Water Snake Town is a suburban town in Beibang, Luoye City. It is not large in scale. An irregular log fence surrounds an area of more than 4,000 square meters in the town. There are more than 100 households and a total permanent population of 700 to 800 people. There are no specialties in Water Snake Town, but it is located just on the commercial road between Beibang in Fallen Leaf City and Lampang in Rapids City. It is a transportation hub connecting the two city-states and specializes in providing supplies, rest, and drying goods for caravans coming and going.
It's early summer now, the weather is getting hotter and the sun is shining brightly. The long-traveling armed caravans return to Luoye City from various adventure strongholds with full cargo, and they usually settle in Water Snake Town. This is also Water Snake's busiest time of year. The warehouse outside the town was full of carriages. Almost all the residents of the town went to the warehouse to help the caravans dry their goods; repair the carriages; take care of the animals pulling the carriages, cut their hooves and shoe shoes, comb and feed them; even small things like starching, washing and mending. There are also half-elf women rushing to do the work to earn a meager reward.
The residents of Water Snake Town work during the day and sleep in makeshift shacks next to the goods yard at night. They rented the vacant house to caravan workers, which was also an income.
No matter how stingy the caravan manager is, he would not dare to cut off the wealth of Water Snake Town, unless he wants to see his caravan set off again, the wheels of the car rolling away, or the camel beast diarrhea while walking.
This is how rules are formed.
The caravan guards and clerks who are tired of their travels are also happy to live in Water Snake Town and relax for a few days. Those who are willing to spend money can linger in the town's taverns, hotels and casinos, enjoy delicious food and wine, and have sexy and beautiful half-elf waitresses; those who are short of money can also rent an obedient and well-behaved barbarian female slave to serve them carefully.
As long as a business traveler is willing to spend money, Water Snake Town will always let him spend it. And penniless poor people are not welcome in Water Snake Town.
In the bustling streets of Water Snake Town, Lockerbie pressed down the felt hat on his head with one hand, hiding his thin and pale face in the shadow of the brim. He walked close to the stone wall of the street, pushing aside a few children who were selling fruit to him, trying not to attract anyone's attention, and quietly turned into a hidden alley on the side of the street.
Several burly men were watching the excitement with their arms folded. They seemed to have inadvertently blocked the entrance to the alley. Lockerbie walked over and raised his felt hat slightly so that the strong men could see his face clearly. They casually turned sideways, let Lockerbie in, and then covered the alley again, as if nothing had happened.
This narrow alley is a dead end. The walls of the houses on the left and right have no doors or windows, and the sunlight can only be reflected on the walls. In broad daylight, the light in the alley is also very dim. Sewage and garbage can be seen everywhere on the ground. Dirty gray-skinned rats burrow among the garbage, giving off a rotten and sinister atmosphere.
Lockerbie stepped through the stinky sewage to the end of the dead end. There was actually a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron sheets on the wall on the left. He stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, then took off his felt hat and raised his hand to knock on the wooden door.
There were two knocks on the iron plate and three more knocks on the wooden door. After two long and three short knocks, the window on the thick wooden door suddenly opened from the inside, revealing a pair of cruel eyes.
Lockerbie bowed, a flattering and humble smile on his face.
The eyes behind the window saw the visitor's face clearly, and then disappeared in an instant, and the shutter was closed with a snap. Immediately afterwards, there was a sound of pulling the door latch inside the door.
Lockerbie waited for a while, and the solid iron-clad wooden door finally opened. He was still adjusting his vision when a strong man grabbed his shoulder and roughly pulled him into the room. He then poked his head out and looked around. The man glanced at the few strong men squatting at the entrance of the alley to make sure there was nothing strange, then closed the wooden door and isolated the house from the outside world again.
In addition to the caretaker, there were three capable thugs and an elderly half-elf man inside the house.
He has gray hair and sinister eyes. He is sitting behind a wooden table counting gold and silver coins. An oil lamp illuminates half of his face. The interplay of light and shadow makes him look like an evil old wolf.
Old Wolf, the leader of the Thieves Guild in Water Snake Town, is in charge of all black and gray businesses in the town. He is not only one of the most important people in Water Snake Town, but also Lockerbie's creditor.
Lockerbie pressed his felt hat to his chest and stood two meters away, not daring to breathe.
After a long while, the old wolf finished counting the money on the table and raised his head, as if he just realized that there was a visitor in the room. He said with a face of surprise: "Oh, isn't this Lockerbie? I told Mundo and the others yesterday that Lockerbie should be coming to Water Snake Town in the next two days, and asked them to entertain you well...Domon, Lockerbie Bee is back and you didn’t tell me? I said, what are you scoundrels doing in a daze? Why don’t you move a chair for Mr. Lockerbie!”
A chair slid in front of Lockerbie, but it was not thrown by Mundo. The professional thug with a bald head and mutilated ears ignored the old wolf's greeting at all. He sat on the sofa next to him like a wooden man. However, Lockerbie felt cold all over when he came into contact with Mundo's emotionless eyes.
"Lockerby, my boss told you to sit in this chair. Are you deaf or stupid?"
A tall, fat thug grabbed Lockerbie and stuffed him into a cramped wooden chair. The armrests of the wooden chair were stained with sticky blood, some old and some fresh, indicating that the person sitting on this chair had probably never experienced anything good.
"So... Mr. Lockerbie, you came to me to pay back the money?" Old Wolf asked with a half-smile.
Lockerbie shivered. He knew very well that the gambling debt he owed Old Wolf might not be repaid. Although the armed caravans each have their own backgrounds and are not afraid of the old wolf in Water Snake Town, the caravan manager can recruit as many ordinary guys as Lockerbie. The caravan would never stand up for him. He saw with his own eyes that Old Wolf killed a caravan man who had no money to repay his debts, and even helped bury the body in the wild outside the town.
Lockerbie had nightmares about this for several days. As a result, nothing happened. The caravan set off on time, and it seemed that the buried man had never been in the caravan.
"I...I have no money." Lockerbie shrank in his chair, and he shouted before the old wolf changed his face: "I have news, and I'm here to sell it."
"oh."
The old wolf's straightened back collapsed again, and his ferocious expression that was eager to devour others disappeared. He said slowly: "News... Well, Lockerbie, you know that I like news and am willing to spend a lot of money to buy useful news. If it is useless news, then I will be very angry. Tell me about it. … I hope your news doesn’t make me angry.”
Lockerbie swallowed and said quickly: "More than ten days ago, our caravan encountered a group of weirdos on the road..."
"wack?"
"Well, five weirdos, three men and two women!"
"Okay, don't worry, speak slowly, but in detail."
Lockerbie calmed down and continued: "Fifteen days ago, our caravan set out from Sheeptail Town in Lampang, Rapid City, and the journey was uneventful. On the morning of the third day, the caravan encountered five weirdos on the trade road. , they wore untanned deer skins and wolf skins, and used a piece of leopard skin to cover the large rattan basket they carried, like hunters who had gone hunting and had been lost for a long time. However, except for two war bows , I didn’t see them carrying weapons, but they had long packages wrapped in animal skins, which must be weapons.”
"They stopped the convoy, asked us for directions, and offered to accompany us. The captain of the caravan was worried that they were spies sent by bandits, so he refused their request, but gave them some water and dry food."
"Those five weirdos walked on the outside of the commercial road and followed the convoy. They left as soon as we left. We stopped to spend the night, and they also spent the night outside. The convoy guards wanted to drive them away, but the guard chief told everyone to be quiet and just keep an eye on them. That's good. The guard chief said that if they leave on their own, it means they are really spies sent by bandits."
"On the fourth day, the convoy passed through a section of muddy ground. A carriage happened to run into the rut left by the vehicle in front. The wheels fell off at that time, and the whole carriage was about to topple. One of the five weirdos suddenly jumped over and used Use both hands to straighten the tilted carriage."
"Professional?"
"Yes, he is a professional." Lockerbie wiped the sweat on his forehead and said with certainty: "The captain of the guard had long seen that they had professionals, but he didn't expect that the professionals among them would be so strong. .”
Hearing this, the old wolf's pupils shrank. Of course he knew how heavy a fully loaded carriage was, and only a professional with a strong physique could temporarily right the tilted carriage. What surprised Old Wolf even more was the weirdo's reaction. You know, professionals usually don't rush towards a rapidly overturning carriage alone, but the weirdo didn't worry at all that he would be injured, and he acted decisively and acted very confidently.
This professional is very strong... Old Wolf thought to himself.
"When something like this happened, the caravan manager also came forward to thank them for their help. They also asked for companionship and took out a small bag of gold sand as a fee for the car. I saw that the gold sand they brought out was very pure and weighed at least one pound! "
The old wolf's eyes suddenly lit up, and he called to the thug next to him: "Walido, give Mr. Lockerbie a glass of fine blackberry wine."
Not long after, a thug brought a glass of blackberry wine to Lockerbie's table. Flattered, he picked up the glass and took a sip.
"Drink, drink, there's still more left after you finish drinking." Old Wolf narrowed his eyes and encouraged him to drink with a smile.
Lockerbie drank all the blackberry wine in front of him, but the old wolf did not pour him a second glass. This kind of blackberry wine with added ingredients is not cheap, and the caravan guys become more and more addicted to it as they drink it. Lockerbie used to drink blackberry wine in the Water Snake Town Casino. Unfortunately, his current wages were not even enough to pay back the interest, so he couldn't afford blackberry wine at all.
This glass of wine was given to him by the old wolf. If he wanted to drink a second glass, it would depend on his performance.
"The professional took out the gold sand. The steward didn't want to take it, but the other party said that they wanted to hitchhike on their way. When they arrived at Water Snake Town, they separated from the caravan and asked the caravan not to ask about their identity. The gold was considered as a reward."
It is common for travelers to travel together with armed caravans, but they have to pay a sum of money to the caravan as their own expenses in the caravan. The main purpose of tourists is to buy peace and avoid being disturbed by bandits and wild animals. However, some powerful professionals do not need to take refuge in armed caravans. Instead, armed caravans are willing to pay for them to accompany them and take care of the safety of the convoy.
Judging from the deeds of the professional holding the loaded carriage, he was a strong person that the armed caravan was willing to curry favor with and would not charge him for the ride.
So, the sand he gave to the caravan was actually hush money?
"Are there any wounded among them?" Old Wolf asked in a deep voice as he habitually touched the table with his hand.
"Maybe……"
Lockerbie was not sure and said hesitantly: "The steward arranged a half-loaded carriage for them to travel. The dark and thin guy among the weirdos got on the carriage first. But the two women refused to get on... They One is tall, one is short, both have good looks and figure, but there is something wrong with his brain... he seems to be crazy."
Old Wolf became interested and said, "Tell me more details."
Lockerbie nodded and said: "At first, we didn't see anything wrong with the two women, but they couldn't get on the carriage... When they climbed into the carriage, they even tore off the animal skins on their bodies. Big boss, It was hotter now, and the two women were only wearing thin underskirts under the animal skins, and they were sweating. Only then did we realize that not only were they beautiful, but their skin was also delicate, and they did not look like working servants. Or the female adventurers...their hair was cut messily, and there were a lot of blood stains on the underskirts, which were obviously marks left by being whipped. The strange thing is that the underskirts were not damaged."
The old wolf's expression became serious, and he interjected and asked: "Are you sure that their underskirts have blood stains from whipping, but the underskirts are not damaged?"
Lockerbie hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I didn't see any damage. I looked very carefully at the time."
"Well, let's continue."
"Those two women were particularly fierce, and their eyes were like protective beasts... A boy saw that they couldn't climb the carriage, so he kindly brought a stool for them to step on, but the tall woman turned around and scratched his face. Fortunately, she was stopped by one of her companions. The tall woman refused to give up and shouted "ho" and "ho". The man was frightened and fell down. The short woman took advantage of her companions not noticing her, and she Jumped up from the ground and bit the guy's leg hard... They are madmen, definitely not normal half-elf women!"
"Their companion got angry and hit them hard with a peeled tree branch several times before they calmed down and was carried into the carriage by the companion."
"The steward found some clothes for them to change into. At dinner time, they got off the carriage and ate with everyone. The professional who helped the carriage introduced him as Harvey; the dark and thin companion was called Maddie; and the tall woman was named Lu. Silk; the short one is called Jessica; and finally the one who whips them is called Victor. Harvey didn’t say anything else, and no one was allowed to ask.”
The old wolf was silent for a second, and then asked sadly: "If you think about it again, what else did they talk about?"
The caravan man recalled it carefully, raised his head and said, "Oh, the guard captain privately told us not to provoke them. He said that Harvey was very powerful, maybe a fourth-level professional, and that McGrady was also not simple. Harvey also claimed to be The leader of this group, but I always felt something was wrong.”
"Ruth and Jessica are completely crazy. They can't speak and can beat people, dogs, and humps. They beat anyone who gets close to them. Even Harvey and Maddie were threatened by their low growls. .....They are not afraid of anything, they are only afraid of the mixed-race man named Victor."
