Spice & Wolf III (28 page)

There were any number of people who would desire the skills and products alchemists possessed for a variety of reasons.

Diana was a dam that held those desires in check.

Lawrence did not know why, but Diana—sitting in her chair and looking evenly at him—seemed somehow like a great bird, guarding her eggs with iron wings.

“I need to purchase pyrite,” said Lawrence, despite being half-overwhelmed by Diana’s mien.

Diana put one white hand to her cheek. “I hear the price has gotten quite high.”

“That’s not—”

“Of course, dear Mr. Batos would never have helped you over something as simple as mere profit. So there must be some other reason, no?”

He felt like Diana was always one step ahead of him. She was quicker than Lawrence and seemed fully willing to demonstrate that.

Mustn’t get angry,
Lawrence told himself. He was being tested.

He nodded. “It’s not business. I need pyrite for a battle.”

Diana’s eyes narrowed as she smiled. “A battle with whom?”

“It’s...”

He hesitated to mention Amati’s name. It wasn’t because he thought it would be inappropriate.

It was because he wondered whether Amati was his true opponent in this battle.

He shook his head. “No, it’s—” Lawrence looked back to Diana. “It’s against my cargo.”

Cargo?

“A traveling merchant's enemy is always his cargo. Estimating its value, planning for its transport, deciding upon its destination. If he errs in even one of these, he will lose. At this very moment, I am trying to recover a piece that has fallen from my wagon. Having reevaluated the value, the transport, and the destination, I have realized that this is a piece of cargo I cannot afford to lose.”

Diana’s bangs fluttered in what seemed like the breeze—but no, it was her own breath as she exhaled.

She smiled softly and retrieved a quill pen that was at her feet.

“ ‘Buying a box of white feathers’ is nothing more than a glorified password. All it means is that I don’t mind so long as I’m able to have a bit of fun. Does a bird not drop feathers when it beats its wings excitedly? Those people that I give my password to help me choose my visitors carefully, so all I need to do is glance at them to tell. I don’t mind a bit as far as pyrite goes. Buy it up as you please.”

Lawrence jumped to his feet. “Thank—”

“However,” said Diana, cutting him off. Lawrence suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Several visitors in a single day. A chair with nothing piled on it.

It can’t be
—the black words floated up in Lawrence’s mind.

Diana’s face was now apologetic. “Someone has already come to buy.”

It was just as he’d feared.

He immediately asked the questions any merchant would ask.

“How much did they buy? What did it sell at?”

“Do calm yourself. The customer in question bought on credit and did not leave with the pyrite. You could say they simply made an order. For my part, I wouldn’t mind letting you have the material instead. Let us try to negotiate with the first party, shall we? As for the amount, I seem to recall it being sixteen thousand
irehd
worth at current market value.”

That was four hundred
trenni.
If he could acquire that much, it would be a giant boon to his plans. “I understand. Might you tell me who the buyer was...?”

If Diana were to say it was Amati, Lawrence’s hopes would be obliterated.

But she only shook her head slightly. “I will handle the negotiation. For safety’s sake, we do not allow others to know the identity of those who have dealt with us alchemists.”

“B-but—”

“You have an objection?” She smiled coldly.

Lawrence was the one asking the favor; he could only remain silent.

“You’ve said this is a battle, so I presume the circumstances are not ordinary. I will help all I can and let you know the results as soon as possible. Where will I be able to find you tomorrow?”

“Ah, er...the marketplace in front of the stone seller’s booth .I'll be there the entire time the market is open. Otherwise, if you contact Mark the wheat seller, his stand is...”

“I know the place. I’ll send a messenger as soon as I’m able."

“Thank you.” Lawrence couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Yet the fact was that depending on the results of Diana’s negotiation, it was still possible that he would be unable to buy any pyrite. The consequences would be near fatal.

There was only so much he could say.

“I won’t hesitate to pay a considerable sum. I can’t pay double

market value or anything like that, but please inform them I will be quite generous.”

Diana smiled and nodded, standing up from her chair.

Lawrence realized it was time for him to take his leave. The fact that he hadn’t been turned away after showing up uninvited at this ridiculous hour was enough of a miracle already.

“I do apologize for calling so suddenly at this hour.”

‘‘Not at all. Night and day are meaningless to me.”

Somehow he knew she wasn’t joking, and yet he laughed anyway.

“And so long as you’ve brought interesting stories, you could stay all night and I wouldn’t mind a bit.”

Her words could have been interpreted as seduction, but Lawrence knew she was just being sincere.

Unfortunately, he’d already told her the one interesting story he knew.

In its place, a question appeared unbidden in his mind.

“Is something wrong?” asked Diana.

Lawrence was stopped in his tracks by the thought that struck him.

Flustered, he claimed it was nothing before heading for the door.

The question was preposterous. He couldn’t possibly ask it.

“Being so mysterious when you leave a woman’s home—honestly, you’ll be lucky if the gods don’t punish you,” said Diana girlishly Her playful smile made him think that she really would answer whatever question he cared to ask.

And she was probably the only one who could.

He turned to speak even as he reached for the door.

“I...have a question.”

“Ask whatever you like,” she said without hesitating.

Lawrence cleared his throat. “Are there any stories of gods...and humans, that is...falling in love, becoming a pair?”

He knew he wouldn’t be able to answer if Diana asked why he wanted to know this.

Yet despite the risks, Lawrence had to ask.

Holo had wept, saying if she had a child, she would no longer be alone.

If this was at all possible, he wanted to tell her and perhaps give her some small hope.

Diana was stunned for a moment by this question, but she soon regained her composure and answered in a slow and measured voice.

“There are many.”

“Really?” said Lawrence in spite of himself.

“Yes, for example—ah, but I’m sorry. You were in a hurry”

“Ah, er, yes. But perhaps later...if you wouldn’t mind, I would very much like to hear the details.”

“Certainly.”

Fortunately, she did not ask his reasons for wanting to know.

Lawrence thanked her profusely and made ready to leave Diana’s house.

Just as he was closing the door, he thought he heard her say something very softly: “Good luck to you.”

When he turned to ask, the door was already closed.

Did she know of the battle between him and Amati?

Something was strange about the conversation, but Lawrence had no time to dwell on it.

Next, he needed to return to Mark’s stall and then search out others who might possess pyrite in quantity.

He was short on time—and as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had essentially no pyrite on hand.

Were this to continue, it would be no contest at all. His only recourse would be to pray for divine intervention.

Even if it meant leaning on his friend, Lawrence had to get

Mark to give him some names, and even if he had to pay more than it was worth, he had to get pyrite.

Lawrence wondered to himself if his frantic nocturnal dealings would bring him any closer to Holo, and his only answer was uncertainty.

When he arrived back at Marks stall, Lawrence found Mark sitting at the same table, still drinking ale, though now his apprentice was beside him, devouring a piece of bread.

Just as Lawrence thought it an odd time for the boy to be taking dinner, Mark noticed his presence.

“Any luck?” he asked.

“Just what you see,” said Lawrence, waving his hands lightly as he looked Mark in the eye. “I spoke with Diana, but someone’s beaten me to it. No telling how this’ll turn out.”

“Someone got there first?”

“I’ve no choice but to place my hopes in what you told me.”

Given Diana’s willingness to cooperate, Lawrence guessed the odds were maybe 70-30 of that working out.

But he expected that acting like there was no hope would make Mark a bit more sympathetic.

In his previous exchange with Mark, Lawrence had learned that his request for aid was an unreasonable one from the perspective of a town merchant.

Which left an appeal to emotion as the only other option.

However, Mark’s reply was slow in coming.

“Ah...yes, about that.”

Lawrence listened to the noncommittal statement as the blood drained from his face.

Mark thwacked his apprentice on the head, gesturing with his chin. “So? Let’s hear the results.”

The boy gulped down a bite of bread and quickly stood up out of the log chair. “If we pay in
trenni
silver, then...three hundred seventy pieces’ worth of py—”