MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Alesburg (3)

A man sitting at another table grunted in agreement with the discriminating words the town guard had uttered aloud.

While another table of men lowered their heads to remain hidden. It seems this town was unfriendly to merchants? It's such a pity as it was a central hub where several roads met. If this kind of discrimination continued, over time, merchants will avoid this place.

Just as I was thinking about the future doom of Alesburg, another guard conspicuously slapped the first town guard on the back of his head. "Ah, shut your trap! Just because your old lady ran off with a merchant, you can't lump all merchants with that adulterer."

Suddenly, the situation became clear. I sympathized with the town guard, but I also knew there must be a reason for why his wife had eloped in the first place, like in the case with Jerilyn.

A traveler with a mug of foamy beer sat down on the bench at our long table. "Praise to his majesty," the traveler greeted. This is a common greeting for strangers in the Dayu Empire.

"Praise to his majesty," we all replied.

The man took a chug of beer before clearing his throat. "Are you travelers from Guston?"

Jonas nodded his head. It was commonplace for travelers to exchange information. This was in fact the most popular method of trading information.

"I came from Oxburg," the man grimaced. "You folks planning on heading there?"

"No," Jonas patiently replied, "We're unsure whether to go to Mileston or not."

"Mark my words, Mileston is friendlier than Oxburg," the man informed us.

"We thank you for your advice," Jonas answered.

The man smiled, "Say, is Guston worth a trip?"

"Depends on what you're looking for," Jonas responded.

"Just a place with long term work," the man said.

"We left there to find work elsewhere," Jonas regretfully replied.

"Is that so?" the man took another swig of his beer. "I guess I'll have to go to Ethaburg. Mileston has work, but the prices are higher than here. I couldn't afford to stay there for long."

The man drained his mug in one gulp before continuing, "The gap between the rich and the poor is visibly apparent."

We all shook our heads, indicating it was a shame. We all knew the man was telling us the nobles weren't kind to peasants. Only Raine, who was sleepily leaning on me, did not partake.

Then the stranger left our table. I pondered over what he had told us. Reliable trade information is a valuable commodity, sometimes not available for purchase. If the prices in Mileston were high, I could make more money selling food. However, higher prices would also mean less buyers. But ingredients would always be in demand. After all, people had to eat.

I turned the matter over in my mind. As I did so, I heard Wilber say he wasn't going to stay with our group. This was a shocking development. Today, Wilber met with good fortune. A blacksmith with an unmarried daughter had taken a strong liking to him. Unexpectedly, the fight that Garlan predicted would happen over Enola, sizzled into nothing. Wilber and his father would stay with the blacksmith.

As expected, Enola had a hard look on her face. She didn't say anything however.