After arriving, Earl walked off with the masked man without saying a word to any of his men, leaving Ash and Alice behind.
The two traders walked too far away for any of the guards to hear their conversation, but they seemed to have forgotten that not all of the guards were humans.
Ash could still pick up most of the conversation, and he could hear the suppressed rage in Earl's voice as he spoke to the masked man.
"What the hell dude. You said this trade was still good, that it was safe. I brought my daughter with me! Now you're saying we need to make an escape in the middle of the night?"
Anger could be seen on the cloaked man's face as well, but he just shook his head.
"There was a rat hidden among our men. We killed that bastard, but Ignar's army caught wind that something was up. With war on our doorstep, there is no way they'll sleep on this."
Ash's ears perked up. This was the first he'd heard of any war- back in Holen, everything seemed relatively peaceful.
^Iron… it looks like Earl is part of the war effort, and clearly not on the side of Buhein, as seen by him smuggling iron out of the country. I doubt we will be able to leave peacefully tonight.^
'Eh. Earl brought a small army with us, not like Ignar's guard can stop us even if they want to. If they've already discovered whatever underground connections Earl has here, I doubt it will matter if we just fight our way out of the city.'
Ash turned his attention back to Earl, who clearly still wasn't happy about the outcome of this trip.
"I've just made myself a ton of enemies thanks to your mistake, Baso. Even if we can sneak out of here tonight, it won't be hard for them to figure out who took all this iron." Earl's brows tightened into a frown. "Quarter normal price. That's the best I can do for you after this failure."
Baso surprisingly didn't seem unhappy at the small offer, instead shaking his head with a slight smile.
"This one is on the house… but I know this place isn't going to be peaceful for long. Holen isn't going to fall easily, so how about you save some space for me over on that side instead."
After a moment, Earl acquiesced to Baso's request. The two of them had a long history of working together, and Earl knew the man was trustworthy. Even if the man had been outed now and blown this job, he was still a valuable connection who had tons of experience in the field. Baso kept an iron lock on what information he spread, even amongst his own men.
This was the biggest reason Earl was still able to complete this trade, even with a rat having infiltrated Baso's forces.
Having completed the trade, Baso left, disappearing into the darkness and leaving Earl's men to finish loading up the remaining iron.
Earl walked back to his men, waving a hand to draw their attention.
"Alright lads, looks like we might face some trouble on our way out. Ignar's men are going to fight tooth and nail to keep us from leaving, so don't fill up the carriages all the way. Even if we get out of the city without a fight, there will be a whole pack of them chasing after us."
Earl picked out a random guard from the group, instructing him to keep watch over Alice and Ash. During the caravan's escape, the duo were to stay hidden inside one of the carriages.
Ash could feel the tension in his sister's body as the tarp over the carriage they sat in was closed off, but knew he didn't have to worry about her pulling any dumb moves.
The girl might be naive and too kind for her own good, but she wasn't an idiot who would put herself in danger to hopelessly try to save others.
^Well, she did shoot that bandit before. It all worked out that time. I'm sure that she can see if she was to pull something like that here, the ending wouldn't be nearly as good.^
Outside the carriage, the Graves caravan reached the city walls. The warehouse they had picked the iron up from was near the northern edge of the city, allowing them to have a quick escape route.
Even from a distance, distant shouts could be heard from the city wall.
"Johnston, you stay here and keep an eye out for any rats trying to escape! Everyone else, head to the western gate and intercept the Graves caravan! They are trying to escape with stolen goods!"
Having been awoken in the wee hours of the morning, a wave of grumbling swept through the groggy soldiers.
A few complained as they followed after the man who had given them orders to head for the western gate, but they all still obeyed the orders.
Earl grinned as he watched as the gate was drained of its entire defensive force. Baso was clearly going all out this time, sacrificing his reputation and livelihood just for a place in Holen. After waiting a few minutes for the departed soldier to travel toward the western gate, the caravan advanced forwards to the gate.
Seeing the design of the flag hanging above the lead carriage, the poor Johnston felt his bladder fall to his knees. Before him was a small army of forty well armed guards, each more than a match for a single slightly overweight soldier.
Johnston's mind raced, and he came up with a brilliant plan! It was time to sacrifice himself for his city, to take a hit in order to protect the peace and keep his family whole…
"Hello sirs! Right this way please, this crank over here can be used to open the gate. If one of you could please punch me a few times, that would be great, as long as you avoid the face!"
Earl nodded in satisfaction, wondering how exactly Baso had managed to let one of his men be chosen to be left behind at the gate.
A minute later, the shameless guard was slumped limply against the wall, looking as if he had given his all to fighting off the attackers. The poor man's leather armor was crossed with slash marks, and his arms sported a number of painful looking bruises… but a smile still lay on his unblemished face.