Envoy to Earth by P. S. Power

that, he was willing to bet.
    She grabbed a sheet of paper and
a pencil, and then handed them both to him, which got a wry look to come to his
own face.
    "Well, this is awkward. I
hate to admit it, but I don't write well. Or read much either. Midgets aren't
given much schooling, laws saying otherwise aside. No one sees much need for
it. Honestly, if my friend Patty hadn't taken the time to teach me letters, I
wouldn't even have that. I should practice more, I know, but for the moment it
might be faster if you do it?"
    She looked horrified, if only for
a second, then smiled, covering for him. It was embarrassing, not knowing how
to do that, but she didn't rub it in, like some did.
    "Here then. Things haven't
been selling out too fast, but I could still use some replenishing. A year is a
long time, even in a slow market." Then she walked her shop, marking down
how much she might need of what items, and then tapped the page, at the end of
it. "I'll mark down that I could use anything new that they want to part
with as well. Thank you for suggesting this. Even if nothing comes of it, it
would be good to be in touch with Tor. I heard that he can't return here for
years?" She looked at him, sidelong, as if trying not to accuse him of
anything.
    It was his fault, but had still
been needed.
    "That's right. It would kill
him. Nine more years, I think. You can go visit him there, however. I
should have a jump ship, after this trip, so we can set that up. I don't know
if they have inns there, or how that works, never having been myself, but it's
a good idea."
    She demurred, but then, she
would. He was, like it or not, a nobleman in her eyes. That meant the kind of
person that could say anything he wanted to get her to drop her undergarments,
even if he didn't just order it done. So, until he actually took her there, anything
he said like that was going to be viewed as idle chatter. Gerent thought it
might be a good idea, however. As long as things up there weren't so primitive
that no one should go. If that was the case, he'd know it shortly himself.
    They didn't dawdle, which left
them with about an hour to kill. On the good side, Debbie softened toward him,
and spoke more freely as time passed, showing him her house and relaxing a good
bit when he didn't insist they retire to her bed chamber.
    "I live pretty simply, most
of the time. Right now I spend my days over in the estate. Maria and Marvin
have been very kind to me, so I want to do what I can to repay them. I don't...
Well, other than some baked goods or magics, I don't have much. Coin isn't
short for them, so... Playing servant. I know I should be humbled by it, but I
don't mind. I was raised in a small village, Copperton, and moved when I
decided not to marry the local blacksmith's second son. Nothing against him,
but I like my men to have at least most of their teeth." She tapped the
magic light as she walked past, making the bright glow stop suddenly. It
plunged them into darkness, but it was pretty clear she was taking him outside.
Or he thought that was the case.
    There was a whisper then, as she
moved closer to him.
    "I... Maria and Marvin, they
aren't really against the King. I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but you
need to let Tiera know that. She can... we need the help here. I'd go and beg
myself, if I thought it would work. We do fine, but people in the other
cities are starving, or at least half starving. We don't have the resources
that the Timon devices offer. Even with them working for the King, he can't
show them favors, since that would give them away to our enemies. But if you
got those devices for us, we can claim that it was... I don't know. Can you
work that out? We need help." She moved close enough to him that Gerent
wondered if she were going to try to kiss him, but that didn't happen. He was probably supposed to be the one doing things like that, he knew.
    It was just so far outside his
own experience. Not that he was all that shocked to find out about