Luminous

2 - Meya

After her stint in the Ice Pillory, Meya's punishment was to donate her wages from the last three months to the manor's coffers.

Since all that gold had long transformed into her flesh, Meya would have to work without pay for three months instead.

After a fierce round of yelling their heads off, Dad and Farmer Armorheim returned to the castle to settle their taxes. It fell upon Jason to make sure Meya and Deke went straight home without causing more trouble.

High noon had risen by the time they made it back to the village. The dirt road was empty save for flocks of sparrows and pigeons pecking for seeds in clumps of spiky grass along the wayside, and the occasional pile of sunbaked horse dung swarming with flies.

"Say, Jason, how come you're here today? 'Tisn't bazaar day, is it?" asked Meya as she massaged her hands—after almost freezing in the ice, they now stung and burned. Jason sighed as he handed Jezia his waterskin, looking careworn.

"The king's overseer is here. He summoned all merchants trading in Crosset to gather at the castle and discuss the coinage shortage."

"The what what?" Meya gawked, having never heard of those words in her almost seventeen years. She winced as Jezia doused her hands with water.

"We're running out of metal. That's why the treasury issued these lighter coins. Precious metals are more expensive. They're even thinking of scrapping money altogether." The merchant cocked his balding head, his voice lowered,

"They're still hushing it, but ore ships haven't returned from Everglen since last month."

"You're kidding! What happened?" Deke joined in. Jezia leaned in and whispered,

"That's the problem. Nobody knows. The king's sent several ships to investigate. They've all disappeared without a trace, too."

Meya frowned as she navigated the bumpy lane strewn with potholes. Mining had been banned in Latakia for two centuries. According to one High Priest Uriel IV, the goddess Freda suddenly realized digging too deep a hole would allow the evil she'd sealed underground, the demoness Chione, to emerge and wreak havoc upon the land. She conveyed her enlightenment to Uriel in a vision during his daily prayers.

Why the omniscient goddess hadn't divined the obvious centuries sooner wasn't a harmless sentiment to ponder aloud, as Meya discovered at the tender age of six for the price of a lump on the head. Since the Ban, Latakia had been ferrying ships across the sea to a barren land ironically called Everglen to carry ores back.

"Great. Just when Myron got his letter, too." Meya rolled her eyes and puffed a moody breath. After all the butter Myron piled on Yorfus the Blacksmith for an apprenticeship, those ore ships just had to sink. Typical Freda. "Will you two be fine? What's gunna happen if we dun have coins?"

Jezia looked to Jason. He heaved a deep sigh, looking gloomy.

"Country towns like Crosset could survive without trade, I reckon. But for the cities and merchants like us, our only hope is lifting the Ban."

"King Alden's fought to lift it since he took the throne, but the Anti-Miners on his Council are too powerful. They say Baron Hadrian's behind them. The king couldn't ever get enough votes to overturn it."

"Ain't he s'posed to be all-powerful?" Deke frowned. Jason chuckled.

"Takes more than one head to run a kingdom."

"Can't we make money out of some other stuff?" said Meya. At the sight of Jason's raised eyebrow, she added, "Say, I dunno...seashells, shiny pebbles, wooden chips...?"