Thirty crates with a barrel-worth of different, probably unusual, minerals each; Ten boxes containing the hundred [Stonepiercer] weapons; Five cloth sacks the size of a decent suitcase loaded with what Weral called [Piercer Filling];

The shipment that I was supposed to get from the Dwarves. Well, the filling or whatever was something new, but it was part of the shipment, so I did not say anything as I used a few fake [Storage] spells to put it into my [Inventory].

A couple of steps to the side, there were another three wooden boxes, which Weral confirmed to be the ones mentioned in the letter. At first glance, they were simple containers, squarish in shape, a meter on each side, but my [Mana Sense] reacted to them, not to the contents but to the wood itself.

"Runes to prevent them from being opened without the seal are present. Do not forget to remember the receiver about that." Weral explained although I could not be sure if he did so because of me or if he was genuinely thoughtful about Zelindo.

Not showing any of my surprise or disappointment at such measures, I only nodded and asked, "Will that be all?"

"Almost. There is also this." Weral did some strange pass with his hands, and I sensed that he activated something magical.

I can not say if it had been camouflaged before, inside a storing treasure, or if the lockbox popped into existence from nowhere. I can only confirm that after Weral's movements, a small, palm-sized, silver-colored container appeared in his hands.

No explanation followed, so I carefully took it from Weral's hands and placed it into my [Inventory], faking a spell as always. I did examine it briefly before storing it, but except for the massive lock, half the size of the container itself, engraved with a mountain image, I did not catch anything else.

With that last addition, we finished the deal. Weral took a far more cordial manner than usual during the farewell that followed. Thanking me for bringing the goods and the help provided during the journey. As for me, I tried to respond in kind and did so. With a bow along with a few words resumed in, "I merely did what I had to."

***

With Weral staying back, it was me and Yulmaeck to return towards the wagon and Aison. For a few minutes, we walked in silence, and that only changed as we approached the abandoned mine's crater.

Yulmaeck, or Yuld as he called himself, motioned for me to stop before asking, "You don't happen to have some water, do you?"

"Hmm? I do. [Storage]" I called for one of the flagons from my [Inventory], passing it to him right away without asking anything. {Maybe he's thirsty?}

But Yuld's next actions surprised me, as he opened the cork-like top and turned the flagon around, allowing the liquid to drop onto the ground. He then surprised me even more, as he stepped on the puddle, and stomped on it a few times until it seeped into the earth.

"It would be strange for someone like me to wear new, pristinely clean clothes, you know?" Maybe noticing my glances, Yuld explained, before lowering himself and scooping some of the resulting mud, which he quickly smeared across his hands, and face, before proceeding to clean himself with his tunic.

Now, with his face and hands showing badly-wiped dirt, and his gray tunic looking far filthier, I would assume Yuld would stop, but he did not. He sat down on the slimy soil and nearly rolled on it for a few moments.

"Could I borrow some more water?" Not content yet, he asked me.

"Ahh, yes, but if you need more, maybe I should just summon the water itself? I have nearly a barrel of it." I was no expert in disguise or cloak-and-dagger stuff, so if Yuld thought it was required, then why shouldn't I help?

"Now, that would be great. Just splash some over me, so when it dries, I do look as if I tried to clean myself a few times over the road." Yuld could have spared the explanation, but probably felt he shouldn't hide the line of thought he was following.

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"Understood."

***

As we approached the wagon, I saw Aison sitting near one of the wheels, nearly on the same spot he had been on when Weral and I left before. I could not be sure that he did not move, but between the [Life Radar] checks, and the surveillance that I do not doubt the dwarves had kept, it appeared that Aison had not pursued us.

Introducing Yuld, as he had told me before, an out-dwarf laborer in Chubu, I expected some questions or something from Aison, but the latter only nodded.

Surprisingly it was Yuld to speak up first in the ensuing silence, probably judging he should reinforce his legend with some motive. A surprising moment was how the dwarf's speech changed, now far more commoner-like and with a hint of servility, "Craftmaster Weralgeal promised me that helping the Maesters will help me regain my lost status, so please feel free to ask anything you may need."

"Mmm, I see. Have you worked in Chubu for long?" I can not say it with certainty, but it appeared as if Aison accepted the story, not believing it per se, but merely acknowledged Yuld's words.

"This year will be my sixth."

"Then you should be of use, all right." Aison nodded and then started asking some questions about Chubu's affairs.

I was pretty sure that with most of the information he asked about, Aison already knew the answers. Still, Yuld knew the answers, so it did not appear as if Aison would suspect anything about Yuld's relationship with the city.

I didn't care about the development of new shafts, the rebuilding of the middle wall, or other topics they talked about. Thus, I ignored most of the conversation and only spoke up when it appeared Aison finished, "So, what's the plan, Aison? Should we return to the road and rush toward Chubu? Or we camp and enter the city on the morrow?"

"Usually, we would take close to a week to reach Chubu from Megvuroz. So we can do either." Aison paused before continuing, "Still, if someone checks on our departure from Bigradh, I think it is wiser to get a move on now. Arriving earlier is always less suspicious than arriving in time or later." He concluded after looking at the sky, where the sun was still visible, even if it was nearing the horizon.

With Yuld giving no input, acting along the lines of his backstory, I agreed to the idea of moving on. And we did so immediately, with Aison sending me into the wagon's quarters, with the task of checking the matter of food or at least scrounging up something.

He did not expect me to solve it in a moment, as I had yet to serve half of the food I prepared during the [Blossoming] first hours. Acting in deep thought for some time before pulling out my attempt at a hot pot, I managed to surprise Aison, making the acting worthful.

***

I had glimpsed some of Chubu's walls at a distance, but as I stepped out of the wagon's interior at the gates checkpoint, I could not help but think about age, wear, and poverty.

One could only imagine that the walls had some color, as the current sight was dreary at best. Cracks, ash, dirt, badly-mended holes, and some stone plates of the outer wall were directly absent, giving the image of disrepair, ruin even.

The soldiers at the gate, dressed in simple leather clothes and equipped with unpainted wooden shields and spears that looked old even to me, gave no better impression.

Hell, the checkpoint hardly was one either, a simple pair of benches to the sides of a gate that probably couldn't be closed, lacking any visible doors, and not counting with even the standard [Identity Plate]!

There were no checks or anything, and by flashing the badge on my belt, Aison doing the same, although I never saw him carry one before, and then leaving a few coppers of toll, we were allowed to enter.

Inside, it wasn't better in any way. The main road of the city continued right from the gates, and the condition was worse than the tract between Chubu and Bigradh. While Yuld now walked in front of the wagon, I sat on the coach seat, and sincerely, I was thankful to do so. After all, I never considered myself squeamish, but for Sepyre's sake, I was sure that if I touched the damned pavement, I would easily contract some dozen diseases even with my [Perfect Health]!

The road was half-deserted, with only a few men of rugged looks, rough clothes, and a notable lack of bathing walking, sitting, or directly lying near the surrounding buildings covered in cracked, dirty plaster. Some of them had not even that, made of unpolished wood.

After watching the image that opened before me and probably extended to both sides - {I would not even think about walking the small and obscure side streets squeezed between some buildings} - I could only mutter, "Is this Chubu?"

Yuld, who showed no emotion as he stepped on the filth-covered stones, overheard me and commented, "What you see is not Chubu itself but the outer city."

"Outer city? I see, but still, such a state..?" I could see something that resembled a wall about a kilometer to the front by now, but I could not help but be dismayed by what I saw, my impressions of Chubu, its rulers, at the lowest possible.

"Ah, yes, each new arrival usually is stunned by this. If Maester would like to, do you want me to explain?" Yuld maintained the servile manner from before as he asked me.

Before agreeing, I looked questioningly at Aison, who nodded to me before turning towards Yuld, "It is half a primordial step from the outer gates to the proper Chubu's ones, and we will move slowly, so go ahead. Serves my companion requires less time to understand later."

"Of course, of course, then how should I put it..."