We checked our inventory while we went down the road, making sure that all our supplies and goods were accounted for. There was nothing missing from our stock and all the tools, and my sword, were present as well. I strapped the blade back to my hip, feeling much more comfortable with the reassuring weight of the steel there.
Just before we made it back to the main road, there was a slight rustling of the trees above us. I looked up just in time to see a figure dropping down into the cart. My reaction was to grab my sword and I pulled it halfway out of the sheath before I realized what, or rather who, had dropped out of the trees.
It was Dart. He stood in the middle of the cart having recovered from his landing and then began talking as if he hadn’t just fallen from the sky. “Well, I'm glad to see that you have resolved that situation in the best possible way.”
Everyone could only stare at him for a moment in a completely dumbfounded way. Surprisingly, the first emotion I felt after my senses returned was annoyance. “Where the hell were you? We could have used your help back there, if not with the fighting, then at least with trying to talk it out with the rebels.”
“I apologize, but unfortunatly I could only maintain my cover in light of the situation. If I had warned you of their ambush, it would probably have made things worse as you were already in their sights, and they would have simply launched a much sloppier attack.”
“And what if they just wanted to kill us and take the loot anyway? And how can you helping us fight make things worse?”
“I’m afraid you may be overestimating my abilities. Sure, in a surprise attack I could kill three or four of them before they recovered, but that would still leave us outnumbered and them angry. The likelihood of them taking revenge upon us all would have increased exponentially. And despite the commonly held belief, bandits don’t often kill if they can avoid it. Stealing from merchants isn’t high on the list of concerns for most local lords, and more often than not, the goods are insured by the banker's guild. However, if people start dying, then that is a bigger problem and raises concerns about public safety, forcing them to act and commit manpower to hunt down the perpetrators. I took the calculated risk of allowing it to play out, we could always steal everything back, and it turned out to be a rather interesting meeting.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh. “I can understand your thought process, but I don’t like you playing number games with our lives. If it even remotely looks like someone is in danger of dying, you should do everything you can to make sure they are safe. Also, why wouldn’t you help with the convoy we raided?”
Dart dipped his head a little. “Very well, I shall take that into consideration should something come up in the future. As for the convoy, I felt that you had everything in hand, and that my intervention should be saved for truly desperate moments. Now, I must say I am impressed by how you handled the situation and turned it to your advantage. Most would be rather, how do you say, ‘put off’ by being shot, but you kept a level head and even negotiated for their assistance. I applaud your initiative.”
Being praised by the spy master felt pretty good, if I were being honest, but at the same time his casual allusion to him knowing what I talked about was a scary reminder of his skills. “So, you were listening in on the conversation I had with Norwik?”
“Of course, I had to know if the situation was going to deteriorate or not. If it was, I had several plans on how to create enough of a distraction for you all to escape.”
Well, at least he was doing something regarding everyone’s safety. I shook my head a little bit. “Where were you even hiding? There wasn’t so much as a whisper of your presence and yet you were close enough to eavesdrop.”
“Thank you for the compliment. As for where, I find that very few people tend to look up without cause.”
Naturally my eyes flittered upwards towards the trees for a moment before coming back down. He had a point, most threats will come at you from about the same level that you are on, so there’s no reason to look up when you are looking for them. Of course, somewhat knowing him, it could also just be misleading so he would have an easier time sneaking around me should the need arise. I really did hate not knowing if what he said was genuine or not, but there was little I could do about that as it seemed second nature for him to act that way. Dart had one last little comment to make about the situation though.
“Finding Thrainians who hold no love for their king is a good discovery. Your arrival at the camp may have caused quite a stir when you first showed up, but now I think that they would be more open to the idea of Thrainians assisting us in a similar way that you do.”
“Really? I mean, the camp may not be openly hostile to me anymore, but I don’t feel like many people actually trust me.”
“I admit, there are many who do not care for you all that much, but they do have a certain level of trust in you. Why else would they let you come out here?”
“That still doesn’t mean they would welcome Norwik and his band.”
“True enough, but I'm certain our testimony of his character and motivations will go a long way towards convincing them of his usefulness.”
It was an interesting thought at the very least. With the way the war has been going and the blood and animosity that have been steadily growing between the two sides, there needed to be some sort of effort to bridge the gap between the Thrainians and the coalition. It wouldn’t matter if I had changed the views of a single camp if the whole of their forces still looked at the opposition with hate. Norwik could end up being the first real Thrainian that the coalition works with, and if they do, then they might be more amicable towards others in the future.
With nothing else that needed to be said, everyone gave a farewell to Dart once more before he disappeared into the surrounding wilderness again. He had done so only a few minutes before we made it back to the main road. Once more on the path, we all started to do our normal travel activities, though I noticed more attentiveness from everyone regarding our surroundings.
I had gotten into the crate of crystals for a project that I thought might be useful in the future. Using some of the chisels we had, I broke off a small piece of crystal, enough to fit in my palm. With the material now cut to size, I started to carefully carve runes into the surface of it, making sure that the intent behind each one was clear in my mind as I did. I decided to make a basic medical crystal of numbness like the one Velshi had me practice with. There weren’t too many runes required to make a functional one, and its uses for treatment could not be understated.
Working on the crystal ate up a lot of time while we traveled. Trying to chisel something while moving on a cart was much more difficult than it sounds. There’s no such thing as suspension on this primarily wooden mode of transportation, so every bump in the road is felt by the occupants. Still beats traveling on foot.
Unfortunately, we could not make it to Voltrum having lost a few hours on that incident with the rebels. We had to set up camp for the night as we were close to losing all the light and travelling in the dark is a recipe for disaster. A shame too; we were only a little over an hour away from our destination when we awoke the next morning.
The first signs of the town we were looking for came in the form of fields that seemed to be for raising animals, a few of which seemed quite exotic looking. After the animals came the farms, which seemed to be almost exclusively used for growing grapes, in quite expansive vineyards. It all came to a head when we encountered a large river flowing through the land that seemed to almost merge with the road. Holdrem gave some commentary about it as we traveled alongside the rushing waters.
“I heard that this river is a major part of the trading system of Valthrain. Apparently, it flows all the way to the ocean almost uninterrupted. There’s only one part that has rough rapids and sharp rocks that necessitate going across the land through that area.”
“Interesting, so it’s probably a safe bet to assume that any city built around it must be rather large,” I said, thinking about some of the problems that might come from that.
“It would probably be a safe bet, though I haven’t seen this city myself.”
“I suspect it won’t be much longer till you finally get the chance to.” And I was right. We came around a bend in the river that had been mostly obscured by a sparce covering of trees to see the town of Voltrum for ourselves.
The city was quite robust in terms of its size. It spread down the river for at least a few miles and came out into the land in equal measure. Surrounding it was a wall, shorter than the one I had seen at the capital but still about twice as tall as a man and probably an effective deterrent for most trouble. There was, however, a mar upon what would have been an impressive sight.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Outside the walls was what could only be called a shanty town. The crude ramshackle buildings were littered about the land. Most seemed to have been made of recycled parts of other buildings and held together with mud, rope, and prayers. I had at first thought that this was where they housed a lot of their slave population, as it was almost guaranteed that they would have some, but it turned out to not be the case.
The destitute souls that wandered around the buildings were Thrainians almost exclusively. All of them were in rags that were little better than a sack tied around their bodies to at least keep some modesty. Despite the proximity to a source of water, many were dirty and covered in the caked-on mud of a day's strife. When we got closer, the smell was... pungent, to say the least. The squalor in which these people lived assaulted the senses, and I could not fathom how they could stand it other than just getting used to it.
There were many along the side of the road, propped up against the sides of their ramshackle houses and presenting their hands to any passerby in the hopes of receiving something. The look in many an eye was that of utter hopelessness. These people had been beaten down, reduced to an existence little better than that of a wild animal, probably lost everything they once had. I felt pity for them, and wanted desperately to do something to assist them, but even if I gave away every coin I had on me, I still probably wouldn’t scratch the surface of this problem.
There was nothing that could be done right now, and I still had to maintain my guise of the affluent merchant, which unfortunately meant philanthropy was not an option that would coincide with that goal. So, steeling my gaze forward, I focused on our approach to the city gate which was fast approaching. A guard was checking those who entered through the gate, and I sat up straight to project an air of confidence about me that I could scarcely summon.
Our cart pulled up in the line of travelers and eventually made it to the head where the guard spoke a terse and probably repetitive question. “State your business and duration of your stay.”
“I have business with the banker’s guild sir, might be here a few days, maybe a week depending on the speed of bureaucracy.” I did my best to sound exasperated with the notion.
The guards simply hummed and cast a gaze into the back of the cart at all the goods that were within. “And your intent with all that?”
“A few of them are simply gifts while the others are a show of the quality of goods that I have to offer as a display for the kind owners of the most esteemed banker’s guild. It is my hope that this will expedite the procedure of which I hope to obtain the most useful of designation papers to a man of my--”
“Alright, alright, I didn’t ask for your life story. Just get inside and don’t cause trouble.”
“As you wish, sir,” I said with a short apologetic bow before gesturing for Holdrem to get us moving again. Once the guards were behind us, I allowed myself a small smile as I had managed to bullshit my way through that encounter in exactly the way I had hoped. Boring the man into submission. For someone whose job it is to stand around and ask the same monotonous question time and time again, they usually don’t have patience for a long-winded individual and will just do whatever it takes to get them out of their hair.
Inside the walls was like night and day in terms of quality of life. The streets were clean, the people well dressed, and the buildings were sporting some very prosperous additions that weren’t found elsewhere. There was glass, streetlamps, and floral arrangements along the streets. These people all lived disconnected from the suffering that was just outside the walls, and I was pretty damn sure that I saw more than a few actively trying to not look in the general direction of the poor.
I had to actively prevent myself from glaring at them all. These people who went about their day actively avoiding doing anything about the starving people. It wouldn’t have been surprising if they were actually complaining about it, talking down to those poor people like they were a blight just because of their misfortune. I tried not to think about it too much, I had my own problems that I needed to solve, and it felt like I didn’t have enough time in the world to plan for them.
The first order of business was to find a place for us to set up for the few days we would probably be here. It needed to be an inn of good standards yet allow me to house the rest of my entourage as well. Though I expected that whatever commendations that would be available for them to be rather poor, it still infuriated me that it was even a thing.
I figured I would try the first inn I came across, and if they couldn’t provide housing, then I would simply ask directions to one that would. I told Holdrem to pull up next to one of the inns near the entrance of the city that seemed to be of a decent quality. They would have to wait in the cart while I went in to see if this was a good place to stay, and they assumed their meek postures once more. It was impossible not to recognize the leers being shot their way from the passersby who seemed to be giving them a wide berth as they did so. I’m going to have to get used to resisting the urge to punch people while I'm out here.
I pushed open the well-carved wooden door to the building and stepped inside. Immediately I was struck by the scent of alcohol and the dull sounds of conversation from the other inhabitants of this business. The room was illuminated through a series of shuttered windows that were standing open, but there were many candles and a few crystal lanterns about the room for when the sun went down. The décor was simple and clean. Not much color variety beyond the natural fluctuations of wood, but paint was probably an expensive addition.
The reception desk, which also served as a bar for those customers looking to drink, was positioned in such a way that you had to walk by it when entering or exiting the building. When I entered fully into the building, I was received by the receptionist/barmaid who greeted me with a pleasant smile and spritely tone of voice.
“Welcome, sir! What might I be able to do for you today?”
“Greetings to you as well, my lady. I hope the day finds you well.”
“As well as any, sir,” she said with a polite dip of the head. “How might I be of service?”
“I am looking for lodgings for a few days and was wondering if you had any available?”
“Of course, we have plenty of rooms available right now. Are there any special accommodations that you would like to be made?”
“I have a cart, two horses, and four slaves...” Fuck that word tastes like bile in my mouth, “that also need to be housed. Can you provide accommodations for them?”
“Yes sir, we have stables in the back that can comfortably fit all your property.”
Property, not people. Despite my aggravation growing, I soldiered on through this conversation. “No specific lodging for my slaves then?”
“Unfortunately, sir, you will be hard pressed to find a place that does have a building set aside for slaves in this town.”
Yeah, I guess that’s not too much of a surprise. “I trust that everything will be safe in your care at the very least?”
“Yes sir, we will take full responsibility for any stolen or damaged goods due to any negligence on our part. However, we cannot take responsibility for your slaves should they cause problems or attempt an escape and are injured in the process.”
“They won’t be any trouble.”
She dipped her head again. “Very good, sir. For a room and morning meal that will be five coppers a day, housing for your property will make it seven and if you would like us to feed your horses and slaves, it will be ten.”
“Feed them, would you; I do not know how long I will be here exactly and would hate to lose any of them to something silly like that.” I set a silver coin onto the counter. “That should keep everything covered for a few days, correct?”
“Indeed, sir, thank you for your business.” She took the coin and slipped it beneath the counter. “Here is the key to your room. It is upstairs and the third door on your left. Please do not lose it as you will have to pay a replacement fee. You can move your cart into the stables at your leisure. I hope you enjoy staying with us.”
With all that now taken care of, I made my way back to the cart and directed everyone behind the building. The stables were a decent size, enough to fit several horses at the very least, and I guess slaves as well. The horses were unhooked from the cart and led inside their new temporary home.
“I take it we are going to be staying out here as well.” Kala said, apparently already knowing the deal with this sort of situation.
I gave a quick look around to make sure that no one else would overhear before speaking in a more familiar tone with them. “Unfortunately, yes. Apparently, there are no buildings set aside for slaves in the city, at least not for inns.”
Jorn spoke up with a shrug. “Ehh, we can survive a few days sleeping with the horses, not much different than sleeping on the side of the road.”
I nodded. “I also paid them to provide you with some food. I can imagine it won’t exactly be appetizing but do try to finish it. You can dig into the cart supplies while no one is looking afterwards.”
Jorn grimaced, apparently imagining the type of food that would be given to them. “Well, here’s hoping that it isn’t rotten at the very least.”
They all started moving about the stables trying to find a decent place to rest or cleaning out a spot for them to rest. I decided to go and see what my own accommodation would be like for the duration of our stay here. Going back inside, I went up the stairs and found the third door on the left as I had been told. The key slid into the lock on the door and with a twist opened it without a problem.
The room was rather spartan, all things considered. There was only a bed, a chair with a small desk, and a trunk that could probably store a few personal belongings, if I had any to speak of. The bed was at least of a decent quality. Clean sheets and a fluffy pillow were a plus as well. There was a window with a shutter that was currently closed, blocking out most of the light from outside. I went over and opened it to see the street down below and all the people walking around in the afternoon hustle of the town.
I looked down on them with some measure of disdain written across my face. This town just accentuates the problems with the divide between the haves and have-nots, and I remembered Norwik’s words quite clearly. They don’t care what happens so long as it’s not happening to them.
To them, it’s of no consequence that people are suffering just outside the gates. They and their families are well off and that’s all that matters to them. I couldn’t say for sure how many of those outside were here because of the war, or because they simply could not support themselves with whatever jobs they could scrounge up. I pushed down the revulsion I felt and straightened out my clothes and hair a little. It was time to see what the banker’s guild looked like and just how much of a problem I would have to face in the future.