Ramul

The price of autonomy The merchant lazily waved the stick adorned with colourful tassels in front of their face, shooing away the flies. “My most esteemed friend, this is not what you have proposed to me in your initial offer. I have had everything written down by my esteemed secretary Atik, whose hands are as quick as his mind.” The sticks never kept the flies away for too long; even before the merchant had finished their sentence, two of them were already crawling around on their headdress. There was little for Arqeez to do besides watching the flies. His role as a bodyguard required him to stand still and be imposing for the negotiation's duration, only acting when he was told so by his employer. The recently-printed armour felt itchy against his skin and the rifle weighed down his smaller pair of arms. The faster the merchants were done, the better… “My most esteemed friend, while I am aware of what the initial offer was and I surely do not doubt your secretary’s skills, this