Partners

Trust was a very interesting thing.

Building it required both sides to work together and withstand a long period of testing.

But destroying it often took only an instant.

Because they had secretly fled in a small boat before, the four men—the captain, first mate, boatswain, and merchant—had completely lost the sailors' trust.

If the illiterate sailors had understood navigation or wanted to remain on this deserted island, they certainly would not have accepted Bernard's offer of ten gold coins each and boarded the ship again.

Thus, amid a highly bizarre atmosphere, everyone spent another three days on the island, replenishing their freshwater and coconuts.

When the incoming tide finally lifted the stranded vessels back afloat, Old Bass, the captain, immediately ordered the sails raised and set course southeast for Calimport.

In just a few days, the two ships safely left the perilous waters of the Sea of Swords and officially entered the relatively safe Shining Sea.

They even occasionally saw ships of varying shapes and sizes passing by along the way.

Some were merchant vessels, while others were warships patrolling out of Calimport.

As the most populous and largest coastal city on Faerun's southwestern coast, Calimport's prosperity was beyond question.

The scale of its markets even far surpassed that of Athkatla, Amn's capital.

Naturally, its rulers needed to maintain a fleet capable of protecting it from pirate attacks.

Thanks to the warships patrolling from Calimport, pirate activity in the Shining Sea was nowhere near as rampant as it was around the Nelanther Isles.

Raymond could even lounge half-reclined in a wooden chair on deck as though he were on vacation, enjoying the refreshing sea breeze while reading books and notes he had found on the upper floors of the Floating City Tower, occasionally taking a sip of coconut juice with a little lemon added.

At his side always stood a soldier holding a shortsword and shield, ever vigilant.

Whenever a sailor passed by, he looked at the soldier with shock, confusion, and incomprehension.

After all, they had personally watched him stab himself through the heart with his shortsword and commit suicide.

Yet just one day later, the young man they had declared dead appeared again, without a single wound on his body.

Only Bernard, the well-traveled merchant, knew that this soldier was like the leopard guarding the pirate captain Harlett in the hold around the clock: both had been summoned through some kind of magic.

Creatures summoned from other planes like these did not truly die.

Once they suffered damage exceeding their maximum vitality, the power of magic sent them back.

There was no doubt that having such an absolutely loyal guard, one utterly unafraid of sacrifice, made the young merchant intensely envious.

He could also spend money to hire adventurers or mercenaries to serve him.

But achieving absolute loyalty, much less having them sacrifice their lives for their employer at a critical moment, was almost impossible.

"Master Mage, in another three or four days, we will reach Calimport. May I ask what you plan to do after going ashore?" Bernard asked cautiously.

Through his observations over the past few days, he had realized that Raymond's words and behavior could not possibly be associated with a boy of around ten.

Quite the opposite!

He was more like the evil wizards in legends who had just seized a young body through magical means.

Combined with his previous unrestrained large-scale transformation of undead zombies and his decisive, ruthless temperament, the merchant became even more convinced of his speculation.

Raymond lifted his head, glanced at him, and replied casually, "I do not have any particular plans.

I just want to collect the ransom quickly, then head north to Candlekeep or Waterdeep.

But Harlett said he would need some time to raise the money, so I will probably stay for one or two weeks.

Also, there is no need to keep using honorifics. You can just call me Soros."

"Soros? Is that your given name or family name?" Bernard asked curiously.

"My given name."

Raymond answered without hesitation.

More precisely, this "false name" had originated from a misunderstanding caused by his accent when he first met the Necromancer Archmage Astar.

After all, Raymond and Soros sounded almost no different when pronounced.

Later, while studying magical knowledge.

Raymond discovered that names themselves contained powerful magical force.

Naturally, he hid his real name and publicly claimed that his name was Soros.

Bernard nodded lightly. "All right, Master Soros. Since you intend to travel north, I assume you would not mind coming with me along the way?"

"Oh? Weren't you in a hurry to return to Athkatla? What, have you changed your mind again?"

Raymond closed the book in his hands and stared at the merchant before him with interest.

"Because I have thought it through.

If I rush back in a panic without any preparation, I am very likely to encounter another ambush along the way.

Rather than that, I might as well complete this deal properly.

Then I will convert the remaining funds into Calimport specialties, such as spices, silk, pearls, rare herbs, and minor magical items, and divide them into two portions.

One portion will be loaded onto ships and sent back to Athkatla by sea, while I will personally lead the other portion overland.

Even if the merchant association is illegally seized, I will have enough financial resources to deal with any situation, even fight a protracted lawsuit."

Bernard spoke with a serious expression, laying out the decision he had made after repeated consideration.

It had to be said that this was a rather bold and equally risky plan.

Unlike the sea route, where pirates were the only threat.

Returning from Calimport to Athkatla overland meant not only crossing the Calim Desert, the largest desert in southwestern Faerun, but also traversing nearly the entire Kingdom of Tethyr, as well as the extremely dangerous Starspine Mountains and Shattered Tooth Mountains.

Especially the Starspine Mountains and Shattered Tooth Mountains!

The latter was home to vast numbers of evil humanoids and giants, who had more than once attempted to seize Murann, Amn's second-largest port city, intending to establish a kingdom ruled by all kinds of monsters.

The former was no better, with Goblins, Trolls, and Lycanthropes everywhere.

It was said that near Mount Taryag, the dead volcano in the far east, someone had seen a huge, evil Red Dragon streak across the sky.

But it was precisely because the route was so dangerous that Bernard was certain his sister Isadora would never expect him to return to Amn by such a path.

Raymond could not help laughing after hearing this. "So... you intend to hire me as your bodyguard?"

"No! Not a bodyguard! A partner!" Bernard corrected nervously, clenching his fists tight.

He understood that whether his plan could succeed depended on whether he could persuade this mysterious Necromancer before him.

"Tell me your plan. I'm listening."

Raymond suddenly wanted to know what the merchant had in mind, so he raised an arm and gestured for him to continue.

Bernard spread out a somewhat rough map, gathered his courage, and said, "From the fact that you chose to capture Bloodhand Harlett instead of killing him, I realized that you must need a great deal of money.

And I am a successful merchant.

I know how to make the most money through trade.

If you are willing to trust me, you can hand all the ransom money over to me to manage after you receive it.

I guarantee that through trade along this journey, I can earn you at least four times the profit.

Not only that!

If you are willing to help me reclaim what should rightfully belong to me, I can also promise you twenty percent of the shares after I inherit the merchant association.

No matter what goods or materials you need in the future.

As long as they fall within the merchant association's trade routes.

I will do everything in my power to gather them and ultimately sell them to you at cost.

What I hope to establish is not a temporary employment relationship, but a long-term alliance—a partnership."