The lower city of Calenon served as a reminder that nothing is perfect in the world. Even the shining marble city of Calenon had a dark side, as much as it tried to remove it. This part of the city was beyond the protective magical wall that served as the city's primary defense, which meant that it wasn't an intended part of the city to begin with. It consisted of wild houses made by whatever was available in the most distinct and unpolished manner possible. It also served as the city's ghetto, a place where the unaccepted minority lived, in this case, non-elves.
A princess such as myself wouldn't be able to go there, because the city guards would quickly get me away from it, it wasn't made for me. Furthermore, the presence of the lower class of serfs and peasants made me stand out like a sore thumb, I was the most clean thing they would've seen in their entire life. So, me and Yohan had to go undercover.
We were cloaked in heavy black robes that covered our bodies and faces. Yohan also made me wear a mask that covered my lower face. I guess my face was very recognizable to the people after visiting the temple.
Sadly, bringing a fancy and expensive weapon such as Strumnir wouldn't be possible, it'll draw out too much attention. So, I left it at Yohan's hut in the garden.
We both made our way out of the castle, via a small hidden pathway in the garden. The sun was still hanging high in the sky, so it was about 1pm in the afternoon. Castle Calenon was surrounded by its own walls, which was separate from the city walls and served as the final bastion of the city. It wasn't passable by any normal means, but Yohan showed me a tunnel that ran underground below the wall.
It was very dirty, and could only fit a single grown man. I hesitated for a second, but the gardener assured me that it was safe. Trusting him, I nodded and he went first, I followed him after he told me to. Just as I expected, it was cramped and small, and it made my clothes dirty too. The robe that I'm wearing didn't help with the heat inside the tunnel, which made me sweat a lot. I questioned why am I even following this man to begin with.
We emerged out of a hole in some rundown building. Based on the smell, I could tell we were in the lower city. A combination of sweat, rusted metal, and human feces made the most distinct smell I have ever sensed ever since my reincarnation. We walked out of the building and into the streets. The roads were just patches on the ground, devoid of grass.
"Hold my hand, your highness…" He extended his hand to allow me to hold it.
Taking his hand and walking together, we looked like beggars. A pair of father and daughter, commoner of this part. Yohan's appearance as an old man helped us to establish that sort of profile, which was very convenient.
Packs of Crows could be heard whenever we were going. They cawed endlessly, and they seemed to follow wherever we went. Yohan looked at them, I followed his gaze, we could see a faint trace of gold in their eyes. After seeing it, Yohan scoffed.
"Runford's slave animals, they found us" He looked away afterwards, while dragging me with him with more haste.
"I saw one back in the northern forest yesterday. A wolf, who seemed to follow his will"
"Aye, bound them with magic, could call at anytime"
"Against their will?"
Yohan chuckled, his face lit up for a second, clearly expressing humor."You wanted to be someone else's slave, your highness?"
I grunt, annoyed by his joking mood.
"We could lose them in the crowds, or inside a building" I tugged his hand and pointed at a market square that was under a wide canopy made from clothes. The market was full of people, a great place to lose any watchful eyes.
The large piece of cloth that extended and covered the entire market served as a great shield against the ray of the afternoon sun, but it didn't help with the summer heat. The endless stream of people we passed and hooked up with cooked our body to heat level, which made me sweat endlessly.
We stayed inside the market, the crows didn't seem to be able to see us, thanks to the canopy. Some people also had black robes such as us, I hope they would be able to fool the crows into thinking they were us, and follow a false lead.
"Those crows are still animals right? They're not smart, easily fooled by similarities" I told Yohan about my thought, he nodded, probably thinking the same thing.
"Runford was probably leaving them autonomously, he had other things to do, like helping your father. So those crows are just following his past order, not being able to improvise nor adapt"
"Speaking of helping…you want to tell me what we are doing here??" it was something inside my mind ever since he asked for me to follow him here. Initially, he had told me to wait until he was ready to reveal it, but I can't hold my curiosity any longer.
"Didn't I say we were going to find someone to replace me as gardener, your highness?"
"You did." I said. "But, isn't that my father's job?"
"Technically yes, but it would be your future job too"
"If I secure the succession…" I added.
"if you secure the succession, of course" he nodded to himself.
"So, what are we doing here, exactly then??"
"Finding someone to replace me"
"YES!! you said that but -urgh…" he's not going to respond with an actual answer. He smirked a bit, clearly enjoying himself.
He got serious afterwards."I can't reveal it yet, your highness, but trust me, this will help you in the future. Whatever your problem will be, finding someone to replace me will surely help you, I swear that with my pride and honor, -or what's left of it"
He spoke with such reassurance and conviction that I got lost in his speech.
"What are you talking about?" He didn't answer me, only looked away, avoiding my inquisitive gaze. "What are you hiding Yohan???"
My suspicion wasn't without evidence. This old man in front of me showed himself as a simple gardener that didn't know any better, and yet, his expression,his entire demeanor suggested something deep hidden inside of him.
"Soon, you'll know…." He said, nonchalantly while looking around the market, searching for something.
His eyes landed on a small food stand, on one of the corners in the market. There was an old merchant standing behind it, in front of him were large numbers of fruit, variants of apples, pears, plums and berries all available. They all looked fresh and very lush; there were no black spots that hinted at rottenness items, which sparked Yohan's eyes.
We both walked towards it, he noticed us immediately. The merchant, while old, didn't seem to be struggling financially. He had his cart full of stock fruits all parked behind his stand, and a strong looking horse was guarding it.
He frowned when looking at our clothes, dirty and ragged. But, like a good seller, he kept his manner polite. Yohan was very interested regarding the fruits, as a gardener he could clearly tell it was a good product.
He grabbed one of the apples, rubbing it while weighing it with his own hand, with a clear child-like curiosity in his eyes. "Did you plant these foods, good sir?? They all look very good, very clean too and full of meat!"
The merchant however, didn't seem very fond of some beggar-like commoner touching his expensive product.
"E-er.. No, I got it from a halfling family back in the lowlands. They are very expensive AND fragile." the merchant said, focusing his speech on the second last word.
But Yohan ignored it and continued with his observation. "Oho…Halfling products ye? No wonder it was so beautiful!" Yohan took it a step further and put the apple close to his nose, sniffing it to smell its entrancing aroma.
"You BEGGAR! What are you doing!?? Give it back!" He snatched it out before the gardener could smell it. "If you want it, then BUY IT!"
Yohan let the man take back the apple, he let him take it.
"Ah…I-i am sorry, I was very curious about your product, sir. Might I know the price?" Yohan took out a small sack that had coins in them, all silver.
The merchant's face was red. "You?! A beggar? You would only DREAM of buying this piece of fruit! Go away, FILTHY SERF!"
"Please sir… I had the money, I-"
"Oi oi…wo's the ruckes 'ere?"
Suddenly, a tall human, a head taller than Yohan arrived. He didn't wear any shirt, his wide muscular body was in full view from his middle belly up until his head. A bandana covered his otherwise bald head. And he wore a leather belt that covered his lower part until his legs. In other words, stereotypical market extortionist clothes.
The man seemed to hear the screaming merchant and his attention was drawn to us.
The market quieted down after hearing the sound of the man. He was very feared around here it seemed, evident because the people looked at him with pale faces.
The food seller realized who it was and pointed at Yohan while trembling. "H-him! He's the RUCKUS!"
"Yeew? A bloodey begga??" What a peasant accent he had.
"Sir, please, I'm just trying to buy some food. I had the money, but this man didn't want to sell it to me…"
Seeing the large sack of coins in Yohan's possession,the muscle man laughed as hard as he could. Made louder by the fact that no one in the market was speaking. Out of nowhere, he grabbed Yohan's sack and inspected it.
"By Yulia's titmils! Ya's richa than mostaf us!"
"Give it back" It wasn't a request my gardener just said, but an ultimatum.
"Or wo'?"
"Or this!" He kicked the big guy's stomach right spot on. The force within seemed stronger as he fell backwards, dropping the sack.
The man stood up and squeezed his belly, where the kick had hit, the impact was severe, his stomach was red. He then giggled. "Hehehe…now this is where the fun begins!" Several people walked out of the crowd and began encircling Yohan. They all looked the same, dressed the same, all part of the same gang. "Get 'em booiiss!!"
All hell broke loose, the commoners scattered as gang members swarmed my escort. The merchant was hiding behind his stand, afraid clearly.
The big man, leader of the gang, took the initiative and striked Yohan with a simple brainless punch. He however, didn't expect the old man to sidestepped faster than any man his age and kicked him again, with the side of his right foot. The sharp edge of his foot clearly landed on the chin of the big bandit, knocking his head backwards.
The first gang member that came ended with a poor fate. After trying to attack while Yohan was kicking his leader, he never expected the old man's other leg to kick his left knee, making him lose balance and fall down. Yohan stomped his body afterwards, Made him unconscious.
While he was fighting 5 people, one of the market bandits tried to be smart and held me, his 'daughter' hostage. He grabbed me and put a knife in front of my neck.
"Hold it, ya monke! Me had your daught-!"
In all fairness, he never expected a 9 year old to grab his body and throw him to the ground. While being flabbergasted and confused, a kicked from a child hit his head harder than a hammer wielded by a full grown man, he was knocked out and out of the fight.
At the end of the short fight, we took down 8 people in total. 2 by me, 6 by Yohan.
The star of the show himself was sweating and catching his breath while looking at the scared merchant.
"Now..*hah..* let's discuss the *hah..* price…"
The merchant was suddenly very generous in terms of his price. We walked away with two packs of fruit, all chosen by Yohan and quickly left the scene.
The crows were nowhere to be seen, I guess we managed to hide in the market, despite the commotion. The sky had begun emitting orange color, late afternoon had arrived. We continued our way through the labyrinth that was the lower city.
The slums were more of a maze than a town. Each intersection had no difference than the last, the buildings all looked the same, ragged, rough and could fall at any second. And yet, Yohan seemed to navigate this place better than anyone. He knew where we were and where we had to turn. It was like he could be lost in these parts while blindfolded and still managed to find a way out.
He suddenly stopped, and looked at a slightly larger building to our right.
"We had arrived, Your highness"
"What is this place?"
The building was not something an average serf could buy, nor something a large guild wanted to make their headquarters into, it was rundown, yes…but it was big for its architecture. The wooden foundation and pillars to the side had started to break, cracks had formed. The roof had several holes on them, so rain water could easily get into the second floor.
"An orphanage"