Chapter 5
Since he had the whole morning, Obran decided to look around some sectors of the city he didn't know before finally going to the central market by the forum. As he walked through the city he got a few looks but his presence didn't seem to shock anyone; he didn't see any other gremlins but figured the ones who lived in Roma probably came out at night.
First he passed by the walls of the inner keep or The Royal House. A sprawling fortress that lay in the middle of the city, the walls laid down by Roma's founder. Inside was the castle as well as the senate and other government buildings and assemblies. For a second he thought maybe he'd see Victoria on a balcony, waving at him, but she was nowhere to be seen. He felt silly. Have I been enchanted by Cupid himself? No, of course not, Obran thought. He didn't believe in human gods or superstitions.
There was steady traffic going in and out of the inner keep: there were foreign delegations from the east, west, and south, mountain dwarves, gnomes, and even some dark elves. He hadn't seen any dark elves since the war but their ash gray skin and white hair always stood out. He didn't stay long after an elf seemed to take an unusual interest in him, staring at him as though he was cattle.
Next he passed by the new forum but didn't get too close since the dwarf construction workers didn't look too friendly. Though dwarves were a bit shorter than humans, they were brawnier and Obran knew they were considerably stronger. A few blocks away was the coliseum, another place he'd never entered. The games had been extremely popular throughout the kingdom but now that slavery was abolished matches between people were no longer fought to the death and therefore were no longer as popular. He didn't bother with the circus maximus since he never liked horses, or horse racing, and he skipped all the temples thinking some Roman priest might be annoyed by his presence, and he knew it would probably be even worse at the bath houses. Too bad it is too early for a theatre show, he thought. Finally, Obran passed by the new sewer excavations; he knew some gremlins who worked there, former veterans who preferred to live in the city and work in the dark, but he didn't see anyone or bother to go inside. What a stinky mess, was all he thought.
By late morning Obran finally headed to the main market. There he walked from stall to stall glancing at the cutlery and clothing but quickly skipped to the food stalls where he hoped to buy some ingredients. There was a lot of produce, livestock, and plants, as well as spices but as he approached each stall the responses of the humans were typical:
"Don't stick your claws into anything," one said.
"We only trade in silver or bronze, no barter or credit," said another.
"We don't sell bugs or grubs. Try the gnome stalls outside the walls."
"I've got my eye on you gremlin. Don't make me call the guards."
"Don't drool on anything."
But Obran didn't say anything, ignoring them and moving along whenever anyone was rude. The merchants in the main market were almost all humans but he spotted a few gnomes, and even a dwarf blacksmith and brewerie. Before the war other races were not allowed to own property or trade inside the city, but now all races had the same rights as Roman citizens, and Obran sensed some humans weren't happy about it.
Near the end of the market, in the least trafficked area, a small stand caught his eye. "Try Gnome Food: Free Samples," a sign read. A young plumpish gnome with a round nose sat behind his stall; he was reading a book. Most stands and shops seemed to cater to the human customers but here was a gnome selling his own food. Cool, a free sample, Obran thought.
"Hello," Obran said. "So what do you serve here?"
The gnome jumped up, startled, but quickly smiled.
"Hello sir, how are you?" the gnome said.
The gnome was slightly taller than Obran and a bit stocky. He had brown-orange hair and wore a green linen shirt, light pants, and boots. It was the typical gnome outfit.
"I'm fine, thanks and you?" Obran said.
"Great, I'm great too. Mister gremlin we serve all types of gnome food. Would you like to try a sample?" the gnome said.
"I'd love to sample some," Obran said.
Obran had a curiosity for all types of exotic food.
"Sure, coming right up," the gnome said.
The gnome scurried behind his stall and Obran was surprised the gnome was being so polite to him.
"You know, I haven't seen too many of your kind here, good sir," the gnome said.
"Yeah, not many of us in Roma and most gremlins don't come out during the day," Obran said.
"May I ask where you're coming from, good sir?"
"I live in the gremlin forest," Obran said. "It's a forest not too far from the city."
"I hear it is lovely there. I'd say welcome to Roma but I'm new to the city, just arrived here a few weeks ago with my wife."
Obran knew many gnomes lived as traveling merchants, traders, and bankers. He'd seen many on the road, alone or in large caravans, and in many cities they belonged to large trading guilds. Humans had kept them out of Roma, believing they were greedy and scammers but now, like gremlins, they were free to travel and do business anywhere in the kingdom.
"I've lived here for about a year but it's only my second time inside Roma so I guess I'm new too," Obran said.
"Just your second time? May I ask where you originally come from, sir?"
"From the north but I haven't been there since the war."
"I come from the north too," the gnome said. "My family has a large shop in Placentia but my wife and I came here to Roma to strike out on our own."
Obran had never been to Placentia but knew it was the largest city in the north, not too far from The Alps, the northern mountains that bordered the kingdom. He heard the city was populated equally by gnomes, dwarves, and humans, who had long ago formed a loose alliance to fight off orc and goblin attacks from the nearby mountains.
"But don't let me bore you; here's the menu sir, while I get some samples for you," the gnome said.
"Thank you and call me Obran," Obran said.
"Yes sir, mister Obran. My name is Zico," the gnome said.
"Just, Obran."
The menu was all gnome food: gnome crunchies and bowls made from toad, snails, and chocolate, and to drink: cocktails and punch made from fruits and vegetables.
"I can read it to you if you want," Zico said.
"I can read," Obran said, a bit annoyed.
"Of course," Zico said. "...sorry."
On the bottom of the menu it read: ALL DISHES AND DRINKS CAN BE MADE WITH FAIRY DUST FOR AN EXTRA COST.
"Fairy dust, isn't that hard to find?" Obran said.
Fairies were small winged human like creatures only about a foot tall. Obran had seen captured fairies during the war, held in cages or in chains. It was one of the saddest sights he'd ever seen.
"I have a private supplier," Zico said. "Of course, I would report any illegal slavery immediately."
He seems genuine and honest, Obran thought. Dealing with humans Obran gained the ability to tell when most creatures and races were lying.
"I always wanted to try fairy dust in some of my dishes," Obran said.
"You're a cook too?" Zico said.
"Kind of, I just cook at home for me and my brother," Obran said. "But I'm hoping to maybe work in the university dining hall." Did he really want the job? He thought it might be fun.
"Wow, that's great. My wife dreams about me working in the castle. Could you imagine working in the royal kitchen? It would be a great honor for a gnome, but really I'd be happier having my own restaurant, with new dishes and fusions that would blow everyone away."
"I love trying new dishes but don't you think you should be making more human food? I don't see that many gnomes inside the city," Obran said.
"That's what I'm studying. Look..." Zico said.
Zico showed Obran his book: 1001 Dishes from Around the World.
"A human traveler and chef, Apicius wrote it. He spent more than ten years traveling all over the world, learning all types of different cuisines."
Obran ruffled through the pages.
"It's mostly about human food of course," the gnome said. "From the wild races of the north to the great deserts in the south, and of course from the great kingdoms to the east, but also dwarf food, gnome food, halfling food, elven food, and even giant food; I can't imagine how he got those recipes. I read his gnome recipes. He seems to know what he's talking about."
Obran glanced at the recipes but didn't recognize most of them.
"I should buy a copy," Obran said. "Was it expensive?"
"No, they're printing books pretty cheap these days." the gnome said. "But there is no chapter on gremlin food. Hey, you should write it."
"I doubt there are many races who would be interested in our food."
"I'd love to exchange recipes if you'd like; I've asked a few humans if they'd be interested in exchanging recipes but most cooks don't seem willing to try new things."
"Sure, that would be nice," Obran said. "I could prepare you some weed stew. It's my best dish."
"Great, anytime, and here, have some gnome punch on me. I'll even put a dash of fairy dust in it."
"Thank you. You're very kind. And I'll have a chocolate crunchy as well."
Obran handed him some bronze coins. He enjoyed the chocolate crunchy and got a strong buzz from the fairy dust in the punch. They spent the rest of the morning talking about recipes and their impressions of the capital and their different experiences living in the north and south. But when the market began to get crowded and the lunch rush neared Obran remembered he had to meet Tomas and Erkin.
"I have to go, Zico," Obran said. "I've taken up too much of your time and I'm meeting my brother and a friend for lunch at the university."
"Yeah I have to prepare for the lunch rush too and my wife will be back soon and she doesn't like to see me idle. Come back soon, you can meet her and bring all your friends too," Zico said.
"Sure. I'll try."
The gnome reached into his stall.
"Here, have a bit of fairy dust on me," Zico said.
He handed Obran a small pouch. Obran opened it; the powder inside looked like gold dust but shined even brighter.
"No, no, I couldn't," Obran said. "It's way too expensive."
"Just a dash really, not much," Zico said. "Don't worry I have a steady supply but you have to promise to bring me some of that weed stew of yours, ok."
"Ok, I promise," Obran said.
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