Chapter Two (Cont'd)

Amid the shrubbery, at the edge of the little shopping plaza, Morgan Le Fay sat up and rubbed her eyes. She felt refreshed -- the sleep had done her good.
Peeking through the bushes, she surveyed the world before her. Men and women milled about, chatting with each other, carrying packages, going in and out of shops. Morgan paused. She knew she had travelled through time, but she hadn't expected to appear in such a strange and foreign land. Morgan decided to find out where she was. First, she needed information.
With casual grace, Morgan emerged from the bushes, smoothed her velvet robes, and took a seat on a nearby bench. Morgan studied the people as they walked past her; she stared at the shop signs and tried to grasp their meaning. The bits of language she heard seemed vaguely familiar -- something in the root of the words -- but the sentences eluded her.
Across from Morgan, two women sat down on another bench. The older woman seemed to be arguing with the younger woman about something called a "salary". Morgan was familiar with the Latin word "salarium" meaning "salt allowance" -- the part of a Roman soldier's pay that was supposed to be used to buy salt. Morgan listened closer, trying to understand the conversation. Yes, they were definitely talking about the younger woman's salt allowance -- and just like most of the Roman soldiers Morgan had known, the younger woman had not spent hers on salt. The older woman insisted she should have "deposited" it in something called a bank. Morgan didn't know the word bank, but she could make a good guess about "deposited". "Positus" was Latin for "placed" or "put", and the prefix "de" commonly meant "away". The older woman had wanted the younger one to put her allowance away, probably in a safe place.
Morgan's natural confidence was returning. With a little magical help, she should be able to master the language of this place. She looked at the words printed on the boards outside the many shops. A particularly colourful sign read, "Bonny's Barter Basement". While Morgan didn't know who Bonny was, or what a basement was, she certainly knew the Gaelic words "brath" and "bradag" -- they referred to thievery and taking advantage of others by unfair means. Well, If this Bonny thought she could get the better of Morgan in a trade, she was about to be surprised.