Chapter 11 - Steam Road

Three days ago; at Yeongsong.

"Izrik, Guunnar, and I approached Yeongsong on foot. There was a small farmhouse on the outskirts of the village, and we paid the farmer to look after the horses while we walk to the village to buy some essentials. He was more than happy to look after the horses, for a fee, of course. We told him that I was a traveling merchant, and that Izrik and Guunnar were my bodyguards. They both wore loose cotton trousers with a few layers of upper garments that had the same colors and style. It made them look like bodyguards wearing a specific kind of uniform clothing. I made sure that they have a bodyguard permit too—it was exceedingly easy for members of my clan to procure. Being messengers of the Five Kingdoms, we often require armed escort based on how important or sensitive the message that we're carrying. There were also times when the sender would be willing to pay extra for armed escorts to send out something as simple as a bouquet of fresh flowers.

"It was close to noon when we entered Yeongsong. I have been here several times before and I amused myself at how Izrik and Guunnar reacted when they saw how drastically different Yeongsong was compared to the villages that they regularly see near the capital. I didn't tell them that most of the villages in this area would be like Yeongsong, I didn't want to ruin the surprise, of course. I then wondered if Mingmei's group planned to travel as far as Haan-Dar. They have been traveling westward and the next major city to the west would be the border city of Haan-Dar. A city that is—for me—better than the capital in many ways. It was a city that embraced the marvels of steam power, as a result, most of the major clans decided to pull out their headquarters from the city—except for our clan. Haan-Dar was forced to establish an independent local military to defend the city's border in case war breaks out once more. But even without a war, they have a need for constant military readiness because they were closer to the Goruumshimi than any city in the kingdom and that brought with it the promise of an armed conflict any day.

"I whispered to my bodyguards that the village did not have a central market because the entire village was a huge decentralized market. We had time before noon, so we went to look for a suitable ore for Izrik's weapon. Unlike everyone else in our group, he cannot just buy a replacement weapon even if it was made by the best weaponsmith in the entire world. His training required that he forge his own weapon based on the strict personal requirements and standards. Through the years, his standards have changed and have become stricter. He changed his weapon several times since we were kids making sure to destroy and bury the old.

"We walked to several smithing shops and asked about the available tamahagane that they have. Izrik carefully inspected each one, and after the third shop, we still haven't found anything that was good enough. He needed three types of steel and the tamahagane was always the hardest to find. We were able to buy the other two from the first smithing shop that we went to. We agreed to go to one more shop before going for lunch. We ended up along the southwestern edge of the village to an area where the houses were smaller and there was a very soft hum in the air. It was not long before we found a smithing shop in the middle of the area. I looked around the street that we were on as Izrik spoke with the smith and inspected his wares. Guunnar was by my side so that we can maintain our cover as merchant and bodyguard. I immediately noticed that the steam engine that distributes the heating and cooling for the entire village was housed near the block that we were on. It was inside a large circular building on the next block to the east of where we were.

"'Is there something wrong with the cooling system, Master?' I asked as I turned to the smith. He carefully brought out the ores that he had for Izrik to inspect.

"'Why do you ask?' he replied. He looked surprised by my question and probably how I addressed him. It was my fault; I didn't explain why I had that impression when I asked him.

"'There are a lot of people gathered in front of the chamber that houses your cooling system,' I explained and then nodded towards the direction of the building where the cooling system was housed. I wasn't smiling. I have to maintain a serious and professional look so that it would be believable that I was a traveling merchant.

"'Oh, that. Not at all, not at all. We had another elderly folk that was abducted just after breakfast today,' he replied with a sad expression.

"'Another?' Izrik asked with a surprised look.

"'Yes, we've had a number of abductions. Twelve in total if I am not mistaken. And all the victims were elderly folks. None were younger than sixty winters old, I reckon,' he replied, nodding every now and then as he spoke.

"'When did it start?' I asked. Several scenarios started to flash by in my mind. I tried to determine how fast we could solve this case and catch up with Mingmei's group. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if we didn't help these villagers with their abducted elderly before we left their village. And I was sure that Izrik and Guunnar felt the same way.

"'Well, the first reported case that I know of was not as early as Ninsabar's case,' the smith said while lightly scratching his chin. 'I would say it was two or three moons ago. Yes, yes it was likely around that time,' he added with the same series of nods.

"'Ninsabar's case?' Izrik asked. 'You mean these abductions are happening to both Yeongsong and Ninsabar?' he continued. He then turned to me with a look whose meaning was hard to miss. Ninsabar was at least an hour's travel away from Yeongsong but it was the closest village from Yeongsong. Anyone abducting elderly folks across two villages an hour apart likely had a large network of men. It was likely a gang with no less than fifteen people in order to pull off abductions across the two villages.

"'Yes, sir!' the smith replied excitedly. 'And to all the other villages that I know of. There were two guards from the city that told me the same thing was happening to the capital as well!' he added. 'It makes some people wonder why no one is looking into these abductions!' he continued with a frustrated look.

"'Abductions across the entire kingdom,' Guunnar whispered.

"'And it has been going on for at least three moons already,' I added as I turned to him.

"'These two guards that you spoke of, I was wondering if they belonged to the same guild that we came from. Can you describe them?' Izrik asked the smith.

"'Well, they were wearing plain white temple robes when they were here yesterday. Then they bought several kinds of weapons—all master-crafted weapons—and not of one type only. Like they were buying weapons for five people,' the smith explained.

"'Oh, those two!' Izrik replied with a smile. 'They came from our guild alright. Freshly inducted, hence the white robes,' he added with a shrug.

"'Did they happen to mention where they were assigned? Somewhere in the village perhaps?' Guunnar asked.

"'No. They are not assigned here. They asked for the best route to Haan-Dar. They said that they were protecting three merchants who were planning to establish a store there,' the smith replied with his usual nodding as he spoke.

"'So, they're protecting three merchants on the way to Haan-Dar?' Guunnar said with a meaningful glance at me.

"'Yes. I'd say you're better off with your client here because the two of you protect only one person. Protecting three lady merchants is hard for just two guards,' he commented with a slight grin. 'Well, you can't blame a person for what he or she can afford, right?' he added. 'Which reminds me, have you found anything that you like?' he asked as he turned to Izrik.

"'We're looking for a steel ore with very low carbon impurity. We have a client who is very exacting with his steel requirements. Do you happen to have one?' Izrik asked the smith as he gently tapped the ores before him.

"'Well, you're out of luck. Around the time before the first abduction happened, a large caravan of merchants came through here and bought off all of our low-carbon steels,' he explained. 'And not only from here, but I also reckon that they bought off everyone's low-carbon steel from this village and the rest of the other villages in the Steam Road,' he added. 'I haven't recovered my stock yet after that with all the abductions. I doubt that anyone has. The deliveries have become scarce because of the fear that the abductions have created,' he complained.

"'The Steam Road?' Guunnar asked puzzled. His clan is second to our clan when it comes to knowledge of the different roads and highways that the kingdom has. Their clan is assigned with training the heavy cavalry of the kingdom. Part of their training is mastery of the different terrains in the Five Kingdoms. Knowledge of the different roads within the kingdom is part of this knowledge. And he was as surprised as I am that there was a road that we both haven't heard of before—The Steam Road.

"'It's an informal name that the villages around Yeongsong call the series of roads that connect each of our villages,' he started to explain. 'We all support steam technology, and our villages all benefit from it. So, we all decided a few years ago to call the network of roads that connect us as the Steam Road,' he said proudly.

"'So, it involves the roads that connect the Village of Yeongsong to the surrounding villages?' I asked curiously. I wanted to document this local name used to refer to the roads that connected Yeongsong to its neighbors. It could be just a local shorthand for now, but it could be a major trade factor in the future. Especially since steam energy has turned the villages in this area into progressive centers of trade.

"'Not just the surrounding villages, madam. All the southern villages and towns from here all the way to Haan-Dar,' he replied. 'It goes as far north from here until the edge of the Crater Woods,' he continued.

"'That is truly amazing,' I said sincerely. 'Why not establish a form of steam transport for the participating villages, towns, and cities? The faster means of transportation would greatly help the growth of trade!' I suggested. And any growth in trade means a growth in messaging services as well.

"'That is the plan there. Haan-Dar has started construction of a privately owned railway for the settlements along the Steam Road. The railroad now provides transport services the from Haan-Dar to Ninsabar and the towns and villages in-between. The plan is to connect all the settlements in the Steam Road through railway!' he said with a proud grin. 'And the capital and its snotty clans can't stop it!' he added with a light chuckle. Guunnar gave off a sigh and I probably did too. The anti-clan sentiment has grown with the growing popularity of steam technology in recent years. And no one can really blame the clanless citizens—the kashin—for their distaste of the clans. The clans have been elitist for as long as I can remember. Even the records that date back to centuries before our grandfathers' time show the clans as snobbish and have seen the kashin population as nothing more but a responsibility.

"A responsibility to defend. Like farmers having a responsibility to defend his sheep from the wolves. The only difference is that a farmer benefits from his sheep. The clans do not see any benefit from defending kashin.

"And steam technology has brought with a shining promise for everyone who embraces it. Steam technology brings prosperity and wealth. And from these two, power. A power that is more generic and non-selective; unlike the skill and power that the clans guard covetously within themselves. The huge majority of the clanless masses see steam power as a way of leveling the field when it comes to wealth and power. The clans' resistance against the use of steam power only makes the kashin even more willing to embrace this new technology.

"'So, there's no chance of finding the raw materials that we need for this picky client? Izrik asked with a frown.

"'You could try north. At the western edge of the Crater Woods,' he said while thinking. 'The group of merchants that bought off all of our supply of steel doesn't look like the type that would travel anywhere near Crater Woods,' he suggested with his usual nod.

"'Why? What's in that settlement?' I asked curiously.

"'It's a shuiju settlement. A town most likely,' he said. 'The shuijii are peaceful folks, but I doubt they are the type who would agree to the mass buying of their raw materials. You know how they are, they are mostly craftsmen and artisans,' he added. We all nodded at his insight. The shuijii look like small heavily muscular humans with thick body hairs. They love building things, weapons, armors, buildings, and such. The finest works of engineering and architecture in the entire Old Orient were built by shuijii so they are very welcome in any of the human cities and villages. Even the finest weapons are built by shuijii. However, they like to stay in settlements of their own because they prefer the noise of the forge, the hammer against stone, the sound of creativity, and the bustle of creating. It is said that it was a shuiju who lived in the Untamed West that first discovered emberstone. And it was another shuiju—centuries later—who first brought forth the idea of steam power.

"We thanked the smith and went to the nearest restaurant and had lunch. Even though we did not agree on it, we all knew that we were going back on the road a soon as we were done eating. We now have an idea about the mission that Mingmei's group might have been assigned to investigate and solve.

"I ran a mental reconnaissance and the numbers in my head as the food arrived at our table. A gang, group, or a syndicate that can run abduction operations across the entire kingdom is not something that Mingmei and her group can handle on their own.

"I doubt it's something that we can handle even if all of us went off to this mission at the same time. A group of that size likely has the resources to pay for skillful fighters that could be more than a match for our group.

"However, the true problem that bothered me as I tried to fathom the danger that our friends are headed towards is the real reason behind the abductions. Why spend that amount of resources to abduct elderly folk across the kingdom? What are they to gain from old men and women?"