Eight Intertwined

194 - Riverford

Riverford was somehow even worse to visit the second time. 

As soon as the Warp Staff dropped the group off in the area, Olberic felt the pollution and heaviness in the air threaten to suffocate him. He bit back a cough, but behind him, Ophilia and Tressa had considerably less luck. Tressa only snapped out of her coughing fit when Therion delivered a sharp blow to the space between her shoulders. She sent a grateful look over her shoulder at him, and Therion simply nodded back. 

Olberic frowned deeply as he looked up at the entrance to Riverford. There were guards clustered around the sole path leading into the city, and he could already tell that getting inside was going to be much easier said than done. Werner wasn't fond of visitors, it seemed, though Olberic supposed that he wouldn't be either if he had destroyed an entire kingdom and knew to expect its survivors to come for his head. Werner's paranoia ran far deeper than Olberic could have ever expected; in order to enter the town, all potential visitors had to line up for an inspection. That hadn't been as big of a problem the last time the group was there. Perhaps Werner could almost sense that Olberic was coming to ruin him. Olberic couldn't tell if that was something he should fear or not. 

"Oi, you!" came the cry of one of the guards outside the gate. "If ye want in town, get in the queue and wait your turn with the rest!" Behind Olberic, Tressa squealed in fear. She had tried to stray a bit too close to the entrance of town, and the guard's shout was clearly her punishment. 

Olberic didn't let the guard's short temper get to him though, instead simply nodding and falling into the line. "But of course." Ahead of his group, Olberic could see a handful of merchants trying to get into the town. Beyond them, however, was the silhouette of the noose that had caught the travelers' attention when they first passed through the area. Olberic knew he shouldn't have stared at it too closely since it could have wound up being used against him, but he glared daggers at the executioner's altar anyway. Riverford was a far worse town than he could have ever imagined. How far had Werner gone for the sake of driving it into the dirt?

Just in front of Olberic, the merchant ahead of the travelers in line turned around to face him. The merchant fixed Olberic with a critical but curious eye before he spoke. "A gentleman, I presume, unless I misjudge your polished bearing," the merchant hummed. "Tell me, sir. What brings you to this town?"

Olberic would not let himself reveal the truth so soon after his arrival, so he simply gestured to the path ahead where the line had shortened. The first merchant in the row had been granted passage into Riverford, giving the rest of the line room to move up. "I'm looking for a man," Olberic said simply. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either, instead sitting comfortably in the middle of the chaos to come. 

The merchant nodded in understanding. "I take it this is your first visit, so let me give you some free advice," he began. "You'll be wanting to press a few leaves into the palms of the guards."

"There's a toll?" Olberic asked, his eyes widening fractionally. He was confident they would be able to manage to fee no matter how steep, but he remained uneasy at the thought. 

The merchant bristled. "Not a toll, as such," he corrected. "You see, the lord here..."

"Eh?! What's that ye say about a toll?!" came the cry of the man at the front of the line near the guards. "I nay 'eard naught of that afore!"

The guard to the right of the gate went red in the face with rage. "Shut yer gob!" He opened his clenched fist to reveal a small bottle that barely fit in the palm of his hand. "An' what's this tincture in yer sack? Smuggler, are ye?"

The man near the gate paled instantly. "W-What?! That ain't mine! I swear on me mother's grave!"

The guard with the bottle snorted dismissively. "Of course it ain't. I'd suggest ye confess yer crimes here and now... Unless ye'd rather tell it to the master-at-arms." The man at the front of the line glanced around wildly before the other guard grabbed at his arm and wrenched him away. The man cried out in shock before going silent as he vanished around the nearby corner.