Chương 7: Chapter 1.7: Market Research

Some part of Favius had known that Brutus was an extraordinary warrior. A Magni-Cultor like him stood one step below the fifth and final level of cultivation. But only now, as he just stood there in slack-jawed awe, watching the man barehandedly dispatch a dozen armed soldiers, did he realize how deadly his sworn protector was. Brutus casually kicked the paunchy Decurii's chestplate, and the man flew more than ten meters down the road and clattered another five over the cobblestones.

A series of swift blows and kicks staggered or stunned half a dozen soldiers in as many seconds.

"Behind you!" Favius screamed, but Brutus was already turning toward the man who was thrusting, extending his short sword like a fencer. Brutus stepped outside the man's thrust, grabbed his arm, and spun with it. The audible pop of the elbow being inverted triggered a scream, and before the blade hit the ground, Brutus had already kicked another man between the legs. He finished nearly all the other men off before the ones he had merely stunned got back up.

While he was busy slapping a particularly big soldier several dozen times, a young soldier began running away.

"Brutus, someone is escaping!" Favius called, but the man responded calmly without interrupting his slapping of the man's face.

"It's handled." Favius frowned as Brutus dropped the man and casually walked to where one of the Lireni had dropped a spear, then twirled it in the air while the soldier ran toward the main street. Just before the fleeing man rounded the corner, Brutus threw the spear. Favius sighed. Well, I guess if he only kills one of them— But then the spear arced down, missing the man's torso and going straight between his legs. He stumbled and, with all the speed of his full-tilt sprint, crashed into the ground.

Several dozen people watched from the main street, and cries went out. Brutus looked around, his face wide with a grin.

"Ah, I really needed that." He looked around, searching for something—or someone. Favius shifted nervously.

"Brutus, I think there might be reinforcements coming?" He remembered all the Lireni soldiers and the Cindrathi guards he had seen in the city. Brutus shrugged.

"We still have some time. Ah, here he is." With a vicious kick to the side, he turned over the scarred young soldier who had made the comment about what he would have done if Favius had been a girl. The man groaned after Brutus slapped him in the face. Favius had a very bad feeling about what was about to happen. Brutus leaned down.

"You see, I hate it if scum like you sticks things where they really don't belong. But as I don't have time to explain the virtues of a moral life to you, I'm going to have to settle on a cruder solution." The man merely groaned, his eyes widening. Brutus stepped back. Then he kicked up the lower end of the reinforced tunic the man wore, revealing his loincloth. Favius realized what the warrior intended, but before he could say anything, Brutus stomped down viciously between the man's legs.

Favius expected a scream, but instead a high-pitched wheeze came as the soldier curled up, and blood began spreading in his tunic. Brutus turned to Favius with a satisfied smile as he cleansed his hobnailed sandal on the man's tunic.

"Now we can leave." He again picked up Favius in a princess carry, and they ran through side alleys until the commotion behind them could no longer be heard. A dozen people and the same number of pigs rummaging through the dirt in the side alley watched them leave. Brutus put Favius down and they emerged into a red-light district. Barely clothed men and women, many of them outright naked, lounged about in open windows or talked to potential customers. Brutus slapped Favius on the back as he set him down.

"This day just keeps getting better, boy. Now—" Brutus looked around, now realizing where they were.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked with an awkward grin on his face.

"With all the chaos, we can make it to the estate. I can break out your siblings and we can still get to Rhexion. There are allies there. I can keep you safe and Marcus shall never find us." A sinking feeling filled Favius' stomach. My siblings. Fuck, I only thought about the quest, but what if Marcus does— He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. Executing my siblings is utterly pointless. No, Marcus will be searching for me instead. As long as we return by evening, it will all work out.

Favius shook his head, considering his approach.

"No. I want to see the market. I had a strange dream last night, and it told me that I must seek out and see what the artisans of Cindrath are making. It's very important, but I can't tell you why yet." Brutus frowned for a moment, then shrugged.

"You are my Dominus, so your word is my command." He inclined his head, then looked about. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"This way." As they began walking, Brutus started pointing to various brothels.

"Now listen up, Favius. This is an important life lesson. See that? That whorehouse is owned by the potters. Never, ever go into a whorehouse owned by the Potters' Collegia. It's cheap, but it's—" He shook his head and let out a long breath.

"It's never worth it, trust me." A smile played over Favius' lips. Is he—is this man seriously giving a ten-year-old recommendations about the best brothels in town? Is that what he considers good parenting? But Brutus continued, undeterred by Favius' chagrined expression.

"Now this one is owned by the Jewelers' Collegia. It's high quality, but always a little bit too expensive. In my experience—" He pointed at one near the end of the street.

"The Carpenters' Collegia is where you want to go. Clean whores and great prices. The carpenters got that particular market nailed down for a long time." Favius frowned. There's probably an interesting reason why carpenters, potters, and jewelers are owning brothels, but… He let out a sigh. I don't think it's relevant to me at the moment. He gave the scantily dressed prostitutes one last look as they left the alley. And I should probably not visit such a place within less than ten years anyway.

As they found one of the main arteries, the houses grew richer again, though they were still the ubiquitous four-story residential buildings. He absentmindedly reflected on how clean the main streets were while trash and pigs were hard to avoid in side streets and alleys. Soon, Favius chewed his lip and recalled the discussion he had with the entity about his immortality. He turned to Brutus and grabbed his forearm.

"Brutus, I have another thing I need you to do, but you can't ask any questions. I'll explain it to you in time." He let out a breath, weighing the possibilities.

"This might be a strange request, but if I ever die, retrieve my body and just leave it in a cool room. But check on it regularly. Under no circumstances allow anyone to cremate or bury me. This is really important." Brutus stopped and looked at him strangely. He pursed his lips, seemed on the edge of asking a question, but then shook his head. He slammed his fist into his chestplate.

"Your will is my command, Dominus." With those words, the powerful cultivator turned around and continued walking. Favius fell in beside him. Well, I guess that went well. Though I should probably still avoid dying. That seems like the wise thing to do. Soon they entered a bustling artisanal market. On the way, Brutus had explained that craftsmen were organized into various collegia, which didn't neatly translate to any word his other life remembered, though "guild" was the closest term.

However, a collegium also had duties for policing parts of the city, and many—though not all—were also involved in running what amounted to organized crime here. But first and foremost they were associations of all the various craftsmen, from loaders and wagoners up to jewelers and goldsmiths. Working across the market, Favius first sought a general sense of the local economy. He surveyed fruits and foodstuffs—grain, olives, cheeses, and a wide range of roots.

As they stopped by a food stand, grabbing a piece of flatbread that wrapped a mixture of cheese and olives, he heard the tingling sound of bells in his mind again. He felt something like a sense of progress. Is that the quest advancing? Scanning shops selling various household items like pottery, pots and pans, fabrics, and tunics, he got several more of the jingling sounds. The first stall that made him pause was manned by a young man who was growing a very pathetic example of a beard.

Favius looked over the glassware he was peddling. It had taken him a moment to figure out that it was glass. Most of it had complex reddish and yellow colors drawn into fiery patterns reminiscent of the clothing the locals preferred. He narrowed his eyes. The young man cleared his throat, quickly glancing between Brutus and Favius, then inclined his head.

"How may I help you, young master?" Something about the address made Favius smirk.

"Do you also have clear glass that you can see through?" The young man looked over his wares.

"Glass you can see through? Well, we have…" He held up a small, clearly blown glass cup of a lighter blue-green color. It was definitely translucent, and maybe one side was even slightly transparent. Favius clicked his tongue. Looks as if they are either adding impurities to glass or they just haven't figured out how to make it clean enough to be transparent. After being shown several more examples of the exquisite craftsmanship of the glassblowers, he thanked the young man and they walked on.

The next stall that caught his fancy had a shield that translated to Ifeffey's Scribe Supplies. He gestured at Brutus and they entered the store. The first thing that hit Favius was the smell. It was dry but richly organic. There were notes of wax and wood in the air. Suddenly, a man emerged from the darkness.

"Greetings, greetings, my friend!" Favius raised an eyebrow at the man. His skin was a darkly rich brown, not quite the coloration you would find in sub-Saharan Africa, but darker than what you would find on the face of an Arab. His hair was somehow felted into what looked like broad plates made in a similar style to dreadlocks. The man stepped forward.

"I am Ifeffey. How wonderful that you have made it into my store. How may Ifeffey help you on this beautiful day?" A moment of silence stretched as Favius looked around. He saw various scrolls, stacks of paper, and a collection of what looked like wooden boards. He looked up at the man.

"Tell me, good man, what are my options if I want to write something down?" For a moment, Favius was worried that the question had been strange, but Ifeffey took it entirely in stride.

"Ah, you see, my little friend. Beyond a wide variety of inks and styluses, I sell four things." He pointed across the shop.

"Parchment scrolls made of the finest vellum and leather. You shall find no finer parchments in the entirety of this city. This I promise."

"For the more discerning customer, papyrus woven in my homeland." He gestured grandly at a stack of sheets.

"Now I know, I know what you're going to say. Isn't parchment a superior option? But you see, papyrus made by a master craftsman is as good—nay, better—in nearly all aspects. And also—" He smiled.

"I will make you a very good price, my young friend." Favius pointed to the pile of wooden boards.

"And those?"

"Oh, those are the wax tablets and the sand boards for more temporary writing. A real favorite with administrators and tutors." He brought up several examples, and Favius felt the jingling of the bells in his mind. He smiled, and both he and Brutus took nearly ten more minutes to extricate themselves from the overly friendly salesman. As they exited the shop, Brutus chuckled.

"So, Favius, what do you think of the hospitality of the southern continent?" Favius replied with a similar chuckle.

"It was… intense?" he ventured carefully. Brutus chuckled.

"Yes. That is certainly one way to describe the merchants of the Nile." They continued on again, hunting across the market. After a while, Favius smelled the sharp tang of alcohol and sulfur: an alchemist's shop. He grinned. An alchemist in a world with magic. This is going to be interesting.