At dawn, the two left Tunlin, and vast stretches of farmland appeared before them.
On the muddy roads, many young men carrying swords traveled in groups of two or three, either heading toward Tunlin or away from it.
As they passed over a settlement, Kyle stopped. He brought Zos down into the city, concealed their forms, transformed their clothes into the attire worn by adventurers they had seen along the way, and headed toward a shop selling maps.
Inside the shop, Kyle looked over the various sealed maps, then examined the written labels.
"Sir, what kind of map do you need? My little shop has everything. As long as you pay enough, you can buy any kind of map." A portly middle-aged man stepped out from behind the counter, approached Kyle, lowered his stance, and spoke with great courtesy.
"Bring me the most detailed map of Count Xos's Territory."
Upon hearing that, the portly middle-aged man lowered his head slightly, his eyes gleaming. Then he said with a smile, "Sir, we do have the most detailed map, but the price..."
Seeing this, Zos stepped forward and asked, "How much?"
"Not much, not much." The middle-aged man replied politely. "The most detailed map of Count Xos's Territory costs only five gold coins."
"That expensive?" Zos feigned surprise, then said angrily.
Facing that predatory gaze, the middle-aged man showed no fear and maintained his amiable expression. "Sir, there is a reason it costs so much. If you want an ordinary map, you can take one for just a few silver coins."
Kyle waved Zos off, then pretended to pull five gold coins from his pocket and handed them to the middle-aged man.
Under the concealment spell, the middle-aged man saw Kyle's "pained" expression and became even more unscrupulous. "Please wait a moment.