Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

Merchant

While she could have used some of the materials she had in the inventory to trade, she chose not to. Gjaki not only wasn't sure which ones to use or if they might be suspicious, but she didn't have confidence in her ability. She feared that her lack of experience as a trader would be immediately apparent.

Therefore, she decided on a simpler approach. Her supposed mission wasn't to trade but to prepare to do so, under the orders of her bosses. Thus, she only had to explore the market, find out what goods could be exported or imported, or at what prices.

By doing that, she could move easily and without raising much suspicion, despite her somewhat exotic appearance. Furthermore, gathering information was made very easy thanks to her identity. In fact, buying food in larger quantities than usual wasn't too strange, even if they were mostly cupcakes and other sweets.

She still wasn't sure what to do about the dungeon. She believed that the best way for her would be to enter alone, although the idea of doing it in a group attracted her. However, the first option wasn't possible, as groups of a minimum of five people, each of whom had to be at level 32 or higher, were required.

As for the second option, she was still doubting if she could trust her former companions. She didn't think they had lied to her, but they might be forced to tell the truth to explain everything that had happened.

"I hope at least the healer is fine," she told herself.

They were a few days of unusual calm, without the continuous battles, without the constant pressure to level up. It wasn't that she wasn't in a hurry, but they had agreed to meet ten days later. In the end, she had decided to trust them, though not without caution.

She had gathered information about the counts and their family, information that was spreading by word of mouth these days. Apparently, an accident had ended the life of the count's brother, his wife and his children. There wasn't much information, but a lot of speculation.

Knowing the truth, Gjaki never ceased to be amazed by people's imaginations. More than one was convinced of their particular theory, whether it was a plot from a rival territory, a strange disease, or that they were still alive, and had been exiled for some reason.

She was also able to verify that, although the counts and their family weren't adored by the people, they weren't hated either. The ducal army and guard could be somewhat overbearing at times, but they hadn't become despots, nor were there high levels of corruption. The taxes weren't excessively high or low compared to neighboring lands either.

Gjaki, or rather Ikajg, had achieved some reputation these days. While many merchants had met her and exchanged information, the main reason for her short-lived fame was beating up a couple of not-so-reputable thugs.

They had wanted to intimidate her, as they had believed that she was a defenseless merchant from whom they could get some money. The security was tight, so if they had tried to steal from her, they would have been in serious trouble. However, a little bit of harassment and intimidation wouldn't have been very serious even if they had been found out.

What they didn't expect was to wake up a few hours later with a sore body and some broken bones. For the next few days, it was funny to see them change direction and hide if they came across her. Not a few were grateful to her for teaching them a lesson.

"Do you think she'll come?" Krongo asked.

"Who knows..." Krinia sighed.

"Is she really a...?" Kroco asked, before being rudely interrupted by his sister.

"Sssshhh! Can't you see that someone could hear you?" his sister censured him.

"Maybe she doesn't trust us to keep her secret," Kruloz suggested.

"I'd be suspicious too. The truth is that it hasn't been easy. I don't know if the count has believed everything about the mysterious warrior," Krinia doubted.

"Well, she herself said that she was a nightwalker. If not, we wouldn't have passed Fibakra's skill," Kroquia shrugged.

"Don't remind me that. I couldn't stop sweating," Krongo acknowledged.

Suddenly, someone brought a chair and sat at their table. They stared at the woman, who wore a pendant that identified her as a merchant, while wondering what she wanted.

"Seriously, you could be a little more discreet. Anyone could hear you," she reproached them.

"Kigja!" Krinia exclaimed.

They all recognized the voice, and more than one blushed, somewhat embarrassed. They thought no one was listening to them, but if she had heard them, it meant that they really had been a bit indiscreet.

"You should be careful. Falsifying a merchant's identification is a serious crime," Kroquia reprimanded her, somehow trying to cover up the group's little blunder, especially her brother's.

"It isn't false. It's one of my identities," she shrugged.

The others looked at her in surprise. They didn't expect her to have a real merchant certificate.

"If you're a merchant, then it won't be easy to enter the dungeon. You need to be an adventurer, and not a rookie," Krinia worried.

"Oh, no problem. I can use my adventurer identity. If this one doesn't work, I have others..." Gjaki assured, while showing her nightwalker badge.

"How... How many identities do you have?" Krongo asked, surprised.

The vampiress was silent for a few seconds. She remembered her original one, several adventurers, merchants, tailors... There were really many.

"I don't know. Maybe twenty? I don't remember all of them..."

They stared at her, stunned. Although they soon found it, to a certain extent, natural. It was logical to want to hide her identity as a vampire.

Suddenly, one of them stood up and bowed.

"My name is Kroco, son of the Count of Kronardhi. I deeply appreciate you saving our lives."

Gjaki stared at him. It took her a few seconds to react to what she hadn't expected.

"Nice to meet you. I'm glad to see you less pale. I am Kingja..."

She sighed inwardly after saying her fake name. She had decided to trust them, and it didn't make much of a difference either, but she didn't know whether to reveal her real name. Besides, there could be people listening, perhaps keeping an eye on the count's children.

Without a doubt, it was Kroco who felt most uncomfortable in Gjaki's presence. She was a vampire, and he didn't know her like the others, since he had been unconscious the whole trip. However, his friends and his sister had told him a lot about her. Also, at first impression, she didn't seem so terrible.

In fact, everyone was a little surprised to see that she was less distant than on the trip. Although it wasn't that strange. After all, back then, she had to hide her identity.