"Mr. Jie, Miss Carly, how's the roasted rabbit? And this wheat bread, it's made from the freshest wheat." Ed watched the two devour their food.
"Hmm...it's really...amazing! I've never tasted anything so delicious before. I wonder if the lord here needs any more men?" The fat man exclaimed in surprise, then quickly winked at Ed and glanced guiltily at Carly.
However, Carly was enjoying her meal and didn't hear his mumbled words.
Ed understood but didn't answer him. It seemed these robbers weren't doing too well. Secondly, he was afraid Carly would betray them, so he seemed quite afraid of their leader. The strategy of capturing the leader first might work, but they needed to find out how many leaders this group of robbers had first.
Once the leader is dealt with, a carrot-and-stick approach will bring in the miners, right? The current problem is how to lure them all in.
"Miss Carly, our lord is away. Do you need any help? Perhaps I can assist you." Ed said, looking at Carly who was still eating meat.
"Oh, I see! Did your lord go to Scarborough Fair before? I think I helped him trade some salt before, did you know about that?" Carly put down the rabbit meat, then picked up the bread.
"Oh, now that you mention it, I seem to remember. Lord, you did go to that market. At that time, the territory was short of salt. Thank you so much. I will do my best to help you if you have any difficulties." Ed said, looking at the fat man.
The fat man realized it was true; the one who killed the second leader was indeed the local lord. What to do? Don't panic, let's hear what they have to say first.
Carly put down the bread, looking somewhat sad.
"We've gotten separated from our group, and we hope you can help us find them."
"Okay, Miss Carly, no problem. I'll send some people to search. Are you the only two left now?" Ed asked a crucial question.
"No, we have a large group, and there are still some people in the jungle. One of them is my elder, and he is watching over us. My servant and I are just here to seek some help, since food is limited." Carly looked at the fat man, who nodded discreetly.
"Oh, that's unfortunate. May I invite you here? Look how big this place is." Ed pointed to the spacious hotel lobby.
"Ah! Thank you so much, but I need to go back and ask my elders about this, since I'm still young." Carly appeared helpless and vulnerable.
"Hmm, no problem." Ed looked at the fat man again.
"Yes, Mr. Ed, that is indeed a good suggestion, but we still have many people. I would also like to ask when your lord will be able to return?"
"Oh, Mr. Jie, this place is spacious enough. The lord has gone hunting and we don't know when he will return. But it doesn't matter, he entrusted me with the affairs of the territory before he left."
"Okay, Mr. Ed, thank you for your invitation. We'll go back and ask first," Carly said while drinking her porridge.
"Miss Carly, there's no rush. Finish your food before you leave." Carly left, walking very quickly.
A corner of the hotel lobby
"Andrew, you know the situation. From now on, someone needs to watch over the north and east sides of the territory. We didn't even know people were coming like this today. How are the preparations going?"
"My lord, everything is ready." Andrew thought so too. Luckily, he ran into someone he knew this time. He would have to be more careful in the future.
"Well, hopefully Carly can bring them in smoothly."