Taking a stroll through Siembra's streets on a day when its residents weren't all staying out of sight, made it obvious how unremarkably humble it must've been once. Guided and influenced by the Caladonian, Siembra's only ostentatious building was the temple. Everything else was either a wooden cottage or a simple stone affair usually housing a business of some sort. The roads were straight and narrow, and everything was neatly fenced off and partitioned.

  All of that changed once you looked up to the dwarven quarter. The bearded miners carved out a chunk of Siembra for themselves. That entire area was now all a mess of metals, stone slabs, and curious machinery intermingled with the town's cottages haphazardly rebuilt for the short and stout folk.

  Siembra's idyllically boring fa?ade was also spoiled by the overabundance of adventurers. Their tents and campfires littered the streets and alleyways, while they wandered, loitered, and made a general nuisance of themselves.

  Gaius was spared most of the bother primarily thanks to being accompanied by a high-ranking constable. Being a law-abiding citizen with friends in high places had its perks.

  By that point, Gaius was pretty comfortable with being Gaius Chanter. He wasn't about to slip up and reveal something incriminating about himself.

  This newfound sense of confidence resulted in a relatively pleasant walk around town and a stimulating chat with Esven about nothing in particular. The captain's boastful, explosive, yet somehow endearing nature was a welcome change of pace compared to the usual Mystlund sheriff.

  This Caladonia was pretty alright, and not at all the horrible den of zealots stuck in the dark ages Gaius expected. He kind of liked it there.

  All that enthusiasm evaporated once he got introduced to magistrate Ramirez. The man had a round face, expensive clothes, and enough self-importance about him to fill the entire Siembra basin.

  As soon as he got informed that he wouldn't be meeting Vasily, and instead would have to deal with a lowly underling, the magistrate cut the meeting short on account of some very important state business that suddenly popped up.

  He wasted no more than a couple of sentences on Gaius and afterwards uninvited him from dinner. Through a servant, of course, as he was above embarrassing himself with breaking bad news.

  For a brief moment, Gaius considered burglarizing the town hall out of spite. He then remembered he would have to stick around for at least a year. If something expensive disappeared from the premises following his visit, it wouldn't take a hotshot detective to figure out in which direction to point.

  So, he played the perfect groveling salesman. He was ecstatic to simply be allowed to set foot in the glorious town of Siembra and wouldn't even dream of bothering the undoubtedly busy important people with his unworthy presence.

  Not long after this performance of a lifetime, Gaius found himself standing outside the town hall with an empty stomach and just enough money to cover a few good meals.

  He intended to make the most of it.

  A practical man that he was, Gaius found the biggest, most packed tavern within reasonable walking distance. There, he intended to enlist a few daring but profit-starved adventurers to go and find him some artifacts. Anything unusual he would buy off them and then re-sell at a premium. With no other income coming his way, he figured this was his best shot at making ends meet while he was stuck in Siembra.

  Gaius' arrival to the tavern failed to cause anything resembling a stir. No one was putting aside their drink to turn towards the stranger in eerie silence. The influx of adventurers inoculated the local barflies against excessive curiosity.

  That didn't work for Gaius. He needed to be noticed. He wanted to make an impression. Impressed people were more easily convinced to work on a promise of future profits as opposed to a proper wage.

  Adjusting his approach, Gaius exchanged a few words with the tavernkeeper, slid him what money he had, then climbed on a table occupied by a couple of guys too drunk to care about such intrusion.

  This got him a few sideways glances. The tavern was buzzing with activity and clearing his throat wouldn't do Gaius much good.

  He conjured a simple auditory illusion, filling the place with the sound of rolling thunder.

  "Greetings," he said in the silence that followed. "I'm here on behalf of Vasily's Emporium, a shop of countless wonders brought to you all the way from the mystery-shrouded Slavia. And just for hearing me out, I'd like to buy you all good people a round of drinks."

  The residents immediately turned towards the tavernkeeper who confirmed Gaius' words with a nod. A quiet cheer rumbled through the place. It was way more subdued than what Gaius expected, but it was a start.

  "And now," he said, "I'd like to offer you an opportunity of a lifetime. To become a part of Vasily's family, and help Siembra's commerce flourish. Each and every one of you thrill-seekers and treasure hunters, whenever you discover something on your expeditions beneath the town that can be described as an artifact, you bring it to me, to Vasily's Emporium. I'll make sure it finds a nice home and nets you a thick purse."

  By the tail end of his speech, the tavern was already showing next to no interest in him, or his offer. This was somewhat concerning, especially considering he now had a grand total of zero money to his name.

  Without much choice in the matter, Gaius adopted a more personal approach. He would introduce himself to the patrons who looked like they could handle themselves in a dungeon, ask them how their free drink was, and then invite them to become his exclusive suppliers.

  It wasn't long until he realized that he may have overplayed his hand. Trading in artifacts was apparently fairly lucrative. Which of course meant that Siembra's less than savory types were heavily involved in the process.

  After a good deal of mingling, Gaius learned that the local underworld was mostly split between two factions. One was headed by his good pal Alejo. Salt of the earth, always there to help out an old lady in need, he was well-liked and had a thing for loyalty. He also wasn't a huge fan of Gaius and his store, to the point where he already prohibited those under his protection from dealing with him.

  The other guy was some secretive fella who the locals knew only as the Shadow of Mallia. He was a relatively new player on the scene, but his appeal to the darker aspects of the local faith made him a rising star among the unscrupulous types. His interest in the artifacts stemmed from their status as divine relics.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "So, you're telling me that because the artifacts are holy for Nova and Mallia, only Caladonians should be allowed to handle them?" Gaius asked a shifty archer clad in multiple layers of leather who introduced herself simply as Helen. A real breath of fresh air after talking to a whole bunch of people whose names ended on "the something" or "of somewhere."

  "Exactly," answered Helen.

  "Only Caladonian merchants are allowed to sell them?"

  "That's right," Helen agreed.

  "But then most people who buy from those Caladonian merchants are either adventurers like you or foreigners like me. How does that make any sense?" Gaius asked.

  "It doesn't, but them's the rules. The guy I pay off to not get into any accidents tells me to sell to Caladonians, so I do."

  Gaius grumbled and lowered his head onto Helen's table. From that position, he said, "You know, when I was a kid, I read so much about adventurers and their many quests to rid the world of evil. Instead, turns out most of you lot are just in it to save on rent, go camping with your buddies, and occasionally skewer a goblin or two to support this nomadic lifestyle of yours."

  "I know, it's pretty cool," Helen said, completely missing Gaius' point.

  Seeing how he'd already burned his bridge with Alejo, Gaius decided to get in touch with this Shadow of Mallia to try and talk some sense into him. Before long, he learned that Shadow was one of those you don't find him, he finds you crime bosses.

  Gaius' plan was on the verge of collapse and he was about to give up and start working on a different angle when he spotted a familiar face. Alejo, dressed in simple worker's clothes and accompanied by a couple of tough guys was heading for him.

  Instead of making a hasty escape, Gaius saw this as an opportunity and allowed Alejo to come closer.

  "And what do we have here," Alejo said once a number of his men emerged from the chaotic crowd and encircled Gaius.

  "A guy who clearly has no idea how to enjoy the perks of his position," Gaius said. Alejo and his ilk were used to scared merchants, so Gaius wasn't about to act like one. "I mean, if you're the boss, at least be bold enough to wear a suit, maybe a hat too."

  "What, in Nova's name, are you blabbering about, merchant?" Not giving Gaius a chance to come up with a comeback, Alejo continued, "Doesn't matter. What matters is I don't want to see your hairless store-stealing ass in here. Now get lost."

  "That's a big decision, don't you think? How about we invite that Shadow fellow and ask him if I'm allowed in here?"

  Alejo reacted to Gaius' words like they had a bad stink. There clearly was no love lost between Alejo and Shadow.

  Having decided he wasn't about to stand there and be insulted in front of his men, Alejo shoved Gaius with both his hands, simultaneously puffing up his chest. Gaius bounced off the guy behind him and was thrown back in the thick of it.

  Gaius would be lying if he said he didn't want to pull out his axe and show these rural gangsters what a proper cutthroat should look like. But he knew he couldn't afford getting picked up by the constabulary when he had Vasily's curse hanging over him. And beyond just that, being too good at fighting in front of so many witnesses could easily jeopardize his cover.

  In the end, instead of chopping Alejo's face off or setting fire to his men, he threw a shoddy punch. A slow right hook that could blindside only a complete amateur.

  The hit grazed Alejo's jaw, and that was already more than what Gaius expected from it. Alejo was forced to retaliate and escalate.

  During the following mayhem, Gaius mostly focused on blocking and dodging, but still, by the time he got thrown out of the tavern head-first, he had a nice collection of bruises and a nasty would-be black eye.

  The pockets of his artisan's apron were also bulging with all the purses he'd lifted off his many assailants.

  He figured, what with them not being law-abiding citizens, they wouldn't complain to the guards about being robbed. And he already was on Alejo's shit list, so it wasn't like he was ruining a beautiful friendship there.

  With enough financial security to last him for at least the nearest future, Gaius bought a couple of sausages in a bun from a street vendor. Adventurers were known to keep pretty erratic schedules, and as such, their temporary encampments usually had at least a few stalls serving food around the clock.

  By the time Gaius finished eating, he also located a tailor whose doors were still open. The tailor was an old man who lived above his shop and didn't believe in taking breaks. It took some convincing, but after promising to order a proper outfit later, Gaius managed to buy a set of more or less respectable clothes the tailor had lying around as samples. The mismatched items didn't quite fit, but they were good enough to make Gaius pass for an actual shopkeeper.

  Approaching Vasily's Emporium with a parcel of clothes in hand, he heard the unmistakable sounds of a scuffle. His mind immediately jumped to Alejo. It would make sense for him to send some of his men to pay Gaius a visit.

  The noise was coming from behind the store. Turning the corner, Gaius expected to see a bunch of ruffians trying to break in or arguing about the intricacies of breaking in. Instead, he saw three fairly regular-looking men taking turns to pummel one another.

  "I know, it must be very upsetting that we're closed, but that's no reason to resort to violence, guys," Gaius said to let his presence be known.

  Three messed up swollen faces turned towards him. Seeing Gaius' shiner and his messed-up clothes was apparently very amusing to his rowdy guests. They showed Gaius their bloodied teeth in a poor attempt at smiling, and one of them even pointed in his general direction.

  "Hey," said one of the guys.

  "Good thinking," added another.

  "But we were here first, so get in line," the third one concluded.

  "Get in line? I run the place, fellas."

  "I thought the flying dwarf did," said the third guy, who was apparently the most eloquent of the bunch.

  It took a few turns for the cogs inside Gaius' head to put together that the man was referring to the imp.

  "Bes works for me."

  "Still, he told us he'd let us buy some potions once we were ready," the talkative guy said.

  "And by ready you mean looking like you're smuggling plums under your eyes?"

  "Yeah," the first guy nodded.

  "We'll be needing some healing potions, you see," the second one explained.

  "Our wives, Nova and Mallia bless them, they don't like it when we take the edge off after a hard day," the third one clarified further. "No ale or wine for us unless it's the weekend. And that's no way to live a life. But if hooligans jump us on our way home, we'll need a few potions to ease the pain and fix the damage those hoodlums inflicted on us."

  This was when things finally clicked for Gaius. He thought back to last night when he himself substituted boozing with a few vials.

  "I see," Gaius said, his mind working overtime on a new idea. "And would you, fine gentlemen, say this is a common issue around these parts?" he asked.

  "What do you mean?" one of the guys replied.

  "I mean, are you three the only ones suffering under such draconian marital oversight that you have resort to inventive measures like these to get your drink on?"

  "Oh no," one of the guys said. "The Sun Order is very popular with the women here."

  Another guy chimed in, filling in some blanks for Gaius. "Strict rules, my ass. Why should Mallia's followers have all the fun? Nova's domain is life, and what's the point of life if you're not enjoying yourself?"

  "Yeah, we actually thought you were another customer, what with that nice big shiner of yours," the third guy added.

  "I see," Gaius repeated himself. "But don't you think those potions are borderline poison?"

  "It's not that bad."

  "You get used to it."

  "After a while."

  Gaius approached the guys and huddled them all together. "And what if I told you," he whispered, "that you could get potions that did the same thing but tasted exactly like this town's finest Trogsmasher ale?"

  The guys were all over that idea. In fact, it sounded so good to them, they didn't believe Gaius at first. But after a while he managed to persuade them to come back in three days and if they liked what they tasted then, to tell all their friends where to come for all their recreational potion needs.

  He figured three days was enough time to get some ale and use it to brew a sample batch of potions. They probably wouldn't be as potent as the ones that used pure spirits, but he wasn't saving lives, he was fixing scratches and bruises. Ale would do just fine for that.

  In the end, he left the guys filled with hopes for a better boozing and entered the store.

  The first thing he heard was the flutter of the imp's wings followed by the creature's deep voice saying, "Like hell I work for you, pal."

  A quite literal demon listening in on his supposedly private conversation didn't even faze Gaius at that point. Looking back at the day he had, Gaius couldn't help but crack a smile. This madness was his life now for at least a year. And the scariest part about it was that he was beginning to enjoy it.

  Story Facts - Chapter 10