The Disappointing Town of Kroměříž

Just as Anna had said, Noren and her companions finally caught sight of Kroměříž after a day’s arduous journey.

Noren sat astride her horse on a small rise, gazing down at the town spread out hundreds of yards below.

“Is this Kroměříž?” She blinked in confusion, for it was not quite what she had imagined.

“Yes,” Igor replied, pulling on his horse’s reins, and the scruffy steed circled once before coming to a halt.

“But… where are its walls?” Noren gestured vaguely in the air, tracing a circle over Kroměříž with her finger, her voice laced with disbelief.

“Walls?” Igor hesitated for a moment, then raised a finger and pointed. “Right there!”

His finger slowly moved from the town’s edge towards its center, then stopped.

Noren followed Igor’s gaze, observing the tall wooden fortress encircled by a wooden palisade.

Noren frowned.

She asked, “Has this town always been like this?”

“Certainly not,” Igor replied. “There wasn’t even a wooden fortress in the middle of Kroměříž before! Kunar became mayor a few years ago, and he’s the one who had that fortress built!”

“Come, let’s enter the town!” Noren turned her horse’s head, intending to explore it.

“Miss Noren!” Igor suddenly raised his voice, calling out to Noren loudly.

“What is it?” Noren turned half her face towards him, her features, sculpted by a prominent nose, displaying an exquisite dimensionality.

“Gulp…” Igor swallowed hard, evading Noren’s gaze. “We… we’d best not…”

“Not what?”

“We’d best not bring the wagons inside. It would be better to leave them outside the town walls. We’d have to pay an overnight tax if we take them in!”

Suppressing his inner shame, Igor finished his explanation in a rush.

“Erm…” Noren tapped her lower lip with the back of her index finger. “There’s no need. I’m only going in for a look; I might not stay the night.”

Noren reasoned that if they encountered a merchant caravan later in the market, leaving their wagons outside the town would undoubtedly cause them trouble.

Yet, being astute, she quickly discerned Igor’s underlying intentions.

“You’re worried about your brother, Ryan, aren’t you?” A faint blush touched Noren’s pale profile as she suggested, “I can have the wagon carrying Ryan stop outside the town, and you can stay with your brother!”

“I…” That was not what Igor had intended to say.

“However, I still advise you to take Ryan back to the manor. Constant jolting in a wagon is not conducive to healing injuries.”

“Hup!”

With that said, Noren tightened her legs around her horse’s flanks, and the grey steed shot forward with a whoosh.

‘This is it!’ The color drained from Igor’s face.

Just then, Tolke rode past Igor, and the frantic thumping in Igor’s chest was distinctly audible to his own ears.

This made Tolke sense that something was amiss.

Tolke asked, “Are you hiding something?”

Igor’s breathing quickened abruptly, the thumping sound growing more pronounced. His fingernails dug into his palms as he forced a calm smile. “Ha, ha… Am I?”

“It had better be nothing!” Tolke spurred his horse to catch up with Noren, and the three large wagons rolled away into the distance, leaving only one wagon and Igor behind.

Igor watched them approach the town, his heart growing increasingly unsettled.

‘Should I make a run for it?’

‘No! Ryan is still in the wagon, and the coachman won’t obey my orders. Besides, I’m not skilled in combat. The risk is too great!’

Igor’s mind raced with a myriad of thoughts, leaving him indecisive.

His brain churned for a full half-quarter of an hour, yet Igor could not devise a single good plan. He rubbed his throbbing temples and pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

Overthinking would only bring harm, so he simply gave up trying to think.

Igor clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky. “Almighty Lord, I implore You to protect Your devout servant!”

With his right hand, he traced a cross from his forehead to his chest, then to his left and right shoulders, murmuring, “Amen!”

****

“Where are the guards and tax collectors?”

With a bewildered expression, Noren stepped onto the narrow wooden bridge, just wide enough for a single wagon. Pedestrians on either side of the bridge quickly made way, allowing the caravan to enter the town unhindered.

Kroměříž lacked city walls, nor were there any soldiers guarding the wooden bridge. No one stopped them to demand taxes; they simply entered the town openly and freely.

A main avenue in Kroměříž led directly to the wooden fortress, with diverging side paths radiating outwards from it. Along the main thoroughfare, a few docile horses could be seen pulling carts laden with grain and other goods, while a scattering of townspeople and peddlers had set up stalls on either side.

“This town planning is utterly chaotic!” Noren fumed, uncertain where to sell her goods in such a disorganized place.

The residential thatched cottages here were all uniform, with only one wooden house distinguished by a horizontal beam extending from its eaves. Long strips of cloth tied to this beam indicated it was a tavern.

As for weapon shops or armorers, she hadn’t seen a single one. It seemed the spoils of war would remain in her possession for a while longer.

The townspeople they encountered along the way hurried about their business. Women wore headscarves, and men, disheveled, carried hoes and sickles, driving plough horses out of town. They were likely heading to the surrounding fields to farm.

“This place is truly dilapidated,” Tolke remarked, looking around. “It was practically an oversized Osbrück!”

He had imagined Kroměříž to be a prosperous city, never expecting it to be so dismal!

Noren shared Tolke’s sentiment; Kroměříž was simply too rundown!

This observation sparked a question in her mind—

If all the towns outside were in such a state, then why did the Sithi and Hradec caravans frequently travel out this way?

Where exactly were the Sithi caravans headed?

“Halt!”

Just as Noren was lost in thought, several soldiers swaggered over, their faces twisted into leering smiles, like hungry wolves spotting plump sheep.

The veteran leading them wore a light helmet crafted from woven rattan and stitched leather, a dark brown leather brigandine on his torso, and gripped a leaf-bladed spear. With traditional Slavic features, he appeared to be around twenty-five years old.

“According to Kroměříž law, any caravan arriving before the market officially opens must pay a fine!” The leading veteran circled the wagon train.

Just as the veteran was about to climb into a wagon to inspect its contents, Wiz, who was guarding inside, kicked him out!

“Oof!” The veteran was sent sprawling from the wagon, tumbling twice like a wheel, and lay on the ground curled up like a shrimp, unable to rise.

Seeing this, the other soldiers immediately aimed their spears at Noren and her companions.

“Quick, quick, help me up.” The veteran on the ground groaned in pain, having strained his back.

Two soldiers quickly helped him to his feet.

The veteran howled, “Assaulting a soldier! Not only will you forfeit all your goods, but you’ll also rot in my dungeon!”

“Go! Seize them!”

“Let’s see who dares!” Noren threw back her hood, revealing her face. “I am Noren of Ostrava, and my father is a knight personally ennobled by the Duke! Who gave you the audacity to offend a noble!”

Upon seeing Noren’s appearance and hearing the words “Duke,” “knight,” and “noble,” the soldiers were immediately intimidated, freezing in place, afraid to move.

Ordinarily, they only dared to bully lowly merchants.

Provoking a noble?

Commoners who offended nobles rarely met a good end.

Though the leading veteran was in agony from his strained back, he shamelessly chuckled at once. “My lady, we meant no offense. We were merely performing a routine inspection as part of our duty.”

“Have you finished your inspection, then?” Noren couldn’t be bothered to argue with them, knowing one couldn’t bite back every dog that bit them.

“Finished, yes, quite finished, my lady.” The leading soldier chuckled awkwardly. “As long as nobles didn’t commit murder or arson in Kroměříž, the soldiers typically wouldn’t interfere with them.”

Even if a noble raped a peasant woman, they would only need to pay a few silver coins, though most nobles found themselves unwilling to touch ‘dirty’ peasant women.

“If you’re done inspecting, then get lost!” Henry suddenly poked his head out of a wagon and roared. He detested these military thugs, who were like hyenas.

The soldiers retreated.

After this incident, Noren’s favorable impression of Kroměříž plummeted to rock bottom. She no longer had any desire to visit the wooden fortress or its mayor.

Noren turned to her companions and declared, “Let’s go! We’re leaving this town!”

The caravan turned their horses around, heading back out of the town.

Meanwhile, in a narrow alley between two thatched cottages, a pair of eyes intently watched the blonde woman seated on horseback.

From the darkness, a murmur emerged: “How dare they still come to Kroměříž? Then again, they don’t know we’re the mayor’s men.”

“I must inform Reken, the boss, at once!”

The eyes vanished into the darkness, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.