Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 36
Chapter 64: The Mercantile Life
Kai's body felt shockingly light as he ran, so he didn't have as long to examine the battle as he expected. He made out three heavy wagons, overloaded with goods. They had minimal fortifications, and the guards around them were shockingly weak, just rated 20 on average. There were several lizard monsters menacing the legs of the horses, but the majority of the threats seemed to be bat-like monsters swooping overhead.
<
Monster: Bat
Threat: Alpha (I)
>
<
Monster: Lizard
Threat: Alpha (I)
>
Neither type was strong enough to earn a beta rating, though the bats did seem swift enough to cause problems for anyone without enhanced reflexes. The guards might have been able to pull through if they had kept together and used shields, but they were panicking, letting the claws of the bats cut into them from their blind spots.
Just as Kai arrived, he saw three bats sink their claws into an untrained young man atop the first wagon and drag him into the air. Kai immediately leapt into action, leaping off the back of one wagon to intercept them before they got too high.
Three swift blows from his gauntlets and they were dead. Even easier than he had expected. Kai managed to catch the flailing young man in his arms and then used his legs to absorb their landing. As he set the man down, he looked to the rest of the battle, only to find it almost over.
Zae Zin Nim used extremely thin beams of qi so as not to tax her reserves, but she easily pierced the wings of the bats. When he joined her to take out some of the remaining lizards, it only took a matter of minutes to end the battle. The beleaguered guards cheered their arrival, but when one of them got a good look at Zae Zin Nim, he pulled back.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded. She immediately shrank back and Kai automatically started to step in front of her before she strained herself.
"The question is impolite, but we need to ask about plague." The surprisingly high voice came from the young man, who approached them calmly. "If you're ill, we must ask you to keep some distance. But if not, thank you for saving our lives."
"I am not diseased." Zae Zin Nim stalked away from the group and kept her back turned. That left Kai to handle the negotiations.
Now that he looked over the group, it seemed to be entirely weak guards except for the young man and a pair of workers on the wagons. Since the young man was the only one dressed in fine clothing, he might have been more important than he appeared. He had light brown hair swept straight back from his head, bright blue eyes, and an easy smile.
"Really, I can't thank you enough," the young man said. "My name is Razzagah, but please feel free to call me Razz. It seems like you and your friend just saved my caravan."
"Shouldn't you have expected monsters?" Kai asked. The question was a bit unkind, but their lives really had been at risk. Besides, the only way a merchant younger than him could be carrying such cargo was if he belonged to a powerful clan.
"I did, but as you can see I underestimated the threat." Razzagah looked sadly over the monster bodies, which his men were eagerly looting for their tiny monster cores. "This area was supposed to be safe. I thought I could beat the competition by racing across it, but apparently I had horrible luck. Or good luck, since you came to save me."
"Maybe, maybe not. What are you carrying?"
"A broad number of goods that will turn a profit in Rayakan, of course." Razzagah gestured for him to approach the wagons and began removing the tarps to show him. "The reason I was rushing was a shipment of fine silk from Krysal, but I can't imagine that's relevant. I'm carrying a few crates of healing potions. Umm... there are these kegs of condensed mana? I didn't think monsters cared about them."
All at once it made sense. Kai examined the kegs and shook his head. "That's your problem. Monsters don't operate like we do, so you're right that they ignore most mana. But condensed kegs like this will draw them, and flying ones have a big range."
"Such a small mistake, to be lethal... but fate smiled on me and brought you. I can't tell about your friend, but you look far stronger than my guards, so I'd be happy to pay you a premium rate if you escort us to Rayakan."
The offer wasn't a surprise, but Razzagah's casual use of spiritual sight surprised Kai. It was rare for merchants to develop it, and since the other man looked several years younger than him, he must have been pushing his development early. Even if he was a little ignorant, given the value of his cargo... perhaps he wasn't just a foolish merchant's son after all.
While the guards patched up their wounds and inventoried damaged supplies, Kai negotiated a rate for them. He had planned to be a hard negotiator, but when he asked for a hundred Eagles each, Razz accepted immediately. Was this really what he was worth as a guard?
The idea that he could command such a high price for a few weeks of work encouraged him, at least until they got underway and he had time to think about it more. Yes, a hundred Goralian Eagles was a substantial sum. But even if he got constant guarding jobs, they would only add up to a couple thousand Eagles every year. He could burn through that in a pair of enhancement items, and he knew that well-built houses cost tens of thousands of Eagles at minimum. No, a guard's life would be nothing more than scraping by for a hunter.
Not that he was a hunter anymore.
Zae Zin Nim sat at the very edge of the front wagon, as if trying to be near him and as far away from everyone else as possible. Kai climbed back to the previous wagons and, after making small talk with the guards, purchased a mantle with a hood from one of them for a fraction of an Eagle.
"Here," he said as he handed it to Zae Zin Nim without looking at her. "You have better things to do than listen to them."
He wasn't sure how to interpret her reaction, but she took the mantle from him carefully and soon had the hood pulled up over her face. Beyond that, she didn't seem inclined to talk. Kai instead moved up to sit beside Razz, who was doing his best to encourage the spooked horses to go faster.
"Is this a big gamble for you?" Kai asked. Razz immediately smiled uncomfortably.
"Yeah, you could say it's my first real risk. A few clans have absolute dominance on luxury goods in Rayakan. Anything to do with hunters is dominated by Orgoron. I have the mana and potions just to prove someone else can trade in them. But my big bet is challenging the Corinin clan on silk."
"Silk is that valuable?"
"A big city like Rayakan has an active court scene." Razz gestured vaguely south and rolled his eyes. "Every year, there are brand new fashions, and Krysali silk is always a sought-after luxury item. Problem is, the Corinins always have all the best silks first. This year, I risked a lot to meet a contact early, and now I'm racing back to beat all other merchants. My parents said it couldn't be done, but if I can sell the newest silks first, they'll be more willing to listen to me. Maybe we can even deal with our permit problem."
Such trade squabbles had always struck Kai as distasteful, but he found himself liking Razz more than he'd expected. The young man was just trying to get an advantage in life. Judging from his slender physique, he might not have been suited for monster hunting at all, so he'd taken what he could.
Before Kai could say anything else, Zae Zin Nim pulled on his sleeve to draw him nearer. "You can't expect me to remember all these Goralian sounds," she whispered. "Are these clan names going to matter?"
"It's not complicated," he told her. "The Orgoron clan is probably strongest in terms of hunters. It seems like the Corinins have a trade lock on this city, but they're generally the best of the lot. The only other clan with representatives across the nation is Lantrian - they're the ones that banished me."
"You were... Granfian?"
"Yes, but that's a small clan. It's somewhat important in Monskon City, but nowhere else."
"Hey, I hear you whispering back there!" Razz grinned over his shoulder. "I don't mind, really, but driving the cart gets really boring."
"Just explaining the local clan politics." Kai swung back up to the front of the wagon and took a seat beside Razz. "She's not from Goralia, so the names tend to run together."
"You look like you're from around here, though."
"Yeah. I'm... not from a big clan, so just Kai is fine."
"No problem at all. Like I said, I prefer Razz." The young merchant grinned at him again. "But if it means anything to you, my full name is Razzagah Lantrian."
Chapter 65: Surprises Down the River
Kai made sure to keep his expression neutral and show no weaknesses, but his entire view of Razzagah shifted after the revelation of his clan. Not every Lantrian was corrupt. He knew that. That didn't mean he was going to accept the word of Razzagah Lantrian when he had absolutely no proof of what he said about the clan politics in the city.
As they continued along their way, Kai made sure to talk to the guards who had been hired earlier. Some of them resented him, but the majority were open to talking to him simply because they recognized his strength. Unfortunately, they seemed to have been drawn from neutral parties who didn't particularly care about the major clans. Other than confirming that the Corinin clan dominated trade in Rayakan, he didn't learn anything useful.
There was nothing he could do but wait until they reached the city. He might not have access to the Hunters Guild there, but he could still navigate the clans to some degree. Until then, he would just have to hope that he wasn't helping the wrong side.
"Are you sure you're being rational about this?" Zae Zin Nim asked him one night while they were cultivating. "If he was closely tied to the Lantrians who banished you, he would have recognized you and acted on the banishment."
"It could still be a trap, or he just needs us as guards." Kai squirmed as he spoke, however. It was true that Razzagah had been nothing but friendly toward them.
"Even if they're all corrupt, why are you so confident in the Corinin clan? Just because of one friend?"
"It's not just Inafay. Her family never stopped her from training with me even though they disapproved. They've always been the fairest of the major clans."
They stopped talking as some of the guards moved past them and the conversation never resumed. He accepted it as for the best, since their conversations were going in circles and they distracted from his training.
One benefit of traveling in wagons instead of walking was that they had more time to cultivate, a fact that Zae Zin Nim had emphasized in relation to Deadwaste in general. Being able to focus more fully had taken him to 10%, though he wasn't sure how much he would slow as the percentage increased.
He was glad for the time, given how relatively uneventful the trip was. They appeared to have arrived at the point of greatest crisis, so the occasional monsters they encountered afterwards didn't challenge them. Perhaps a few of the guards might have died during the fights. Few of them had to work, since Kai and Zae Zin Nim could defeat everything in their path with ease. It just left him a bit resentful that he couldn't eat the monsters.
That was an uncomfortable development. Even though they were eating better food than he ever had on a journey, part of him still wanted more. When they left the core-less corpses behind he found his gaze lingering. Just one monster would have hit the spot, but since there was no benefit to it, he restrained himself.
Perhaps even more uncomfortable was the fact that Razzagah continued to be so personable. Despite being a Lantrian, he seemed humble and cheerful. If it was an act, it was a damn good one. After feeling himself getting sucked in, Kai spent several days secretly examining the cargo to make sure that they weren't carrying anything illegal or dangerous. As far as he could tell, they really were just carrying new silks and other valuable goods.
"What are you going to do once we reach Rayakan?" the young merchant asked one day as they ate. "I'm going to be busy, especially if we arrive in time. Anything I can help you with?"
"Well..." Kai didn't want to give away their plans, but since it wasn't illegal... "We need access to a mana pool strong enough to awaken."
"Oh." Razzagah scratched his head. "I'm afraid the Lantrians don't have control of a pool, and the Hunters Guild isn't going to just open theirs. There are a few others in private hands, like the Corinin clan estate, but that's a gray market good and it would be expensive. Are you sure you don't want to just wait until the next Hunter Trials? It's only... what, a third of a year now?"
Had it really been so long? It felt like simultaneously a lifetime and not long enough. But it would still be a third of a year, and Zae Zin Nim couldn't wait that long. "We need one sooner," Kai said. "If you don't have a contact for it, that's okay."
"I didn't say that! But there are so many variables, I think we'd better focus on getting all this cargo to the city. If that works, I'll be in a good mood and I'll try to help you if I can."
"How many days left?"
"That depends on the river!" Razzagah fumbled with a map in his lap and peered down at it. "If my numbers are right, we're almost out of the badlands. The plan is to switch to a barge, then sail straight in. That should get us there fastest and avoid any knotty permit problems."
If anything was underhanded, it had something to do with the permits that Razzagah occasionally mentioned. Since he wasn't sure of the truth, Kai stayed silent on the subject. Whatever was happening, better to begin by doing his job faithfully instead of breaking a contract.
Only two days later, they reached the river again. The land near it became a verdant explosion, more trees than Kai had ever seen before in his life. They actually had to cut them back instead of carefully preserving them. After traveling along the river for a little longer, they finally reached their penultimate destination.
A small set of buildings hung close to the river, dwarfed by the amount of activity around them. It was almost a port like Kai had only heard about existing on oceans, with ships, sailors, and cargo going in every direction. The majority appeared to be low barges that managed to carry a shocking amount of weight. Some only passed through, but more were waiting, apparently including their contact.
As soon as they arrived, Razzagah began nervously urging everyone to hurry. All his papers seemed to be in order when he spoke to the officials and Kai didn't see any bribes exchange hands. Yet he only grew more anxious, constantly glancing downriver. Since it appeared to be so important, Kai helped out by carrying as many boxes as he could. The sailors running the barges complained a bit and rearranged the containers he deposited, but he could carry a lot more than the guards and workers.
Despite all the tension, they left without any problems. The waypoint receded behind them and Kai realized that he had completely missed anything it might have contained. There had been a restaurant with interesting smells, plus the scent of unfamiliar monsters. Strangers traveled in both directions, even a few foreigners... but they were all vanishing into the distance.
A day down the river and it was almost like they were in a different world. Calmly drifting over the water with only farmland on either side, the farmers themselves appearing only rarely. This was definitely the heartland of Goralia, peacefully producing the food and other resources that supported the north and the Frontier.
Kai was beginning to believe that they might reach the city in safety when he detected something odd. Not the sludge of the river, not the occasional monster on the banks... there were significant sources of human power ahead. His stomach churned as he realized they smelled delicious, but that wasn't the worst of it: they were clearly lying in wait.
"Are we expecting anyone ahead?" he asked aloud. Razzagah turned to stare at him.
"I mean, we aren't so far from the city, so we'll see the guards soon enough."
"No, there's someone hiding." Kai moved to the front, trying to identify the exact locations. His new sense of hunger was rather imprecise, even though the awareness was getting stronger and stronger. "Do you have problems with bandits?"
"Usually not this close," Razzagah said. "But... we'd better be cautious, just in case."
They drifted onward and Kai began to think that he'd raised a false alarm. No sign of anyone, though they could have been hiding in a cluster of trees ahead. Just as Kai thought it had been nothing, Zae Zin Nim jerked to her feet. A second later, mana exploded within the trees. One second after that, arrows rained down over the barges.
Some of the guards, on high alert, managed to duck behind shields. Kai grabbed the nearest two frozen in shock and threw them out of the way. Zae Zin Nim whirled in place, deflecting a substantial number of arrows and protecting half the barge, perhaps unintentionally.
"Bandits!" one of the sailors called. They began pushing away from the bank, but it was too late: Kai saw a large group of fighters pouring out of the trees. Some were preparing mana for attacks more dangerous than arrows and several leapt into the air to attack the barge.
Before he could analyze the group, Kai jumped to intercept. He caught one man around the waist and jerked him out of the air to the other bank. As soon as he landed, he hurled the fighter into the crowd, knocking over a woman who was preparing to launch flames at the barge. They all turned toward him in shock, as if they hadn't expected such resistance.
Now that he was thinking again, Kai wondered if he'd made a mistake. There were a dozen bandits nearby, but they were nothing like any bandits he'd seen before. The weakest of them had Power ratings in the 40s, and there were plenty in the 50s. He saw advanced Classes, high rank Physiques, and plenty of dangerous weapons. They had at least 600 total Power arrayed against him and he'd just isolated himself from the others.
No one attacked yet. Kai carefully set his feet, planning his fight. One bandit reached for a crossbow and froze when Kai glared at him. They remained there, trapped in the tension, until Kai realized that it was much worse than he had thought.
This group was much too prepared to be simple bandits. Regardless of whether or not he'd survive the fight, he'd just stumbled into something more complex than he'd realized.
