novelraw CHAPTER 362: Inspection
CHAPTER 362: Inspection
While Egon handed the guard a list I looked around. The cobblestone street was wide enough for two wagons to pass, which allowed traffic to continue outwards while they checked anyone entering. Right now there were not too many people around but I could see someone on a horse in the distance.
The metal gate itself stood open but it would likely close in a few hours. Most cities closed at 22:00 and opened at 06:00, but there were regional differences. Some safer locations might even be open the whole night. Trade was also a consideration, as was the size of the city and sometimes even the season. Of course, if you were important enough they would open the gate at any time.
It did not take long for the guard captain to arrive. He had a few words with Egon, then he approached our carriage.
"Greetings, Lady Frost. I am afraid I do not know the names of your companions." He said.
"Greetings. My companions are Koyuki, Skadi Helgurd and Lady Cassie Ashburn."
"I am Koyuki, here is my licence for my undead." I said, while handing him the licence.
He inspected the document, while also studying me. "Still a student and already a senior mage with a tier three undead. You must be really talented."
I was still wearing my school uniform which he must have recognized. As for the tier three, he was probably referring to Kaito.
"I have more than one tier three, sir. Two of them are vampires." I clarified.
The man stared at me, seemingly unsure how to process that.
"Despite my fluffy appearance, I am an undead as well." Garm's left head stated, while looking down from the carriage. "Surprisingly most people think the fur is an indication of life." Garm's right head added.
I saw the captain's eyes look upward, as he studied the orthos.
"Four tier three…" He mumbled, while still looking at Garm.
"Actually, eight. There are also four cats." I added.
"Meow." All four cats agreed.
The captain chuckled. "I see, you almost had me there for a minute…"
"Oh no, they are all real. She was not joking." Helena clarified.
I nodded. "Hatsumi and Rose, my vampires, are driving the wagon at the back. There are some zombie goblins inside but they are only tier two."
The captain was silent for a moment, then he looked at the licence again. Then he looked at me and finally his eyes settled on Helena. "I see. I shall not doubt the word of House Frost, my apologies."
As he returned my licence I contemplated how much he seemed to respect Helena's family. I guess we were not that far from her father's lands. Actually, I had no idea who the local count was, perhaps they were a friend of Hans?
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
While the captain was dealing with us his men inspected the other wagons. Interestingly they did not search our stuff but they took a look at the wares of the merchants. As we were waiting Garm leaned over the edge of the carriage roof and used one of his paws to point at a wagon.
"While I understand the reluctance to approach Theodore's wagon it's not very professional that the guards are avoiding it. Or are you concerned about a potential sickness? He has been sweating a lot more today." Garm stated.
"What?" The captain asked, who was still standing next to our carriage.
"Your men are peeking into all the wagons but they did not really look at Theodore's. He is the man you can smell from here, probably. Awful taste in perfume I tell you." Garm said.
The captain seemed confused at first, then he frowned. "Excuse me." He went towards the wagon in question and started talking with his men.
"It seems that one of the guards is now sweating too." Garm observed.
"I guess there was something wrong with Theodore." Skadi stated.
"Maybe we should check this out." Helena said, while already stepping out of the carriage. The four of us walked towards the wagon while Garm jumped from the roof and followed along. The cats stayed in the carriage and ignored the situation.
"I checked, sir. Everything is in order!" A guard said to the captain.
"Normal alchemical wares, nothing dangerous." His colleague added.
Before the captain answered he turned around and looked at us. Egon was approaching as well to see what was going on.
"There is no need for you to join us, Lady Frost." The captain said. "However, you are free to observe. I was just asking my men about the wagon. I admit that the smell is a bit intense, once you get close."
"I spilled some perfume, my apologies." Theodore said, while looking around nervously.
"Really? And you did that every day?" Garm asked.
The captain checked the list he had gotten from Egon. "So, you have mostly perfume but also a few salves for better skin and some minor healing improvements."
"Yes, sir! The salve helps with small cuts! It keeps your hands in good shape for the working folks." Theodore replied.
"I can also see some dyes." The captain added, while studying the list.
"Yes, sir. They come from the south. I have got some bloodbeetle red. It can be used to color fabric, or wood." The man said.
"Is everything in order?" Egon asked, as he joined us.
"We will see." The captain stated. He put the list away and climbed into the wagon itself. It was a wooden wagon, covered by fabric. You could either enter from the front, or the back. The captain had climbed to the driver's position and entered from there.
The other merchants watched nervously from their wagons but they did not approach. Egon's mercenaries seemed mostly bored as they watched. Rose left her wagon and hurried over to us.
"This is exciting! Do you think I can peek inside too?" She whispered the question to me, while observing the captain.
"Unless the captain tells you no, you can have a look." I told her.
As Rose walked towards the wagon Theodore shouted: "Hey, this is my wagon! This is private!"
The captain looked out of the wagon.
"Rose wants to help." I stated. "We also have Cassie, an alchemist, with us. She might be able to identify some things."
"I appreciate the offer, however…" As the captain was answering, Rose kept getting closer. She was already standing next to the driver's bench and trying to peek inside.
"Huh, I think something smells familiar." She stated. "Reminds me of blood…"
"That is the bloodbeetle! Stay away from my merchandise!" Theodore protested.
"Sir, please be quiet." The captain addressed Theodore, then he looked at Rose. "Where do you smell blood?"
Rose climbed into the wagon and sniffed around. I could not see her from outside but I could hear her knocking on some wood.
"Under those planks!" She said, triumphantly. "I had to get really close to smell anything. That perfume is too strong from farther away."
Soon afterwards the captain left with a small bottle in his hand. He showed it to Theodore, who was really pale now.
"Is this your bloodbeetle dye?" The captain asked.
"I I I… I have never seen that! She must have planted it!" Theodore suggested.
"What is it? Why does it have a weird blood smell?" Rose asked, while staring at the bottle.
The captain sighed. "I am afraid it might be some ruby dream. It is a new drug which does contain some blood, and some vampiric nightshade seeds. Nasty stuff. It gets people high, it is really addictive and in some cases it kills them and sprouts a new vampiric nightshade from their corpse. It can also briefly improve your magic and help with healing."
"Sounds like a waste of a good ingredient. You can make explosives from vampiric nightshade seeds." Cassie said.
The captain stared at her, unsure how to respond.
Meanwhile, Theodore used the distraction to run. Sadly for him he was not very fast and he only managed five steps before Rose grabbed him.
"John, call more guards. Owen, you are suspended until I figure out why you did not look closely at that wagon. We will need to search the whole caravan now. Lady Frost, I apologise for any delay this causes and I would like to thank your companions for their help in discovering this." The captain said.
It looked like we would not get to an inn anytime soon. However, Rose seemed really delighted with the solution to the smell mystery. At least my undead were happy.