City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 85: River Bandits

“I will tell you, girls. By staying, you have made the best decision of your life.” Carla said to the one hundred and one women standing in front of her.
 
To be honest, the number of girls who stayed had shocked me. With past experience, I thought, I would have left with around eighty girls, or even seventy. That would have forced me to buy more contracts and extend my stay by a day.
 
“I could see many of you are not willing to believe me and only chose to stay because there was no choice.”
 
“Whatever your reason may be, it is the best decision you all have made and will see it in a day,” finished Carla.
 
The girls had no change in their expressions hearing her words. As she had said, most stayed because there was no choice. The whore who left the business eventually returned to it.
 
“Sleep early today. Tomorrow, we will leave at dawn,” I said to them, before walking out of the hall with Carla and Caena.
 
I had just walked out of the hall and saw Jonah is waiting for me. “Mr. Silver, the stone mercenaries, has arrived,” he said. “Let’s meet them,” I said, and we walked toward the parlor.
 
I have hired them for the day, but they will be finished well before that. As we will reach the Greltheaven by early afternoon.
 
Soon, I reached the parlor, and immediately seven people stood up to see me. They are the stone mercenaries.
 
I looked at them, and could easily see all of them are from Mayhurst island. Their sun-kissed skin tone is very easy to recognize.
 
I turned to the leader. He is a big man who looked to be in his early to mid-forties. He is at least six foot five or more. Giant blood clearly. Have a thick mane of golden hair and amethyst eyes, turning his below-average face into handsome one.
 
By his side is a huge steel great sword, which is at least five feet long. Even with their natural strength, giant bloods did not use such abomination weapons.
 
Sitting beside him is a man named Jon Sands. He is a lean man about the same age as him. With a handsome face and blue eyes that felt sharp as a sword.
 
He is a rogue.
 
On the left side of them were two people: siblings, Stena and Shaun Carter. They are in their late twenties with black hair and faint yellow eyes. Their parents have blessed them with good genes as man is handsome and women are pretty.
 
The man is a mage, and the woman is an archer.
 
On the right side of the Stone and Jon are three people. The first one is a teen, with somber brown eyes. 
 
The young man is Eli Gest, a tamer/ scout. 
 
Sitting beside him was an elf-blood woman in her late twenties with short blue hair. She is Zela Taras, a water mage with the ability to cast some healing spells.
 
The last one beside her is a short-haired man in his mid-twenties. He has blond hair and a silver stud in his earns that seemed to give out a spunky feel.
 
His name is Hugo Bent, and he is a warrior. 
 
I have to say, there is a great team. A well-balanced one. Especially with mages. It is hard to see the teams with one mage, but they have two, including the one who could cast healing spells.
 
“Mister Silver,” the big man greeted, “Captain Stone,” I said back and sat down. “I assume Jonah had provided you with the details of the work?” I asked.
 
“Yes, he had,” he replied.
 
I talked to him and his teams for half an hour, giving them inputs, before going back to my room to sleep. 
 
…
 
“Caena and guards have taken the girls to port ten minutes,” said Carla as I walked into the parlor. “Let’s leave then,” I said and walked out of the mansion.
 
“Have a safe journey, Mr. Silver,” said Vikdyr as we reach the door of the mansion. “Thank you, Vikdyr,” I said with a smile.
 
Half-elf had been very good, and I have shown my appreciation through the tip I had left for him.
 
It is still dark, but the sun is out, and it is getting brighter by the minute.
 
I nodded at Stone and the other guards and sat in the carriage and a minute later; the carriage rolled out of the gates of the mansion.
 
Even at dawn, the city is active, but the carriage is moving more freely. We will reach the port sooner than it would usually take during the day.
 
“The trip was successful,” said Carla. I smiled at that, as it is a success. We got everything we wanted and even could watch the wonderful duel. “We are still in Owlspring. Say that, when we reach Greltheaven,” I said.
 
I will not consider it a success till I reach home safely. 
 
I don’t think there would be any problem. I have booked the ship, and the route is safe.
 
Many groups of river bandits had been dealt with, and in the past week, there is not been a single attack. Owlspring and Greltheaven had done a good job dealing with them. 
 
I wish they had done just as well at dealing with bandits in Nakar forest.
 
They have been plaguing the baronies. Looting, raiding, and killing, while the forces of the empire could only watch.
 
It is not just the gorlag bandits that are doing that, but also other groups who got the courage to see them. I had got a message yesterday that my brother had been looted. It couldn’t help but make me happy.
 
I wish I had been there to see his face.
 
They have a serious problem, and I hope they will do something about it before it truly gets out of control.
 
Forty minutes later, the carriage stopped, and we got out into the bright sky. I looked at the sky, before turning to the ship.
 
I have booked the whole passenger ship. A ferry, to be exact. It has a capacity of one hundred and fifty people.
 
It is not a common ferry. It is one of the luxury ones. Costing three times more than the ordinary ferry ship would have cost me.
 
They have better seats and more leg space. More importantly, it is big, with enough space to move around to enjoy the river and scenery around it.
 
It is a short distance journey and will take around six hours for us to reach the Greltheaven. If it had been a long distance, I would have booked the ships with beds, but for such a short distance, there is no need.
 
The ship's name is Loza. It is a long white ship, with a curved stern.
 
Soon, I reached the ship and climbed into it, where a middle-aged man was waiting. “Mister Silver, welcome to Loza.” said a middle-aged man. “Thank you, Captain Seron,” I said as I shook his hand.
 
“If all your preparations are made, we can leave in five minutes.” He said, and I turned to Caena and Johan, who have come.
 
They nodded.
 
“We can leave immediately,” I replied. “Ok, then. I will start the ship,” he said, and walked toward the control deck, while I turned to Caena and Johan.
 
“Is everything ready?” I asked. “Yes, all the girls counted and seated,” replied Caena. “The guards are also in their position.” Informed Jonah.
 
“Good,” I said and walked with Caena and Carla, while Stone and Jonah followed behind. Soon, we reached the small private on the ship, which had even better seats and views.
 
A few minutes later, the runes across the ship light up and a few seconds after that, the ship begins to move out of the port.
 
“The city is great but expensive. The accessories you have brought from Namdar had been cheaper than from here,” said Carla, as we watched the ship sailing in confluence.
 
“Namdar is not cheaper. I had got the friend discount there,” I replied. Looking at the prices here, I know she had given me a huge discount.
 
I will soon have to buy a huge number of accessories. What I had brought in Owlspring is supplementary to what I have, but I will need more for these girls before they debuted.
 
I planned on sending Eudo for that; I hope the staff of the studio will be ready by then. 
 
Soon, the boat sailed out of the confluence into the Trollmouth river that was formed it.
 
The Trollmouth river is wide, wider than Northhare and Vale, that is made of. So, the potential of trade that Greltheaven represents is greater than Owlspring.
 
Having potential does not mean we will succeed. It requires political will, better policy, and favorable geopolitics along with some luck. The Greltheaven has half of these things and half will need work.
 
The optimal time is running out as the death of the emperor, going to make things a lot more volatile, which is not favorable in a hundred ways.
 
I shook my head, as I can’t do much about it. Still, I am doing as much as I can through my small position as the legal adviser. 
 
An hour passed, and we have crossed the territory of merchant cities and entered the Renwall region. The boundary is visible. That even a simpleton would recognize it.
 
The side of merchant cities is completely verdant, while the empire's side is completely barren. When I came, it was dark, and I did not see it clearly, but now the difference is clear.
 
The Renwell region is barren, dependent on others for nearly everything.
 
I sighed and took out the book from my bag. I had barely got any chance to read since I came to Owlspring, but now that I have a few hours to kill, I could read a book. 
 
Thanks to my Reading skill, my speed is quite fast.
 
In the first two months since I had come here, I did not think I could finish my reading target. That thought now had completely disappeared, all thanks to my wonderful skill.
 
Even with resistance, I could read much faster; not simply read, but also understand.
 
Now, even with much less time to read, I would be able to finish my target in less than half a year. 
 
The skills are such amazing things. They made everything great.
 
I read for two hours before getting up and walking to the big deck. Much bigger than the common ferry ships.
 
I nodded at the guards before coming to the wooden railings and watching the water. It is clear and harmless to drink. One could say that about the earth’s rivers.
 
A few minutes passed, and I took a step to leave, when suddenly, the teen Eli, the tamer, took out his sword. 
 
“Bandits!” he screamed loudly, and at that exact moment, I saw the gentle flowing water rippling and figures started to shoot out of it.

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