"Don't move—unless you want this to be the last image you ever see." Joseph led his men straight up to the figure in the alley corner.
"Wait! Wait!"
There was no resistance. The man was just an ordinary civilian.
"I'm just a passing merchant, a trader from Adak."
"That remains to be seen after we investigate your identity." Without another word, Joseph bound him and brought him directly before Sean.
He was a dark-skinned but spirited man, stubble covering his entire chin, looking maybe under thirty.
"Who are you?" Sean asked.
"Answering the general, I'm an Adak merchant resting in this area. I'm no criminal—I'm a merchant!" The Adak man's tone was indeed different from a Bashalan imperial's. This might have been Sean's first real one-on-one conversation with an Adak native.
"You're Adak?"
"Yes."
The man lowered his head, though a hint of defiance lingered in his voice.
"You'd better behave. You know this is our—"
Joseph started to speak, but Sean raised a hand to stop him. As the lord of the territory, it was best not to reveal his identity outside. He knew how fast traveling merchants spread news. If Joseph blurted it out, word that the lord of Oro City had come to Old Takoma might spread in no time.
"Why are you here?" Sean pressed on.
Merchants were different from ordinary citizens, especially these seasoned traveling traders.
Ever since that earlier move, the man had been puzzled! But with so many soldiers around, he dared not speak, only silently keeping his mouth shut. He showed no sign of nervousness, remaining quite calm instead. He really did seem to be a merchant, so there was no need for such tension.
"We're merchants who regularly deliver goods to the Bashalan Empire. We used to rest in Takoma City. Though the city's empty now, there are still houses. For us, having a place to rest is enough." Since the Adak man wasn't from the Bashalan Empire, his speech lacked the cautiousness of an imperial.
"You mean there are many more people around here?"
"Yes, they're over in the eastern district." The merchant pointed in a direction.
"Take me to see them, or it'll be hard to verify your identity." Sean said casually.
Takoma City was now a city in ruins—desolate streets, no one around, nothing but uncollected trash and rainwater-stained puddles!
"Sir, why are we going to the merchants' location?"
On the way with the Adak merchant, Joseph couldn't help asking.
Merchants resting was common everywhere. In most people's eyes, though merchants weren't a big deal, they were used to their existence. They enabled the buying and selling of all goods worldwide. Even during wartime, trade might be restricted, but they wouldn't really target traveling merchants from other nations.
Because once peace returned, they'd still be needed to boost a city's purchasing power!
"I didn't mention this when we set out, but I'll tell you now." Sean looked at Joseph. Since he was the officer accompanying him, he needed to know what they were about to do.
Seeing Sean's serious gaze, Joseph nodded firmly in return.
"Do you remember last time we discussed how Harry guessed the Adak side might be testing the waters to try occupying Old Takoma?"
Joseph nodded again in confirmation.
He'd been present during that conversation with Harry, and it was Joseph who had delivered the message about Adak increasing troops at the border.
"But later, from Luke, I heard some stories about Adak merchants. They seem to be following some orders to search for something when they come to Takoma City."
"Something? What is it?"
"I don't know yet, which is why I need to see for myself. Remember, here I'm not Count Weigel of Oro City—just an officer above your rank. Don't reveal my identity." Sean said.
"Understood, sir."
As they spoke, the soldier squad had already entered the area the merchant called the merchants' gathering place.
It was a slightly cleaner street, littered with furniture they'd hauled from various homes—things too bulky to move—used for firewood or to build all sorts of odd structures. Some even used broken clay pots from other people's houses as pots for cooking.
The merchants seemed to treat this empty city like a playground, as if treasure-hunting in the ruins.
As the soldiers approached, many merchants who had been chatting stopped and stood up.
The soldiers' armor clearly marked them as from Oro City. Lately, the news of Oro City continuously sending troops here had been spreading among the merchants.
In the eyes of ordinary merchants, while national interests mattered, they mostly hoped for lasting peace so their own profits wouldn't suffer. If military conflict broke out between the two sides, this trade route might come to a halt.
"General, this is where we usually rest. When we come from the Adak region, we always stop here for a night before moving on."
"A night? I doubt it."
Sean suddenly spoke.
Looking around at the merchants, they were mostly sturdy, dark-skinned.
That matched the Adak ethnicity, though some looked very much like Bashalan imperials, just dressed differently.
"The general jokes. We've always been like this—just borrowing this space, doing nothing to harm the Bashalan Empire." The man played the part of an innocent victim as best he could.
"But you're not just staying one night." Sean continued.
The surrounding merchants, including the captured man, looked confused.
Stepping forward, Sean gave Joseph a slight signal.
"We are the guard force of Oro City. Recently, our lord heard a report from a former Takoma resident. He said several items from the late Lord Francis's home, who died unjustly, were stolen by merchants. So we came to check if it's true."
Since he couldn't find anything and questioning each one only led to lies, Sean had to try another approach.
He didn't specify what the items were, but mentioned it in front of all the merchants.
Any merchant whose emotions shifted would be in the know.
Sure enough, after he spoke, subtle changes in mood began to appear around him.
Mockery! Confusion! Anger! Tension! And worry!