(Leif Blackstone)
We split up after discussing it some more. Dulf heads towards the other guards to eat some breakfast while I head towards Lady Aya’s wagon. My hand delicately taps on the side of the cart. There's another knock that comes from the other side. That's my signal. With a laugh, I head on in. Aya had already gotten started on something this morning. She's mixing something with her mortar and pestle. She hands me whatever the green substance is.
“Smell it.” I give it a whiff. She gives me a look. It's the same look she always gives me when we are playing 'the guess what it is game.'
My mind goes through all the different solutions it could be. “Did you mix mint with feverfew?”
She gives me a laugh and claps her hands. “Your nose always surprises me. No, I’m not doing this to try to trick you. I am mixing mint with things to give it a better flavor.”
Knowing her, she put it in there to try to throw my nose off.
“What is it used for?” She asks with another smile.
"It relieves migraines and headaches."
She gives me a clap on the shoulder this time. “You are coming along just fine. Two girls have been asking me a lot of questions about whether or not you two plan to stay or not. They believe that I am a fortune-teller.
“Is this your subtle way of asking if your best student is going to stay or leave the bird's nest?”
“You are my only student, and what did you two decide?” She resumes mixing again.
“Dulf and I talked it over; we told Molby we would be staying on at least until the spring. So you will have to keep putting up with me, teacher.
“Well, that’s one piece of good news for today. We will continue your lessons when we get out of Augusta. Hurry up and go see my husband and Bimi.”
She shoos me out, and I head towards the front of the cart. Kimi and Bimi are already there discussing something. It looks kind of heated with a lot of pointing and shouting in their language. There are two other guards, one of them Mihail, standing behind them, just watching the shouting match. They stop when I wander over. Kimi knows I can speak their kind of Arabic fluently now. Whether Bimi knows or not, I don’t know.
Bimi looks directly towards me. “You and I will be in the front wagon while we enter the city.” He gives Kimi another glance. After that, he wanders over and climbs into the wagon.
My eyes give Kimi a questioning look. Since saving his life that one day, we have become very close friends.
He gives me a smile as he starts to walk off and immediately stops. Having second thoughts, he comes to stand next to me. "Leif, please make sure Bimi doesn't come to any harm. He is the brain of our entire operation. The stubborn fool feels he must handle everything himself when we are attempting to make an empire out of this. If we lost him, I am not sure we would ever be able to recover. I pleaded with him to let me deal with the Lotus group while he can go and drop food off to the governor. He basically said we cannot afford to look weak in front of them. He is just too damn stubborn for his own good. The caravan will split up when we get into town. So please protect my brother, Leif.” He speaks the whole conversation in Arabic so that the two guards standing near us are not understanding anything coming out of our mouths.
“Don't worry; I would take an arrow for Bimi as well.” Kimi just snorts and walks off, knowing I will protect his brother.
Mihail gives me a questioning look. “Brothers.” I tell him. My feet take me to my tent to complete my outfit. After breaking down my tent and putting it in my pack, I equip my ridiculous helmet and giant axe. Bimi is already waiting on me when I get to the lead wagon.
He reaches out and pulls me up with his hand. “So did my brother tell you what we were discussing?” He replies in Arabic with a frown on his face.
“He's just worried about you. It's typical to worry about family.” He beams as if he's just solved a puzzle. To be honest, I assumed he would be upset that we were talking about him.
“I'm starting to see why my brother and sister-in-law put so much faith in you.” Most likely, he was only checking to see if I could understand him just now. I’m starting to understand that the brothers Rivas think differently than most people.
"I've already told my daughter that I don't care who she marries as long as she stays with the family."
Whoa, whoa, where is this coming from, and why is he dropping it on me? “You do know there is nothing going on between me and your daughter, right, sir?”
He gives me a smile. “She has her mother's stubbornness and my head for accounting. With her mother's personality, she will be hell to deal with in a few years.”
"Why are you telling me this?”
“So are you and young Dulf going to make the journey down South with us?”
Is he even listening to what I am saying? Why does he always answer my question with another question? “Yes, we spoke with Moby about it and decided to stay for at least another year. We don't actually have any plans for the future.”
"Well, if you would like to join the Rivas Trading Company on a permanent basis. That's always an option.” He says with a wink.
This may be the most we have ever spoken together. Usually, I just get a calculated look: how can I move this pawn?
Moby finally rides up and gives us the go-ahead to start moving. My one foot comes to rest on my leg, and I lay my axe on my lap as I look up at the sky. Please don’t let me and Dulf screw this up.
Our caravan eventually gets to the outer walls of the city. It looks like a big city. Much bigger than the little villages we have been to of late. They got a massive-sized gate where they are letting people go one at a time. We pass it up and round the corner and get in a different line with an even bigger gate. Our line is only letting wagons in. With nine wagons, we wait in this line for the Roman guard to come and check our carts. I recognize those red cloaks from anywhere. As long as they do not give me any trouble like before, it should be fine.
They are searching all the carts for contraband, I guess. There are still three carts in front of us that are being searched. While a single Roman walks to us with scroll in hand. “Hello travelers. You are entering the merchant gate. If you are at the wrong one, the other line is over there.” He points over at the first one we passed. He said all this while looking at a scroll without looking up. He must love his job.
“We are with the Rivas Group. Nine wagons.
He checks some more of his papers. "We had you down for."
He pauses while he checks his papers some more. "Arriving a few days ago.”
“Yeah, we got caught up on the way here.” Bimi answers.
“No problem. No problem. Nine wagons that would be nine denarii.”
“We only paid five last year.” Bimi says with anger.
“Well, prices have gone up since then, it seems."
"Some cannot even afford to have a meal.” The Roman says all with a smile. Something tells me he's not missing any. Bimi forks over the coins, and the Roman signs something on his paper.
“Wait for them to check your wagons before heading in, and have a nice stay at Augusta, Trevor.” He jiggles his coin purse as he walks back towards the other Romans.
Felix is waiting by the gate. I wave at him, and at last he sees me. He climbs onto the back of our cart and squeezes through to take a seat just behind us.
"So?" Bimi asks.
“You were correct; the Lotus Group is going to betray us. They have been hiring more men for the last few days for a job.” My head tilts towards Bimi.
He glances at me as well. “Food makes up half our inventory we are delivering, which we sell to the city’s governor. The other goods we sell to a group called Lotus. The previous time we were here, they attempted to con us out of some quality items. The products were defective and made from low-quality knockoffs. We informed them we would purchase our goods elsewhere. It was the perfect time for this Roman deal to fall into our laps. We can sell our stock to the Lotus group, and instead of buying new supplies, we will transport something for the Romans. We don’t mind simply selling to them, yet now we are afraid they are going to pull something since they are hiring extra men.”
My helmet gives him a nod that says I understand. Being a merchant sounds like such a pain. Now you even have to worry about the person you're selling to. It was a lot easier in my old life. “So can we expect trouble?”
"We might expect some problems, but we offer a lot of grain to the citizens of this town over the winter. The local Roman governor is responsible for our well-being while we are here.” Bimi says.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Two soldiers finally check all of our wagons, and we pull them into town. Our wagons are traveling down an actual cobblestone path. My eyes widen in amazement.
“Have you ever seen a paved road before?” Bimi asks me.
If he only knew. “A few times, I guess.”
It is an actual city. Offering shops and sounds. This is what I've been missing. It'll be so much fun to go out and discover everything. Dulf and I are going to have a blast. We finally come close to the market, and smells are the first thing I notice. People are cooking meat; there's music, and everyone is laughing and dancing. You cannot top the view under the stars, but the sounds of people are something I've been lacking in my life up to this point. Being a guard, you tend to have to stay quite a lot.
While we are discussing how the meeting will proceed with the Lotus group, Moby waves and heads in a different direction with some of the wagons.I spot Dulf in the back of the wagon and wave him off. We continue on our route for another five minutes before pulling our wagon up to what appears to be a large warehouse. I hope Dulf stays out of trouble.
"Okay, this is our stop." Bimi stops the horses and hops down. I'm getting down alongside him. The remaining wagons drive off to the side, out of the way of others.
Felix sends me a look. "Remember not to take any shit. Also, don't allow Bimi to enter any room without you.
I give Felix a thumbs up as I follow Bimi to the door.
There are two guards standing in front of the door. When I walk up with Bimi, the guards' hands go to their weapons, and they gaze up at me as I approach. My hand makes no contact with the axe attached to my back. I refuse to give them the satisfaction of forcing me to reach for my weapon. They will believe I see them as nothing, which is just what I want. Felix did an excellent job coaching me.
“Bimi Rivas with the Rivas Group. Here to see Godfried.”
One of the guards eventually notices Bimi. "Wait here while I go inside." He opens the door like an old barn door in my previous life, with a latch on the side, and disappears inside.
The other guy quickly glances at Bimi before returning his attention to me. I am smiling behind my helmet, but this person cannot tell. He's quite jittery. Felix, Bimi, and I were discussing before we arrived. Felix decided it was best if I didn't speak at all to reveal my age. So Bimi will do all the talking, and I will only watch over him.
The second guard eventually returns and opens the door all the way for us. “Just Bimi may enter.”
“I don't go anywhere without Thanatos.” Bimi replies.
Both guards give me another look. Felix was worried about my name. Mine was deemed too soft, so Bimi went with 'Thanatos,' which means "death" in Greek. When I first heard it, the name seemed familiar. Then, I snapped one of my fingers. They simply stared at me, as if something was wrong with me. A smile was the only answer they got in return.
The guard from inside finally comes back. He points at me. “Okay, but just him, and he has to leave his weapon behind.”
I remove the massive battle axe and hand it to Felix, who does a phony clutch as if it were heavier than it should be. We're putting on a performance for these gentlemen. After handing over my weapon, I approach the guard and look him directly in the eyes. While taking a deep breath in, I blow a small, audible sound out my nose like a bull. His knees are quaking a little. Then I turn around and enter the building with Bimi behind me. Bimi gives me a little snort after they close the door, and I have a smile plastered on my face.
We continue down a short, dark hallway, which ends with another guard. He pulls open the door for us, where an elderly man with greying hair and a beer belly sits in a chair. He has chins that appear to have extra chins. Behind him and to his left is a man who is about my height; that is a first. He has a light brown complexion and a bald head. Eyeliner going around his eyes. He has three little golden brow rings on his left brow. He carries what appears to be a short curved sword going through a sash at his trousers. Whereas the old guy only wears modest black robes to cover up his flubber. This guy wears flamboyant green and crimson robes with blue puffy leggings. It's as if a toddler chose an array of colors and thought it looked cool. My mother would have whacked the back of my head if I had left the house that way.
Aside from his colorful flair, this guy is setting off alarm bells in my head. Bimi and I have wandered into a dark room with several candles lit around the place. The only scent my nose seems to register is the aroma emanating from the candles.
Bimi bows towards the guy sitting down. “Good to see you again, Godfried.”
The big round man gives a huge, throaty laugh. “Well, well, if it isn't my good friend from all the way down south, Bimi. What kind of trouble have you been getting into?”
Bimi gives him a smile. “Nothing too bad, you know. We do what we can to keep the Romans happy.”
"Yes, yes, they always take more than they give." He pauses and takes a lengthy breath. "And they don't give a lot."
Is this guy getting winded from talking? Also, what's up with him repeating himself twice at the beginning of every sentence?
“And how are you, Kharani?” Bimi asks the colorful man.
He just smiles, and I realize that his teeth are whiter than mine. Why do his teeth appear whiter than mine? What is he using on them, some kind of bleach? "Very good, Bimi. My tailor made me some beautiful pants out of the lovely blue fabric you delivered last time. "Do you like them?"
“Yes, they are very fashionable.”
Kharani's gaze is drawn to me, and he effortlessly glides up beside me, studying me from top to bottom. "He has no taste, but he's a big one. Where did you find this large piece of metal?" The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as soon as he approaches me. There is something wrong with this guy. Something in me is telling me to run.
"He is originally from Greece. I spotted him near Rome, performing in the gladiator games. He was their champion for a little while before injuring his knee. We had to pay a steep price for him, but he is definitely worth it.” Bimi replies while gazing at me.
Whatever was going through Kharani's thoughts, he came to a decision and gave me an even wider smile. Then he wanders back over towards Godfried.
“So, so, are you ready to get down to business, Mr. Rivas?” Godfried gets out.
“Yes, let's.”
"Now, now, surely you're not going to let that minor incident caused by one measly merchant attempting to sell you something of poor quality interfere with our business. Surely, surely, you are not still upset? We can figure out how to trade our products with each other once more."
"No, I'm sorry, but you recall when I left we had a conversation. We will continue to offer you our premium goods, but there will be no trading of products with each other." Bimi emphasizes the final point.
"It was a simple thing, and the merchant who did it has long since been kicked out of my circle. To think he'd try to pass off that worthless crap to you, which you noticed right away because you're so smart. Surely the gods want us to make successful trades, Bimi.
Bimi glances behind and looks at me. “What do you think, Thanatos? Should we trade with the Lotus Group, or should we just sell to them and go to a more reputable place and buy from them?
All eyes turn towards me. There is just a silence in the air. As I just stare behind Godfried at the wall, not moving except to breathe.
The silence lasts nearly three seconds until Bimi turns around again. "Well, that's your answer. Sorry, but there will be no trade while we are here. You can pay for our products with coins, or we can take them to someone who will.
"Bimi, Bimi, I don't see why we can't reach an agreement, but simply because you're my friend, we'll do it your way."
A heated dispute starts out over the cost of the remaining items in the wagon. Most of which went over my head. Even if I had a thousand years, I doubt I would be able to achieve what happened in that room. Kharani stands behind Godfried the entire time with a smile plastered on his face.
After the negotiations, Godfried is sweating profusely and coughing into a cloth. “Very good, Bimi, very good. The gods were smiling on you today. Shrewd businessman that you are.
“It was surely a good deal for both of us. Now on the matter of payment.” Bimi asks.
"Well, well, I am not carrying much coin with me right now. We didn't know when you would arrive. If you like, we can get something notarized and a contract signed. Then you can unload the goods here, and I should have a couple of coin bags for you after three moons pass."
“No, sorry, Godfried, we cannot do business that way. We can only give the products while you have coins in hand.”
“Now surely we can negotiate on this. We have been doing business for over five seasons, and I have never not paid my dues.”
“Blame it on the way of the world. The times we live in have made women clutch their purses around priests. The goods will stay with the caravan, and we will make a trip back in after three moons near sunset.”
Bimi reaches out his hand to give Godfried's hand a shake. Godfried hesitates for two seconds, and you can tell he doesn't like how the negotiations ended. “See you after three moons.”
"I will see you guys out." Kharani is in front, and Bimi is behind me. He walks us to the entrance we entered and lets us out. He hangs around the door and whispers to me as I walk away. "See you later." Sending a shiver down my spine.
Bimi and I meet Felix at the carts. “So do we have a deal?” Asks Felix.
“Not yet; we have to come back after three moons.” Bimi responds.
Felix hops back in the cart while asking. “Is he planning something?”
Bimi is helped up into the wagon. “Oh, most definitely. He's a sly old codger.
I get in the wagon as well, and we go off in a different direction.
Did you rent out the warehouse for us, Felix? Bimi asks.
"How did you know that we would have trouble?" I finally blurt out. It was difficult not being able to converse with anyone. I'm not the stoic, silent giant who says nothing the whole time. I am usually the class clown or the one who asks stupid questions.
They both give me a laugh. “Silence is not your forte.”
Felix is still laughing. "At least you're not as bad as Dulf; he probably would have a breakdown if he were told he had to be silent for that long.”
After joking with me for another minute or two, Felix gets a serious look on his face. “Only wear the helmet and full armor like you do when you are guarding Bimi. Do not have the armor or axe on. Take your sword if you have to take a weapon. We don't want him to know who's under the armor while we are in town.”
I give him a thumbs up to let him know I get it. He just shakes his head.
"To respond to your prior inquiry, we almost always have issues with their group. He is constantly trying to shortchange us in some way. We were a much smaller bunch before we let them get by with more. Now we are better protected." Felix replies with disdain in his voice.
“So are we going to run into trouble while we are here?” I ask either one of them.
They look at each other. Then Felix answers. “There is always trouble brewing in Augusta, Trevor.”
(Bardulf)
I turn back and watch the only friend I've ever known taking a different path. Everyone in the village, except the elder, never understood me, and he was always more of a parent. So I went hunting whenever I wasn't needed in the community. Looking back, it was actually quite a boring life. Leif understands me, though. Whenever I do something to him, he immediately responds. I didn't have that growing up. Honing my tracking skills and studying the bow from Felix have also been a lot of fun.
Leif says I am starting to become too girl-crazy about Tila. Which is probably true, but I do not know why he is calling me a horny teenager. Whatever that means. He says a lot of stuff I don’t really understand. At first I thought it was because he grew up reading books, but that's not it either. Felix says he has known plenty of smart people, and he has never met anyone like Leif; it's probably a cultural thing. Anyone that's been around him long enough knows that he has problems of his own. He's the closest thing that I have to a brother, so that's how I will always treat him.
Tila finally gave me a kiss two nights before we arrived in Augusta. It was the best moment of my life. After it happened, I knew that I had to talk Leif into staying with the caravan, and I was going to at any cost. It was surprisingly easy to get him to agree to stay on. Now I just need to get Tila and her dad to see that I am worthy enough. She said he would never agree to his daughter marrying a lowly guard.
Leif and I will not always be guards. That I can promise you. We'll establish a name for ourselves, and I'll settle down with Tila; if he gets his head out of his ass, he can marry Kara. We can settle down and have a nice, peaceful life. That's my dream. I have not told it to Leif; he would probably make fun of me.
Kara once inquired why he doesn't let people in. All I told her was that he had lost people in his life; Leif would probably be upset if I went into more detail than that. Maybe that's why we get along so well. We both lost people we care about. The lost can always spot the lost.
