The journey was a bit harsh. Between Otto and Fermore cities, there were two major cities. Since Otto was furthest away from the deserts in the province, Sam collected an additional two bags of salt. The cart was running anyways.
The path was even and well kept. It signified regular use. Probably the military personnel. The closest village was a two days journey. Sam had picked some regular shovels and picks for sale at the villages.
Since the area is well maintained, there were little to no bandit attacks in the area. This was heaven to new merchants. The cost to hire mercenaries for protection was pretty steep. Besides, it wasn't worth it for just regular goods.
Investing in better quality goods to flip gets a higher profit, but the risks were too high. The better products were often targeted by other mercenaries.
Sam had just passed a curve when he found a kid on the road crying. From what it looked like, the kid was from the next village. Lost. It would be dark soon.
"Kid, where are you from?" Sam tried to sound as friendly as he could. He even had an innocent smile.
The kid looked at Sam. Then said, "Windsor".
That was two villages ahead. Sam was a bit curious. 'Why was he here?' Sam thought to himself. Either way, he couldn't leave the kind alone in the dark.
There were no bandits on the path, but it was still possible for wild beasts to appear. Besides, the cart was almost empty and Windsor was on the way.
Picking up the kid, Sam urged the bulls to pull faster. It was getting too late. It was not allowed for merchants to travel at night. Mostly due to wild animals hunting along the paths.
The night was almost up when Sam entered the village of Fengaurd. He went around looking for a place to stay, but the only place available was a patched inn. The innkeeper was an older lady. Her features were muscular mostly due to the heavy work around The place.
The innkeeper stared as I entered with the child. 'No, it's not mine.' To stay, they had to give their names.
"What's your name, kid?". Sam was in a hurry. He was travelling for the past few days while always sleeping on the road. There were no inns between the outpost 322 and Fermore.
"Fin". It looks like the kid doesn't want to speak much. Sam took a room with two beds. Since they were passing by, she asked the lady for dinner and breakfast served in the room. This was the first time Sam was sleeping in a bed after arriving in Athens.
Once they entered their allotted room, Sam took the spare clothes and looked for the bath. There wasn't one inside but there was one behind the inn. Sam dragged Fin along with him. The backyard was large and there wasn't much except a few vegetables.
It was a closed room with little space. There were three buckets available to use. Dragging the smallest one available, we went to the well to fill up the other two larger buckets. It took 5 turns for us to fill up the tub. Fin was starting to get adjusted to me.
In a few hours, the dinner was served. It was pleasant and looked like potato stu. Fun was hungry and emptied it whole. Sam asked for another set of servings. With a filled stomach, they spent a quiet night. Fin slept instantly. Sam followed right behind.
Fun woke up early. The door out was locked. Sam was still asleep. He tried to call out to him, but Sam was too deep in his sleep. Soon, the innkeeper came knocking on the door with morning soup. Her knocks were so powerful it shook the whole frame.
"What… " Sam woke up startled. He heard someone yell "breakfast" from outside. This reminds him of the place and quickly went to get the door.
"I thought you needed to leave early. sorry."
innkeepers gave a not so sorry apology.
There was a lot more food than expected. She rationalized it by mentioning there was no inn in the next village. It was meant to be lunch. Sam was almost forced to move as fast as they could. If there were no inns, then they would have to sleep in the open.
Saying goodbye to the inn, Sam and Fin got on the cart. The bulls were both well-fed and rested. Sam checked if the straps were fastened right. After making sure everything is safe, they continued straight to Windsor.
By noon, they were able to pass the second village. It was much larger than Fengaurd. It was surprising that They had no inn. 'Must be to keep foreigners out'. Since there was still enough time to get to Windsor by nightfall, They decided to stock up food and water for the bulls.
With all stocks refilled, it was already past noon. They steeled the cart out of the village and proceeded towards Windsor. Windsor was relatively large. They had a few regional offices. It could be said that they have a relatively substantial population. Most focused on farming and as such farming equipment and seeds sold the most.
The bulls picked up speed. They were able to reach Windsor within nightfall. Once Sam reached the gate, one of the guards exclaimed,
"It's Fin."
'I hope I don't get into trouble.'
The guards approached Sam. There was respect in their eyes. Soon, they were escorted towards the office of the chief. The village chief was a pretty old and gentile fellow.
Sam was worried that he might get into unnecessary trouble.
"Don't worry, Fin has often run away from home." The first words that came off the chief relieved him of his worries. After hearing a detailed description of what happened, chief let Sam return to his carts.
When he reached the cart, a woman was waiting for him. Fin was crouching behind the cart playing around.
"Sir, thank you for bringing my child back."
"It wasn't much. Please take care of him in the future."
She dragged the kid back to her. She looked a bit hesitant then looked back at me and said, "We run the local store here. If you plan to see off any farming tools we would be happy to help."
'This might be the best place to sell. If I can get a 50% raise, it will be worth it.'
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