"One Lumen Mark please, and I'll get it sent to the mailing office immediately," I smiled at the old human couple as I finished writing the address on their letter.
"Of course," the white haired woman already had her single coin ready. She reached out with shaky fingers to put the single Lumen Mark into my hand.
"Thank you! I'll make sure it gets into the post today! Thank you so much for trusting the Animalia Guild with your letter!"
The two smiled and nodded, then turned to go. They took one another's hand, walking away slowly as they talked to each other. About me.
Looking down at my hands, to the letter and coin they held, I wondered where their son was. Some kind of fort in the north, near some lakes... but how far was it? And why did they need soldiers there?
They looked so old that I hoped this letter would reach him before they passed... and...
Blinking at the realization that this letter might be the last thing their son ever receives from them, and their last words, I realized I didn't like this job anymore.
No matter.
Turning away from the counter, since no one else was in line, I hurried to the back room where all of the mail and packages were stored. Most of those working the counters were women, but the moment I entered the back room the workers became mostly men. And it wasn't just because they had to carry heavy packages occasionally... it was also because they wore swords.
They protected the mail as much as they carried it from here, to the depot, where they were put on carriages and delivered all over the place.
"Where to?" the man who stood in the center of the room held his hand out for it as I handed it off. He had stopped messing with the piles of letters on the two tables near him as I approached.
"Fort Blister, in the northern lakes by—" I started to tell him but he nodded before I could finish.
"Hey Trav! Hurry and take this out to Benny before he runs off!" the man shouted loudly, making me flinch. Even with my hat on his voice hurt.
"Yes boss!" Trav, a young man who was shorter and skinnier than me hurried over to grab the letter. He spun on a heel and hurried out of the room, into the back hallways where only employees were allowed. He headed for the depot.
"Thanks Grum," I told the mailroom boss.
The man nodded and turned back to the tables near him. To return to sorting mail.
I watched the busy room for a moment, and then decided to turn and leave before I got yelled at. Grum had snarled at me earlier when I first started working this morning, since I had watched the hustle and bustle of the mailroom in a daze.
He had thought I had been in the way, and had not been very happy with me at all. He had even threatened to fire me, too.
Several of the clerk girls, who worked at the counter just outside the mailroom, weren't talking to me now because of it. Their whispers told me they thought I'd not last the day. They didn't want to be fired with me, and lose their jobs.
They weren't ignoring me out of malice, but purely out of concern for their own jobs.
Leaving the mail room, I slowly walked along the long counter that flanked it. There were nearly a dozen women standing and sitting before the counter, but only a few had customers before them.
It seemed a little odd to have so many workers at the counter, but I knew it was not done on accident. Sometimes it became so busy that they wished there were dozens more here to help.
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The Non-Human Society
خيال (فانتازيا)The Non-Human Society is a shell of its former self. Its members are scattered and in hiding, and few if any have the will to fight any longer. Joining the Society, Renn has a single goal. To no longer be alone. Yet her membership comes at a price. ...
