‘Garbage Dump’
That was the name the people of the lawless zone called it. The signboards on the streets leading to the grand lawless city were symbolic of the name, what with calling trash over to the place.
A short drive toward it and my eyes widened. Our path ahead was blocked by a sudden giant wall of sand. A storm, if one could even call it that. The sandstorm was dense enough to seem unmoving.
“What the hell…?” I muttered, standing up and peering out ahead. The horses pulling the carriage whinnied. Even Asirmo sitting in a vial in my pockets started restlessly flapping around.
“Don’t worry, sir,” Tanien said with a grin. He looked at me cheekily, if looks could make a sound he would have been asking ‘Ya scared?’ for sure. “You need to make sure the smell of trash doesn’t seep out of the dump, right?”
With that, he yanked the reins back and forced the horses to run ahead. The horses were reluctant but they trusted Tanien, perhaps that was the main reason he suggested taking his transport to the place.
I lightly grabbed on Tanien’s collars and covered my eyes with one hand—And off we went into the sandstorm.
***
It took some time before visibility returned. The feeling of being battered by the sand and the hot air disappeared like heavy rain clouds being pushed away by the wind. Before I could take in the sight, though…
“ACK! YEEK!”
My hand was pulled away to the side. I looked out to find Tanien trying to run away from my grasp, but I was prepared from before we entered.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t a little fucking rat I have caught?”
“Eek! Sir, I was not running away!” Tanien quickly defended himself. For a hardened criminal leader, he sure was quick to beg. Seeing he was alive, perhaps that was how one found success in this field.
With a sigh, I turned ahead. A grand sight unfolded in front of me, from shanties to towers, buildings that seemed to be headed for the skies, and houses that might collapse from a single blow. All kinds of structures were haphazardly built in a grand space ahead of us.
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Star-shaped sand dunes marked the sections of the Garbage Dump, with a giant mountain of stones at the very center—The throne of the Garbage King, which was now empty. It was quite the choice to make the throne of the person who chased the most valuable things out of something with no value whatsoever.
I spat on the ground and pulled Tanien back. “Go check our bags, and don’t even think of running away or I’ll burn you alive.”
It was better to keep the bags in person instead of on the carriage. From what I had heard, the people here could steal our entire carriage while we were seated on it. Thieves from all over the world weren’t to be underestimated.
Tanien furiously nodded and I slowly stepped out of the carriage. Dozens of other carriages were moving out of the sandstorm behind us, even though it felt like we were ‘headed’ here alone, the number of carriages ‘arriving’ was far too many. This must be the work of a magical phenomenon.
“This place always stinks the same way,” Tanien commented as he piled on bags on his back. Even without a hand, he didn’t really seem impaired with daily tasks. Of course, martial arts were a different matter altogether with their focus on balance, he would take a long time before he could hope to fight.
“What is this scent?” I muttered as Tanien got on the carriage again and started pulling it along.
I could smell fresh meat—hear it too—blood and grime, the smell of gutters and bread and butter and laundry, some detergent, all of it mixed, carried in the air with the sounds of money clanging in pouches, curses flying around like bugs, and scams unfolding in real-time.
We started heading into the thin, narrow, streets, if they could even be called that. The entirety of the Garbage Dump’s roads felt like a cobweb of alleys instead of ‘streets.’
“I know a good few folks who can keep our carriage,” said Tanien. “It’s dangerous to travel in one.”
“You’ll trust that person?” I asked, looking around. It seemed that the buildings were cobbled up of whatever scraps the people here could find, wood, stone, rusted steel plates and asbestos sheets, metals of whatever kind hacked together as long as the buildings stood up, maybe even bones thrown in for good measure.
It felt more like watching trophies of years of thievery and scumming than seeing real homes.
“It might be hard to believe, but people like us work on trust.”
“I trust that.”
“Tsk… Sir, I’ll take you there.”
I smirked and let Tanien take the carriage away. He rolled us to a shop not that far away from the outskirts, toward the edges of one of the spiral dunes stretching out. At first, I thought we were going to one of the few tall scrapers that stood out, but we reached a small shed, almost like a modern parking or a garage.
An old man who was already taking care of a dozen or so carriages greeted us. Tanien talked with him while I continued taking in the sight.
After a brief minute, he stepped out.
“Sir, do I have to keep your bag too?”
“Hand it over.”
I took the bag from Tanien and immediately checked the insides. Everything was still here. Facing the crowded streets with a small smile, I asked.
“So, where is this information guild that will answer my questions?”
“Oh, that?” Tanien said. “I have no idea.”
“…”
“…”
“Say that again.”
“No idea…”
“…”
A loud scream echoed through the entire Garbage Dump that day.