Capítulo 39: Travel Companion
Dawn, when the golden tinge has yet to be seen on the eastern horizon. In front of the big stall owned by the merchant, several people were active, including the merchant himself.
Between them were two horses connected by a cart that was quite large and slightly luxurious. It was a wagon that the merchant used to lift himself.
Also, there were two other horses connected by a larger cart. The cart contained various items that would become the merchant's merchandise.
And two bulls which are also connected by a big long cart.
After everything is prepared. The merchant approached his wife.
"I'm leaving now, honey," he said, kissing his wife's cheek.
"Be careful on your trips, okay?" said the wife.
"Of course," said the merchant
Then, the merchant climbed into his special cart accompanied by two men who were his workers, one of whom acted as the horse coachman.
The other two people were in the second cart. One is a coachman and the other is a warrior, hired by the merchant to ensure the safety of their trips.
As well as, two other people who were in a longer cart, a cart pulled by the two bulls. One is the coachman, and the other is a warrior, a friend of the one in the second cart.
The merchant's departure this time to the city did not bring as much of his merchandise as his last one. Apart from the drought that hit the Vashara area, it was also due to a request from the merchant's wife who wanted a new roll of silk cloth for her to wear later.
That's why, before reaching two full moons, the merchant returned to the city to fulfill his wife's request.
Normally, the merchant would trade to the city once in two full moons.
"Ooh, you woman…" muttered the merchant who was seen alone in his carriage. "It's a good thing you're a noble's daughter, otherwise I'd have made you like a whore!"
"Are you all right inside there, sir?" asked the one sitting in the front seat.
"Just watch the way!" said the merchant with a bit of annoyance.
They moved in the midst of the fairly cold morning air, headed southward, to a town that was within the territory of the Daksina Kingdom.
The two men in the front seat glanced at each other, both hiding their laughter.
"A merchant who is afraid of his wife," said the man in a whisper to the coachman beside him. "Can you believe that?"
"Hey, be quiet," replied the coachman in a whisper as well. "If he hears, you'll be the one in trouble."
The two of them turned their attention back to the dimly lit road with the only light they could get from the torches attached to the four corners of the carriage. A torch from a bamboo tube with fuel from a type of fish oil.
The further the horses took them, the brighter the sky on the eastern horizon became. They continued going because the journey would take a day and a night to reach the destination town.
Yes, because they carry loads on the back, that's why the charioteers don't force their horses to go fast. Likewise with the two bulls in the back row.
As they passed another arid area, before entering the wilderness that flanked the dirt road, the merchant saw a young woman washing clothes on the bank of a small stream that was almost dry.
"Hey," said the merchant to the coachman. "Just stop for a moment!"
The coachman stopped his horses. And the man beside the coachman stood up, facing his back, he waved his hands signaling those behind him to stop as well.
"What do you want to do, sir?" asked the man then, peered into the carriage through the small gap.
"Did you see that woman?"
The man turned in the direction the merchant was pointing.
"Do you mean the one who washes clothes, sir?"
"That's right," said the merchant. "You go there. If she is beautiful enough, then offer her twenty pieces of silver to accompany me to the town."
"That's a huge sum of money, sir," said the man. "Are you sure?"
"Just do what I tell you, don't ask me back!"
"All right, sir."
The man immediately got down and half-ran over to the woman who was washing the clothes.
Meanwhile, a warrior who was in the second cart approached the merchant's carriage.
"Should we be worried about this?"
"You shouldn't!" said the merchant. "I just asked someone to bring that woman on the other end to come with me."
"Aah…" the warrior then looked in the same direction. "All right," he said, then he returned to his cart.
"What happened?" asked the fellow warrior who was riding in a long cart pulled by two bulls.
"Not a problem," said the first warrior and then sat back in his same position.
The merchant keep his eyes on the man he had sent to negotiate with the woman on the other side of the river.
The negotiations seemed to be going pretty tough. And this made the merchant's brow furrow.
"What's that bastard doing?" he muttered, feeling a little annoyed.
"I don't know, sir," replied the coachman.
"Supposedly, that woman would definitely accept the offer of twenty silver coins."
The coachman took a deep breath. He knew quite well what his friend was doing there.
Yes, his friend must be renegotiating the price offered by the merchant. Say, the man gave a lower price than what the merchant offered, so that, therefore, the excess of the money offered would be his.
It sounds sad, but that's the way they live. This is one of the many frauds that the residents of Vashara have to endure.
The merchant seemed to be running out of patience, sitting too long waiting in his carriage while the man he sent was still seen negotiating with the woman on the other side of the river.
When the merchant could no longer hold back his patience and intended to shout at his messenger, it turned out that the negotiations had ended. It was clear to the merchant that the woman was willing.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
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