After having crossed the vast wilderness, we arrived at a town called Helenna.
It was about the same size as Ruicerl, the town that had been designated the rendezvous point for Tiuccia’s conscripts. That meant that Helenna was likely a key town for this region.
The name of Helenna didn’t ring a bell for me, despite my inherited knowledge of Golden Dawn. Prince Wald knew of it, however.
Helenna was a provincial town of a small country in the northernmost part of the Northern Bloc. In terms of its location relative to the Central Nations, this country was still within the same area as the teleportation portal we’d arrived at, 02:03. Our final goal was still a far way off.
The required toll for entry was posted in front of the gate that allowed passage into the town. They were asking thirty gold per person.
To be perfectly honest...what a rip-off!
But I guess if any place were going to charge such an exorbitant price to get through the door, it would be a town guarded by a high outer wall like this. Maybe the toll was a maintenance fee or a safety guarantee.
All of the villages I’d visited before had been surrounded by rickety wooden fences, so I’d only ever paid unremarkable tolls till now.
The fee must’ve been expensive because of the size of the town. Apparently, Ruicerl had asked a high price as well, which would’ve been impossible for a mere conscript to pay.
I’d been freely able to pass through its gates without paying the toll, but now that I thought about it, I’d had a permit at the time.
“Kariya, are we really going to stop by the town?” Wald quietly asked at my side.
We were lined up to enter. Wald had pulled his cowl all the way over his head, burying his face in the depths of his cloak.
“They appear to be doing a rather strict inspection. Wouldn’t it be much safer to go to a smaller town?” he suggested.
“No, we’ll have to enter a town of this size to get our business out of the way.”
The prince had said he wanted to send his family a letter, after all. We’d need to stop by the merchant’s guild. That guild wouldn’t bother setting up a branch somewhere unless the settlement were at least a town of this size.
We didn’t have a choice; all we could do was grit our teeth and go in. I was certain we’d be fine—our cover wouldn’t be blown that easily.
“I’ll handle everything at the gate. You can just pretend you’re shy and stick close behind me—you won’t have to speak to the guards or anything,” I told him.
“Next in line!” the gatekeeper called out.
“Oh, coming!” I hurriedly responded.
The inspection of the wagon ahead of us must’ve just finished.
Since we had been called, we passed by the armed guards to stand before a government official. He was a difficult-looking man who was getting well on in his years.
“Two highlanders, eh? Don’t see you lot come down here often. So, what’re you in Helenna for?”
I offered him an account that Wald and I had agreed on during our trek through the wilderness.
“Our village chief asked us to go to the merchant’s guild in this town on an errand, as well as to purchase some supplies,” I said.
“An errand?” the man repeated, probing for more details.
“A delivery. We don’t know what’s inside.”
He studied us with a steely glare and snorted. “Hmph. That’ll be sixty gold for the two of you, then. Here are your papers proving you have the right to enter; be sure to keep them on you at all times. We’ll take them back when you leave, but we’ll give you a token in exchange that’ll reduce the toll on your next visit.” His heavy gaze fell on Wald for a moment. “What’s the relationship between you and your companion?”
“He’s my brother,” I answered nonchalantly.
“Hm... ‘Brother,’ eh?”
An exasperated grunt escaped him as he passed me the now-ready papers. On them were written a brief description of my appearance as the representative of my party, notes regarding the purpose of our visit, and one last word: “brothers.”
I paid the sixty gold, and he handed me our receipts.
Man, security’s so tight in big towns.
At least it seemed to be a bit more lax when it came to additional visits after the first.
To the side of the line we were in, a farmer who must’ve made regular vegetable deliveries here showed a wooden token to the guard on duty. He was waved through after paying a mere ten gold. He wasn’t even asked to alight from his wagon.
“Next!”
The official called out to those next in line behind us. I placed a hand on the prince’s back and nudged him forward into the town.