The Black Market had three palaces.
The Cold Palace, where the concubines out of favor were left to their own devices. Depending on whether the concubine in question had a child by the Baron or not, they were given food, and servants stoked their fires.
The Marble Palace, a place where the concubines who were still in favor waited for the Baron to remember they existed, snacking on sweet treats every morning and knowing a life even a princess would envy.
And the Royal Palace, which just went to show how big the Baron's ego was, for he was no royal.
The cat accessory had been a hit in the Black Market. Dobri managed to earn enough to pay his taxes. But he also needed to get rid of the silk.
For he knew that if he came back to Gildana with such a thing, he was going to be forced to fork it over together with the oxen.
The Royal Palace loomed like an evil giant before him. It was quite the structure, and had Dobri not been a gnome, it would still have looked massive.
The guard by the door looked at him so, as if Dobri had stepped in dung beforehand.
"The Baron doesn't need silk. He has enough," the guard said as he aimed his crossbow at Harald.
It wasn't the smartest of moves, Dobri could not help but think. The crossbow was nothing special. Just general guard equipment.
Harald had skin as tough as armor. And if it really came to kicks and punches, Dobri would bet in Harald's favor.
"We still want to speak with the Baron," Hans said as he stepped before his brother. Dobri tried to peek from behind Hans' massive legs, but without any success.
He sighed.
"Then who might be interested in the silk?" Dobri asked, trying to keep the situation on the right side of politeness.
"Maybe the concubines in the cold palace will buy this cheap stuff off you!" The guard said, stepping within the protective range of the archers on the battlements.
"Ok, we are going there," Dobri didn't want for the Black Market to be banned for him as well. The people saw value in tiny hats made from cat fur.
Where was he going to find such suckers again? And, if an arrow hit him, how was he going to survive?
Morty let out a hiss from his spot next to him. Dobri didn't dare pet him.
He knew that he would be scratched, bitten, and then maybe even chewed up.
The three trolls narrowed their eyes. They wanted to speak with the Baron directly.
But Dobri was the boss, for now, at least. They knew that they could not just tell him what to do.
And so, they all got on the cart and began to follow the street signs.
****
There was loud music coming from the cold palace.
Women were going around in shorts and shirts. Bottles with what Dobri could imagine were either wine or beer in their hands.
He began to doubt his chances to sell the silk to these ladies.
But he was not going to leave without trying!
"Good evening!" Dobri yelled, as he took off the blanket off his cart. "I bring silk!"
Before he knew it, a crowd of stampeding women began to circle the wagon.
"Oh, what a lovely red!" One said, as she took off with an entire bushel.
"Oh, this yellow is to die for!"
The one who said it had claws. Dobri didn't dare tell her to pay.
"And this one…!"
"Ladies!" The lady who spoke was in silks. In a flowing hanfu, which left a lot to the imagination. Her pale skin was clear like a precious jade.
Dobri wanted to go and ask her to bless him with even one percent of her beauty.
"You have to pay! This merchant won't come back otherwise!"
"Former Empress!" One of the ladies yelled, which meant only one thing. This was the Baron's ex-wife. Why she was called an empress was beyond Dobri's understanding.
But she held herself like a nymph of a clear pond.
He wanted to give her all the silk. To bathe in her smile.
"No! You will pay!"
The lovely woman glided to the wagon, taking a bushel of white silk from there, inspecting it in the faint evening light.
"Here, kind sir," she flicked her wrist like a swan its neck. A golden coin landed in Dobri's hands. "My husband might have forgotten me, but I have not forgotten what is my due. You will be paid for all the silk."
Dobri nodded, his eyes as wide as Hans', Hugo's, and Harald's.
Morty saw this as a golden opportunity. He uncurled from his angry hissing ball, raising his bum in the air and stretching.
"I'm allergic to cats," the noble lady said.
Morty wanted to cry.
When the silk was all bought up, Dobri looked at Morty so, as if the cat had betrayed him.
"You tried to switch owners, didn't you?" Dobri asked. Morty showed him his bum. His tail flipped back and forth in fury. "Well, I have news for you! You are going to stay with me until the end of time! Go make a complaint if you don't like it! Your fur is an asset I refuse to lose!"
Morty swatted him with his tail.
As soon as the customer support started to work tomorrow, the kitten was going to file a complaint, all right!
And then, when Dobri got chased to death by a Maine Coon, Morty was going to get the last laugh!
Hans patted the kitten. He knew that the life it had now was not the life it had wished for.
"Look, Morty," Hans began, who truly wanted for the kitten to finally calm down. "There is a food stall to the right. I think I saw them grilling some chicken wings. Can I buy you a couple to thank you for the fur? How does that sound?"
Morty teared up. He uncurled from his ball, going so far as to climb on Hans' lap.
"Don't spoil him rotten!" Dobri said as he pocketed all of his money.
Morty narrowed his eyes.
He wanted Dobri dead…