Michael - Roughly one year later
Michael was waiting at the gate for Solon, today they would visit the town again, they had started these excursions nearly a year ago to get a better feeling for the citizens' lives and to get some hands-on experience with their crafts. The last year had gone by in a flash, between his studies and training. The barbarian girl was still in custody, but Michael had managed to get her inside at least. Lord Rowan had started to use her as a training partner for his knights a couple of weeks after she arrived, to give them experience against other fighting styles; she retained a positive win rate and birthed a whole betting ring. He tried to get her released on his birthday and multiple occasions after but sadly to no avail yet.
The twins were making problems as usual but most of the fights they got into tended to go in Michael's favor the more time passed, so they hadn't tried in a while. Michael stepped to the side making space for a group of knights to pass by when Solon entered the courtyard and came over to him. "Greetings, Lord Michael and Sir Geron," he greeted them with a nod.
"Greetings, Solon. Where are we going today?"
"We will take a walk through the merchant district, I want to teach you the different requirements a town needs for traveling merchants in contrast to merchants that are settled in a town." The dwarf liked doing this, wandering through the city while he explained subjects and then demonstrating them.
The town was empty today, the dirt roads still wet from the last rain. They managed to reach their destination quickly, dodging the puddles that had formed. The market was a little more filled but not excessively so. Many of the merchants greeted them, Michael and Solon were coming here often after all and were well known. They wandered through the market, here and there talking to the merchants about their needs and perspective on the towns they traveled to.
They finally stopped in front of a local smithy, that they had visited for smithing lessons. The smithy and the building next to it needed some repairs, if it was because of neglect or money problems, Michael couldn't say. They walked into the open work area, the tools were neatly placed on the workbenches, the fire in the furnace was burning low and a hammer was lying on the ground. Michael frowned, something wasn't right here. Solon walked up to the hammer and picked it up looking over to Michael while placing it on the anvil.
They walked over to the door at the side of the house and knocked. Nothing happened and so they knocked again. After a couple more seconds a maybe 16-year-old girl opened the door, her eyes and cheeks were red, she had cried before. "I'm sorry we are ..." When she saw who was in front of the door she stopped talking.
"What happened child? Where is your father," Solon asked the smith's daughter.
She led them into the house. It was strangely empty, Michael couldn't put a finger on it, the furniture was there but somehow it seemed so empty. They continued into the kitchen where the 14-year-old son was sitting on the table his head covered with his hands and he asked with a defeated voice, "Who was it?"
"Lord Michael is here, Zeb," the girl said, her name was Lina if Michael remembered correctly. Zeb's head shot up and he jumped up from the table, "Lord Michael, I am sorry I didn't see you there."
"Calm down, everything is alright, tell me what happened to your father."
They sat down around the table while Lina made tea, the pot looking like it had seen better days. Michael frowned, a broken teapot in a smith's house?
"So?" Michael asked again when no one began talking. Finally, the son got over his reservations and started explaining, "It was a normal day, we opened up the smithy like we always do. A couple of hours after dawn, four men came into our shop looking for my father, he told me to go inside but I listened to them anyway."
He shuddered and looked plain miserable. "They said that Father had to pay up his debts, I didn't even know we were in any. He couldn't and begged them to give him more time. They said he had to come with them to the boss and they would work something out."
Now Michael got what felt off about the house, he could see nothing of any real value, smiths tended to be well off, so it stuck out to him.
Lina began to sob over the teapot.
"I don't even know how much," Zeb said with his voice breaking down while holding back tears.
Michael frowned, "Do you know who he is owing money to and where he was brought."
"They were Red Fredrick's men, the owner of the Red Lady, I guess they brought him there," Zeb said quietly. Lina turned around, "How do you know that? By Idas, that's who you have been hanging around with lately, isn't it? With these damn criminals?" He avoided her gaze and Michael stopped her before she could lay into him more. "You can yell at him after I am gone. Do you know where this Red Lady is," he asked Geron, who looked a little uncomfortable with the question.
"I do know where it is because some of the other knights go there but I never did," he said quickly.
Michael raised an eyebrow, "What's the matter, Geron?"
Solon was more serious than usual and quickly explained, "Lord Michael, I assume the Red Lady is a brothel and Sir Geron doesn't want you to think, that he visits such establishments, just because he knows where it is."
"Oh", Michael had heard about brothels but had never seen one. "Well, I guess." He turned to the smith's children, "I will go there and see what I can do for your father, if I don't come back go to the castle and tell them where I went."
"They wouldn't dare do anything to the Lord's son," Geron said with a scoff.
"Pays to be prepared, what I have learned about criminals, makes me worry just going into their midst."
"There shouldn't be any problems, they are not street vagabonds but it is always good to have a backup plan," Solon agreed. Lina and Zeb thanked him profusely before he could finally leave the house.
"Who is this Fredrick," Michael asked while they went down the street.
"He owns the Red Lady, a brothel and gambling den, he also gives out loans to nearly everyone who needs one in town and owns some other businesses. He is probably the richest citizen in town who is not a noble," Geron explained while leading the way. Michael frowned, "Why is he not arrested if he is a known criminal?"
"That is because he is not a criminal, at least there is no proof of it. He might be a low life and a loan shark but he doesn't break laws as far as I know. He also has powerful friends and customers so no one can lay a finger on him without solid evidence."
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The scenery changed as they got closer to the Red Lady, it looked way harsher than in the merchant district. The people seemed more serious and beggars were at every corner. "This doesn't look so nice." Geron had to defend Michael from a couple of beggars, who tried their hand on a little more aggressive begging until they reached the door of the brothel.
Geron opened it for him and they entered. Michael was instantly hit by the heavy air filled with the scent of tobacco and cheap liquor. The front room was filled with tables, surrounded by men, they were playing dice, cards, and other games. Scantly clothed women moved through the gaps, talking to the players. On the other side of the room was a large bar manned by a huge man and filled with bottles.
A gorgeous woman noticed them enter and walked over to them with a smile. "Aren't you a little too young for this place, my boy," she said to Michael.
"I would also rather not be here, the smell is horrible," he said truthfully. "I am here to talk with the owner Fredrick."
"What? Your old man sends you to pay his debts or what, kid," a man standing next to the door interjected and the woman quickly walked away. "Come back if you have an appointment and get rid of this self-important face." The man walked in front of them and glared at Michael. Geron tensed up and laid his hand on his sword and the thug laughed, "You want trouble, big guy?"
A couple of other men closed in on them as Michael raised his hand signaling Geron to stand down and then smiled at the man. "My name is Michael Rowan, son of Count Cedric Rowan, I want to speak with your boss, right now."
It took a moment for the man to understand that he was not kidding. The eyes of the man then widened and he began suddenly stutter, "M-my ap-apologies, milord, I didn't recognize you. I will inform the owner immediately please wait by the bar for a moment." He scuffled away quickly, much to Michael's amusement. He had noticed on his excursions with Solon that surprising rude people with his status was quite entertaining.
He strolled through the room, not intending to go to the bar and many eyes followed him. A young woman approached him nervously, behind her he could see an older woman watching her approach. "Can I get you something, m-m-milord," her eyes show her panicking as she stumbled over her own words. Michael smiled at her warmly, "No, thank you, it's nice of you to ask but I won't be long here anyway."
The woman looked back to the older woman concerned, "If there is anything I can do, please ask." She bowed and returned to the other woman who didn't seem too happy and talked harshly to her, judging by the young one's body language. Before Michael could do anything more the thug returned and quickly bowed, "The boss will see you now, please follow me."
The group followed the man up the stairs, he could hear moaning and other noises from the rooms they passed but tried his best to ignore them until they reached a fancy office. The ground covered in a fine carpet, ornate furniture, and shelves covered in books showed the wealth of the owner. He was an unimpressive man, seeming out of place in a room such as this, average height, thin, brown hair, there was nothing that made him stand out except maybe his fine clothing. With a bow, he introduced himself, "My name is Fredrick, I welcome you in my humble establishment."
"Michael Rowan, I thank you for your time." Michael sat down while Solon and Geron stood behind him. "I am looking for a smith named Harald, I heard your men took him away."
Fredrick raised his eyebrows surprised by his direct question and said, "I had no idea you had any connection to this smith, he didn't mention it at all." He inspected the young lord before he signaled to one of his goons to get the man. "Could I ask what you want from the man, he owes me a quite substantial amount of money, which I need to collect."
"Yes, I heard about that. What kind of a sum are we talking about here?"
"I am sorry, milord. That is a business secret, after all, you would not want me to tell other people, how much you owed if you did. To be honest, I shouldn't have told you that he owed me at all but you seemed to know that already," his voice was slick and Michael didn't like how condescending it sounded under the surface. He stayed silent until the door opened again.
Harald was covered in bruises and his face looked like he had bled a lot and someone tried to quickly wash his face clean. Michael shot an angry glance at the loan shark and said, "Did you do this to him?"
The man smiled apologetically, "It is my right to collect on my debts and convince them with harsher methods if needed."
Michael went over to Harald and looked at him, "Are you alright?"
"Lord Michael, what are you doing here," the man rasped with a hoarse voice.
"Doesn't matter, how much do you owe him, and how did it happen?"
Harald coughed and said between them, "When my wife died, I started drinking, I don't know how it happened but I lost a lot of money on the gambling tables here. I couldn't stop, I just couldn't."
"How much," Michael pressed the issue. "2200 Ruan."
Michael sighed and closed his eyes. The currency in the kingdom consisted of the copper coins levi and the silver and gold coins ruan and 2200 ruan was indeed a substantial amount.
"Alright get up we are getting out of here," Michael said and motioned Geron to support Harald.
Fredrick watched everything and with a polite smile said, "That still leaves the problem of how Harald will pay his debt."
Michael looked at him with a cold gaze and said, "You will get your money, don't worry."
The man feigned surprise, "Are you gonna vouch for it, milord?"
"I said you will get your money."
Fredrick bowed and said with that damn sly tone, "I can offer to drop the debt for a little favor, milord. I see that this matter is important to you."
Michael didn't answer and just left the room with the smiling man, his retainers following behind him.
When they reached the street Michal could see a wagon turn into the street next to the brothel, he heard someone he was sure. Michael went over to the street and peeked inside, the wagon was standing in the alley and a couple of men were walking around it. He could hear the screaming of women and a moment later saw them getting dragged out of the wagon. "Non-believer," Solon said with a forcefully neutral tone. "The men are sold for labor and the woman ... well."
"I get the gist," Michael said and turned around.
He was virtually seething as they made their way back to Harald's house
- an hour later in Harald's house -
"Dumb, dumb, dumb," Lina yelled while hitting her father, tears running down her face.
"I am sorry, darling," the man said defeated, his eyes empty.
"I am sorry if I have to interrupt but there is still a problem to be solved here, how are you gonna pay your debts?" Michael felt bad that he had to break up a family moment even if it was a bad one but he wasn't in the mood to wait here sitting and not doing anything until they were done.
Harald sat down heavily and shook his head, "I don't know, I will have to sell the house and smithy, I don't have the money otherwise."
"Where are we going to live," his daughter wailed and he gritted his teeth.
Michael didn't expect anything else. He looked at Solon, they had talked on their way back trying to come up with a solution, the dwarf nodded slowly.
"We made a plan. I will buy your house and smithy for exactly 2200 ruan and you can keep living in it and working in the smithy but you will only receive a fixed salary. You will work for me and pay rent for the house," Michael explained.
"I would be selling for less than everything is worth and make less than before," Harald complained weakly.
"But you won't live on the street and have a stable income with which to feed your family. I want to help you, I really do but I am not some kind of saint. You will have to carry the responsibility for your mistakes." It probably sounded harsh and he had thought about helping them out of the goodness in his heart but Solon had painted a colorful picture of what would happen. The smith might learn from it and lead a happy life or he would just go back and drink and gamble it all away again with the mindset that he will be saved again. He was doing the man a favor already, he would be better paid than if he tried to work in another smithy and keep his house for a reasonable rent.
"The money that destroys my life is so little that even a noble kid can easily afford it," the smith grumbles lost in thought. Michael narrowed his eyes but before he could say anything, Lina yelled at her father. "The Lord is trying to help us and you insult him? What in the thirteen hells is wrong with you?"
The smith looked at Michael and seemed to realize what he just said, he couldn't find his words as panic was written over his face. Michael accepted his panic as an apology and said, "I forgive you because this situation must be harsh on you. Also, it is not a purchase I can easily afford, I will have to use all of the money that I have saved and most of the money that is supposed to go into my education this year. I will be more or less broke after this if I don't ask my father for money."
The smith apologized profusely but Michael brushed him off. After accepting the deal Michael and his retainers left the house promising to return with the money the next day.
The walk back to the castle was a silent one, Michael was lost in thought until they reached the gate. Once they did he turned around to Solon and Geron and said, "I have some work for you."