The weather was wonderful today, and the sky above Pukhov Village was a clear, spotless blue. At the not-too-large dock near the lake, a group of bare-chested workers bustled about moving cargo in the warm spring breeze. A pot-bellied Southern Kingdom merchant spoke broken Delarion Language to an elderly man dressed as a butler nearby. Sailors' complaints as they scrubbed the decks mingled with fishermen's chatter as they hung their nets out to dry, making the scene feel remarkably alive.
This dock naturally could not compare to the Dock Area of Coldwater Port City on the West Coast, but it was still quite large for one beside an inland lake. Shade even saw several travelers gathered around a wooden crate playing Rhodes Cards by the dock. Resisting his curiosity, he did not approach them. Instead, he walked over to the Kasonlik merchant, who could not speak the local language, and the man dressed as an old butler.
"Sir, do you need an interpreter?"
He asked the merchant in fluent Kartherian Language. The latter wiped away some sweat with a handkerchief.
"That would be wonderful. I'll pay you ten Copper Pennies."
One crown equaled seven Oer, and one crown also equaled ninety-five Fenny. Though these three currencies were Kasonlik's main currencies, the chaotic monetary system from before the United Kingdom was founded meant that other currencies existed alongside the three mainstream ones. The Copper Penny was worth one-thirtieth of a Fenny. There were no banknotes in that denomination; they were all copper coins.
Based on the exchange rate, one Copper Penny was worth about 1.4 pence, so ten Copper Pennies came to a little over one shilling. That was neither high nor low for translation work. Of course, if Shade had not been dressed respectably, he might have received only a