Chapter 358 - Excuse

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It was a bit drastic, but Zaos had an idea that would make the guards leave him alone pretty fast and also would make them leave the port town for more than a few hours. So, before he could get too close to the entrance, he smacked his face several times in a row and even broke his right arm. After his face was swollen enough and covered in blood, he used ice magic to make everything look more dirty and dry. His eyes could barely open, so no one would be able to see the green in it.

"Are you all right?" Some of the guards at the entrance of the town rushed toward Zaos when they saw his face and clothes covered in blood.

"Yes… ugh," Zaos said in a rough tone since he was obviously in pain. "I was attacked by some bandits last night when I was approaching the previous village… I managed to escape when they drank all my wine."

"Do you remember the last place you saw them?" The guard asked. "Their numbers, which weapons they used."

"It took me a while to find the main road, but… it should be three hours away northeast of that village on foot," Zaos replied. "Eight… I think it was pretty dark. I saw them playing with knives while they were drinking."

"Captain!" The guard said.

"Take ten men with you and don't return until you find them," Erean said. "Guide him to a doctor."

"Oh… it is fine," Zaos said. "This isn't the first time this happened. Besides, I won't have time to pay a doctor for a while. A few days of rest will do the trick."

Erean looked at Zaos with dubious eyes, but in the end, he nodded. Zaos was wounded and in pain, but he didn't look so bad since he still managed to travel throughout the night, according to the fake report.

Zaos entered the city, and while he felt happy for the success of his plan, he felt a bit bad for fooling an old friend. Still, considering how plump Erean looked, Zaos assumed that he was living too well of a life, and the guilty soon disappeared.

Without wasting time, Zaos headed toward the market after making sure that he wasn't being followed, and he cleaned the blood from his face. He decided to heal his swollen face and broken arm later, just in case.

Zaos bought several things, but soon he ran out of money. He didn't have the chance to go home and grab his bags of golden coins, after all. Still, he managed to trade most of the things he had in the wagon for the other things he still needed. He also bought four goats that could offer more than enough mild Milliendra would need for a while.

After that, Zaos hurried to the port and found the ship Aleni had mentioned. It seemed really old, and the crew members didn't look like the friendliest guys Zaos had seen. In fact, it wouldn't be weird if people mistook them for bandits. In any case, Zaos found the captain of the ship waiting for him at the border of the port. He was stinking of beer while he was sitting on the ground.

"Is my friend already inside it?" Zaos asked.

"I don't know how you are talking about…" The captain of the ship replied after looking to Zaos once.

The captain seemed to be in his fifties. Despite his big belly, he had a sword on his waist and some thick arms. So, he had his fair share of battles. While most of his messy air was already gray, he looked anything but weak… he even had a part of his lips cut to show how close he got to death recently.

"She came to visit your previous night and returned this morning," Zaos said. "If you don't mind, I would like to depart as soon as possible."

The captain looked at Zaos again. While he was wounded and was wearing the clothes of a stupid caravan merchant, he sure had a commanding tone. The captain got up and tried to stare Zaos down, but then he noticed that Zaos was taller, and that silly action didn't scare him in the slightest. While the smell of several cups of beer coming from someone breathing was quite unpleasant, Zaos didn't even flinch. He felt far worse scents on the battlefield.

"… All right, I was already bored of this damned port anyway," The captain said. "We are leaving! Prepare for departure!"

"Captain, some of the crew are still drinking in the tavern!" One young sailor said.

"You have five minutes to bring them back, or I will leave you behind with them," The captain said.

"Aye, sir…" The young sailor said.

The rest of the crew helped Zaos in putting the wagon and the horses inside the ship. While they were doing that, the captain noticed that there was a heavy box there and something pretty long being covered by some pieces of clothing. As if there wasn't enough, he also saw what seemed to be the thickest book he had seen. The captain had an uncanny sense of knowing of determining if certain things were valuable or not, and he knew that those three were pretty valuable, but he decided to forget about it when he felt the icy stare coming from Zaos.

"Where is your destination?" The captain asked.

"You can proceed with your original plans. I will tell you where we are going later," Zaos replied.

While Zaos wanted to check things with Aleni and Milliendra, he still had some work to do. Storing the animals where they should stay and then confirming that no one suspicious would keep an eye on them until they leave the port. In the end, things worked out well since Zaos didn't notice anything amiss.. As soon as they left the port behind, he went to check Aleni and Milliendra's cabin, but soon he returned because he would have to make sure they wouldn't be followed at any moment.

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