Chapter 11

“Okay, this is the last time we’re doing this alright? You kids had 1 silver coin and 18 copper coins in your coin pouch to start with. Add the 80 copper from the vest and you’ll have 1 silver and 98 copper. Add another silver and 80 copper from the pants and you’ll get 3 silver and 78 copper. Again, add another silver and 30 copper from the boots and you’ll have 5 silver and 8 copper. This is the part where I lose you guys right? Now pay attention. Add 20 copper from the axe and you’ll get 5 silver and 28 copper right? Now add another silver and 20 copper for the cracked shield and you’ll have 6 silver and 48 copper alright? Now we add Wraine’s sword for 3 silver and 80 copper giving you a total of 10 silver and 28 copper right? Those boots we bought down the street cost 90 copper per pair and you’ve already paid Leiman a silver and 80 copper right? That brings your total down to 8 silver and 48 copper okay? I know you guys had trouble here too but I don’t have the time to teach you subtraction so you’ll have to trust me on this or we’ll be here all night..” Both Wraine and I are sitting at a table inside Kapri’s store agonizing over these calculations. Wraine’s trying his best to use what numbers he does know to keep up with Kapri’s explanation while I’m just trying to memorize the totals so that we can at least know how many coins we’ll have in the pouch at the end.

“Alright, you’re wearing the linen tops and bottoms my wife made for you right? Each top costs you 80 copper, even though I’m pretty sure those shirts look thicker than the ones she usually makes, so since she made two you’ll have to take away a silver and 60 copper from your total making it 6 silver and 88 copper. You’re still following me right? Then for your pants they’d normally be 60 copper each but since my wife so graciously decided to sew in pockets for you without telling me, I’ll only charge you half for the pockets, making the pants 70 copper each which drops your total to 5 silver and 48 copper. Like I said before, you don’t have enough to outright buy new weapons with what you have right now so you both picked stuff up from me that’s been used right? For Wraine’s iron longsword, you’ll need to pay me 3 silver which drops your total from 5 silver and 48 copper to 2 silver and 48 copper okay? For your iron shortsword Isaac, you’ll need to pay me 2 silver which drops your total to just 48 copper right? The iron rimmed wooden shield you wanted is outside of your price range now.” Even with the relatively short amount of time we’ve had these weapons, Wraine and I wanted to use the same types of weapons again because they’re at least a little familiar. Wraine has a taller build than me and before joining the army, he started helping his dad with his work which gave him a much stronger body than me and he has no problems with lifting up a longsword. Me on the other hand, I can’t even imagine myself without a shield and a weapon. The axe I used before did a pretty good job but at the end of the day, it’s still meant to cut wood and it wasn’t that sharp anymore. A shortsword with a half meter long blade is just right for me and when I picked it up while we were browsing his used arms, it wasn’t too light nor too heavy, it felt perfect. But if I need to choose between the two, I’m not sure which one is better to have.

“Now, having said that, like I was telling you, my wife wanted me to buy your old linens for full price but I’m running a business here and I can’t do that. A new and clean linen shirt will go for 80 copper but both of yours are pretty worn down and Isaac’s is slightly pink from blood. I can give you 50 copper for Wraine’s and 30 for Isaac’s. The exact same goes for the pants too but a new pair of linens goes for 60 copper instead. For the pants, I can pay 40 for Wraine’s and 25 for Isaac’s. If we do all this, we can bring your total from 48 copper to 1 silver and 93 copper. I have that shield listed for 2 silver since its wear isn’t too bad but taking another look at it, I might’ve overpriced it a bit because the enarmes fit you perfectly but they look too small for an adult. I can let that shield go for 1 silver and 70 copper which will bring your total down to 23 copper, still enough for two nights at any inn in town. We have a deal?” My head is spinning. Wraine’s head is spinning. But I can recognize good people when I see them and Stanley was right, Kapri and his wife took really good care of us.

“I don’t know how to thank you Kapri. You and your wife have helped us so much without asking for anything in return. Ever since Misanth was attacked, Wraine and I have been wandering aimlessly trying to keep ourselves alive and… regardless, thank you both.”

“Yeah, what Isaac said. Thank you Kapri and Mrs. Jenne. We really appreciate the both of you looking out for us.” Wraine adds in.

“Alright boys, don’t get sappy on me now. We’re all Nasaarans here and we look out for each other. It’s been 20 years since the last war with the fucking Ribierian fucks but we’re not gonna let those whoresons ruins two kids’ lives this early and easily when we can do something about it. That reminds me, with Misanth razed, what are you boys gonna do? If you’d like, I can take both of you in as apprentices and teach you smithing.”

Wraine looked back at me when I glanced at him. If we never joined the army, would this be our lives? Blacksmithing isn’t a bad trade and I could truly imagine a life here where we settle down, get married, have kids, and die of old age peacefully in this beautiful city. But in the end, that’s all it is, my imagination. “We really appreciate the offer, Kapri. But Wraine has an uncle in Midriver and that’s his last living relative. We thought we should at least let him know of his brother’s death.”

“Midriver of all godsforsaken places. I want to tell you not to go there but having a look at your eyes, I can tell you’re determined on heading there anyways. All I can tell you is to be careful. Don’t look at anyone, don’t say anything to anyone, try to get to an inn as soon as you get there. Normally, in every other town or city in this kingdom, the inns house the worst people in that place and when you add ale into that, you’re just asking for trouble. But it’s the opposite in Midriver and if you’re smart enough, those drunks can become your knights in shining armor if you use 'em right. One last thing, don’t trust the guards. In a city where crime has become that prominent and being a bandit is considered a common trade, the guards might be the most dangerous people in the city. Oh yeah, you might also want to stash a few coins in your boot just in case something happens.”

“Wow, alright, thanks. Do you know how we can get there?”

“You won’t have enough for a map so the best you can do is stop by in villages and ask for directions. But to get you started, use the Basteb King’s Road as your guide. Oswald the Benevolent, may the gods rest his kind soul, built the tunnel perfectly exact, from north to south. The opening in our town points perfectly north and the opening on the other side of the tunnel points perfectly south. If you use the tunnel and head towards your left when you pop out the other side, you’ll be heading straight east which is where Midriver is. You’ll need to follow the Basteb Mountains until the peninsula ends and then you’ll need to follow the Loran Mountains for a few weeks until you find Midriver, right in the center of the Loran Mountain Range and right on the border between the Loran Mercantile Alliance and the Nasaar Kingdom. You can’t miss it actually. If you get lost trying to find Midriver then just give up. Find a village to settle down in and find wives for yourselves. You won’t make it in Midriver without brains.”

“Thanks Kapri, I think. You know, Stanley mentioned Oswald as well, who is he?”

“Gods they really didn’t teach you anything in Misanth, did they? Oswald the Benevolent was the previous Nasaaran king who was unjustly assassinated 20 years ago by our fucking idiotic royal court and their equally moronic noble counterparts. I was alive during King Oswald’s rule and the common people couldn’t be happier to live under such a brilliant and magnanimous king. Every single one of his policies had astonishing and long lasting impacts that are still seen to this day. Hells, he was the one who was genius enough to develop this entire peninsula. He built the Basteb King’s Road, he built Mountain’s Toil, he exempted taxes for families moving onto the peninsula for three years and look where we are now. Nasaar’s one of the world’s largest lumber exporters and if those fucking imbeciles we call our king and his nobles had even an ounce of King Oswald’s intelligence, we’d be triple the size of Ribieria and they’d be a vassal state right now if King Oswald was still alive.” Kapri was red in the face as he said all this. I guess Kapri really respected our former king.

“King Oswald sounds like such a good king, why was he assassinated by his own court then?”

“Because they’re all fucking halfwits. I knew even from when he was still alive King Oswald was a great man and it still took them a decade after his death and Master Monoclais the Wise’s groundbreaking research for them to admit they were wrong. Hells, even that imbecile we call a king had to apologize for besmirching his father’s legacy. If Aethelbrande had even a pinky finger’s worth of King Oswald’s talent and foresight none of this would have happened. The Basteb colonies would still be up and running perfectly fine and you kids wouldn’t have needed to witness such horrors this young. If you want to blame anyone for Misanth burning down, blame that fool Aethelbrande. I know he had a part in King Oswald’s death no matter how much he denies it, the coward.” At this point, Jenne walked over to Kapri and hushed him, whispering something into his ear. He only softly grunted in reply. I don’t think we’ve even heard Jenne speak the whole day. Whenever we saw her, she was always just smiling at us or leaning on Kapri’s shoulder and whispering into his ear.

“So both you and Stanley feel the same way about King Oswald?”

“That’s right. Stanley and I are members of FOB, or Followers of Oswald the Benevolent. It’s a group of like minded individuals who gather together occasionally to further explore King Oswald’s legacy. We’re also responsible for denouncing Aethelbrande’s idiocy whenever it comes up, which is pretty often. Although Master Monoclais the Wise isn’t officially a member, he frequently comes to our conventions and speaks at them. I know neither of you know how to read right now but if you ever learn in the future, find a copy of The Foolish Sage and you’ll learn about everything I’m saying. It was due to that book and the research inside it that the majority of the kingdom learned about how essential King Oswald was to the Nasaar Kingdom. It also helped FOB grow to where it is today. Gods look at the time. It’s late, you kids should go find an inn for the night. Look at the wooden signs hung on every building and look for a mug of ale, that’ll be your inn. The ones on main street are a bit more expensive but they’re worth the price.”

“Alright, thanks Kapri, thanks Jenne. Have a good night, and if we don’t see each other again before we leave. Thanks again for everything.” As Wraine and I walk down the street heading back to the main one, we wave goodbye to Kapri and Jenne as they see us off from their shop door. Once they’re out of sight, the silent town dawns on me and I’m elated to see such an interesting contrasting image from the busy town in the day.

“Kapri’s pretty zealous about King Oswald huh?” I say to Wraine trying to keep quiet to not disturb other people.

“It doesn’t even feel like zealous would be enough to describe how crazy he is about Oswald.”

“Neither Kapri nor Jenne know anything about the gray creatures or the woman in the chariot we saw a few weeks ago. Do you think it could have been a dream?”

“There’s no way. I know what I saw, you know what you saw, we both saw something that day. We’ll find someone else who saw it too one day.” Wraine only grunts in response.

“Alright, what now. Our coin pouch is pretty much empty now and we probably won’t be able to afford any food.”

“I’m pretty tired. Trying to keep up with Kapri when he was explaining every trade that was happening drained me pretty hard. I vote we stay at an inn tonight and we eat whatever’s left in my food bag.”

“Alright, I’ll vote the same. I didn’t know how much Gregory’s coin pouch would end up helping us but if we didn’t have his coins we wouldn’t have been able to buy everything right?”

“I think so. I mean, we could have just stuck with our old clothes and we wouldn’t have needed to spend so much but I’m not complaining. These clothes Jenne made for us are great and having boots that actually fit feel amazing too.”

“Yeah you’re right. I’ve only ever worn clothes that were too big for me until they became too small for me. Having clothes that fit just right is definitely different in a good way. Wait, Kapri mentioned pockets too, right?” I stopped walking for a second and put my sword and shield on the ground before putting both hands into my pockets Jenne had sewn into the sides of my pants. “That’s useful. We need to find a way to carry our swords though. I don’t think people normally just carry them everywhere.”

“The guards we saw had leather things on their waists that could hold their swords. If they’re made from leather though, they’re gonna be expensive and we don’t have any more coins.”

“We literally just got our first coins today and we’re already feeling the need to get more. Maybe we can find temporary jobs tomorrow just so we can earn enough to buy some essentials like bedrolls.”

As we walk down the town’s main street, which is illuminated mostly by burning torches and a few metal lamps, we look at each wooden sign hanging above us and find one that Wraine recognizes as a mug of ale. Opening the door and heading inside, we’re assailed with the stench of rotting food.