"My lord, did you know we're coming back today? Look, I've brought back a lot of the black stones you need." Eric had spotted Ed at the dock early on, and he ran down as soon as the ship came to a stop.
Ed glanced at the cabin; in fact, he had already seen it. Eric did not disappoint him, and sure enough, he brought the coal back.
Now that the other party has found the letter and done as he requested in his last letter, the next step is to determine where this coat came from. How about he goes there and buys it directly? The current transaction method is too cumbersome.
No, no, the recipient probably hasn't received the letter he brought this time. He doesn't know if the recipient is satisfied with what he gave him.
" Eric, very good. We really need these black stones, but the ones you brought back are still too few. We need more of these black stones, as many as you can get."
"Huh? My lord, what are these black stones? What use do we need so many of them for?"
" Eric, first arrange for someone to send these black stones to the warehouse in Red Iron Village, and send some to the castle as well. Then we'll go to the castle, and I'll slowly tell you what these stones are used for later. I also have some questions for you."
"Yes, my lord, you go ahead, I'll be right there." Eric said and went to the ship to arrange unloading, while Ed left first.
Castle Hall
" Eric, did you get these black stones in the valley or on the flat ground by the mountain?" Ed wanted to confirm who had transported the coal.
"My lord, it's on a flat area by the mountain. The valley seems to be exactly the same as when I left last time."
Upon hearing Eric's explanation, Ed knew that these coals definitely didn't belong to the former lord of Fir Tree territory.
Because they could simply leave their things in the valley, as he mentioned in his letter, there was absolutely no need for them to carry the coal up the mountain and then to the lake.
So this coal was transported there by someone else, but Eric and the others have never mentioned that anyone else went to that valley!
" Eric, do you think anyone else has been to that valley?"
"My lord, we haven't found anyone else who has been there. Isn't it always the lord of the Fir Tree territory who's been mining there? The people who came back with us the last two times were from that territory."
Eric was also puzzled. Were there other people around? He had asked himself the same question in the valley, but had no answer.
But now that I think about it, it's still possible. They robbed that lord twice. That lord must hate them to death. Would he easily exchange things with them?
"Ah!" Eric was startled by this thought. It seemed that he had been very lucky to lead the team alone the first two times. He would have to be more careful in the future.
" Eric, did something come to mind?" Ed asked.
"Yes, my lord, we robbed that lord twice. Come to think of it, he shouldn't have traded with us so easily, since we didn't offer him much." Eric knew that the lord must be a very wealthy man.
"Yes, Eric, even if he wanted to trade, there was no need to transport the goods from the valley to the lake. So there are other people going to that valley, and they all go by boat, just like us." It seems that there are still people at Melodious Lake. Perhaps the limited shipbuilding technology has restricted communication, which is why no one has come to Grey Castle Territory for so many years.
" Eric, now that we have all our supplies and food, how long can we stay on the lake?" Ed wanted to see how far their boat could go.
"My lord, we haven't calculated the exact time yet, but if we don't ship any goods, I think it will take about seven days. Now that the food and water situation has improved a bit, it's not impossible for it to extend to ten days."
"Is that about the time it takes us to travel back and forth through the valley?" Ed was somewhat speechless; it seemed they would need better boats and food.
"Yes, my lord."