Chapter 19: Beyond Raktor

Damian scooped with a ladle, pouring fresh soup into a bowl before handing it over to a dishevelled young man. “There’s bread to go with it – go over to that young man there.” He pointed to Niko, who was busy serving an endless queue of homeless squatters, desperate for free food.

“Thank you so much!” The man bowed respectfully, before joining the queue. Damian smiled, before serving the next in line. The Seven Snakes had booked out an area near the food market, spreading the word through the locals that they were offering free meals to those in need, no questions asked. There were obviously a few who feigned poverty just to save a few rakels, but it did not matter. The cost of the soup kitchen was barely a dent in their finances.

Some of the nearby food stall owners complained about the surge in homeless people who smelled like rotten eggs, but the local people in general looked favourably on the initiative. Neither the enforcers nor the Sanctum of Yual hardly did anything like this, and if they did, it would always lead to a conversion of some sort. Many of the homeless did not want to be exploited or tangled up in some religious mess, so they were more than appreciative of what the Seven Snakes were doing now.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Monica and Adrian soon entered the soup kitchen with a few others, all of them panting as they held brooms and large buckets filled with trash picked up from the side of the street. “Good work, take a breather and head out to the next street when you’re ready. We got to clean up the next three streets before nightfall.”

“THREE?!” Monica was about to lose her mind while Adrian hastily tried to calm her down. “We’ve been sweeping the entire day!”

“Better than wasting your life away making swill in random buildings, no?” Damian smirked. “You’ll get used to it.”

Monica seriously contemplated running away with her crew, but Eric was trapped inside the Seven Snakes base, spending almost all his time in the new brewery. She had an inkling Eric did not actually want to leave and began to weigh whether her freedom was worth ditching Eric.

“Psst, Adrian, you wanna try to escape later?”

“Escape?” Adrian pondered for a moment, the hesitation clear on his face.

“What? Don’t tell me you like taking orders from these cunts.”

“I don’t, but to be honest, they are doing something good here.” Adrian motioned to the soup kitchen. “I used to be a squatter myself before you recruited me, you know that. What they have now is nothing short of amazing to me. And I really feel much better and at ease doing something upright here.”

Monica scoffed. “They are doing this so they can collect information across the district through the squatters and scout potential recruits. You know this!”

“Doesn’t change the fact they are getting free meals. At least they are alive.”

While Monica and Adrian bickered, a Seven Snakes associate ran up to Damian. “Sir, Boss Kyle wants to meet you in his office right now.”

Damian immediately dropped everything, handing his role over to another before making it back to the base. As he entered the office, Keith and Kyle were already discussing something important that shocked Damian.

“You want to venture out beyond the city?” Damian exclaimed in surprise. “But why now? We just secured our ownership of the district.”

“What we have right now is not enough. Even with the in-house brewery, potion contracts, new casinos and pubs, it would be impossible to clear the massive debt we have now. If we default on that debt, everything we own right now would be up for grabs from the Crimson Swords.” Keith explained.

Damian sighed, crossing his arms as he looked at the map of the nearby regions around the city of Raktor. “So, what can you possibly get outside the city that can benefit you? Everyone from the villages came to the city to make money – moving back outside doesn’t make any financial sense.”

A lone cloaked man held onto a thin ticket detailing the time and destination. He squinted at the timetable, trying to decipher the myriad of lines that changed rapidly.

“LAST CALL! LAST CALL FOR CULDAO PEAKS TOWN!” A young boy yelled with a loudspeaker as he stood on top of a stack of boxes. “AT BERTH 19-C RIGHT NOW!”

The cloaked man shifted the backpack on his back and began to move, slightly confused by the sheer amount of travellers and peddlers shouting at the top of their lungs, selling goods and potions of all sorts.

“Sleeping Potions! Don’t get woken up by snores or even a bandit attack! It ain’t worth your time! Just let them rob the others!”

“A headband engraved with a silence skill! Why even tolerate the dumb idiots in your wagon wagging their tongues? Get one now for five hundred rakels!”

“Afraid of your wagon and cargo being overturned? Hostile monsters got you surrounded? Don’t worry; our emergency response mercenary team got you and your merchant business covered. Simply activate the device in trouble, and our nearest patrol will respond immediately, no matter the threat. Only for the low, low cost of two hundred thousand rakels!”

The cloaked man shoved his way through the dense crowd, pushing past weary travellers and dumb tourists from the towns and villages gaping at the sight of the city. He soon made it to Berth 19, where a gruff man in dirty overalls was impatiently tapping his foot as he leaned against the metal-spoked wheels of a covered wagon dragged by two horses. His eyes glanced at the cloaked man, eventually landing on the flimsy ticket he was holding.

“You the guy I’ve been waiting for?”

“Yes, is this the transport to Culdao Peaks?”

“Finally! Get on. I’m already ten minutes behind schedule. My boss is going to whip my ass if I run any later.” The gruff man motioned to the back of the wagon, where there were already five others sitting in place.

The cloaked man gingerly entered the wagon and placed his backpack on the floor, nodding with respect to the other passengers before sitting down quietly. The other five were already engaged in a seemingly heated debate as the wagon moved out from the berth, the cobblestones causing the seats to rumble violently as it jerked back and forth.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of Euria you’ve been sniffing, but there’s no chance in hell the Inquisitors are going to allow any sort of gang or secret society from existing in Raktor again. Mark my words; it’ll be a short few years till Raktor will finally be cleansed!” One of the more wealthy passengers, who seemed to be a merchant, scoffed. “I rather have a healthy business environment rather than a dangerous one when I have to succumb to the gangs.”

“You really believe that? First time in Raktor? Hundreds of inquisitors have come and gone. This time ain’t any different. They only come in when the nobles’ pockets are being threatened or they are looking to expand. To me, the bans are ridiculous and just a façade for the enforcers to take in anyone – no one outside of the major city even adheres to it.” Another merchant rebutted him angrily.

“I agree. The bans are far too ridiculous and should be lifted.” A third merchant chimed in.

“Prostitution is a sin! Drunkenness is a sin as well!” The first merchant angrily wagged his finger at the other two. “This world is sorely lacking in morals, and I, for one, am glad the Inquisitors are here to purge them!”

The wagon suddenly came to a halt, with two Sanctum enforcers checking for their identity. Each of the passengers handed over their identity card as well as a city permit.

“Kris Greyborn...” The enforcer looked at the face of the cloaked man, comparing it to the identity card. He was a bit suspicious, but the enforcer couldn’t be bothered to pursue the matter, signalling to the front to let the wagon pass. The cloaked man let out a sigh of relief internally. Guess I haven’t been marked yet by the enforcers.

Kyle stared out of the back of the wagon, looking at the towering stone walls engraved with various glyphs, boosting its defence. It wasn’t until they had moved far away enough up a hilly slope that he truly saw the scale of the city, sprawling across a large area with a massive river flowing through it.

Finally, I’m out of the city.