Writing Sample: Muddied golden light of the descending sun peered through the shade in scattered spots against the knotted wood. A sphere-shaped crystal rolled a short distance from the mouth of an overturned leather pouch, bounded over the straps and came to a stop under the weight of a calloused finger.
“These won't do,” said Woldrum regarding the ruby stone with disinterest, “you would do well to remember the bargain we struck just six moons ago. We are only as good as our word or do you mean to prove otherwise?”
As if suddenly pricked on the soft spot of his foot, the man who stood across the table from Woldrum retreated half a step. Perhaps he should have paid mind to his brother's warnings, 'Rhamun, listen to me. Those people in the upper market, they aren't as we are. One day you say the price in bronze, the next you settle in emeralds, I don't mind so long as the scale balances. They have no interest in that. Only the word.' Rhamun had brushed the words aside as little more than gossip, but now the truth was staring at him from across the table.
“Of course I remember,” Rhamun huffed as he nervously adjusted the folds in his embroidered cuffs, “I wouldn't have offered Rings if I knew just the trouble your people would cause. That incident in Kaprus? You must have heard by now, cost me plenty to make it go away.”
“What you would have done matters little,” Woldrum spoke evenly as he tossed the gem into the bag, “it's what you did do that concerns me. The bargain was for Rings and I will have them.” He fastened the ties on the pouch and tossed it across the table before extending his hand to Rhamun.
“Be reasonable,” Rhamun said, “the gems are valuable, more than the Rings-”
“I will have them,” Woldrum's outstretched hand did not waiver in the slightest, his scarred palm open and insistent.
Rhamun lightly sucked his teeth but offered no further complaint nor did he attempt to steer the deal in his favor. Barely able to swallow the girth of his pride, Rhamun thrust his arm towards Woldrum and waited for the old man to take the damned Rings. But when nothing came, Rhamun grumbled and pulled back his sleeve to reveal the sequenced black rings that bound his forearm like inked bangles, the smooth and ornate golden embroidered patterns folded and vanished into the wrinkles of his robe.
“The hidden river ferries the word,” Rhamun muttered.
“The burdened hand receives the Ring,” Woldrum said as he took Rhamun's hand.
As soon as the men shook hands, three of the rings on Rhamun's arm started to spin slowly and turned from the murky black to a faint shimmering silver. In a matter of seconds, the Rings had passed from one man to the other. Only when the final trace of silver vanished and the spinning stopped did Woldrum let go and return to his seat.
“A pleasure doing business,” Woldrum's lips curled in a satisfied smile, “oh, and take those gems with you.”
Woldrum watched as Rhamun snatched the pouch from the table, stuffed it into a pocket and left the room without another word. The old courier had dealt with all sorts of people over his many years in the tiered city of Tallurd and every so often there was someone who tried to slither their way out of bargain properly struck. Some, he suspected, had only a passing understanding of the Rings or the cost of attempting to break the magically founded covenant. In the end, they all paid.
“How much more of my time do you plan on wasting, Koren?”
“Oh, just a moment or two,” Koren said as he pushed the door open and stepped into the dimly lit room, “Looked like you were having a good time with that stuffy old man. Did he tell you about Kaprus? I hope he did. Wait, no, I'd rather tell you myself. The details will put some hair on your chest...well, maybe a bit more hair on your chest.”
Koren was a young man some three years into his contract with Woldrum and perhaps only just worth the headache that his enthusiasm tended to cause. His eyes constantly shimmered with a bewitching sort of maroon light that shone even against the the midday sun. He lightly built frame was normally a light brown but had taken on the desert's tan and he dressed simply in a mixture of off white and brown clothes that were purposefully just slightly too large for him. If not for the buckler on his arm and the spear he carried with him, Koren would have appeared as little more than a trouble maker.
“Save it,” Woldrum rubbed his eyes and sighed, “another one of yours tried to bargain with me.”
“You didn't take it, did you?”
“Of course not,” Woldrum stood up and extended his hand towards Koren.
“Not even the traders of the Long Road could talk you out of a deal,” Koren laughed and met Woldrum halfway, “and those bastards can take water from a stone.”
The Rings stirred once more and two of them passed from Woldrum to Koren. “Where's your partner?” Woldrum asked as he let go of Koren's arm.
“She'll be here soon,” Koren said, “how bout you try not to stare this time.”
