Chapter 6

On arriving in Kashgar everyone was very busy. Vedeya was cornering the date and sesame market, getting all the supplies she could before the vendors realized there was a market force to drive the price up. She also purchased all the honey she could find. She had Tuk for her face, and the guards as her porters, and soon they were wheeling the carriage full of her supplies to a bakery she had rented. There were six bakeries in town, so the owner was easily persuaded to take a three week vacation for remuneration.

Following general recipes John had provided, Vedeya soon managed to create a firm sweet halvah and date bars which were inch cubed pieces of 'date fudge' powdered in date sugar. It would be up to the individual vendors to get the best barter they could for them, as money was very rare this far west. She also brewed, flavored, and pre-sweetened large ewers of tea with pomegranate and honey. The mint flavor was nicely accented with the tart juice and sweet honey.

Meanwhile, John was scouring the weapon stalls looking for news of the Indian Steel vendor. He tracked the despondent man down, in a tea shop. (Which also served wine, beer, fermented milk and hash balls) The man was thinking he would lose his substantial investment in Indian Steel, because no one seemed to realize just how wonderful it was. They were perfectly happy with the weapons they had, and were unwilling to pay him enough to recoup his losses, and allow him to break even, let alone make a tidy profit. So he was sulking in the dark tea shop, in danger of drinking up all his capital.

John approached him, and inquired if he spoke the courtly language. The weapon seller did, being of upper class Imperial stock. John drew him out, bought him a drink, and he was soon pouring out his maudlin tale into John's sympathetic ear. John nodded sympathetically when he had finished and told the trader that he knew the value of such goods, but he already had as many as he could use, placing his sword and knife on the table.

John asked just how much stock was he stuck with? The distraught man muttered he had two camel loads of assorted knives, swords and daggers. John patted the man's arm in consolation and wondered how deep he was in it. The man told John that he was in it 467 silver taels, and he was a ruined man, at the price the locals were offering he would only recoup less than half of that, around two hundred silvers.

John pretended to think, and called for more wine. He sat silent for fifteen minutes, as the trader cried into his cup, well, sniveled, anyway. Finally John seemed to come to a decision, and offered the man ten gold taels if he included the camels loaded with his stock. It would put the man even, and pay his way back home.

The man thought John made a mistake in his exchange rate between silver and gold taels, so he was quick to agree, praising John as his savior. John had the man lead him to the camels, and handed over the ten taels, which weighed a bit under a pound. John wished that the good fates would keep the man, and took his camels and all their Indian Steel back to the caravan.

All the wives of the caravan had been sewing for the past week, creating not tents, but a tent. A huge striped tent, or at least the top of one. They intended to erect wool walls around the big top, using all the blankets they owned, and all the felt and rugs as well, to prevent anyone from seeing the show for free.

They had collected the eight poles, or almost trees, in a river canyon outside of the town, and with guy ropes would lift the center of the big top up in a peak tied to the tops of the poles around the edge of the big top. It would all be ready in a few days, just enough time to make the concessions and spread the word.

Much of the caravan, dressed in their silk costumes, on stilts, walking on their hands, standing on each other's shoulders, cart wheeling, juggling and cavorting, exhorting through leathern megaphones while blowing whistles banging drums and shaking rattles "Come and see the show, amazing feats and no tricks! The mid afternoon following tomorrow night! Don't miss this chance to see sights you will never behold again!" They attracted lots of attention.

Finally the big day arrived, and the customers began to trickle in. They didn't know what to expect, but they had to get past Zithrusa first. She was using Talus as her face, and the customers were nonplussed to have this dangerous looking kid in his silk costume with a huge seeming dagger on his waist bargaining with them for their entry. The confusion worked in Zithrusa's favor, and she didn't scalp them, but got full worth. Sometimes change was made in glass beads, and sometimes in date bars or halvah.

Giving the customers a taste of the treats at the start was a good ploy, many of them had never tasted anything so sweet and delicious before. The little nomads, dressed in physique enhancing costumes, showed the patrons to their seats on the ground, on wool rugs. Most everyone was used to sitting or squatting on the ground, chairs were very rare and benches were only for sitting at the table, or for old folks leaning against the house on the front porch.

Short three legged stools where used by workers as they weaved or cobbled or crafted, but most folks just squatted down on their haunches. Half the folks squatted, and the other half sat on the rugs as more and more folk were seated. The ushers knew their job, and the largest people were placed to the rear, and any children right up front. It was only mid morning, as there were no lights for an evening show.

At last the big top was filled, and people were being turned away at the 'gate', informed that there would be a show the following day, and to come early in case the current crowd wanted to see it again, which was highly likely. The patrons turned away were also suggested not to listen to the raves about the show if they wanted it to be fresh and a surprise.

The sound of Zithrusa's haunting erghil filled the big top, and an expectant hush fell on the crowd. When the tension had reached an excited pitch, just before wondering muttering broke out among the audience, a single muffled boom of a drum was heard, silencing the erghil in mid note. Their largest drover came in looking ridiculous but fierce enough that no one would ever tell him so, carrying a small box which looked even smaller against his large form, and he set it down and walked off, leaving the forlorn box sitting there in the middle of the empty ring.

There was a long silence, then everyone was startled by a sudden boom from the drum, and the wistful haunting notes of the erghil wafted across the expectant audience. The beauty of the hypnotic sound would almost be worth the price of admission in and of itself. Suddenly the top of the box moved up a little, and dropped down, bringing the focus of all eyes back to the center of the ring.

It moved again, and amazingly, a tiny graceful human hand slid out, and waved! How was that possible, that box couldn't contain an infant! The hand disappeared again, and the box wiggled and shook, drawing involuntary oohs and ahhs from the entranced crowd. The hand reappeared, and a shapely foot in a silken slipper joined it, before disappearing back into the magic box. If the crowd had been sitting in seats, they would have been sitting on the edges of them at this point.

Suddenly the box opened wide, the lid falling to the side, and Fu Shwen (she had won the honor on the basis of being the elder, for first public appearance.) Did a handstand out of the box, her arms and torso still tucked tightly in between her legs showing how she indeed fit into the box. The drumming increased the tension getting faster and louder as she unfolded herself into a vertical position, her toes pointed at the ceiling, and then flipped to her feet, and beginning a tumbling routine around the ring, flipping and flashing past end over end, with flips and stops and back flips.