Xerte

“How is the business this time, Cuaritt?” Xerte asked, sitting down next to the merchant.

“Well, adventurer, very well. The market was full of people begging to buy our goods, I even hiked prices thrice without people complaining!” Cuaritt answered.

“Are you sure you want to do that? I remember your prices were already a few times the cost of manufacturing.” Xerte asked.

“And we are still selling at a tenth of what the others are. The stone prices are outrageous in this area, and we can get those for so little. I think this is going to be a very profitable venture, Adventurer.” Cuaritt replied, sipping on his alcohol. The man was a drunkard through and through, but he did know what he was doing. Or, at least, Xerte hoped he did.

“I suppose it will. I only hope that you are not doing anything the Archduchess would object to.” Xerte said, giving him a deep look as he went out towards the market. A first person view was in order.

The market was not what Xerte had expected it to be. The market in the Arch duchy was boisterous, but it was still a place of business. The imperial market was a war zone. A few minutes in, Xerte had seen three different women get shoved out of the way, and he was sure that there were a non-zero number of thieves in the crowd.

The reek of disorganization and government indifference was high. The Empress was even in the city itself while this went on.

A shove came at him from the side as a disgruntled woman tried to push through. Xerte was not having it. But he also knew that a confrontation would help nobody and would be a waste of his time. Just standing there harmed no one through.

“Are you daft, you useless man? Can you not move out of the way? The woman remarked.

“And can you please be more mindful of the people in your way, Ma’am?” Xerte remarked back.

“Oh, shut your traps, you quirelling young’un. What I do is none of your bloody business. Now move out of the way, so I can go about my business, or I assure you, it will not end well.” the woman countered in her uncouth language.

The confrontation would certainly not end well, but Xerte doubted the woman and he agreed on who would be the one regretting it. The whole thing was meaningless anyway.

“I was merely pointing out that a little decency may prevent such egregious wastage of time.” Xerte answered, moving out of the way.

“Oh, whatever makes you feel better you nut scratcher, though do remember that decency is to move when in the market. Or is that too much for your drug swept brain?” the woman said as she moved away. Well, she did have a point. Perhaps he wasn’t as in the right as he thought. But either way, it was time to move on. Or was it time to follow that woman? The experience was bound to be interesting and informative.

Xerte camouflaged himself in the surroundings, changing his clothes to match and lengthening his air. The benefit of being lean was that you could pass for an unkempt person. A person dressed gaudily would be noticed, an unkept one would be assumed poor and shooed away.

Xerte followed the woman through the markets and found her setting up a stall in one of the less active areas.

“So, back to work, eh?” a nearby stall owner remarked.

“Oh, you know it Kwarrissa, the little tots ain’t gonna feed themselves and that old idiot is as useless as ever.” the woman remarked, her tone remarkably more polite.

“Well, don’t expect much in the way of earning today, the convoy people are hoggin it all.” Kwarrisa replied.

“Ye, I know those twerps. Coming into the city and underselling us all like It's nobody’s business. At least their greed got them increasing prices now. Besides, their wool be cheap and comfy and the little ones be needing it. I be many things, but no hypocrite. I ain’t gonna complain about people buying cheap stuff when I do the same.” the woman replied.

The convoy was depriving the local shops of business? How interesting, but it was just for one day. And was bound to happen, after all, there was only so much money to go around.

“Oh, you and your morals. A little trashing won’t hurt you, you know! But sure, keep that stick up your arse, I ain’t gonna care. But don’t ruin our fun.” Kwarrisa commented.

“I shan’t as long as your ‘fun’ remains in your lane. But be careful out there, you dumbnut. The guards may be useless, but these convoy Adventurers ain’t joking around. I heard folks down in the slums talking about how they got more of ‘em Plants and Plantlings than in the bloody Empress’ convoy. I would rather you as my neighbor than one of the dumb fucks from Dardil.” the woman replied.

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“I am sure ye would. How many of those men spawned your children, Karrie? I bet there’s at least one among them.” Kwarrisa said, laughing. How interesting. The conversation was quite informative indeed. And neither of the women were paying any attention to the ‘ beggar’ leaning on the wall.

As the day went by, Xerte observed the women and their activities. A few customers came, all of them on a first name basis with Karrie. Karrie, he found, might have been crass and far too prone to profanity, but was also intricately familiar with her customers' personal lives.

And would at times even give discounts when needed. A worrying policy given that she did not seem to be making a good income either and had a stated excess of dependents.

But the most curious was when Kwarrisa left early, at about noon. Xerte moved to follow, his curiosity getting the better of him. The woman wove through the streets to gather with an armed group, a few dozen in number.

“So, are we sure we wanna do this? The guards won’t be kind if they find us.” Kwarrie warned the group, informing him that the activity that was about to take place was assuredly illegal.

“The conversation is done Kwa, now move your feet, we’ve no time to waste on your dawdling.” a man replied from among the group. The heavy accents that these people spoke with made communication harder, but he managed nonetheless.

“Oh, shut up, you freak.” Kwarrissa replied as they moved in the direction of the main market. The journey went through several abandoned pathways, always leading towards the main market but through a less traveled route.

Finally, they arrived at what Xerte recognized to be the convoy’s store. A warehouse had been rented to store the goods in the city so that stocks could be easily refilled. Xerte tensed, ready to break cover and take action if need be.

The fact that he had not been detected was a mystery in itself, but perhaps the city’s indifference towards the poor was greater than he had estimated. Perhaps they could be an untapped resource, depending on how great it truly was.

The group had now already moved to attack the warehouse and had encountered the first guard. An Emerald Adventurer. A wall of ice promptly appeared between them and the warehouse.

“I think it would be best if you folks leave.” the guard said, causing the group to step back. A few minutes later the group had, surprisingly, retreated. Were they not aware that the warehouse would be guarded? Xerte wondered what the thought process behind this attack was.

Sneaking close to a corner, Xerte eavesdropped on their conversation. The group had merely withdrawn to the nearest street, out of sight but still near.

“Oye! What have you been drinking? Here I thought I was attacking an unguarded warehouse full of illegal slaves. But looky here, there's a bloody cultivator hiding out! How were we to fight him, huh?”

“Throw sticks at him and hope he doesn’t burn us to ash? I ain’t trusting you again, you fool.” Kwarrisa said, the audible sound of someone spitting emphasizing her words.

“Well we ain’t sure they don’t have slaves in there!” a male voice was heard, replying, “I say we call the guards, tell them to come and check the place.”

“Call the guards? Have you lost yer mind, Jurit? The guards would sooner put us in jail than ask a question of a cultivator. I think you need to get off whatever you been smoking and return to reality, cause you left it behind long ago.” Kwarrisa jibed. Xerte could see why she got along so well with Karrie.

“I don’t think there will be any need for anyone to get off anything.” Cuaritt said, suddenly appearing with a largish group of imperial guards behind him, causing the group to shift back. “Now, now, don’t be shy. And please, drop your weapons. The lot of you are being recruited as our servants.”

What was he doing here? And the context…The slaves. Louis had wanted slaves and had implied that there were others that shared his opinion. What if instead of others from the Merchant Lord’s faction, it was Cuaritt that wanted them?

Xerte turned around, ready to interfere, when a dagger sailed through the air, embedding itself in Cuaritt’s head.

“Run you fools!” Karrie said, launching into a sprint.

A flurry of Empire guards moved towards the now running group, ready to imprison them. But Xerte had had enough.

A wall of ice appeared before them, blocking the path. “The matter is Arch ducal in nature and will be handled by me. The merchant Cuaritt has broken the law and will be taken into custody.”

“But since he has already been disposed of permanently, the punishment has been given. Now, unless any of you want me to tell the Empress all about your actions, I suggest you leave. Now.” Xerte said to the guards. The entire matter would be a pain to deal with if he let it escalate. The matter ended here.

“Just go. I didn’t see you, and neither did the guards.” Xerte said to the group as they ran off, except for Kwarrissa.

“I know it's a little much to ask, but if you can, then help Karrie get out. The guards ain’t gonna be pleased that they got foiled. I can take it, but she’s got kids to think of, Adventurer Xerte.” Kwarrisa said. Xerte was now confused. Did she know this from the start? Or was it a bluff?

“Oh, don’t worry, your little disguise worked. Until you started following us through the streets, no local would follow us through those streets. And that little display of yours convinced me. The only Adventurer with a chance of meeting the Empress is you.” Kwarrissa said.

Interesting. “Tell her that the Arch duchy will take her in as a refugee.” Xerte said as he walked away. Karrie’s predicament was caused by the actions of someone from the Arch duchy, it was his responsibility to solve it.

“And that invitation extends to you too,” he said.

“Why thank you, but don’t you worry, we’ll be alright. Not all of us are fools, you know.” Kwarrissa said, winking, and promptly ran off in the opposite direction. What an interesting encounter.