Chapter 460: Hollow Shade Docks Part 1
…1 hour before dusk…
The sun was beginning to set over the western horizon though there were still several dozens of ships moored at the docks. Sailors covered in sweat carried crates and goods wrapped in netting up ramps and onto the decks of ships.
The process of evacuation had taken days. Most proprietors at the docks, such as tavern masters and brothel owners, had already gone into the city, taking their people and merchandise with them. But the merchants who had stored countless goods in the warehouse docks were not so lucky. If they didn’t wish to leave behind most of their fortune to the valley tribes, then they had to cram as much of their wares onto their ships as possible. And that is exactly what they did.
Despite the extra coin, many sailors had refused to work so many extra hours and had simply left on other ships, or gone into the city, even if it meant losing their jobs. Which made the job of the sailors who remained that much harder, and to the chagrin of the merchants, that much slower too.
The merchant Bizun, a man who dealt with fine art ceramics, the likes of which were seen in the homes of lords, watched over his sailors toiling away, from the comforts of his chair. He was outside at the edge of the dock ramp, refusing to leave the oversight of the transfer of his goods to anyone else. A servant had brought him a large cushioned chair and stood by him, in case he needed anything else. Which he always did.
“What’s taking them so long? Lazy bastards,” Bizun muttered angrily.
The sailors had been toiling away all day and still, they hadn’t even moved the largest vases onto his three ships. It usually took 3 men to carry the 2 meter-tall vases, but after almost half his sailors had quit yesterday, the sailors were forced to carry the vases with only two men a piece.
His men had sworn they were the hardest working sailors in Dusk Valley, and yet here they were, moving at a snail's pace. And so Bizun was forced to oversee them all day under the summer sun. The cool winds of the river had done little to cool him off. Thankfully the sun was setting, but his body still felt like it was melting.
Bizun leaned back in his chair and wiped the sweat off his brow with his pudgy hands. “I need a drink.”