They continued following the other traveler well past noon. Gwen had gone to sleep by now and Arcand was having conniptions.

“At least they aren’t getting any further away”, said Zipper.

“The causeway ends only a few miles outside of Bouger”, said Arcand. “I don’t want them getting as far as that. Like I said, I don’t want witnesses.”

“Are you sure you aren’t a brigand?” said Zipper, testily.

“Enough”, cautioned Delta. “Look, Arcand. If we get that far, and haven’t caught up, we will get out and run. It’ll be late in the day, Gwen can drive. The same applies to him. He can’t exactly run off if he sees us coming.”

Arcand wasn’t happy, but there was nothing he could do about it, other than wait.

And wait they did.

The sun was halfway down the western sky and they could see the end of the causeway. A smudge on the horizon was a forest that Arcand said was next to the village of Bouger. Resignedly they had started getting ready to jog ahead.

“Wait”, called Zipper. “I think he’s stopped.”

They watched for a bit, but it did become clear the cart had stopped. The man had gotten out of it and appeared to be berating his mule.

Zipper smirked. “He should have let it rest.”

“Gwen: drive”, Delta said in goblin. “Zipper: gear on.” The two of them started putting on their armor as their wagon continued forward, catching up with the cart at an easy pace.

Gwen pulled the wagon over to the side next to the cart.

“Sorry, folks”, said the man. “My mule won’t budge.”

“They do that”, said Zipper, hopping down and holding her spear ready. “Especially when they are carrying a very, very heavy load.” Delta got down from the other side and held her glaive ready.

Arcand leaped lightly from the seat and bowed before the man. “Arcand at your service. Special Bailiff to The Count Metzre.” He grinned. “I am very, very interested in what cargo you are transporting.” He leaned forward. “And who you are transporting it to.”

The man looked from him to the two mercenaries and back again. He went pale and sank to his knees. “Mercy! Mercy!” he cried. “I’m a poor man! I was paid good money! My daughter is sick!”

Arcand turned to Delta and winked. Then he turned back. “Save it for the judge.” He turned to the cart. “Now, let’s see what turning traitor to the country of your birth and ancestors was worth.”

In the back of the cart was a single chest. It wasn’t large, but it was balanced over the axle. Arcand tugged at it, but it barely budged. There was a large lock on it. “The key?” he asked.

The man shrugged. “I wasn’t given a key. I was told not to look inside.”

Arcand looked at the chest critically. “There are loopholes. Can the two of you lift this down?”

“Are we guards or porters?” asked Zipper.

Delta gave her a warning look. They slipped the shafts of their weapons into the loops on either side of the chest. With a grunt and strain, they lifted it up over the side and onto the road.

“That should be enough room”, said Arcand. He sat in front of it and cradled the padlock. With some small, specialized tools he worked away at it for a few minutes. Then with a click, and a look of satisfaction on his part, the locked popped open.

“With nothing but a good ear, and good information, you can do more damage to an army than a whole brigade”, he crowed. He threw open the lid, and his face fell.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Delta and Zipper watched for a moment, confused by his reaction. Even the man stopped his crying and looked up.

Armand rummaged in the chest. It sounded like coins but when he held one up it was dull and grey. The mercenaries stepped closer and peered over his shoulder. The chest was filled with grey disks and medallions of various sizes.

“This… this…” said Arcand. “It cannot be!” He took a piece and bent it. It bent far more easily than gold should have. He bit it, and his teeth left marks deeper than gold should have.

“Maybe inside of it?” suggested Zipper.

He took a dagger, and, with a little effort, the steel of the dagger cut one in half. It was the same all the way through.

“Under it?” suggested Delta.

They got a blanket out of the wagon and emptied the chest of its contents. But even after a thorough investigation from Arcand with his little tools he could find no hidden compartment.

“Lead!” he swore. “Worthless lead!”

“Am I free to go?” asked the man, hopefully.

Arcand turned angrily to him. “You are still a traitor!” He then looked dejected. “Unfortunately, your punishment will be in proportion to your crime.” He waved his hands dismissively. “Unfortunately, this won’t even pay what I had to hire you people for.”

“What will you do with it?” asked Delta.

“Leave it by the roadside to rot”, said Arcand, angrily. “I’m impounding your mule and your cart”, he said to the man. “I will take you back to Metzre for judgement. And I’m certainly not lugging this useless dung.” He gestured dismissively at the pile of lead.

“We might be able to sell it for scrap”, said Delta. “Would it help if we took it as the remainder of our payment?”

“Do whatever you want with it”, said Arcand. He then drew himself up and took a deep breath. “Thank you for your service. Our contract is at an end. I’m sorry that it wasn’t what I had hoped, otherwise there might have been a nice bonus.” Then he grumbled “For all of us.”

Zipper saw to the mule, got it water and fodder. With the much lighter load it was happy to continue on. Arcand sat in the back of the cart, sulkily, and growled at the man to head back to Metzre.

Delta had piled the lead back into the chest. With Zipper’s help they lifted it into the back of their wagon.

“Well that was weird”, said Zipper.

Delta made a non-committal noise.

“Do you think Bourger has an inn?” asked Zipper, getting the wagon into motion.

“I think we’d best reach the edge of the forest and sleep under the eaves”, said Delta. Zipper shrugged and kept the donkeys moving. The sun was getting close to the horizon now.

“Zipper, do you care who wins this war?” said Delta.

Zipper looked at her oddly, then shrugged. “I just want to get paid.” She thought about it a bit longer. “These Imperialists are nice guys. Normally I like the little guy. They’re gutsy. They’re smart. But are they gutsy and smart enough to take over the combined might of the rest of the world? Not a chance. So, they’re nuts. And that counts against them.”

She considered longer. “Now, the other side. They’re crooks. When they aren’t fighting each other, they’re squeezing everyone else for whatever they can. Even the nice ones really don’t have much of a clue what it’s like for everyone else. Honestly, I don’t much care for them either.”

After a bit of silence Delta said, “I don’t like the idea of the insurrectionists taking over the whole world and proclaiming another Empire. Seems like the Empire had its chance and it just sort of collapsed on itself.” She shrugged. “I’m not that big a fan of what we’ve got now, either. I wouldn’t mind seeing it shaken up a bit. Maybe that’s their point”, she mused. “Rattle a few cages. Apply a bit of an external threat to cajole them into working together better.”

“Don’t get involved in politics”, said Zipper. “That’s what I was told when I signed up. Do your job. Get paid.”

Delta rode in silence for a bit. “Gwen? You care who wins?”

Gwen grinned. “Wight’s Brigade win.”

“So, then”, said Delta, slowly. “Seeing as we are currently free of contract, I’m taking then that no one will mind if we do a favor for the Imperialists in hopes of renumeration?”

“Their money is crap”, said Zipper. “But crap money is better than no money. Sure. What did you have in mind?”

Delta glanced back at the chest. “We have some valuables to deliver.”

Zipper looked back as well. “What? The lead? Why would they pay us for that? I think that’s just another of their ruses. Feint with the lead, thrust with the gold elsewhere.”

“I don’t think so”, said Delta, looking off into the distance. “I think the talk of gold was the feint. The lead is the real deal.”

“What would they need lead coins for? Some sort of esoteric magic?”

“They aren’t coins.” Delta smiled. “They’re orcish medals.”

Zipper thought about that for a while. Then she craned her neck around to look at the chest. Then she dug in her belongings and unearthed the garish keepsake that the orc had gifted her with in Lyre. “Harper’s Sonnets”, she swore. “You’re right.”

“I figure there will be some sort of bounty”, said Delta. “Metzre rightly seized it. We rightly bought it from them. It’s ours to give.”

“Arcand would call us traitors” said Zipper.

“We didn’t do it while under contract to them”, said Delta. “We’re not agents of the government. Technically we’re in the clear.”

“A technicality isn’t going to keep us from being torn apart by wild dogs if we’re caught in Metzre after they find out”, said Zipper.

“Yep”, said Delta. “Best to see what jobs this bright shiny second Empire are offering next.”

Zipper twisted back to look at the chest again. “We’re gonna be so rich!”