Chapter 282- Setting the stage (Patreon)

Setting the stage

Priest Quarrie cast a pitiful face from his lying position, up at the young Healer kneeling beside him. Even from his blurred vision, the angelic features of this raven-haired beauty shone in the campfire. He forced a contorted smile in the hopes of improving his haggard disposition.

"Heaven has graced us for traveling Healers to arrive during our time of need. Please, help my fellow sister Healers first before..."

"Yes, yes, drink this down priest, by tonight you should feel a little better."

Miki interrupted as she chugged the contents of a mug down his throat. Spluttering, priest Quarrie coughed while thumping his chest with a weak hand. He cast a wronged look at the departing back of the girl.

"Normally, young healers tend to possess a gentle heart, but this girl acts like a hardened old matron..."

Half an hour later, priest Quarrie seemed to have forgotten about all his pains and adversities as he lay on his back with his pair of glazed eyes staring into the distant sky. Murmurs of jumbled words and undecipherable language dribbled sporadically from his mouth along with generous amounts of saliva. The thoughts as to why these healers traveled at night had long flown from his head.

Around the religted campfires, similar scenes occurred, especially the ones closest to the camp of merchant Gofart. Chu stood next to one of the now harnessed wagons containing the enormous wealth. Dyna walked up to him while ignoring the uneasy horse. Animals not residing on the farm usually stepped warily around her.

"I've done what you asked. It's the best I could wash them under the torchlight."

"Good, we don't need a lot since all it takes is a little suggestion to have this run smoothly."

"I see, but will us swapping the cargo with another merchant work?"

"Sure it will, didn't you notice all the crates are the same? The only difference is the merchant crest stamped on the top covers. So all we have to do in this switch is to simply change all the covers. After a situation like this, I suspect the lead merchant will hasten to inspect their cargo. Once they verify their cargo, the next time they open a chest will be on delivery."

"I can never think like you, Chu. You can scheme better than all of us, even better than Ming. By the time they open their crates in Frost City and figure it out, this other caravan will be halfway on its way to the Capital."

Chu rubbed his nose while snickering before replying to her praise.

"I always try my best. We have from now until the morning to complete our plan. Come, we need to find the supply wagons. No one will miss a few empty crates there."

***

Since Chu understood the cause of this epidemic, he naturally hit upon a viable solution. Rest and liquids according to the basic recommendations. As for the inflicted hallucinatory drugs, he let nature run its course. From previous experience, by evening the drugs should have worked its way out of the system. His conjecture proved true as one by one, the filthy travelers awoke from their nightmarish hell.

The first person to achieve some semblance of sanity in camp Gofart was surprisingly a short, plump fellow. From the looks of his frilly cape and waxed mustache, he appeared to hold some standing. Bolting to a sitting position, his beady eyes flickered on a nervous, twitching face.

"What happened here? Who are you, people? Priest Quarrie, is that you?"

"These young fellows are adventurers. The young lady over there is a Healer. We are lucky they arrived late last night and tended to our malady."

Priest Quarrie said while grimacing at the end. His hand moved over his cloak while rubbing his belly.

"Pardon Master Gofart, I have personal issues to deal with..."

"Hey, where..."

"Talk to them, they have news from Karst!"

Priest Quarrie interjected while hastening his stride towards the open grasslands. The merchant opened his mouth as he watched the priest excuse himself. Within the convoy, everyone understood he ranked the highest and treated him with respect. Opening his mouth, he sought to summon the priest when his nose twitched.

An unwholesome stench drifted into his wide nose, causing him to sniff on reflex. Bending his beck, he soon discovered the source. A second later, a rumbling originated from within, as his face contorted on realizing the meaning. Merchant Gofart raised his head and shouted.

"Ahhh! Quick, fetch me a chamberpot!"

"..."

"So, I was saying, Chu, I think we should take up the offer from the small Healing party to escort them to Karst."

"I agree, with all the guards defeated by whatever sickness this is, we should not remain here. Who knows if any demon beast might slip through the Military net... Heaven knows nobody here might survive."

Master Gofart stared up at the two teens and realized he had only two options. Follow the example of Priest Quarrie or add to the stench of his clothes. Under the effect of the hallucinogen, diarrhea had taken its toll and conquered his personal hygiene. Wobbling to a stand, he shot a glare at the teens and waddled away. The only reason he refrained from lambasting these rogues lay in the conversation between them.

As soon as he returned, he hastened towards the two teens.

"Greetings fellow adventurers, as you can see all my members are incapacitated at the moment. May I ask of your assistance in a very pressing matter?"

"Greetings. Sure we are more than willing to help."

"Hurry then, this is most urgent."

Merchant Gofart ignored his stained and damp clothes as he led the teens over to a covered wagon.

"Please, take down one of those boxes for me."

Chu clambered onto the wagon and tried to lift one of the boxes. Suffering from the weight, he called Ming over for help. Together they managed to lift and drag it over to the end of the wagon.

"There is a taboo among merchants about opening your cargo on the road before the end of the journey. Unfortunately, my mind cannot be at ease."

The plump man muttered with a worried look. He then requested them to open the top. Peeking inside, he viewed the whitish stones and quickly closed the cover. With a sigh of relief, he instructed the teens to secure the wagon and watched them amble off before turning his gaze elsewhere.

Merchant Gofart spent some time in cleaning himself before visiting the young healer stooping next to one of his guards. The girl appeared busy administering a cup of medicine to the beleaguered guard.

"Young lady, may I ask as to the status of my guards?"

"Greetings, honorable merchant. I'm afraid this pestilence is one from the heavens. Even the sister Healers traveling in your convoy became afflicted. Luckily, it seems to wear off quickly, otherwise who knows what dangers one might encounter on the road."

Merchant Gofart snorted to himself while maintaining an amicable face. Judging from the news he overheard, he seemed to have landed in a precarious situation. His fears proved groundless, however, as most of the travelers slowly exited their useless state. The only affliction which persisted remained the sporadic bouts of diarrhea.

Under the advice from Lucy to a meeting held between the merchants, the convoy departed from this unlucky and now tainted, piece of grassland. Half a day later, they found a suitable campsite to rest and recover. For the members of this convoy, the words of the young Healers who joined them carried a heavy weight.

On the night of the affliction, the rumor was that this young healer used her gentle hands to help break the empty crates and barrels in the supply wagons. The wood from these was what assisted in keeping the members of the entire convoy warm when they had lost their minds.

During the day, Chu rode near the rear of the convoy, keeping priest Quarrie and his wagon of Healers company. Ming flitted in and among the guards, sometimes chatting with those on the perimeter of the tightly protected Gofart caravans. One night, he led Chu over to a campfire surrounded by a few guards.

"Oye, brother Husk. This is my adventuring companion, Yegg. He traveled up from a village near Haven with me when we first started. This is the guy I said who can count coppers faster than anyone. Who wants to play, I will scoop out a few coppers from my pouch and let's see who can count them the fastest. Five coppers to the one who wins."

"Make it ten, you little stalk, and you have yourself a deal!"

The boisterous sounds of laughter and argument drifted in the night as the group gambled and bragged. Chu struck up a conversation with Brother Husk who also happened to hold a high standing in the Gofart caravan.

"Brother Rover and I have thought about joining a merchant caravan as hired guards. How is the pay like for long journeys?"

"Forget it. The two of you are better off joining a mercenary group if you want such work. Larger parties get jobs faster and their pay is better."

"I see. Is a long trip better than a short one?"

"Guarding merchants who travel for months certainly pays better. Look at us, our commission here, took us over two years. But when we return to Frost City, our earnings won't be meager."

Chu nodded. As if thinking about something hilarious, he chuckled before speaking.

"We have never met a large convoy such as this one. When large groups of merchants travel together, don't they sometimes mix up their cargo? Nearly all the crates on the wagons seem the same to me."

"Haha, it may be so but merchants guard their cargo better than a hen over eggs. Only unscrupulous ones might try something on the road but it rarely occurs in large convoys like these. It's the smaller convoys with only two or three merchant groups where you need to be wary."

"Thank you for your advice, brother Husk. Tomorrow we might ride a little into the grassland to complete our task. If so, I bid farewell and hope you have a smooth journey."

"Well said, young Yegg. Take care on the roads and in the wilds."

The next day Chu and Ming departed from the convoy and set out into the grasslands. A few hours later, they secretly followed the convoy while remaining off the road. Knowing the destination of their target, they spent the day hunting along with the three wolves.

Chu engaged in acts reminiscent of little children as he and Ming set snares for pheasants and foraged for edible roots. Cooking under the stars with Ming, they talked and laughed to past the time. For one night they continued this act until the convoy entered the village south of Karst.

In the evening, three horses trotted out of the village and once out of sight of the village, entered the grassland. On hearing the hoot, the wolves were the first to cock their ears and spring into action. Soon, all five companions regrouped under a tree.

"I thought we could never slip away. Not only Priest Quarrie insisted to take care of us but some of the guards kept eying us."

"Luckily, we formed an excuse and exited unnoticed. Tomorrow they will look for us but I already informed Priest Quarrie that we prefer to travel by ourselves to help the needy. Most likely he will think we went out to aid the villagers on the nearby farms."

"Good excuse. Now let's make arrangements to secure our bounty..."

****