Patching the hole

"Excuse me sir merchant, may I have a word with you?" He heard a sweet delicate feminine tone behind, forcing goosebumps for the better.

His arm hair raised in a heartbeat from excitement and turning around, the man almost fell into shock because of the butterflies invading his stomach.

He has the pleasure of witnessing a 5.6 foot tall lady, possibly in her late twenties. Carrying the most gorgeous golden hair reaching down to her waist, tied like a tail.

Her slim face with freckles above her cheeks compliments her golden hair more than one can believe.

Her brown eyes glowing bright grants this lady more beauty and she sure seems to care for health.

She is, as one would describe her in these times, a flawlessly beautiful woman.

But what got this man through this burst of emotion is the fact of knowing her, this lady is more than just a stranger to him.

But why did this fine woman act like she approached a stranger? Well any passersby has to be convinced that these two don't know each other.

Simply to not drag anymore attention than she already is. The goal is to blend in with the rest but it is rather hard with all the men directly looking at her.

"Miss Z... how can I help y..." He replied loudly due to being nervous.

But was interrupted by the woman in front of him who gives a loud agitated whisper. "Be quiet you fool! Do you want the entire city to know who I am? My name here is Ursa."

"I... I'm sorry, please get in my Wagon." Afterwards to fight off attention he echoes in a louder tone, "I can transport it to you as long as you have the coins."

"Z" smirked once spotting that the merchant finally came back to his senses and used logic to make this situation easier.

Afterwards he opened the door for Ursa and gestured to enter, like every gentleman should.

Once stepping in, she found the spot where they had their previous chat.

One bench in the front side of the Wagon and the other on the backside, complimented by a small round table in the middle.

This is the merchant's wagon and it's not for cargo but for personal space instead.

"How can I help you?" Silence was broken by the merchant once the door shut.

Looking at the closing door, waiting for him to sit firmly across her and under a low tone butchering. "You might have noticed that a lot of families want to reach Salmon river city but fail because it is 1,000 kilometers away."

Hearing what Ursa just said, the merchant could smell coins in this conversation already, so he perked his ears and further invested into the conversation.

"All of Hawk city is talking about it as far as I saw." He added, trying to make her ego bigger.

Hearing him, Z smirked and felt a bit more relief. The reason why only 10 Guards and or families left so far, is solely the lack of transportation's fault!

It is clear to see that the 5 men she hired to spread the word were surely successful.

Earning every bit of their 600 gold coins pay that they will grasp at the very end of this whole task. With 600 gold coins earned each, they will be set for life.

"I want to help these people reach a better life, they don't need to stay in this rathole of a city." She added once spotting suspicion.

Ursa wants to change the merchant's mind towards another direction instead of him simply being suspicious.

Pointing out the risk factors with no time to be suspicious, the merchant cites. "But that city belongs to the revolutionary Alliance, we will lose our heads."

Expecting this from a coin led merchant, she reminds. "You are a merchant so they can't do anything to you because it would scare other merchants away, that would harm the King's Income from imported items."

The decision for the merchants to carry out this task was thought of ever since the meeting she had with the 5 so this ain't no guessing talk.

"Fair point, what do you want me to do?" The man queries with his black eyebrows perked up.

"I have about 300 gold coins to throw at this project, are you in?" Of course she has to lie here [regarding total wealth], telling one person after the other about her employer would get her easily exposed.

So she needs to find alternative ways as this sort of information can be sold for big coin and that's why she is willing to pay big coin.

"I'm going to say what I did the first time you asked for my service, hell yes!" He yelled from the top of his lungs once reaching the end of the sentence.

"By the 3 gods, how many times do I have to tell you to be quiet!" She whispered in a very pissed off tone but secretly loved the merchant's reply.

"Sorry sorry, what do you need me to do?!" He said while rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment and his teeth shining white.

He sure seems to take care of appearance and odor. Even his black hair is clean and medium sized, fluffy but coned the way to the back of his head.

"For the next 3 months you need to find about 50 merchants with wagons that can fit a family. For example while 25 make their way to Salmon river city, the other 25 are making their way to Hawk city. That way people can be transported out of here without having to wait for 2 months." That's at least a good base to lay out the plan.

But this has to work perfectly so the merchant has to understand some other facts, therefore Ursa continues. "Every month of a specific date, merchants come here to transport people. Are you capable of doing that?"

Wanting to say yes but not guaranteeing before one point is made clear, he explains. "I need you to understand that these merchants won't do anything for free, they don't stand with any Alliance but stand for coins."

Expecting that the topic will roll down here, Ursa queries. "To travel and reach Salmon river city by Wagon, it costs about 60 bronze coins, right?"

"Yes prices range from 60 to 100, it depends on the Merchant." He explained using his fingers for a better presentation although it got a bit confusing.

Pitching a solution, patching the hole of this problem, Ursa demands. "You will pay all of the 50 merchants, 150 bronze coins per transfer but of course I will give you all the coins you need."

Taking safety measures into consideration, she also adds. "When they ask who is supporting this project you will describe me as the 'employer' and not tell them who I am or else you will be risking my neck, and yours."

The merchants would throw 150 bronze coins [15 silver] for 10,000 bronze coins anyday so only one man can be trusted with this, not 50.

Even if merchants run to the King and snitch about this merchant giving coins like there is no tomorrow, the King can't do anything about it.

"150 coins... do you realize how much you will need to pay each month to support this... project?" Asked the merchant feeling in shock, puzzled if she is joking around or not.

Prepared for everything this merchant said or is to say about this deal, Ursa casually answers. "75 gold coins a month, as I said don't worry about that."

Judging from her calm tone, the merchant is sure that this lady isn't messing around so he gets to the most important part. "And what about my p..."

"After 3 months when you successfully transported at least 300 guards you will earn a pay of 800 gold coins." Paying this merchant such a handsome sum would cut the chances of him snitching, next to zero.

She is throwing wealth just to make this plan firmer, we are talking about 80,000 bronze coins here!

Hearing what Usra just spoke off, he smirked, reached out his hand and whispered. "Deal."

Reaching out her hand to shake his, replying in a joking tone. "Oh so now you know how to be quiet?"

Hearing her joke around made him feel like butterflies invaded his stomach once more and his heart felt fulfilled.

Butterflies are nice and all but business still has to be spoken off. "I need a few days to get this plan together though, will ask a few friends I trust. They will gather other friends they trust and so on and so on."

Still not letting go of the handshake, he formed a firmer slightly tighter grip and adds. "So whoever you are paying to spread the word in the city, please wait a few days first, 5 days at max."

Letting go of her hand, leaving her bewildered but also with an internal blush she refused to give into.

Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind in this moment, each question raging around paranoia although she keeps a half smile on her face.

"How could he know?"

"Is he really that smart to catch on this quickly?!"

"Was my fake background story not believable enough?"

"What if he rats me out."

"I hope the King wouldn't pay more than 1,000 for this sensitive information."

"Is he trying to squeeze information out of me?"

"There is also one other thing I need you to bring from Salmon river city but I'm not sure you can provide such... let's say tool." Her tone changed to thicker when she broke the silence, changing the subject and not agreeing to what he just said to fight off suspicion.

"What is it? I probably can find what you are looking for." He claimed with a bit of confidence.

Direct, no intent to beat around the bush, Ursa answers. "I need a ship here after 2 months!"