Claude rode Jemmie around the town and soon found out that the garrison from the prefectural capital had arrested nine people in the town.
Borkal's father, a famous merchant in Whitestag, Rubwill Bodeman, was one of them.
If Claude remembered correctly, the people arrested were guests at his father's family banquet. They were also the ones who planned the new trade route from Whitestag to Nubissia and the investors of the merchant fleet that hadn't returned yet.
It was obvious that something had happened to the merchant fleet since they hadn't returned. His father's arrest definitely had something to do with the merchant fleet.
However, Claude didn't know if the merchant fleet had been detained by the kingdom or if something had happened to them. He couldn't figure out why his father and the others would be accused of endangering the kingdom's safety.
Even if the merchant fleet was sent to Nubissia for trade, it would at most be related to smuggling and tax evasion. How could it possibly endanger the kingdom's safety?
Could it be that the merchant fleet had gotten into trouble in Nubissia's colonies?
Was that why his father and the others were arrested?
Perhaps his guess was the closest to the truth. Claude knew that if that really happened, he wouldn't be able to save his father. His top priority was to get news of his father and understand his current situation. That way, he could only look for those who could help.
At the back door of the tavern, Pjard shook his head. "I can't help you. All I know is that the garrison captured a lot of people this time, but you can go look for Kubrik.
But you can look for Kubrik. I heard that the town is going to form a garrison. This is an order from the county capital. The mayor, Baron Robert, has summoned Kubrik and the others … "
The Kubrik Pjard was talking about was Welikro's father, the top hunter in Whitestag and the honorary chairman of the hunter's guild.
The hunter's guild was a very loose organization, or rather, a self-service organization.
Almost all the hunters in the town were registered there. Their main business was to hold hunting activities, enter the depths of the mountains to hunt, and then distribute the rewards according to their harvest and contribution.
Since many hunters were used to hunting alone and the lack of prey in the forests around Whitestag had caused the number of registered hunters to dwindle.
Welikro once said that his father got drunk and complained that there wouldn't even be ten hunters in Whitestag in the future and that the youngsters weren't interested in becoming hunters anymore.
If someone were to hire hunters to hunt wild beasts in Swamp Kemda or deep in the mountains, they might not even be able to hire hunters locally.
But no matter what, if Whitestag were to form a garrison, hunters would be the best candidates.
Firstly, they were all citizens, and many of them were retired military veterans. As long as they were organized, they would be a team with a certain amount of combat power.
Secondly, the kingdom had made very detailed regulations on the establishment of the local garrison. Retired veterans were given priority and would serve as military officers. Next would be the children of good families, in other words, young civilians with clean backgrounds and no criminal records. Similarly, just like in the army, they would be granted citizenship after serving for 15 years.
The kingdom strictly forbade the local garrisons from recruiting rogues and criminals. If they were found, they would be punished immediately.
So, if Whitestag wanted to form a garrison, the hunter's guild in town had to be involved.
Otherwise, all Baron Robert had to do was give a word to the leaders of Blacksnake and the garrison would be formed immediately. The town wouldn't even have to pay a single penny.
However, Baron Robert wouldn't be able to bear the consequences of that. If someone reported him, his entire family would be done for.
Claude turned his horse around and rushed to Welikro's house. His house wasn't in town, but at the foot of the mountain to the west of town.
Welikro was at home and was disemboweling two hares. There was some wood beside him as if he was going to smoke them.
He was a little surprised to see Claude galloping over on horseback. He had just returned from catching the two hares in the morning and didn't know what happened in town. So, when he saw Claude rushing over, he thought he had something to discuss with him.
"Is your father back yet?" Claude asked Welikro's father.
"My father?" Welikro shook his head. "I don't know. Sis, is he home?"
"I went up the mountain early in the morning. My father was still sleeping at that time, so I don't know if he's home.
Why are you looking for him? "Welikro asked curiously.
"Yes, I …" Just as Claude was about to tell Welikro what happened, he saw his sister poke her head out of the window on the second floor.
"Oh, it's lil 'Claude. My father was summoned by the mayor this morning and he hasn't returned yet.
I think he probably ate lunch in town and drank cat piss before he was willing to come back drunk.
Why don't you come back at night? I think he'll be sober by then. "
"By the way, lil 'Claude, is it true that your father was arrested this morning?" Welikro's sister asked curiously as she leaned against the window.
Claude could only nod with a bitter smile.
This was the reason why bad news traveled a thousand miles while good news never left the house.
Apart from Welikro who went up the mountain early in the morning, even his sister knew about it.
"Why do you want to capture your father?" asked Welikro.
Claude shook his head. "He's accused of endangering the safety of the kingdom. I don't know the real reason either, but my father wasn't the only one who was arrested. Borkal's father was arrested as well. A total of nine people were arrested for the same crime."
Despite his stocky appearance, Welikro's mind was rather sharp. "You mean to say that something happened to the fleet?"
Welikro had long heard of the identity of the investor of the merchant fleet that hadn't returned yet and he immediately linked the two matters together.
"That's what I think too. But I don't know what happened to the fleet that even my father and the others were dragged into it." Claude was troubled.
The lack of information in this world was what he hated the most. He really missed the time when he had a mobile phone in his hand and everything under the sun was known to him.
"So you're here to ask my father about the situation?" Welikro immediately understood Claude's intentions. "But what can he do to help?"
"I heard that the town is going to set up a garrison, but I'm not sure why.
But the establishment of the garrison will definitely involve your father and the hunter's association. Didn't Baron Robert summon your father over this morning?
He's definitely going to discuss it.
If the garrison is set up, your father will be able to go in and out of the military camp.
My father and the others were captured and brought into the military camp. So, I want to ask your father if he has seen them and what their current situation is like. Do they know why they were captured? "
"Alright, I'll definitely ask him about it when my father returns."
Hearing Claude's words, Welikro agreed without hesitation. "Why don't you wait at my place for him to come back?
How about we have roast rabbit for lunch? "
"No need, I have to go back," Claude said as he climbed back onto his horse.
"The house was a mess in the morning. Mother is already bedridden because of it and I have to go back to look after my siblings. I still have to make lunch for them.
Wero, if you're free in the afternoon, help me ask around in town. See if anyone knows if there's a direct connection between the military control in town and the merchant fleet, or if anyone knows the real reason why my father and the others were arrested … "
"Alright, I'll ask around for you," said Welikro with a solemn nod.
Claude squeezed his thighs and Jemmy started trotting. "Then, I'll come to your place again at night. Please."
When he got home, he first unsaddled the black horse, Jamie, and then fed and watered it.
After that, he went to the kitchen to make some noodles and served his mother a bowl.
His mother was still lying on the bed and he briefly told her about what he found out.
When she heard that nine people were captured, she finally sat up with some vigor. Having more people was better than having less, that was how Claude comforted her.
If it was only their father who was arrested, they might not know the real situation. But now that there were so many people who were arrested, not only them, but the families of other people who were arrested would also be anxious to find out the reason. This was much better than their own family working hard.
Claude planned to visit the families of the captured people in the afternoon and ask them if they knew anything.
However, his mother started worrying. Would that be considered an illegal gathering?
Mister Morssen was arrested on charges of endangering the kingdom. Now that Claude said he was going to gather the families of the captured people, would he be dragged into the mess?
Claude didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His mother hadn't gone to school and only knew how to read and do accounts. That was what her family taught her to be a good housewife, so she didn't know much about the kingdom's laws.
Claude, on the other hand, had graduated from middle school. One semester of his grammar class was devoted to teaching his students about the law and what could be done and what couldn't be done.
After patiently communicating with his mother for a long time, Claude finally got her to understand that what she was doing wasn't against the law. Instead, it was human nature and she wouldn't be dragged into his father's case.
However, he spent the entire afternoon visiting the families of the other eight who were captured. The results were rather disappointing.
The families of the eight arrested were the same as Claude. They didn't know why their loved ones were arrested for such serious crimes.
Borkal's family was one of the better ones. After his father was arrested, his mother had already sent out a few letters asking for help to rescue her husband.
The other families were in a state of chaos. Two of the families had already been badly battered by their relatives who were fighting over the family property.
The worst case was when one of the families was arrested in the morning and his wife, who was twenty years younger than him, ran off with a servant with all the family property.
Claude finally understood what it meant to have monkeys scatter when the tree falls. He didn't find anything after running around for the entire afternoon.
He had no choice but to go home and make dinner for his mother and siblings before riding Jemmy back to Welikro's house.
Incidentally, Arbeit didn't return home at all.
During dinner, his mother lamented that he must be running around trying to find out more about his father.
Claude curled his lips and rolled his eyes at his mother's exclamation.
He was just too lazy to expose the truth. It was better to let his mother have hope for him than to be disappointed. Now that his father was arrested, his mother couldn't take any more agitation.
But when Claude arrived at Welikro's house and asked about the garrison, Welikro's father, Kubrik, started cursing him.
Of course, he wasn't cursing Claude, but Baron Robert.
Kubrik said that when he arrived at the town hall in the morning, Baron Robert told him that he received orders from the prefectural capital to set up a garrison of 224 men to prevent the town from being attacked by pirates.
That was a joke. Whitestag was located at the bottom of Sharkmouth Bay and there was a narrow waterway more than five kilometers from the bay to Whitestag.
Even the most ignorant pirate wouldn't sail his ship into Lake Balinga. If the waterway was sealed, he would be like a rat trapped in a jar of oil. He wouldn't be able to escape even if he wanted to.
So, the people gathered believed that the order from the prefectural capital was just an excuse to prepare for war.
After all, the relationship between Aueras and the five countries of the eastern anti-Aueras alliance was getting tenser and tenser. There were already a few skirmishes.
All of that could be seen in the Whitestag Morning Post. It was either the kingdom protesting against the anti-Aueras alliance or the alliance warning the kingdom. Everyone knew that the dark clouds of war were gathering in the eastern skies of the continent.
So be it. Even if a war really broke out, they wouldn't be the first batch of people to go to the battlefield.
Usually, the garrison would only be responsible for the transportation of supplies, guarding the captives, and other auxiliary tasks. They weren't the main fighting force.
For a retired veteran like Kubrik, the garrison was a decent job.