MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Oxburg At Last

Bacchanal was pleasantly surprised when I presented the gifts to him. He expressed his thanks and I could tell he truly appreciated the gifts because of the shine in his eyes.

That evening, with all preparations made, we retired early for the night. Raine clung to me like a koala. At first, even I didn't notice it myself, that I had used a word that didn't derive from this world. After a time, it struck me and I began to question the word "koala." Exactly what was a koala? I didn't know. I only knew this word was a perfect descriptor for Raine's clingy action.

Raine's attachment to me did do something else; it changed my mind about sending him to a monastery. I had plenty of goods in the tradeshop now. I didn't lack anything. I could raise this younger brother. With Garlan and Bacchanal, I didn't have to fear any danger. Not to mention if I someday wanted to settle down in Alesburg, I would have Leonard's support.

We set off for Oxburg before the sun was high in the sky. As Leonard bade us farewell, he promised to gather merchant intelligence for me. As a town guard, he could investigate all the wares in a merchant convoy. In this way, he could see what goods they were trading and where they were heading.

Although this information might not seem like much to others, but for me, it was a priceless treasure.

The trip to Oxburg was speedy. We only took two and a half days to reach Oxburg.

From a cliff, we looked down below to the vast expanse of Oxburg. Oxburg was situated in the lowlands. It was built right next to the Great Wide River. I had been told that in years of heavy snowfall when the spring melt occurred, it would bring along with it the heavy floods.

Inside Oxburg, a variety of local products were sold—from dried fish to fried waterfowls. Of course, I felt it was a pity there was no salt here. If they had salt, then they could salt the fish. In my opinion, salted fish tasted better than dried fish. I had some salted fish in my tradeshop and found it much more delicious.

As we were walking around, I heard a squeaky voice cried out. Amid the squeaky cries, a crowd of peasants murmured. I could make out some of their words.

"The nobles only exploit peasants."

"Poor thing! She's going to starve for sure."

A noblewoman shouted at the squeaky voiced crying woman. Trying deemphasize to the cruelty of the moment, she simply said, "You're young, you'll find a new job soon."

Then the noblewoman slipped away, before the crowd of peasants could block her path.

The peasant woman with the squeaky voice slowly stood up. Her frail figure swayed back and forth. It looked as though she would fall over with a light breeze. The crowd saw there was nothing left to see. Since the show was over, they dispersed.

After they left, that frail peasant woman with a squeaky voice stumbled a bit, before she managed to get a hold of her footing. She slowly walked away.

"I wonder who she is and what plight befell her," Garlan said, a compassionate expression on his face.

"I say tall man, we should mind our own business. That's the only way to keep our head connected to our necks."

Bacchanal's wise words were worth following.