Chapter 1090: An Unexpected Visitor
The wagon train groaned to a halt in front of the lord’s mansion in Thorn Town, and the steward climbed down from the footboard already shouting.
“Off! All of you, move!” The horsewhip cracked the air near enough to several heads that no one needed a second instruction. “You answer whatever the lord asks you. You hold your tongues otherwise. You understand me?”
The passengers descended in a shuffling line, wrists lashed together by rope, pale and underfed, wearing what they’d been wearing when someone had decided their freedom was a transferable commodity. Slaves. Common stock. The worst rank.
Thorn Town at the foot of Cage Mountain had been a quiet place a month ago. Now it was not. The Graycastle exploration team had arrived first, then the caravans, then the emissary delegations from a dozen lords who had heard something valuable was being dug out of this particular stretch of ground. Hotels were full; the overflow had pitched tents and thrown up plank barracks on the edges of town. The town was expanding in real time, the way a fire expands — not from a decision, but from accumulated heat.
Forint Sheffield tracked Marl Tokat’s eyes as the prisoners filed out, his own hands working against each other in the way of a man who has spent a career selling things and cannot quite locate the off switch.
“Sir Marl — what do you think of this selection? All healthy, no visible defects. Personally picked from the prison, the best available. They look thin, yes, but the character is there. Feed them for two weeks and they’ll do anything you ask.”
“Enough.” Marl waved the pitch aside. He was large, easy in his movements, with the patience of a man who had grown up in comfort and found the world generally agreeable. One glance at Forint had told him everything he needed about the man’s relationship to the Sheffield family name. “I’m not in the market. Mr. Sean is. Captain of His Majesty of Graycastle’s Imperial Guard.” A pause. “I’d adjust your approach.”
“Of course, of course.” Forint bowed at Sean with the urgency of a man rerouting a river. “I wasn’t made aware that the true purchaser—”
“It’s fine,” Sean said, already moving down the prisoner line, his eyes doing the real work of the assessment. Slower than the King of Dawn’s picks. Thinner. But there were bodies here and bodies were what the excavation at the Temple of the Cursed needed; he had learned to grade his preferences against the supply available.
He was halfway down the line when one of the prisoners broke from the queue — restricted to a half-kneel by the rope at his wrist, his voice pushed past its limits.
“Sir — please. I’m wrongfully accused. Let me go, please—”
The steward’s face went red. The whip hand twitched.
Sean stopped in front of the man. “Wrongfully accused of what?”
“I stole some chickens.” Breathless, urgent. “From my neighbor. In Maplesong — that’s flogging or banishment, not this. Not—” He looked at the rope around his wrist with an expression that had not yet finished being surprised. “Not whatever this is.”
Sean turned to Forint.
Forint was already composing his answer. “Technically accurate, sir. However — the day before Earl Sheffield received the summons from the King of Dawn, he made certain legal adjustments. Increased penalty thresholds, across all crime categories. A necessary measure, given the refugee situation and the rise in civil disorder. Theft is theft. If you permit a man to steal chickens today—”
“A death sentence,” the prisoner said. “For chickens.”
“—his neighbor may starve tomorrow,” Forint continued without breaking stride. “The law must carry credible weight. The Earl’s position is entirely defensible.”
The prisoner looked at Sean the way drowning men look at passing boats.
Sean said: “You committed a crime. The sentence is what it is.” He let it land, then: “But you don’t have to die for it.” He raised his voice for the whole line. “You’ve all heard by now — ten years of labor, whatever the offense, and you walk free. The King of Graycastle and the King of Dawn have both made this promise. Don’t run. Don’t make this your last chance.”
He signaled his men. The prisoners moved.
Forint materialized at his elbow, the smile resettling into place like water finding level. “I knew you’d take them all. One gold royal per head, that’s one hundred and six total, per our contract—”
“Correct.” Sean was already turning. “Go to the mansion. Someone there will receive payment.”
“Excellent, sir, excellent—”
“One more thing.” Sean said it to Forint’s turned back, and the man stopped.
“Sir?”
“I don’t care what the Earl amended the day before or after his summons.” No heat in it. The tone of someone stating tolerances. “Our contract specifies that every prisoner receives disclosure — the purpose of the assignment, the conditions, the term. If I see another man in that line who doesn’t know he’s on a death sentence until he’s already here, I deduct from payment. Per occurrence.”
Forint’s oily composure rippled. He collected it. “I understand. More care, next time.”
He left.
Marl watched him go. “You’re careful,” he said, not quite approvingly, not quite not.
“I’m doing my job.”
“Hm.” Marl surveyed the expanded town — the tents, the construction, the various flags of various lords planted in various corners. “Your king apparently brings that same care to purchasing condemned prisoners. My brother Otto says he’s extraordinary — around my age, but already remarkable. Is it studied or native? A man can’t be both philanthropist and king and usually has to choose between them.” He looked at Sean with the interest of someone who genuinely wanted the answer. “Now I want to meet him.”
“That’s not difficult,” Sean said. “The Tokat family is among the three great noble houses. Access to the King of Graycastle isn’t an obstacle for you.” He paused a half-beat. “I’d suggest, though, that you not say that particular thing to his face.”
“Which thing?”
“That a man can’t be both philanthropist and king.”
Marl grinned and spread his hands. “You’re no fun.”
Sean was already moving — toward the excavation site, toward the checkpoint where the First Army held the perimeter around the dig — when his soldier appeared from between two tents at a fast walk.
“Sir. Someone at the gate requesting you specifically. Claims to know where the treasure is.”
Sean stopped walking. He did not turn around. “I told you. Solid leads only. I don’t want to hear from treasure hunters.”
“He won’t leave.” The soldier kept his voice flat, relaying without editorializing. “He says he’s one of the last survivors out of Hermes. He also says he knows where the remaining Church members are hiding. We have him in holding.”
Hermes. The Church.
Sean turned.
“I’ll go.”
Chapter 1090 - An Unexpected Visitor
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In Thorn Town at the foot of the Cage Mountain in the Kingdom of Dawn.
A wagon train passed through the town and staggered to a halt in front of the lord’s mansion.
“Here we are. Get off, all of you! Hurry up!” A man who seemed to be the steward of the fleet brandished a horsewhip and bellowed, “Govern yourselves if you want to stay alive. Answer whatever the lord asks you. You got it?”
Most of the passengers getting off the carriage were pale and ragged. They were tied to each other by the wrist with a rope. Beyond a doubt, they were all slaves, slaves of the lowest rank.
Slaves were trafficked to Thorn Town quite often recently. The arrival of the Graycastle exploration team, as well as numerous caravans and emissary delegations sent by various lords gradually filled this quiet town with exuberance and vivacity. These new visitors either took up their abodes at a hotel or pitched a tent or a barrack outside the town. Within merely a month or so, this remote town had expanded a great deal.
“Sir Marl, what do you think of these people?” Forint Sheffield, one of the recent visitors from the City of Maplesong, asked Marl Tokat, a great noble in the City of Glow, greasily. His eyes were fixed on Marl, one hand massaging the other restlessly. “These people are in a good health condition, with no visible disabilities. They’re the best picks from the prison. Although they look fragile, they all have ferocious characters. Once they are fed, they can do anything for you, sir.”
“Enough,” Marl dismissed him with a wave impatiently. From the look of Forint, Marl instantly knew this man, who shared the same family name with the lord of Maplesong, was not worth his time. “I’m not interested in purchasing prisoners, but this gentleman here is. This is Mr. Sean, the Captain of the Imperial Guards of the King of Graycastle.”
“I, I see,” Forint stumbled while bowing again. “My lord immediately answered the summon of the King of Dawn. He asked me to commence my journey as soon as possible. Pray forgive me for my ignorance. I wasn’t aware that Mr. Sean is the real purchaser.”
“That’s fine,” said Sean as he walked up to the prisoners whilst darting his eyes from one another. These prisoners were apparently not as good as those sent by the King of Dawn. However, considering that they currently needed as many people as possible to excavate the Temple of the Cursed, he was not too fussy about this matter.
When Sean was carefully surveying the prisoners, one of them suddenly dashed out of the queue, knelt down in front of him and said exasperatedly, “Sir, I’m wrongfully accused. Please let me go!”
Restricted by the rope, he could only implore in a half-kneeling position
“You idiot!” The steward yelled while gritting his teeth. He would have lashed his whip at him if the two lords had not been present.
“Why did you say so?” Sean asked curiously as he stopped in front of him.
“I didn’t kill or rob. I only stole some chickens from my neighbor!” the prisoner explained breathlessly. “Prisoners with such minor offenses in the City of Maplesong will be only sentenced to flogging or banishment. It isn’t a capital offence, sir!”
“Is that so?” Sean asked as he turned to Forint.
Forint replied at once, “Yes and no, sir. On the day before Earl Sheffield received the summon of the King of Dawn, he made a little adjustment to the
local laws. To quash the rampant Rats and reduce underground crimes, he increased the maximum penalties for all crimes, including theft.”
“Wh-what?” said the prisoner in astonishment. “A death penalty for stealing some chickens?”
“Is it very hard for you to understand?” Forint shot him a distainful look and said, “The internal war and the constant rebellions bleed off strength from the City of Maplesong. With the increase in refugees, how to make scums like you behave if not with more severe punishment? Today you steal chickens from your neighbor, tomorrow your neighbor would probably starve to death. So, what’s the difference between a thief and a murderer? In my opinion, you deserve a death penalty.”
“Sir, I…”
The prisoner wanted to argue, but Sean interrupted him. “Since you’re guilty, what about doing some work to atone for your sin?” He paused for a second and then raised his voice. “You probably have all known that you’ll get your freedom after ten years of heavy labor, no matter what crime you committed. This is a promise made by the King of Graycastle and the King of Dawn! Don’t try to escape, for this is your last chance!”
With these words, he signaled his men to take away the prisoners. Forint immediately approached him with the same oily smile. “I knew you would take all of them. According to our contract, one prisoner is…”
“One gold royal each, and it’s 106 in total, right?” Sean asked.
“That’s right!” Forint replied, his eyes glistening with excitement.
“Someone in the lord’s mansion will receive you.”
“Yes, sir!” Forint said, returning Sean a broad grin.
“Also,” Sean spoke abruptly as Forint turned around, “I don’t want to see the same thing happen again.”
“You mean…” Forint said, a little surprised.
“I don’t care whether the lord of Maplesong amended the laws the day before or not, but according to our contract, the prisoners must be told the purpose of this trip and the punishment they will receive. If there’s one more prisoner who appears not aware of his death sentence and claims that he’s innocent, I’ll have to deduct a portion of my payment,” Sean warned sternly.
He neither intended to be some sort of judge, nor did he really have empathy for these people. For him, the most important thing was to complete Roland’s task and prevent those avarious noble merchants from disgracing his Majesty.
“I… I see.” Forint said while bowing his head. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
After Forint took his leave, Marl commented with a shrug, “You’re very cautious.”
“I’m just doing my due diligence.”
“Really?” said Marl as he looked at the crowded town.”Your king even takes extra caution when purchasing death row prisoners. I wonder if King Wimbledon did it on purpose or he’s simply a born philanthropist. My elder brother told me that he’s around the same age as me, but he’s already a marvelous king. A man can’t be a philanthropist and king at the same time. Now I really want to meet him in person, since his guard has already impressed me.”
“It isn’t hard to meet the King of Graycastle since you’re from one of the three big noble families,” said Sean coldly. “If I were you, I would not be so imprudent as to say such things to that guard.”
“Who cares? You tend to shut yourself in instead of sharing your thoughts with others, don’t you?” Marl said while spreading out his hands.
Sean now had a better understanding of Marl’s character. Like his cordial, loyal brother Otto Tokat, as the second son of the Tokat Family, Marl was also very easygoing.
The best way to deal with this kind of person was to ignore him.
He turned around, planning to take a look at the dump site guarded by the First Army when a soldier sprinted up to him.
“Sir, a stranger wants to see you. He says he knows where the ‘treasure’ is.”
Sean drew his brows together. Ever since the message of searching for the cursed treasure went out, every now and then they had people coming forward who claimed that they knew the whereabouts of the treasure, most of whom were scammers who provided false information just for the purpose of getting a reward. Sean said, “Didn’t I tell you that you only report to me when there’s a solid clue?”
“That guy insists on meeting you in person,” the soldier replied. “He claims to be one of the last survivors from Hermes. Apart from the treasure, he also knows where the remaining members of the church are hiding. We’ve already detained him.”
“Hermes… church?”
Sean squinted his eyes and then said, “Got it. I’ll go meet him.”