Chapter VII

Adar enters the main hall of the inn, while the boy who had previously told him to come here exits. The main hall is filled with members of the caravan who had just arrived and did not have to stay outside to tend to the animals.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, filled with the clinking of glasses, the aroma of food, and the hum of conversation, Seres spotted Adar and began to make his way over. Despite being friends, it is sometimes difficult not to resent him.

After all, Seres' attractive youthful appearance combined with his natural abilities make him someone others naturally gravitate towards. But Adar is well aware of his flaws, which quickly become tiresome.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Did you come to help serve the tables?" his friend asks, maintaining his waiter's smile. But by the sweat and a few lines on his face, Adar knows that he is tired.

"No, I'm still busy with the animals. Agatha had someone call me in." Adar replies while looking around trying to find her.

"Oh, I thought I would have some help," grumbles Seres.

"Did you stay up late again?" Adar inquires, already knowing the answer.

"Hey, I have to study, or else I'll never make progress," is the expected response. He is more advanced than Adar, but he continues to spend sleepless nights studying. On the other hand, when it's time to work during the day, he's worn out and not very productive.

"Well, never mind. What about Agatha? I still have to finish taking care of the animals." he asks Seres, trying to hurry.

"Agatha was in the back with the caravan leader," Seres informs him while pointing in her direction. Under normal circumstances, finding someone here wouldn't be difficult. But it becomes more complicated with so many people walking and talking back and forth.

Despite not seeing her Adar follows the mentioned direction. Seres tries to follow him, probably out of curiosity to know what she wants. But he is called by a customer who wants another drink.

As Adar makes his way, he thinks about how these people can drink so much. At most, they left the last tavern three days ago, and they have at least four days until the next one. Well, for the inn, it's good news, especially considering how much they charge. The profit is great, but it's more work for those who have to restock.

Then, Agatha notices him and gets up from her chair to wave him over.

As he approaches, she points to the man beside her and says, "Adar, this is Mortimer. The leader of this caravan, who kindly offered to sell us some of their provisions at a good price." Adar looks at him and greets him with a nod of his head.

Mortimer is a man in his forties, overweight, bald, with a very bushy mustache, starting to turn gray amidst his dark hair.

The man nods back while pulling Agatha to sit beside him.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to be of help," Mortimer says, blushing a little as he looks at Agatha. Adar isn't sure if the blush is due to excitement about her, the drink, or both, but he suspects it's both.

"So, do I need to unload and store the products?" Adar asks to confirm the reason he was called.

Agatha nods affirmatively while Mortimer says, "Yes, I've already instructed Tar to handle the unloading on our end. So just tell him where to put the supplies, and he'll take care of everything."

"Alright, I'll take care of it," Adar says as he steps away. Mortimer on his part takes this opportunity to get closer to Agatha.

Adar understands that Agatha is an attractive woman. But knowing her as he does, the merchant would be better off fooling around with a snake.

Outside, Adar quickly finds Tar since both of them had been working taking care of the animals while most other members of the caravan were inside the inn.

"So, I've been told we're buying some of your provisions," Adar informs Tar.

"Yes, I've been informed, and I was counting on it." Tar confirms before asking, "Where do you want me to put them?"

"There, next to the stable entrance. We'll arrange everything later," Adar says, pointing to the spot where he wants things.

"Why did you say you were already counting on it?" Adar asks after thinking about Tar's comment.

"Ah, the big shots spent the last day talking about how the animals were heavily loaded. So, it was expected that if they could get rid of some cargo, they would," Tar calmly explains.

But considering the load the animals had, Adar comments, "But the animals didn't seem that heavily loaded to me. I've seen caravans pass through here with much more cargo."

"Oh, yes, you're right..." Tar stops talking and looks around a bit before continuing.

"Well, I think there's no problem discussing this." He says, lowering his voice and approaching Adar.

"The issue isn't the quantity of cargo but how delicate the cargo is," Tar tells him as if revealing a secret.

Considering what he is being told and how it is being told. Adar remembers, what recently happened in Dantar, the origin point of this caravan, to conclude.

"Eggs, you're carrying eggs," he whispers back, surprised. To receive a nod of agreement from Tar.

"But even so. Shouldn’t you have enough space for them?" he asks, as with the number of animals they have, they shouldn't need more space.

"Mate, we have forty eggs. And no one wants them on just one or two animals. So, we only have a few on each beast. It takes up space," Tar whispers back. It makes sense—losing so many eggs in case something happens would be an enormous loss.

"Forty, how did you manage to get so many? I thought they were going to be auctioned," he asks Tar in a low voice.

"They were. But Dantar had few merchants with available currency. So, Mortimer managed to snatch up most of the eggs. Of course, on the other hand, we ended up with no money," Tar tells him, starting to unload the supplies from one of the donkeys.

And that leads him to think about what is happening here. The caravan had no money, but they stopped here to spend a good amount. Considering that they had already planned to get rid of some cargo before reaching Freehope. That means they're having a feast with the value of the provisions they were going to lose one way or another. Clever.

Thinking about it, Mortimer and Agatha might be a perfect match. Well, at least he won't have to go fetch more provisions to the neighboring cities.

"How many eggs did they get from the forest?" he asks after approaching Tar again.

"Forty-seven," comes the quick response.

"You guys managed to get forty out of the forty-seven. It must have cost you a fortune," Adar comments, astonished at the amount of money they spent.

“Yep, your right mate. Each egg cost one large and three small pieces of silver.” Adar is shocked to hear the value the caravan has paid for the eggs. He had never even seen so much money.

"And we'll have a huge profit. I've heard that some pay a gold piece for each one," Tar says without stopping working.

Returning to helping unload the animals again, Adar continues the conversation asking, "Who the hell pays so much? Alchemists?"

"Alchemists, I wish. They can only pay, what they'll get back in potions. They pay well, but not that well." Tar says, approaching Adar, "Only nobles pay that much. I've heard the eggs are considered delicacies."

Just thinking about it, Adar's stomach almost turns. "Delicacies, spider eggs!!" he comments.

"Mate, if they want to pay, I'll accept it," says Tar, rubbing his fingers, indicating money he is counting on getting.

"And can you guys get to nobles to make the sale?" Adar asks.

"Unfortunately, not us. But we're headed from Freehope to the coast. There, we should get the best price. Even if we can't sell them for gold, we'll at least triple our money," says Tar with a cheerful smile, clearly dreaming of the money they'll make.

It's a good plan; in the wealthy coastal region, they should get the best price. In the end, a good outcome for everyone involved.

Even the adventurers who managed to hunt the giant spider made a good sum. At least those who survived.

And so, they work while discussing the news they've heard. Until near the end, when Tar asks.

"Have you heard about the necromancer?"

"Necromancer, what necromancer?" Adar asks, trying to appear calm, while his heart races.

"Yeah, from what I heard; a caravan was traveling with a necromancer. I think they had to fight him or something," Tar tells him, trying to recount the rumor he heard as accurately as possible.

"No, I haven't heard anything." Hearing the choppy story Adar starts calming down a little bit.

"Weird, I heard it was near Freehope. The news should have reached you here," Tar says, failing to notice Adar's new increasing nervousness.

"I haven't heard anything; it must have passed us by. But how much is left? When we're done, I'll buy you a drink inside," Adar says to Tar's satisfaction.

As time passes, the caravan finishes its break and with the start of a new day continues its journey to Freehope.

With the caravan's departure, Agatha turns to those who remained in the inn and tells them, "Finally. Now it's time to organize the provisions and clean the stables. Adar, you're in charge of that. Seres, you finish cleaning the hall, and the others, take care of the kitchen."

"Why do I always have to take care of the stables?" he asks frustrated that this job always falls to him.

"Shut up and go, just do your job. You don't even have to make that much effort. I have to get ready to report the last day's results to him," Agatha replies in her most shrilling voice.

At that moment, Bren comes out of the kitchen, saying, "So if only Shorty and I are in the kitchen, we'll need help with the dishes. Send Annie to me."

Adar ponders for a moment on what to say.  He takes that moment to consider Bren. Who is the fattest of them, which is more noticeable because he is also the shortest. As Adar observes the bald patch beginning on his head. Bren decides to start cleaning his hands on his already dirty robe. Adar reflects that, this man is usually in the kitchen duty.

Despite not having any idea of how to save the poor girl, he decides to try. But before Adar can say anything, Agatha waves to him that it's okay, and for him to proceed. Leading him to say with displeasure, "Alright, I'll take care of it."

So, Adar starts his job going to the stables. There he arranges some materials that will be needed for cleaning the stables to then grab a lantern. With it in hand, he heads to the most hidden corner of the stable.

Arriving there, he pulls a rug covered with straw that hides a trapdoor on the floor. The trapdoor opens to reveal a set of stairs leading to a tunnel dug under the stables.

He goes down the stairs and follows the tunnel until he reaches a wooden door on the side of the tunnel.

He lifts the wooden latch that secures the door and opens it.

On the other side of the door is a room dug into the earth, with four people. Annie is a young woman a little younger than he is, Sate is a woman old enough to be his grandmother and Ged is a thin and weak man in his forties. And lastly, having just arrived two weeks ago, a dark-haired young man was also a little younger than him.

They are all dressed in rags and with a collar around their necks. They are all sitting or lying on straw mats on the floor.

The first to get up with a strange and bizarre energy that no one else has is the newly arrived young man. And with a strange smile, he asks, "So, what does the boss need?"