The next day after playing with Ziya.
The day where Yolk had an agenda with Chieftain and the people he brought.
"Last note, they have bone fractures, but their blood seems tainted by something else. That's the small check today." Yolk checked the guest's conditions with his wife before he departed, in case certain anomalies appear.
As a small gift, Lena prepared food for the people to enjoy in the meeting. Yolk happily brought it.
When he arrived at the Village Hall entrance, the Chieftain was casually conversing with people he took in. Seeing they were on a good term, his heart was at ease.
"Am I late? This is a small gift from my wife." Yolk joined the conversation as the rest greeted him with a smile, then entered the hall.
On the village level, the hall was considered grand. The interior was filled with white, pale color, and along the corridor were paintings of previous Chieftains.
A round table was placed in the middle of a room, with several candles in front of each seat. There was a space in the middle of the table, enough to expand a map.
A few maids entered with a flat, shallow container with a raised rim on their hands. It was an iron tray, all of which had one sealed parchment. They put it on the middle table respectfully and left afterward.
After they left, Yolk and others entered. The hall echoed by their conversation.
"Please, take a sit," said the Chief.
"Thank you."
Chieftain bowed respectfully. "I didn't welcome you properly yesterday. I'd like to apologize for the inconvenience."
"There's no such thing. We could sleep well thanks to you." The bulky man replied. "I'd like to get straight to the point. My name is Mora. We are merchants from Tel Town."
"My name is Sapa, the chieftain of this village."
Mora nodded, threw a glance to the other two guests then stretched his palm, stopped right above the parchments. "Based on the agreement, these are the information you needed."
He then took one parchment and offered it to Chieftain. "Please read and tell us if it's lacking."
Sapa removed the seal then read the content. He frowned. "This is unbelievable."
"Neither do we want to believe that. None hope such matter will reach this remote place." Mora replied with a sigh.
Yolk caught his brother-in-law's expression. "Chieftain, is everything alright?"
"It's alright. I'll tell you in detail later."
Chieftain smiled at Mora. "Since you have fulfilled the agreement, you can stay here until the problem is over. Hopefully, it won't spread to this village."
"Thank you. We excuse ourselves early to move our belongings."
Before the three guests left, Yolk gave them some delicacy which Lena prepared. He also offered them to do sightseeing around the village.
After Mora and two guests left, Sapa opened the parchment one by one. A cup of tea and loads of bread accompanied his reading time.
"Tel Town has an internal problem. Due to the envoy from two big sects, some factions try to win over them and it affects the flow of town in many aspects including business. So, Mora is one of the victims." He murmured.
"Brother, have you got the gist of it?" asked Yolk. In front of public, he called Sapa 'Chief' but privately, he called him brother.
Listened to the question, Sapa more or less could portray the problem. This was the common fight for fame and prestige by higher-class people, attaching themselves to a greater power. Survival to the fittest.
However, as far as he knew, big sect rarely visited the town. What sort of business did the sect have?
Besides, there was no battle of heirs going on. Thus, he had one possibility, which was the big sects were going to recruit disciples.
If it was the former, maybe one heir in that sect was searching supporters all across the continent. Cherishing this opportunity to stick with this heir was natural for factions in the town – the sect rarely visited them anyway.
If it was the latter, it meant this matter was not restricted to the factions but to whoever could please the envoy, meeting the requirements and be recruited by them.
In the meantime, he already invested resources in the younger generation and groom them to be able to join a reputable sect albeit the low chance.
Even if one of them passed, it was already a fortune and would be a great help in the future. After all, the safety of the village and its prosperity was his goal. Receiving this information gave him the advantage to make ample preparations.
To confirm the information legitimacy, Sapa asked Yolk in detail about how Yolk met Mora until they arrived at the village.
Mora and his companions were a medium-rank merchant with remarkable credibility. However, two representatives of the exact opposite faction approached him. They needed some funds to please the sect. He refused to submit, resulting in the bankruptcy of his business.
Luckily, his main property was safe so he could rebuild business anytime. He planned to escape to another town but the factions closed the route.
At that moment, he met Yolk and the further story went not far from negotiation to stay in the village for at most four months, with some information as the exchange.
Yolk felt grateful that his brother-in-law didn't reject the guest despite the risk of involving a major faction that might come over. This was a rare occasion for him.
Furthermore, they helped Yolk to cancel his another week trip. This cancelation came with a loss indeed, but as a man with considerable power, Yolk could be used as a chess piece by the factions to gain favor from the big sect.
The last week of his trip was the most important part but alas, the circumstances in town heated up fast and it could explode at any moment. Otherwise, he wouldn't waste his resources to return home with less gain.
Sapa explained his plan that he would let Mora open business in the village if he was willing to. The medium-scale merchant was considered as a bigshot in this place after all.
Yolk agreed as well. He would prepare some measurements in case someone from town arrived and discovered them. That being said, they finished their discussion with lunch.
As he left, Sapa read the parchment until he was satisfied.
---
In the guest house.
Someone knocked on the door and greeted warmly. "Hello!"
Mora wore casual clothes with a note in his hand. He opened the door, and said, "oh, Yolk. Please, come in."
"Do you need a hand? The chieftain said if you need anything, just tell me," said Yolk.
Mora put his note on a table. After that, he invited Yolk to go outside. They arrived in front of a carriage.
"I happen to need help. It's not that I'm not satisfied with this place, but I can't move all my belongings here. What do you think?"
There were some boxes and a few weapons. Yolk took a weapon and swung it.
He fell in deep thought, thinking of a place to keep them while his hand busy caressing the weapon and measuring the boxes.
"I'm sorry but I can't take weapons. It's too precious and dangerous." Yolk put the weapon down. "As for the boxes, you can place it in my house."
Mora patted the boxes with his bulky hand. With a nod of approval, he entered the house and came back with the note.
"It's doable. You can take some boxes inside too, and I'll keep the weapons." Mora paused for a moment, propped his chin with his hand. "Can you do it tonight?"
"Sure. We can do it after the feast at the village square." Yolk smiled. "Don't miss the feast!"
"I will. Then, see you tonight." Mora cupped his fist respectfully.
As the wind blew, Mora smirked with various thoughts. Looking at the back of Yolk, he couldn't help but let a faint smile. The other two, Mora's companions, came out, smirking playfully.
One thought echoed in their mind.
'Feast... I can't wait for it.'