After crossing the battlefield, the group entered the land of the Franks, a branch of the Germanic Barbarian Race, currently divided into three tribes: the Salian, Ripuarian, and Catti (Hessians).
Among them, the Ripuarian have already been conquered by the Hunnic Empire.
"Ahead should be Paris," said Severus, turning his head.
Paris?
It should be the ancient name for Paris. Now it is still a small area, built around Cite Island, originally with only a few hundred people, and the old island city was less than half a square kilometer.
Later, the Roman Empire began to urbanize the occupied territories, and the surrounding area of Paris gradually developed a population of over ten thousand.
Great Britain also began urban development at that time, with the concept of provincial capitals first emerging, but later these cities were destroyed by Saxon invasions.
Many Barbarian Races wanted to preserve and inherit the civilization of the Roman Empire, but ultimately the civilization regressed significantly under the chaos of war.
"It seems that the productivity of this era is indeed very low."
As Duncan traveled, the scenes he saw were quite desolate. The Romans had researched a complete urban water supply system long before AD, but now even decent drainage ditches were absent from the towns along the way. Among the Barbarian Races, the Franks were considered to be relatively advanced in learning Roman civilization, yet agricultural methods remained fairly backward.
However, early feudal estates had already begun to emerge.
The Empire had essentially lost control of this land, with townspeople along the way mostly being of the Barbarian Race. But the journey was not peaceful; they encountered other Barbarian Race members raiding the interior several times. It seems under the pressure of the Hunnic Empire and population growth, more Barbarian Races flooded into the Empire's domain.
Paris was a very typical medieval small town.
It was evident that the Franks at this time were quite martial, truly the "Gallic Roosters." Some of their wealthier free men dressed very similarly to the characters in the series "Viking Legends." However, along the way, there were many bonded peasants and slaves with barely any clothing. The warrior class among the Barbarian Races transformed into early feudal nobility, who established their careers through warfare and legally annexed land.
"Is that a vineyard?"
Duncan and his group rode into the town, stopped by guards who questioned them. Because of Severus, they didn't encounter much trouble.
The Franks learned channel irrigation, grape cultivation methods, horticulture, etc., from Roman civilization. Compared to other Barbarian Race tribes, they transformed quite quickly, being situated between civilization and barbarism, laying the foundation for the later rise of the Frankish Kingdom.
Among the Barbarian Races, they were relatively less fond of drinking, and after the whole country Christianized in the future, they quickly gained the support of the Church.
Paris had dug several sewage ditches, making the entire town seem quite tidy and clean, much cleaner than medieval Paris, at least it wasn't unbearably smelly.
Currently leading the Salian Franks is Hilderic I, father of Clovis I, the founder of the Frankish Kingdom. Later on, Pepin the Short usurps the throne, and during the Carolingian Dynasty, Charlemagne rises, marking the entrance into medieval history.
Charlemagne is the Red Heart K in the deck of cards.
The town guard's gaze lingered on the witch's barely concealed figure for a moment, involuntarily swallowing before letting them in.
He couldn't afford to provoke Severus; judging by his attire, it was clear he wasn't an ordinary person.
Inn.
The Germanic inn was a very eye-catching building, covering a substantial area, with two floors, of wooden structure, the walls smeared with mud. The Franks retained some traditions of the Germanic Barbarian Race, such as drinking, horse racing, and gambling.
The Germanic people were heavy drinkers, with the main drinks being honey wine and beer. Given enough alcohol, these Barbarians could drink themselves to death.
The inn hall was chaotic, with drunkards bragging about having beheaded a Hunnic knight with a Frankish flying axe.
Severus walked in front, exchanged a few words with the innkeeper, and the group found a corner to settle down. The witch deliberately sat on the innermost side to avoid attracting the men's attention.
She had actually slightly bound her chest, but couldn't completely hide it.
For those of the Barbarian Race, a woman of her curvaceous nature was immensely attractive, even with her face veiled, she would draw attention.
Soon.
Slaves brought food and wine to the inn hall, one of the female slaves had darker skin, resembling an Egyptian, possibly a mixed-blood descendant of slaves brought by the Empire from Egypt.
The Empire always had many slaves, and a few years ago, there was a slave and bonded peasant uprising in Burgundy, Gen Di, but it was swiftly and ruthlessly suppressed.
The architectural style of this era was quite backward, with only the areas around Italy and Greece being relatively civilized in Europe. Upon entering the Gaul territory, most buildings were simple wooden houses; the inn was no better than the taverns Duncan used to encounter in Skyrim's Nordic regions, possibly even worse.
The chairs in the inn were rough enough to poke one's buttocks.
Duncan glanced at the witch by his side, then scanned the other occupants of the inn, and whispered, "Has the person you're looking for arrived?"
Crow Queen Triss shook her head slightly and said, "No."
"But my messenger has informed Anya; she should be arriving nearby soon."
One of the founders of the witches' assembly, Anya of Cologne, known as the Thorny Rose, unlike Crow Queen Triss, was not a Priest from the era of Polytheism. She had married an Empire general in her early years, who was also a Polytheism believer, and her family lineage could be traced back to the era of the Empire's Heretic Julian.