SABAYNA STORY'S  2part

 

     Today I talk about my arrival in Vigo and my first time as Chief Merchant and what it was like, it was as if we had arrived at the Salt War then

     Last time I reported on my pilgrimage to the Sardar Mountains. There I completed my tasks, attended the ceremonies of the initiates, went to the platform every day to pray to the priest-kings and looked at the numerous displays on the stalls of the large market. In the healer's tent I received my stabilizing serum, four injections on four consecutive days. So I stayed in the Sardar Mountains for quite a while until all my tasks were completed.

   I actually planned to return to Nadira later, the same way I came here. But then, as my stay was already coming to an end, I met an old acquaintance of Bazi's, Lady Marie. I was happy that she was well and that she had survived the plague, and she was happy to see me well too.

  Lady Marie belonged to the scribal caste and had held the position of High Scribe in Bazi. Thanks to her training at the famous Gorean Law Academy in Port Olni and her long experience, she had become the first of the Scribe Caste and was also a member of the Bazi High Council.

  Marie was one of the survivors of the plague in Bazi, not because she survived the infection, but because she managed to flee the city and escape the blockade. Because at night the south side of the city, facing the jungle, was not well guarded. Some residents climbed over the fence at night and hid in the jungle. There they tried to settle as much as possible without being discovered.
 

    One of them, a warrior named Brody, began to round up all the refugees and lead them to a new home. The refugees could only go in one direction, because to the west there was the sea, to the north they would have been discovered and to the south the jungle became increasingly dense. So the Bazii moved eastward, and when they were far enough away from Bazi and the blockading troops, they emerged from the jungle again.
   

    Their long migration took the Bazii further and further east, onto the northern flank of the Schendi jungle. When they saw a knight from the pond, they hid again in the forest and then continued their journey. They eventually encountered the Northern Silk Road, which ran from the eastern Jungle and Tahari regions to Torcodino.

  The Bazii could not go north as far as Torcodino, so they followed the road further and further south. Due to traffic they only walked at night and stayed away from the road during the day. After many days they came to a large river, the subequatorial Cartius, beyond which they saw the great desert, the Tahari. They stayed near the river because they did not dare venture into the unknown desert. Instead, they decided to look for a new place to live on Cartius.

  An incredible coincidence came to their aid. A few days before their arrival, a landslide had occurred on a prominent mountain near the river, exposing a cave. When the Bazii examined the cave, they actually discovered a salt deposit. It was the best yellow salt of a quality previously known only to Klima! It seemed like a gift from the priest-kings and they decided to found their new city at the foot of the mountain under the salt cave.

     The Bedouins of the Tahari called the mountain where they now settled Jebel Fighu. The word Fighu became the word Vigo in Bazii pronunciation. Thus the new city got its name, which from then on was called Vigo. Now no one cared if the residents had fled a plague-infested city. The Bazii became Vigoese and elected Brody, their leader, as administrator.


     The cave was immediately transformed into a mining tunnel, and some slaves who had come were sent there to mine salt. With the proceeds of the first sales, right under the salt mine, the new town developed: streets and squares were demarcated, houses and a market were built. A merchants' neighborhood was built along the river, and upper-caste houses were staggered up the mountain. And as a sign of gratitude the Vigolese built a beautiful temple for the priest-kings who had performed the miracle of salt.
    

    But this was not enough to thank the Priest-Kings. The city sent a delegation on a thanksgiving pilgrimage to the Sardar Mountains. Lady Marie was part of the delegation. That's how I met her in the Sardar Mountains. She invited me to travel with her to Vigo and promised me a home for my perfumery.


  Since then, the two trade alliances have been enemies, which we didn't know when we made deals with two cities in an alliance. That's how we were drawn. Mainly because of Ianda's spite.
Obviously our salt was a thorn in his side