Section 5 Guards

The caravan stayed in Delos for five days.

These five days can be said to be the festival of this small town on the edge of the desert. The caravans brought a variety of goods. Fine ironware and beautiful glass from the East, precious furs from the north that are not afraid of rain, silky silk from the south, and fine salt from coastal cities. There is also a wide range of fine drinks, beautiful knick-knacks, daily necessities, and more. And the price of these things is very cheap, far lower than the selling price of ordinary small traders.

On top of that, the caravan brought a large amount of gold, silver, and copper. They bought desert herbs and desert horses from the inhabitants of Delos, parts from various desert creatures, local spirits, and small local handicrafts. The price is fair, and there is no bullying for children.

On the evening of the fifth day, when the caravan had almost finished their trade, the venerable mayor of Delos held a small banquet in the largest tavern in the city.

"My dear old friend, I would like to introduce you to this is Ashrufat, the captain of the garrison of Delos. He will escort you all the way south. ”

"Dear mayor, I already have eighty bodyguards, I should be able to ......"

"It's always nice to have a little more, old friend. I heard that there was a war going on over there, so that's why thieves were allowed to run amok......"

"Well, I accept your kindness. The merchant and Ashrufat looked at each other. This man was much younger than the mayor, but he had a double chin and a round belly, and because of the excess fat on his face, his eyes had become small, and he exuded a sinister and cunning aura.

"Have you been satisfied with your time in Delos?" the mayor asked.

"Yes, very satisfied. The fat merchant replied. "I'm going to report this trip to the Chamber of Commerce, and I'm sure they'll all agree to include Delos in our Chamber of Commerce's trade routes. ”

The two shook hands tightly, and the tacit laughter.

Ashrufat wasted no time either. After the mayor introduced him to the caravan's group, he also greeted the caravan's lieutenants and directors one by one, drinking and chatting to get in touch with each other. And these people also knew that Ashruphat would be with them for a long time, and that they would keep them safe. No one wants to live with their own safety, so they are just as warm to Ashrufat. In this case, Ashrufat easily found his goal. One was named Sakkari, the director in charge of the logistics operations of the entire caravan.

To his surprise, Ashrufat found that he had a very good amount of alcohol. He drank three glasses of ale in a row, but he didn't feel anything unusual. Sakkari, who had also drunk three glasses, had his tongue knotted.

"Ai ...... Shurufat...... My lord...... This...... Bagatelle...... Only...... Wrap it around me......" Sakari said drunkenly. “...... Hire more ...... Several...... Women...... Completely...... In my ...... Terms of reference...... Need not...... Notice...... Anyone...... Hiccup......"

"Then please, Lord Sakkari. Ashrufat spoke cautiously, a little worried about whether Sakkari would remember the drunken promises tomorrow. Shouldn't have drunk so much, he thought.

After the feast had dispersed, Ashruphat walked alone to his dwelling. He knew that he would soon be leaving the house, and that he would probably not return. This quiet time spent in a quiet town is finally coming to an end. He opened the door with some emotion, and unsurprisingly saw two figures sitting in the room waiting for him.

"I've got it done. Early tomorrow morning, you report to Sakkari, the caravan's logistics director. I told him that you were the children of a friend of mine who had passed away, and that I wanted to live on my own......"

"Eshurufat, this guy is actually in cahoots with a witch!" a shadow let out a low curse from the window.

After making sure that what he was seeing was true, the shadow slowly began to move away from the window. They will leave tomorrow, there is time, and tonight, whether it is this betrayed captain or the two witches, they will ......

"Friend, isn't it rude to leave so quietly?" a voice in his ear interrupted Shadow's train of thought. He was surprised to find that Ashrufat didn't know when the Dao had come behind him.

Shadow drew his dagger in horror, but before he could strike, a long sword appeared in Ashrufat's hand. Two figures staggered in the darkness. Blood was foaming from the shadow's mouth, and the sword had pierced through his heart.

The body was quickly stuffed into a dilapidated uninhabited house nearby. This will be a safe hiding place until the corpses stink. But with the humidity at the edge of the desert, there is reason to wonder if there is a possibility that the body is decomposing.

After dealing with the accident, Ashrufat returned to his residence. He inspected all his possessions, and found only twelve silver coins, except for some clothing, and a saddle—he had spent eight silver coins to buy a discarded broken saddle from the caravan, and then had it repaired by the saddlers in Delos for five silver coins. Tomorrow before dawn he will call back his resurrected horse from the field, saddle it up, and leave the little town.

Even if the mayor didn't come up with this fake escort, he would have left.

His memories of the past were hard to recall, but he knew that he was no mediocre. He couldn't have stayed long in such a small country town and was called upon by someone like the mayor of Delos. His heart is filled with a quest for adventure and honor, or simply a desire to reclaim his lost memories. Either way, he couldn't get it in Delos anyway.

By daybreak, Ashrufat had joined the caravan with his mercenary troops. His men were envious of the tall horse he was riding. You must know that even if you are a mercenary who has been in the army all year round, it is difficult for you to scrape together a sum of money to buy a horse that is completely your own. No one doubts that the horse is not a living creature in the strict sense of the word.

But it doesn't matter, this horse is very good, and he has the same heart, advancing and retreating. The twins also joined the caravan smoothly and worked under the command of Sakkari. As expected, the inhabitants of Delos regarded the two of them as the original members of the caravan, and the caravan saw them as newcomers recruited from Delos. As the whole team left the city, no one paid extra attention to the two sisters.

Together with the caravan's original eighty bodyguards, this team now has more than a hundred armed guards. This is already quite a remarkable force of armed force, enough to intimidate small bandits, and even repel large bandit bandits of hundreds of people.

With such a strong guard, the merchants were no longer willing to take long detours for safety. The target of the trip was Cadia, a large city in the south, which was an important stronghold of the Chamber of Commerce. There, the merchants would count their harvest from the long journey and exchange it for gold and silver.

The journey south was very smooth. Several small battles with the bandits during this period also ended in the bandits' concessions. Not every bandit team has the strength to attack an armed caravan with hundreds of guards and hundreds of mercenaries. Two months later, the walls of Cadia were in sight.

"Tonight, we will be able to spend the night in Cadiari. "The long journey was tiring, and the fat merchant worked hard to boost the morale of his men so that they could complete the last part of the journey. They've taken the road and now security is no longer the focus. Unless the city falls in the midst of a war, no robber will dare to loot so close to the city. Of course, there are always petty thieves who steal into the camp at night, but these problems don't really require so many armed soldiers.

In the afternoon, after encountering a Kadia patrol. The fat merchant thought that the escort work of the Delos garrison could be over. For if they followed the caravan into the city, the caravan would have to provide accommodation and dinner.

"Captain Esseurofat, thank you for escorting you all the way. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you. The fat merchant shook Ashrufat's hand vigorously. "However, we have arrived at a safe place and your work is done. It was a great finish. I think this is the time for us to break up. ”

The two sides shook hands again with regret of parting. The caravan continued on its way, and now it was only Ashrufat and his men left on the roadside. As already said, all of them are mercenaries.

At this moment, Ashrufat had fully understood the plan of the mayor of Delos, and it was not as simple as faking public affairs. The mercenaries were on a one-year contract with Delos, and before they left Delos, they had already received seven months of commissions (and some allowances and the like), and the remaining five months were to be paid when the contract expired. At this moment, a full eight months have passed since the contract was signed.

Now, the mercenaries outside of Cadia are faced with two choices. The first is to go back for another two months, wait for the contract to expire, get all the money and leave Delos. Everyone was sure that the admirable mayor would never renew his contract, so everyone had to go to another city. For example, after another two-month trek, come to this Kadia. The second option is not to go back to Delos, just disband here, and everyone go to the city to find new opportunities. To put it bluntly, he was paid seven months and worked for Delos for eight months (in a sense, of course, the mercenaries spent most of their time doing nothing).

Comparatively, the second option seems a little more attractive.

"Everyone," Ashrufat announced loudly. "I'm sure there's a lot of discussion about what we should do next. I'm a fair person, so I'm suggesting a vote. All those who want to go to Cadia and look for opportunities, sit down. All those who thought they should go back to complete their leases, stood still. ”

The mercenaries discussed with each other, and soon, almost all of them sat down.

"Very well, then I declare that our team is disbanded. Let's all take our things and leave. ”

The team dispersed in twos and threes. Now Ashruphat was left alone. He finally didn't have to disguise his unnatural mount. It is really not a simple matter to let this horse that does not eat grass mix with those ordinary horses without being noticed. Many times things almost come to light.

But Cadia wasn't his target. It can be said that he is still at a loss about the future, because he still doesn't know what he wants to do. He didn't want to remain a mercenary, hired by a lord or something. Because in this case, he is likely to inadvertently reveal his secrets.

"Master, for your safety, I advise you to find a way to build your own power. You are powerful, but you can't be truly safe alone. You should be a lord, a ruler. This is in line with your nobility and provides better security. ”