I am unsure if it was some apostle sensation, but I ended up recording my memories to the point before I left the inn I was staying.

That was my last [Record]. But now, I can add to that that I am pretty sure it was a feeling of an unexpected situation. Yet, let's [Record] everything as it went, less I want to misunderstand something when I revisit the events of these two days.

As the sun rose, I left the tavern where I stayed. To be precise, [The Rich Miner] place was just some meters from the gates, the same ones I crossed with the wagon and my companions some hours before. Thus, from that point, I moved up the main road or east (if I chose to map my walk). A few streets in, I turned right or towards the south, and it didn't take me more than a couple of minutes to reach the local Trade Guild compound.

Yuld was, as he said, expecting me there, and we didn't share anything but a quick greeting as he pointed me toward the warehouse gate, making me knock on it.

"Good sunrise, and whatever. I am here to pick up my wagon." With Aison chewing me up about my manners after we met with Gudea, I chose to act as told and shouted while kicking at the warehouse's gate.

I would say that the reaction speed was quick, considering the sun just rose, but I did growl something about making us wait for the young worker that appeared from a side door, the latter a nearly exact copy of the one we met on the previous day.

Either my manners were suitable for the situation or some instructions were left, but the wagon was driven before us in record times, not more than ten minutes. And that's considering the horses spent the night in the stables half street away.

With Yuld taking the reins, I sat without doing anything, and with my dwarven guide acting servant-like, I had a chance to look around more than the previous day. Not that there was much to see.

Yuld drove the wagon towards the gate, from where he took the perimeter road inside the walls. First, we moved to the south, and then as the walls turned, the wagon took towards the east. Thus, I only saw the back ends of buildings and a few random shops that catered to workers, merchants, and the rare inhabitant of the last or maybe the first houses from the wall. The odd cart, wagon, or mounted person passed, but honestly, no one attracted my attention.

Not that I could know at that point, but the most intriguing building and event for today, at least for me, would be an enormous property we passed just before reaching the gates that Yuld referred to as [Dwarven]. And which we would cross to right after seeing that site. In any case, I should stick to making the records correctly, part by part.

"Now that looks amazing. Just what is it?" After about twenty minutes of uneventful, boring riding, I pointed to a fence-like wall going for nearly two hundred meters, separating what appeared to be a gathering of all the plants, trees, and flowers that could grow around here.

"Hmm? I thought you would know, as I overheard you mentioning it once." Yuld looked at me with surprise but then quickly explained as he returned to his servant-like manner, given a random passerby in hearing range, "Maester Rador doesn't know? That's the [Garden of Pleasure]."

"Oh, no wonder it's called Garden." Well, I assumed this brothel would be more brothel-like (IDK, maybe pink curtains and a lot of rooms? Red lights?). But it seems that the name actually came from the property's style.

"I haven't been inside this principal one, as it is for dignified visitors as the Maester, but I heard they even have entire rooms woven of plants." By this moment, no one was in hearing range, so Yuld returned to a more casual manner, "They also are rumored to have the most impressive drinks around. For that reason, I am almost angry about not having standing enough and them not accepting anyone but a few of our Kingdom envoys."

"Yes, yes, I remember you're a simple out-dwarf." I half-laughed at Yuld's words about standing but then caught on to something he mentioned before, "Wait, you said principal one? So, there are others? And you were to one?"

"They have several lower-tier ones, and I heard about one exclusive, accessible only by invitation of a member of their circle. About the unrestricted ones, I have been to all. The noble one? No idea even where's it at." Yuld explained, revealing to me information that Aison was yet to tell.

While I didn't think that the ones open to everyone would have anything strange going on, otherwise the [Royal Hounds] would not need any help, I still asked Yuld for him to share his brothel adventures. Ehem, that sounded strange, but I was honestly only interested in the locations and what unusual things he witnessed, not what he saw, did, or so!

***

While the [Garden of Pleasure] was known for the impressive plant-filled property we passed, they owned four other properties, brothels all of them, in Chubu. Neither was so outstanding, being the average brothel (in Yuld's words). The quantity was because they were for different people in and out of the city.

The [Joyful Guardswoman] was a repurposed watchtower that fell in misuse. And actually, it was just some streets away from the inn I stayed. Meant for guards, low-tier merchants, sellswords, and similar, it was a pretty simple see goods, pay-upfront place. Yuld didn't elaborate, but I understood that he used its first tavern floor as a meeting spot. "Oh, and from the ones I know, it's the only one with a selection for women."

The [Warehouse of Fun] was in the Miner's district, which, as I found, was on the northern side of the city, outside the Inner Walls, the same as the Foreign (Yuld calls it Dwarven) one we were about to enter. A repurposed building as well, this one, as the name stated, was a warehouse. In Yuld's description, "Some barroom with cheap ale, beer, and wine along some rooms that aren't even private, and some women that will not only drink with you."

The third one was named the [Charm Pit], and Yuld called it nothing but a rat hole. It was in the shoddiest zone, the outskirts of the outer city. Local women with nothing better to earn served people right in the watering hole that the place was. "I only went there once. And I can tell you, that place is shitty as they come. I am not sure why the cracked forge someone from the inner city even knows its name, not to say manage it."

"As for the fourth, it is pretty lovely. A building near the Sharagzian Compound, somewhat akin to an inn with a decent selection of food and drinks. Well, and some nice-looking girls. They always follow you to your room if you aren't stingy." He chuckled at the last words, so I couldn't help but ask, "Yuld, you go after human women?"

"Hmm? Yes, why wouldn't I? They maybe are a bit skinnier and taller than ours, but I don't see the difference when you go for what you go." He shrugged and then added in a hushed tone, "The girls in the [Amusement Lodgings] know a lot of things, and while it's not safe to depend on them for sensitive information, they do help if you are searching for something regular."

_______

With Yuld's explanation finishing and our talk dying on that information note, I took a chance to order what I found out. Even I felt that the people behind the [Garden of Pleasure] weren't anything simple. Aison and the [Hounds] knew all that and more, definitively. But it never hurt to have a head of yourself, and some information of my own would only help (considering how I have been lacking on that for most of the events, for sure).

Catering to all kinds of people in the city looked pretty businesslike. And the girls providing information also meant they gathered it for their employers, so there were no questions about the owner or owners having a good head on their shoulders. On the same note, as Yuld stated, why would they have a spot in the poor, probably dangerous, and from what I saw, fucked up outer city?

Even if assembled, run, and served by locals, what could they earn from such a spot? A couple of coppers? No way that spare change could attract someone with properties like the [Garden]. Probably that [Pit] cost more than it earned, as rat hole or not, they would need to protect and maintain it somehow, didn't they? Information gathering out there was also out of the question, as I doubted anything interesting could happen there, or wait, what about nasty, crime-related stuff?

Right! Didn't that dead bastard mention selling the girls to the [Garden]? No matter your standing or connections, you couldn't waltz into the city with kidnapped people, could you?

{I will have to discuss this with Aison.} Deciding on that, I returned to the actual happenings. And right in time, as we were about to pass the gates!

_______

The gates from this side of the city walls were smaller, hardly the width of two wagons side by side, and to my surprise, the guards here were the ones of the Viscounty, not the ones of the all-controlling Baron.

"Yuld? What are you up to now?" One of the leather-armored guards asked as we neared enough for him to see our faces.

"Oh, Drak, what a surprise. Weren't you sent to the outer city patrols after that last contraband incident?" While Yuld smiled and waved as he asked, I felt how it was nothing more than an act.

"Thankfully, your coin helped me out, and I managed to get this cozy spot. Hahaha, now, maybe you will help my wallet once again? What will I find now if I look as I did that time?" The man laughed as he grinned, pointing towards the wagon with his spear.

"Sorry, but this time there is nothing to find." Yuld shrugged, and as the guard was about to say something, the dwarf added, "This wagon is of the Trade Guild and is property of Maester Rador, so you should be very careful what you want to check."

"Maester Rador? Who's that?" The grin disappeared from the man's face, and I took it as my cue.

"That would be me, Guard Commander of the Vruz Branch, Rador." Half-raising on the seat, I pointed to my badge and, after a few moments of staring at the unshaven, somewhat dirty face, added, "We are running a tight schedule, and Maester Gudea will not want me to arrive late for our outing today, so what will it be?"

"I s'posse that the wagon entered through the main gate, so there should be no problem." Drak looked questioningly at Yuld, no signs of his previous manner, and receiving a nod, pointed us towards the open gates.

"Thank you. After I get the promised money, I will treat you to a drink. For old times sake and everything." Yuld promised with a bright smile and, without waiting for any other commands or intending to pay even the nominal fee for crossing the gate, started the wagon forward.

"Wait, what about the toll?" It wasn't Drak but another guard to ask, which judging from the shoddy iron breastplate, was something like a commander of sorts.

"The wagon paid all dues to the Baron's people and will be sold to the Sharagzian merchants. You can ask them. As for Maester Rador, he will return in a couple of hours, or do you want him to pay each time Maester Gudea sends him out?" Yuld did not stop moving as he again invoked the name of the local branch manager.

"Ah, I didn't hear it was part of the Guild's movements. Go ahead, Maester Rador." Did he hear or not didn't matter. Whatever shake-off there was planned, even the thought of it vanished from this guy's eyes as soon as Yuld mentioned the Baron guards.

"I doubt they will receive any trader today or this week." I overheard one of the guards but chose to ignore it as it wasn't for me, or so I thought.

***

Crossing the gate, I saw a few things that surprised me, like the walls up front and to my right. But after a quick Q&A session with Yuld, I understood that such was Chubu's layout.

When we arrived via the main gate, after crossing the outer city, I thought Chubu shape was a U inside a U. Essentially, the inner city was a flat-topped ellipse, except that the top wasn't a wall, but where the mountain range started. And the outer city repeated the same shape on a bigger scale. But I was mistaken.

It was more like an inverted omega (Ω), not a simple U. I have no way to form a map without looking at the city from above, but Yuld's info more-or-less made me have the idea. Looking from above, the upper part of the inner city wall formed two small enclosures, walled from both outside and inside, thus separated from both outer and inner cities.

The one in the south, or right when looking from above, was the [Foreign] district, initially meant for the garrison, now given to non-human races, small-time merchants with no money to live in the city, and so on. The sudden change happened 17 years ago when the [Mountain Opening] event established communication between the Neverc and Sharagzian Kingdoms via a tunnel in the mountains built by the dwarven exploration and search for resources effort.

As for the one on the left, full of warehouses, housing, and some low-tier amenities, previously the trade and market district, but with the enormous amount of mines, it ended as the [Miner] district. And now, housed the riches of the mountains and the personnel that obtained them.

As we crossed the gates, Yuld pointed me at several houses made of stone, a few of which had different signs hanging from them, "That's our Kingdom's merchants' street."

Calling the few houses lined up on one side of the only street between gate and gate, at first glance, a kilometer long, I could hardly understand the reason for the pride in his voice, but well, I am not even a local, so what do I know?

"On the other side, there are a few lodging houses, inns, and taverns meant for the ones that can not pay the city tolls or are only planning to trade with us." Yuld continued his explanation as he drove the wagon forward.

"I see, and what about the inn that you mentioned before?" Not that I planned to go, but maybe I would have to do so at some point.

"Half the street ahead, you will see the one leading to the outer city gates, just take right there, and you will see its signpost." Yuld chuckled as he explained and winked at me.

"And we are going to..?"

"The trading post." Yuld dropped me only that explanation as the wagon rode forward.

I should note that I didn't see any dwarves or even the average passerby. The only few figures that moved along the streets were guards and soldiers. The leather-armored ones of Chubu glanced at us with curiosity but continued their path.

As for the other ones, carrying dark blue emblems, chainmail, and even plate, the soldiers of the Barony, those nearly followed after us as we moved. And only the badge that I was inconspicuously nursing in my hand prevented them from approaching and questioning, something they seemed just about to do.

"Feels lonely, as if it's dead." I shared my honest review of the merchant street as we turned to the left as if moving towards the now-visible mountains and a black stone wall on the end of the road leading to them.

"Mmm, my last news are from over two weeks ago. The situation wasn't amicable either, but it seems even worse now. That, or something serious happened while I was away, at least for all the stores to close." Yuld muttered, and I'm still unsure if he meant that to me.

***

My description of the dead surroundings was damn accurate. All the stores looked closed, the doors and windows locked. As for the grey-stone building before, the black stone wall with a serious-looking, closed steel gate looked barred shut as all others. No one even reacted to the wagon stopping.

My attention wasn't on the building that we stopped before, though. I was looking to the other side of the three-wagon wide street, to an enormous tower, easily a hundred meters at its base and about fifty meters tall. Made of the same white stones as Chubu's walls, it was heavily fortified, with steel bars at every visible window, and its heavy steel gate, while opened, looked like a half-meter thick.

Flags of the Neverc Kingdom, the Chubu Viscounty, and the Old Anear Barony hung on it, and soldiers and guards constantly entered and left, even in the few minutes I observed. "The Outpost, more like a small army base. They said it is to protect the entrance to the tunnel, but it's more like they are keeping an eye on us." Yuld commented in a hushed tone as he dismounted and walked towards the wooden door of the grey, two-storied building.

As he knocked on the door, I directed my attention to it, but it was the same as every place before, all windows and doors closed. A few moments later, the door opened, but I didn't see even who did it, as inside, it was as if only darkness existed.

Yuld probably exchanged a few phrases with the person, or dwarf inside, as he returned after a few nods and other motions.

"There has been an incident with one of the Sharagzian Kingdom representatives, and the Ambassador announced no deals in Chubu until the Viscount makes himself accountable." He explained but added before I could ask, "The deal will be between dwarf and dwarf only, but it will happen."

Sincerely I cared nothing about the deal. From what I understood before, it didn't affect me in any way, even in the monetary as I would not be receiving any payments, it was just a way to add to my backstory, so I only shrugged.

"Craftmaster Weralgeal asked me to introduce you to a few people as I completed the deal, but it will be impossible. We can not sidestep the order of the Ambassador." Yuld clarified, careful to avoid anyone else hearing his words.

And then loudly added, so that a few Barony soldiers near the tower's entrance heard, "The payment will be sent to you later, as its a deal agreed by the Merchant Representative two weeks ago. Still, they would have you retire from here, as they will be unable to receive you."

"Outrageous, but I understand that I have no say in this. Yet, be assured the Maesters of the Trade Guild will hear of such treatment." With Yuld nodding to my badge, I took it as an indication of how to act. So I proclaimed out loud before jumping from the wagon.

"Sorry to fail even such a simple task. I hope that the Guild doesn't hold this at me. I had no idea the Ambassador would be so forceful." Yuld excused himself, then again and again, until I started walking away.

***

Our meeting spot with Aison was [The Rich Miner], where I ended up staying the night, so I backtracked, using the same road as before. Probably it would be shorter to cross the inner city, but there were no maps around, and I wasn't sure of reaching the inn in time if I stopped to ask at every corner.

"Maester Rador, I expected you to arrive later. Did something happen with your arrangement?" Maintaining the facade of a lower-standing Guild member, Aison politely asked as soon as I entered the inn's tavern.

"Some incident and all the dwarven shops and representatives are refusing any of our people." I explained what I knew, and then we took a moment of silence, during which we sat at the farthest spot, where I continued, "They will send me the money here and everything, but not seeing the face or even a banner of who I am trading with? I feel it odd."

Aison shook his head as I looked at him for some explanation, "I see. I heard something, but there are only rumors. Not even my local friends are aware of everything as it happened inside the Viscount's court."

"Anyway, what is our plan? I wasn't expecting to risk my hide to get into Gudea's good graces. And yet, here I am, about to join some scheme of his." Choosing to forget about the Sharagzian Kingdom problems, considering it was their own stuff to deal with, I changed topics but was intelligent enough to speak in a low tone.

"Not my ideal either, but if we want you to get an invitation to the [Dreamy Manor], there are no other choices." Aison whispered back.

"[Dreamy Manor], huh? I suppose that's the fifth, unknown but rumored about [Garden of Pleasure], right?" I sought confirmation of what Yuld shared with me.

"Oh, so you do know a bit. I take it was Yuld? Yes, and while we risk our hides there, the local [Hounds] will poke around, the known one openly and the others looking at the reaction. Almost as planned." Aison wryly smiled by the end.

"And I suppose they will very intently look into that strange [Charm Pit], will they not?"

"Never thought about joining us?" Aison neither confirmed nor denied, choosing to joke around.

"Sincerely? No. In any case, shouldn't we eat something and then go to meet Gudea's people?"

"Yes, let us do so." Aison nodded and stood up, waving to one of the serving girls...