Chapter 106: The Old Mercenary's Suggestion
Passing through the villages in Tucker Town, there are loess piles and thatched adobe houses on tops, which are too far from the rural houses in Scott, but most of the houses in Scottic villages are made of adobe bricks and covered with tiles on top.
It is said that the lord of Tucker Town, Owen Kule, was a brutal ruler, and under his rule the ordinary people of Tucker Town lived increasingly hard, while the landlords and wealthy merchants who relied on Owen Kule became richer and richer.
The most important thing in Tucker Town is land, as long as you have money, you can buy large tracts of land from the lord as your own permanent private territory, and selling land is also a business that the Kule family has been running for a hundred years, and it is because of this business that rich merchants use their funds to seize large tracts of land in the south of Tucker Town, which are basically the best in the town.
It is precisely because of this collusion between officials and businessmen that the land and rights that should belong to the people of Tucker Town are brutally exploited, and the cruel exploitation has led to their displacement. Along the way, Stern could often see ragged people digging grass roots in the barren fields to feed their hunger, and sometimes he couldn't stand it anymore and stopped to take some food out of the storage space and distribute it to the hungry.
The poverty of the town of Tak is in stark contrast to that of Scott and Clouddream, due to the fact that the geographical location of the north is a problem, and the ability of the rulers to govern is another.
"Look at the many houses up ahead, which look pretty good, and it's probably the center of Tucker," Yulia said, pointing into the distance. Stern opened his eyes carefully and looked in the direction that Yulia was pointing, and it seemed that there were indeed buildings in sight, but they were still far away, and Yulia could only spot them so quickly.
"Yes, there's Tucker Town ahead, and we'll be there in less than half an hour," Stern nodded, and after spending most of the day passing through a few dilapidated villages, they finally reached the real Tucker Town.
As a large border town, the population should be about 100,000, and the entire territory should not exceed 150,000 people, and when he came to the town, Stern called out Thea and Alinas who were resting in the fairy house, and the four of them walked to the door of a tavern that looked quite luxurious, only to see a sign hanging on the door beam of the tavern that read 'Red Crow Tavern'.
"Hello, a few guests, please, the Crow Tavern is the most famous restaurant in town, we have not only the best wine here but also the most delicious roasted whole lamb will not disappoint you", a tavern boy stopped when he saw Stern and the four of them came to the door of the Crow Tavern, and immediately stepped forward to solicit customers.
Under the guidance of the shopkeeper, Stern led the three of them into the Crow Tavern, found a square table and sat down, and ordered a roasted whole sheep and a barrel of oat wine according to the shopkeeper's recommendation.
Stern tasted the best oat wine in the tavern and then all retreated, after getting used to drinking the best oti wine, he was no longer interested in this kind of poor oat wine, he asked the shopkeeper for four large bamboo tubes, he took out a large bottle of nuti wine from the storage space and poured the four large bamboo tubes one by one, the nuti wine with the fragrant roasted whole sheep The four of them immediately began to devour frantically.
In addition to the large wasteland, there are also meadows in the southern part of Tucker Town, so it is perfect for goats to be raised here, and guests and mercenaries who come to Tucker Town from out of town will generally try the roasted whole sheep here before leaving, roasted whole sheep is a special delicacy in Tucker Town, and it is also famous throughout the Bauhinia Empire.
Tucker Town is a vast area, and it is very difficult to find Pompeii, and the map given to Stern by the dwarven patriarch Higg only records the route map from Pompeii to the Myr Caves, so the route to Pompeii has to be found out by asking the people of Tucker Town.
After the four of them solved a roasted whole sheep like a storm, Stern called the shopkeeper to prepare the checkout, and the shopkeeper quickly stepped forward and bowed to Stern and said, "Sir, you ordered a medium-sized roasted whole lamb, a total of two gold coins."
With a wave of his right hand, Stern handed the two gold coins to the shopkeeper and asked, "Brother, do you know the village of Pompeii north of Tucker Town?"
"I'm sorry I've never heard of a Pompeii village in Tucker Town," the shopkeeper replied with a shake of his head, and walked away embarrassed.
Stern looked for three people in a row, and shook his head, saying that although he had heard of Pompeii, he didn't know where the specific location of Pompeii Village was, and it seemed that it would take a little trouble to reach Pompeii Village smoothly.
"Andy, maybe we're asking for directions and finding the wrong person, ask the old guys, maybe they'll know a little more," Alinas suggested to Stern.
Thinking that maybe Alinas had some point, Stern looked around and saw that everyone in the hall didn't look like they knew about Pompeii, so he left the Crow Tavern with the three of them. As the four of them walked along the cobblestone avenue, Stern's eyes quickly fixed on an oncoming old mercenary not far away, this old mercenary with pale hair and deep wrinkles on his face seemed to tell the story of his adventure, maybe he would know where Pompeii was.
After waiting for the old mercenary to approach, Stern and the three of them came forward and said to him politely, "Old man, I'm sorry to disturb, do you know how to get to Pompeii?"
The old mercenary saw a blonde young man politely come to the front to ask for directions, and said with a kind smile, "Haha, you are the right person when the young man meets me, the name of this Pompeii Village has not been mentioned for more than two hundred years since the dwarf disappeared, and now it is estimated that there will be no more than fifty people in the entire town who know where Pompeii Village is, but when it comes to Black Wind Village, everyone knows it, you go all the way north and pass by the village, and you will know where Black Wind Village is", the old mercenary looked at the four of Stern and continued, " The current Black Wind Village is the former Pompeii Village, where a group of thousands of Black Wind thieves live, who burn, kill, loot, and do all kinds of evil, I advise the four of you not to take risks."
"Thank you, old man, we won't run into the Black Wind Thieves when we just pass by there," Stern said gratefully. "It's fine not to go there, but you should be cautious on the road, especially you two young and beautiful little girls are more likely to encounter danger", the old mercenary said and left.
After learning the specific location of Pompeii Village, the four of them could finally go on the road with confidence, but to Stern's surprise, the Pompeii Village was actually occupied by a group of thieves, fortunately, they only used it as a starting point and would not conflict with the group of thieves, as long as Yulia and Alinas were left in the Faerie House at that time, they would not cause those unnecessary troubles.