227 Surkh Textiles

When the airship began its descent in Szczbrzeszyn, the colorful spiral tops of the buildings towered beside them. They reminded Macha of the creamy frozen yogurt treats she enjoyed at the cafeteria during her college years. Back then she used to walk across campus to the Paradise Palms cafe just to have a yogurt with granola on top. It was an affordable and low-calorie lunch.

The memory caused a sentimental smile to touch her lips. Her life was so mundane and simple during those years.

The glare from the sunlight hitting the tiles on a rooftop shined in her eyes, blinding her. She glanced at the spiral top and admired how the bright bold colors reflected the sun like wyvern scales.

In the distance, a river of lava flowed in a steady stream from the side of a volcano. It carved a path through jagged rocks and spilled into a deep crater with thick smoke billowing into the sky. Eternal flames licked the rocks along the way, making the river appear as if it were a lit up runway.

After finding a hotel for them to stay in, Macha asked the concierge where she could have some custom-made pieces of crimson silk made for her. She doubted that she could easily find a crimson silk nest for a wyvern. She assumed it would be easier to just purchase a specially made piece instead of scouring the city, only to be disappointed. This was also in line with Hrod's opinion of shopping and she figured it was better for gift giving to another noble.

The concierge's family owned a business that they started a hundred years ago. Upon having the noblewoman ask where she could purchase a custom-made piece, his eyes lit up.

"Lady Swat, I hate to tell you this, but the supply of crimson silk is currently going through a shortage. It may be difficult to find a company who still has extra silk after fulfilling the orders they owe already. I can only think of one business who sets aside S quality materials for high-class clientele such as yourself."

He handed her a business card that had the address and name of the establishment written on it:

Surkh Textiles

14-989 Kohaku Street

Szczbrzeszyn

Macha glanced down at the thick suede-like card-stock that the worker handed her. It was black with gold foil lettering that shone with the chandelier lighting. This was a very impressive card, and she ran her fingers along the velvety surface, taking a mental note to look into this sort of business card for Tyr.

After lunch, she and her group headed out to search for Surkh Textiles. As they walked along Kohaku Street, she admired the rust-colored hexagon cobblestones that created a shell-like pattern beneath her feet. White accents adorned many of the buildings, causing them to stand out against the earthy color of the ground. In this area, the spiral tops consisted of various shades of red.

Castel pointed to a building up ahead, "There it is."

He led the group because no one else could speak the language here. At the hotel, the language barrier was not a problem, but on the streets, almost no one spoke Yenafocee. His mother came from this city, so he learned how to speak Lubelskian from her.

The shop stood two stories tall and large glass windows allowed the pedestrians to peer inside. The factory was located on the top floor and they could hear the sound of sewing and weaving from below. Many beautiful blankets and clothing dyed in bright colors were displayed on the bottom floor.

When the group entered the shop, a tan salesperson with dark hair greeted them. Castel said a few words before the worker turned to Macha.

He bowed and explained in a smooth voice, "I can speak Yenafocee. I am Farrukh, what can I do for you today?"

His confident speech came as a huge relief to Macha. She initially worried that her request would be lost in translation, but the salesman seemed to have mastered the Yenafocee.

She stepped forward and smiled. "I'd like to commission a custom-made piece if that is possible. A worker from the Orijono Grand Hotel recommended your shop to me."

Farrukh nodded his head. His nephew probably sent another customer their way, and he was glad that his sister forced her son to work at that hotel. This woman looked extremely small, but if she had money, he was not about to turn her away.

He gave her a bright smile. "Of course! We love creating custom pieces. Please, follow me. I can get you started."

When they were all seated in a large office, Farrukh served them some wine. As he passed out the glasses, he asked, "What sort of piece are you looking to order from us?"

Macha used Aži's size as a gauge for how big of a nest she wanted. "I wanted to order a crimson silk nest with a diameter that is about this big," she explained, holding out her arms so they were shoulder width apart.

The request would use a lot of silk and he was unsure if they had that much to spare.

"Oh, I need to talk with my boss. This month the amount of silk being harvested has gone down drastically." After explaining he excused himself from the room.

A little while later, Farrukh came back with a glum expression on his face. He wanted to clinch this sale because the price for the nest would have been ridiculously high.

He shook his head and apologized, "I'm sorry. We only have enough extra to create a nest half that size. I wish we could get more silk, but the fire bats have been reproducing drastically and are eating the Itzpapalotl moths."

She bit her lower lip. "How long would it take for the population to increase again if the bats were taken care of?"

This was the perfect gift, and she really had her heart set on getting the nest for Dahāka. Her hands gripped each other tightly below the table.

Farrukh thought about her question. His fingers moved as he muttered, "The life cycle of a moth is about thirty days… so I would say… probably a month." He nodded slowly, pleased with his estimate.

Macha tilted her head to the side, "Hmmm." That was not too long, but now she needed to find out if the situation even required her to do anything. "If this shortage continues, how long would it take for me to get the nest I want?"

"Well, the amount harvested has been decreasing at a constant rate, if the rate continues I would estimate 4 months." His eyes widened when he saw the woman frowned. He quickly added, "Oh, but we can ship it to you when it is done! You don't have to come back. We have many clients from different countries."

Four months was a long time. She wanted the gift sooner rather than later. It was possible that she could cull the fire bat population. If they were not too difficult to fight, then she might get the nest made within a month or two. After sorting out her plan, Macha stated, "All right. I will put my order in, but I am going to see if I can take care of some fire bats. If it succeeds and you can get more crimson silk, then I want you to fulfill my order sooner. Understand?"

"Of course! Thank you for your understanding. Let me create a sketch of what you want, so my craftspeople can begin. Your happiness with the product is of the highest importance to us."

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