Chapter 64 – Verification

"I'm Tila Urtek, a merchant from Geola. I'm here to make a long-term contract with one of the farmers from this village."

They scrutinized me for a moment before the same guard took a bundle of papers from a pouch hanging on his waist.

"Do you know any other merchant from the city?"

"I do."

"Give me their names, what goods they trade in, and describe their appearance."

I did just so, choosing the three merchants I knew about. Giya was one of them and I added the one who was reselling my selnic items and the potter merchants I chatted with just before. As I talked, the man seemed to check the facts with whatever was written on his documents. Eventually, he nodded after writing something.

"Good. You can go inside. Don't cause any trouble, we have the right to execute you without trial. If your business goes well, you won't need to be stopped at the entrance next time you come here."

"I understand. Can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Do you know any farmer looking for a long-term deal with a trader?"

The two men sent a quick look behind them, at the village, and I couldn't help noticing some disdain in their expression.

"No. Ask inside."

"All right. Have a good day."

I left the two guards behind and entered the place. The village was relatively big, made of several hundred houses. Contrary to what I expected, there were no guards inside, all of them keeping themselves to the entrances and one building that seemed to serve as a barrack. The rest of the inhabitants were mostly made of a species I was seeing for the first time, which was no doubt the famous bunnies.

They were a small-sized species, at least compared to me. The tallest ones were only slightly taller than half my height. They walked on two feet and possessed long thin ears that stretched upward from their head. Most of them had black eyes together with completely white fur, giving them an overall harmless and gentle feeling.

This contrasted with their great dynamism. The ones working in the fields had tools almost as big as their size and they swung them with great enthusiasm. Others were going around at a brisk pace, moving toward their destination with a spring in their legs. Even though the population was not that high, it felt like there were bunnies everywhere since they moved around so busily.

I looked around for some time before finding a woman who didn't seem to be too much in a hurry. She was calmly sweeping the front of her house while watching her fellow species going around. Inevitably, our eyes met, and I moved in her direction.

"Hello, ma'am. Can I ask a question?"

She stopped her task to answer me.

"Hello, young man. Of course, go ahead."

"I'm a trader from Geola and I'm looking to establish a long-term deal to buy food. Do you know if there's anyone currently in need of a trading partner?"

She laughed lightly, seemingly in a good mood.

"It might be fate, then. My husband's previous trading partner retired some time ago and he was looking for someone else."

"That's a great coincidence. Oh, my name is Tila Urtek. A pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Waja Muyal. My husband's name is Zay. Let me guide you to him."

She opened her door, put her broom inside, and waved at me to follow her. Now that she was walking, she was also advancing fast like the other bunnies, which allowed her to have a similar pace to mine considering her height. We crossed the village and moved toward the fields. After a couple of minutes, Waja paused in front of a specific one, where a bunny was working on plowing the soil to prepare it for seeding.

"Darling! Someone wants to talk to you!"

The bunny looked our way at his wife's call. He smiled as he saw her before turning his attention to me. After carelessly leaving his tool in the field, he quickly walked to our position.

"Hello. I'm Zay Muyal. Do you need anything from me?"

"Nice to meet you, my name’s Tila Urtek. I'm a merchant from Geola and your wife told me you were looking for a trading partner. It seems our interests align.”

The man sent a grateful glance at his wife. He then grinned at me happily.

"Indeed! What sort of quantity would you like to buy and how often?"

"Zay."

At his wife's call, the bunny was startled for a second.

"Oh, where's my mind, this isn't the best place to talk. Since we're here already, do you want to check the fields?"

"With pleasure."

He finally left the field and climbed on the road. He extended his arms in several directions while telling me to follow him.

"From here to there. And from that point to there. And then that one too. For a total of nine full-sized fields."

"That's a lot. Are you able to handle all of this by yourself?"

"Not by myself. See the kids over there? They're my children. They're old enough to carry their weight and they do a good job in the fields."

There were indeed three bunnies in one of the fields he pointed at. Two of them were smaller while the last one was about the same height as the mother. Except for the mother who wore a pink dress, the four bunnies had working clothes resembling overalls. When the children noticed us, their parents waved at them a little and they responded with hands waving of their own, looking at me with curiosity.

"Everyone's working hard. What crops are you growing?"

"We have wheat, barley, corn, sugar beet, potatoes, cabbage, onions, cucumber, and carrots."

Some of these crops were what I was looking for while some were not. I wondered how flexible he would be about what was growing in his fields.

Just as I was lost in thoughts, the wife interrupted us again.

"Dear, it's better to talk inside the house."

"Oh, yes, of course. Please come with me."

The three of us made our way back to their living place.

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