The Lone Macaw (1) – Chapter 13

The journey to Gladford was uneventful.

No bandits, no monsters, not even a wild animal. Only step after step on untended paths.

Two more farmers joined Thea and me, and our little group of four walked for over two weeks. Seventeen days without fresh food, shelter, and a decent sleeping berth. Enough time to curb any anticipation.

Although the worst part wasn't the missing extravagance or the endless walking, but our speed.

A handcart packed with a pot-pourri of items had joined our own luggage. Hence one pair pulled the cart, and the other shuffled ahead. Even my recently risen strength stat didn't help and we traveled with a snail's pace through fields and wood.

Half a day of walking, some soup made of hard bread and herbage, and sleeping in the open. Rinse and repeat. A kingdom for a bus. Or at least a camper van.

But those days of boring repetition ended when I followed a gentle curve, walked out into a clearing, and saw the city.

Or maybe I should say I saw Gladford. Not that much of a city to me.

I didn't expect a modern mega city with millions of residents. Not even one of the giant cities from the game. But Gladford was... a bigger village. Or rather, two villages.

Given the name, it wasn't surprising to see houses on each side of a fording. But their quality was… off? More or less the same as the village's huts. Wooden walls, some deteriorated, with wooden or straw roofs and a lot of fields around it. Even the dirt tracks looked the same. The only difference was their higher number.

Only the core area beside the river comprised stone houses, though two stories seemed to be the maximum. No ordered inner city, no stone paths or roads, no castle or temple. The city wall was a mud wall, sometimes fortified with a few meters of logs. If a city's defense showed its wealth, then I wanted to go back to the village.

What a letdown.

I came here to learn more about the world. Now I had to hope for some merchant caravan from an even bigger city. What a waste of time. No wonder I couldn't remember the name of the city. There was nothing worth remembering here.

But Thea urged me forward, so I replaced those thoughts and followed them inside the city.

Most residents on the streets wore cheap linen clothing, sometimes adorned with some leather or an ornament, and hastily went their ways. They gave off the same feeling as the villagers. Farmers. They were just farmers.

Small groups of guards gathered here and there, a few metal pieces on top of their leather armor outshining the rest. But that was it. Lax movement, rusty equipment, and an unsteady pace. They outshone a handful of farmers. Great. But it was nothing compared to the armies of paladins and witch hunters I had seen in the game.

This place was underwhelming.

Time to look for some merchants and return home to my ditch as fast as possible.

The only redeeming quality was the rather sizable market area. Specialized merchants, multiple inns, doctors, and even a small mercenary outpost could be found here. Okay, an actual city, but its wealth was just too low.

"We'll stay here tonight and return tomorrow," Thea pointed towards one sign. A crow swallowing a snake-sized worm. No text whatsoever. Given how this world's language matched the Earth's, I wanted to find out whether the written words matched the game's, too. If so, that would become another advantage for me. Literate people were rare. But so far I hadn't seen any written text to verify my hunch.

The inns' inside mirrored the outside. Twenty beds, made of wood and damp hay, filled a single enormous room. No privacy, no safety. Two coins per night and person. Probably no money-back guarantee either.

I watched Thea pay with the little money the village gave us and sighed inwardly. Not how I had imagined this trip. Was this why she seemed so unwilling before we left? To spare me the frustration? But why didn't she say anything? Women were an enigma.

With our resting place secured, we split up.

Thea and I walked towards the blacksmith's shop to sell the cart's content, while our companions searched for a grain merchant to organize a new caravan. No way we could drag all those grains here by ourselves.

All kinds of merchandise filled the market's air with a myriad of smells. Fruits, meat, fabrics, jewelry, boots, firewood, tools, weapons, furniture, and more hodgepodge. A myriad of wares laid on big linen cloths on the ground, merchants haggled over the price, before the goods changed hands. From afar it looked like a lively exchange, but all the wares were cheap. Most of it worse than the game's free beginner's equipment.

"The city is turbulent today," Thea commented. "There weren't this many people last year. And there are more merchants and their greedy stalls. Don't go and buy their wares, they'll just steal from you. Oh, and keep away from those travelers, they only bring trouble."

"Hmm? You sure?" I answered half-heartedly. The crowd wasn't that impressive to me. On the Earth one skyscraper would have been more than enough to house all these people. No need to fret about these small groups. Rather more travelers meant more available sources of information.

"Yep. There are more people here. And they feel like outsiders. Like that group over there."

My eyes followed her outstretched arm and beheld a group of men, mostly young or middle-aged. But to me they only looked like more farmers. Not any different than us. Would Thea become angry if I told her that?

"Could they be looking for work? There's not much to do after the sowing and some extra coins might help their village."

"Is that so," Thea murmured. She didn't seem convinced, but there were no more comments. The rest of our way passed in silence.

And then I caught sight of it.

The first thing that reminded me of the game's cities.

The inside of the blacksmith's shop.

Long rows of swords lay on the table or leaned against the walls. Nothing fancy, in no way comparable with my old equipment, but it still displayed such a typical scene. It didn't matter whether it was the first sword for the farmer boy or the re-forged sword with mystical powers. All the players visited such a shop at one point during their journey.

Though the selection was troubling.

Swords, swords, and even more swords. A handful of daggers, some pots, and horseshoes. And that was it. No spear, no shields, no crossbow. And no ax either. And the majority of swords looked misshapen. Rushed.

"Welcome to my shop," a burly man greeted as he entered the room from the back. No hair could be found on his head, even his eyebrows got lost somewhere. His upper body was drenched in sweat, attesting to his hard work. "What do you want?"

"It's good to see you again, Master Ansgot," Thea greeted. "We came to sell some stuff."

"Ooh? If it isn't the little miss. You got bigger again." The blacksmith's face lit up. "If only I had a son, I would marry him off in a heartbeat."

"The dowry would kill me." Thea laughed. "And I'm not charming enough to sparkle like silver."

"Ask your parents for a nice hairpin and all the boys will chase you." He wiped his hands before switching back to business. "So? What did you bring me this time?"

"We had to butcher an ox. So we have one grown male's worth of leather. And." Thea pointed at me "We also have fur from hares. 48 pieces, in excellent condition."

"Oh? Who's that." Ansgot looked me over. "That your husband? He must be good if your father lets him hunt."

"No. That's..."

"Yeah, he is," Thea interrupted me and smiled. "His name is Aki. Aki, this is Master Ansgot. He isn't like those other greedy city merchants. He is more like a villager. So Master, please help me with the dowry."

"My wife will kill me." He sighed. "But... what can I say. I'll pay for 50." So old men were weak against lively girls in both worlds?

"That's great." Thea laughed. "We'll buy something in return. We need a new scythe, two whetstones, 3 pots, ... um..."

"A new ax." I cut in. "A heavy one. And a shovel. And a dagger for the hare hunt."

"Oh. Auntie wanted a knife to skin them."

"Wait, wait, wait. That's too much." Ansgot stopped us. "I can give you the daggers and stones. But you have to go elsewhere for the rest."

"A blacksmith who doesn't want our money," I wondered. Though it was more the lousy attempt to coerce him.

"Nothing I can do," he answered, pointing towards the mountain of swords. "Our Freiherr ordered one hundred sets of sword and leather armor. No way I have time for anything else."

He sighed at Thea's pitiful face.

"Alright, alright. I can fit the scythe in between, but you have to get the odd stuff from the market. There's a peddler opposite the Dancing Pony. He has pots. As for the rest, go to..."

Ansgot continued to rattle down instructions to Thea. But none of the directions meant anything to me.

So I turned my attention towards the swords.

100 pairs of sword and armor. Why would the Freiherr order that much? Although new, their quality wasn't better than the guards' current equipment. A new troop? But why would anybody need 100 new soldiers? An army bigger than our entire village.

A war against another noble? Or a monster attack?

Interesting information.

But that was it.

This had nothing to do with us. The village wasn't worth fighting over. And even if war broke out, we would just surrender to the person arriving first. So no need to worry.

Hence I watched Thea complete the deal.

And left the shop.