"Hard to say. I don't know about senior Amir's search methods, but considering that these people came to attack us, whoever was on his side but didn't come this far is certainly already on the run." Tenur said, analyzing the situation. "In that case, these people have a substantial advantage, depending on how they are fleeing."
"What do you mean?" One of Mero's servants asked.
Tenur explained. "If these people are fleeing with nothing with them and on horseback, they may already be out of senior Amir's reach. But they are in serious trouble if they have made the mistake of taking useless things with them and don't have good mounts."
Tenur didn't know much of this world. Still, he knew that it wasn't good to travel at night, no matter what the gender, physical, or financial condition of the people doing it. Coupling that problem with a lack of suitable mounts and wasting time collecting useless stuff could quickly make a good chance of escape impossible.
Tenur was not sure of Amir's methods of investigation and pursuit. Yet, he knew that this servant was competent in many ways.
He had witnessed this and knew that Mero would not trust his life to anyone. So this foreigner felt that such a man's chances were not bad, despite the disadvantage in terms of time.
Mero's servants in that place listened to Tenur's words carefully, noticing a bit of this foreigner's beyond-average intelligence.
"Is there anything we can do?" One of them asked.
"I don't know. I think most of the warriors in the group associated with Shui came to attack us, so more fighters might be unnecessary. So if you can't guarantee to find the enemy group faster, I think it's better just to stick around." He said.
The three servants looked at each other, feeling that it was better to keep an eye on these people and ensure Tenur's protection while Amir hunted.
They would probably have to delay their departure from Cusca by a day. But in this situation, there was nothing else they could do but delay their commitments.
Therefore, they subdivided their duties and positioned themselves around that warehouse to observe the area and prepare for surprises.
Tenur went to their resting place, feeling that it was unlikely that anyone else would try to attack them this night.
...
Hours later...
Amir and Sati, one of the mercenary brothers hired by Tenur earlier, followed the tracks of who they thought was connected with the group that attacked Mero's warehouse.
Amir was skilled at chasing people, but having Sati, the more intelligent of the two mercenary brothers, had helped him greatly in this mission passed on by Tenur.
Sati was resourceful, but besides knowing a lot about the Cusca region and good places to hide and escape, he knew one of the men who attacked Tenur's group earlier.
When he had heard hours ago from Amir describing the people who had attacked Mero's warehouse, Sati had immediately associated those people with Shui's family.
He knew Shui from past affairs, and more, he knew of the existence of an old viper named Khaa.
He had promptly told Amir that the people on the run were probably Shui and Nail's family, perhaps one or another warrior to protect them.
After some time following the escape route that he thought those people were most likely to have chosen, the two found the tracks of Khaa and what was left of her family.
At this instant, Amir saw the silhouette of those five people, an old woman, a young woman, a man, and two children.
This servant frowned his eyebrows as Sati realized that there was no one else but them.
"What are we going to do?" He asked Amir.
As a mercenary, Sati was there for the coins that Amir had promised him. But he knew that some men would find it difficult to kill women and children.
Amir realized this and coldly replied. "They have chosen their own fate. Unfortunately, if I don't do what I should, I am the one who may suffer the consequences in the future.
Here it's done; here it's paid.
They fled because of their conviction and participation in the crimes against a nobleman. Now there is no hope for their souls!"
For him, killing these women and children would weigh on his conscience, but it was the right thing to do.
An old woman, a woman, and two small children... What fate would they have? Even with coins, they would most likely be turned into a slave and prostitute, while the children would be sold.
If Mero identified them, they would be tortured and later killed.
In any case, fate was dark for these four people.
As for the man, he was probably one of Nail's men and was the one who most deserved to die there.
In this case, dying now quickly and painlessly would be the best way out for everyone, including Amir, who would not have to hide an incorrect act based only on his emotions!
Sati understood the reason in Amir's words perfectly and nodded in agreement to this man, moving on toward those poor souls.
'Repent in your next life!'
...
The next day...
By dawn, the streets of Cusca were slowly coming to life, with windows and doors opening, the smoke from chimneys rising from various residences around the city.
As the first slaves and servants began their business, leaving the streets, two men appeared at the beginning of the street where Mero's store was located.
Both had cold expressions as they carried some cloth bags with them, riding on their horses.
Both long watched the windows and doors of Mero's store being opened as Tenur stood in front of the store, watching the beginning of another day's operation.
He was pretty observant, so he soon noticed the two men coming in the direction of that store.
"It looks like they have finished their mission." He remarked to the nearby servants as Sati's brother saw that his brother had returned in one piece.
"Amir, what about it? What is the outcome?" The leader of those servants in the delivery caravan asked.
Amir clenched his fist and summed up his night at Sati's side. "Everyone is dead. We returned the coins that Shui embezzled from lord Mero's store."
"Oh?"
"That's really amazing!"
"As expected from Amir. Another massacre on his account..."
"Hahaha..."
Laughter broke out among those servants, while Amir was serious, not the least okay with this massacre.
Tenur realized that there was a problem, but he knew that on some occasions, a man needed to deal with his own problems alone. So he didn't ask for details. He just got the bags with coins to count the results.
With these coins, he would probably offset his investments and ensure a few weeks of profit for the store, even if he stopped operating.
He obviously wouldn't do that, but having that security on his side was nice.
"Sigh..."
'One less problem for me.' He took those blood coins and went inside the store.
Thus, another day of operations unfolded as the local powers debated or even reacted to the news of the sudden demise of the Khaa-led store.
During this, beer and wine production was happening inside Mero's store!