The Master Of Elements

ME 40 Suiria City

Five days later….

“Welcome to Suiria” City such is the writing that Matthew read from a distance.

When compared to the previous stop, Suiria City was indeed arguably a big city. During this time they only make stops in small villages along the route of travel. Matthew did not find the city at all during the trip.

If before after arriving at the destination Caravan Gold Mine will directly enter the village. This time it is not. This time they dropped off the passengers who had joined the caravan a hundred meters from the city gate.

Matthew remembered that they needed to pay the rate of entry into the city. Maybe this is why the passengers were dropped off here. The Gold Mine caravan was not responsible for the tariffs they needed to pay to be able to enter Suiria City.

“Grandpa John do we need to get off also here?” ellie asked when she saw some passengers getting off.

“We're down too. Anyway we need to move our muscles a little.” John said as he opened the train door.

Seeing John open the door of his carriage, a bodyguard from the Gold Mine Caravan rushed over to John.

“Master why did you get off? You don't have to get off the train. Simon's boss will take care of the fare to the city. So you don't have to get off the train. You just sit inside. Soon the train will be entering the city.” Said the guard.

Cold sweat ran down the bodyguard's back. If his boss finds out that John got off the train before they entered the city, and he doesn't forbid it, he might get beat up.

His boss has already told me how important John is. He also saw for himself John's ability in fighting a few days ago.

For that they must provide maximum service as a form of gratitude to John. He could not let John down and would rather walk into the city than ride their train. At least he should try as hard as possible to prevent John from getting off the train.

“I still have other business. So I won't be coming with you guys after this.”

John took out a small bag. From the sound of kemericik heard from the bag, it can be ascertained that the bag contains money. John threw the small bag at the guard. With a reflex the bodyguard caught the pouch thrown by John.

“Give that to your Boss. That's what we need to pay for during this trip. Tell him I'm not going with your party to go to Greenwood. I still have other business.”

Without waiting for a response from the bodyguard, John walked away from the train. Matthew and his two younger siblings rushed after John who looked a little rushed. They then mixed among the crowd of people who were walking towards Suiria City.

In addition to the Gold Mine Caravan, there are several other caravans that are also dropping their passengers. So the small group of three people is very easy to blend in between the crowd.

…

“Grandfather John, why don't we continue our journey together with the Gold Mine Caravan?” Matthew asked curiously.

Isn't everything okay? Why did John suddenly change his plans?

“There was a change of plans. It is better for you to be quiet right now and not talk too much. I'll take you guys somewhere.” John took it quite seriously.

‘Matthew do you know why the plan changed?’ jasper asked by telepathy.

‘I don't know Jas either. Let's follow Grandpa John's words. Maybe Grandpa John will explain all this to us later.’ Answer Matthew.

Hearing John's words just now, the three children followed John's orders. They followed John in silence. As they approached the gate, they orderly followed the queue. After paying the fare, John invites the two children to enter the city.

The atmosphere in the city can be said to be quite crowded. Just entering the city, a small group of four people was presented with a view of the crowd. From what Matthew heard, most of the people gathered were people who would go to another city by following the merchant caravan.

It looks more like a terminal in Matthew's previous life. Matthew heard some people shouting to offer their services. It seems like this is the usual thing that happens in this world when someone is going to travel out of town.

Matthew understands the dangers that may be faced if traveling between cities. The safest way is to join a merchant caravan. Didn't Matthew see for himself one of those dangers?

John took the two brothers through small alleys not far from the crowd. Although there is a road that is large enough and worth to pass, John prefers to take Matthew and the second through a small alley filled with boxes of goods and some garbage scattered.

After half an hour down the narrow alleys, John took Matthew and his two younger siblings to a small, seedy-looking shop. “Pawning House Old Man Tom”. Such is the writing on the board above the store. The atmosphere inside the pawn house looks quite messy.

Some items look not neatly arranged on the shelves in the pawn house. Not only messy, Matthew even saw thick dust enveloping the objects. This place is completely unkempt according to Matthew.

At the cashier's desk Matthew saw a middle-aged man asleep with his head lying on the table. Around the table Matthew saw several empty bottles and pea skin scattered about.

All of that shows that this place is really an unworthy place to serve guests. Matthew did not understand why the owner of this pawn house did not want to take care of his place. In fact, a good and comfortable place can make many visitors come to their place.

John also approached the man who was asleep at the cashier's desk. He then knocked on the cashier's desk. Matthew thought John knocked on the table to wake the sleeping man. But Matthew was wrong. There was a rhythm of the beats performed by John. It's like a secret code.

Geck, tok.

Geck.

Geck, tok, tok.

Geck, tok.

Geck.

That's the rhythm of the beat John did. Not long after John knocked on the table, the man who had fallen asleep there woke up.  He immediately swept his gaze over their entourage before finally staring at John.

“There can I help?” Asked the man a little lazily.

“I want to buy arak belonging to Old Man Tom. I heard he is a very famous wine maker in Suiria.” Answer John slowly.

“You want to buy wine? The price will not be cheap.” Said the man still in a lazy tone.

“I know, the price will definitely not be cheap. If the wine made by Old Man Tom is really good, then I want to pay anything for the wine. So can I taste the wine?”

“You have to pay two gold coins first. After that I'll let you in.”

Without waiting any longer, John took out two gold coins and threw them at the table.

“Alright you can enter.” The man stood up and opened the door not far from the cashier's desk. “You only need to travel in this aisle. Old man Tom is at door number nine. Don't forget to knock on the door before entering.”

The hallway meant by the man looked very dark. Matthew and his brothers had a hard time seeing what was behind the darkness.

Without saying much more, John entered the door followed by Matthew and his two younger siblings, who looked a little reluctant. The place is too suspicious, according to Matthew. But because John was with them, inevitably the three entered the hall.

Moments after the three entered the passageway, the door behind them was slammed quite hard.

Bams.

Hearing this, Matthew and his two sisters jumped in shock. They were very close to the door. So it was quite surprising for both.

Not long after the door closed, the originally dark hallway turned bright. One by one the lights attached to the wall are on. Although there is already lighting, but the atmosphere there is still dim.

John continued his steps in silence. It seems that the man still has no intention of explaining why they changed the plan that John had said before. Why would John take them to a place like this.