As dawn was breaking, John wrapped himself in his cloak and stepped outside. The Lord had left him several beef patties a few days ago, and he had been carefully rationing them to enhance the flavor of his meager meals until yesterday.
Such treatment was considered one of the best in the entire slum, where many people were already out of food. Two people starved to death yesterday morning. If things did not change, many would soon suffer the same fate.
Grains were available in the black market, but at six times the usual price, effectively draining the last bit of everyone's savings. The damned Earl Gura and his grain trading company controlled the grain supply of the entire city; using disruptions in trading routes as an excuse to continuously raise prices.
