Chapter 9: Arrival

                While attempting to keep my internal thoughts internal, my parents led me through the town.

They told me while waiting in line that they would show me around later, but first we needed to head to the housing authorities in this district to buy a house.

Apparently, each district had its own housing authorities, and a person had to go to the one in the district they wished to buy a house in, and the same for selling a house from that district.

It was run by an off-shoot of the merchants guild, and which district you were in charge of determined your standing in the guild, with the lowest ranks being stationed in the poor district.

While on our way, I noticed some very poor looking people hauling things about, as well as some people with what looked like leather or metal chokers.

When curiosity got the better of me, I finally asked while pointing some of them out.

I was told that the ones with collars were slaves, probably running errands for their masters.

The ones without, were either workers from the poor district, or were servants running errands.

When I asked about slaves, they went on a spiel about servants and slaves that lasted till we arrived at our destination.

                The major points were simple enough to grasp.

Servants were paid paltry amounts for long hours of back-breaking labor, but were able to quit at any time.

The more often they quit however, the harder it would be for them to get further work, and the poor didn't have many options.

Slaves, on the other hand, were expensive to purchase and were provided the basic necessities in return for whatever they were used for.

In addition, they could not quit, they could however be returned to a slave trader or re-assigned to another master after an investigation, if allegations of unlawful treatment were verified.

There were a few different kinds of slaves as well, with slave laborers being the most common, followed by common slaves, then a third type my parents refused to tell me about at my age.

Slave laborers were mostly strong bodied men, consisting of captured common soldiers, who couldn't be ransomed, and hardened criminals.

The criminals were usually sent off to mines and the like to work away their lives, while the spoils of war guys were sometimes sold as work force for the rich.

Common slaves could be either men or women, but women were more popular for their appearance and increased uses.

They were often used as errand runners, but many of the women were also used as retainers or servants for young noble ladies, who were rarely able to leave their homes.

The older ones could even be sold as simple tutors for the wealthier merchants children, after training of course.

Common slaves were either debt holders, who would be freed automatically after working off their debt, or willing or given slaves.

Sometimes, due to poor conditions, or having too many children, a person would offer themselves, or be offered by the family.

Slave traders were held responsible for providing decent living conditions, including a clean place to sleep and meals, for the slaves.

So if a family couldn't provide enough food, or the person themselves couldn't provide their own livelihood, they sometimes ended as slaves.

Though that only applied to legal slave traders, and I was cautioned to be wary of any black market slave traders I might come across.

Some things obviously don't change regardless of the world it seems.

                The common district housing authority was conveniently situated between a woodworking shop and a tavern.

The building itself was a relatively nondescript two-story wood building.

If it wasn't for the sign bearing a house in the center, with a hand holding money toward and away from the house on either side, most people would probably think it was a residence.

The signage in this world seems to be rather straight-forward and literal to make it easier for those that can't read.

Signs on taverns always have something to do with food and drinks, and shops always have a depiction related to what they are for or sell.

I was too busy thinking what kind of signage brothels and slave traders would put up to notice the inside of the building.

By the time I had gone through a dozen or so strip club like designs for brothels, and another dozen dominatrix type ones for slave traders, in my head of course.

We had already exited the housing authorities, with what I assume was a deed in my moms hand.

Dad had another piece of paper unfolded in his hands, which turned out to be a simple drawn map to our house.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

                While walking, my parents took the opportunity to tell me a bit about the towns layout.

Mom explained that there are 4 gates in this town, the west gate, south gate, east gate, and central gate.

The west gate enters into the poor district, something of a slum, with lower security.

The south gate, which we came through, enters into the common district, which is relatively safe and contains simple shops; but the back-allies should be avoided after dark.

The east gate enters into the upper district, which has the guilds, wealthy merchants, and a shop for almost everything.

The central gate, is on a secondary wall that surrounds the noble district and the towns defensive keep.

The noble district contains all the nobles housing, the main guard-house, and the shops that would require a small fortune to purchase something from.

Guard houses are present in each of the districts, but get smaller by district.

The upper district also contains the holding cells for criminals, located between the guard-house and the adventurers guild for added security.

                When our new home came into view, I was actually a little impressed for it being in a big town.

It was a cozy little two-story built of wood, with a brick foundation and a small side yard set for a garden.

The window in front looked to have a wide planter attached to its sill, for growing herbs.

The house looked clean and maintained, obviously the merchant guild took it's jobs seriously.

The inside boasted a small mud room with an indented wall sporting hooks for coats and shelves for shoes.

A spacious area followed that would be good for a living room, with a moderate fire-place on the wall opposite to the kitchen that it flowed into.

The kitchen already had a stove and wash basin installed on the walls, with the stove being under the window with the planter.

The wash basin was on the adjacent wall to the stove, with an L shaped wooden counter running along the wall between them.

Opposite of the stove was recessed shelving for a pantry, and the door beside it led into a simple washroom.

The washroom had a small wash basin and the hated wooden box seat, with a hole cut into it for waste to fall through.

It was attached to the wall, which opened from the outside next to the garden for cleaning purposes...I really miss flushing toilets, but at least this one is inside.

Between the living room and kitchen was an opening that led into a back room.

The back room contained the stairs to the second floor on the left of the entrance, and an area that looked to be for laundry on the right of it.

Immediately up the stairs was a door to a small room with two windows, probably for an office of sorts, and a hallway that went to the left.

Along the hallway, there were two doors opposite each other that revealed moderate sized rooms, that would become our respective bedrooms.

At the end of the hall was another door, it led to a small tiled room similar in size to the office, with a wash basin on one wall.

It seems we would have to purchase the furnishings, as well as amenities for the bathing room upstairs.

                As it had been a long day, we decided to lay out blankets and sleep on the floor for the night.

Tomorrow was set to be an even longer day, as there was much we needed to do.

At dawn, my dad left to procure fire wood for the day, and purchase some seedlings for the garden.

After he returned, I was tasked with tilling the garden and planting the seedlings to keep me busy, before both my parents left.

Dad went to find a job, while mom went to place orders for furniture and amenities, as well as shop for lunch.

I finished planting the seedlings by the time mom got back, and was asked to set a fire in the fireplace for later while she prepared a cold lunch.

After we ate, I helped her put up the pots and tableware she bought, and lay out the padded blankets near the fireplace for us to sleep on.

When father came back from job hunting, we lit the fire and hung a large soup pot over it to cook dinner.

Dad said he wasn't sure if he would get the job of guard, but was still hopeful, as it would be a lot less back and forth than hunting the woods for pelts.

Mom mentioned she would need my help tomorrow to pick up the few furniture pieces that could be completed quickly.

And with that, we went to sleep on the much more comfortable padded blankets, in front of a softly burning fire.