After eating some roasted lizards, Josh was ready to tackle the next objective.

The brothers had a long discussion and knew that the best way to figure out when the card would be coming was not by invading the house again or by stalking a soldier, it was by going to a place he knew the soldiers were constantly frequenting, the brothel.

Josh had lived on the island all his life, but by now, he had no connections at the place, he always avoided crowded places and people in general, he had even gotten into the habit of only speaking mentally with his brother, going without speaking for long times, even weeks.

‘Do I really have to do this?’ Josh sighed and stood up with difficulty.

‘Yes. But don’t worry, I still think some people may recognize you. And some really owe dad and mom a lot.’ Johan commented.

‘The madam, right?’

‘Yes.’

Josh left his mud shack and walked into the most prosperous place in the circular town.

Here, the houses were made of stone, but they were rough and didn’t have the same polished touch the rich houses had. The street was crowded, with people selling stuff all around the place.

Booths with fried mushrooms, roasted crickets, and animals were the most common, but sometimes, he saw someone exchanging a card. Those were rare occasions, and these were soldiers doing so.

‘Nobody else would be crazy to exchange a card publicly.’ Johan commented.

Josh went into the back entrance of the brothel and knocked on the door. After some time, someone opened it.

The woman had a loose dress around her body, almost falling down, and both her cleavage and thighs were showing. Her face, however, was dirty, and she clearly had not cleaned herself in a while.

“Hey, charming boy. What can I do for you?" She leaned closer, showing even more of her cleavage. “But know that I don’t work for free.”

Josh stopped himself from shaking his head, took a deep breath, and said. “Please, tell Mariana that Jonathan and Irine's son is here.”

The woman just nodded with her expressionless face “Oh, sure. Wait just a second.” She closed the door and went back in. He leaned against the wall, waiting for her to return.

Josh waited, in the beginning, he thought it would not take long, but the lady simply didn’t come back. He knocked on the door a few more times, but nobody showed up. The noises from the inside were getting louder and louder.

‘You have to go in.’ Johan said.

‘Yeah.’ Josh dropped his shoulders and walked to the front door.

As soon as he entered, the first thing he noticed was the heavy body smell, it was sweat mixed with something else. He tried to breathe as little as possible.

There were ladies all around, talking to the customers who just come in. Just like the woman he met at the back door, all of them were wearing loose clothes that revealed most of what was beneath.

“Hey young man, how can I help you?” A woman approached him with a smile, he looked to the side to avoid staring at her swaying hips.

He decided to change his approach, not speaking the same way he had at the backdoor. “I have an important message for lady Mariana, please, take me to her.” He wore a serious expression and spoke in the deepest voice he could.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Oh.” She just nodded. “Sure, follow me.” Josh followed after her.

She took him inside, and he noticed there were many rooms all over the place, all of them had sheets in front of them to not show what was happening inside, but the noises were self-explanatory. He also swore he saw the lady who had greeted him in the backdoor engaged in some of those activities.

After going through a lot of rooms, the place began to get quieter, and he arrived in a quiet part of the building. It was on a far corner of the second floor, the woman led him inside, and he saw an unexpected sight.

A middle-aged woman sat by a table, reading a book, her eyes glued to the page.

She had a stone table in front of her seat, it was well made, and there were even a few pieces of paper over it.

She got her eyes off the book and looked at the two people entering. A soft smile appeared on her lips, and despite her age, she was still gorgeous.

“Zara, what brings you here?” Lady Mariana asked.

“Lady, this boy says he has a message for you.”

Mariana moved her eyes from the woman to Josh, she analyzed him for a few seconds before saying. “Do I know you? Somehow, you’re familiar.”

“Yes, but we haven’t seen each other for a long time.” Josh nodded. “I’m Jonathan and Irine's son.”

Lady Mariana's brows shot up at the words. The way she looked at him changed, and she looked at his face for a bit longer.

“That’s right, now that I look closer, I recognize those features.” A longing expression appeared on her face. “Those were truly good times.” She turned to the woman who had brought Josh in. “You can go back. Thank you for bringing him.”

“At your service, lady.” She bowed to Mariana and left.

Josh was surprised by the way the girl treated and looked at Mariana, more than looking at someone who had power over you, it was clear the girl had both respect and admiration for her.

“You can sit, and make yourself comfortable.” She smiled at him and pointed to the chair across the table.

“Thanks.” Josh took his seat. “I was afraid you’d not remember them.”

“Oh, foolish boy.” She creased her brows. “Despite the years, it's not easy to forget good people. Your parents did a lot for this village. It’s a pity it had to end that way.” Her tone turned sad by the end, and Josh just agreed.

“Yeah.”

“So, how can I help you?” The sad expression was gone, and a glint appeared in her eyes. “After all those years, it's obvious that you want something by showing up so suddenly.”

Josh didn’t want to cut corners and admitted. “That’s right.” he nodded. “I wanted some information, if possible.”

“Then you came to the right place.” A smile appeared on her lips. “People usually don’t hold many secrets inside those walls, and I know most of them - Surely the most important ones.”

“That’s just what I need.” The conversation was going just as planned. “I heard a rumor that an important shipment will be arriving for the central farm, the Shroo’s. Do you know when that will be happening?”

“Oh… And you happen to be interested in that important item? I don’t think you have the ability to go after it.” Mariana didn’t measure her words. “Greed is good, it can take us far sometimes, but sometimes, it can kill us.”

“I know.” Josh narrowed his eyes. ”I know that better than anyone.”

“And you still want to go after that item?” She asked.

“Who says I want to go after it? Maybe I just want to mess with them, or go into the house while the shipment is arriving.” Josh answered.

“Fine. I owe your parents, so I’ll tell you what I know.” Mariana looked up for some time, as soon as her eyes turned back to him, she said. “That shipment is due to arrive in three days from now, and it will arrive at a secondary port on the northern part of the island.”

“Oh.” Josh was surprised, the last part was surely unexpected.

The main port was always well-manned and had a lot of fortifications, the farms had pooled a lot of money through the years into it to make sure it was the safest place possible. It was close to the farms and had a secured route from there.

‘If they are taking a secondary port, it's obvious that the farmer who is bringing it is afraid of the others trying to steal the card… It’s mostly a political measure from what I see.’ Johan commented.

“So they’ll come just to deliver that shipment? They won’t be collecting any goods?”

“That I don't know.” She leaned closer. “From what I heard, they are trying to be as covert as possible.” She leaned back into her chair. “But that’s all I know.”

“Thanks, it was of great help.” Josh stood up. “My parents would be happy to know you’re helping.” He turned to leave. “I’ll be going then.”

“I know they would be.” She narrowed her eyes as he left the room, he opened the book she was holding and looked at it, the ink distorted to show the image of Josh walking. “What are you planning, Josh?”