I had been a bit concerned about the consequences of killing the thieves from the previous year, and decided to go with honesty from the start. I informed the city guard that a robbery attempt had occurred when my trade procession had last come to Gurt, and that the thieves had been dispatched. The numbers lined up with some disappearances in town, but rather than it being a problem, the guards thanked me for the information as they were able to put the matter to rest. Had bodies been discovered within the town walls or on the farms, there would have been an investigation and innocence or guilt would have been determined, but violence and even risk of death outside of the walls was not uncommon.
That did not mean it was legal to steal from convoys or kill whoever you encountered out in the wilds, just that justice was unenforceable outside of the walled cities. There was a reason there was such a clear divide between civilization within the walled cities of the Kingdom and the rest of the land. I was more than a little concerned that anyone could, in theory, come to Freehold, murder every villager, torch the town, and there was nothing enforceable that could stop that. Barring the army being present for some reason in the first place, who would still likely step in to save Horuthian citizens, the only way to survive in the wilds was through one’s own might.
With that concern somewhat alleviated, although only by transforming into a slightly different concern, I was able to move on to business. The rumor mill had churned all winter about the tarands, and when I reappeared with multiple wagons in tow, some runners went out to more established merchants in the city with connections to the more successful merchant convoys who had learned about the possibilities through word of mouth and were interested in gaining an early advantage.
I was not ready to buy a building in Gurt to set up a second branch of the Tamers Guild, mostly because there was no one else who could manage it at the moment, but I did rent some space to set up temporarily so I could deal with the people interested in buying tarands. My herd had grown over the winter, so I was selling four older males who were either being replaced by their sons within the herd or were too undesirable to keep for breeding compared to the one I had evolved into a mystic tarand. They would be sold in pairs, alongside a wagon, and the total price was steep. I dealt with a few loud angry merchants who were shocked by the price, unable to see the possible long-term dividends.
It was true that without a full convoy of tarand-drawn wagons, not all the benefits could be realized. The benefits, for the moment, were better seen at the personal level, though individuals without larger businesses would struggle to afford them. Enough people asked about smaller, single-tarand wagons, as they were interested in shortening the time of a trip between Gurt and Roko for either personal reasons or for moving product that was small or lightweight.
Eventually, I would work with leatherworkers to design and introduce the saddle and offer tarands for individual sale. Any small wagon, and most that were already drawn by oxalire, probably could be pulled by a tarand instead, although one would have to modify them and switch yokes for draught poles. For the moment, I informed those interested that Tamers Guild members could buy individual tarands from the Freehold branch, which was enough of a disincentive for those with only a tentative interest.
This led to more questions about what the Tamers Guild was, and I explained my project, introduced Treepo, and told the story of how Freehold’s hunters were taming beasts like ‘bargs to help them hunt and keep them safe in the wild. Bortag had accompanied me on the journey and had his cute ‘barg puppy with him, and was getting a lot of attention because of it. It was not nearly as much of a commitment to make the trip for him anymore, as even with a casual pace, the tarands and new wagons made the trip in a mere two days.
Word spread through Gurt, and I had a small influx of people who came to ask more questions. They could not all make the trip to Freehold, so after making sure it would be acceptable to bring other tamed beasts into the city with the guard—who said it was not an issue, as apparently there already were some people living with tamed companions in town, which surprised me—I promised to come back midseason with some of the beasts we had. I would need to head out into the wilds when I returned east and find another pack of lubargs before then, so I had more to sell.
By the second day, one of the two additional tarand-drawn wagons I brought were sold, which was a huge amount of profit and made the trip worthwhile. I was confident that this forward-thinking merchant would see the appeal and, ultimately, buy more, and even promised her a small discount on a second when she saw the need for it to further encourage that. First I had to get her to join the guild, even though she personally was not planning to be the driver for her convoy, because that was the rule. Then I taught her how to tame, so I could get her to take responsible ownership for the tarands. In the future, I hoped that the tarands raised from youth would be a bit more able to handle captivity without taming bonds, but these ones had been caught wild in the north. Fortunately, the process went without issue, and the woman gained the skill and the beasts and was happy.
Through her use of the beasts and new wagon, I hoped she would spread the word to Roko and attract more interest. I made a mental note to discuss with Soren that Freehold’s foresters should probably focus on clearing trees around the east-west road and make it a bit more approachable, and started thinking about maybe constructing an inn.
My detect skill pulled me out of my ruminations when a small blue creature flew at my face.
I almost whipped out a blade to strike down the threat, but before I did, the familiarity of the blue fur gave me pause, and then I recognized the squeak of the beast. I peeled back the patagia that were wrapped around my head and held the flying nodmouse back to get a proper look at it.
“Gregory?” I asked incredulously.
“Thought it might be you,” a gruff old voice said, and I looked up to see a grin on the old man’s face.
Gregory floated down to meet Treepo on the ground, and the two sniffed at each other, chittering and squeaking in pleasure.
“Bilgus! That’s right, you lived in Gurt. Good to see you, how have you been?”
The wagon driver I had met on Marshan’s convoy finished his approach, and Gregory scampered up back onto the old man’s shoulder.
“I’m as well as an old man can be, I suppose. This little one got me t’ thinking, and after we parted ways at the capital, I decided to head home to show him off to my grandkids, spend these last years with my family.” He chuckled, which turned into a bit of a cough, and he cleared his throat. “My youngest son mentioned a strange new wagon that came by last harvest, and it reminded me of a conversation about using new beasts for transport that I had with a young lad a few years ago. When I heard a rumor they were back in town, I had to come take a look.”
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“That’s right,” I said, motioning him towards the tarands. “These guys are the future of transportation. Quartered the time it took to travel between here and Freehold, and could probably halve that again if there were a need, but I wanted them fresh for when we arrived.”
Bilgus looked over the beasts, impressed, then I showed him the new wagon designs, and drove him around a bit to show him the difference in comfort. He hemmed and hawed appreciatively at all the right moments, but the old man had always been the quiet type, and eventually we lapsed into comfortable silence.
“You’ve grown up fast, Pilus,” he said after a while.
Ah. Bilgus had known me to be a fresh-faced apprentice only three years ago, and I was passing for an adult, or at least a grown teen.
“I have,” I said, tentatively.
Bilgus leaned back in the wagon seat, looking up at the sky. “Let me tell you a story. A mysterious, competent young lad appears, full of secrets and unusual strength. He heads off to a warzone, where, impossibly, he speaks directly into the head of his master, then disappears. Within the year, rumors of a mysterious new power arising in the north turns the tide of the war, and pushes back the Kingdom, forcing them to abandon the north.”
My heart raced as I listened to Bilgus. It was one thing for my secrets to get out, but the big one was literally treason. The wrong word to the wrong people would mean I would have to flee, again, and nowhere in the Kingdom would be safe. I swallowed hard, then looked at the old man.
“That’s some story.”
“Aye.”
“Why do you mention it?”
Bilgus hummed, scratching his head. “I suppose I just want to know whether that lad’s all right. If he’s hurt or if he’s safe now, and if he’s happy or if he’s in need of help.”
I let out a breath, my pulse calming a bit. I sat back in the driver seat of the wagon, and took a breath.
“He’s doing well, I think. Moving on to new things and looking towards the future.”
Bilgus grunted and closed his eyes, petting Gregory who was, predictably, asleep in his lap.
“Thanks,” I murmured to the man. We sat there for a while longer, before I motioned with my chin towards the sleeping nodmouse. “So. What did the family think about this lazy beast?”
“The little ones all love him. They ended up taking a bit of an interest, even started taming random critters of their own.” He stood, stretched, and clapped me on the shoulder. “Come on, lad. I’ll introduce you.”
* * *
Bilgus had a small army of grandkids, and a bunch of them had beasts with them. It was an impressive collection of rank G and F beasts, and I was making mental notes while appraising them to learn about them all, while also trying to remember all the new names and faces. Through the chaos and excitement of the kids meeting Treepo, I was introduced as Gregory’s former owner, and suddenly I was bombarded by questions.
“You want me to help you transform your beasts?” I asked the children, surprised.
“Aye, that,” Bilgus said, chuckling. “I bought some beast crystal like you said, but the kids can’t get their beasts to eat them. If they command them to, they either get thrown up, or… come out the other end.”
Right, I taught Bilgus the method of evolving beasts. I had also taught Forn, the sailor from Mirut who taught me how to tame, and if Rena was perceptive she might have noticed what I gave to her vorbil, as well.
I appraised the various beasts and saw that none of them were particularly close to their max level. That was not a surprise, given the value of the meat they would need to consume, or how much battle they would need to endure. Fortunately, it was easy to powerlevel low rank beasts, and I was interested enough in seeing their evolutions that I could not resist.
With plenty of shug meat in my inventory, I excused myself to step back outside to the wagon and “retrieved” a chunk, then head back in to cut it into pieces, and cooked it as well so that the kids did not have to handle raw meat. I instructed them to infuse the food so that their MP would wipe out any of my own residual magic, and then feed the meat to their beasts.
One piece was enough to max out all the rank G beasts, and a few of the rank F beasts. The stragglers got the remaining pieces until all the beasts were maxed out.
What followed was a riot of white glows and new colors as the beasts evolved, causing the children to celebrate and examine all the new forms. I saw some of the parents sigh at the new, often larger beasts that would now be living among them, and suppressed a laugh.
I pulled out a bunch of Tamer Guild badges and made all of Bilgus’s grandkids members, waiving the fee since they already displayed the values of the establishment, and told them that if they could bring me a male and a female of a couple of the beasts that I was interested in, I would pay them for it, causing the kids to run off into the city in pursuit of beasts to tame.
It was a good day, and I left Bilgus pleased to have run into him, despite what he heard from Marshan and the potential risk. Before I left, I asked Bilgus how well known the story he told me was, and he was able to put my fears slightly to rest.
“It took me a while to find a job that would take me back south from the capital, since all the resources were headed northward, so I ended up stuck there until Marshan returned from the supply run, which is when I ran into him. He only told me about you at my prodding, and we agreed to keep it quiet. I can’t say for sure he hasn’t told anyone else, but he only shared his experiences with me because I knew you, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. As for the rest, that was just my conjecture, though I’m sure Marshan has had similar thoughts,” the old man told me.
While that did not mean I was absolutely safe from reprisal, it did calm me down a bit. Marshan was a man who cared about profits a lot more than crown affairs, and I could not see him selling me out for no reason. I got an address from Bilgus for a place in Roko that I could send a letter which Marshan would likely get next time he passed through the city, and decided to reach out and let him know about my venture with the tarands, making an offer for him to get in at the ground floor, and I would just have to wait and see how he felt about me after I ran away.
As a more immediate worry, I realized I needed to start acquiring all the magic crystal I could before taming spread any further. Too many people were learning about the increased value of the crystal. I was not sure how much the changes I was making would ultimately affect the price, but given that these pieces of concentrated magic were also the main ingredient in my MP potions and also an element in my self-powered enchantments, I needed to stock up. I went to every shop in Gurt, and used part of the income from the tarand sale to buy every piece of beast crystal and every deepwater pearl I could find. I even left orders for more with the jewelers I had emptied out.
It was a bit obvious, and would likely result in me getting ripped off in the short term, but unless I was willing to go further west, the shops in Gurt were my only choice. So long as I could keep selling tarands, I could handle the costs. The cost was worth the opportunity.