Four Horsemen: Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

Petor woke to the smell of too-damp straw and wet mud.

He slipped out of his hammock strung between the stalls, shoving his feet into his boots. He rubbed his face. The barn still dripping with water as it had stopped actively falling on their heads.

Valter nodded to him and tore off a strip of jerky with his teeth, focusing between the barn doors for anything that might approach.

Desari shifted in her hammock and put her feet down on the ground, Mya had several spares offering to sell them for seven golds a piece, then giving them away on ‘loan’ with a promise of future payment that none of them had actually agreed to.

Mya was carving something from wood as Mesurial’s head hung over the stall, watching.

“Well that’s one summoner dealt with. On to Aetheria?” Mya asked. Putting away the piece of drift wood carved with waves and warships surging across them.

“I think it would be good to stay a bit, see what this trading caravan from the Limos trading group is like. Learn a bit about our employer,” Desari said.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Mya said.

“What time is it?” Petor asked.

“Mid-morning, slept in a fair bit.”

Petor grunted and wiped his face. “Let me wake up properly first.”

Something warm in his stomach and a fresh shirt and pair of socks on, noises started to come from the main street.

“Sounds like something is happening,” Valter said.

“Lets go check and see,” Mya moved to the door, Mesurial followed after her.

Mya threw the door open with a vigor that belied her shorter size.

Valter and Petor rolled their eyes at one another and the trio followed the sailor and her mount. The other mounts returned to their feed, Ignus snorted sparks and shook his head.

The sounds of the village and the trading caravan were clear before Petor saw them.

Stout carts made from blackened timbers, pulled by mixed breed horses were surrounded by people, the crews were pale, the guards grim and a trader on the second wagon was hanging off the side of his cart.

“Fair people of Windmolen! It gladdens my heart to hear that the one who has threatened you has been brought to justice! A trade with the L-T-C is a trade written in stone!”

A few cheers rose out of the crowd.

“Give us but a few minutes to setup and grab some of your fine beer. It has been a hard road, but tonight we trade!” His call rose more cheers and a few smiles and laughs.

The trader threw out a few sweets to children and tipped his hat. The carts moved forward and to a clearing on one side of the town near the gates.

“Horses look like they might be weaker for their different breeds but they’re strong and healthy, well cared for,” Petor said.

“The crew might be a bit pale from seeing your example, but the guards are used to it. Even in a village they know their eyes are on the watch, they haven’t fully relaxed,” Valter said.

“I can sense magic on the carts, reinforcing them, making them lighter,” Desari said.

“All the fighters have cores, the crews are working on it too,” Mya said. “There are a few crafters among them. They’ll be able to appraise items faster and at a higher level. They look a bit tired, but they’re all well fed, in decent spirits. This is a good trading group.”

The carts passed near them, the trader dropped off from his into the mud, his eyes becoming more guarded as his smile widened, the carts behind him slowed. Petor didn’t miss the guards hands ready on their weapons.

“We saw the little display on our way into town, is it fair to say you’re the ones that dealt with the issue?”

“You could say that,” Desari said.

“Jaxus the third, copper traveling trader,” He pulled out a card, it was nearly identical to their cards but instead of gold rimmed it was copper.

“The four horsemen, problem solvers,” Desari showed him her card.

Petor noticed a new line on the back of the card that reverted to its original rune.

His eyes widened some and he bowed his head. He must’ve made a gesture behind his back, the carts picked up their pace and the guards relaxed, curious instead of wary.

“I did not think such a matter would raise an august group such as yourselves, but I am versed in the details of the barter rather than other deals we might partake in.”

“A summoner pulling in a shadow lord was a mighty big eye opener for us as well,” Mya said.

“A summoner in these parts,” Jaxus shook his head. “If I might interest you in a drink and your tale?” He held out an arm towards his moving carts.

“Of course,” Desari said.

She talked with Jaxus as they headed for the carts.

“Problem solvers, means there have to be others,” Valter said.

“An interplanar trader with bands of mercenaries all over the place. Wonder if they get salaries?” Petor asked.

Valter snorted.

“Comission is more lucrative though,” Mya muttered.

Petor grinned, catching the look of some villagers talking to one another and looking at them. They ducked their heads avoiding his eyes, a few of the braver ones dared to peek back.

The way the fates turn.

The carts were pulled into a circle in the open area, a cloth tent was going up in the middle where straw was set to the side and horses were being checked and cleaned.

Others moved to the side of the carts, pulling the cloth sides up on poles turning it into the ring of stalls.

The sides were pulled away to reveal goods and then put on the ground to create walkways around the carts where one wouldn’t get their boots muddy.

People from the village milled closer to watch as the traders threw together their roving market with drilled precision. Young lads and lasses ran around with wooden blocks for wheels, sticks and pins for the various supports.

Jaxus led them through the carts and to a quiet corner where an older woman nodded to them and moved away from a set of chairs and an urn of tea and small treats.

“Please, take a seat,” Jaxus picked up cups and started to pour in tea. “Milk? Honey?”

“None please,” Desari said.

“Plenty of both,” Mya pushed her sword out of the way as she sat down.

“Same here,” Valter said.

“Just some milk for me please,” Petor said. He settled into a chair watching the market and tent at its middle being built.

With a call and a heave, several long poles were pushed up together making the whole tent lopsided.

Half rushed over to the other side to the other crew.

“Up!”

The group heaved the whole side up, the first poles acting as a fulcrum. The second set of poles were grounded in and strings from the tent’s sides were stretched out to the carts, tying off to them, securing tent and cloth.

Horses were brough in under the cloth, straw bales were pulled apart and thrown over the ground. Feed troughs were brought in and bags dumped into them.

“Here you are,” Jaxus gave Petor his tea.

“Thanks,” He sniffed the tea, catching Desari’s eye as she nodded to them and drank.

He sipped the tea, the sun was up but the wind carried the chill of threatening rain.

Planks were thrown down to create pathways that wouldn’t turn into a muddy quagmire.

Guards let out a cheer and filed through the carts nearest the tavern.

Several others moved to the carts, sitting on them, back from the front but close if they were needed.

“Quite the slick operation you have here,” Mya said.

“Thank you, we endeavor to do our best and Windmolen is one of our best customers and suppliers,” Jaxus pushed back his cloak and sat on the remaining chair, the urn back on the side table with its metal basket underneath. The coals burning slowly to keep the tea heated.

Small but ingenious.

“Seems like quite a bit for a village of this size,” Mya peered around.

“We heard that they grew ingredients?” Desari asked.

“A story for a story then?” Jaxus smiled.

“A fair trade,” Mya sipped from her tea, closing her eyes in pleasure.

Probably going to need some of that honey.

“To make a long story short, the local baron Graxle in these parts cares about taxes, but has never really understood economics. The people are there to fill his coffers, what does a storm, lacking road conditions or bandits have to do with anything?”

Mya let out a heavy sigh.

“Just so,” He settled back into his chair. “Graxle put fixed prices on what one could sell their grains, beans and meat for. Then he upped his taxes to put into his own city. Roads fell into disrepair and while his personal guards were well equipped, those of the city and barony turned to bribery and bartering to make their ends meet.”

Jaxus shook his head. ”An appalling state of affairs, but the ground is good and bountiful here. The rains and winds hurt many a crop, but more grows still. Now if Graxle gets his tithe he’s happy to leave things. His group of tax enforcers are little better than bandits and locusts. Though their loath to move on the roads to and from the city to these little villages. Though there are other roads if one was to know the old paths.” A pleased smile spread across Jaxus’ face. “These paths lead through the hills and near Aetheria.”

Mya chuckled and raised her cup in salute.

Jaxus grinned. “We reached out to several villages in the area and offered them an opportunity. We’re in need of ingredients that we can sell off to Aetheria, they’re in need of goods at reasonable prices. There are plenty of caverns and caves in the area, places that the tax collectors would never find. The locals grow different ingredients, sell them to us for a good price, then we sell them farming equipment, clothing, oil, food goods, books even passage to Aetheria or to other villages and cities so that their kids might get an education.”

“That’s quite the neat little operation,” Mya said.

“What is the end aim, to usurp the Baron?” Desari asked.

“Don’t think its come to that just yet. He keeps to his city and the roads are so bad that as long as the tithes make it in the tax collectors don’t want to come up to these villages,” Jaxus smiled. “There are some that have found metals, crystals and more in the caverns, this area as a whole has become extremely profitable for us all.”

“The villagers are reliant on you around these parts, you could set whatever prices on them,” Valter said.

Jaxus frowned. “Yes, but as Master Limos says, everything must come at a balance. One must make a deal both are pleased with, or at the very least you’re both equally frustrated with but can drink with the other without fear of harm. Long term relationships over short term gains.”

He recited the words as if mantra, burned into his being.

“To gouge the villagers would make them dislike trading with you, to not give you their best work. To seek out other markets and possibly upset the entire balance that you’ve created here,” Petor said.

“Naturally. They are thankful for us and we are thankful to them. We have become friends as well as traders with one another. An LTC trader is a friend and confident. It is why when the issues in the woods appeared I personally sent a message to higher management.”

People from the town and traders were talking to one another around different stalls, the atmosphere friendly instead of the yelling and cajoling Petor had been through at other markets.

“A story for a story was the price,” Desari put her cup down.

Jaxus leaned forward.

“Pavel went to one of the cities, he was learning simple alchemy.” Desari said. “From his notes he was trying to increase the yield and looking into preservation and other ingredients to grow. He was rural and not from the city. His fellow students weren’t pleased with the state of affairs and took it upon themselves to target him.”

Jaxus grimaced.

“His family made their way to the city, the other boys learned of this, they went to make a display and somehow it ended up with his mother dying and his father was executed. The boys were from a noble family and it was easier to say a farmer had gone crazy than take the blame.”

Petor might have been offended by the bland tone to Desari’s voice, but he’d heard and seen such things first hand.

“Pavel fled the city, but not after taking several books on darker things one can do with alchemy. Such as creating summoning reagents.”

Jaxus sucked in a breath.

“He created a summoning ritual,” Desari shook her head. “He was talented and determined. He called up a shadow lord, something that could move unnoticed. Though he got frantic, sped up his actions. It led to a few hunters, farmers heading out to the hidden ingredient caverns dying.”

“He was going to send them against those that killed his family?” Jaxus asked.

“He was going to release them into the cities to kill all the nobles. He saw them as a plague to be cut from the world.” Desari said.

“I remember the boy, eager to go to the city to learn more. Excited to make his parents proud, their last son, the others killed by a blight years back.” Jaxus shook his head.

“He’d become twisted, seeing the power that came from the hunters and the farmers he was making plans to spread out to other villages and ‘trim off the excess’ as he called it to speed up his shadow’s increase in power.” Desari said.

Jaxus shook his head. “Shame, damn shame.”

“How long will you be here and what are your next stops?” Mya asked.

“I should be here for about a week, then we’re heading for Aetheria to start selling the villager’s wares and buy goods to start our trip anew,” Jaxus smiled.

“Aetheria you say?” Desari said. “We might be headed in that direction.”

“Well we would welcome having a few extra guards. Doesn’t hurt to have a few more friends on the road. Wouldn’t need to pay anything to join us and could eat something warm from our cooks along the road.”

“A mighty fine offer, we’ll have to chat and figure out our next options,” Desari said.

“Yes,” Jaxus smiled and raised his eyes to someone holding away from the group. “If you might excuse me, it seems that I might be needed for something. If you need anything just ask.” He pushed himself up and headed to the other merchant.

“Been talking to the village chief, they’ve increased their yield..,” He trailed off talking to Jaxus.

Just how big is your trading company Limos?

“Wonder if Limos is looking for a trader that can ply the seas,” Mya said. “Might know a ship or two.”