Renegade on Kara: The Great Basin, Chapter 10,Huela

Stranded, in a nonhuman town until the caravan leaves, Roger much find work.

chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

At a command, the camels trotted into the warehouse-like building. Then the Tomlins closed the doors in Roger’s face.

This was not what he planned. Being part of a group in a strange town was not only inherently safer, but drew less attention from others, and he was still in the Confederation, where his very presence was illegal.

Damn, he should have slipped into that Tomlin’s mind and made an adjustment to it, or at least gotten the information of where to get cheap housing and work. It was unlikely that he could find the same kind of work here as he got in Crossing. Small towns didn’t operate in the same way big cities did.

Shrugging his shoulders, he began to explore Huela, the first non-human built town he had ever been in. Even a thousand years after humans arrived, the layout of Huela was Tomlin, not human. He stepped into the uncomfortably narrow streets, closer to what the main halls of his dormitory had been like, and began exploring the square, windowless, sandstone buildings, with garden planted roofs. Inside, he knew from his reading would be lower light gardens in the largest rooms. All of which would be spelled to prevent water from escaping.

The market sign barring non-Tomlins surprised him.

“First time in Huela?” a woman’s voice said.

The Tomlin face that went with it surprised him. “Yes.”

“Humans can use the other half of the market, but not this. The stalls are too crowded together, and you would step on too many tails, but even in the other side, human shoppers are frowned on. Most humans hire Tomlins to shop for them here.”