Chapter 440: The Starving Port

Chapter 440: The Starving Port

Dallion felt the hand that was about to shake his shoulder long before it touched him. Instinct made him split into the instances the moment he did. It didnt make any differenceEurys arm split into instances as well, always finding its way onto his shoulder.

Try to break the habit, she said calmly. There are creatures that react to it.

Maybe you should have read more than the dragon section, Ariel said in his domain. At least create a copy here, so we have a go.

Ill keep it in mind, Dallion said, ignoring the echo. Anything happen while I slept?

Nothing, the gorgon replied, with an intonation suggesting that was a bad thing. Absolutely nothing. Ji took a look around while you were sleeping. No creatures, no tracks. There hasnt been anything for weeks.Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

That sounded bad.

Can something have purged the place? Dallion asked.

The Moons can do anything, Nil replied. The Academy and the powerful nobles come close. Sometimes there are natural causes, however.

Natural causes, Dallion thought. Given everything going on, he wasnt sure which was worse.

Stretching a bit, he folded the fur he had used to cover himself with, then added it to his backpack. A slight chill passed through him, as he didthe weather this far west was colder than he was usually used to. Combined with the approaching winter, this was a reason for him to take a few precautions. Ever since hed come to this world, hed seen very few instances of sick or undernourished people. Wounds were by far more frequent. The few instances of actual sick were nearly all due to Star spawn or some other beast of the wilderness.

Quickly and efficiently, the hunters packed up. Not long after, Jiroh returned to the scene.

Anything? Eury asked.

Dead herds, the fury replied. Whatever killed them must have been something nasty. Not even the predators touched the corpses. Plants seemed well enough.

What does that mean? Dallion asked.

Dont worry, its nothing to do with us. Just be careful what you eat until we reach the port. Also, dont mention were from the empire to be on the safe side.

Wont they know? Dallion asked.

Hunter emblems, Largo tapped his chain. We might be from anywhere.

The explanation was valid, though Dallion didnt get why they were hiding it. Hunters were supposed to be above countries and nations. As far as the world was concerned, they were mercenaries fighting the monsters in the world. According to the code, which Eury had shared, hunters never took sides. If they did, they were no longer hunters and had to put on another emblem.

Reaching the city took several hours, but long before they got within sight, Dallion was able to feel the strong smell of the ocean. It had been ages since hed been able to experience anything of the sort. Back on earth, he wasnt exactly the beach-going type. Of course, that was back when water terrified him. Now that his fears were gone, he was looking forward to the experience.

A real ocean, he thought.

Youre exaggerating things, Vihrogon said. Its no different from the sea in the sword realm.

That wasnt a real ocean, Dallion countered.

Whats the difference?

The difference is that I know this one is real.

There was also the small issue of size. While the sea in the sword realm was quite large, it couldnt compare to an ocean three times larger than the continent the empire was on. According to Nil, no one knew what was beyond the ocean, and even if there was anything at all. The Moons were silent on the matter, the Order refused to comment, and the Academys findings were highly contested, as usual. For all Dallion knew, the ocean could well cover the rest of the planetassuming this was a planet.

It was an almost painful sight. Dalion, however, focused his attention on one of the fresh fish merchants a few stalls away.

How much for one of everything? he asked.

It aint cooked, a short man replied. If you want to feed them, bother one of the other"

I know, Dallion interrupted. How much?

This caught the seller by surprise. His eyes widened, as he stood speechless and motionless for several seconds, while his brain figured out what to do.

Seven silvers? he asked tentatively.

Dallion nodded, then took out the amount and placed it on the stand.

And a basket to keep them in.

Suure!

In all probability the man hadnt seen so much money in a long time. That raised the question: why was he selling seafood and to whom?

You come here to buy a house? the man asked as he started gathering one of each fish he sold and putting it into a reed basket.

No, just passing, Dallion replied. Were hunters.

Ah, hunters. The seller nodded. We had a hunter a while back. Dwarf, but still a good fella. Killed a monster further up the river. Everybody was happy. Those were the days

What happened after? Was there a war here?

Might as well have been. A few merchants came by, asking if we had any metal to sell. Were a seaport we dont have metal, or anything else of the like. Having a war would have been good for us. Instead, we got this he moved closer to Dallion, covering the side of his mouth with a hand. There was a plague. All the fish up-river suddenly died. And it wasnt only the fish. The fields got poisonous too. The nobles were the first to go. They werent anything special, but they always took care of the city. They liked to eat food fresh from the fields. After that, no one dared eat a grain.

That explained why everyone was so undernourished. They were all relying on fish and fish alone. With no nobles to repair things, masons, artisans and fishermen were the only people who had anything useful to offer. Everyone else was doomed to a painful existence of begging.

When did this happen?

A few months ago. Everyone who could left this place to try their luck elsewhere. Id have left as well if I were younger.

What about the Order? Dont they have a temple or shrine here?

The clerics died along with the nobles. Shrine is still here, mostly empty now. its bad luck to go there. The Moons have forsaken us, he whispered, then got back to filling the basket. If it werent for the traveling merchants, wed have been long dead.

Traveling merchants? Dallion asked as he took the basket the man handed him. It was rather heavy, by a persons standards, and filled to the brim with fish and crawfish.

Came about ten days ago. Bought three houses by the shore. Paid in gold and traveler emblems.

That was very peculiar. There had been a traveling merchant in the east not too long ago, around the time that the dragon shadow appeared and started to cause problems.

It wasnt the first time, either. She came here a month ago as well for the same thing. Not sure I should tell you this, but theres talk that a merchant organization will establish a presence here. If that happens, all our problems will be over.

Yeah. Dallion nodded. They probably will. Can you tell me what she looked like?

Sure. She there was a sudden pause, as if the seller was struck by lightning. I cant remembe