Release That Witch

These days, Theo spent his time in the Inner City's inn waiting anxiously for Border Town's reply.     

The tall inner city wall divided the king's city into two different worlds. There was strict control on entering and exiting. Whether they were nobles or merchants, everyone had to be checked in a small room at the entrance, and if they had any sign of illness, such as fever, flushing or black spots, they would not be allowed to enter. If Theo left the Inner City area, he would have to return in the evening, or else, once the sun sets, the gate would be locked and he would spend the night outside.     

However, these policies did not prevent the demonic plague from spreading. He heard rumors the previous day that there were nobles in the Inner City area who were infected. Had the church not finally release the first batch of holy medicine, the nobles would probably have gathered and left the king's city.     

On the sixth day after sending out the letter, Theo finally received news from Margeret's Chamber of Commerce. He hurried over to the agreed place - a tailor shop, where he was led into the basement by a shop assistant. The lady of the Chamber had been waiting for a long time.     

Margaret sat upright beside a low table, on which there was a jar of iced water that continually gave off cold air. While still profusely sweating, Theo walked to the opposite side of the table from her and sat cross-legged. He felt a cool breeze blowing against his face at once, and was immediately invigorated.     

"His Highness has asked me to hand this letter to you." She passed to him a folded sheepskin envelope, which seal seemed to be completely intact.     

Theo impatiently opened the envelope and took out the letter. On it was a brief of the action plan, news of the First Army's set-off, as well as the tasks which Theo had to complete. After carefully reading through the letter once, he stolidly placed the letter in his pocket and looked at Margaret. "Did His Highness request anything from you?"     

"No. All he did was to have the carrier pigeons send this letter. Of course, sending messages by express will require a fee, which I've already recorded in the accounts."     

"Ahem, I see." Theo cleared his throat. "His Highness needs to fetch all of the refugees back to the Western Region within a very short time. Therefore, he hopes that you can provide him with a large number of ships that'll be used for non-stop transportation, instead of just one or two fleets."     

"Even if they're infected?" Margaret conjectured with interest. "I believe that His Highness certainly won't want to turn the entire Western Region into a land of death, so... has he found a cure for the plague?"     

"Indeed so." He nodded his head. "In fact, they discovered infected people on the first fleet, but it didn't spread and was only discovered upon reaching Border Town. At present, they're on their way back to the king's city, and all of the ship's crew are in good shape."     

"His Highness is truly an incredible person. Even the church didn't bring out the antidote so soon." Margaret gasped in admiration. "How many days does he intend to take to transport the refugees? A week?"     

Theo raised three fingers.     

"This... impossible!" The female merchant was stunned for a moment, and shook her head in disapproval. "Even if half of these people died, there would still be more than 5,000 of them. Transporting them within three days means that I'll have to prepare close to 100 ships. Even if the chamber's other ships stop their ongoing operations for the sake of this, there'll only be just enough ships. But if so, my losses will probably amount to thousands of gold royals, while the subsequent loss of customers can't be counted. Even free steam engines won't be sufficient to offset a portion of these numbers. Therefore... pardon me for my rejection."     

"If the people onboard sat on the deck instead of sleeping in cabins with bed boards, the capacity of a ship can be doubled." Theo contended. "If comfort isn't a factor, the two-masted sailing ships usually used for transporting ores can also be employed. With the hatch opened, these ships will be able to fetch around 200 people each time. Your old friend, Hogg, should have many ships like this, right?"     

"He indeed has several large ships like this in Silver City..." Margaret appeared a little hesitant. "And according to your calculation, the number of ships can be reduced to around 50 or so. But... this isn't a good deal nevertheless."     

Theo thought the same way. In order to assemble dozens of ships on the canal, the scheduling and coordination alone would be extremely exhausting. Furthermore, the chartering fees would not all go into his pocket, and yet the task demanded lots of thought and effort from him. If the reward was not high, it could not be a good deal in any way. Thus, he could only use his last resort.     

At the end of the letter, His Highness had written a short line: If Margaret is unwilling to help, tell her that Lightning is coming as well.     

This line was puzzling. [Does Margaret have a special relationship with that lively and adorable golden-haired young girl? By appearance, it doesn't look that way at all... but His Highness must have his reasons for saying this.] Having thought this far, Theo opened his mouth and spoke slowly, "There're no alternatives but to transport the refugees within three days. What Roland is doing is akin to snatching food from a tiger's mouth. If it takes too long, the church will likely go to his doorsteps. Lightning is also in this contingent, and there'll be danger if they discover the presence of witches."     

"What did you say?" She raised her voice a notch suddenly. "Lightning's coming as well?"     

"That's what it says in His Highness' letter." Theo acted as honest as he could. "Probably to lead the way and provide early warnings of danger to the contingent. This is the new king Timothy's territory after all."     

"I got it." Margaret stood up at once. "When do you need the ships?"     

"Probably in four days, if they don't get sidetracked along the way."     

"I'll do my best to arrange it." She walked over to her desk, lifted up a pen, and quickly wrote down something. "But I have one condition. You must inform me of the position where His Highness' contingent stations. If they intend to enter the city, I'll also be able to arrange adequate lodgings."     

[Alright, seems like this method is indeed effective,] Theo thought. "This won't be a problem, I think," Theo replied while chuckling to himself, "and I have something else that needs your help."     

"Speak." Margaret sighed.     

"I need a team of carriages for transporting beer barrels. The greater the number of barrels, the better. Don't fill them with ale or wine, but instead river or well water." According to the explanation in His Highness' letter, the key person for curing this plague would be Lily. She could turn plain water into medicine for this disease. However, there was a huge flaw in this plan. The Rats must never be allowed to get close to the First Army's camp. If they found out that there was someone in the camp who could continuously produce the "holy medicine", Theo would bet that this news would be all over town the next day.     

"River and well water?" She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"     

"Don't worry, His Highness will pay for this service," Theo replied, laughing.     

Due to secrecy and safety considerations, he would have to personally transport these barrels between the First Army's camp and the king's city. If he brought one barrel at a time to cure the plague, like when treating the Eastern Region refugees, it would not only be troublesome but also very ineffective. Thus, he had to think of a way to transport as much purified water as he could in one go.     

On the surface, storing the water in large beer barrels mounted on four-wheeled carriages seemed like a good choice.