Chapter 453: Forbidden Goods
"What, what do you need me to buy that would cost this much?" Hugo said as he peeked within the pouch, his eyes widening at the amount. At a quick glance, Hugo estimated that it was more than four times the amount of wealth they’d taken to Blackwell County to cover the expenses of their journey. With that much coin, a family could retire and live the rest of their days in modest comfort even in expensive cities to the east, to say nothing about how far the coin would go in the still-developing Frontier.
"Something for Lady Ashlynn that you weren’t able to obtain in Blackwell City?" Hugo offered, trying to think of what could be so extravagant that his lord would need to reach so deeply into his personal funds. He knew that Owain had been frustrated when they ran short during the trip, but wasn’t this an excessive overcorrection?
"I need the venom of a spider demon," Owain said bluntly, lacing his fingers together and giving both men a hard stare. "You understand that no one must learn of this, don’t you? Sir Rian has earned a bit of my trust on the battlefield against the flat tailed demons, but Hugo, with this, I’m trusting you with far more than you’ve earned. You know what that means, don’t you?"
"Don’t worry a bit, m’lord," Rian said, his thick, meaty hand landing solidly enough on Hugo’s back to knock the wind out of the slender man before he could answer. "I’ll watch over him while he does this thing for you. No one will learn of it. You have my word. His, too," he added, slapping Hugo on the back again.
"But, but my lord," Hugo said, gasping for air and taking half a step to the side to put some distance between himself and the portly knight. "Spider demon venom is prohibited by the Church as an unholy evil. Just possessing it is a sin worthy of one hundred lashes in full view of a congregation. Using it..."
"That isn’t your concern, Hugo," Owain said sharply. Seeing his steward sniviling like this only made his temper worse. Sir Kaefin would never have whined or sniveled or mentioned punishments for anything that Owain needed done, but this bastard wasn’t even a quarter of the man Sir Kaefin had been. "You just need to buy it and deliver it to me. Then, you’re to forget you ever touched it. You understand?"
"I understand," Hugo said, giving a formal bow, though his shoulders were slumped as he did. "But my lord," he added hesitantly. "I wouldn’t begin to know where to look for something so..."
"Of course you wouldn’t," Owain interrupted. "You’re far too useless for that. But you don’t need to worry, it isn’t as hard to obtain as you think. Tell me, do you know of a man called the ’Black Merchant’?" Owain asked. Hugo shook his head, but a slow smile appeared on Sir Rian’s unshaven face.
"He’s real then, m’lord?" Rian asked, restraining himself from rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "A man who can sell you anything? Essence of poppy or cigars raided from demon strongholds or..."