Tomi grabbed a double-split roundloaf, wrapping it in a linen towel, and took off after the man without a word to Pella or the waiting line of customers. She caught up with him quickly and found herself telling one third of a lie:
“Sahar, please. That sesame roundloaf. I’m so sorry; I made a terrible mistake and put an old loaf in your basket, instead of one fresh baked. It’s my first day; please, sahar, forgive me. I didn’t mean to give you stale bread.”
The ‘first day’ part wasn’t a lie, and luckily he was willing to swap the single-split loaf she’d mistakenly given him for the warm one she’d brought.
Tomira was on the way back to Pella’s shop before she questioned her decison to chase after the well-dressed, impeccably coiffed man. It had just seemed like the right thing to do. Pella had stressed that Tomi should never, ever touch the single-split roundloaves, even though they were one of the breads most commonly sold.
The mills and ovens of Moru Kel power its citizens, and the Loafers are in charge of the majority of those. A few well-off families have their own ovens, but the majority of people use public ovens run by the Loafers. Many bakers and millers are also guild members. Tamales of maize flour and maize tortillas and breads are most popular, but flour, rye, and barley breads are also common. The ovens themselves are regulated by law, required to be open for public use (in exchange for fair compensation) from 9 bells to 11 bells in the morning and from 2 bells to 4 bells during the afternoon. A few are open at other hours as well.
The tiers of Moru Kel provide ample hydraulic power to grind the grains into flour, and like the ovens the mills are sometimes rented out for public use. They’re also the power behind the city’s brewers, milling barley and other grains for the production of ale. A boom in ale popularity has increased the financial strength of the loafers in recent times.
Union loaves are strictly monitored for proper weight and cost: a tamale must weigh at least 1/4 pound, and bread is to be sold in increments of 1/2 pound, with the measured weight to meet or exceed the billed weight or the baker is subject to stiff fines. Costs are pegged to the cost of grain, with bakers who charge more than the alloted cost being subject to fines and forfeiture of assets. Non-union bakers lack these controls, so buyer beware!
At the head of the Loafers are the Head Baker, the Head Miller, the Head Mouser, and the Head Shipper. The Mouser will sometimes rent out a portion of the Guild’s army of goanna and cats for general city pest control if the granaries are in order — in addition to bringing in coin, it’s considered helpful to suppress the general rodent population as a preëmptive measure to protect grain stores.
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