"Why are we not allowed to enter the pass? Did we violate any laws? We've been using this road for a few decades…!"
"Why should our goods be checked? Why can't we pass through here with the wool?"
"A jin of high-grade wool for ten copper coins! That's less than one-tenth of the price offered at Yingwei County. This is robbery...!"
"The Writ of Grace! We are favored by the Writ of Grace! How can you treat us like this! We will go to the Imperial Capital and complain about you…!"
The leaders of the ten caravans were outraged. They gathered at the White Stone Pass gate and clamored loudly. Behind the leaders were the caravans that were waiting to enter the pass. The carriages and carts pulled by their rhinodrake steeds, camels, and oxen were filled with sacks of wool. The seven or eight hundred meter-long caravans had been waiting around since sunrise and it was nearly noon now. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the Shatu people became more agitated…
