Book 3, Chapter 1 - The Arrogant Store Owner (1/2)

Magistrate Seacrest called back the patrols. They hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. However, as they were preparing to return to barracks, the sounds of an argument arose from behind. Two soldiers came staggering their way, covering bloody noses.

The Sandbar was well known to have more than a few characters hidden among the populace, but there were few with the gall to assault elysian soldiers. This was especially true after the surveillance outpost was established. It was no wonder, then, that some onlookers watched the scene with gloating expressions on their faces.

Fuck! Who did this?

This was a clear slap in the Magistrate’s face!

Hammont was so angry all three hundred pounds of his doughy body shook. Only, his pudgy face and bald head, along with his round body, made him seem more comical than indignant. His wide green-bean eyes were even more amusing. He howled at the crowd around him. “What the hell are you all looking at?! Disperse!”

He turned his attention back onto the soldiers who’d embarrassed him.

“What happened? And don’t tell me you got in a scuffle with some mongrel.”

“Magistrate.” The men saluted, cowing beneath their superior officer’s severe gaze. One of them honked a report through his battered nose. “We were following a lead from an informant. There’s been word of a suspicious person new to town transporting a bunch of illegal goods. When we get to investigate this guy wouldn’t cooperate. He even hit us! His people are more than we could handle.”

“What? Who would dare be so arrogant?” Hammont’s already beady eyes almost disappeared when he narrowed them. He put one hand on the hilt of his sword and pointed at his patrol with the other. “You, you, you, and you. I’ll give you five minutes to gather the others. You two, explain everything to me from beginning to end. Now what happened?”

“The suspect was openly purchasing guns, ammunition and banned substances. He then turned around and started a black market stall. We followed up on a tip from an information that led us to him. We found that aside from trafficking contraband, he also sells army materials and even fragments of relics.”

Hammont’s mouth trembled with rage.

The Sandbar wasn’t the place it used to be! Who didn’t know that he was in charge now? Even the stronger ones hiding among the people had to bend the knee or suffer harassment from his soldiers. But even if they didn’t respect the authority of the inspection force, they had to fear the forces stationed at the nearby border! What about the whole Skycloud army?! Who would dare spit in the eye of that?!

Sandbar Station was still mostly lawless, where petty crimes remained rampant. There wasn’t anything they could do about that, really. After all, this wasn’t Skycloud. Nothing they did was going to change that fact, nor was Hammont going to completely shut down the supply chains that kept black market dealers in business. But whoever this guy was, he dared to do it right in front of their faces?!

But what was most unforgivable was selling elysian military supplies! And relics! Crimes like that were not small infractions. If someone used these goods or weapons for evil it would be traced back here. As Magistrate, Hammont would be held responsible and all his work would be destroyed. He didn’t care that this criminal would burn at the stake, the problem was this man was going to ruin all of the Magistrate’s career goals!

He was furious. A dozen more soldiers arrived as he was learning the rest of the story.

The Magistrate was anxious to learn who would have the gall to piss on his head like this and not fear retribution. The two soldiers, after being thoroughly embarrassed, were ready to exact vengeance as the Magistrate gathered their people.

Over the last few years, Hammont had done well by the Sandbar.

Things were cleaner, more orderly, and the streets reflected that. The population here had increased by a hundred percent since his days as a patrol captain and all manner of shops have sprung up to meet the demand.

They came upon a nondescript corner in a poor part of town.

“Is this it?”

“Yes sir, this is the place.”

“A group of you stay here and surround the exterior. Don’t let anyone through, in or out. You, you and you, with me!”

A dozen soldiers cordoned off the corner as instructed while Hammont led three men inside. The entrance was only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time, and narrow enough that Hammont had to struggle to squeeze his girth through. But before he even managed to shuffle in, his nose was assailed by a peculiar smell.

Gunpowder. Mixed with engineering oil. There was also a noise, too harsh in tone to be elysian made. Clearly it had to have been made by some other technology.

Contraband! A trove of illegal goods!

It was strictly forbidden for any old technology to be dug up, researched, or sold. It was even more illegal for it to be sold.

When Hammont finally managed to trundle inside the shop’s contents were revealed. All sorts of items were hung on the walls and laid out to peruse. Various gun parts, oil-fueled mechanics – clearly a sort of taboo general store. To establish a place like this is so short a time was nothing short of conceited.