Sylvester got himself a white horse and started making his way westward on the Green Road. There was a lot more activity on the road now, much more than he had ever seen before. The towns and villages were getting filled up again as people started to return to their homes. Subsidized by the Kingdom's royal treasury and the Church, as well as Sylvester's personal wealth, repairs were being made.
The roads were being widened, and a lane system was implemented—staying on the right side of the road was slowly being popularized. Even sidewalks were being made as not everyone had money to get horses or travel in carriages. With trees planted at the side of the roads, the shade made it somewhat easier for commoners.
"This warms my heart," Sylvester muttered as he liked seeing such economic activity happening. It was proof that things were going in the right direction.
Sniff!
"I smell food!" Miraj suddenly muttered.
Sylvester did so too, and noticed a mobile food stall in a horse carriage. It had stopped at the side of the road, away from the moving traffic. People on foot or even other carriages stopped to buy something from the stall. Even a few Gracia soldiers stood nearby, watching over everything.
"I smell… Chicken and bread?" Sylvester muttered and rode his horse close to it. "Wait… That looks like…"
The owner of the shop seemed to be a couple. They were shredding chicken on a large pan, mixing some sauces, rolling them on a thin, round bread, and wrapping it in a clean large leaf before handing it to customers.
"Shawarma? Burrito? I don't think I introduced this in Bard's. That means they made it?" Sylvester mumbled and went ahead to taste some because he had been craving earthly food. "Want some, Chonky?"
"Yes! The one with the fish!"
It was fast, as the pan was huge. Sylvester bought two and went to a secluded spot to eat it. It was piping hot, and once he took the bite, the flavors bombarded his tongue. It was a shock to him, "Did they make these sauces?"
Instantly, the capitalist heart in Sylvester's body saw an opportunity. He didn't have time to waste, so he gave the couple a card for the Bard's and told them to see the manager there if they wanted an investment to open a shop in a big city.
With a few more wraps of tasty delight, they made their way south. As they started to come close to the Tower of Godless, they began to notice some suspicious activities. A few box-like carriages with no air outlet appeared on the road. A simple use of Elder Magic to check the solarium told him that slaves were in them. He sneakily marked such carriages with a white cross on the back to alert soldiers to check.
But soon, another hurdle lay in his path. To reach the Tower of Godless, he had to cross the Snake River. Crossing the river wasn't an issue, but doing it properly was. He needed to act like a slaver.
'The fact that Clergymen haven't been able to look inside it much shows they're careful.' He muttered and rode the horse along the shore of the Snake River. He could see the Tower of Godless in the distance, hidden amidst the clouds.
Soon enough, he arrived at the Black Pit, the place he had visited a long time ago when he was a child. It was the source of the plague in the Pitfall town. Like in the past, it still appeared frightening and foul-smelling, with the sound of water echoing from within.
"Whaaa!" Miraj made a scowling face. "I feel like vomiting… The real one this time."
Sylvester felt it too. The stench was too nasty. However, it was precisely the repulsiveness that turned visitors away, and he was able to monitor the Tower of Godless. Since there was a river on one side and the Wall of Void behind it, the only way to enter the place was by boat.
So, Sylvester calmly kept an eye on the river. There were many merchant boats and small ships traveling on it. But he noticed only a few of them turning into a canal near the shore of the Tower of Godless. From there, Sylvester tried to see what separated those boats and the rest. Knowing how slavery now operated in secrecy, he was sure a few boatmen were covertly working for the slavers.
'Hmm… They look normal…' Sylvester mumbled to himself, noting down any details. 'No special markings. The sails are ordinary… No, the ones stopping have a thicker sail… better quality sails due to more money from slavery?'
However, his theory was soon debunked as he noticed other ships with similar sails. Annoyed, he considered simply jumping across.
"Maxy! Look there! That mark on the side of the boat!" Miraj suddenly chirped, keeping his nose pinched with one paw.
Sylvester looked over and finally noticed it. There were two marks of sharp hooks on the sides of the boats that always stopped at the Tower of Godless. It was evident on both sides of the boats—likely due to the docking method at the port he couldn't see.
"Good catch, Chonky. Let's go to the Port near Kinman City then," Sylvester picked Miraj up and spurred his horse forward.
A few hours later, he reached the port and left the horse at the stables. After that, he silently began walking around and observing the boats with the two marks. There were quite a few, and they seemed to always be on the move.
'What's that? The token?' He noticed that some people who were hiring those boats showed their tokens from the Tower of Godless to the boatmen.
Confidently, he took out one as well and started making his way to a boat. Without speaking, he secretly showed his token to the boat owner and flipped a bronze coin as payment. It was an advance, of course.
"Wait!"
Just as Sylvester stepped onto the boat, another man came rushing to them and secretly showed his token to the boat owner. He was short and heavily built but not fat, and his head was bald. However, he had a bushy mustache on his pale face. He didn't wait and jumped in, seemingly in a hurry.
Once they were on the river, the man extended his hand toward Sylvester, "Never seen you before. I'm Paul Youngman. What are you looking to buy today?"
"Hahaha!" Sylvester knew this was bad, but he stayed in character and laughed disgustingly, coughing saliva on the man. He displayed his nasty, rotten, blackened teeth. "Some nice young whores—what about you?"
The look of disgust and regret was clear on Paul's face. But he still talked since their business required connections. "The usual. Demand for sacrifices from some dark wizards is high. I sometimes feel like they're trying to summon a demon or something like it—but gold is gold."
"Indeed, my friend." Sylvester laughingly put his arm around Paul's shoulder, letting him smell his smelly armpits. Heck, his mouth was also full of stench. It was a decisive act to keep people away from him. "Young whore, old whore—some even like boys. But they pay a good price, hahaha!"
"Heh…" Paul awkwardly laughed, trying to get away from Sylvester, but was unable to, as Sylvester didn't let him go. "Say, my friend, if you ever have a few elven whores to sell, find me at any time—The name's John Lincoln. I'll give you the best price in the entire bloody Sol."
Paul smiled wryly and nodded, "Non-human goods have become more expensive these days. The pirate fleets were destroyed, and the Church keeps a close eye."
Sylvester groaned, making an ugly expression, "Ah! That fucking blonde Pope, he's the bane of us good folks. How old is he? Twenty?"
"Twenty-six."
Sylvester scoffed, "Ah, the prime age for a whore—but not enough for a Pope. That blonde bastard has too much fire in him. He hates money, hahah—let's see how long he lasts fighting us."
"..."
Paul Youngman was left in shock at Sylvester's crazy tongue. He had always held back from talking badly about the faith or the Pope himself. After all, becoming the Pope at a young age was proof of might, not weakness.
But Sylvester just kept annoying him so he wouldn't ask any questions he couldn't answer, "Paul, where are you from originally? Did you join some guild?"
"No, I'm independent. I work from the Trade Corridor."
"Brilliant!" Sylvester exclaimed. "I was invited by the Septem Council—Hahaha, those fools went to see the blonde Pope and got killed by him. When did those fat pigs get so dumb? They were supposed to be the best of us—but I must thank them for opening up the market for us to fill in."
"The Septem Council are all dead?!" Paul exclaimed in shock. "Are you sure?"
"I am—Heard about it just before heading out. Hahaha… Isn't that the most wonderful thing? You should seize the opportunity and buy more goods—I'll surely do that. Perhaps, if I get a nice deal, I might buy a hundred beautiful ones—I'd prefer elves, but sadly, they are hard to get these days. Damn that blonde Pope," Sylvester didn't hold back his words.
"..."
Paul remained speechless the entire time, silent and watching as they moved on the boat.
'I hope he doesn't follow me now.'
Sylvester left Paul and went to annoy the boat owner instead. Eventually, the boat approached the other side of the river and finally entered a canal leading directly into neatly concealed docks built under a massive structure made of mud walls. It had a ceiling, and sunlight came in from various holes. It was filled to the brim with activity; many small and large boats and ships were there, loading or unloading. Slaves were also lined up in a few places, belonging to various species and ages—chained and looking hopeless. The slaves outnumbered the slave buyers by far, but there was still order. A few armored soldiers were there to ensure it was maintained.
The stench was nasty, akin to a mix of blood and sweat. Even the water inside the canal under that roofed dock seemed as black as the hopelessness of the poor slaves.
Bam!
Bam!
The flow of water in the canal was rapid. So, as the boat approached an empty part of the dock, two men in ragged clothes used long metal hooks. The hooks dug into the sides of the boat, and with that, the boat was pulled to a halt.
Silvester flipped two more bronze coins at the boat owner and stepped out. Paul followed behind. After that, the hooks were released, and the boat left immediately. It cleared the mystery of why some boats had the marks—an information he didn't hesitate to mentally send to Bloodrain.
"Uwaaa… Uwaaaa…!"
All of a sudden, Sylvester found his head turning toward the sound of crying babies. Right there, he noticed a large, wooden crate with tiny finger-sized holes. The sound was coming from within—the crate was filled with babies.
Keeping himself under control, he used Elder Magic and sensed his surroundings with solarium. He immediately noticed everything in the docks—from what was visible to the naked eye to what was hidden inside boxes and ships.
It took a lot of self-control for him to keep his eyes from turning crimson in anger.
'This is… hell.'
A/N: Sorry, got delayed due to some personal reasons. Another chapter will be up in 2-3 hours.
Thank you for reading. Gifts and GT votes are highly appreciated.
