Three months had passed. Jayden had started venturing out into the town. He'd even joined Jamal for Friday night drinks at the local pub. Jamal was a quiet drinker, but he was popular with the locals because he was kind and listened well.
People would come to him with their woes, regaling him with stories of work difficulties, loves lost and financial hardships. Jamal didn't give people answers. He just listened, empathised and encouraged, and that seemed to be all that people really needed.
There were a few people who drank regularly with Jamal, and Jayden had begun to get to know them. They would tell stories of various events in the town and the kingdom.
Evidently, there were some tensions.
The king was growing quite old and wasn't providing the same level of leadership and oversight as he used to do. This left the various regions to their own devices, which worked well in some places, but not so well in Deltora.
Apparently, the local governor was a bit of a selfish jerk. He was more interested in lining his own pockets than in taking care of the kingdom. If there was tax revenue involved, then he paid huge attention. But for anything else, he was almost not there. Justice suffered under his governance. Some of the wealthier merchants were starting to exploit people, treating their staff almost like slave labour, forcing bad deals on small suppliers and enacting various other cruelties.
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The town guard weren't much help. Not that they were all corrupt. But they weren't paid that well, given that their salary came out of the governor's purse. Many of them were susceptible to the occasional bribe from a rich merchant to look the other way. Some of the more brutal ones were even willing to act as enforcers for hire.
It was difficult to endure. People forlornly recalled the better days of the king's reign, how he used to come and visit, how he would try the finest the town had to offer, and complement each vendor on the quality of their products, making them both very pleased and very recognised for future trades across the kingdom.
But not all the stories told were of present pains or the wonderful past. In fact, some of the most fascinating stories were those about the Magellan network. No-one was really clear what or who they were. They seemed to be a combination of criminals, vigilantes and freedom fighters. They stole from the wealthy and corrupt. They redressed ills done against the poor and weak. And they made fun of people who had gotten a little too proud and pompous.