The Merchant & the Alchemist's Gate

the merchant and the alchemist's gate by Ted Chang read by Ken Hunt Almighty khif and commander of the faithful I am humbled to be in the Splendor of your presence a man can hope for No Greater blessing as long as he lives the story I have to tell is truly a strange one and

were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one's eye the Marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted for it is a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn my name is fuad iban abas and I was born here in Baghdad city of

peace my father was a grain Merchant but for much of my life I have worked as a purveyor of Fine Fabrics trading in silk from Damascus and linen from Egypt and scarves from Morocco that are embroidered with gold I was prosperous but my heart was troubled and neither the purchase of luxuries nor the giving of arms was able

to soothe it now I stand before you without a single Dam in my purse but I am at peace Allah is the beginning of all things but with your Majesty's permission I begin my story with the day I took a walk through the District of metalsmiths I needed to purchase a gift for a man I had to do business with and

had been told he might appreciate a tray made of silver after browsing for half an hour I noticed that one of the largest shops in the market had been taken over by a new Merchant it was a prize location that must have been expensive to acquire So I entered to peruse its Wares never before had I seen such a

marvelous assortment of goods near the entrance there was an astrol LA equipped with seven plates inlaid with silver a water clock that chimed on the hour and a night and Gale made of brass that sang when the wind blew farther inside there were even more ingenious mechanisms and I stared at them the way a child watches a juggler