Balha frowned involuntarily, clutching the Crescent Talisman hanging from his neck.
Such a reaction was perfectly normal. Everyone feared the gray, lifeless skin of a leper. Most lepers were driven into the wilderness to fend for themselves and await death.
"What are you doing with a leper?" Balha demanded of Joseph.
"He... He's my nephew." Joseph was at a loss for words.
"It is a curse from God, but it has its uses. No one takes an interest in a leper, or anything he possesses," Eric said.
"Is that so? I don't particularly care. Just as the tax silver from a cesspit-cleaner has no stench of feces, the tax silver from a urine-collector carries no smell of piss. But the others under the Governor's protection might not see it that way. Not everyone is as magnanimous as I."
"If you want to pass through this village and enter the Hamah City District, you'll have to give me two Silver Coins." Balha gestured to Eric again, demanding the payment.
