The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

CHAPTER 19

The next day they sold the weapons and animal skins they had brought with them. The trader could not buy the ice staff, saying it was worth more than he had. He recommended that they take the staff to either a high quality weapons dealer or a mage guild. What they sold only amounted to one gold coin and a handful of silver, but every little bit helped. Richter quickly discovered the conversion ratio of the coins was the same as the game, 10 copper made one silver and 10 silver made one gold. An average laborer made between 4-5 silver coins every two weeks, or fortnight as they called it. It apparently was just enough to live on. Just like back home there was a well-defined and large rich-poor gap. Being a feudal society made it exponentially worse. Rosy told them that nobles and royalty controlled most of the wealth and land. Merchants and skilled craftsmen fell somewhere in the middle. The good news was that the amount of money he had found made him pretty rich indeed!

The town saw a large amount of traffic being midway between the capital and Rione. As such it was quite easy to buy and sell mounts. They no longer had a large amount of goods to transport, so they decided to sell the ponies. They would make the rest of the way on foot. With the loss of their pack animals, they actually made better speed. They used their Haste spells as often as possible, limited only by their mana regeneration. Richter allocated his 50% increase to his Air Magic, not wanting to risk his percentage points being randomly assigned. That plus their frequent practicing allowed him to gain level three.

Congratulations! You have reached level 3 in Air Magic. Increasing level allows you to cast stronger spells.

His relentless mana usage gave an added benefit. He was awarded +1 to his Intelligence and +2 to Wisdom from his frequent mana usage.

A week later, they arrived before the walls of Law, Yves’s capital city. They had passed several smaller towns over the past week, making the trip easy and comfortable. The distance they covered must have been farther than the entirety of their journey before, but the well-traveled road made it much easier to travel. While Leaf’s Crossing had strong walls and some towers built in for defense, Law seemed unassailable. One hundred foot high walls were topped with crenellated battlements. The city rose up behind the wall, clearly built upon a large hill. It was hard to tell, but it looked like it was roughly built in concentric circles with the palace on top of the hill. A wide moat surrounded the city walls. The river ran behind the city, and they had dug the moat to be filled with river water. A large flow of traffic moved over the drawbridge and into the city. The guards here were in polished chain mail with halberds held upright. They also had the crest of blue swords on a green background emblazoned on their chests. The high volume of people and animals moving into the city made stopping everyone for questions unreasonable, but the hawk eyed gaze of the guards promised swift action in response to any threat.

As they moved past the initial gate and under the walls, Richter was taken aback by its thirty-foot thickness. Murder holes and arrow slits could be seen in the ceiling and walls. Exiting the tunnel, there were more guards standing at attention. Most of the crowd were humans. The few nonhumans that were present kept their heads down as if afraid of bringing attention to themselves. The main street of the city was a wide throughway, but dozens of avenues meandered off to either side. Richter and Sion went further into the city, and the elevation gradually rose. Their travel was only interrupted once when they passed a patrol of guards. They asked for Sion’s papers, but after only a cursory inspection they waved the two Companions on. The quality of the houses and shops rose the higher they went. After walking for half an hour they took a medium sized street to the left. The lane curved inward slightly following the natural curve of the hill. They slowly circled the city looking for the inn Rosy had recommended. After being lost several times, and receiving direction from the locals an equal number of times, they arrived at the Laughing Imp.

The Laughing Imp was a good deal more boisterous that the Whistling Hen. Several patrons were slumped over the bar in varying states of intoxication. The smell of the bar was certainly not as clean as the inn that they had come from, but the laughter and joy in the room had the same intensity. Sion and Richter walked to the bar and waited for a moment until a smiling barmaid came up. Bounced up would have been a better description based on her ample chest.

“What can I get you my dears?”

For too long a moment, Richter stared at her as she breathed heavily, a smile on her lips. When Sion nudged him he realized it had gotten creepy. “Yes! I need to talk to Terrod. Rosy from the Whistling Hen in Leaf’s Crossing sent me.”

Still smiling, she asked them to wait and moved off. She spoke to a man behind the bar who seemed to be giving the punchline of a joke based on the guffaws of the people sitting in front of him. She gestured to Richter and Sion, and he handed her an empty mug to fill. He walked over to the two Companions with a broad smile and an extended hand. He was middle aged but not old, and had a brown beard that while a little wild, was not completely unkempt. Richter used Analyze on him. It had become a habit with every person he saw. The skill had not yielded anything further than base information so far, but it was still good practice.

Human: Lvl 6. Health 170. Mana 110. Stamina 160.

The man’s numbers were higher than expected. Most of the random town or city folk Richter had examined were level 3 or below. Not surprising since the only way he had found to gain experience seemed to be battle or fulfilling quests. If not for minor quests that dealt with their skill sets, most city dwellers would probably only be level 1 no matter how high their individual skills were. The guards he had seen were typically level 10 or above. Caulder had been level 12. When asked about it, the man had explained that he was a former soldier. All soldiers were required to fight the random monsters that occasionally cropped up and/or patrol the boundaries of the kingdom. Apparently it was a constant struggle to defend the borders from hostile creatures or raiders.

Richter reached out his hand and clasped wrists with the barkeep.

“My name is Richter, I was sent by Rosy in Leaf’s Crossing.”

“Shelly told me that. What can I help you with?”

“We are travelers to Esabil.”

Terrod’s smile tightened ever so slightly. “Of course, come with me.” They walked past the bar and into the kitchen. It was a setting of controlled chaos. The typical hustle and bustle of people performing the necessary tasks to keep a kitchen running. Terrod nodded to the various staff, as he walked through to the other side and out into a back alley. Richter and Sion followed him outside, and down into the alley. Terrod turned and looked at them with a serious expression. All of the laughter and joy had gone from his face.

“You need to tell me who you are, right now. And if I don’t like your answers, this filth ridden alley will be the last thing you see.” As he had been talking, three of the larger kitchen workers had filed out into the alley holding knives or cudgels. Worse, the direction Richter and Sion had been walking in ended in a blank wall and a pile of rubbish. The three men stood between them and the exit from the alley.

Sion drew his sword causing the toughs to take a threatening step forward. Knowing only seconds remained before the ground of the alley was covered with blood, quite possibly theirs, Richter held out his arms with palms up.

“There is no need for this. We were sent by Rosy, the owner of the Whistling Hen in Leaf’s Crossing. She told me to come here and say that phrase to you. I have a village. I need specialized labor to build it into something worthwhile. She told me that many nonhumans are unhappy with the new laws, and are not being treated fairly. I can offer them another option. After she heard me out she said you might know about some people that would be interested.”

Terrod stared at them. “What you’re saying is something anyone would know just by simple gossip. Everyone knows the Laughing Imp welcomes nonhumans. Someone might use that knowledge to try and find malcontents. How do I know you’re not just trying to trick us and then throw us into the King’s dungeons?”

Richter was more than a little annoyed at the treatment he and Sion were getting, “Listen! I’m here to offer a chance for an honest life to those that deserve it. We gave you the code word! Esabil! If you don’t want to help that’s fine, we will figure out another way. But if you move any closer to me and my friend, it’s very likely that this alley will be the last thing that YOU see,” Richter warned.

The three men behind them tensed getting ready for a fight. Richter drew his sword. It was a shame that their bows were unstrung. If Sion could shoot, the outcome of this fight wouldn’t even be a question! Hopefully their armor and superior weapons would win the day. Richter had switched his respawn to the Mist Village, but the option had not come up again since they started their journey. If he died, it would take several weeks to get back here, and he would lose all of his possessions. He just hoped Sion would be able to escape.

“Stop!” Terrod through up his hand. “I do not want violence, but I will not let a snake into my house. Can you prove what you are saying? Did she offer you anything that would make me believe you?”

Richter glared at him blade in hand, “She said you were trustworthy, but that you’re also a suspicious bastard and cheat when you play cards.”

A smile twitched on Terrod’s face, “Well that does sound like Rosy. Okay! You have bought yourself a good meal and a place to stay. We will talk again in the morning.” He waved off the three men, and strolled past Richter and Sion as if nothing had happened. “We have lamb tonight, how do you like your ribs?” With that one liner worthy of an 80s’ action flick, he walked inside still with that wry smile on his face.

Richter and Sion looked at each other and after a moment, both sheathed their swords.

“So do we go back in,” Sion asked.

“It definitely wasn’t the reception I was expecting. They didn’t try to rob us though, they just acted like they had someone to protect,” Richter said pondering their options. “So we have two options. We can go back in and see what comes of it or take our chances somewhere in the city.”

“Well, I have never had lamb before,” Sion said, “but it did smell good.”

They went back into the kitchen, and walked through to the common room. The people there were laughing and enjoying their food with no idea of the violence and death that had almost occurred only a dozen yards away. It was a good lesson Richter thought, even though they had left the woods, there was still plenty of danger in the city.

The cute barmaid met them as they left the kitchen, and led them back to a table. She quickly brought two square wooden plates, topped with meat, green vegetables and chunks of bread still steaming from the oven. They both asked her for an ale, and then tucked into the meal. Whatever else could be said of their reception at the Laughing Imp, the food was wonderful. Both sat in silence devoted to their meal, and when second helpings were offered, they both gladly accepted. Richter looked at his small friend polishing off his second plate, and wondered where it all went.

An hour after they sat down, Terrod came by the table and dropped off their room key. He only paused long enough to tell them their room was on the third floor, second door on the left. Then he disappeared back into kitchen. They sat there a while longer before deciding to call it a night. Their room here was much the same as their room in the Whistling Hen, maybe a touch bigger and the mattresses slightly smellier. Richter and Sion looked at each other and with silent understanding moved one bed against the door, and the other against it. Feeling safer they both laid down for the night but kept their weapons close to hand.

They woke the next morning to a rapping on the door. “Terrod would like to see you downstairs,” a feminine voice called out, and then footsteps could be heard walking away from the door and moving downstairs. They both shouldered their packs, and moved the beds away from the door to walk downstairs.

The common room smelled surprisingly fresh. The windows had been opened up and a light rain was falling outside. From the scent in the air, someone had either burned incense or thrown sweet grass on the fire which still had smoldering embers from last night. And there was Terrod, sitting at a table and drinking tea. When he saw them he waved them over, gesturing that they should join him. As they sat down he poured more tea from the pot into two ready cups.

“Well then,” Terrod said after they had joined him. “First I want to apologize about last night. I had a few friends ask around and we found a courier who remembered seeing you entering Leaf’s Crossing at the time you say. Luckily, a man and a sprite are an uncommon enough sight to merit recall. He remembered you talking to a local guard, and it seemed like you were being shook down.”

“The guard’s name was Caulder. He actually was not a bad guy in the end, and he’s the reason we ended up at the Whistling Hen at all.”

“Well, sorry again,” Terrod said. “The situation in Law is worse than Rosy probably knows. The regulations have grown stricter. Because of that, some nonhumans have started to leave. For a while, that wasn’t a problem. The King didn’t concern himself with the odd nonhuman that wanted to go elsewhere. When the skilled craftsmen started to leave however, the humans who had been profiting from their labor started to complain. I don’t know if Rosy explained, but all actual business must be conducted through humans. The human, or representative as they are called, is often allocated by the government. These have become coveted positions. It is basically a way to make money with little effort. The representatives shave off as much money as they want. So when that income was threatened by the nonhumans leaving, the representatives complained. Their government cronies passed another law making it illegal to even leave the kingdom without permission. Anyone caught in the attempt is either released with all of their property confiscated, imprisoned or put back to work with their loved ones ‘detained’ to ensure their cooperation.”

“That’s horrible,” Richter said sincerely, “I had no idea things were that bad here.”

“I am a known opponent of the new laws. I hope you can now understand my skepticism and caution when someone walks up to me out of the blue asking about such a sensitive topic.”

Richter nodded, not willing to completely forget the scene last night, but the explanation made Terrod’s actions understandable if not immediately forgivable.

“The courier confirming your story was a point for you. So I appreciate you accepting my apology. But despite the fact that you seem like a likeable guy, if you want my help and trust, you need to answer some questions and prove yourself. Now where is this village you need help with?”

“It’s in the Forest of Nadria, I’m not willing to give any specific directions for security reasons.”

“The forest isn’t a safe place. No offense to you,” Terrod said looking at Sion, “but even your people have been known to claim lives if your territory is infringed upon. And the Wood Sprites are about the most benevolent force that I know of in that region.”

Richter gave a small laugh, “That’s actually how we met, me almost getting shot full of sprite arrows. The Wood Sprites and I now have a good relationship. Though my village’s defenses are strong, I won’t promise absolute safety. I don’t think that exists in any world, but for those who choose to come with me, I offer the chance to be part of something potentially wonderful.”

“Hmmm, I don’t like the lack of information, but that brings us to the main point, trust. I don’t put much faith in words, actions though, that is something I can believe in,” Terrod said, trailing off making it clear that there was more to be said.

Sion leaned in, “Just tell us what you want us to do. What is going to gain us your ever so valuable ‘trust’?”

Terrod put a large smile on his face, “Why, all I want you to do is to help you help yourselves!”