Chapter 94: A Good Business

The traditional water routes of the North Kingdom, besides plunging straight from the Tem River into the kingdom's heartland, offered many options provided by its numerous tributaries, like arterial branches, delivering ships to the extremities of this barely sustained body.

After entering the river mouth and traveling two to three days, a mud-yellow branch turned sharply south, leading to the southern hills and mountains. It was an inland extension of the coastal mountain range, the lingering waves of rock, an unsettled undulating terrain spreading out into the kingdom's most complex geography.

Water vapor from the ocean was blocked by the mountains, making this one of the few dry areas in the kingdom; any slight rainfall was sucked up by the dry soil of gullies between low hills and ridges, serving only the needs of shrubs and small trees.

These plants had weak soil-consolidating abilities, and combined with the unique terrain, resulted in few stable surface water sources here; most small rivers, like capillary networks, would seasonally dry up, and even groundwater reached by deep wells could one day vanish without warning.

Some had proposed that, objectively speaking, rainfall in the southern mountains could only be described as less than the rest of the kingdom, not to this extent. But the fact remained: moisture was still swallowed entirely by those hills covered in shrub-dry soil, leaving humans only the drops remaining after their heavy drinking.

And the only river on this land suitable for ships was utilized; the turbid yellow water carried ships loaded with grain into it, and sent out ships loaded with mineral products.

It was also the place with the densest mines in the kingdom; rich minerals lay shallowly buried beneath these seemingly worthless barren lands.

The Tobide River, that turbid yellow tributary, became unsuitable for navigation after providing only a week's journey; those wishing to penetrate deep into the mountains had to take winding mountain paths and tread personally into the shrub-choked lands.

Captains naturally would not continue inward to invite hardship; they stayed on their ships, loaded with minerals or crude metal products brought from the mountains, then turned and set sail, returning to the Tem River, the great artery of shipping.

The theoretically effective paper survey was completely cut off here; entire pages of place names and mineral trade changes piled up at the small dot marked at the end of the page. After all, captains only cared about loading cargo, paying little attention to where it came from.

Roads further inward could not be marked on navigation charts, nor could corresponding maps be found; several captains who had made short trips inside stated they could only rely on locals to guide them, otherwise, without noticing, they would miss the beaten forked paths and head away from their destination.

Settlements were squeezed between lowland valleys; aside from transporting minerals out, daily life tended to be as closed off as the geography. If not for the meager agricultural output being unsustainable, grain-mineral trade would not exist at all.

"No one knows what it's like inside; if one wanted to hide a new mine here, it would be too easy." The pen tip tapped the spot circled with a large ring; the mapmaker's mood was somewhat anxious. Weeks of collection had yielded only a rough range; relying on an individual alone made completing the next step difficult.

"And I must reiterate, everything is just my conjecture; the actual location could be in some other corner of the kingdom. Finding nothing is the most probable outcome. Are you sure you still want to join?"

The cabin door was shut tight, curtains drawn halfway, illuminating the maps on the table; small annotations listed from the river's source to its confluence, lines crossing and connecting densely, pointing into the circle.

"Of course. Such an interesting opportunity to get rich; missing it would be a regret for a lifetime." William scratched his thick-bearded chin. After drinking unlimited strong liquor for several days, he finally realized what the priest and Kraft were planning, and that he, as an old friend, had been tricked by a few barrels of wine.

Under strong insistence, considering the plan required manpower and funds, William, who was at least somewhat trustworthy, was reluctantly allowed to join after swearing an oath to the Heavenly Father.

Although he didn't understand words like distillation or alchemical potions, the glass wings on the church's holy symbol and the wine in his hand were real things. Thus, Kraft, who was willing to share information with him, instantly became his brother from another mother.

"I don't understand alchemy or lung disease, but I know clearly there is no business that guarantees profit. If what you say is correct, if we succeed, we can use gold coins to prop up table legs for the rest of our lives; if we fail, we lose at most half the trip's money, and even doubling that loss, I can afford it."

William wiped his hands with his garment hem, tracing the lines up to that circle; a spot of light fell exactly on the center, like a gold-cast hole. "Moreover, I think what you say makes great sense; the chance of profit is absolutely greater than the chance of loss."

"Actually, it's very simple. To open a mine, we cannot bypass the locals. We'll take a few trustworthy young men from the ship, and search every place where grain has gone in from the start; it's just a matter of time."

"Let's hope so." Kraft shook his head. Based on his experience, things usually became complicated and slid toward the difficult direction. "How much do you know about what's inside?"

"Mostly small villages that don't like interacting with the outside, unless selling minerals or buying grain." William thought carefully, dredging up words he had heard while bragging with colleagues before. "I heard they have lived here for a very long time, even before mineral trade began."

"We need to find a local guide."

"Not difficult; there will be one at Hegang." The plan was thus finalized: find a guide, follow the trail of grain going inward, and thoroughly check every settlement within the circle.

Just before the end, William noticed the sword at Kraft's waist and suddenly remembered something. Considering his identity as a doctor, he turned to look at Kup standing nearby. "May I ask, how is your squire performing his main duties?"

"Hmm, it's okay?" Kraft glanced uncertainly at Kup, who was touching the smooth metal surface of the mallet. It was newly bought; considering his skills wouldn't improve for a while, he had chosen a weapon that relied on strength for decent power, at least counting as combat capability.

"That's good." William became serious, addressing Kraft and Yin Feng. "I also heard that some special means might be needed inside. I mean, possibly; at that time, I might not be able to look after you."

"I can take care of myself." He was quite confident about this, considering himself above the average line.

"Look at the map again before entering. Kup, stop touching your mallet. And Yin Feng, come look here; this is our starting point." Over these weeks, Kraft had taken opportunities to teach basic characters and some simple vocabulary. Since place names in this era didn't require high-level vocabulary, it was a chance to test the teaching results.

An unprepared quiz caught Yin Feng off guard; he stood stunned, his mind a fog. The two simple short words on the map looked familiar no matter how he looked, but when they reached his lips, he couldn't say what they were.

"Uh..." Kup let go of his beloved mallet and leaned in. Kraft suspected he would be reluctant to use it to smash someone's skull, and he had no hope at all regarding vocabulary.

Just as Kraft was about to admit educational failure, this rough man stammered and squeezed out the pronunciation.

"Gravel... Town?"