The Erratum-Chapter 38: This is a Town?!

The next day, in the morning where the cold breeze engulfed Cetas’ fair skin.

He stood up from the hammock set up not far away from the other members of the Aegir Pirates.

Seeing as they were already awake, Cetas walked over to the fire and let the heat warm his body.

Extending his hands forwards, he almost touched the billowing flames.

However, due to an unsuspecting wind, Cetas’ hands were stopped in mid air.

He shifted his head to the right, and saw Skadi fixing the hammocks and fitting them in a bag. Without giving Cetas a glance, she uttered:

"Be careful, now.."

Cetas pulled his hands back and rested it to where the temperature felt just right.

Then, as he heard footsteps rustle beside him, a plate of food appeared in his sight.

Cetas gazed up, seeing the cheerful Elishia grinning widely, "Here, eat before we travel!"

"Thanks.."

With that, Cetas ate for a few minutes then got up to prepare for the long journey ahead.

Before they set out though, Skadi told the crew a few things.

"As per the map, today, we will arrive at a known commercial town - Lakalan. There, we can restock on rations, clothing, and essentials. Most importantly, though, we need to buy a carriage to hasten our travels."

"If we keep traveling on foot, then we’d arrive at Flag in about 2 weeks or so.."

She raised her right hand and extended her fingers. Then, a pouch containing gold coins flew towards her, "This is the payment I’ve received from the Historian. Before we arrive at Lakalan I shall distribute this amongst everybody."

Cetas noticed Galkan with a mischievous grin on his face. His fists collided with one another as his muscles convulsed with excitement.

He really does love this so-called Solaris? What is so important about it?

Skadi unraveled the string above the pouch and revealed golden-colored coins. One by one, each of them floated out of the bag.

Ten coins arrived in Cetas direction, all with an intricate symbol of a half-sunken sun with 4 rays protruding out of it.

Upon looking at the others, he noticed that they also received ten golden coins.

Galkan, who had a wide grin on his face, turned sour due to the sight of the coins, "Captain! What’s the meaning of this? Only ten?"

Skadi sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Don’t worry Galkan, I will give all of you more once we arrive at Flag. However, our circumstances right now are only appropriate for ten Solari coins.’

"Yes, it is a commercial town, however, it is still but a mere town. No one would carry around more than 10 Solaris in their pockets! Additionally, who would have 10 Solari in their pockets anyway? Those things can already buy you 2 carriages!"

"Actually.." Skadi gathered the ten coins back from the crew members. Then, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands in a praying position.

Suddenly, the ten Solaris surrounding her turned into 5 distinct bags filled with silver coins.

"There, suits you all better for the next town."

The bag floated in front of Cetas and upon looking inside he noticed silver coins with an assortment of different designs.

There were silver coins that had the symbol of a plain half-sunken sun, and there were also others with one, two, and three rays of the sun.

Cetas didn’t really know what they symbolized but upon thinking harder, he became quite familiarized with them.

The information in his head was vague so he was determined to ask Elishia later.

Then, Cetas stared at Galkan’s direction once more.

The bulky man looked crestfallen at the sight of silver coins in front of him.

Skadi scratched her head and spoke once more:

"Do not fret, Galkan. Those are still equivalent to 10 Solaris."

"It doesn’t feel the same! I want to see the gold radiance of the coins!"

Jones uttered under his breath but made sure that the other members heard it, "You should’ve kept your trap shut.."

Galkan fell to the ground, his face sorrowful with the coins.

Skadi, who looked to be annoyed, moved her fingers and gathered Galkan’s bag. Then, she closed her eyes and clasped her hands to pray once more.

The bag didn’t change but Skadi pushed it towards the bulky man.

"There! Look inside."

He slowly moved his flabby arms and opened the sack. Inside it, a single gold coin reflected the bright sun.

With this, he regained his vigor but before he could even speak, an all-familiar voice belonging to an old man resounded in everyone’s ears.

"I’m not a coin trading system! Stop asking for minor matters like these!"

Cetas tilted his head to the side and pondered:

The Historian?

"Pay him no heed," Skadi cleared her throat and closed the sack of gold in front of her, putting it back to a bag near her, "Now, let us head to the Commercial Town Lakalan!"

*

Approximately 3 hours after Skadi distributed the coins, light filtered from the forest above as the crew approached the commercial town.

Immediately, Cetas heard the bustling noise of the people. Compared to Seyil, it was much more lively and filled with utmost energy.

Seyil had a sort of eerie silence among the streets, however, Lakalan sounded to have the contrary.

Exiting the vast expanse of the forest, Cetas noticed carriages upon carriages lined up to enter the town gates. Many guards were stationed around the town and the people inside the carriages had formal wear - wide brimmed hats and bright distinctive clothing.

Additionally, the town looked vastly different from Seyil, buildings upon buildings were next to each other. The houses themselves looked to be made with stone and marble, each street had numerous amounts of people, and the people themselves looked to be quite refined.

Most importantly, Lakalan was significantly larger than Seyil!

With the same complaints in mind, Elishia opened her mouth and let her voice out:

"This is a town?!"

Even Skadi was surprised to see this sight, her eyes widened due to astonishment, "Oh? Last time I’ve been here it looked less populated and.. smaller."

"And when was the last time that you came here!?" Elishia sounded perplexed.

Skadi tilted her head to the right and placed her index finger on his cheek, "About 5 years ago.."

"5 years-"

Elishia’s mouth was agape and her eyes were in disbelief.

Skadi shrugged her shoulders, "It seems I’ve made a mistake. Everyone, bring your sack of Solis out."

One by one, each of them brought the sacks out and instantly, it floated upwards to Skadi.

Making a praying notion, Skadi closed her eyes and clasped her hands.

However, after 5 seconds, nothing happened. Skadi clicked her tongue and glared at the skies above.

"Stingy old man."

Nevertheless, she remained composed and made the sacks fly back to the members.

"It seems that the Historian won’t listen to our wishes for a while now. Worry not, I’ll add a few Solaris inside."

From the inside of her bag, ten Solari Coins came out and made their way to the silver-filled sacks of the crew members.

Two coins made their way towards Cetas as he gazed upon the town beyond his vision.

"So, without further ado, let us.. fall in line."

*

It took another hour to merely reach the town’s entrance gate. The sun scorched above yet the winds were cold so Cetas didn’t feel too intense.

Additionally, Cetas was wearing a cloak to hide his presence and his onyx scales. His face was hooded which proved to be effective in masking his entire stature.

As for the others, they were dressed as formal merchants with embroidered coats and linen blouses.

All aside from Skadi, who donned her usual outfit of a black corset and black coat.

Usually, her Windslinger was hidden inside of her coat. However, due to the town guards looking strict, she had hidden the gun with a cannon-sized barrel atop one of the trees near the forest.

Upon arriving at the gate, the guards inspected the crew member’s bags and sacks. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, one of the guards began to inquire:

"Any weapons in possession?"

Skadi answered quickly, letting her soft tone grace the presence of the two guards in front of her, "Just a few flintlock pistols and a saber to defend ourselves.."

The guards looked at each other and nodded, "Entrance toll is twenty Solis each head."

Reaching inside her pouch, Skadi brought out six silver coins with a sunken-sun and two rays protruding out of it.

"One hundred twenty Solis received! You may enter, esteemed guests!"

Upon entering the town gate, Cetas’ eyes sparkled with the sheer amount of people inside.

The streets themselves were bustling with liveliness, and the buildings looked to be formidable. It didn’t look like the barren emptiness of Seyil, instead, it was drastically better!

There were beggars on the side, refined individuals walking on the sidewalks, carriages making their way on the main road, and so much more!

What piqued Cetas’ interest the most was the stalls that sold different varieties of food. His mouth almost watered with just the mere sight of it!

Noticing this, Skadi placed her head on Cetas’ hair, "You want to have one?"

Cetas nodded as his eyes gleamed in the reflection of the assortment of food.

"Alright. Everyone, let us split in groups for a while. Galkan and Jones, you come with me to purchase the carriages and extra clothing for our travels. Meanwhile, Elishia, Reid, and Cetas, you three are tasked with our rations, alright?"

"I assume that Elishia is already accustomed with our rations so I give her my full trust."

Simultaneously, each of them spoke up, "Aye!"

"Good. We meet back here on sundown."

With that, the trio of Elishia, Reid, and Cetas went off in a different direction, heading towards the food stalls and the food market.