"Yeah, but I think they do have some non-magical treatments, since using magic doesn't seem as commonplace in this world as I'd first thought it would have been. Besides, they likely didn't know about the treatment because they only knew that the mushroom used in the treatment was poisonous and probably hadn't experimented to see if there was any actual use from that mushroom rather than assuming it was only good to poison others," Tim answered before Beth could say anything. "I mean, they don't seem to have many scientists on this world, or much scientific knowledge."
"Maybe, but we haven't exactly gotten around to talking with the more educated population of this world," Beth said before anyone else could, though she was wondering how they'd gotten on this topic when they'd been talking about looking for a theatre troupe not long ago. "After all, a scientist would need to have some education in order to understand certain things as well as record them. I mean, it's not like people can typically remember what the results of an experiment they'd conducted had been before if they don't record the results to see if anything would change if they altered something with the experiment."
"What're you talking about now?" Ralph asked dismissively, not that Beth was surprised. "A scientist wouldn't need a lot of education to conduct experiments."
"Maybe, but how would others then know what they discovered if they don't record what they found out?" Beth challenged, wondering if they'd pretty much finished their discussion at this point. As it seemed like they weren't going to find their way back to that topic at this point.
Not that it mattered because as Ralph opened his mouth to give his retort, rain started cascading down around them, soaking them through in seconds.
"What the hell!?" Ralph cried above the sound of the downpour.
"Well, I guess the picnic is over," Amelia commented as she stood up, quickly gathering what they'd brought the food in so they could make a mad dash towards the castle, which probably would take them a while considering how far they'd walked from it.
_
While Jenn had essentially sent other expeditions into the cities to buy slaves, this was the first time she'd been in one. Plus, this was the capital she was entering, a place she hadn't been since she'd been sold all that time ago. It made entering the city feel rather surreal, like she was walking through a dream that would end any moment, either with her back at the settlement on the other side of the gate or still on her way here. Though Jenn couldn't say which she'd prefer if it turned out either one was true. Especially with how the people who'd accompanied her seemed to have been acting rather strangely as far as Jenn could tell.
She supposed it was because of how she was surrounded by those who all knew that the others knew Jenn was the Blue Rose and didn't have to tip toe around the subject, making it easier to have a consensus on how to 'protect' Jenn from whatever might happen on this trip. As this was the first time since she'd started the mercenary company that she'd really travelled around with those who all knew she was the Blue Rose. She knew she might be wrong about that, but she couldn't say that she was or wasn't right then.
They'd been traveling four days, which Jenn felt should have been longer despite how long it took the slave caravan that she'd been in when she'd last left this city had taken before she'd wasted essentially anyone in that caravan who wasn't a slave with the help of the Lost. The only exception was a young woman who hadn't tried to stop Jenn, though Jenn wasn't sure if that really was the case or not, since she couldn't say that she was fully in control of herself then.
She could have made the trip take a little longer by stopping at Ferusha and checked in at the headquarters for her recruitment of the Silverthorns. Yet, she didn't want to spend any more time than she had to on getting the individuals with the skills she needed. She wasn't sure if there was anything that might have caused any real delay there, but she didn't care to take that chance.
Part of her was also complaining that they could have spent the night on the road rather than entering the city and spending money on an inn, but another part of Jenn really didn't want to spend any more time in the city than she had to once they went to buy the slaves in the morning.
She wasn't sure what the reasons were, but she just knew that being the in the city made her feel uneasy. She couldn't say that it wasn't because she was an escaped slave and was a little worried that she might be made a slave again, despite her being able to talk and those who would have been able to identify her as a slave only knew her as being unable to talk. She only knew that the sooner they'd completed their business in this city, the better she'd feel right then. Especially with dealing with the slave traders in the city.
The sun had already set and they'd just barely made it inside the city when the gates were being closed, and Jenn couldn't help but watch as they closed, sealing her inside the city while she wondered if she really shouldn't have made an excuse as to why they had 'missed' being able to enter the city, but she forced the thought out of her mind because she knew it wasn't being helpful to her right then. At least with how she was feeling about being in the city again.
As Jenn turned away from the gate, she looked at Yaelish, the one guard of hers that she trusted more than the others who was with her, and said, "Any suggestions on which inn we should go to?"
Yaelish shook her head, her eyes betraying how uncomfortable she was right then, though Jenn couldn't say if she was feeling that way as a result of being in this city in general, like Jenn was, or if there was another reason she felt uncomfortable. Though, it felt like she wasn't going to say anything so Jenn didn't press the issue. It wasn't like it was important anyway. It was just that Jenn couldn't say which inn was better than another.
They walked through the city, and Jenn couldn't help but feel like eyes were being drawn to them. The sensation was starting to make her head spin, even as she tried to convince herself that it was just in her head. She was confident it was her own paranoia making her feel that way, but it was one thing to realize that and another to get her mind to stop seeing things in the shadows that weren't really there.
It was getting so bad that when Yaelish tapped Jenn on the shoulder to get her attentjion, that Jenn nearly jumped ten feet. Jenn looked at Yaelish, unsure if she would say anything, as it was clear she noticed, but was relieved when Yaelish merely said, "There's an inn over that way. Maybe we should see if there's room for us to sleep there?"
Jenn forced her breathing to return to normal, unsure what had made her so antsy to begin with, but she wasn't sure that she'd be able to stop getting that way until they were leaving the city. "Sure," she managed to get out when she felt like she wouldn't embarrass herself with making strange noises when she spoke from her nerves. She didn't need to embarrass herself any more than she was sure she had right then.
However, they never made it to the inn, despite it being several yards away.
A woman came running out from between a couple buildings as Jenn's party was approaching the inn, looking over her shoulder and collided with Jenn before any of them could do anything about it.
It happened in seconds and Jenn wasn't going to blame her guards for not being able to stop the collision, though she doubted that anything she said would make them feel any better. Though, as Jenn was getting back on her feet, two women who apparently were chasing the one who collided with Jenn appeared.
The woman who ran into Jenn had light purple hair and matching eyes. The two who were right behind her had black hair with one having red eyes and the other blue eyes, making for an interesting color combination to Jenn, though she didn't care to say so much to them about that, as she doubted they'd respond to idle conversation anyway.
"You're not getting away. This time you're going to pay us what you owe," one of the new women informed the woman who ran into Jenn, grabbing her arm to keep her from running off again. "If you don't, we'll just take a stroll down to the slave market where I'm sure you'll fetch a nice price."
"Uh, what's going on?" Jenn asked, feeling like she should just stay quiet and continue on to the inn, but something about the look in the woman's face made her want to intervene. She wasn't sure what it was about, but she wasn't going to back down when she could potentially do something to help.
"None of your business," the other woman who had been chasing the first one snapped, stepping between Jenn and the woman, as if unsure that Jenn wouldn't try something then and there.
"How dare you-" one of Jenn's guards started to say, but stopped when Jenn gave her a sharp look.
Then when she was confident that her guards weren't going to do anything stupid, Jenn turned her attention back to the woman, one of the debt collectors, who was glaring at Jenn, her hand hovering over the sword at her hip. "I'm not looking for trouble," Jenn said, not liking what she'd seen so far about how these two women were treating the one who'd run into her. "I'd just like to know why you were chasing her. It might help salve my injured pride if I knew the reason she ran into me."
Jenn kept her tone friendly in hopes that she wouldn't create more problems here. Especially since she wasn't sure that getting involved was a good idea at the moment. She only knew she didn't like how that woman was being treated.
"If you must know, we're collecting on a debt this woman owes," the debt collector said, her tone full of exasperation, making Jenn wonder just how long they'd been chasing her. If it had been a while, Jenn was confident that she'd be low on patience herself.
"I've told you, I just need a little longer to pay the rest of it!" the woman protested as she struggled against the woman who had grabbed her and was now trying to tie the woman's wrists together.
"How much does she owe?" Jenn asked casually, as if this sort of thing happened to her everyday, making Jenn shocked that she was able to do that with a straight face.
"Two ziks."
Jenn nodded, reaching to her coin purse, pulling the coins mentioned out. "How about I pay the rest of her debt for her?"
Jenn could feel the stares her guards were leveling her way from behind her back but Jenn ignored them. She still wasn't sure what this was about, but she suspected that the one who'd be the best to fill her in was the woman who was about to be taken away. Where if Jenn paid the woman's debt, she was confident that she'd at least be able to leverage a conversation with the woman.
The two debt collectors also stared at Jenn, which she couldn't fault them for, as it was clear that kindness for strangers wasn't a common thing in this world, no matter what their religious teachings said. Though, as soon as Jenn had that thought, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly did she know about the religions of this world. She knew that she had memories that weren't really hers through the Lost, but what knowledge those memories contained hadn't been something that she'd explored just yet.
Was there something in those memories that could help her?
"Why would you want to do that?" One of the debt collectors asked cautiously, as if Jenn was about to rush them with her guards.
The question snapped Jenn out of her thoughts, making her realize she should consider what she'd been thinking about later. "Because I want to talk with her," Jenn answered simply. She doubted anyone would understand such a reason, but it was at least one that she was confident the debt collectors wouldn't be able to dispute and would at least satisfy their curiosity in that matter.
Or at least aside from the fact that they probably would like to know what Jenn wanted to talk with the woman about, even though they wouldn't be able to ask, since that wasn't any of their concern.
The debt collectors looked at each other for a moment before releasing the woman and holding out a hand to Jenn. "Pay it then and don't waste our time," one said, her impatience clear.
Jenn quickly pulled out the required coins and the debt collectors left promptly, leaving the woman they'd been chasing looking around in confusion. Not that Jenn blamed her, though as she looked at Jenn, a look of fear crept over her face. It wasn't the reaction Jenn had hoped for, but she couldn't say that she wasn't surprised.
"What- what do you want with me?" the woman asked, looking like she was getting ready to start running again.
"I just wanted to talk," Jenn replied. "Consider that your repayment to me for what you owe me now."
The woman stared in astonishment at Jenn. A reaction that Jenn wished would stop happening. Even though she understood that the culture in this world wasn't conducive to actions like the ones she just took, she wished that it would change at some point. Even though she didn't see that happening any time soon. It was just that she was getting tired of others looking at her with surprise when she did something like that, something that she was confident would help her out in ways she wasn't yet sure how.
"About what?" came the response, full of skepticism and unease.
Jenn nodded, glad to dispel with any pleasantries. "Well, first let's start with how you got into debt in the first place."
The woman stared at the hand Jenn held out to her, a silent offer to help her up. While Jenn had a feeling this wasn't going to be a short conversation, she was at least glad that the woman seemed to be relaxing around her. That she was at least making progress on that front.
After a minute, the woman accepted Jenn's hand and rose to her feet with Jenn giving her a tug. "You can tell me at your own pace," Jenn said, prompting the woman to answer the question she'd asked, as she had a feeling it might not occur if she let it play out without letting the woman know she wanted to know the answer.
The woman nodded quickly. "Right. I work as a smith, one of the few who has experience working with aluthium when I stopped getting work. My family needs to eat and I need supplies to keep my forge running, so I had to take out a loan. Eventually I started getting more work, but it wasn't enough to cover the entire debt," the woman answered, her gaze taking on a vacant look as she lost herself in her thoughts. "I was almost there when suddenly those two appeared demanding repayment of the rest of the debt."
Jenn nodded, understanding the sigh the woman let out as she finished speaking. It certainly was a hard luck story that could happen to anyone.
Although, hearing the woman had worked with aluthium seemed like having collided with this woman was a stroke of good fortune. After all, she hadn't been looking for anyone like that on this trip and she had a feeling two ziks was probably going to be more than worth getting someone like her. That having that experience would likely make her worth far more as a slave, making the whole affair worth it if Jenn could convince her to join them.
"My name is Jenn. What's your name?"
Jenn was aware of Yaelish and the others behind her quickly catching on to what Jenn was clearly heading towards and she wasn't sure what expressions they'd have, if they'd be uneasy, annoyed, or pleased with the direction this conversation was going.
"My name is Maelias," she replied, looking at Jenn like she wasn't sure where this conversation was going herself. Then suddenly she looked like she thought of something that shocked her. "Where are my manners? Would you and your friends like to stay with me? My family and I would be glad to have you stay with us."
For the first time since the collision, Jenn looked towards her guards, who regarded Jenn with calm gazes, making Jenn relax that they weren't unhappy with the way she'd been handling the situation. It was clear to her that they were accepting of what she was doing, even if they themselves weren't certain just what that was.
"I think we'd like that," Jenn said, wondering if this would also help offset some costs that she might have in regards to not staying at an inn, as helping this woman out certainly wasn't part of the plan when they'd come to this city, no matter how well it had worked out for her. Especially since she knew that she needed to get some skilled laborers like masons and carpenters before she was done here.
She hoped that, if nothing else, Maelias would be able to help her find people who would fit exactly what Jenn was looking for right then.