Depthless Hunger

Chapter 64: The Mercantile Life

Kai's body felt shockingly light as he ran, so he didn't have as long to examine the battle as he expected. He made out three heavy wagons, overloaded with goods. They had minimal fortifications, and the guards around them were shockingly weak, just rated 20 on average. There were several lizard monsters menacing the legs of the horses, but the majority of the threats seemed to be bat-like monsters swooping overhead.

Monster: Bat

Threat: Alpha

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Monster: Lizard

Threat: Alpha

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Neither type was strong enough to earn a beta rating, though the bats did seem swift enough to cause problems for anyone without enhanced reflexes. The guards might have been able to pull through if they had kept together and used shields, but they were panicking, letting the claws of the bats cut into them from their blind spots.

Just as Kai arrived, he saw three bats sink their claws into an untrained young man atop the first wagon and drag him into the air. Kai immediately leapt into action, leaping off the back of one wagon to intercept them before they got too high.

Three swift blows from his gauntlets and they were dead. Even easier than he had expected. Kai managed to catch the flailing young man in his arms and then used his legs to absorb their landing. As he set the man down, he looked to the rest of the battle, only to find it almost over.

Zae Zin Nim used extremely thin beams of qi so as not to tax her reserves, but she easily pierced the wings of the bats. When he joined her to take out some of the remaining lizards, it only took a matter of minutes to end the battle. The beleaguered guards cheered their arrival, but when one of them got a good look at Zae Zin Nim, he pulled back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded. She immediately shrank back and Kai automatically started to step in front of her before she strained herself.

"The question is impolite, but we need to ask about plague." The surprisingly high voice came from the young man, who approached them calmly. "If you're ill, we must ask you to keep some distance. But if not, thank you for saving our lives."

"I am not diseased." Zae Zin Nim stalked away from the group and kept her back turned. That left Kai to handle the negotiations.

Now that he looked over the group, it seemed to be entirely weak guards except for the young man and a pair of workers on the wagons. Since the young man was the only one dressed in fine clothing, he might have been more important than he appeared. He had light brown hair swept straight back from his head, bright blue eyes, and an easy smile.

"Really, I can't thank you enough," the young man said. "My name is Razzagah, but please feel free to call me Razz. It seems like you and your friend just saved my caravan."

"Shouldn't you have expected monsters?" Kai asked. The question was a bit unkind, but their lives really had been at risk. Besides, the only way a merchant younger than him could be carrying such cargo was if he belonged to a powerful clan.

"I did, but as you can see I underestimated the threat." Razzagah looked sadly over the monster bodies, which his men were eagerly looting for their tiny monster cores. "This area was supposed to be safe. I thought I could beat the competition by racing across it, but apparently I had horrible luck. Or good luck, since you came to save me."

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"Maybe, maybe not. What are you carrying?"

"A broad number of goods that will turn a profit in Rayakan, of course." Razzagah gestured for him to approach the wagons and began removing the tarps to show him. "The reason I was rushing was a shipment of fine silk from Krysal, but I can't imagine that's relevant. I'm carrying a few crates of healing potions. Umm... there are these kegs of condensed mana? I didn't think monsters cared about them."

All at once it made sense. Kai examined the kegs and shook his head. "That's your problem. Monsters don't operate like we do, so you're right that they ignore most mana. But condensed kegs like this will draw them, and flying ones have a big range."

"Such a small mistake, to be lethal... but fate smiled on me and brought you. I can't tell about your friend, but you look far stronger than my guards, so I'd be happy to pay you a premium rate if you escort us to Rayakan."

The offer wasn't a surprise, but Razzagah's casual use of spiritual sight surprised Kai. It was rare for merchants to develop it, and since the other man looked several years younger than him, he must have been pushing his development early. Even if he was a little ignorant, given the value of his cargo... perhaps he wasn't just a foolish merchant's son after all.

While the guards patched up their wounds and inventoried damaged supplies, Kai negotiated a rate for them. He had planned to be a hard negotiator, but when he asked for a hundred Eagles each, Razz accepted immediately. Was this really what he was worth as a guard?

The idea that he could command such a high price for a few weeks of work encouraged him, at least until they got underway and he had time to think about it more. Yes, a hundred Goralian Eagles was a substantial sum. But even if he got constant guarding jobs, they would only add up to a couple thousand Eagles every year. He could burn through that in a pair of enhancement items, and he knew that well-built houses cost tens of thousands of Eagles at minimum. No, a guard's life would be nothing more than scraping by for a hunter.

Not that he was a hunter anymore.

Zae Zin Nim sat at the very edge of the front wagon, as if trying to be near him and as far away from everyone else as possible. Kai climbed back to the previous wagons and, after making small talk with the guards, purchased a mantle with a hood from one of them for a fraction of an Eagle.

"Here," he said as he handed it to Zae Zin Nim without looking at her. "You have better things to do than listen to them."

He wasn't sure how to interpret her reaction, but she took the mantle from him carefully and soon had the hood pulled up over her face. Beyond that, she didn't seem inclined to talk. Kai instead moved up to sit beside Razz, who was doing his best to encourage the spooked horses to go faster.

"Is this a big gamble for you?" Kai asked. Razz immediately smiled uncomfortably.

"Yeah, you could say it's my first real risk. A few clans have absolute dominance on luxury goods in Rayakan. Anything to do with hunters is dominated by Orgoron. I have the mana and potions just to prove someone else can trade in them. But my big bet is challenging the Corinin clan on silk."

"Silk is that valuable?"

"A big city like Rayakan has an active court scene." Razz gestured vaguely south and rolled his eyes. "Every year, there are brand new fashions, and Krysali silk is always a sought-after luxury item. Problem is, the Corinins always have all the best silks first. This year, I risked a lot to meet a contact early, and now I'm racing back to beat all other merchants. My parents said it couldn't be done, but if I can sell the newest silks first, they'll be more willing to listen to me. Maybe we can even deal with our permit problem."

Such trade squabbles had always struck Kai as distasteful, but he found himself liking Razz more than he'd expected. The young man was just trying to get an advantage in life. Judging from his slender physique, he might not have been suited for monster hunting at all, so he'd taken what he could.

Before Kai could say anything else, Zae Zin Nim pulled on his sleeve to draw him nearer. "You can't expect me to remember all these Goralian sounds," she whispered. "Are these clan names going to matter?"

"It's not complicated," he told her. "The Orgoron clan is probably strongest in terms of hunters. It seems like the Corinins have a trade lock on this city, but they're generally the best of the lot. The only other clan with representatives across the nation is Lantrian - they're the ones that banished me."

"You were... Granfian?"

"Yes, but that's a small clan. It's somewhat important in Monskon City, but nowhere else."

"Hey, I hear you whispering back there!" Razz grinned over his shoulder. "I don't mind, really, but driving the cart gets really boring."

"Just explaining the local clan politics." Kai swung back up to the front of the wagon and took a seat beside Razz. "She's not from Goralia, so the names tend to run together."

"You look like you're from around here, though."

"Yeah. I'm... not from a big clan, so just Kai is fine."

"No problem at all. Like I said, I prefer Razz." The young merchant grinned at him again. "But if it means anything to you, my full name is Razzagah Lantrian."