Chapter 38

As the Drake sailed, Wil found himself increasingly…bored. Despite regaining some weight and muscle on his skinny frame, and the healthy glow his skin was getting from the warm suns hanging over the Azure Sea as he sat on the deck, he was still trapped on a boat with little to do.

He did discover one small mercy, his sea sickness had finally passed, either from the near constant healing he was receiving from Martin, or his body have finally become accustomed to the movement of the sea.

No longer wishing for the sweet release of death to deliver him from his seasickness, he had time for academic pursuits. It was something he hadn’t had the luxury of doing in nearly a year, ever since he had been driven out of the academy by his father.

Besides, it was either studying or drinking with Garman and Bell, or listening to Quentin discuss her business, or sparring with Mara. Instead, he raided Quentin’s library for books on a variety of topics. She had done a fair job saving most of her collection from its sudden contact with the sea, with only a scattered page being blotchy or hard to read as he flipped through them.

That was how Wil found himself on the top deck, enjoying the strong sunlight on his tanned skin, flipping through a Mercantile Association report on Lund.

He hadn’t learned much about it before leaving the mainland, geography had never been a subject that interested him much, and Lund’s history was relatively unknown in the Imperial Academy. Reading the report, he soon found out why there wasn’t much to learn about it.

Lund was incredibly isolated from Illyria for most of the Empire’s history. Separated by the stormy Azure Sea, combined with Illyria’s lack of a sea faring heritage, meant that it had only been the last hundred years or so that there had been steady contact between the two nations.

Illyrian merchants had focused on trade with Khmer and the other interior land nations, instead of exploring the Azure Sea and risking the loss of valuable ships to the near constant storms.

Their rationale was simple, Khmer and its god king provided refined goods and valuable commodities to the fledgling Illyrian Empire in exchange for the raw resources from Illyria’s vast, untapped wilderness. There had been no need to branch out to new trading partners, leaving the merchants to trade east, over land, rather than the sea to their west.

It had only been after the God King’s decline, and the loss of its magical artifacts, that Illyria started to search for different trade routes, particularly across the Azure Sea. Suddenly, when compared to the risk of trading with a kingdom like Khmer that was rife with civil wars, exploring the Azure Sea became a less risky venture.

The Illyrian Mercantile Association had been at the forefront of the exploration, launching dozens of ships to map the sea, at exorbitant cost. Their efforts paid off when they circumnavigated the storm at the heart of the Azure Sea, discovering a nation that made the Khmer Kingdom at its prime, pale in comparison.

Lund is massive when compared to Illyria, and leagues ahead of them in power, technology, and resources. To Illyria, their new neighbor across the sea had been a god’s sent opportunity in their time of need.

After Khmer’s decline, Illyria became the de facto power in the region, with millions of citizens, a mage guild that had built a tradition of thousands of years of magical knowledge, much copied from Khmer itself, and resources from all corners of an empire that stretched so far and wide, it would take a person weeks to travel across it.

But Lund was on an entirely different level. A continent compared to a country, an elephant next to an ant. If a man stood in the center of Lund and traveled for a month in any direction, they would still be deep within its borders. There was simply no comparison to be made in size, a dozen Illyrian empires could fit inside Lund, with room to spare.

Technology, knowledge, or resources? From what Wil could see on the report, Lund put Illyria to shame. Rare materials that would fetch a fortune of coin in Illyria were common in Lund, if the reports were to be believed.

“It’s no wonder Annabelle was practically frothing at the mouth to trade here.” Wil muttered, turning the pages to look at the estimates of wealth. The markets at Lund contained fortune that was nearly incomparable to what he had seen in Illyria.

There was a problem with trading in Lund, however. With great opportunity came caveats and limits.

Lund was not only isolated, but isolationist. They distrusted outsiders and foreign merchants. It made sense when he read more regarding what the interior of Lund was like. When comparing goods between the two nations, Illyria had very little to offer Lund, aside from some exotic luxury items that filled a small niche in their markets.

Lund had wealth, resources, and magical knowledge that Illyrian merchants wanted, but they had very little to offer in return. Gold was a currency that spent everywhere, but that wasn’t exactly the issue.

It was the scale. The Illyrian markets were small compared to their own. Lund wasn’t desperate enough to allow foreigners to trapse through their nation for the small benefit it gave them. They could get gold within their borders, from their own citizens. The gold Illyria offered didn’t tip the balance when considered against Lund’s natural isolationist tendencies.

It had confused Wil at first, not understanding why the people of Lund were so…standoffish. It wasn’t until he picked up another book that he stumbled upon the answer.

Lund was a chaotic and dangerous place to live. Unlike Illyria’s unified government, factions, clans and guilds dominated the continent and they were under near constant assault by every manner of monster, beast or demon imaginable. Wil had been stunned when he read some of the accounts that were attached as an appendix to the book.

In Illyria, the wilds were relatively peaceful, unless the suns were down. Lund didn’t have this luxury.

There was a theory that the increased ambient levels of mana in their continent, which created greater natural resources and stronger Ranked amongst the human population, also allowed the creatures there to ignore the suns influence, roaming the lands even during the longest days.

The Nights, however, were a gods damned nightmare, if what Wil was reading was accurate.

Letting out a long breath after reading an eyewitness account of a massacred town the Merchant had witnessed while traveling the coast, he thought the isolationism made more sense. They had enough problems without outsiders adding to them.

The population seemed to maintain a precarious balance of peace in Lund, and he doubted they were eager to let outside interference tip any of the scales.

Putting down the book, Wil returned to the library, looking for anything on the adventure’s guild that Annabelle wanted him to join. Not finding anything, and not seeing Quintin in her cabin, Wil went to Edvard, knowing the man had made his career sailing back and forth across the ocean. Maybe he would have some insights on what he could expect.

Finding the man in the mess, Wil felt a bit guilty for cornering him when he was eating. Waving the concerns aside regarding the interruption, Edvard pointed at the seat across from him as Wil explained what he was looking for.

“I need some help. I’m looking for everything I can about Lund and the guilds there. The records are a bit…lacking.” Wil explained, looking at the tanned man in front of him as the captain grinned at the statement.

“Lacking is an understatement, Mr. Brookmoor. The Mercantile Association doesn’t get a lot of support in Lund.”

“So I’ve heard. It makes sense, I guess. Not a lot of history between Illyria and Lund, and with the loss of Aachen, I’m sure that didn’t help”

“No, it didn’t. Trade dropped like a stone when the city died. It’s only the last year or so that things have opened up again. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much assistance I can be, Mr. Brookmoor. Things are done…differently in Lund, when it comes to trade.” Edvard explained, pushing his plate away as he leaned back to assess the young man in front of him.

“How so? I read they don’t have much use of Illyrian goods, that its pretty one sided for trade.” Wil said.

“Quite. They take gold, and a few other raw materials, but only for things they consider ‘common’ or ‘basic’ goods. The more advanced, more magical items, they require much more of a…commitment, for the purchaser.”

“Commitment? As in a young mage, joining an adventuring guild, in order to get a license to buy for his friend?” Wil said, grinning at the statement. Edvard flashed a brief smile, before his face settled back into his normal, slightly frowning, appearance.

“Lund’s major problem isn’t with a lack of goods, or raw materials, or even magical knowledge and the creation of Artifacts. It’s people, high ranking warriors and mages. Compared to home, Lund is a gods damned meat grinder, chewing up people and spitting out high rankers like it’s a business.”

“And they need everyone they can get their hands on. They’d gladly throw away a mountain of gold in exchange for a high ranker that can protect their cities from the monsters and beasts that plague them.” Edvard explained, looking Wil in the eye.

“Sort of like Aachen, then. Throw the low ranks into the crucible and pray that a high ranker emerges?” Wil mused, thinking about his time in the city. He had watched hundreds die, thrown into that hellhole with little hope of coming out, and all it took was the promise of riches. They came and died in droves for gold.

“Where do you think the empire got the idea from?” Edvard said, a look of disgust on his face.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re going to be facing there, Mr. Brookmoor. But I do know that they will be very interested in meeting you, and they will do whatever they can to keep you there. With your experience, and your rapid progress through the ranks, they’ll offer the Young Miss whatever she wants to have you stay.”

“You make it sound like it’s a terrible place, Edvard! It can’t be that bad. I’ve been to dangerous places before, the north wasn’t pleasant, and Aachen was hell on earth. As long as they come through with a solid deal, and I get some say on what I’ll be doing, I’ll be happy to check it out. But I’m not giving up even an inch of my freedom, not for anyone or anything, not even for Annabelle.” Wil said, standing up from the table.

“I’ve spent too much time in places I had no say in going to, that I couldn’t leave. That’s behind me now. If Lund is everything you say it is, I think it’ll be good to check out, but I’m not letting anyone put a collar around my neck, even a gold one.” Wil said, nodding to the man before turning to leave the captain to his meal.

“It isn’t the golden collar you need to worry about, Mr. Brookmoor. It’s the one that you don’t know that’s around your neck at all that you need to be concerned with.” Edvard said, staring Wil in the eyes, before looking back down at his drink.

Back in his room, Wil stared out his cabin window, a lot of things running through his mind.