1.2.02 – A Bone To Pick

The frosty bite that came with winter was fully replaced by the cool refreshing breeze of spring. I had to skip breakfast today and only managed to ransack the kitchen for some old bread and jerky which I took with me.

I reached the wagon yard to the east of Hollow’s Reach when the sun was up. Garrick was already strapping Old Betty to his wagon and getting ready for our trip to the black market. He was ready for me this time and I did not manage to sneak up on him.

“Hello there” I greeted Garrick as I approached.

“Where did you learn that weird greeting by the way? Never mind that, put these on. You can keep the mask off until we get closer” he said as he passed me an oversized cloak and a wooden mask.

The cloak seemed to be made out of thicker fabric with some oil or coating applied to it, probably to keep light rain from soaking through. It was not completely new but still in good condition. I put it on and noticed the slight warmth. I did not need it with my Yellow core and soul mutation but it was a welcomed comfort nonetheless.

The length was a little long for my height, even though I was almost 150 centimeters now, it was almost touching the ground when I put it on. Garrick probably took into account my future growth when purchasing this, how thoughtful.

The mask was just a simple wooden mask painted black with slots for the eyes, with an indentation between the eye sockets so it could rest comfortably on the nose. The wood had a darker grain texture, which the paint failed to hide, resembling a lightning bolt running from the top to the bottom of the left side, through the eye socket. How apt, I thought. If only it came in blue, I mused.

The mask also had leather straps tied like those paintball masks so that it can sit comfortably on my head. I tried it on — while it was a little loose, it still covered my face perfectly. I was sure I would grow into it with time.

“Good eye, how did you know my measurements?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I didn’t, these were the only sizes I could get. They cost 20 small silvers, I’m docking them from your next payment” Garrick tried to say nonchalantly, though I could tell it was a lie. I did not press him further on it. “Get on, we’ll head out soon”

I left the cloak on and climbed on to the wagon, it’ll be a bumpy ride and I could probably run faster. But I needed Garrick to show me the way and it was unlikely he could keep pace with me on foot.

We were heading East on a dirt road that was wider than the road leading to the orphanage. It seemed like more people passed through this road as we had passed a few other travelling parties on our way out.

I saw Garrick casting a simple spell every now and then to even out parts of the road that had been made uneven from the melting snow. It looked like a simple manipulation spell, which allowed me to guess that Garrick had an Earth affinity.

“So what do you know about the camp?” I asked as Garrick steered the wagon.

“Hmmm… not sure when it came about, but the story is that it started out as a place where some deserters from Ironhold made camp. Over the years, all sorts of questionable characters started to gather there. Over time, it became a place where people traded in the grey, usually stolen goods that thieves want to offload, military equipment scavenged off soldiers or mercenaries.” Garrick explained.

“Do you frequent this camp?” I asked.

“I only ever visit if there was something urgent I could not procure through legal means, though most of the time I would turn down a request if it was outright illegal. Last time I visited was a few years back” Garrick said neutrally, like the camp was a necessary evil.

“Why did the local nobles or adventurer guild tolerate it though?” I wondered

“Thing with these camps is, the wrong crowd will always find a place to gather. It is better to know about it and control it.” Garrick paused for a beat “If the local lord had sent his men to shut it down, it’ll probably take a while before he knows where the next one springs up”

I thought about it logically, while the nobles did not officially endorse it, they had probably tolerated it as long as the camp did not cross certain lines. Better to know where to go for your own source of illicit goods when you needed it.

“The only thing they don’t trade in is slaves and any hit contracts, at least those I know of. Slavery is something that the royalty would absolutely crack down on, so no one smart enough would buy one anyway here in Vesperia.” Garrick added.

I just kept quiet, and found solace in the fact that at least slavery was not tolerated, unlike some of the other books I read. I stopped my questions and let Garrick concentrate on mending the road while steering the wagon for the rest of the trip.

“Put on your mask, we’re close” Garrick reminded as he steered the wagon off the main road towards a small goat-track towards the forest. The small path was still passable with a wagon but the bushes were thick and branches low.

I put on the mask and pulled my hood up, completely hiding any facial features that could give my age away.

“One last thing, leave the talking to me. Last thing we need is people finding out I brought a kid into the camp”

We had to slow to the pace of regular walking for the last mile as the floor was very uneven, and the path had many small bends. It opened up to a shallow basin which seemed to have been cleared of most trees, with a stream running through it.

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There were maybe twenty to thirty shacks that were built with scavenged timber and stitched leather pieces, scattered about, almost forming a circle around the central area. The middle of the camp was occupied by a long tent, where most of the activity and trading happened.

Two lookouts were posted near the edge of where the camp ended, probably more as a deterrent rather than actually verifying the identity of anyone who entered. I confirmed that when Garrick’s wagon approached and they did not stop us to ask us for identification. In fact, upon closer look, most of the people walking about the camp had their hood up, or faces obscured one way or another.

Garrick parked the wagon near an empty spot and tied Betty to a fence. There weren’t any designated places to place the wagons so you sort of just make do.

“So what are you looking for lad? The camp isn’t very big, but the stalls near the middle are still informally grouped by categories.” Garrick said in a hushed voice.