St. Fiona is one of the liveliest towns in the kingdom due to its huge market and ideal location. It serves as a trading hub to four different villages, as well as being the place the soldiers from Fort Zaphiel come to restock their supplies and being the closest big town to the capital. In the middle of the day at the market plaza, where the town is at its busiest, is the perfect place to make a deal you don’t want anyone to notice.

Melvin, Donald’s long-time partner in the caravan business, navigates through the mass of people and the dozens of wooden stalls and tents without anyone giving him a second glance. Donald is currently securing a deal with a new partner while two guards are with him and the other two look after the cargo. It was easy to make an excuse, saying he wanted to check out if the local prices had changed since last time.

He disappears into one of the alleys, going between two stone buildings and away from the stalls and the loud haggling. With the noise and activity going on outside, this place is the perfect spot. They should already- Ah, yes, there they are.

There are two rough looking men leaning against opposite walls. They’re lightly armored and with short swords at their hips. A third figure stands in further back, unmoving and cloaked from head to toes.

“Melvin. Good to see you. Do you have them?” One of the men asks with a raspy voice, getting straight to business.

The merchant procures two small pouches from inside his coat and gives them to the man. He wastes no time confirming its contents, but at this point it’s all just a formality.

Inside the pouches are seeds. Small, black-colored seeds that make the man smile.

“Good. What about the grown products? You delivering them right now?”

“Yes. They’re hidden in a box with other supplies going into Clock Tower. Everything’s going well, as always.”

Melvin eyes the cloaked figure, uncomfortable. It’s almost like a statue. It doesn’t move and one can barely notice the human features on their face under the cloak. It seems to be a woman, but he can’t be sure.

“Who is this?” He asks, nodding towards her.

“She’s new. Some sort of secret weapon the boss found. He said to take her with us, help her familiarize herself with the job.” The rough man speaks with annoyance in his voice, rubbing the back of his neck. “Damn woman doesn’t even speak a word. Not to mention she gets violent when you try to touch her.”

“Worst kind of woman, if you ask me.” The other guy adds.

“She’s also strong as an orc, but enough of that. Watch the road, Melvin. We’ve heard that the young prince has his nose on our profitable business and has people looking into it.”

“He got the knights!?”

“No, he doesn’t have the authority. He got some mercenaries, but some damn good ones. All they need is to confirm you’re carrying [ulzer] to become a suspect. And we don’t need to tell you what will happen if you say a word about us.”

“I-I won’t! But what if they find out!?” Melvin asks. His chest starts to tighten and sweat starts to slowly form on his forehead.

“We’ll see.”

Melvin swallows hard. Getting into business with these guys is profitable and safe, so long as you’re on their good side. He knows it’s better to keep his mouth shut and not even think of mentioning their involvement.