648 Trade Operations

Zoltan was driving a horse-drawn carriage filled with a variety of rare goods, he looks to the side at the armoured woman riding the giant wolf with amusement. He turns to the other side leans closer to Sieglinde sitting next to him currently sharpening her Zwei-hander. "I appreciate ye' guardin' me... But don't ye think bringing a giant wolf to Ard Carriagh will scare the residence?" he asks the onion knight.

Sieglinde "Sif? He's a big teddy bear..." she says waving of his concerns.

Zoltan "Aye, he might be, but I've seen the same teddy bear tear men apart and eat them alive..." he presses.

Sieglinde frowns, "Forget Sif... Wouldn't they be more likely to scare people?" she asks while pointing at the Thestrals pulling the carriage.

...

Zoltan shrugs, "Eh? Nah, those beauties'll not be scarin anybody." he says.

Sieglinde shakes her head and continues sharpening her sword, occasionally looking around the carriage to look out for danger.

...

...

Suddenly, Sif stops in his tracks, Ciaran showing the carriage her palm and commanding them to stop.

A couple moment later the sound of foliage being disturbed is heard, though, whoever it is seems to be moving in the opposite direction... This is only confirmed when the group hear "WHAT THE FUCK IS DAT! A GIANT WOLF! FOOKIN LEG IT!"

Zoltan gives a hearty laugh and commands the Threstrels to continue along the road as Ciaran and Sif pursue the thieves that'd been hiding... By the time Zoltan's carriage passes the area where they'd been caught, nothing remained apart from some rusty weapons and torn clothing.

Zoltan "Glad they're with us... Flippin' scary things." he mutters as they ride past the red-tinted grass.

Eventually they reach the long bridge of Ard Carriagh, repairs are being built on the gate and wall from when Solaire had been escaping with the prisoners. The people on the bridge give a wide berth to the carriage an especially Sif who's walking next to it.

The guards at the gate had already fled inside the city and shut the gates, incredibly scared of Sif due to the stories the survivors had told of the great beast.

"Halt! I SAID HALT! GO NO FURTHER OR WE'LL TURN YOU INTO PINCUSSIONS!" the on controlling the gate shouts, fear clear in his voice.

Zoltan stops his carriage and looks at the man, "Lad, we mean ye no harm but we have a deal with the new King... I'd hate for it to be on your head if you anger them!"

The guard glares down at Zoltan, his eyes glances over the Thestrals, "Our King is kind and just! Take your giant dog and freakish horses and begone!" they command.

Zoltan "I want to talk to ye commander! I'll not be leaving til I've seen them or your King!" he shouts from below the wall.

"Commander! These fiends wish to invade our city and spread curses with their freakish creatures and mag-" he's stopped when the Commander slams his fist int their face, knocking them to the floor.

"FOOL! King Roche explicitly warned us of our new trade partners! Do you wish to commit treason or start another war!?!?" he shouts, at the downed man.

"N-N-No! It was my mistake Commander! Have mercy!"

The commander growls at them, "Go, back to the barracks... It seems you need more training in discipline... Now!" he shouts, sending the soldier sprinting out of there.

The gate opens soon after this interaction, the Commander walking out of the gate with an apologetic look, his balding short brown hair with similar coloured eyes gives the group a friendly vibe, despite him being fully armoured and ready for battle. "My apologies guests, that recruit will be... Heavily punished for his insolence... I am Arter Of Kaedwen, the new, old Commander of the Ard Carriagh guards." he says, giving a small bow after his introduction.

Zoltan nods, "I appreciate it, but try not to break the lad... Probably didn't know we existed. I am Zoltan Chivay by the way, this is Sieglinde, Ciaran, and the fluffy one is Sif." he says, pointing to everyone respectively.

Arter nods, "This... Sif... Are they dangerous?" he asks, not shaking as most would as Sif give him a sniff.

Ciaran "Not unless someone wishes to harm us." she states.

Arter "And... The horses?" he asks, looking at the almost skeletal winged black Thestrals tied to the carriage.

Zoltan "Consider them better horses... That eat meat..." he says, pausing when he remembers they aren't vegetarian.

Arter nods and gestures to them to follow him, "Hmm. It is good that King Roche thought ahead and cleared a large property in-case you brought... A larger entourage..." he says ambiguously.

Zoltan "Oooohh, bought land for us did he?" he asks curious.

Arter "He did, though, it might be different to what you are expecting..."

Zoltan and Sieglinde give each other a shrug as they follow the commander, eventually reaching some such of luxury area filled with fine jewelry, clothing, and other shops. Arter stops before a building bigger than the rest nearby, an Eternal Fire logo scratched almost completely off of it, letting them know who used to own it.

Arter "I hope you don't mind if we've already named it for you... The Kaedweni Auction House. This is now yours to use as you wish, the back of the building holds a large garden suitable for your... Companions, there will be a gentleman named Lovat Wag which will watch the property for you when you aren't here... I have other business to attend to but they will be present momentarily for you to iron out the details." he says, bowing to them one last time before leaving.

Zoltan watches the Commander go and immediately feels the variety of gazes on his back... Some fearful, some hateful, some hopeful, and even some with disgust... He decides that instead of waiting out in the square for the Estate Keeper they'll just have a look around inside to see how well kept the building was... And, if need be, replace this "Lovat Wag" with someone else.