"The... monsters, Mister Ulger?" Arthur repeated, his knitted brows betraying his attempt at holding a poker face.
Ulger exchanged a raise brow. "Yes, laddie. The monsters... ya know. The ones that go about eatin' us?"
An awkward silence hung in the air, until Ulger asked:
"So what are ya and Sir Bertrand still doin' here?"
"O-oh... Sir Bertrand would prefer to stay while he can. You know how he is about… recollecting the loans he had given out. The esquire sent me out to deliver a note and demand repayment after I had," he rubbed his nape and averted his gaze to the road, pausing for a moment, "damaged the floor when I got distracted with the pilgrim gear in the storage room."
Ulger laughed without a care in the world at the idea of a mere young boy destroying the floor of such an esteemed noble, and in doing so, attracted the eyes of those passing by as though he had gone mad.
No one laughed in this day and age. Laughing was only for the rich.
"Blimey! Ye must've had a great scoldin' from that esquire of his, eh? Horsin' 'round with pilgrim gear and destroyin' the floor in the process! Now that's good… But stayin' here to collect the debts? Well he had better pray that the scourge don't return by then. Hardly any of us are able to even survive!"
Arthur stood in silence, only nodding, while Ulger slowly calmed down, adding:
"Tell me, laddie, how old are ya again? Your face is so young that I forget ya don't even have a wife yet! But worse than that, you're experiencin' Totalis at such a young age!"
"I'm turning twenty-one this year," Arthur replied, growing a bit impatient with each passing second, knowing that the more time he wasted, the more displeased Sir Bertrand would be as he asked:
"Mister Ulger, pray tell, have you seen Mister Wendell? I must get to him as soon as possible."
"Wendell? You're kiddin, I was just talkin' to him right down the street, ya know?" Ulger pointed down the street as he turned around. "Got a bit a grumpy and the sorts while we were talkin', but I don't s'pose he made off anywhere other than home... or what's left of home. Did ya need somethin' from him?"
"Well, sort of. The note I had been tasked with delivering is for Mister Wendell. Sir Bertrand is demanding a loan to be repaid."
Ulger rubbed his chin while he looked into the orange sky. "Wendell? A loan from Sir Bertrand? By the one named Sabaoth, for what reason did he take a loan?"
Arthur shrugged. "If he made way home, then I best be off. Sir Bertrand should be expecting me any time soon, and I'd prefer to not displease him right now, lest I be forsaken on a year of Totalis."
Ulger let out an inquisitive hum as he rubbed his chin. "I don't think you're goin' to get anythin' outta him, laddie. He's been awfully grumpy as of late, speakin' ill of the nobles and the likes. Everyone's been callin' him the troll under the bridge, so try your best not to anger him much."
"I'll keep that in mind. I apologize, Mister Ulger, but I must make haste. I'm lucky to even be allowed to stay under the… smallest amount of care by Sir Bertrand. The last thing I need is to anger him more."
"Trust me, laddie, never will that dastardly man ever honour your hard work. You're a slave, but it's better than bein' like the rest of us out here. I won't hold ya back any longer. A young chap has got his work to do."
"Thank you, Mister Ulger," Arthur replied, wearing a bright smile running off after adding:
"May Sabaoth be with thee, always."
"Oi laddie!" Ulger called out. "If I don't get to see ya again, thanks… for everythin'. I'm sure your mother and father would've been proud of a kind and hard-workin' son like ya."
Arthur stopped and looked back, forcing a smile as the brutal reality of not knowing what happened to his parents gnawed at his mind. All he knew was that his mother died, and his father went missing, long ago.
"If Sabaoth wishes, we shall meet again, Mister Ulger. Thank you for helping me get work under Sir Bertrand. Prithee be careful."
Wasting no more time, Arthur quickly set off to Wendell's house, coming across many people who greeted him and wanted to talk, though he was in far too much of a rush to even stop for a few seconds.
Although the day was still very much alive, time was of the essence, for any day could bring upon the scourge that plagued Erthyl, leaving everyone in such a ruinous state as he had come to bear witness in his twenty years of life.
At long last, Arthur neared Wendell's home, taking notice of the surroundings. A great bridge stood above him, with Wendell's home built into its foundational pillar of plain bricks, rough to the touch.
Many statues—those of which Arthur had seen all his life no matter where he went in Erthyl—were erected from the ground in these parts of the city, looking up at the sky. He wondered just why the existed—although, no one truly knew for who, when, and what purpose these statues served.
They held the tips of their fingers together, forming a circle above their heads. But such an inexplicable set of statues, perfectly recreated everywhere, gave off an arcane feeling to the city, even for the denizens who had spent all their lives here.
These streets, however, unlike further up Erthyl, was a ghost town. No voices, no travellers, not even the howl of wind in the silence occupied such an empty and decrepit place.
Well, it was merely devoid of any livelihood, to say the least. Corpses still occupied every nook and cranny, as though no one had ever come to clean it up.
Covering his nose from the fetid stench that withered his lungs, he stared at the door in silence, hesitating to knock as he observed the surroundings.
'He literally lives under a bridge?' Arthur thought, continuing to cover his nose as he felt his skin crawl. 'No wonder people have been calling him the troll under the bridge... Here goes nothing.'
He knocked three times, only to be met with no answer. Unsure if anyone was home, he knocked once more, this time met with the yell of a gruff, muffled voice from inside saying:
"Whaddya want? Don't ya 'ave anythin' better to do? Like escapin' from this God forsaken place? It's Totalis, ya know?"
"Mister Wendell, this is Arthur, Sir Bertrand's page. I've arrived on matters regarding your loan to be repaid to—"
"Ah, bloody hell! The damn rat bastard, is it? He's sent 'is mutt to pick up the coin? Well yer gonna 'ave to come back another day. I don't 'ave anythin' to give today."
"Then at least take this parchment. It contains details that are to be delivered to—"
"I don't want it. Now get lost, boy."
Arthur stepped back, brows furrowed with his squinted eyes, staring at the door and vehemently shaking his head, as though he experienced a sour taste, saying:
"Mister Wendell, please, my obligation is to deliver—"
But as soon as he started speaking, he felt the air shoot out from his lungs as the door handle struck him square in the chest. He fell over, finding Wendell standing with a cane in hand.
"I said get lost ya filthy dog!" Wendell yelled, trembling in his anger, with bloodshot eyes. "What part 'bout Totalis do ya not understand? Ya think that any coin is goin' to help any man now? The scourge is comin', and we're all goin' to die if we don't get outta 'ere!"
"I understand, Mister Wendell," Arthur replied as he slowly got up, "but—"
But there was no time to finish his sentence. Wendell whacked Arthur with his cane every time he'd speak. Although Arthur could have very easily gotten back up and stood up against the old man, he simply laid there, covering his head as he took the beating.
"I told ya to get outta 'ere, boy!" the grumpy old man yelled once more, before slamming the door and yelling from behind it:
"Just like your filthy master, ye youngsters needa learn ya place! Now scram, before I give your arse another beatin' ya damn spineless, conniving, slimy, deceitful alley cat, scavenging for scraps of decency!"
A few moments of silence would pass, until Arthur quickly stood up, picking up the crumpled letter and dusting his clothes. He decided that it was of no help to pester the old man—or rightfully so, the troll under the bridge—and made his way back to Sir Bertrand's demesne.
'Sir Bertrand is not going to be pleased...'