You have lost it for now, but beware...
Aennin wanted to talk to Kana about giving up the clock shop for good, but she wasn't home when Katim finally let him off for the night, but was serving drinks at the pub. This was the case every night that followed. This pattern was more than a coincidence, he was sure. After weeks of work for Katim, it became clear that their schedules were arranged so that neither of them were busy at the same time. Every day, Aennin ran around town, delivering packages for his new boss while nights were spent at home, worrying about what his sister was dealing with at the pub. Aennin was specifically forbidden from going to the pub at night because of his age, which Katim worried might be more of a problem when the place was busy, so he could never check on her. Whenever she came home from her shifts every morning, she would shrug off his questions and remind him that Katim was waiting before stumbling to bed.
This trend continued until Aennin stopped inquiring about her, figuring that she would say something if she were in trouble. As their work became routine, so did a new family dynamic in the apartment. Whole days would go by in which they didn't see each other at all, to the point that they began to feel less like siblings and more like two strangers living in the same home. As much as this saddened the boy, it wasn't as if he was lonely. Despite his emphatic desire to avoid becoming friendly with the criminals in Katim's employ, he ended up making friends with Landah. Whenever Katim was too busy to give Aennin anything to do, Landah would be the one to set him on his route. Aennin quickly began to prefer getting his assignments from him to interacting with Katim because of Landah's helpful attitude. One day, after a month in Katim's employ, Aennin felt bold enough to ask Landah why he was always so nice to him.
"I used to run packages for Katim before I got... promoted," the man said with a smile. "I just think you could benefit from my experience. If you can get a run done quickly, that helps the whole crew."
Aennin nodded in understanding. "When I first started here, I thought everyone here hated each other. But you really care about this group, don't you?"
Landah stood up from his favorite stool and leaned over the bar to fumble for something under the counter. From there, he withdrew a framed picture of a young boy standing on a pile of rubble, hugging another in tattered clothing. The larger of the two appeared to be weeping while the smaller had a face stricken with intense rage.
"This is a portrait Seliah took of me and Katim when we were just boys," he said as he handed the picture to Aennin for a closer look.
Aennin looked at the picture with interest. "What happened to you?"
Landah sighed and picked up his drink for another sip. Upon setting it down, he replied. "This is what the caste system has done to us. Do you know what happens to a Mercantile family that goes completely broke?"
Aennin simply shook his head. He had plenty of reason to contemplate that question long before the man had asked, especially with his old fears of his father running their shop into the ground. But working for Katim had alleviated that concern. While he was still heavily paying for his father's mistakes, he was still paid enough to make sure that he and Kana would live comfortably.
Landah rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, well those of us who lose our family fortunes wind up relying on the kindness of others to survive. You have to be able to find a charitable stranger or starve to death. It's that simple."
Aennin frowned and handed the picture back. "That sounds terrible! I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to live like that."
Landah nodded as he continued to stare at the picture. "This portrait was made when Seliah found us, close to sfarving. Have you met her yet?"
Aennin shook his head.
"She's a sweet old lady. She took us into her household and tried to pass us off as Worker boys. But seeing how another caste lives was like a slap in the face to us. We went to a new school, where we actually felt like we belonged. It was a boring place, and the responsibilities they foisted on us were over the top."
"How so?"
"Everyone in the Worker Caste is expected to be both smart and strong. We were expected to grow up working hard building shit or clearing up the ruins while still being extensively trained in archaeology."
Landah paused and took another sip of his drink. "As you can probably imagine, there was a lot of stress in that school. It got to me and plenty of the friends we made. But Katim always seemed to take everything in stride. That was until one day, when he was 17. He just blew up in class one day and started ranting about the Caste system. How the merchants have no safety net when their businesses fail, how workers bust their asses day after day, and how the people of the Elder caste ignore everyone else."
Aennin frowned and mumbled. "My mother used to be Elder Caste. She wanted me to leave my caste and join them."
Landah looked at Aennin with a sympathetic expression and said, "Well, I couldn't disagree with that ideal more, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry you didn't get to make her proud."
Aennin went silent, afraid to say what was on my mind. Whose fault was that, anyway?
"Look, I really am sorry. If I was there when those guys went to your place, I would have tried to stop them from going so far."
"Who was there?" Aennin suddenly asked, his eyes suddenly piercing those of the older elf.
Landah shook his head and scoffed. "Come on, Aennin! You know I can't answer that question!"
Feeling bolder, Aennin replied. "Don't you think I deserve to know? I could have talked to them!"
"You really don't want to dig into that mess," Landah said as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Katim would rather you let that go and I think we both know what will happen if you don't."
Aennin sighed and began to stare at the counter, listening to the chatter of the pub's few morning patrons. Landah continued to stare at the portrait and neither of them said anything until Katim emerged from his office, moving in a hurry.
"Oh good, you're still here!" Katim said to Aennin with a grin on his face. "There's been a change of plans. Whatever Landah was about to have you do, forget about it."
Aennin looked up as if he had only just noticed the boss' presence. "What's up?"
Katim set a box on the bar between Aennin's outstretched arms. The boy picked it up and found it to be much heavier than usual.
"You're going to take this to the address that's written on the box, leave it by the door and come right back," the pub owner said cheerfully. "Now, the contents are a little too fragile for you to run with this one, but you don't need to waste time talking to anyone. Just drop it off and then you can complete the delivery."
"Or, he could just take both of them out at the same time. Mine was actually time sensitive," Landah said pointedly.
Katim glanced at the other man and his eyes narrowed when he saw the old picture. "Put that away!"
Landah sighed and stuffed the portrait back under the bar counter.
Katim then glanced to Aennin. "So is mine, but he has a point. Just deliver mine first, whatever you do."
Without leaving any other room to argue, Katim returned to office and Landah smiled weakly. "Well, if you do this one first, you can at least start running with this one once that's done."
Landah handed Aennin a brass mail tube like he was used to delivering. "Well, you'd better get going. If Katim's willing to keep one of his favorite customers waiting, that box must be important.
Aennin stuffed the tube in his satchel and picked up the box. "I'll try to be quick."
Landah turned away from Aennin and began to pour himself another drink as the boy left. Once he was outside, he put the box to his ear and rattled it gently. It sounded like a clock. Could he be delivering some of the last of his stock?
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