Chapter 6: Bremdal town

Bremdal town, the only town in the Paratus kingdom known to be under royal jurisdiction. It's headed by a Mayor appointed by the king himself. There have been a lot of coming and goings in that position. Those who do a fine job there get promoted and those who do a poor job get sacked and disappeared into obscurity.

Holding the seat of mayor in Bremdal town is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it's the quickest way to get merit and gain the king's attention since he closely monitors the running of the town. But this can also be a downside since the area is under thorough scrutiny, any dereliction of duty will be easily noticeable, and having the king as your immediate boss is an added pressure on its own.

The current mayor of the town is Radcliffe Webbe. He is the 413th Mayor to hold office ever since the town was established and also the youngest to be in that office at the age of 27. Unlike most of his previous predecessors, he is a commoner. He managed to qualify for the position by being one of the top graduates from the Yellow robin royal academy which is an educational institute funded by the royal family that accepts noble and commoner students alike. It is the top school in the kingdom and gaining entry requires tremendous talent while graduating at the top requires more than that. He is in his second year in office and though he hasn't made any significant improvements he has maintained the standards people have come to expect from Bremdal.

The town developed into a mercantile town due to the safety the town afforded being under royal jurisdiction. Also, the fact it had negligible noble interference and presence made it one of the best locations for up-and-coming merchants to put up their roots since the royal family was very amiable and open to their presence as long as they paid their taxes which was set at an affordable rate. A lot of goods from the Giliai ocean and all around the Paratus kingdom and even the neighboring kingdoms floated through Bremdal town which led to its current catapulting rise and also the effort put in by the royal family and the mayors.

By the town's entrance gates there were four fully armed town guards screening people coming in and going out. They were equipped with bastard swords at the waist, shiny silver-like steel armor, and a spear in their hands. Over their armor, they had a surcoat with the emblem of a yellow robin. This was the symbol of the royal family of Paratus Kingdom, the alert robin of the west.

They were carefully viewing the incoming wagons, carts, and documentation of all who were coming into the town. They had an attentiveness and seriousness to them as they did their inspections that was different from what was expected from regular town guards. It was to be expected since every guard here had undergone specialized training from some of the trainers that trained the royal knights. Even though their skills were inferior to royal knights hence their posts as town guards, they had been given training that matched what the nobles gave their own household knights.

There were two entrances at the gates. One was for those coming in on foot and the other was for those with carriages.

It was still quite early in the morning when Leo arrived despite the earlier delay, so the line at the gates was a rather short one. He waited for 10 minutes before it was his turn to be inspected and let in.

"Dyr wake up we have already reached Bremdal. The carriage and the cargo are about to be inspected," said Leo as he knocked the board behind him to wake Dyr up.

Dyr sleepily grunted in response as he hazily got out of the carriage rubbing his eyes with bits of blue wool covering his whole body. It took a second before his eyes adjusted to the light outside. He walked to where his father was and stood next to him as two of the town guards came forward to inspect the carriage.

"Leo, what brings you to town this early? Were you kicked out again by the Mrs.?" One of the 2 remaining guards at the entrance cheekily asked with his partner laughing along as they waved Leo over.

"Padrig you're one to talk, look at those bags under your eyes. Couldn't sleep through Hedy's troll-like snoring again huh," Leo sneered in reply as he made his way over to Padrig and his colleague.

"I'll have you know I found the perfect sleep potion that would put her body in the perfect relaxed state. It cost me nearly 3 months of salary but it's sure to work. One of the sellers at Alf's store guarantees it. The problem is how I get her to take it without her noticing it. I've been racking my brains on how to do it the past week but I've come up with nothing. Leo, Greg any ideas?"

"Why not just take the potion yourself." The town guard called Greg suggested.

"I had thought of it but I was told the potency of the potion is so strong that it would knock me out for 24 hours. I would end up being late for work and on the receiving end of getting an earful from the captain. He spends nearly 3 hours giving this passionate speech with spit flying everywhere on how we are the frontline spear that guards the Paratus Kingdom against all those who are jealous of our long-standing peace. He always flies off the handle during those speeches and even adds outrageous things like fighting against dragons. For some weird reason, his stories always end up with a vivid description of how I'll die a gruesome death in my duty to the kingdom. It's always a different scenario every time. I wonder where he has the time to think up all these things," Padrig said as he sighed at his misfortunes. He had a troll at home and a bard for a boss at work.

"Captain sure is an odd one," Greg said with a faint shiver in his body

"How about mixing the potion in anything she drinks before bed? I was going to suggest in her food but if it is that strong, she would notice something is off if she keeps passing out immediately after eating. A night drink may be a better choice." Leo said as he had his hands on his chin putting a serious contemplative look.

Dyr was surprised even a little suspicious seeing Leo having this much of an invested look.

"Dad rarely shows any deep interest outside his hobby and pulling pranks on me. Wait could he be?..No..No..Even he can't go that far for the sake of pulling a fast one on me…Could he really be planning to use a sleep potion on Mom so he can have all the time in the world to pull pranks on me without her interference? No, even he isn't that crazy. He should have a line...…

Haha, I must be getting paranoid after months of trying to anticipate his moves. It's crazy talk." Dyr laughed as he shook his head a couple of times in denial. But even though he was laughing he kept throwing probing looks at his dad and shaking his head soon after. But those glances got longer and the laughs got shorter as his face turned paler.

Padrig tried hard to think if he has ever seen his wife drink anything before bed. His sporadic change of work shifts made it hard for him to remember something like this no matter how hard he tried.

"I don't know if she takes anything before bed. But I'll look tonight. Thanks, Leo."

"No problem. If she doesn't take anything you could always use an alternative option. There's this butterfly called a Wingoc. It's a grey-looking butterfly about the size of my palm. Its wings are said to have the reflection of the moon in them with a grey mist forming every time it flaps them. It has been known to put people to sleep. I haven't seen one but I read about it in some books at the library in the adventure guild headquarters. There was even an insectoid clan skilled in using them. Though I heard that clan no longer exists. They could manipulate all kinds of insects. I wish I could have met them," Leo said with some excitement in his tone that turned to sighing regret moments later.

"No way am I trying any of your weird animal ideas. Not after last time. I still have a patch of bear fur that hasn't come off. Get going Leo it seems your inspection is done." Padrig hurriedly shooed Leo away with some fear in his eyes as he subconsciously scratched his back.

The guards who had been inspecting their carriage raised their thumbs up towards Padrig and Greg to show everything was okay before Leo and Dyr got back in the carriage and set off.

"See you later Padrig, Greg." Leo waved as he left for the Golden rose warehouse.