The toll of a bell rose from somewhere inside this town that had appeared out of the darkness, the winds carrying each peal all the way to us.
“Master Arc, that bell marks the closing of the gates. We should hurry.”
It seemed like the gate wasn’t going to be shut immediately after the bell finished tolling, but Rita still wanted the carriage to reach the town before it did. Considering that the carriage held a noble’s daughter, I was almost certain they would have opened the gates up for her regardless, but she was probably worried about making extra work for the gate guards.
We seemed to be approaching the east gate, in front of which stood several guards with spears. We’d been noticed.
One of the guards’ demeanor changed instantly when he recognized Rita.
“Miss Rita, what happened?!” He ran over. “Where is Sir Maudlin and the other guards?”
Upon hearing his cries, the other gate guards also made their way over. The first man to approach was the only one wearing a helmet, perhaps their captain.
“We were ambushed by bandits about an hour up the road. Master Arc here defeated them, but, unfortunately, Sir Maudlin and his fifteen-guard contingent were all murdered.”
“That can’t be!”
The captain of the gate guards exchanged looks with Rita, utter bewilderment etched upon his face. The other guards began murmuring among themselves as they heard the news.
“We put the bodies of Sir Maudlin and five of his guards in a safe place. I’d like you to go collect them. Now, I must take the madam back to her estate and notify Master Buckle of what has happened.”
“Understood! I will form a group to recover the bodies at once. Please secure permission for us to depart from Master Buckle.”
The captain offered Rita a swift salute before taking off in a run to give orders to his men.
Rita dropped down from the driver’s seat and approached me, bowing her head again. “Master Arc, I’d like to once again express my gratitude to you. If there is anything I can ever do, please call on me, Rita Farren, chambermaid of the Luvierte estate. I promise I will do my utmost to assist you.”
“Well, there is one thing… Could you tell me where I could sell these?” I gestured to the horses I’d taken from the bandits. Traveling around with six horses would be an incredible hassle, so I wanted to sell them as soon as possible. The only problem was that I didn’t know where to do that.
“Enter the east gate then immediately turn right. There you will find Dando’s stable. He will buy your horses. I’m sure he’ll work out a deal quickly if you mention my name.”
“Much obliged.”
I thanked Rita and walked the horses through the east gate. We parted ways at the first junction, her turning left while I headed right, waving goodbye to them before continuing on.
The stable Rita had mentioned was made of wood, and beside it stood a sign with the image of a horse on it.
I tied the horses to a nearby pole and entered, where I found a stable hand. Though only 160 centimeters tall, he seemed a strong man with a stocky build, judging by the arms that bulged out of his rolled-up sleeves. He was bald, with a bushy beard that extended down to his chest. Assuming this was the shop owner, I cut to the chase and told the man what I wanted.
“Miss Rita of the Luvierte estate told me to come here. I’d like to sell some horses.”
He looked surprised for a moment, but after giving me a quick once-over, his expression changed to a gentle grin as he approached me.
“Well, well. I be Dando, the owner of this fine establishment. Do ye have a letter of introduction, kind sir?”
“I have no letters, but Miss Rita told me this was the best place to sell horses. She wasn’t exactly in a position to put pen to paper.”
The stable owner raised an eyebrow, as if trying to unravel the meaning behind what I’d said. I didn’t know if I could discuss what had happened with the bandits, but, in any case, I had an introduction from a person working for the estate. Since Dando almost certainly had some form of relationship with Rita, he should be able to trust me.
“The Luvierte daughter came under attack earlier this evening from a group of bandits. I happened to be nearby, so I lent them a hand. You could say the six horses are my loot from the bandits. Will you take a look?”
“Attacked? Miss Lauren?! This is certainly all news ta me. And six ’orses ye say… Well, I suppose we should go check on them.”
Dando raked his fingers through his beard as he exited through the front of the stable to inspect the horses. He grabbed a lamp hanging next to the shop to get a better look, inspecting them one by one, stroking their coats as he went. He appeared to be running the numbers in his head.
“I can offer ye forty-five sok for the big one ’ere and thirty sok each for the rest. For the saddles…’ow does one sok for the lot sound?”
I still had no idea how much anything cost, or even the units of currency, but I assumed this would at least cover my initial travel expenses. Figuring he probably wouldn’t make an unfair offer to a man fully clad in armor—though this was probably an overly optimistic outlook—I accepted.
“Glad ta ’ear it! Wait right ’ere, I’ll be back with yer money. ’Ey, boys! Come get these ’orses an’ bring ’em inside!”
With a quick nod of his head, Dando turned toward the shop and yelled inside. Two young boys came running out and went immediately to the horses, moving them to the stables.
I passed the time watching the boys move the horses until Dando returned, this time with a cloth sack. He began arranging the contents on a nearby table, stacking up the one-yen-sized gold coins in groups of ten. Apparently, gold coins were known as sok. In total, there were nineteen gold towers and six coins.
“That’ll be 196 sok in all. Feel free ta check.”