Chronicles of Arya

Officially, Adventurer

"You two suck," Liliora said as Isaac and Meng finished up their story about how they met Polus.

"Where did that come from?" Meng asked.

"How can you not see him hiding above you?" Liliora said. "Look at the size of him. No offense, Polus."

"None taken," Polus said from the front of the cart. He was in charge of manning the cart since Tristina was picky about who held her reins.

"Says the one who was asleep through the whole thing." Isaac pointed out.

Liliora shrugged. "I was tired."

Isaac and Meng rolled their eyes. Polus stashed away some of his wares to make space for the three of them in his cart. Despite that, the cart was still pretty packed.

"What's our next destination?" Meng asked, changing the subject.

"Ironwood Forest," Polus said. "We can either rest up there for the day or we can keep going to Riverside through the night, though I don't recommend it. Bandits everywhere."

"We'll rest up for the night," Isaac said. "How long will it take for us to get to Riverside?"

"Two days, give or take," Polus said. "Depends on the weather and Tristina."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked.

"She's a bit impulsive. If I can't rein her in, she'll jump on the first animal she could find and swallow it whole."

"And that's a problem because?"

"She gets angry if we interrupt her when she eats," Polus said. "And she has a big appetite. A big appetite. So if she decides to stop, then we have to stop."

Isaac sighed. "I guess it can't be helped." He wasn't looking forward to seeing Tristina mauling some poor animal.

As they journeyed on, Isaac thought about what he planned to do when he got to Losteria. His biggest concern would be the expedition that the merchants would go through to go to the White Kingdom. By now, Isaac was sure that Elisa had told Scarlet the whole thing so she would take the appropriate measures.

His main objective would be to act as an envoy, convincing the merchant fleet that the White Kingdom means no harm. They're in the process of rebuilding and they would welcome business trades with other cities with open arms.

But it's riskier than it sounds. One of the Three Coins has decided to go with the merchant fleet. Whenever the Three Coins are involved, you know that things are serious not just in the context of Losteria, but for all of Arya.

The Three Coins have a much bigger influence than just in Losterian borders. Since they are the only city that's "lawless", or so to speak. There are no rules or regulations in Losteria. People are free to do just about whatever they want aside from the really bad no-nos like murder.

The ones who keep the whole city in check is the Three Coins. Not to say they're saints themselves, but they are fair. If deemed guilty, then you will be punished.

Because of the freedom that exists only in Losteria, it also means no taxes. Those who make a profit can keep all of it without having to pay the city. Because of that, Losteria became the center of the trading world.

Every merchant wants to sell their wares in Losteria. Every person wants to buy the wares there since there is some stuff that is illegal in other kingdoms but not there.

This is also why the Sovereign Empire couldn't take the Three Coins down even if they wanted to. Losteria would crumble otherwise. The Empire itself has made deals within the Losterian market, even illegal ones. They are too valuable to lose.