Two freshly pressed wheel ruts ran deep and heavy along the dirt road to Newborn Town.
To anyone with a discerning eye, they were a brazen display of wealth, flaunting just how much treasure they had carried.
Glenn, a knight squad leader serving Baron Ora Stonebeard of Stone Salt Town, narrowed his eyes as he studied the tracks.
His warhorse snorted impatiently beneath him, but his gaze was sharper than the cold winds of the North Sea.
"Boss, I asked the traveling merchants," a young knight said as he rode closer, lowering his voice, his eyes gleaming with greed and bewilderment.
"They said that Veylin from Newborn Town brought an entire Alchemy Workshop back from Wrong Anchor Harbor, along with more materials than anyone could count. Where do you think he got all that money? Was it really a gift from some woman captain?"
"Just a spineless bastard who got his start by living off a woman," another knight sneered.
A chorus of filthy laughter rose around them, and obscene remarks spread unchecked through the squad.
Just then, a soldier approached with an ugly expression and said quietly, "Boss, it's not just the money. My uncle's boy slipped away the day before yesterday. Yesterday, someone spotted him clearing land over in Newborn Town for merit points! They say a day's work earns you a small bag of refined salt! Several lazy bastards from our own town have been heading over there lately. We can't even stop them!"
The laughter around them cut off abruptly.
They might have had no say in where those peasants went, but this was plainly poaching people from Stone Salt Town!
Glenn withdrew his gaze and lightly tapped his leather boots with the tip of his riding crop. The steady tapping gradually silenced the laughter around