Chapter 6

  06/06/81 ATE

  The caravan had travelled sixteen days in the wilderness heading south to Phixgow. This was the largest journey Illuminus and Tyler had made so far. Water was always a concern, but they knew the wasteland well—scavenging, rationing, and stretching every drop to make the journey.

  As they neared Phixgow, the landscape began to shift. The cracked, dust-choked earth gave way to firmer, darker soil. Vegetation thickened, no longer just the occasional scraggly bush but giving way to drought-resistant grass spreading across the land. Soon, the reason became clear.

  The settlement was surrounded by fenced pastureland, carefully managed and fed by irrigation canals snaking outward from deep wells within the town. The land wasn’t lush, but it was functional—a stark contrast to the wasteland behind them. Sturdy wooden enclosures contained herds of livestock, each pen holding animals suited to this arid world: sheep, goats, cattle, and horses, alongside donkeys and camels.

  Phixgow was not a walled city and thus there was no main gate. Walking past the pastureland the caravan approached buildings made from sandstone bricks. Residential houses mixed with businesses. At the town’s heart lay its lifeblood—the central well and the bustling marketplace. The marketplace was full of merchants looking to buy and sell goods to travelling caravans. The central well is what provides the means of survival in the wasteland. It is continuously being pumped by hand pumps drawing up water from underground to provide for the residents and the irrigation canals.

  They walk over to the marketplace in an attempt to get some direction. Here there are many traders and merchants each not so subtlety trying to grab the attention of those wandering by.

  “Oh, how disappointing, I thought a real caravan might have arrived. Instead, we got you guys.” One of the traders says as they pass by.

  “You wound me trader, you snipe at those doing the work travelling the wasteland while you wait in the marketplace for your opportunities to sell your goods. Every caravan has to start somewhere. What are you even selling anyway?” Illuminus said.

  “Leather, I run a tanning house taking animal skins and turning them into leather.” The trader replied.

  “Look, I can tell that you’re new to this whole trading business. Leather from here sells cheaply and you can make a good profit taking it south-west to Thrat’ka – the capital. You need bulk purchases to make the trip worthwhile. The established caravans use massive wagons attached to camels to transport their goods. You need to cough up the cost and invest in those camels and wagons if you are going to be a serious caravan. The investment does pay for itself though faster than you would think.” The trader said.

  “Perhaps, we’ll go and do exactly that. You have actually been helpful. Which of these traders would sell the camels and the wagons?” Illuminus said.

  “East side. The livestock farmers have a guild house over there. On the southside of town there are carpenters who would sell you the wagons you need as long as you have the coin. I don’t know why I’m helping you guys out, without sponsorship most new caravans flop.” The trader said.

  “Sponsorship? What do you mean?” Illuminus said.

  “I swear, you guys must have just crawled out from under a rock and just walked into Phixgow. The Workforce Merchants, they run most of the caravans here. Keeping our towns well supplied. They are always looking to expand and fund new caravans.” The trader said.

  After gathering the necessary information, Illuminus spent the rest of the day negotiating with livestock farmers and craftsmen. The trader from the Sharp Spear Tribe was right—he had to be cautious not to be overcharged. The coinage plundered from the Flame Brotherhood was more than enough for what he needed. He then took his animals and wagons to the stables of Phixgow and wandered over to the guestrooms build for passing caravans to settle in for the night.

  The guestrooms were attached to a main tavern where people would mingle and congregate. Illuminus and Tyler found a table and took a rare moment to relax.

  “I feel no closer to finding Olaf after arriving here. Where would we even look for this Garrick fellow? I imagine everyone wouldn’t know everyone else here.” Illuminus said.

  “That trader seemed to know quite a bit about the Workforce Merchants, perhaps they are able to operate quite freely despite being slavers. He seems to suggest that many of the caravans have some allegiance with them. There’s a good chance if we chat with some of the other caravans in this place they might know Garrick.” Tyler said.

  “That’s actually a good idea, I thought I was the one with the brains.” Illuminus said.

  “What about those guys over there? There’s about thirty of them. Let’s shuffle over to those seats at the table over there.” Tyler said.

  These guys were heavily armed, each carrying a rifle. They both then tactically shuffled over without drawing too much attention to themselves.

  “Hey guys, mind if we sit here? We do some trading like you guys and have some questions, we promise not to be annoying.” Illuminus said.

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  “Fine, whatever. What do you what?” One of the guys said.

  “We’ve been trying to crack into the caravaner business starting with some small shipments and are looking to scale up. The brigands of the wasteland are no joke for those unprepared. I heard a rumour that new caravans could get some sponsorship, we just need to speak with man called Garrick. Do you know of this Garrick?” Illuminus said.

  The eyes of the traders at the table widen.

  “Well, you’ve done your research to find out about Garrick. Garrick does like to keep a low profile and usually initiates contact himself. If you are actually serious, I can give you guys his address. I’m not sure how accommodating he’ll be to two guys pretending to run a proper caravan. East side of town look for a house with a black cloth over the door. If you knock, be ready to prove you’re worth his time.” The trader said.

  The man gave a small flick of his fingers—barely a gesture, but enough to tell them to leave.

  Illuminus and Tyler took the hint. As they stepped away from the table, Illuminus could still feel the traders’ eyes on their backs, watching them go. They retired to the room they rented previously.

  The bed was the most comfortable Illuminus had been since leaving the bunker. The exhaustion of the long journey southwards and the conflict with the Flame Brotherhood catching up to him.

  07/06/81 ATE

  The next morning Illuminus and Tyler searched for Garrick’s house on the east side if town scanning for a door with a black cloth covered over it. It didn’t take long to find what they were after. The house itself was nothing special it was built from sandstone like all the other residential houses in Phixgow.

  “Do we just knock or something else? This is the guy who may know where your Olaf is, but we can’t just go and ask him about that.” Tyler said.

  “We’ll try and gain his trust a bit. Once he’s more relaxed we’ll have opportunity to discover where Olaf might have gone.” Illuminus said.

  Illuminus stepped forward and loudly banged on the door. The knocks echoed into silence.

  Illuminus shifted his weight, glancing at Tyler. Still nothing. The air felt heavier here, as if even the dry breeze didn’t dare disturb this place.

  “Maybe he’s not home.” Tyler said in a low voice.

  “Or maybe he’s deciding whether to answer.” Illuminus replies.

  Illuminus stepped forward and knocked even more forcefully this time. The door violently swung open, dust swirling around. A middle-aged man with a thick moustache stood in the doorway.

  “What do you want?” He asked.

  “Garrick, I presume? Am I right?” Illuminus said.

  “Who’s asking?” He shot back.

  “Illuminus, this is Tyler over here. We are traders looking to scale up our operations and become a respected caravan. I’ve learnt that you are the man to know to find sponsorship. Can we come in?” Illuminus said.

  “Right here is fine. Are you guys serious? Two people does not make a caravan, you’ll be sliced down in the wasteland in no time. I would say eight people all up is the minimum to project at least some safety while you travel. Also pick up some rifles at the weapon shop.” Garrick said.

  "So, what? We’re just supposed to hire some goons off the street and arm them?" Illuminus said.

  “Now you are catching on.” Garrick said.

  "Sounds more like we’d be running a mercenary gang than a trade caravan." Tyler said.

  "That’s because, out there, it’s the same damn thing. Each caravan has its core members, like you guys, and their mercenaries. There are plenty of people willing to work for caravans in order to safely travel from settlement to settlement. Some mercenaries stick around for only a short while others may stick around for quite some time. Hire your mercenaries and equip everyone. Purchase your cargo and flip it for profit at other settlements. Come back here when you have four full bags of coinage. Any questions?” Garrick said.

  “So, you want us to become established by ourselves before you’d consider sponsoring us? What kind of deal is that? We may as well continue being an independent caravan at that point.” Illuminus said.

  “I need to know if you guys are serious first. There are benefits of accepting patronage from the Workforce Merchants that you should consider. Now go away, you’ve bothered me enough.” Garrick said and promptly closed the door on their faces.

  Walking back towards the marketplace and far enough from Garrick’s house Tyler spoke, “Well, that was something. What are we going to do? Listen to that slaver, and gather up some serious coinage in the hope that a clue about Olaf would be forthcoming?”

  Illuminus didn’t answer right away. His mind was racing, calculating. The truth was, they had no other leads. Garrick was their only connection to the Workforce Merchants, and the Merchants were the only ones who might know where Olaf had been taken.

  “What other options are out there? He’s our only lead and building up a private mercenary group will certainly bring some benefits.” Illuminus said.

  “What’s the plan then? Find out where Olaf is and try and attack the place? I get the sense that the Workforce Merchants are a serious and large organisation” Tyler said.

  “I don’t know Tyler, I just need to find Olaf. Burning this possible lead would be a disaster” Illuminus said.

  The weapon shop was not hard to find. It was location near the central market. Illuminus was amazed at how freely he could purchase the rifles and ammo not just for himself and Tyler but for eight people. This was completely different from the bunker where everything was tightly controlled. Only Roderick and the scouts were allowed to carry weapons. Illuminus did wonder how many former mercenaries would try their luck and end up as brigands in the wasteland using the same weapons sold at the settlements.

  Finding the mercenaries was not difficult now that Illuminus knew what to look out for. The caravanner tavern was the place to find them. Illuminus announced his next location would be the capital Thrat’ka and that he was looking for six people to accompany his on the journey. With his crew chosen and his destination set all he had left to do was to gather the animals and carts and buy the leather from the trader he was talking to earlier. He approached the very same trader from earlier with his two donkeys and four camels attached to two covered carts.

  “Well look at that you’ve cobbled together for yourself a real caravan. I’m actually a little impressed. I didn’t think you had the capital to do that just lying around. So, shall I load up your wagons with leather? You can flip it at the capital for like 400% of what you’ll pay.” The trader said.

  “400%? Yes, I’ll be taking that. Why aren’t you running a caravan then if it’s that easy?” Illuminus said.

  “It never is that easy though, the dangers of the wasteland are real. Running a caravan is entirely different work than tanning animal skins.” The trader said.

  The trader wasn’t alone in loading up the wagons, the hired mercenaries lent their aid for the task. The wagons were not fully with the purchased leather. Supplies for the journey were also packed onto the donkeys and took up some space on the wagons. With the leather packed, Illuminus paid the cost and began his caravan journey south-west to Thrat’ka.