Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 363: Interrogation

Searching all the wagons thoroughly took some time. The captain even enlisted the help of my undead, since Garm had a very good nose and could potentially find more hidden things. Considering that we were a part of the caravan the captain showed a lot of trust, all thanks to Helena.

Egon was very cooperative but he spent a lot of time calming down the other merchants. All of them were rather annoyed by the increased scrutiny and the delay when it came to entering the city.

Cassie had retreated back into our carriage together with Skadi, while I decided to stretch my legs a bit. Helena was out here too, observing the search. So far it seemed that Theodore was the only smuggler. He also wasn't that professional and even started confessing once it became clear that he could not escape his fate. I decided to listen to the interrogation.

"So, who are you working for?" The captain asked Theodore.

"Um, no one, sir. Not really." He replied.

"Really? You just found those drugs then? Where did you get them? Who is your buyer?" He asked.

Theodore fidgeted a bit. "I do not know, sir! I… I had a bad run. I miscalculated when it came to my sales of alchemical products. I lost money… I might have also gambled a bit. I was approached in Iralfort when I could not pay. Two men, big men, they hid their faces. They told me to deliver the goods to someone in Granstone. I have a point where I should deposit them."

"And you decided to cover the scent with perfume?" The captain asked.

"I was afraid of dogs finding it. Also, it's a cheap product! I had some left over and made sure to apply more every day. It… It keeps people away too. If the scent is too strong they don't look too closely because they don't want to stay around." He explained.

That did make some sense, I suppose. People did not want to linger in a stinky wagon and might not search it as thoroughly as a result. I wondered if that was why the guard did not properly search the wagon, or if someone had bribed him. Or perhaps he had just been lazy.

"Dogs? You were concerned about the orthos?" The captain asked.

Theodore shook his head. "No, sir! I was not even aware of that beast! When I had joined the caravan there were only human guards but sometimes guards employ dogs, or so I have heard."

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The captain processed that. "Right, the original guards got attacked… Damn, I guess you might have been the target."

"What?" Theodore asked, looking pale. The captain ignored him.

"Egon Saltin, a word please." The captain shouted.

Egon stopped talking to the other merchants and approached us. "Yes, captain?"

"You were attacked outside of Lupos, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"You said they were bandits?"

Egon nodded. "Yeah, they almost got us. I lost a lot of good men. We got lucky that they spotted the ambush. And I pride myself on hiring decent fighters."

"They might have been looking for Theodore's drugs." The captain suggested.

"What?" Egon asked.

"That batch is worth quite a bit of money. A rival gang, or an inside job, or just someone who noticed he was smuggling could have tried to get that shipment. We can't rule out someone from within the caravan either. An attack just outside Lupos is risky and despite the problems inside the kingdom it is not something bandits usually do. Then there are your mercenaries. Normal bandits would not go for something heavily guarded like that unless they truly had the numbers. Even then, they tend to be selfish, they go for low risk jobs, if possible."

The captain rubbed his forehead. "I am afraid I will have to do some more questioning when it comes to the other merchants, or at least when it comes to anyone who has joined before Lupos."

Egon grimaced. "If one of them has betrayed us I want to know."

Then the captain turned to Helena and myself. "Lady Frost, there is a bounty on any drug smugglers. Since your group helped, I will arrange for you to receive it. I would also appreciate it if you stayed for a day so I can write my report and contact you if we need any clarifications."

Helena nodded. "I think we can stay for a day. While my father is waiting for us one day won't be an issue."

"Thank you." He said. "Your group is free to leave, do you know where you will stay?"

"We are staying at the Silver Swan." Helena replied.

"Good, have a nice evening." The captain said.

After we were dismissed our carriage rolled into the city. Our wagon with the zombies followed us. The captain even promised to spread the word among the guards about my undead, so there was less alarm about our presence.

While our carriage rolled towards the inn I asked Helena: "Helena, why are the guards so respectful to you? Does your family have a connection to this city?"

"The city lord, Baron Rimestone, is loosely related to our family. However, I think we have a decent reputation in the north. Father is not much into politics but he is good at keeping the monster from the mountains at bay." Helena replied.

"Don't forget that trade from Thorus flows through your county. Your father could likely make some trouble for others, if he wanted to. Then again the Duke might get involved if he tried." Skadi mused.

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Cassie asked. "If we are stuck here for a day we should make the best of it."

"You know, I haven't been in the city for a while." Helena replied. "Maybe we will just explore a bit. We could go shopping."

I groaned.

"Rose could use some more clothes. Hatsumi and Kaito tend to stick to their uniforms but Rose might like a few options, other than her school uniform. Actually, you need more clothes too." Helena said.

Damn, I needed to find a good alternative or I was doomed to go shopping again.