Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 176 Hound Dog Tavern

The so-called campsite is a wall of logs surrounded by empty spaces next to roads, the most important of which are deep wells that provide a safe and clean source of water for incoming and outgoing merchants and travellers. The first two camps were empty, dust piled up in fallen leaves, and Uncle Osk took a break from the horses, fed them some oats and fresh water, and returned to the road after more than a decade.

By the time we reached the third camp site, hundreds of people were resting there. Soldiers dressed as guards came to each other for questioning before realizing that this was a labour camp redeployed from Chanyalal County to Bai Lu City, with more than 500 people and more than a dozen wagons loaded with logistical heavy supplies under the custody of a guard squadron. Unlike Claude's long-distance carriage, the camp relies on two legs, and they have been on the road for almost a decade, estimated to take two days to reach White Deer City.

Claude found that the servant who served his labour did not seem as miserable as he had imagined. The clothes on him, although some old, did not look broken and looked good, obviously enough to fill his stomach. Though the guards scolded him a few times and did not hug him around, they also clustered together not far away to comment on Uncle Osk's carriage and even uttered some unspeakable words.

The captain of the guard squadron heard that Uncle Osk and Claude were still on their way, looked up at the sky, shook their heads, and thought it would be best to spend the night with them camping here to keep them safe. Because they heard the wolves howling in the morning as they took a break from Hesson's town at the first camp over there. It will start to be dark, it is already over 5: 00, it will take at least two or three hours to get to Hesse town, it is not a good idea to drive overnight in the Black Forest area.

But Uncle Osk and Claude decided to keep going, and for Claude, seven or eight wolves were no threat, not to use a crossbow shotgun, and he was sure to wipe out the wolf herd. Uncle Osk, on the other hand, believed that camping with the camp was more dangerous. He was not afraid of his own life, but of being stolen by the servants of the camp, who could not make it clear the next day and had no time to delay them.

When he got back on the road, Claude was puzzled: "Uncle Osk, didn't you say the camp was heavily guarded? I see that the guard soldiers were loose and didn't even do a good job of guarding them. I seem to feel very relieved of these servicemen...”

“This is a misdemeanor camp, where the inmates were arrested for petty theft or fighting, and they were sentenced to three to five years' hard labour. They are not so strictly cared for, because the servants know that they have gone out after a few years, but that running away would exacerbate the crime and it would not be reasonable to be sentenced to 10 years of hard labour at a time. I just stayed on the road because I didn't want to spend the night with them, and then we fell asleep and the wagon was missing something, so I can only think of my bad luck tomorrow..."

Turns out there are misdemeanors and felonies in the camp, Claude understood. Uncle Osk said that the escaping prison inmates were basically felony camps, and they were sentenced to 10 years and 20 years of hard labour, so escape was the only option, and being caught back was the same result, regardless of the heavier sentences.

The next two camps, the first safe and sound, are already the last place to rest on the Black Forest National Highway, just over an hour away from Hessen Town. It is estimated that it is around 7 o'clock, dark at night, especially in the forest, and I feel very shady and depressed. The two pulley horses stomped their feet a little uneasy in the camp. Uncle Osk called for well water, and the horses drank a few more...

When Uncle Osk arrived, he said to Claude, who stood guard at the entrance to the camp, “Get in the car, we're leaving now, we're not resting here. ”

Sure enough, just leaving the campsite, the wolves howled behind them, and it fluctuated. Claude stood up and looked back, but he didn't see a wolf following a carriage.

“We left early, the horses were already running, and the wolves were smart enough to know they couldn't get around..." Uncle Osk said: "It's okay, this is the end of the road. Go to the Hound Dog Tavern in Hessen and have a good meal. The roasted rabbit there is famous for its delicious taste, especially when the stomach is filled with fresh mushrooms and roasted on the fire rack, the meat oil is absorbed by the mushrooms, once bitten with mouth oil, it is very delicious..."

It was almost 9pm when we arrived in Hesse Town, and unlike White Deer City, there was a long chaotic stone wall on the outskirts of Hesse Town, which was covered in moss and looked ancient. Several guard soldiers guarding the entrance to the fence simply questioned Uncle Osk. They heard that they had rushed overnight from the Black Forest National Road, asked if they had encountered the wolves, and then opened the gate to allow the carriage into town.

Uncle Osk is familiar with Hessen town because every time he escorts his guests through Hessen town. He quickly arrived at the Hound's Tavern, familiar with the road, handed the carriage over to the cluttered horses and servants in the tavern, and joked aloud with them, taking Claude into the tavern lobby.

It's a little late, but the tavern lobby is lively, and a dozen more guests are sitting there drinking and chatting. There were four or five people in a corner of the hall playing cards around a table, and Claude listened and found that they were gambling, but the stakes were small, one or two sonars at a time.

Several guests in the lobby knew Uncle Osk, and he greeted him all the way to the counter: "Old Peter, get me a big room and get me some good food. Do you have any more roasted rabbits? ”

The owner of the Dog Tavern is an old man with white hair, thin, and wears a black round glasses on his nose. He looked at Uncle Ox and Claude: "Where are we going this time? Ox, there's, like, roasted rabbits in the room. I don't know if there's any more. I have to go to the stove. ”

“Kafirezt County.” Uncle Ox patted Claude's shoulder next to him: “The little guy got a conscription order from the Blue Feathers Corps, and I had to send him over there to report. ”

Old Peter pushed the glasses on his nose and looked at Claude again: “Poor little guy, just growing up, running so far away to be a soldier. Why don't you go sit over there and I'll get you something to eat. ”

“Hey, old Peter, I just forgot, you go tell the horses, feed them both three eggs, beat them in oatmeal and black beans, and tomorrow they're going a long way.” Uncle Osk called old Peter and nodded and went back to the kitchen.

Less often than not, old Peter personally brought several dishes such as white bread, rye wine, beef stewed in potatoes, fried bacon, and in the middle was a greasy, shiny rabbit.

Claude was a little strange: "Uncle Osk, isn't there a maid in this tavern? The boss also has to serve his own food...”

Uncle Osk laughed: “This will be the maid's time to make money, you will know later. Otherwise, how about a company for you at night, just three riazos...”

Not long later, Claude immediately found out what a waitress was called to make money, and a waitress came down the stairs leading to the second floor of the guest room with a tidy red face. A solo drinker waved her over, bargaining for half a day and reaching an agreement, and the waitress took the drinker to the stairs, which the drinkers sitting in the lobby ignored.

I blame Claude for not spending much time at the tavern in White Deer Town, so it's normal not to know that the waitress at the tavern works part-time. Like Catherine's sister Catherine, who works as a waitress at the Mermaid's Tavern, doesn't earn that money, but it's something else.

Uncle Osk broke the roasted rabbit open so hard that, as he said, it was filled with mushrooms that were full of gravy and smelled like meat. I forked one in my mouth with a fork and Claude nodded, really delicious, not barbecue, but full of meat, very delicious.

At a time when they were not happy, the tavern door was pushed open and two patrol officers came in and walked towards Claude's table. Say hello to the first older patrol officer and Uncle Osk, who seems to be acquainted. Immediately afterwards, he took a folder out of the black briefcase he was carrying and opened it and pulled out a registration form.

Uncle Osk hastily asked Claude to remove the Blue Feather Corps conscription order from his backpack and the badge issued to Claude by the White Deer City Administrative Center, handing it over to the older patrol officer.

Because the documents were complete, the elderly patrol officer, after being checked correctly, asked the young patrol officer next to him to copy Claude's pass onto the registration form he had taken out, and then took out a stamp under the pass. At first glance, Claude, the seal was a four-letter permit and a smaller line of Hessen Township Patrol.

Uncle Osk bought two patrol officers a glass of rye and they left.

Claude asked, "Uncle Osk, why don't you register? ”

Uncle Osk laughed: "I knew them, they knew I was a national, so they stopped checking. I don't have to go to the administrative center to apply for a laissez-passer, even if I go to a strange place and run into a check, I don't have to register anything when I come out with a national ID card. ”

Perhaps this is the greatest difference between the two classes of the Kingdom: nationals and civilians, who have relative freedom and are convenient to go anywhere, simply need to bring their national identity cards. And an adult civilian, who has to go elsewhere to apply for a laissez-passer, has to go there himself, about how long it will take to get there, how long it will take to stay when he arrives at his destination, and when he comes back, it needs to be clearly written.

Business is generally better, and people like Claude who receive conscription orders don't suffer deliberate hardship. Private business requires someone to vouch for you and must be a guarantor of national identity in order to be useful. It is also annoying to go through endless inventories, but for the civilian population, he can only be accompanied by laughter and tolerance.

This is also the main reason why, in addition to some civilians working in the merchant corps, more civilians are reluctant to go out and make a run for themselves, preferring to stay in their homes. Even if something happens, most people are asked to go out on their behalf, and a tide of work like Claude thinks people go high and water flows low is unlikely to happen in this world. Unless they suffer from irresistible natural and man-made disasters, people have the possibility to leave their homes to earn a living elsewhere.

Claude hired his long-distance carriage at a high price of two gold crowns because the cost of lodging and eating along the way was the responsibility of Uncle Oaks. But this evening was okay for Claude, and besides that roasted rabbit, it wasn't much worse than his usual diet.

After eating, Claude followed Uncle Osk to the courtyard behind the tavern, where there was a well, and the two of them wiped their bodies straight from the well, and went upstairs with a simple bag to rest in their room, and got up early tomorrow.

Uncle Osk said that the big room was actually a double room with two single beds on one left and one right against the wall. Perhaps because of unfamiliar surroundings, or because the male and female slurping sounds from the next room were too annoying, or because Uncle Osk's snoring was too loud, Claude couldn't sleep at all the first night away from home. He almost stuck up and down in bed until dawn...

After a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, Claude went to the carriage to feel better, leaving Uncle Osk to drive the wagon. Uncle Osk was right about one thing: road traffic in Ambrizeshire and Cooklia is really good, plains, roads are flat, carriages are very smooth on the roads, and there are very few bumps.

At night staying at the White Rose Tavern in the county of Cooklia County, Claude found that the cost of staying here was double that of the Hound Tavern in Hesse Town. On the third day, he passed directly through Chanyalal County and stayed at the Kellis Tavern in Niggs Township, Kruszger County, this time at Claude's own expense. He asked for an extra room, and both nights he couldn't sleep because of Uncle Osk's snoring.

The fourth morning, the carriage arrived in Limassosya County.