A History Through Blood

With their hunger now subsided, the crowd of villagers all dispersed to the shelters of their homes. Kahina collapsed on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal. She listened to the steady rain fall onto the rotting straw roof as she lay on the uneven ground. Previous experiences in overly crowded markets, filled with merchants aggressively pushing their wares on those passersby, failed to compare to the almost manic desperation of the villagers who had surrounded their wagons. Only her exposure with-in the environment of the temporary treatment center was close to what she had felt in the heart of the chaos. Had she not had the support of Victoria's mercenaries, her entire inventory would've been ransacked, leaving her destitute.

“When you are ready,” Victoria called “We need to review our inventory.” Her lessons under Victoria were generally focused on the basic principles of migratory trading. Usually relating to the tried-and-true concepts of supply and demand. The simple example was the relationship between the gold and salt trades with-in Mali, as the mining cities deep in the jungle lacked ways to procure salt. Conversely large trading hubs, like Timbuktu, were always in demand for gold and could trade excess salt from their region. Thus, a safe investment was to travel between the two locations to make a profit based on the discrepancy of value in each region.

As Victoria and Juliana worked to organize their newly acquired stock, Rose began calculating how long their severely depleted provisions would last. Her estimation was two days, assuming they did not find or hunt additional food. If they left the following day, they should be able to backtrack to the last village they encountered. Their horses were already unsettled, only their constant and calming assurances prevented them from trying to flee.

Victoria used this down time to continue her lessons on trading, focusing particularly on minimizing losses. “This village is an abnormal case, as our hand would be forced in one way or another. Either we would have to forcibly pacify a large number of people or lose most of our stock. Both would cause issues, either for the use of heavy force or loss of inventory due to uncontrolled theft. By making a third alternative that is not heavily taxing, they were sufficiently placated as to abide by the standard practices of trade.”

Kahina made mental notes, having not fully realized the effect that petty theft had on merchants up until now. She had heard of multiple complaints from merchants during her time as the harbor master's slave, as necessity due to poverty was sufficient cause to permit such actions. Only now that she had to manage her own budgeting, did she realize how little charitable loss could be sustained in the long run. On this occasion Victoria had voluntarily absorbed the loss in goods, either out of a sense of effective seniority or because she knew of ways to gain advantage from the situation.

“Usually,” Victoria continued as she twisted vines together. “Most people are hesitant to simply steal your wares, unless they are accustomed to such things over a prolonged period of time. In the event that you cannot avoid those situations, one should either aim to minimize losses or seek compensation from those with-in the area. Few want the flow of trade to stop, so either the town watch or central figures in the community will often step in to make amends in some manner.” This lecture continued while the large volume of fauna was being assessed, sorting them while their guards rotated watch.

“In this instance,” Victoria continued, examining an unusual tuber. “I decided to employ speculative trading to recoup some of the losses. One method of trading is guessing what customers might want in the future, purchasing it during periods where it holds little value. During times of peace, weapons of war usually gather dust in armories. However, if you can acquire a supply of weaponry with the expectation of conflict, you can sell them at a premium when such demand materializes. This goes for any commodity, as long as you know customers on both ends of the transaction.” “So...” pondered Kahina, slowly rising from the bare soil. “You purchased miscellaneous plants in bulk, because you knew potential buyers or uses that could yield greater profit. Making such a trade offer would likely pacify most of the crowd, as the risk to their safety would be greatly diminished.” A simple nod, all but confirmed her extrapolation.

The lesson was interrupted by the arrival of a Dogon sorcerer, various trinkets ringing like bells from his long staff. Strangely, Victoria had quickly donned her vulture-like medicinal mask before he had even approached their lodgings. Only her exposed hands could be visible to their visitor, buried deep with-in the gathered fauna. Strangely, both Julianna and Rose had disappeared, in all likelihood retreating into the woods with some unknown goal in mind. Most of their escorting guards were busy creating a cooking fire, having recruited the priests to help start preparing their own food.

“Welcome...” greeted the peculiar man, who would've been considered strange by the standards of many sorcerers. “I am Ambonisye, Sorcerer of this village.” The sight of the odd avian mask seemed to cause confusion, likely due to the cultural differences between the two. To him, the leather visage represented a supernatural entity possessing a mortal body, something which few would do casually. In contrast, Victoria used it to keep miasma away while she practiced medicine, whilst hiding her identity as a bi-product. “Return the greetings,” instructed Victoria. “I suspect he has some measure of supernatural sight and is trying to guess what spirit has seemingly claimed my body.” “Thank you Ambonisye, your hospitality is appreciated.” Kahina translated, still taking in the crooked man's appearance.

“Your visit is most fortunate.” Ambonisye said, appearing to mask his confusion by shifting his posture to his other leg. “Our village has fallen on hard times, you see. One minor misunderstanding has led to much suffering, yes. I heard of your generosity earlier... and your propensity for herbs, perhaps I could interest you in a steady supply of them.” “Unfortunately,” Kahina translated, trying to maintain a firm and diplomatic tone. “We are unlikely to return to this region for many years, so it is unlikely that we can provide any assistance with this matter.”

Ambonisye ignored her attempts to politely turn down their offer, further pushing his desires. “Once you have seen the quality of my plants, you will see the value in such an exchange. Come, let me show you. A true merchant dealing in quality herbs will surely see the value in such things.” Kahina exchanged a look with Victoria, realizing his forceful attempts to manipulate their actions. “Regardless of what your village can offer,” she reinstated. “We have a predetermined course, which we are unable to change.”

“How about this?” the sorcerer proposed, pointing his staff to the skies. “Come inspect my personal garden yourself, if they do not interest you; consider this matter dropped.” Ambonisye patiently waited while they quickly debated the offer, neither were keen on accepting due to his demeanor. Both agreed that if his plants were as valuable as he claimed, the village would not be in its current state. “Accept the invitation. We will take Arthur and one of the mercenaries with us to investigate their crop. It will at least allow us to assess the full situation.” Victoria decided, quickly preparing her usual supernatural incense while their escorting guards were gathered.

As they walked towards the sorcerer's home, they noticed numerous astral figures scattered across the town. All held the same gaunt and vacant expression, unbothered by the constant light downpour. While some were ancestral spirits that continued to watch over their village in death, others were bestial in nature with varying resemblance to wild animals. Each guardian had some combination of collars, brands or other marks that forced servitude on their wearer.

Their group did their best not to react to the scattered guardians as they passed by. It took considerable effort to avoid showing their emotions, ranging from fear to anger. This was not helped by the countless ebony scorpions that wandered unchecked throughout the village, something which only those with supernatural sight would be able to see. There was evidently some force was suppressing the village, which Victoria had speculated was parasitic in nature. However, there was little supporting evidence for her theory.

When they arrived at the surprisingly well-maintained garden, Kahina found a number of large and healthy plants. Calmly, Victoria went to inspect them under the greedy watch of the sorcerer, identifying the more common ones as: Isa, Igi Oloro and Boesmangif*. She had only seen a few of them in person and had heard reports of the others, all of them used due to their inherent toxicity. “Give him some praise for the high quality of his crop.” Instructed Victoria, caressing a vine to check on its health. “But, tell him we deal with honest merchants. These dangerous plants have no place among their wares.”

“So,” inquired Ambonisye. “What do they think of my garden?” “She is surprised by the quality of the vines.” Kahina started, trying to formulate the eventual rejection. “There are many here which she has only heard in passing from passing travelers. However, they are not something she can openly sell.” Shock filled his face at her answer as she continued translating the decision. “Most of these appear to have uses in... covert markets, which we do not engage with.”

As she continued to argue with Ambonisye, Victoria slowly rose to her feet, as to make a passing comment to Arthur. “Could you release some of your aura. Something is trying to influence our decisions.” With a simple nod, the priest closed his eyes in silent prayer. Soon warmth fell over their party, dispelling the creeping doubts forming in their mind. “For the last time,” Kahina exclaimed. “We cannot carry or sell poisons on the open market; at best we would have our wares confiscated at the first instance it is identified. This discussion is over.” She switched over to English to further vent her frustrations, leaving the sorcerer alone in the light rain. “I... understand.” Ambonisye relented, reluctantly accepting that he could not persuade them.