Chapter 76: Arriving at Birkaz

Given all of Fen's anticipation connected to what he thought the city of Brikaz would look like, when its walls finally emerged from beyond the line of the horizon, only a single word could accurately describe it.

Disappointment.

'Isn't it's layout roughly… the same as in Akhaz?'

Thanks to the relatively higher position of the coach when compared to a huge plain on which the city sprawled, Fen could scan its entire shape, as if it didn't have its walls in the first place. At this point, the young man could also confirm one big difference between all the settlements on the merchants' road and the city that stood guard at the entrance to the imperial highway.

The tolls.

Despite how relatively big the caravan that Fen's coachman joined was, even before its front could reach halfway through the open plains to the city, Fen could already recognise all the required elements to realise that all of the gates were huge points of congestion. While that alone should be expected in the city that stood directly on the most important road in the entire empire, given how most of the traffic was caused by the guards diligently checking every single carriage that was entering or leaving the city, the situation was only getting worse with every moment.

"I wonder how long we will wait at the gate…"

Most of Fen's enthusiasm sapped instantly. All the prospects of touring such a huge and important city were defeated by the potential hours of waiting that would waste most of the sunlight that would make Fen's trip that much more enjoyable.

"You don't need to worry about that. My firm provides the passenger with fee-free entry, and most of the caravans already paid their deeds in advance. As much as the empire would like to dabble in the money of honest merchants and adventurers like you guys…"

Thanks to how slowly the coach was moving now that they were close to the city, the old man on the leading seat could afford to turn his entire body around to face his passengers properly.

"... but merchants' faction made sure to prevent those pesky royals from doing so!"

Finishing his sentence, the old coachman was brimming with pride, as if this kind of a deal was created with no less than his own effort!

"That's good to hear. If I were to waste hours just waiting in the queue, my chances of getting into the next caravan… Hey, old man. What would you recommend me to do if I want to reach the city of Kharag?"

Instead of relying on his own guts and feeling to probe the information in some kind of tavern, it seemed as far more reasonable option to just ask someone who was already on rather friendly terms with him. Given how prideful the old coachman was with everything that was even remotely about the historical deeds of the old kingdom, just by flaunting some proper words, Fen was sure he could get the information he wanted.

"While I might not look the part, I'm actually quite interested in the remains of the old kingdom. Their achievements… Always seemed like a source of wonder to me. And let's not speak about how profitable uncovering the ancient secrets can be if one knows where to go with them…"

Ending his sentence on a tingle of suspension, Fen introduced a bit of mystery to his cover. Without even a shred of an idea how far the influence of the local inquisition from Akhaz could stretch, Fen was still quite paranoid about keeping his real identity hidden. 

That's why coming up with some kind of common backstory was a big giveaway. People that did so, always believed that lying low-key would stop others from noticing them, but given how the young man was foreign to those parts, this kind of identity would only stand out even more.

On the other hand, by openly admitting to busying himself with a quite uncommon and potentially dangerous task, while Fen would leave a more or less lasting memory of himself, it would actually allow him to blend in the mass of people that travelled all over the world with all sorts of passions and interests. 

"I understand, I'm not going to pry any further."

Laughing up in the response, the coachman rubbed his chin before stealing a quick look at the city.

"If you want to go to Kharag… I should be safe to assume that you are not some scholar without the ability to fend for yourself, right?"

Instead of giving the answer right away, the old man on the coach caressed the reins that were resting on top of his left palm.

"While I would prefer not to involve myself in stuff recklessly if it's the caravan guarding duty, then I'm all up for it."

As sympathetic as the man was, there was no denying that the cost of his services was… high. It was actually so high for a common-folk, that anyone below the middle-class could practically forget about ever leaving their homeland. 

This kind of social blockade was far more efficient and calming than openly barring anyone from advancing through the social ladder. Just like most of the merchants lacked the power to both buys, develop and hold to vast amounts of lands like the nobility, the low class was unofficially bound to its own small fields, where they worked the land for the sake of the true owner of the entire area, a local noble that happened to own it all. 

That's why even though Fen could safely assume that the amount of savings that he had remaining in his pouch would be more than enough to get him all the way across the imperial border to the Kinarian lands, hiring himself as a guard whenever he had a chance seemed like a far more natural approach to the problem of travelling around the country.

"I see… Well, if that's the case, joining one of the regular caravans should be the best option. While I would highly recommend you taking advantage of the guards' privilege to move a bit of their own luggage free of charge to earn something premium from this travel. As far as my information is up to date, stocking a bit on liquid metal should net you a nice profit in Kharag."

Ending his advice with a wink, the coachman finally had to get back to the work. The time of their vehicle slowly moving mostly due to its momentum was over, as the head of their caravan finally reached the gate. Looking forward, Fen could see how some conspicuous object changed hands between caravan officers and the gate guardians, quickly explaining how the merchant guild managed to deal with the problem of gate tolls.

At this point, one could only wonder if there was some kind of unofficial rule of how big the bribe should be depending on the size of the caravan entering the city!

As for Fen, even though he had no idea what that liquid metal was, following the old man's advice seemed like a good thing to do. Even if it would end up like a scam and a waste of the money, it would be yet another stone to the mosaic of the fake persona that Fen was doing his best to create!

"Thanks for all the help."

In just a few moments after the officers of the caravan and the gate guardians entered a quick and friendly hug, the entire mass of people that Fen's caravan consisted off started to move forward. Ignoring the hateful stares that the mass of people that obediently stood in the queue was throwing at them, Fen could see how the patch of land that would normally take hours to advance through was left behind in a matter of just a few minutes.

With all of his stuff again bound to his belt, Fen looked up before actually reaching up with his hand. After a short moment of confusion, the old man's eyes lit up, as he accepted Fen's hand and shook it with his own.

"I wish you all the best. The secrets of the ancient are waiting for people to discover them. Even if the old kingdom is gone now, it would be a pity if all of their wisdom and discoveries were to die along with the memory about them."

Those parting words were filled with some kind of deep regret that Fen couldn't really understand. The last few weeks on the road and in the wild taught the young man one aspect of the reality.

People from different parts of the empire had all sorts of different features. Even if those differences were too small to speak about different races of the humans, one could clearly distinguish someone who was born of the ancient kingdom lineage and someone whose household was always located to the west, within the royal hinterlands. 

And Fen was certain about one thing. This coachman didn't have even a hint of the old kingdom's blood in his veins!