Rise In Calradia

"The grassland is still like that, it's just that the herders' tribe has been depressed." Looking at the scene in front of him, Byron couldn't help but sigh.

A few years ago, as a mercenary, he took his troops to transport spices on the prairie to make a profit. He still remembers the "unpleasantness" he had with the black market merchants on the prairie at that time and the point that followed. "Small conflict", but the final result is everyone's joy. Not only did they get back their own spices, they also got a "compensation", and the businessmen would never lie to others' dinars.

He passed by here when he returned. At that time, it was a fixed settlement made up of many Kujit tents (almost the same as yurts). There were more than one hundred people living in this area along the river all year round. Passers-by and business travelers provide food, drinking water and accommodation services to survive, and provide a simple trading market. The herders on the grassland are used to taking their homes everywhere, so fixed settlements like this are very rare. Naturally, this unknown village has become a resting place for visitors. So Byron has always remembered the appearance of this small commercial village. The crowds coming and going and the caravans that arrive every day.

But when I came back this time, there were basically no people seen here. Many tents were abandoned. Several old horses were freely eating the frozen green grass that was exposed after the snow melted nearby. In the past, there were hundreds of people living in the settlement. I could see a few old people and a few women and children still busy playing. Byron stared there for a whole minute, and only three men who were not aging were counted.

Byron’s army was waiting in the distance, and he himself took only 20 cavalry who had served as mercenaries in the Peony Regiment and a few horse-drawn carriages. Byron covered the armor underneath with his robes, while the other cavalry were originally. In the identification of the system, they are also mercenary cavalry, and they are naturally more messy in their dress.

"There are no Kujit's troops around here, right?" Byron asked.

"Yes, sir, our scouts have checked. There will be no more than one hundred Kujites within ten miles, not to mention their army."

"Very well, let's take a look, maybe we can know something." Byron nodded, pointed at the settlement with his riding whip, and said with interest.

"My lord, let's just go about this. Your safety is the most important thing."

"It's okay, I just go over and take a look. If I know any news, I can get an idea the first time. And I have a special feeling. I think I will be lucky here."

Byron smiled, and he was relieved when he was confirmed to be safe. All the people in this camp add up, and it takes only a few minutes before this team of mercenary cavalry. To slaughter them is not even a battle. It can only be said to be active. Byron is not worried about his safety. And he didn't lie just now, he really had a special feeling that attracted him to this camp.

"By the way, send someone to inform our troops, let them move forward, don't be too far away from us."

In this way, the convoy walked slowly to this settlement. Their arrival quickly attracted the attention of the people around. The old people and women put down their work one after another, and the young men secretly picked up and placed them beside them at any time. Saber.

"Old man, we went to Tulga to do business and want to rest here. Who is in charge of this place now?" Byron asked when he drove up to an old man looking at him.

"What kind of business are you doing?" The old man looked at their equipment and asked with some caution.

"Silk, spices, fine wine, good iron, and the sale of human heads." Byron blurted out.

"Ah, mercenaries in business, okay, I'll take you away." The old man nodded, and Byron's remarks belonged to the idiom of various mercenaries in Calradia, from Nord to Salander. Some mercenaries will say this. The old man has been here for more than ten years, and the mercenaries who come and go have seen more, so he naturally understands this set. Byron was telling him that he was a mercenary who engaged in murder while doing business. This kind of people walked normally on this grassland. This place used to receive everyone, and it is the same now. "There are not many people in this place now, and I can't say who is in charge. But there are a lot of tents that are vacated. You can stay together as long as you want." The old man finished, and led Byron's horse to a room that seemed normal Next to the large tent used by people, and the nearby people bowed their heads and continued to work. The men also lifted their guard and dispersed. They are not worried about the bad thoughts of those outsiders. It is very poor now, so poor that the robbers can detour.

"I've been here this time before, and there were many people at the time. I still ate roast lamb here." Byron was a little emotional when he got off the horse, and the old man felt the same way.

"The past few years have been good, but unfortunately this year was hit by a disaster and many people were removed. Then there was a war again, and most of the young people followed and we were left." Said this, the old man smiled, his dark skin suffered from the vicissitudes of life. There was a bit of broken teeth, which had been eating hard jerky and dry food for a long time. It seems that he had also strayed outside when he was young. "If you still want to eat lamb, we still have a lot of sheep. We are always short of supplies. I want to exchange something with you. Our pot has been broken for a long time. I want to buy a new one. At least I have to find some. Iron it up."

"The price is right and everything is easy to say." Byron laughed, of course I was happy to change the goods to silver sooner. You can tell the people here, we put the goods at the door, and they can change what they want.

The old man left happily. He returned to his tent and took out an old but sharply sharpened knife, went to the flock and pulled out a fat sheep, and found another old man to start slaughtering the sheep.

The people in the camp heard that there was something for sale, and they all came together. The children watched the fun, but the women really brought baskets with sacks and grabbed the only silver coins in the family to purchase goods. There were no merchants here for a while after the war began. If you want to survive, you can't let this opportunity pass.

So those mercenaries with trading experience removed the groceries and some of the goods from the carriage. Those were all personally selected by Byron. He had experience in mercenaries himself, and he naturally knew what was most suitable for the carriage, which would not arouse suspicion.

Iron nuggets and table salt have always been tight sales in the grassland, especially good quality iron pots and tools. In those small settlements lacking blacksmiths, it is worth the housewife to use all the silver in the house. After all, even if their husbands went out to fight, they brought back hard currencies and valuables such as gold and silver jewelry, rather than heavy and space-consuming ironware.

While the mercenaries were bargaining with the women of Khergit, Byron was chatting with those who watched the excitement. Byron took out the account book and kept it like a decent account. People are talking about all kinds of anecdotes on the grassland. He soon learned from them that the Khan's army had passed by here a few days ago, but there were no males who had gone out there. In addition, they also heard from passing herders that two Nayan troops were stationed in a place no more than seventy or eighty miles away from here. They won a lot of spoils, so they hunted on the pasture there before returning to their territory ( Yellow goats are produced in that area, which is a good prey), singing and dancing, enjoying the new prey and the good wine.

This is crucial news. Byron immediately showed his interest, and asked the man's two naive troops if they would need mercenaries to do their inconvenient chores, and the other party smiled and said:

"It’s not a good idea to go there, my friend. They just finished the war and they don’t need extra manpower. Besides, they brought more than a thousand people with them when they hunted. Continue to the east. When Khan is away, those ringing horses are dangling in the grassland. I think you have good horses and good knives. You will definitely get a lot of rewards over there."

"Thank you, this news is very important to us. Although the war has started, we don't want to go to the battlefield to die, or these jobs are suitable for us." Byron's face and heart were happy, and he took out a box from the side of the box. The bottle of wine was stuffed into the man's hand.

"Take it, friend, I will ask you."

The man was a little embarrassed, but the prairie man looked a little shy at this time. He felt that the gift was a bit heavy, and he wanted to return the bottle to Byron. But Byron did laugh and gave him the whole bottle of wine.

This made him even more embarrassed, so there was another tender lamb on the grill prepared for Byron and the others, the meat was just as tender as Byron's appetite.

So ~www.readwn.com~ Byron invited the people in the settlement to have a meal. He took out a lot of food that is rarely seen on the prairie, as well as Swadia barley, which is also affordable by ordinary families, to share with everyone . The inhabitants of the grassland accepted his kindness. They gathered in the open space in front of the tent, and sat down at whatever they wanted. They brought home food, mare kumm, and homemade cheese. They all ate and drank together as if they were holding a party. Open-air banquet.

Byron was very happy. After attending enough aristocratic banquets, fed up with profit bargaining, red tape and conspiracy, he was very happy to be able to eat and drink with everyone as happily as in the past. Although not so comfortable, but occasionally come here. Really happy.

The people in the settlement are very grateful to Byron for the daily necessities, goods and his hospitality. They have nothing to tell, so they invited the bard who came here two days ago and asked him to play for everyone. One song, for the banquet.

The poet has a dark complexion and a slender figure. He looks handsome if he ignores his skin color. He wears a blue robe often worn by prairie riders, with a beautifully decorated saber on his waist, and his horse carries a large pocket. Inside are various musical instruments.

Byron recognized his identity the first time he saw him, but there was no fluctuation in his heart, he just smiled.

In the dark, everything has its own destiny.