By the time they finished their last go-around, it was nearing noon. The townsfolk, having been grateful for their help, ushered them into a late lunch before they left. They obliged, though Shirou could see the hesitation in Tuka's eyes as they sat down in front of their meals.
Bread and broth, nothing special, since the people were still struggling with getting materials from the capital due to the earthshakes. Still, the broth was much more than was usually put out, and the bread was softer than the hard lumps many were eating.
And judging by the more or less genuine smiles that they were given, everyone knew that and were all the more happier for it.
It unnerved the three of them.
Not because it wasn't a front. The people here were truly grateful, that much Shirou could tell. Rather, it was due to the fact that these very same 'kind people' were capable of the sheer hatred and violence that they'd displayed against demi-humans in general.
It would only take a moment for anyone to accidentally come into contact with Tuka's hidden ears for that same vitriol to be directed at them. Shirou wouldn't be surprised if these people tore down their rebuilt houses out of spite, not wanting their homes to be 'tainted' by an elf's hands.
Needless to say, they quickly finished the meal and said their goodbyes to the villagers. Soon enough, they and their carriage, still filled with the wyvern scales, were off to the capital.
The distance itself was not far. At a leisurely pace, they would have taken maybe an hour or two with their carriage. Unfortunately, this was not the case this time around.
All over the paved road, tons of materials from other riders were left discarded. As one of the main roads towards the capital, it was widely populated even during the night. Unlike his world's history, the path to the capital was not hampered by darkness - rather, magical lights were interspersed alongside it, allowing for travelers to continue traveling even in the dead of night.
All Shirou could see was the remnants of who had been there.
Shards of wood, broken wheels, produce strewn all over the road. Wreck after wreck, even a few animals that the magus could guess were sacrificed in order to appease the gods. By his estimate, just the debris around them would round up to two, maybe three, groups of people.
That wasn't even taking into account the demi-human corpses strewn about. Just the number of corpses would have been a sizable enough party to be on the road. The collars and clothes that they wore, however, made it clear that these were slaves, and humans would not be killing their 'stock' entirely if they could help it.
Shirou quickly steered them away from the first batch they found, after hearing the hitch in Tuka's breath. He made sure to keep a further eye out, avoiding more corpse piles, even if they were forced off the beaten path.
It took another hour to get through there, but finally, they had cleared it. Judging by the tracks on the path, whoever had been here had not killed off their mounts, and had instead made a beeline for the Imperial capital. Made sense, since it was most likely more protected than some random village.
Speaking of the capital, Shirou could see it now in its full glory. In the afternoon sun, just as they made it to the apex of a small hill, the city of Sadera, from which the Saderan Empire got its name from, stood imperiously. Tall, imposing walls surrounded the city, with the top of what he assumed to be the senate building peeking over them all. A colosseum, an aqueduct, guard towers, and everything one would think of when describing a Roman city were all there.
Coupled with the setting sun, their sudden stop to just take in the view, Shirou would not have been surprised if someone told him this was what a fantasy world should look like.
It would have been all the better had it not been for the inky black smoke rising from within the capital.
He grimaced as they continued their approach. Yes, he was afraid of this. In the village, not a lot of people were there to make a mess of things, and yet that entire fiasco with the Yaga had still occurred. With the capital, the chance for something to happen increased exponentially with the amount of normal residents, let alone the refugees seeking safety inside.
Shirou glanced at the two beside him and sighed. Even if he wanted to steer them away from the capital and go at it alone, between their differing forms of magecraft, they would most likely catch up to him sooner or later. Better to keep an eye on them where he was certain they were safe.
They made their way towards the main gate, finding less and less debris as they did so. That being said, the amount of blood and corpses increased rapidly. Unlike further away, they couldn't just avoid seeing them altogether, as the landscape had quickly flattened out.
Maybe he was a bit too overprotective with these two, if he were being honest with himself. WIth their abilities, they would most likely be able to fend off, or run away from, any danger that might find them. The real reason why he didn't want them here was just because they were too damn young. Maybe not as young as he was when the fire happened, but that's besides the point.
Children should live their lives free from the troubles that adults live with.
Then again, that was a thinking that was borne from his world, not this one.
Shirou shelved those thoughts for now. It felt as if he were doing that a lot lately, but he didn't have a choice - a lot was going on that needed his attention. Case in point being their approach towards the main gate being halted by a few guards.
"Halt!" Armed and helmeted men approached them, and Shirou's eyes immediately Traced their weapons. With a chuckle, he raised his arm as one of the men further back rode up just a bit faster.
"State your name and purpose!" The one that had immediately come up to them didn't notice, continuing to question Shirou. Frankly, the magus felt bad for the guard. Just from how he held himself, it was clear he was dead on his feet. He had an inkling as to why.
By the time Shirou prepared to respond, the knight riding up to them had removed his helmet and called out to them.
He raised a hand, signaling the other guards to stand down. His eyes, cool and steady, flickered with recognition as they fell upon Shirou.
"Chulainn?" he called, his tone laced with mild disbelief and the barest hint of a grin. "Don't tell me it's actually you. Thought you'd take longer from what the Princess told us."
"The situation wasn't as bad as I thought." He was only partially lying. The Yaga fiasco was definitely a bad situation, though he didn't know how Norma would react if he told that, nevermind the jittery soldiers eyeing him warily.
Thankfully, the knight noticed the tension, and waved for the rest of his men to lower their weapons, "Stand down, they're with us." At that, the bravado that the men were displaying collapsed, leaving behind clearly exhausted men and women alike.
Norma grimaced as Shirou frowned, "Right, this isn't exactly the best of times. Come on, we'll talk in the barracks."
…
The barracks Norma spoke of was really just a bunch of tents outside the wall. Set against the towering walls of Sadera, the makeshift barracks sprawled like a ragged encampment of weary bones and tattered cloth. Canvas tents fluttered, frayed edges whipped by the sharp gusts that funneled down from the city walls.
Norma led them through the narrow path between rows of tents, his expression tightening as he took in the haggard faces around them. Even for someone as laid-back as him, the weight of the capital's unrest was visibly pressing on his shoulders, dragging his usual nonchalance into a taut frown.
Shirou shot Norma a questioning glance, though the Enforcer could guess what was happening.
"People have lost their minds." He muttered under his breath, glancing back at Shirou and the others. "They think the earthshake was some kind of divine punishment. You wouldn't believe the nonsense I've heard. Some claim the gods are angry, demanding sacrifices to appease their wrath. Others—" He hesitated, casting a wary eye around them before lowering his voice, "—think the empire itself is cursed, rotten to the core. Riots have broken out in the slums, spreading toward the heart of the city."
Shirou nodded, the news hardly a surprise after what he'd witnessed on the road. Still, hearing it spoken aloud made it more tangible, more imminent. His gaze fell to Tuka, who was trailing close beside him, her expression unreadable but her eyes betraying a glimmer of anxiety.
Lelei was still observing everything with a renewed interest. Unlike Tuka, the girl was the same as ever, flittering eyes between the various sights to see, few as they were outside of the city proper.
Shirou could already feel the headache forming once they actually made it inside. If they even wanted to, at this point.
"The riots were just the start. When the ground shook, people were already on edge, paranoid as all hell. But the slaves, mostly the demi-humans, seemed to see it as a sign. They've taken advantage of the chaos, broken their chains, and now they're raising hell in the market district. Most of the slaves were kept there, doing the grunt work, so it makes sense, in a twisted way."
He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose, as if trying to squeeze the chaos into a manageable thought. "It started small. A few demi-humans slipping away here and there, maybe hoping no one would notice with all the other fires to put out. But then they gathered together, found numbers. And that's when it turned ugly."
Shirou held a hand up to stop Norma from continuing, casting an eye towards the hidden elf and prodigal mage, "Why don't you two go check if the scales are prepared for sale?" He phrased it like that, but the firmness in his tone made the implication clear.
"Sir Chulainn, I must protest!" Tuka spoke with furrowed eyebrows, casting just the faintest glance towards Norma,"We-"
"Alright." Lelei clamped a hand on Tuka's mouth, before casting some magecraft that allowed her to bodily pull the elf-in-disguise with ease, "We'll be back later."
Emotionally stunted as she may sometimes appear to be, Shirou appreciated that Lelei knew the cues that would sometimes fly over people's heads. That, and that she managed to stop Tuka from inadvertently spilling the entire scenario.
Norma rubbed his eyes tiredly as he gave an apologetic nod towards Shirou, "Sorry, I've just been tired. What was I thinking, those two don't need to think about something like this…"
"It's fine." Shirou waved off his concerns, "We didn't expect to be meeting you here anyway. Speaking of which, why are you here and not with the Princess?"
Norma let out a long sigh, his shoulders sinking under the invisible weight that seemed to drag down every guard, every soldier he passed on their way here. "I wanted to help." He murmured, almost to himself. "Even if it's only standing guard. The Princess wouldn't have me running around for a while, not with my injuries. Even then, it's not been smooth sailing." The knight scratched his head in frustration.
"Most of my men," Norma continued, his voice low and grim, "are stuck on wall duty. Rotating shifts all day and night to keep people from slipping out or trying to raid the supplies coming in. But now I've had to send nearly half of them down to the market to push back against the rebels. We're stretched thin, Chulainn. Paper thin." He let out a frustrated laugh, though there was nothing funny about it. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if we had soldiers keeling over from exhaustion before the rioters even make it past the first barricade."
"...You're telling me an awful lot, Norma." Shirou had realized it for a while, only keeping quiet as the other man ranted.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly one for subtlety." Norma grunted as he shifted in his seat, wincing as he did so, "I...look, Chulainn, I didn't make you come here to dump my problems on you. But it's a mess, a damn mess that I can't do anything other than shove my thumbs up my ass." The crude joke at least got a snort out of Shirou.
"I'm willing to hire you and your companions to go and help the Princess. Gods only know that we need it at this point."
"You've got to be kidding me." Shirou said, his voice flat but laced with a hint of amusement, "You want us to help? With the way things are going, you might as well throw us into the fire and see if we come out of it alive." Shirou wasn't exactly against helping. In fact, it would be a lie to say he wouldn't help at all.
But this? This was more than some random village that he could justify with helping. This was the Imperial capital, just about the most hostile of hostile places that he could find himself in. Selling a bunch of stuff was one thing, actively putting himself in a situation where he would be fighting for said Empire was another.
Not to even mention that he'd be fighting to put slaves back into slavery. The only reason he hadn't given in to the impulse from Spartacus was that Shirou saw the distaste on Norma's face when mentioning slavery in general.
Norma's face remained serious, a tightness around his eyes betraying the strain that was slowly pushing him toward the edge. "I'm not kidding. We need all the help we can get. The Princess's hands are tied, and I'm not about to sit here while everything goes to hell. If you and your people are willing, then we can use the strength you've got."
"That kind of service isn't exactly going to come cheap." Shirou warned after a moment, trying to dissuade Norma, "With how everything is going, I doubt you'd have the funds to actually pay us with."
"You're right about that." Norma freely admitted, though he didn't look any bit perturbed, "Instead of payment, I can guarantee you a premium price for selling those scales you brought with you. Instead of selling to middlemen, I can get you in contact with the buyers directly. Just by the amount I know you have, you'd probably make more gold than I could ever promise to pay you with."
"That's…" A very good deal, Shirou had to admit, "...Let me consult with my companions and I'll give you an answer later."
"That's all I ask for, thank you." Norma gave a small bow of his head as Shirou exited the tent.
For his part, Shirou could already imagine the conversation with Tuka as he hurried to find the two.
…
"Absolutely not!"
He was, as always, right on the money.
…
A/N: Happy New Year to everyone! If you like what I do and want to support me, check out my P-atreon at P-atreon•com(slash)Almistyor.
Thank you to my newest patron: Storm.
And a special thanks to: FireRogueWolf25, brutalcrab and Tassimo.