Revenge of the Sorcerer King 21

Chapter 21

Alessa POV~~

As we walked through town people gave us a large berth. The streets weren’t crowded but with the number of people there would still be areas where it was shoulder to shoulder. Oberon, however, gave off a ‘do not approach’ vibe. Jack was leading the way to the Adventurer’s Guild so he could make his ‘report’ to the Guildmaster. How the meeting went would decide whether we have to flee the city or just leave it. 

We were accompanying him incase the worst should happen and so we can establish identities. Oberon was my battel scared grandfather and we came from the south to seek better fortunes. Thankfully, Oberon didn’t plan for us to work as adventurers. One, we didn’t plan to be in the north territories that long, and two there were a lot of checks that adventurers have to go through. 

The other two adventurers that made up Jack’s party were staying with the wagon. It was loaded with monster parts and we didn’t want to risk them being stolen by relying on the Inn’s security measures. It would also help to only have to ‘watch’ one person. 

“Those two smell of death. Stay away from them.” I vaguely heard from somewhere in the crowd. I glanced around but couldn’t locate the individual that said it. I whispered to Oberon what I heard and only got a chuckle in response. 

“Ignore it. There are always those that have better intuition than others. They are usually good about avoid trouble rather than pursuing it,” Oberon said not even bothering to look around. 

“If you say so. I still feel weird just being in this town. If things had gone differently, I would be over there being sold,” I said with a nod to the slave market. People of all races and genders were being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Just in the few seconds I watched a family was torn apart as the father was sold to someone and the mother and daughter were pulled to another section of the market. 

The slave market had always been around, even back in Oberon’s time. There had been a few kings that tried to do away with it, but they all met nasty ends sooner rather than later in their reigns. Most people just accepted it as a way of life. Even the summoned hero didn’t try and touch it. In fact, the history books claim that he promoted it. 

“A slave. Might want to pick up a few on the way home. A good force if you raise them correctly,” Oberon said as he glanced over to the market. 

“If you say so,” I mumbled. 

“Think of it this way. If we buy them, we can control how their lives will go. Yes, this sounds cruel but they are already slaves. Nothing can change that now. Even if we bought then released them, they are marked for life. Any gate in the kingdom would be able to find out what they are,” Oberon said grabbing my shoulder in a comforting gesture. 

“That is true,” I said thinking about it. He was right that they were doomed no matter what. At least if they came with us they could be put to work but allowed more personal freedoms. I knew there were good nobles out there but I had yet to see one personally. 

A few minutes later we made it to the Adventurer’s guild. The building was the biggest in the town at five stories. People streamed in and out almost constantly. As a border town, there were plenty of quests for people to take. That meant lots of gold and resources flowed through the doors. I had once dreamed of being an adventurer before my mother told me it was far to dangerous. 

Jack strode through the doors without a care in the world. He was originally a confident person, and after over a week of learning to control him, he was almost back to normal. With undying loyalty to me of course. The sounds inside the guild dropped to almost non-existent as we walked in. People stared at Jack, some surprised, some with greed. The mix of human emotion was almost tangible. 

“Jack! You’re back already!” yelled a man from one side of the guild’s sitting area. There were counters that had several people lined up as they were being helped. Stairs that led up to the various offices of the guild. Sitting area for people to mingle and prepare for their quests. It was designed to support adventurers to the best of the guild’s ability. 

“Herald! Yeah. I wish I had good news though,” Jack said making an angry expression. 

“Shit. Was it bad?” Herald asked moving over to us. 

“Nearly everyone is dead!” Jack said slamming his fist on the table in front of him. “Even Eurn…”

“No… What happened?” Herald asked in a whisper. 

“I feel I should tell the Guildmaster. I don’t want to repeat the story too many times,” Jack said with a grimace. 

“I understand. I’ll take you to her now. This is too important to wait,” Herald said. 

“Thanks,” Jack said moving to follow him. We started to follow him only earning a curtesy glance from Herald. 

Herald led us to the top floor of the building. Apparently, the Guildmaster was in the middle of a meeting but once Herald poked his head in, they quickly finished up. He showed us in then left. The Guildmaster looked like a powerful woman in her mid-thirties. If I was younger, I probably would have looked up to her. 

“Guildmaster Callwind. It is with sad tidings that I make my report today,” Jack said with a solemn tone. 

“Jack. We didn’t expect you for another week or two. What has happened?” Callwind asked, concern clearly showing. 

“We were lied to. Kyla led us right into an ant colony. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose but… The entire party has been wiped out. Only Lizabeth, Dauz, and I survived. Even we wouldn’t have made it if not for these two travelers,” Jack explained then gestured to us. 

Oberon made a slight bow but kept his quiet. I bowed as well. The Guildmaster looked us over, our armor in particular. I could tell even without much training that she was estimating our strength. 

“Welcome to the town of Guil. We don’t have much to offer, but I will make sure you get to stay in the best Inn in town for the service you have rendered for us this day,” Guildmaster Callwind said with a deep bow. 

“Grandfather and I were just helping out. Help those in need you know,” I said with more cheer than I felt. 

“Again thank you. Young lady.”

“These folks are trying to get up north to find some new ventures. My team is going to escort them to show our gratitude,” Jack said. 

“That is fine. I’m sure this has been a trying venture. What happened to Kyla?” 

“We have him in the wagon. We wanted him to be hanged for his actions in town for all the people that lost family members. We already handed him over to the town guard when we arrived.”

“Alright. I will send someone over to question him again, but I will respect your decision.”

“Thank you, Guildmaster.” Jack bowed then left with us closely following behind him. 

We were at the end of the hallway when I heard something back from the Guildmaster’s office. “Have them followed. This sounds too clean to be a simple accident.”

I jerked my head over to Oberon, but he was already looking at me with a finger where his lips would have been. I nodded then looked ahead. Maybe this trip was going to be more exciting than planned after all. 

Oberon POV~~

I mentally smiled as we left the guild. Humans were so predictable. I knew what Alessa wanted to tell me even without hearing it myself. I had seen another life signature in the room the entire time we were there. Whoever it might be was already following us. The question was how to deal with it without it looking like our fault.

Everyone gave us a sad applause as we left the guild. The meeting had gone how I’d wanted it to. I wasn’t against killing everyone in the town. In fact, I could almost feel something inside me telling me to do so. But, I prided myself on my control over my body and mind. It was next to my knowledge of magic, so I remembered it pretty strongly. 

With the guild behind us, I wanted to do a little scouting. Information was sorely lacking for my comfort. I needed to collect information on not only this kingdom but also on foreign areas, as well as products. Alessa understood a bit of the country, but she was always on the run and didn’t have a good grasp on certain topics. 

We soon found ourselves in the market. Alessa was showing a bit of her childishness as she looked at the various stalls. Sounds of all kinds buffeted us. Even after a thousand years at least this scene hadn’t changed. People hawking their wares, and counteroffers flying just as fast. I actually found I enjoyed the noise. 

The adventurers we killed had carried a decent sum of money so I told her to buy a few things that she thought we nice. ‘A grandfather needed to spoil his grandkids every now and then,’ I thought with a chuckle. She cheered than ran to the nearest stall where she bought a necklace of some kind. I couldn’t sense any magic on it, but at least it looked pretty. As Alessa browsed through another stall, I made my way over to where I heard some shouting. 

“Fiden prince to wed the Loeriten Princess! A marriage tax of thirty silver. It must be paid by the end of the next month!” shouted a man in a well-tailored outfit. 

“Thirty silver!? How do they expect us farmers to pay something like that?” growled a man near me. 

“The nerve of the nobility!” said another man before he lowered his voice. “I heard rumors they plan to go to war with Shargvin. This might just be a cover.”

The first man sighed in exasperation. “Again? How many times is this?” 

“Since the founding – ten times,” answered the other man. 

“When is that idiot king going to learn? Shargvin is able to exist next to the Empire. And they’ve been around since before,” he lowered his voice, “the World’s Curse.” 

“Hello,” I said cutting in just then. Both the men jumped as they hadn’t notice me approach. 

“Huh? What do you want?” 

“I came from the south in a relatively secluded area. Would you happen to be talking about the Aqanao Empire?” I asked, enjoying their surprise. 

“Of course! Only Empire I know of,” one of the men said. 

“Do you know the current Emperor?” The two men just looked at each other then shook their heads in reply. “I see. Thank you.” 

I left the corner and grabbed Alessa from her shopping. She had managed to send all the coins I gave her in the few minutes I was away from her. It seemed a woman’s ability to spend money is something else that would never change.