The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1)

by Kong, Aleron

  When the ingredient’s Sion chose were added to the mix along with a few modest healing and mana potions, he ended up agreeing to pay about a fifteen gold pieces. That amount brought a smile even to Killik’s face. That smile reverted back to his customary scowl when Richter told him about the 10% discount Leandra had agreed to before, to which she just smiled sheepishly. That change in expression almost made the cost of everything worthwhile to Richter. Leandra and Killik packaged his purchases and he went back to check on Terrod.

  Richter could see that things were not going great. A look of frustration was on Terrod’s face. “Gah! They have written this in some code. I can only make out bits a pieces. I will need help to figure out book. I can’t stand these delays!” He visibly composed himself, and then looked at Richter. “I will need time and the help of wiser minds than my own to read this, but I will find the other captives! I will find Isabel! I don’t have the right to ask this, but when I find where she is, will you help me? Either way, I will fulfill my bargain to speak on your behalf to any that would join you. But,” and his voice broke a bit, “I have to save her.”

  You have been offered a Quest: Fight for those who Cannot II. Isabel remains missing, and Terrod is besought with grief. He is placing all of his hope on that the ledger will provide her location. He is asking for your help once he finds out where she is. Reward: Increased relationship with Terrod. Yes or No?

  “I will help you,” Richter said. This wasn’t just about getting people for his village anymore. This was his new life, and he wouldn’t just stand by when horrible things were being done. He would help if he could.

  Congratulations! Your relationship with your Terrod has improved from neutral to friendly.

  That was a little strange, getting his reward before he finished the quest, but okay, Richter thought.

  Terrod heaved a sigh of relief. “I need to get some sleep. I wasn’t able to rest waiting for them to open that chest. I will head back to the inn and setup a meeting with you and some prominent nonhumans that might be interested in coming to your village. I won’t be able to get them together until nightfall, though.

  “You should know that it isn’t only nonhumans that have trouble fitting into the Kingdom recently. Many men and women are struggling to provide food and the basic necessities for themselves. There is a building in the Grand Market where journeyman often went in days past. They could be found there by those who needed their services. These days many humans congregate in the Grand Market every day from all different types of professions and walks of life just looking for a few coins. If you aren’t too exhausted you could stop by the market first before coming back to the inn. I have to warn you though, the difficulties of their lives have made some extremely bitter and hateful towards nonhumans. Be careful who you invite to join you. You’ll find the Grand Market on the western side of the city halfway up hill.”

  Nodding at the information, Richter said, “Thank you Terrod. I will check out this Grand Market. I need a moment though,” and walked back upfront. He reached into his bag, and then placed his hand on the counter in front of Leandra. She looked at him with a half-smile and curious expression. Her infectious grin brought one to his face as well. Trying not to blush he said, “I wanted to say thank you for all of your help. What you taught me saved our lives last night. I hope that I see you again very soon, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor until then and hold onto something for me.” He nodded his head toward the hand he placed on the counter.

  She leaned over, and he slowly peeled his hand away. He looked underneath it before moving quickly to reveal there had been nothing there. But her focus and distraction let him grab her other hand and place a beautiful opal in her palm. She gasped and gave a small shriek when she saw the iridescent colors play over its white surface. Throwing her hands around his neck she gave him a big hug, and he realized that he couldn’t have found a better use for the jewel.

  Congratulations! Your relationship with Leandra has improved from friendly to interested.

  Charisma has increased by 1.

  The moment would have been perfect if not for Killik’s glower. The man’s gaze threatened all manner of tortures if he didn’t let go quickly. Richter gave a small cough and stepped back, retreating out of the door with Terrod and Sion. While he walked though, he was still thinking of the way Leandra somehow smelled like caramel.

  CHAPTER 23

  They followed Terrod’s directions to the western side of the city. They heard the Grand Market well before they saw it. Even this early in the day, a bustle of activity could be heard sounding like the drone of an enormous beehive, and evolving into the shouted voices of hundreds and then thousands of people. They turned a final corner and were confronted with a sea of tents and stands. The street they were walking on sloped down as it entered the Market and so they had a clear view of the countless vendors extending out in front of them. There was no uniformity to be seen! Pointed or flat topped, beige or a riotous collage of colors, the tents that comprised the bazaar did not follow any recognizable pattern. Some were as large as a house and others so small it didn’t seem that they could fit a person inside.

  Terrod had told them that the building they were looking for was at the center of the Market. The two friends began walking and melded with the chaos of people squeezing down narrow corridors between the tents. It was an assault on the senses, almost overwhelming. It made Richter glad that no one else could access his valuables in his Bag of Holding, because this setting must be a pickpocket’s dream.

  Many sights grabbed Richter’s attention from food, to weapons, to exotic animals in cages. Even the people were varied in their speech, skin color and style of dress. Richter had wondered why his darker skin color had not raised any eyebrows in the people he had met, but he saw plenty in the Market that could represent every race on Earth and even people who wouldn’t fit any category he was familiar with. There were even a fairly large amount of nonhumans. Every tent also had at least one human, but in the Market the nonhumans at least stood tall and made eye contact.

  The one place Richter did linger was a book seller, but the “magic books” they offered were less than genuine. The prompt that appeared when Richter examined them showed they were only normal books. Merely traps to separate the gullible from their money. He decided to just press on, glancing back from time to time to make sure he hadn’t lost Sion. Somehow he didn’t think the sprite would appreciate a suggestion to hold his hand.

  Two hours passed before they saw the columned building that Terrod had described. It wasn’t just that the Market was large enough to require that amount of time, even though it was massive. Their slow pace had more to do with the press of people and the arrangement of the tents. It was a maze! Several times they had walked into a dead end and had to back track. One time only a grim glare and hands firmly on their weapons had backed down a pair of men that had clearly meant them harm. They did see occasional pairs of soldiers walking, but they were few and far between. It didn’t escape Richter’s notice that most vendors had at least daggers at their belt, and the larger tents had burly men looking over anyone that came close. The only real benefit of walking through the Market was that Richter got ample opportunity to use Analyze, and his increased Wisdom made it easier to replenish his mana. Ultimately he grew impatient and Richter grabbed an urchin who agreed to lead them to the building for a few coppers. Half an hour later their destination was in sight. Their guide told them the building was an old converted temple though no one remembered what deity it had been once dedicate to. The locals simply called it the Hall.

  With an abrupt transition the tents stopped, and a large arena of paved stones opened in front of them. Tents could be seen lining the edges of the rectangular area about the size of two football fields placed end to end. The small girl leading them pointed to one end of the open space and then disappeared back into the morass of tents. Richter wondered if her whole life had been spent inside of that canvas expanse. D
ismissing it from his mind, they walked towards the Hall enjoying the relative freedom of personal space for the first time in what felt like a great while, though it had actually only been a few hours. Fountains and statues in various states of disrepair dotted the space as did small clusters of trees. Quartets of guards lounged at the edges periodically, presumably to be able to react to trouble quickly in any direction.

  The density of people increased as they neared the Hall. There seemed to be some loose organization to the workers standing around. They walked up the steps and the relative quiet they had enjoyed at the center of the Market was replaced by the sound of many voices. Terrod had one contact that he trusted in the Hall, and they would just have to search for her. The inside of the Hall was setup in a series of small platforms that the “agents” stood upon. The potential employers spoke to the agents who then led them to the appropriate workers. Along the walls there were more agents. They apparently warranted small booths and desks.

  Terrod had told them it being an agent was a thriving business. Apparently everyone seeking employment had to register with an agent. The practice had been around so long now that it had been formalized by the Kingdom. Each agent was licensed and there were a finite amount of licenses at any one time. Anyone masquerading as an agent, or any worker trying to get employment without going through proper channels, would earn themselves a beating or imprisonment. The guards present in the building certainly seemed more alert than those outside. The limited number of agents worked in their favor as they quickly found the woman they were looking for, only needing to ask for directions twice. Terrod had referred to her as “Mama.”

  Mama turned out to be a five foot nothing ball of fury. She gave directions like the crack of a whip, moving business along with the efficiency of a drummer on a Roman war galley. There was a clear protocol as the area in front of her booth lacked the milling chaos that characterized the rest of the building. Her customers had formed an orderly line with a person moving up, handing over a piece of paper, and saying what they needed. A short conversation about the specifics of the contract ensued. She would then gesture to one of her several aids that stood nearby. Coins would exchange hands, then the aide and customer would walk off, presumably to retrieve whatever help the customer had come to obtain.

  Somewhat at a loss, but not wanting to rock the boat, Richter and Sion joined the line. In what seemed like no time they were at the front and her hand was out, while looking down and writing the details of the last transaction in an open book in front of her. When nothing landed in her hand, she looked up with complete and utter disdain, searching for and finding the moron who had brought disorder to her carefully cultivated universe. Richter could swear he heard the people behind him backing up to show they were not with him, but he didn’t dare look away from the woman before him.

  “When my hand is out, I expect your reference to be placed in it. I do not work with people I do not know. I have found it to be a waste of my time. I do not like wasting my time. I do not like people that waste my time. Now you are just standing there looking indecisive. Indecision causes confusion. Confusion causes accidents. Accidents cause death! So before my mental anguish transforms into your physical anguish, why don’t you get out of my line!” Each word of her speech dripped venom, and rose in volume, until she was shouting at the end. This time Richter was sure everyone had moved away from him. And yes, he meant everyone. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Sion a good three feet away.

  Blushing from the embarrassment of being dressed down like a child he said, “Terrod sent us. He told us you were the person we should trust.”

  Her face twitched as she digested this information. Her mouth opened and she continued in the same tone, but with perhaps a touch less volume, “And why should I trust that? Why should I trust you??”

  Richter mind searched frantically before latching onto Terrod’s last statement said over his shoulder as he walked away. Richter repeated it now. “He said to remember I should never lie to Mama.”

  Her face twitched again, and this time the left corner of her mouth turned up right before she broke into a large smile, “And how is Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding?”

  “He told me to convey his regards and apologies that he has not seen you recently. He is helping me with certain arrangements, but he told me that in addition to his, ahem, unique resources, that you might be able to help me as well.”

  “Well that’s likely true enough,” she said loudly. The smile left her face and her sharp business tone came out again, “but I won’t know until you stop standing there like idiots and tell me what you need.”

  “I need good people to live in, work in and grow my village. I am willing to pay a fair wage, and any that can open and maintain a business can keep the fruits of the labor as long as they pay a tax and also contribute to the overall defense and productivity of the village. I have heard that many talented people are going to waste here. I am willing to give them a home.”

  “Okay that’s the cream, now what’s the curdle? And don’t try to sell me a sky of sunshine and the promise of no rain. Listen to the advice you got, you don’t want to lie to Mama!”

  This woman was tough. Taking a deep breath Richter replied, “It’s in the Forest of Nadria. It has many resources but no infrastructure yet. We would be building from the ground up. I also would need anyone that came, to agree to leave the Kingdom for at least one whole year. Security matters to me, but I promise that anyone who wants to leave after a year, I will see safely back to the town of Leaf’s Crossing.”

  “You ask a lot,” she said, staring at him. “I need to think this over. If you can wait, you can rest over there while I conduct my business with the rest of these good people. We will talk when I’m done.”

  Nodding agreement, Richter walked to the area to she indicated on the side of her booth. He sat down on the floor, and Sion sat next to him. “Oh so now you don’t mind being near me? That was a dick move man,” he said to the sprite. Sion simply gave a shrug and sat in lotus position with his bow across his legs. Richter was pretty sure the little man had fallen asleep, and fought an irrational urge to give him a wet willie. Instead he leaned his back against the wall and waited. And waited. And waited. It was well past noon when the line of employers dwindled off. Richter had wanted to leave several times, but had stayed out of a mixture of respect for Terrod’s opinion, desire to have the best for his village, and honestly having nothing better to do.

  When she finished with her last client, Mama placed a placard with a red “X” on her desk facing out and stood up. She motioned for Richter to follow her outside, and he nudged Sion, who annoyingly had been snoring softly for the past couple hours.

  When they were outside on a terrace that ran around the three quarters of the building not facing the promenade, she started talking. “I didn’t expect you to wait. It takes a lot for someone to sit on a stone floor with no real promise of obtaining what they desire. It normally takes either desperation or dedication. You don’t seem overly desperate to me.” They kept walking around looking at the masses of people on the ground to the sides of the building.

  “Did Terrod tell you why they call me Mama? I’m guessing no, as he didn’t give you a written referral, despite knowing that is how I do things. Tell him he’ll get a slap in the head for that down the line by the way. So, they call me Mama, because I care about the people I represent. Every man or woman that gets a contract through me is paid and treated fairly. If there is ever an issue I make sure my people are taken care of, and then I deal with anyone that would cheat me and mine.” She looked meaningfully at Richter. He nodded back, not speaking but with a serious expression. Satisfied she continued, “Now because of this my workers apply themselves and work harder than others which makes the employers happy. Both the employers and the workers know that I only deal with solid and dependable people. That is why Terrod sent you to me. Now while I am not able to do as much as I would like for many people, I also do not ma
ke a practice of placing the wellbeing of my charges in the hands of someone I don’t know.”

  Richter’s expression must have fallen a bit because she sharply said, “Pay attention! I said normally! You may be a special case. There are a few things in your favor. One,” and she held up her closed fist, extending her forefinger, “You showed patience this morning. Two,” another finger went up, “Terrod sent you. If that old warhorse vouches for you it means a lot. Three, there is something about you that makes me want to trust you. That doesn’t often happen. Now, while those three things might make me want to buy you an ale and see how firm that toosh is, they wouldn’t bring me to entrust the wellbeing of any of my workers with you. While you were waiting though, I had some people ask about you. There is a rumor that a particularly loathsome gang by the docks was attacked, and had a good portion of their members wiped out. During this bloodbath, some nonhuman captives were freed. No one is quite sure who did it, but a close friend of mine confided that his brother’s friend’s girlfriend’s long lost schoolmate, or some such rubbish, had been part of the raid, and that there was a curious late addition of a man and a sprite. Now you wouldn’t know anything about that would you?” As she had related the last points, they had walked to a secluded part of the terrace where there was no one to eavesdrop.

  Richter looked at her. He was somewhat alarmed that she had made connection so easily. Not for any direct concern that she meant him ill, but that it raised the real possibility that the remaining gang members could find him and the others. True, she apparently knew Terrod well and he had said he trusted her implicitly, so it would be easier for her to connect the dots than someone outside of Terrod’s immediate circle, but it was disquieting nonetheless. It made him anxious to conclude his business in the city and get back to the Forest. Despite his discomfort though, Richter still needed help, and Terrod had vouched for this woman. How could Richter ask her to trust him if he was not willing to do the same?