CHAPTER 93: One ring to bind them all
“Are you an adventurer sir?”
Said a small boy standing next to the adventurer guild staircase entrance. A small boy around five years old peddled buttons with and elderly woman that looked like his grandmother. Either that or she gave birth to him at a ripe old age. They doubtlessly found a market in peddling buttons to the likes of adventurers who in their line of business lost buttons as a matter of course.
“Me? Yes, I am.”
His eyes sparkled in admiration. Adventurers were people they looked up to in his world. Sometimes I forgot that we became role models that others less fortunate.
“Would you like some buttons sir?”
He asked while presenting his tray of buttons to me. I wasn’t particularly looking for buttons but then Alma’s budding sewing business suddenly came to mind.
“Actually, I would be interested. What you got there?”
Both their faces lit up. Their clothing clearly indicated that they were struggling to make ends meet. Buttons were hardly a money-making business. It couldn’t be easy, given the kingdom’s economic circumstances. Winter wasn’t far away either, most folks were already preparing for it, although the poor tended to suffer far more. So, seeing someone as willing as me in buying buttons would’ve been a real boon. They had a varied selection of well-made hand-crafted buttons. Most were made from wood with a variety of sizes, some sporting painted motifs. All in all, there were about a hundred buttons in her carry tray strung with leather straps around her shoulders and neck. The boy smiled while holding his mother’s hand. With her streaks of grey hair tied into a bun, she looked well on in years and either the boy was either her grandson or a late child.
“How much are you asking for a button?”
I asked pointing at one that caught my interest.
“Ah, a good choice sir. That one goes for twenty coppers. They vary from ten coppers for the simpler ones to thirty coppers for the painted ones.”
“I tell you what. I’m not sure what to buy. A friend of mine is opening a new tailoring business and will need some buttons. How much for all the buttons?”
“Excuse me sir, did you say all of them?”
I nodded.
“Yes, all.”
“Um, please give me a moment, I need to check first.”
I waited as she counted the buttons. She came to a total of twenty-five silvers. I paid her and collected all her buttons in a cloth bag which I sometimes used for coins.
“Thank you sir. You’ve really made our day.”
“No problem, you also helped me. Here, I have something you can have. I caught them myself.”
I pulled two fresh silk rabbits out of my bag like a magician pulling one out of a hat.
“You can have these, freshly caught. You can decide if you would like to slaughter them both or sell them. They’re good to eat, but I would sell them if I were you and I wouldn’t sell for anything less than forty silvers each if you do.”
“Oh no, we couldn’t do that sir. That’s far too much money.”
“If you don’t take them, I’ll give it to someone else down the road. You decide.”
She indicated to the boy who gladly took the two rabbits from me.
Most of the buttons she gave me were made from wood. Doubtlessly they worked the buttons down, smoothed them out, and painted some of them.
“Something else. Wood prices are going up and may be difficult for you to buy. If you need to buy wood, go to Schneider the merchant, and tell him I sent you. Also check with him occasionally, there may be some button orders waiting for you in future.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you.”
They both bowed to me.
“What are your names?”
“I’m Mrs. Malone and my grandson, Tommy.”
“Mrs. Malone and Tommy. Nice to have met you.”
She had a surname. Normally only nobility had a surname. Perhaps there was an interesting story there.
“Who are you sir? You don’t look like someone who normally frequents Shimmerstal. We know faces of our usual customers and even strangers are more well known in our business.”
I could understand that. With both in the street all day, people’s faces became well known.
“My name is Shane. You can ask Schneider and he will tell you all about me. Tommy, one day when you’re another two summers old, come and see me in Obon and let’s see if you can learn some adventuring.”
Judging by Tommy’s nodding and the old lady’s smile I think they appreciated my offer. I didn’t harbour any expectations on my promise, but little did I realise I would one day see them in Obon. With lots still to do and only that much daylight I was running out of time, I found a carriage to take me to toothless, the second-hand clothing merchant lady. As soon as she saw me coming off the carriage, I swear her prices doubled. After significantly bartering her down, I managed to get a heap of clothing for children, including underwear and winter clothing. That time I came prepared with a few hessian bags and loaded them onto the carriage. There was hardly place for me to sit.
It turned out toothless she could arrange the making of cold weather gear from furs, so I left a few processed animal furs with her. Most of the processing was done for me at Camp Endeavour although a few people were quite capable in Obon as well. I left the money with her, giving her instructions to send it to Schneider who would know what to do with it. By the time I left her and climbed back onto the carriage she was smiling ear to ear.
My next stop was at Schneider’s trading shop. In his warehouse I could quietly put the clothes I just purchased into storage, deliver my outstanding weapon orders, and drop the many sandals I stored for him. He looked surprised at the delivery of a thousand sandals.
“What do you mean you’re surprised? I told you sandals were going to shoot up in demand due to the dwarves. What are you making from sandals these days?”
“About one hundred and thirty-five silvers a pair.”
“Huh, see. They have already increased by thirty five percent since I first warned you about it.”
“You know, I just can’t for the life of me figure out how you knew that would happen?”
“Ha, ha, ha. I’m not going to tell you either. Listen on another note; you might get a visit from a button peddler and her son soon asking for some wood or button orders. Please go out your way to help them. I understand it will be a distraction for you but please do it as a favour to me, I’ll more than make it up to you.”
“For you Shane anytime. I’ve already made more than enough trade from you just from the sandals alone.”
“Good to hear. By the way, she has a surname of Malone. I’m curious to know her story. Perhaps you can ask her when you see her.”
“You think there’s something worth following up?”
“My gut tells me there’s more to the story. I’m simply curious.”
“If I know you better, I’d say something interesting is about to happen.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I wasn’t going to hang around longer with Schneider since I paid for the carriage waiting for me. Since I planned to go back and forth around Shimmerstal, I decided to pay the carriage driver for an entire day. That way I didn’t waste time either. Seated in the carriage I delivered a word of warning, hard enough so that the carriage driver could clearly hear me.
“Mr. Schneider, I’ve heard a serious rumour from some friends that pandora moth was spotted in recent shipments of wood from the Berelli estate. I recommend you quickly finalise any wood sales you might have with them.”
“Ah, that’s a terrible thing to hear Mr. Karosaki. I’ll let my business contacts know.”
He smiled. Waving goodbye as we trundled to my last destination at the western portico gate. Thanking my carriage driver and paying the agreed fee of ten silvers, I walked straight out of Shimmerstal’s gates after saying kind farewell to Rodergurn and leaving a few processed silk rabbits for him and his fellow gate guards to enjoy. There was no harm in buttering up my contacts.
“Are you sure you want to leave at this late time of the day Mr. Karosaki? I doubt you’ll make it on foot to the next stopover. Even if you had a horse, it would be a tall order. Wouldn’t it be better to wait till morning and then catch a cart heading in that direction?”
Rodergurn was only thinking of my safety since it was already late in the afternoon. He was right, there was no way I would make it to the next stopover which meant I would be sleeping alone in the forest. When I said I would stay at one of the farmhouses on the way he seemed more at ease and let me through. I decided to offer one of the farmsteads some forest rabbits as compensation for an evening’s accommodation and food. Normally farmsteads were quite accommodating in that way, the accommodation would be sparse and the food a bit basic, but it still made for a good night’s sleep and a full belly.
One couple I recognised from my previous trips accepted my offer which gave me just enough time to set up some traps near the forest edge before night fell. By the time I lay on the bed, my body was more than ready for sleep.
Waking to sounds of farm animals and birds refreshed me. Even the early morning start of the young couple didn’t bother me. I didn’t have to milk cows, but I still felt I wanted to get going early to pack up my traps. After a quick wash and some breakfast, I said my farewells to the kind couple and entered the forest to pick up my traps.
I found the deep end of a stream where I released two of the bandit’s horses I captured at the village. Unfortunately, the horses were captured from below meaning I had to release the horse from a height larger than the height of the animal. If I did that onto hard ground, the horses would in all likely hood break their legs, so water it was. Once I managed to calm the animals down, put on a saddle on one of them and get it ready, the morning was already gone. I only kept one horse as a fresh horse because I planned to get moving.
I used the opportunity to practice controlling my spheres while galloping along the road. A feat I managed with five spheres without too many control issues. I also kept my air sense running at full time as galloping the horses meant I was more susceptible to surprise attacks. I didn’t have any issues, nor did I expect any because that part of the road was still monitored by the knights until the turnoff to Camp Endeavour. I did however pass more than a few travelling merchants and the rider from the camp heading to Shimmerstal who quickly greeted me. He mentioned the road to Camp Endeavour was open although Lord Berelli’s men were still collecting taxes at a checkpoint a short distance ahead of me. I found them as he described, four of them stopped me as I approached.
“State your name and purpose.”
“I’m Shane Karosaki and I’m heading to Camp Endeavour.”
The crooked smiles on the knights warned me that there was trouble on my horizon. No doubt ready warned of my arrival they immediately went into detail mode and started nit picking at minor issues.
“That’s a set of fine horses you have there, boy.”
“It’s Mr. Karosaki to you.”
“You sure you didn’t steal those horses? It looks like ours, where did you get them?”
“Are you suggesting I stole them; do you have proof?”
“You haven’t answered our question. Get off your horse.”
“Are you acting as kingdom border guards, do you have a mandate to be searching me?”
They looked particularly agitated.
“Get off now, otherwise we’ll do it by force.”
I didn’t want to get into a fight, so I dismounted my horse and they immediately manhandled me to the ground with my hands behind my back and their knee on my neck. They were using particularly heavy-handed tactics on me, no doubt as intimidation tactics. From there they inspected everything of mine, nothing was taboo. Although they were only supposed to look at goods I carried they didn’t stop until they had checked everything.
Dissatisfied at not finding anything except a couple of forest rabbits in my satchel they let me loose after complained I was travelling too light and taking my satchel and my horses. When I complained they laughed and threatened to stab me with their spears if I so much as raised a fuss. Luckily, having been prepared for what the knights did to me, I stored everything of mine in my pocket dimension storage ring and hid that inside my mouth.
Realising they were not going to listen to reason, clearly intending to bully me into submission, I opted on another course of action. I walked along the road for few minutes until they disappeared into the distance, then I entered the forest, heading for the village where Karato, Hana and Schneider were imprisoned. I had to follow up on a rumour I heard.
Releasing two separate groups of scolems into different directions I sent a horde of scolems to scout the area ahead of me and towards the village and the rest towards the north to find some monsters for me, I had a surprise for my Berelli knight friends. I started to get an unhealthy liking for the Berelli Estate and their knights who seemed very eager to do whatever it took to achieve their goals.
Two days later I arrived at the village having supplied myself with another two horses from my stock of nearly three hundred. Losing the two horses wouldn’t bother me as much if it wasn’t for the fact I sorely wanted to teach those knights a lesson they wouldn’t forget.
Luckily the scolems’ report warned me of what to expect because the village ceased to exist, every household burnt to the ground. I slowly rode through the village, looking for anyone that may have survived but I didn’t find anyone. A large heap of freshly laid earth, towards the back of the village attested to what atrocities the Berelli Estate committed. It didn’t take a genius to realise I looked at a mass grave.
“So, the rumours were true.”
It would’ve been better had I captured everyone rather than leaving the villagers behind. No doubt Lord Berelli thought they were complicit in the disappearance of his knights and they paid the price for it. Probably to send a message to everyone else. I decided I would never make that mistake again. The ugly truth, that nothing would come of that situation, no recompense or justice, because Lord Berelli was in his full right to commit genocide in his own estate. However, I wouldn’t forget when the time came for mercy. I turned my horse around and headed back towards the checkpoint that treated me so poorly. Somehow, after seeing what they did to that nameless village, little sympathy remained in me towards the Berelli family or their estate.
Two days later I arrived at the checkpoint. I retraced my recent steps, paralleled with the Shimmerstal road while keeping to the forest until the checkpoint appeared through the forest trees. The same four knights that previously hassled me, stood idly waiting for the next merchant to appear on the horizon. Two of them stood on guard while the other two sat in the tent, eating snacks or drinking from their water bag. I couldn’t but help notice the heap of goods packed into the back of the tent, a treasure pile of illicit goods no doubt secured from dubious merchants and travellers.
My ‘illegal’ satchel sat somewhere in that pile. I watched them for a while as a newly arrived merchant experienced the knight’s inspection regime. I noticed the knights were applying far more border taxation than the thirty percent and seemed to always apply it, regardless of the situation. If Berelli’s knights were left uncontested, with their blatant bullying on our merchants, it would soon cripple Camp Endeavour financially.
Without further consideration I released a particularly irate ogre into their midst. My scolems found a couple of ogres deep in the Blister Oak Forest where they travelled as support for a troupe of twenty goblins. My scolems were so quick on the ground that by the time the monsters realised something attacked them, the battle was already over. Released from the transfer storage the ogre fell a large distance onto the ground. Once it stood up it immediately set upon the four stunned knights, no doubt it felt indignant of its treatment, reflecting its feelings onto the bewildered knights with its club.
Since the knights were better trained to operate against people than against monsters, they stood little chance battling a tank-like ogre. I’ll give it too them, they fought well. Had they beaten the ogre I would’ve left things there. Unfortunately, despite their armour, a few sweeps of the ogre’s club reduced the knight’s protection to useless bits of metal.
Only after I stored the befuddled ogre, did I investigate the final result of the altercation. I poked around the remains of the checkpoint tent and retrieved my satchel. I discovered my two, very spooked horses tethered to a nearby tree with the other horses belonging to the four knights. The horses looked so traumatised by the events it was dubious they would be useful as horses in a battle with monsters. I stored my two horses, leaving everything else untouched. As I walked past a knight on my way out I heard a moaning sound from him. I recognised him as the one that abused me a few days before.
“You…”
He croaked, no doubt recalling who I was. I didn’t reply but watched him for a moment.
“Help me.”
“I shouldn’t help you at all, after the way you treated me. But I’ll go and get help for you, it might just take a while for me to get there so hang on if you can.”
There was no point in me remaining there, pointless help was far worse than mockery. I reported the incident to the palace knight’s checkpoint, and they dispatched riders to investigate. I didn’t wait there to hear the result but headed straight to Camp Endeavour. Later when one of our riders passed through their checkpoint the knights reported to them that no one had survived. It was so easy to exact my revenge, almost as if I were a bystander to the situation.
Was I wrong to behave reactively with those knights, could I have done something differently? It would bother me when I recalled the situation in my mind. I guess what I found at the village and my poor treatment by the knights combined to form a particularly nasty combination of factors in me. Was I any better than Lord Berelli that commanded an entire village be destroyed? Some knights, a group of villagers, was there any difference?
After that incident I decided to follow the more difficult route of enabling people’s lives, rather than taking the easier route of meting out death. Killing to people seemed a false economy, only leaving an empty, hollow feeling in me. With what power I held in that world, I prayed I never reached a point where I could emotionlessly kill hundreds or thousands of people. what a terrible person I could become. Shane the Terrible, people would call me. All would see me and fear, then all I needed, was the one ring to rule them all.
Life, light, and love. That was what I wanted to represent. Yep, it sounded like the mantra of a sixty’s peace rally but what the heck, it felt far better representing that then falling into depressing death, fear, and darkness. If anything, I realised my life new attributes would be the harder path, but then I was never one to shy away from a challenge. I never realised how many times people in that world would force me to teeter dangerously on that tipping point.