The merchant fleet sailed north along a tributary of the Chishui River, passing through Silverglade City before entering the Grand Canal leading to the royal capital.
Tasa remembered reading in the *Chronicles of Graycastle* that two hundred years ago, this place was a wasteland. In order to transport the silver ore mined from nearby mines back to the royal capital, Wimbledon I summoned the Stonemasons' Guild and nearly ten thousand laborers, spending twenty years excavating this canal connecting the royal capital and the silver mines. A city gradually formed around the silver mines, which was later named Silverglade City by the late king.
However, the scene before him was hard to reconcile with the wasteland of two hundred years ago. Lush farmland lined both banks of the canal, and further away were continuous villages. This made him think of the Kingdom Avenue in Border Town. When that road was completed, the foot of the Impassable Mountain would probably become densely populated.
"I heard you used to be from the royal capital?" A woman's voice sounded from behind.
Tasa turned around and saw that it was Maglie, the owner of the merchant fleet. He nodded, "Before becoming a guard of the palace, I lived in the inner city."
"How does it feel to return home?"
"To be honest, it's okay," he said. "If it weren't for His Highness's arrangement, I would rather stay in Border Town. Although the royal capital is prosperous, it makes me feel suffocated." This was especially true for lower-ranking nobles, Tasa thought.
"Is that so?" Maglie smiled. "How much do you know about Roland?"
"What's wrong?" This question made him feel a little wary.
"I think he is a truly incredible person. His reputation was terrible when he was in the royal capital. You must have heard a lot of rumors about him, but in Border Town... he is completely unlike what the rumors say. His behavior and thoughts are unpredictable," she paused. "If the steam engine is just proof of his erudition, then why are the soldiers he trained so different?"
Tasa glanced at the First Army soldiers sitting on the deck—considering that they should be as inconspicuous as possible near the royal capital, they were not equipped with firearms, nor were they wearing uniform military uniforms. Instead, they had changed into various kinds of leather armor, with a wooden gun on their backs, looking like the merchant fleet's guards. Most of them were far away from the Western Region for the first time. Although they looked around curiously and talked a lot, no one took off their shoes or put down their weapons.
On the other hand, many of the merchant fleet's mercenaries had gone into the cabins to avoid the sun. The three or four left on the deck had taken off their shoes and put aside their cumbersome weapons, lying flat in the shade.
"I don't know very well either," Tasa spread his hands helplessly. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it, but he really didn't know—the Fourth Prince had become very different since he arrived in Border Town. "Maybe His Highness was just pretending before."
"Is... that so?" Maglie was noncommittal about this answer. She was silent for a moment, then suddenly pointed forward. "Look, that's the wall of the royal capital. We're almost there."
At the end of the horizon, a hazy blue-gray appeared. Just standing here, one could feel the magnificence of the city wall—this was the most outstanding work before the Stonemasons' Guild was disbanded. Whether in height or thickness, it was second to none in Graycastle. It was said that there were even rooms and passages inside the city wall, which could accommodate nearly a thousand soldiers to rest, so as to achieve uninterrupted patrols and rapid support.
When the city wall was clearly presented in front of Tasa, the figures of the refugees also came into his view.
A large number of civilians gathered outside the suburbs of the royal capital. They built simple sheds along the city wall, and white smoke rose from the fire pits in front of the sheds, as if they were cooking oatmeal. For now, these people have not run out of food, and their complexion is still good. However, the royal capital's relief food will certainly not be distributed indefinitely. When the nobles have selected suitable labor, they will send troops to drive these people away.
"What are you going to do?" Maglie asked curiously. "Send His Highness's soldiers to promote and recruit people?"
"No, that's not only inefficient, but it's also easy to attract attention," Tasa shook his head. "If you want to do things in the royal capital, you either bribe officials or hire rats. You should know this very well."
"Indeed," she laughed. "I wanted to remind you, but it seems unnecessary. Then, if you need money, feel free to come to me." Maglie handed him a token. "As long as you show this, the store manager will contact me immediately. Of course, you can withdraw up to a hundred gold dragons directly with it."
"Thank you." Tasa took the token—it was a deep red stone, crystal clear, with a line of never-before-seen text engraved on the end.
"You're welcome," she chuckled. "His Highness will repay me all this money, along with interest."
After arriving at the canal wharf, Tasa asked the First Army soldiers to wait for news in the suburbs, avoiding the sight of the royal city patrol as much as possible. He entered the city with the merchant fleet. When passing through the city gate, he noticed that the guards' inspections were much stricter, obviously not wanting the refugees from the Eastern Region to mix into the city.
Entering the city, the first thing that caught his eye was a row of towering gallows.
Hanging on it were four women with their hands tied behind their backs, emitting bursts of stench under the scorching sun. This scene made Tasa frown immediately.
"Tifi Ke is searching for witches in the city, and they are the unfortunate ones who were caught," Maglie sighed. "But that's not accurate either. Some witches are just nobles who are tired of playing with them, and they take this opportunity to get rid of them. It's hard to say whether it's better to continue to be imprisoned in a dark room or to get rid of the pain like this sooner... Anyway, I hope they can rest in peace."
In the half a year in Border Town, Tasa had realized that witches were not as unforgivable as the church preached. Apart from having strange abilities, they were no different from ordinary people. Judging from their figures, the youngest woman on the gallows might only be fourteen or fifteen years old, which made him feel a burst of suffocation, the feeling of not being able to breathe again.
The outer city of the royal capital had not changed much in the past six months. Except for the main road facing the city gate, which was paved with bluestone, the other branch roads and alleys were all mud. The summer sun caused cracks to appear on the ground, and whenever a carriage passed by, it would raise a cloud of dust. It was hard to imagine that the kingdom's capital was actually losing out to a remote town outside the Western Region in terms of municipal construction.
After crossing two streets, the merchant fleet went to the market area. Tasa said goodbye to Maglie and turned into a small alley alone.
He familiarly came to the door of the "Underground Trumpeter" tavern and went straight in.
"Hey! We're only open at night!" Someone shouted.
Tasa ignored him and went straight to the bar, saying in a deep voice to the burly man who was burying his head in wiping the glasses, "Do you remember me?"
"Which crack in the rock did you jump out of, grasshopper? Didn't you hear that the tavern is only open at night?" He impatiently put down the glass and raised his head with a gloomy face. The two waiters who were tidying up the tables and chairs also came over. "Now I'll count to three—Lord, Lord Tasa?"
"It's me," Tasa spat on the side. "I have a good business to give to you."