About 15 to 30 minutes later, the rain started to stop. We then got ready to continue our journey.
It happened that there was a small streamlet flowing near where we stopped.
We then used that small river to wash our face, and urinate (We do not urinate that small stream, we only used the water. Yeah, to used to wash our small member), etc.
After that, we then resumed on our way to the town.
"..."
We can see some wild animals like Jackrabbits and Antelope in the vast grassland.
I don't know why they were there even though it had just finished raining. But their existence calmed our minds on this journey.
The road started to widen and we began to join the other carriages which were also going into the town and the other way around. They also hired escorts, the Adventure like Casey's party.
The driver carriage of our group and other carriage drivers exchanged greetings and shared information (Are there bandits on the road? Monsters? Etc.) every time their carriages and our carriages passed.
Some simple cottages around the defensive wall of the town can also be seen. These simple houses seem to have been specially built as a shelter for peasants/serfs who take care of fields, livestock, etc. outside the town wall.
These cottages built from wood and the roofs were thatched (made of bundles of reeds that have to be replaced periodically). The interior walls were generally made of wattle and daub - an arrangement of twigs weaved into a wall shape and coated with mud and straw to make a hard, plaster-like surface to keep out drafts.
I also often hear that the peasants or serfs, brought their animals into their homes to protect them.
You can imagine how things are in the house with such a situation.
Don't ask me.
Even letting animals that are often used as pets get into the house, I can't stand it. Let alone do something that extreme.
"..."
In the grassland, I also found some piles of hay that were just left lying there, maybe the people didn't have time to save that fodder from the rain or they were just too lazy to save that hay?
"Welcome to Rijeka Town." (Casey)
"Wow ~"
"Finally!"
This town is called Rijeka Town.
The town gate and the town defensive wall now were clearly visible.
And the long line of people who wanted to enter the town could also be seen.
It was unbelievable that such a crowd could be made so quickly, even though the rain had just stopped.
They lined up, waiting for their turn in an orderly manner following the security procedures carried out by the gatekeepers.
“You are not yet an Adventure and don't have any identification yet. Prepare your money for the entry fee." Said Casey to the five of us.
""Yes."" Answer us all.
"How much is the entry fee, Casey?" (Unknown)
"2 copper coins." (Casey)
“Here.” I pretend to give my money to Casey.
“Hey, I'm not the gatekeeper.” (Casey)
"..." I then looked at Beastkin. He looks reluctant as he takes money from his pouch to pay that entrance fee.
"He hasn't done anything yet in the town, however, Beastkin’s money already decreased by nearly 25 percent! ” (Female Knight)
We could only smile at Female Knight's joke.
"Stay cool, Beastkin." (Princess)
“…” (Beastkin)
" Just use the money we got from looting the bandits before." (Unknown)
“…” (Beastkin nods)
"Oh, you're right. I also have that money. I almost forgot. " (Female Knight)
“…”
“People in our territory say this town is a small town. I didn't know their standards were so high even though we’re both country bumpkin. I think this town is already quite big. " (Unknown)
“The area of this town is about 1 square mile (about 640 acres) and their population is approximately 2200 people plus the number of immigrants, travelers, merchants, and people like us, is approximately 500 - 800 people. Compared to other towns in the Aglev Kingdom with an average population of 4000 to 6000 people. This town could be classified as a small town." (Casey)
“…”
“Hey, where the hell'd you get those numbers, Casey? That's very important information that only important people in the town or the Kingdom know, right? ” (Unknown)
“Yes, that's right.” Said Female Knight and Princess at the same time. They agreed.
This may sound trivial in your mind because information about the population of cities, towns, and villages, etc. is available on the internet and we can easily access it. However, in a backward civilization like the one in this world, such information is not just any information.
Such simple details are very sensitive. If that information falls into the wrong hands, the town could be in danger.
Therefore, knowledge of how much the population of the town should not be just anyone who knows.
For this reason, this sounds very weird to us because the mere adventure like Casey knows about that too.
“Hey, it's an open secret, you know. The gatekeepers and guards who used to patrol the town got drunk at the bar and they talked about the large number of immigrants who came to Rijeka Town. Many village people who are looking for work here, then the serfs who fled from their Lord's territory to seek “asylum” here and look for work here too while hoping to become freemen, etc. The gatekeepers and the guards then continued they complain about their increased workload, but their salaries weren't. Then this and that other stuff, and soon after that, they revealed those numbers. I think they're fired now." (Casey)
"Or beheaded because of their blabbermouth." (Female Knight)
"So it's an open secret?" (Princess)
"... Yes" (Casey)
"Looks like it's just a matter of time this town falls into enemy hands." (Female Knight)
“Ughh… Hey, are you guys really going outside the territory for the first time? You are very knowledgeable. " (Casey)
"Haha."
I wonder how people in this world react when they are shown some digital map app that offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, terrain, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, air, and public transportation, etc. on it.
Their military men could certainly have had heart attacks after finding out the information regarding their kingdom's territory, their terrain, etc. can be seen very prominently there.
Very worthy to be YouTube content.
"..."
"Somehow I seem to want to pee again." (Unknown)
"Then quickly go to the bush over there. I'll keep the queue for you." (Elf)
"Okay, thanks." (Unknown)
I then left the line and went to the bush.
I see a lot of people who come here for pee too. I chose a place a bit away from them, and then I did a little bit of field observation in this area first, I didn't want to step on someone spot who just peed.
After I finished I went back to the queue of our group.
As I walked there, I encountered a group at the very back of the queue, carrying people with gloomy faces and torn clothes and iron handcuffs attached to their hands and feet, and they were chained and the chain is attached to the back of their carriage group.
There were fifteen of them in total.
I approached the group and asked.
"Are they slaves?" I asked one of the people who seemed to be in charge of watching these chained people. He then turned to me.
“Hmm… Oh, them? No, son. They are bandits. We will hand it over to the authorities when we want to enter the town later. "
"Oh ..." (Unknown)
A few moments later, a man in his 25s approached the two of us. He seemed to be an Adventure, a sword user, and had expensive-looking leather armor.
"What's the matter, sir?"
“Hmm… Oh, Ega. Here, this young man asking about that bandits. He thought they are slaves."
“Ahahaha. But it is true, sir. They will be slaves soon." (Male Adventure)
"Did you catch them?" I asked the Male Adventure.
"Ah, yeah. Me and my party. We managed to knock out and catch them when they tried to ambush us on our way here. " (Male Adventure)
"Where did you come from?" (Unknown)
"Ah, we just came back from the east." (Male Adventure)
"Oh." (Unknown)
Does that mean the opposite direction of our group? .... Or not?
Whatever.
"Are they famous?" I asked the Male Adventures.
“These bandits? I don't think so. " (Male Adventure)
"How much money will you get if you hand it over to the authorities?" (Unknown)
“For ordinary bandits. The authorities usually give a reward of one to three silvers coin. If their head is on the list of the most wanted people. Rewards can break 10 to 20 silver coin. " (Male Adventure)
"Wow, that's a lot too, huh." (Unknown)
"Yes. It’s not bad. And at least we can get 15 silver coins after handing over all these bandits. It’s enough to cover the cost of staying and eating at the inn for a week." (Male Adventure)
“…” I nodded in agreement.
But, fifteen silver coins only lasted for a week? Surely this man's standard is also high judging by what he was wearing, it made sense, or is it because they shared the reward for all of his party members?
Maybe for that reason.
"Then, I'll take my leave first. Thank you for taking your time. " (Unknown.)
"You're welcome.", “No, problem, son.” Answer them both.
I then returned to the line of my group.
To Be Continued
fuuck our guy are really poors
I was going to say that an adventurer usually wouldn't know all that info about a city but the boys' surprise and the guards complaining made for a nice twist. Good job!
Thank you. I feel the need to do something to solve this problem because I stick to the rule to always insert some realistic side and some logic to explain something in the story I made. Some authors do it by giving a few lines of paragraphs to explain something in their story, while some other authors (including me) try to create the character in the story that explains that part. So I feel proud, my inexperienced brain can still think of something like that before the readers scold me that there is a plot hole
And, yeah. Sorry I just replied to your comment