Chapter 38
After wandering around, I found the inn near the beach. It was rather old, with an oddly tolerable smell of rust and fungus in the air. I paid for the room an entire week in advance so I wouldn't be constantly pestered by the owner.
I was doing everything to make sure I'd get to stay in one place for a while. Of course, Laine followed suit, paying a week in advance for his room as well, which was right next to mine. As we dragged our luggage up the old, moldy stairs, I overheard one of the patrons mumbling to another. Their voices were faint, but I could tell that they were talking about some unrest in the area.
After we settled in upstairs, Laine turned to me and smiled. I had grown accustomed to his mischievous grin, which had haunted nearly all of my misadventures since the very beginning.
"I'm going to go around town and ask about that auction. I'll see if I can get us both tickets," he said enthusiastically.
I don't want anything to do with the auction, Laine. Just let me rest," I told him despite knowing that he wasn't paying any attention.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get you a ticket!" He said, ignoring me as he ran off.
I sat and relaxed in my room for a bit. Vorrak was on the table beside me, still covered by the cloth that muffled his voice. But there was still some time before nightfall, so instead of sleeping, I went downstairs.
My stomach growled aggressively as I sat down to order a meal at the inn. It was advertised as a stew, and part of me wanted to believe that it was, but I knew better than to believe anything in this world.
Once the food was finished, I paid the innkeeper and went out to see the city.
The beach was the first place I decided to go. It was common sense—you couldn't be in a city with a beach without actually going to the beach. As I walked along the coastline, I looked outward, and on the distant horizon, far out in the sea, was some sort of structure. Or maybe it was just an outcropping of giant rocks jutting out of the sea.
I couldn't make out the details, but it was hard to tell whether it was floating or standing out in the middle of the water. It was rather strange! I pondered what it could be for a while, but eventually, I just asked a passerby about it.
"What is that, over there?" I asked, pointing in the direction of the rocks.
The passerby looked at me with a confused look on their face. Once he was actually sure I had no idea about what it was, he told me,
"That is the entrance to the City of Mermen," he said, and then he went right back to strolling on the beach.
I stared at the structure for a bit before moving on.
I passed by the port, walking in the same direction for a while. Everywhere I looked, there were ships. With hundreds of these going in and out, it was pretty obvious why Lis was such a major seaport. I saw people from many races mingling together and haggling over prices.
It was a proper marketplace in a proper city. It was more intense than anywhere I had been until now.
While walking around, I saw a giant, opulent building near the center of the marketplace. The text on the building was written in the strange language of this world, but I was still able to read it.
The text read "Merchants' Court."
I wondered why merchants would need their own court.
"It's been a while." A familiar voice called out to me from behind. Oh dear!
I turned around to face Donald. Like me, he was also from Earth and had once kidnapped Laine and Maxian in an effort to get me to work with him. Of course, I had refused, which made him attack me. I could've beaten the crap out of him if only the dragon hadn't intervened. If things came to blows again, at least this time, there were no dragons around.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Donald apprehensively.
He just laughed at my question, grinning.
"Oh, don't worry. Our meeting here is just a coincidence. I promise you I mean no harm. I'm in Lis on… some other business." The way he stated that last part was almost sinister, and I didn't want to pry. It was none of my business. What I didn't know couldn't hurt me.
I looked around for his men to make sure I wasn't about to be ambushed, but he was all alone.
Donald did nothing to acknowledge my unease; he just nodded toward the Merchants Court with a smug smile.
"Beautiful, isn't it? It makes you think how this world is much the same as ours. Life's comfort comes from wealth and power. Institutions like this just help the rich hold on to both." He took a long and very audible whiff of air, inhaling deeply. "Ahhh! That's the smell of pure capitalism."
I rolled my eyes. I was in no mood to get into a philosophical discussion with a maniac like him.
He pretended not to notice and continued on with his rant. He told me about the history of Lis—a crash course that I had no interest in but was forced to endure.
"You know, like most of this world, Lis too was once ruled by kings. But the last of them, King Tyr the Fifth, was a tyrannical ruler whom many claimed to be insane. He ruled with an iron fist and had no regard for the lives of his subjects whatsoever."
Donald rambled on, "He passed a law dictating that any Lisari who was accused of treason would have all of their assets confiscated by the crown. You notice how I said 'accused' and not 'proven'? That was because Tyr proceeded to accuse everyone he disliked or had so much as an aversion to of treason and took over everything anyone owned. The rich and poor suffered alike." He smiled as he said this last part, as if the thought of equally mistreating people brought him joy.
"You see, Tyr had a taste for violence, often orchestrating attacks on his own people. He was also a racist who hated the Mermen, making diplomatic relationships amongst them rather strained. Eventually, the people of the city revolted against him." A wild spark appeared in Donald's eyes as he grinned widely.
"They formed a mob and stormed his palace in the dead of night. The tyrant was in his sleep. The people agreed to institute merchants as the policy makers of the city. And now the richest merchants and the heads of all the different guilds meet as a council to decide policy. They choose a ruler, whom they title the Grand Factor, right here in this court, to serve as their head every three years. And that is how Lis became prosperous and known across this world."
"Donald recounted the whole story with forced sincerity, pretending he was part of the cause that overthrew King Tyr, or at least a fan of it." In the end, he turned to me, still grinning, and said, "But that's just the story the merchants spread to make themselves look better. The winners always decide history and who gets to be the villain in their story. Unfortunately, King Tyr isn't here to tell us his side of the tale, so we may never know what actually happened."
"Thanks for the history lesson," I told him sarcastically. But what do you want?" I clearly expressed my need to be left alone.
"Just some conversation with a fellow earthling. Is that too much to ask?"
I stared at him for a few minutes, but he laughed and said, "I'll be seeing you around, Sam," as he walked away.
I watched him disappear into the crowd and sighed. I had a feeling I'd see him again soon.
So much for my vacation; trouble had found me in Lis, too. Just my luck.
After the exhausting interaction with David, I headed back to the inn, no longer in the mood to wander around because God only knew who else I would run into.
On my way back, I saw a person on a podium talking to a crowd of people of all kinds of races.
"Brothers! Sisters! Friends! The Merchants are eating our great city! Their greed will destroy Lis if we do not act soon! Their need for power and hunger for wealth will destroy the connection between the Lisari and our neighbors, the Merfolk. We have had peace for centuries, and because of these fat fools, we are at the brink of war!" He yelled, and the crowd seemed to echo his sentiments, but not for long.
He was promptly removed from the podium by armed guards, who started beating him up. The crowd tried to intervene but had to disperse the moment more guards showed up.
I left the scene and went straight back to the inn. I wanted no part in any of it. There was no way I was going to get involved in politics, and that, too, was on vacation.
Once I was back at the inn, I sat down at the bar and asked the innkeeper for dinner. The inn was almost empty, even at nighttime, which was almost weird for a city as bustling as Lis.
"Your inn is pretty clean, and it's in a good part of town. Why is it empty?" I asked the innkeeper.
He sighed at my question and spoke with a deep resignation in his voice.
"The city isn't doing so well. The Grand Factor has issued policies against price-fixing, which he claims is ruining our city's economy. He's using that as an excuse to drive out many merchants. Unfortunately, most of them were seafolk, and they're not too happy about being pushed out." He explained.
"On top of that, there are these pamphlets circulating around the city, spreading controversies about the mermen." He went on, "Most of them are absolutely ridiculous, like the seafolk raising a giant crab in secret to destroy Lis or making the waves too loud to let anyone sleep," he said. I could tell he was angry not just at the loss of business but at the lies, too.
The innkeeper leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Between us, I'm pretty sure the Grand Factor is the one spreading these pamphlets. He wants the other Lisari merchants to make more money and fill his pockets."
He leaned back and said, "Anyway, that's why people are hesitant to stay in a coastal inn like this one nowadays. But it'll pass. It always does. Besides, re-election is coming up, and no one can be elected as Grand Factor more than once."
I thanked the innkeeper for the information and went up to bed, only to find that my door was open. I was sure I had closed it when I left, and that only meant one thing.
Someone was inside.
I entered the room cautiously, ready to fight if I had to, but saw nothing out of place. Nothing was missing, nothing had been taken…except Vorrak. He was gone, missing from my table, and a letter wrapped in a shiny black ribbon was in his place.
I opened it.
All it said was, "You're invited to the Dark Auction. Midnight at the Siren's Call."
"Shit," I said.