The next day, however, Katel brought Rhode some bad news.
"The dwarves of Dun Garok don't want to sell us muskets?" Rhode frowned at Katel.
"Yes," Katel said, lowering his head. "The people I sent met their commanding officer, Captain Darren Ironmount, and he turned them down outright."
Failing to complete the task left Katel feeling rather ashamed.
After all, Rhode had treated their band of beggars so well, yet he hadn't even managed to take care of such a simple matter.
Rhode certainly wasn't going to blame Katel. He asked, "Did they give a reason? Or do they simply not want to sell?"
"They said some enemy has appeared recently, and they need more people to defend against it. So they've used the muskets they had in storage to equip their troops, and they don't have any left to sell us."
"I see..." Rhode narrowed his eyes and considered it.
That was understandable.
It was a perfectly sound reason.
With an enemy at their doorstep, of course they couldn't sell off their own weapons.
And given the dwarves' temperament, it probably wasn't an excuse. They must really have encountered an enemy.
But what sort of "enemy" could there be over there?
These were peaceful times. There couldn't possibly be orcs wandering around outside.
If it was just wild beasts like bears or tigers, surely the dwarves wouldn't be so nervous that they had to bring out their stockpiled weapons?
Looks like I'll have to go there myself.
If he could help the dwarves deal with this enemy, perhaps he could make the deal happen.
He had to make this deal happen!
Otherwise, his "Musket Corps" would become a musket corps without a single musket.
What a joke!
"Keep training as usual," Rhode said, looking up at Katel. "To get