NovelEnglishDrake pulled out a large coin purse and tossed it to the guard before he could give a definitive answer. The guard instinctively caught the money and looked inside. Feeling the weight of it on him, all of his doubts started to melt away. Even if Lord Reign became angry at this, it likely wouldn’t fall on them. Lord Reign wasn’t the type to deal with commoners. He would likely go to his employers at the Steel Mill.
At five times the original value on a ton, even if they fired him over it, he’d have a nice little nest-egg to carry him to his next job. That would certainly involve moving, as Alerith was an awful place to work, even for a guard. Although there were rumors around town that said Lord Reign was picking out skilled bodyguards and turning them into Knights, which are nobility, many people were suspicious of this. The bodyguard here just happened to be one of those that had ignored the offer on more than one occasion.
Alerith, in general, felt suspicious, and many people were starting to feel like something big was about to go down in the city. Many people were very interested in moving away as soon as they had the chance. For this bodyguard, his chance seemed to have arrived.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Very well, where did you need the steel dropped off at.” The bodyguard asked.
“How about I just collect it right here. I have a storage ring for this kind of thing.”
“Hmph, your choice.” The bodyguard responded upon seeing the man gesturing with his ring.
To any Commoner’s mind, a storage ring was the telltale sign of a noble. Since this guy had it, he was either a noble or the retainer of a noble. In that case, he was someone who was all money and no brains. Since he was buying steel at five times the going rate, this wasn’t difficult to believe.
The guard brought Drake around the horses to the back of the cart. He then grabbed the tarp covering it and tossed it aside.
“Take only one ton!” He ordered,” Not an ounce more!”
He was expecting Drake to reach out and absorb his share. However, instead, Drake stared blankly for a minute, then threw back his head, and yelled at the top of his lungs.
“What kind of fool do you take me for? Trying to sell me rocks as if they were steel!”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHis voice caused the crowds of people to quiet down. Everyone who was passively paying attention to the cart blocking the way in the middle of traffic now had their full attention on the cart and the transporters.
The bodyguard spun around, looking where Drake’s eyes were located. On the cart, was exactly what Drake described. Rocks. They were just useless, worthless chunks of stone piled up under the tarp. Where processed steel was supposed to be was nothing of any value.
“Wait… what is this symbol? The notorious bandits, Reign’s End? Are you telling me you were robbed by bandits, and then tried to sell it off on me before your boss found out!”
A symbol had been scratched into the carriage. No one at all knew what it meant. It was a wavy line with two parallel lines through it vertically, and then a cross over it. They now knew that it belonged to a gang who, by their very name, allied themselves counter to the current Lord.
Drake swiped the coins from the bodyguard, who was still standing there dumbfounded with his mouth open.
That man had no memory of his cargo being stolen. I had made sure of that. As Drake stormed away as indignantly as he could, leaving the giant commotion he had made in his wake, he winked at me as he passed.
That’s one way to make a name for yourself.
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