait," she said, pulling out the box of noodles. "This is for you."
The knights exchanged looks, wondering what she was offering them.
"Is it a weapon?" One asked.
The one with the thick accent sniffed the box suspiciously, as if expecting it to explode.
Claire sighed. She opened the box and set up a portable hot plate that used gas. The flame sparked to life, drawing gasps from the curious knights and crowd.
"She is a mage!" A child yelled.
"I knew it. She even has a magic mount." A woman added her voice to the noise.
The knights did not rush to judge; they just watched Claire’s actions. She boiled water, poured it into the noodles, set it aside for three minutes and then stirred. The aroma drifted across the beach, rich and savory. Stomachs growled so loudly it sounded like a drum circle.
One knight leaned closer, eyes wide. "What is this smell?"
Claire handed the noodles to the young knight who had first offered to help her. With a fork, he tasted cautiously, then his face lit up.
"Delicious!" he exclaimed, slurping so loudly the crowd winced.
Another knight grabbed the cup and quickly twirled some with a fork the way he had seen Claire do. He failed but still shoveled a large portion into his mouth. His eyes lit up.
Onlookers drooled openly, unable to hide their hunger.
The third knight also tasted the noodles. The cup traveled around among the group of curious knights, until nothing was left.
Claire thought she would be getting questions about the noodles, next. Maybe--a big order. Instead, the knights marveled at the hot plate.
"Where did the fire come from?" they asked.
Claire explained about gas. The knights and the crowd nodded solemnly, pretending to understand.
Someone whispered, "She’s just hiding tiny dragons in there."
For a brief moment, the beach transformed. Hunger gave way to wonder. Somehow, that explanation was more acceptable than Claire’s brief lecture on gas. Whispers started traveling across the beach about the female mage with a dangerous mount and tiny dragons.
Suddenly, people were asking to see the tiny dragons! Claire sighed. She knew the gas lecture was useless for now. Maybe someday, when she decided to start selling gas cylinders to them, they would understand. For now, it was time to go home.
The pearl was already pulsing at her neck, reminding her that it was almost time to cross back. "I will return tomorrow," she promised. She smiled at the knights. "You bring order and I will bring food."
The knights nodded. One bowed, holding the box of noodles like it was sacred.
As soon as her boat was out of view, the knights huddled and whispered. "We must show this to the prince."