30 Journey
- "Who was that Master Mage?" an angered voice could be heard loudly from inside the war room on the Brigantium castle.
- "Calm down, they already said they don't know" Confirmed Bhalrom to the Red knight.
- "With a power like that on our side, no army could stand before us! No enemy would dare attack us again!" Answered the angered Knight.
- "And that's precisely the kind of thought that pushed our Magus away. And is also the most likely reason to why this mage didn't show his identity."
Copperford frowned towards Bhalrom clearly displeased but containing himself down, after a deep breath he turned to the two mages in the room.
- "Serena, Lilly, please, use your contacts to investigate who could be able to do such a thing, a Master can't appear from nowhere! And if you are sure he is not part of any of the main families of Allard, we must discover who he is to put his abilities to good use."
Both mages nodded, they clearly also wanted to discover who that powerful mage was.
Bhalrom pulled a chair and sat down, relieved that the battle was already over with no causalities. He looked at Copperford that was still agitated.
- "It was indeed an outstanding demonstration of magic... and did you see that lightning? I was sure that the walls would fall down after its thunder."
------------------------------------- On the enemy Throne room.
The shadows gathered once more.
- "My lord, reports from the Allard capital have arrived, the Magus' body was nowhere to be found" said one of the shadows.
- "We also lost contact with our men in the North lands, they haven't answered since our last message" Said another
- "I have news from Brigantium as well… it seems a single mage destroyed the whole attacking army" said the other shadow calmly.
- "What about Gilliath?" Asked one of the shadows intrigued
- "He has not answered yet"
- "So he is most likely dead" commented one of the shadows
- "Who could have done it? The magus?" Asked another
- "Maybe, he is powerful enough" answered yet another one.
- "It could also have been be the mysterious mage of Allard, we don't know how powerful he is"
- "We don't even know if he is real"
- "I'd say he is real, it needs 2 mages to act in the Norse and Allard at the same time, so if the Magus is alive, another one is moving with him against us" Refuted one of the shadows.
The main entity in the throne flickered and immediately silenced everyone there.
- "In a matter of days we were set back years of planning. Now we have to revert the situation in our favor once more" Said the entity as it turned towards one of the shadow figures on the room.
- "Tessai, you were in charge of Allard, were you involved in any way at the attack?" asked the entity
- "No my lord, as you advised I just did not interfere in any way. I'm following the original plan by strengthening our influence inside the king's court" Answered the shadow very politely
- "Very well then, just remember we don't have much time left… you all know what to do"
------------------------------------------- Riou's View
With the last of the current enemies dealt with and the battle's display, Riou was sure that the council would think twice before acting recklessly like this again.
As he had removed two of their operators on Allard, it certainly had given the country more time to prepare for future attacks.
He had put a stop to the rune thugs' production and ensured the continuation of the biggest food supply of the country. Accomplishing it with the loss of some of the court mages, but on the bright side, no army losses. This accomplishments certainly avoided what would be a fatal blow for Allard in the incoming war.
So with the threat put to rest for now, Riou judged it was time to move away from those lands and to join Max on Thanes, he had a lot to discuss with him.
But Riou knew that the travel would be harsh and the weather unwelcoming as it would be much colder than he was used to so far. Riou judged he needed to prepare and decided it would be a wise move to join a caravan.
As there were not many roads to the Norse lands, there were a high chance on getting lost so he knew that joining a caravan would be slower but certainly much more comfortable way of traveling.
With caution so no one would see he stored his cloak and his bandana in a bag he got in the city a few hours after the battle, when the city began to function as usual, he began his search for a caravan.
Amongst the taverns he soon he learned that one would be leaving very soon now that the impending battle was over. If Riou was lucky they would be searching for more mercenaries to join them on the journey.
---------------------------------------
- - "Are you sure boy? This won't be an easy and short travel… there will be bandits and maybe even orc raiders" said the owner of the caravan, Bronarch the merchant. He was not very tall, but certainly was a very sturdy man despite his gray moustache and hair that showed his advanced age. He used a hat and proper light clothes to protect him from the elements, its colors were very strange, seemed like a bad modern painting with colored squares and stripes all over the place, it was probably to show everyone he was a merchant or maybe a wealthy citizen. Judged Riou.
-
The caravan had 5 carriages that were being filled with all kinds of goods from spices, heavy leather clothes for the cold climate, dried meat to swords and raw iron and copper. He'd be traveling city by city until Thanes, selling his goods on the way.
- - "If you throw in a few coins while providing transportation, food and the eventual stay on inns and taverns along the way until Thanes, we have a deal… besides" paused the boy reaching his right hand for his back.
Riou unsheathed half of his dagger attached to his back to show hints of the dark blade to the merchant that immediately got surprised, stunned by the metal quality of the weapon – "I'm pretty sure I can handle it" Added Riou smiling to the merchant that seemed to realize the quality but not to the point of recognizing the legendary metal.
- - "Well, if you could walk around this lands with that in your possession and is still breathing, that's proof enough for me, but it's not me who you need to impress" He paused pointing to the side to a men that was observing the carriages being loaded up, he was leaning on the wall of the warehouse from where the goods were coming.
The man was using chain armor on top of leather, he had a sword on his waist on the left, a dagger on the right and a ringed shield to his back.
He was silently watching for a few moments as if thinking if the boy should be allowed in. The man had long messy blond hair that reached his shoulders. 3 longer braids that started after a few fingers of length from his right side of the head, they almost reached his chest. With a full blond beard about a finger thick, he was clearly a mercenary from the Norse, around 25 to 30 years old.
After a moment of thinking the Norse nodded to the merchant who then turned back to Riou.
- "You got yourself a deal. Welcome aboard!" Said the merchant pointing to the mercenary
- "That is Herger, he is in charge of our security for the past 5 years now. He will be giving the orders to you" The mercenary nodded slightly to the boy, greeting him on joining the caravan.
- "Be ready by tomorrow morning, we will be leaving by the first morning light on the east gate, don't be late!" advised the merchant.
Riou nodded agreeing and also thanking the merchant. He turned away and as he began to walk he spotted a well-made coat being put inside the cart by one of the men loading them. It was dark colored gray, almost black in color with white fur and cloth for internal insulation.
Riou turned once again to the merchant – "How much for the coat?" Asked the boy pointing at it
The Merchant smiled – "Good eye, this armor is something that I came with an armorer friend, it's to serve as a complete leather armor in the cold weather, very good mobility while maintaining your warmth at the same time, and it is even long enough to cover at least half of your legs as well. I'm betting it will sell very well in the north… it costs 20 gold coins by the way"
Riou took it and rested it on his shoulder– "Can you deduct it from my payment?" asked the boy
- "Oy oy boy, you are becoming too expensive now… I can't afford to lose money because of you." Said the merchant clearly haggling.
Riou replied – "What do you say, if by the time we reach Thanes I have not been worth the money you are investing, I will pay you the 20 gold coins"
- "Make it 30, I need to get back my investment, if you pay me 20 I barely get out of it even." Said the cunning merchant
- "20" said the boy smiling – "You will not sell it until you reach the Norse lands anyway, you will not lose money as it will just sit on your cart until then"
Immediately the merchant replied – "Ha! One with a functional head! Very well my boy, you got yourself a deal" Said the merchant reluctantly. "Perhaps that's the merchant's strategy, to fight for profit in every single opportunity" Pondered Riou as he nodded once again confirming the deal before leaving with his new coat.
Riou returned to the Laughing Boar and spent another night there in comfort.
Before the morning came he had already gathered his belongings in the bag, then leaving the tavern for the east gate.
The 5 carriages were all filled up and Riou noticed a sixth, bigger and empty carriage with supports and some kind of cloth as a roof. It had openings to the front and back, inside it had planks as seats on the walls, and it could accommodate a small group of people easily, it probably was destined to the mercenaries that had no horses.
Riou was approaching the carriages when he was halted by a strange person that came in his direction.
A young man showed his open palm to Riou telling him to stop.
- "State your business!" Said the young man in well-crafted dark red leather armor with golden buckles, buttons and a black thick leather belt. His gear seemed expensive from head to toe, even the sword to his waist resembled the ornamented swords Riou saw for sale in the weapon shops in the capital. His hair had a red brownish color and was perfectly combed, to his right side.
- "Easy now Red, the boy will be joining us" A male voice came from someone approaching from behind a carriage.
The red haired man turned towards him – "Herger! Stop calling me Red, you know my name is Elias Blazetalon, founder and current leader of the Dracar Hunters" he said proudly puffing his chest.
Herger was smiling as he appeared from behind the carriage – "Sure… my bad Red" he said mockingly.
Elias had to breathe deeply to contain his anger – "And what do you mean he is coming with us? He is too young, does he have any experience at least?" asked the red haired men to the Norse who kept smiling.
- "Well, I don't know… in the worst case he will be just like you" he said joyously finding it very funny to mock Elias who got easily irritated.
Elias puffed once again and quickly left at large steps joining a group of people not too far away.
Herger approached Riou
- "Don't mind him, he just likes to walk around as if something is stuck up his butt, thinking he is some kind of big shot, poor kid has a lot to learn. And since the boss allowed him to join us… and by allowing I mean was paid to, I thought it would be ok to bring another greenhorn along, so… try not to die on me, alright?" Said the mercenary smiling to Riou.
Riou smiled wryly back to him – "Well... thanks? I guess" he said unsure what to answer to that
The Norse man strongly patting him on the back while smiling – "Don't mention it! You are welcome" he said to Riou who had to step forward to balance himself.
Herger pointed to the group where Elias where – "Those are the mighty Dracar Hunters… Bunch of greenhorns with dreams of grandiosity and fame, all financed by their rich parents of course, this is their first time on the real world."
Riou observed a group of five, 2 young women and 3 young men, they all seemed to be around 20 years old, while Elias seemed the oldest amongst them.
- "Did you hear what happened outside the walls?" one of the young men said
- "They said a mage wiped the enemy army… they said he summoned Ragnis to fight for him! Even the thunders and rain fell down because he commanded them!" Exclaimed one of the young women
- "Did you see the field outside the walls? It was black! Completely burnt, I wish I could conjure spells like that!" Exclaimed the other women excited.
- "You know how rumors get out of control fast, it was probably nothing that big of a deal" said Elias casually
- "Yeah, big mistake letting us out of the fight… too young they said! I bet they would think differently if they saw us in action!" Said the first man
- "Absolutely! After this travel we will be known in many cities! They will come after us for help!" said the other one while Elias nodded and the others smiled with self-assurance.
A voice came loudly from the front
- "Let's get moving!" Shouted Bronarch from the first carriage.
Herger whistled in a high pitch and every one of his men moved towards their horses immediately. They were 7 riders counting Herger, plus one men to guide each carriage. 19 in total counting Riou and the Dracar Hunters.
Riou went straight to the back carriage as no one showed him a horse. And after giving it a thought, he even preferred that way as he considered it to be a more comfortable way to travel. Riou clearly intended to lay back and let Herger and his men do the hard work. He just wanted to get to Thanes.
While he walked back to the carriage he heard Herger talking to Elias once again
- "So where are our horses? The Dracar Hunters will scout ahead for danger while…" Said Elias proudly before being interrupted by Herger
- "You bunch go in the back carriage, you defend the rear… let me worry with the front." Said Herger winking and patting Elias on the shoulder.
Riou threw his bag in the carriage and jumped in, finding a good spot near the opening, right behind the driver. He quickly used his bag as a pillow to lay down comfortably with his head on the bench protected by his bag and arms behind his back for more support. His right leg crossed on top of his left… he was good for a nap while traveling.
But it didn't take long for the others to join. The first to come in were the girls, one had black straight hair with some hairclips to hold it from falling on her face. It was well cared for and treated, it shined as it reached the middle of her back. Riou quickly knew that hair demanded a lot of care. Her face was delicate with rose lips, she was not stunning, but was far from ugly. Her eyes as her hair, had a dark shade and hints of a purple color. Which caught Riou's attention for its uniqueness.
She was wearing a kind of a training gear very similar to the one Eileen wore, but of a much inferior quality and a tad altered for the worse. It seemed like, deliberately, someone altered it to become more fashionable than practical.
It had a dark purple color instead the brown leathery shade Riou was used to. Her chest was tightly hold together as if to showcase her bigger than average attributes, and especially tightly at the waist line as if to thin it forcibly. It clearly was not designed for comfort. The pants followed the purple shade and seemed overly decorated with laces that had absolutely no practical use. With its pompous and voluminous details Riou concluded it had never seen a training session, much less a battle before, he also noticed that she carried no weapons with her.
The second girl dressed very similarly but with a dark blue shade color and different laces and buttons placement. Her hair was of a curled dark blond that reached her shoulders. She was much less gifted than her friend in terms of feminine attributes. She had a less than average chest size and was a bit chubby. Her freckled face was far from delicate, and she could be considered to have an average beauty, at best, when in a good day. Her eyes were of a hazel color.
Both of them looked displeased at Riou and sat the farthest they could from him.
The next to enter was a young man wearing a studded leather armor of a dark green color, he had short dark blond hair and freckles all over his face with hazel eyes, very similar to the girl next to him. Riou thought they must be brother and sister.
He wore a brown leather pants and boots, he carried an ornamented longsword to his left.
The fourth was also wearing a studded leather armor of a dark brown color with many leather layers disposed horizontally. His hair was also short and of a brown color as his eyes. Both were very similar regarding gear and had the same kind of ornamented longsword as a weapon.
Lastly Elias came in blabbering – "As I was saying, we as the trump card of this caravan we must remain hidden from prying eyes, this way we can take any enemy by surprise if the caravan is attacked…" He stopped as he saw Riou laying down in the back, with such leisure – "Don't mind the greenhorn, he will be amazed watching us in action, perhaps he can learn a thing or two from the great Dracar Hunters" Before Elias could say anything else another member joined the carriage.
A woman jumped in effortlessly, she was wearing a dark brown hooded cape covering her head and face, but what caught Riou's attention was the dark brown leather bodice that was barely strapped together in an attempt to holding her gorgeous and well proportioned, hand sized, attributes in place.
It covered from the shoulders to the waist line and showed a lot of cleavage as it was completely opened in that region. And despite of a red shirt that she wore underneath it a good part of her breasts were showing dismissively. It had two straps that went on her shoulders for support.
Her right forearm had a dark leather bracer. Her pants where very tight at a low waist line, also in a dark brown color. A bit of her belly skin seemed to intentionally be showed as she moved. Her body was very lean, with a small waist and wide hips and perfect round butt, clearly very agile and used to athletic performances, easily demonstrated by her easy movements to enter the carriage.
She removed the hood showing a very intriguing and beautiful face, her hair was auburn and very straight down without any sign of curls and despite being long beyond her shoulders it was not voluminous. Carefully disposed in the front, split into 2 long and thicker bangs, one for each side of the head falling down over the length of her face almost to her shoulders, leaving the face fully visible while the following hair was set to fall to the back of the head.
Even if done in an uncaring manner still seemed very stylish.
Her eyes were of a light shade of azure, her outer rings and pupils could clearly be seen which gave a strange feeling of piercing eyes to her gaze.
She had small rings as earing on both ear lobes and on her right ear 2 extra rings on the upper part of the ear. She wore a necklace with 5 small red stones along its cord with no pendant.
Her lips had an unusual redder tone than normal and she had a mischievous seductive smile as she looked inside the carriage.
- "I almost didn't make it!" she said while moving to sit between Elias and the blond man, carefully avoiding the girls who had a spare seat beside them, she clearly preferred to sit very tightly between the two man. They were very polite and immediately tried to give her space while smiling goofily.
Riou quickly noticed at a glance when her cloak moved away from her waist and thigh, 2 daggers hanging, one in each side of what appeared to be a very long belt that after a few turns around her waist and that went down on a loosely arc toward her right thigh where one of the daggers was concealed by the cloak.
The girls didn't like her presence there and quickly crossed their arms and turned their heads
- "Call me Viki" She said seductively while gazing at Elias who swallowed hard quickly recovering afterwards
- "I'm Elias, Elias Blazetalon, founder and leader of the Dracar Hunters" He said pompously while returning the gaze, attempting to be as seductive as Viki, but not succeeding at it one bit.
Her eyes widened in surprise – "Oh my, Dracar Hunters? I didn't know there were famous adventurers in this caravan" Elias blushed and moved awkwardly to face her better.
She was an actress, Riou could tell from afar she was a rogue playing some angle on them, very skillfully nonetheless as they responded as expected for every single comment, remark or gesture she made at them.
The boy smiled to himself while watching the scene with the corner of his eyes.
Didn't take long after that for the caravan to begin to move. The first light of the morning was just coming in the distance as the caravan moved out of the city towards the east.
The journey to the north lands had begun.
- "Calm down, they already said they don't know" Confirmed Bhalrom to the Red knight.
- "With a power like that on our side, no army could stand before us! No enemy would dare attack us again!" Answered the angered Knight.
- "And that's precisely the kind of thought that pushed our Magus away. And is also the most likely reason to why this mage didn't show his identity."
Copperford frowned towards Bhalrom clearly displeased but containing himself down, after a deep breath he turned to the two mages in the room.
- "Serena, Lilly, please, use your contacts to investigate who could be able to do such a thing, a Master can't appear from nowhere! And if you are sure he is not part of any of the main families of Allard, we must discover who he is to put his abilities to good use."
Both mages nodded, they clearly also wanted to discover who that powerful mage was.
Bhalrom pulled a chair and sat down, relieved that the battle was already over with no causalities. He looked at Copperford that was still agitated.
- "It was indeed an outstanding demonstration of magic... and did you see that lightning? I was sure that the walls would fall down after its thunder."
------------------------------------- On the enemy Throne room.
The shadows gathered once more.
- "My lord, reports from the Allard capital have arrived, the Magus' body was nowhere to be found" said one of the shadows.
- "We also lost contact with our men in the North lands, they haven't answered since our last message" Said another
- "I have news from Brigantium as well… it seems a single mage destroyed the whole attacking army" said the other shadow calmly.
- "What about Gilliath?" Asked one of the shadows intrigued
- "He has not answered yet"
- "So he is most likely dead" commented one of the shadows
- "Who could have done it? The magus?" Asked another
- "Maybe, he is powerful enough" answered yet another one.
- "It could also have been be the mysterious mage of Allard, we don't know how powerful he is"
- "We don't even know if he is real"
- "I'd say he is real, it needs 2 mages to act in the Norse and Allard at the same time, so if the Magus is alive, another one is moving with him against us" Refuted one of the shadows.
The main entity in the throne flickered and immediately silenced everyone there.
- "In a matter of days we were set back years of planning. Now we have to revert the situation in our favor once more" Said the entity as it turned towards one of the shadow figures on the room.
- "Tessai, you were in charge of Allard, were you involved in any way at the attack?" asked the entity
- "No my lord, as you advised I just did not interfere in any way. I'm following the original plan by strengthening our influence inside the king's court" Answered the shadow very politely
- "Very well then, just remember we don't have much time left… you all know what to do"
------------------------------------------- Riou's View
With the last of the current enemies dealt with and the battle's display, Riou was sure that the council would think twice before acting recklessly like this again.
As he had removed two of their operators on Allard, it certainly had given the country more time to prepare for future attacks.
He had put a stop to the rune thugs' production and ensured the continuation of the biggest food supply of the country. Accomplishing it with the loss of some of the court mages, but on the bright side, no army losses. This accomplishments certainly avoided what would be a fatal blow for Allard in the incoming war.
So with the threat put to rest for now, Riou judged it was time to move away from those lands and to join Max on Thanes, he had a lot to discuss with him.
But Riou knew that the travel would be harsh and the weather unwelcoming as it would be much colder than he was used to so far. Riou judged he needed to prepare and decided it would be a wise move to join a caravan.
As there were not many roads to the Norse lands, there were a high chance on getting lost so he knew that joining a caravan would be slower but certainly much more comfortable way of traveling.
With caution so no one would see he stored his cloak and his bandana in a bag he got in the city a few hours after the battle, when the city began to function as usual, he began his search for a caravan.
Amongst the taverns he soon he learned that one would be leaving very soon now that the impending battle was over. If Riou was lucky they would be searching for more mercenaries to join them on the journey.
---------------------------------------
- - "Are you sure boy? This won't be an easy and short travel… there will be bandits and maybe even orc raiders" said the owner of the caravan, Bronarch the merchant. He was not very tall, but certainly was a very sturdy man despite his gray moustache and hair that showed his advanced age. He used a hat and proper light clothes to protect him from the elements, its colors were very strange, seemed like a bad modern painting with colored squares and stripes all over the place, it was probably to show everyone he was a merchant or maybe a wealthy citizen. Judged Riou.
-
The caravan had 5 carriages that were being filled with all kinds of goods from spices, heavy leather clothes for the cold climate, dried meat to swords and raw iron and copper. He'd be traveling city by city until Thanes, selling his goods on the way.
- - "If you throw in a few coins while providing transportation, food and the eventual stay on inns and taverns along the way until Thanes, we have a deal… besides" paused the boy reaching his right hand for his back.
Riou unsheathed half of his dagger attached to his back to show hints of the dark blade to the merchant that immediately got surprised, stunned by the metal quality of the weapon – "I'm pretty sure I can handle it" Added Riou smiling to the merchant that seemed to realize the quality but not to the point of recognizing the legendary metal.
- - "Well, if you could walk around this lands with that in your possession and is still breathing, that's proof enough for me, but it's not me who you need to impress" He paused pointing to the side to a men that was observing the carriages being loaded up, he was leaning on the wall of the warehouse from where the goods were coming.
The man was using chain armor on top of leather, he had a sword on his waist on the left, a dagger on the right and a ringed shield to his back.
He was silently watching for a few moments as if thinking if the boy should be allowed in. The man had long messy blond hair that reached his shoulders. 3 longer braids that started after a few fingers of length from his right side of the head, they almost reached his chest. With a full blond beard about a finger thick, he was clearly a mercenary from the Norse, around 25 to 30 years old.
After a moment of thinking the Norse nodded to the merchant who then turned back to Riou.
- "You got yourself a deal. Welcome aboard!" Said the merchant pointing to the mercenary
- "That is Herger, he is in charge of our security for the past 5 years now. He will be giving the orders to you" The mercenary nodded slightly to the boy, greeting him on joining the caravan.
- "Be ready by tomorrow morning, we will be leaving by the first morning light on the east gate, don't be late!" advised the merchant.
Riou nodded agreeing and also thanking the merchant. He turned away and as he began to walk he spotted a well-made coat being put inside the cart by one of the men loading them. It was dark colored gray, almost black in color with white fur and cloth for internal insulation.
Riou turned once again to the merchant – "How much for the coat?" Asked the boy pointing at it
The Merchant smiled – "Good eye, this armor is something that I came with an armorer friend, it's to serve as a complete leather armor in the cold weather, very good mobility while maintaining your warmth at the same time, and it is even long enough to cover at least half of your legs as well. I'm betting it will sell very well in the north… it costs 20 gold coins by the way"
Riou took it and rested it on his shoulder– "Can you deduct it from my payment?" asked the boy
- "Oy oy boy, you are becoming too expensive now… I can't afford to lose money because of you." Said the merchant clearly haggling.
Riou replied – "What do you say, if by the time we reach Thanes I have not been worth the money you are investing, I will pay you the 20 gold coins"
- "Make it 30, I need to get back my investment, if you pay me 20 I barely get out of it even." Said the cunning merchant
- "20" said the boy smiling – "You will not sell it until you reach the Norse lands anyway, you will not lose money as it will just sit on your cart until then"
Immediately the merchant replied – "Ha! One with a functional head! Very well my boy, you got yourself a deal" Said the merchant reluctantly. "Perhaps that's the merchant's strategy, to fight for profit in every single opportunity" Pondered Riou as he nodded once again confirming the deal before leaving with his new coat.
Riou returned to the Laughing Boar and spent another night there in comfort.
Before the morning came he had already gathered his belongings in the bag, then leaving the tavern for the east gate.
The 5 carriages were all filled up and Riou noticed a sixth, bigger and empty carriage with supports and some kind of cloth as a roof. It had openings to the front and back, inside it had planks as seats on the walls, and it could accommodate a small group of people easily, it probably was destined to the mercenaries that had no horses.
Riou was approaching the carriages when he was halted by a strange person that came in his direction.
A young man showed his open palm to Riou telling him to stop.
- "State your business!" Said the young man in well-crafted dark red leather armor with golden buckles, buttons and a black thick leather belt. His gear seemed expensive from head to toe, even the sword to his waist resembled the ornamented swords Riou saw for sale in the weapon shops in the capital. His hair had a red brownish color and was perfectly combed, to his right side.
- "Easy now Red, the boy will be joining us" A male voice came from someone approaching from behind a carriage.
The red haired man turned towards him – "Herger! Stop calling me Red, you know my name is Elias Blazetalon, founder and current leader of the Dracar Hunters" he said proudly puffing his chest.
Herger was smiling as he appeared from behind the carriage – "Sure… my bad Red" he said mockingly.
Elias had to breathe deeply to contain his anger – "And what do you mean he is coming with us? He is too young, does he have any experience at least?" asked the red haired men to the Norse who kept smiling.
- "Well, I don't know… in the worst case he will be just like you" he said joyously finding it very funny to mock Elias who got easily irritated.
Elias puffed once again and quickly left at large steps joining a group of people not too far away.
Herger approached Riou
- "Don't mind him, he just likes to walk around as if something is stuck up his butt, thinking he is some kind of big shot, poor kid has a lot to learn. And since the boss allowed him to join us… and by allowing I mean was paid to, I thought it would be ok to bring another greenhorn along, so… try not to die on me, alright?" Said the mercenary smiling to Riou.
Riou smiled wryly back to him – "Well... thanks? I guess" he said unsure what to answer to that
The Norse man strongly patting him on the back while smiling – "Don't mention it! You are welcome" he said to Riou who had to step forward to balance himself.
Herger pointed to the group where Elias where – "Those are the mighty Dracar Hunters… Bunch of greenhorns with dreams of grandiosity and fame, all financed by their rich parents of course, this is their first time on the real world."
Riou observed a group of five, 2 young women and 3 young men, they all seemed to be around 20 years old, while Elias seemed the oldest amongst them.
- "Did you hear what happened outside the walls?" one of the young men said
- "They said a mage wiped the enemy army… they said he summoned Ragnis to fight for him! Even the thunders and rain fell down because he commanded them!" Exclaimed one of the young women
- "Did you see the field outside the walls? It was black! Completely burnt, I wish I could conjure spells like that!" Exclaimed the other women excited.
- "You know how rumors get out of control fast, it was probably nothing that big of a deal" said Elias casually
- "Yeah, big mistake letting us out of the fight… too young they said! I bet they would think differently if they saw us in action!" Said the first man
- "Absolutely! After this travel we will be known in many cities! They will come after us for help!" said the other one while Elias nodded and the others smiled with self-assurance.
A voice came loudly from the front
- "Let's get moving!" Shouted Bronarch from the first carriage.
Herger whistled in a high pitch and every one of his men moved towards their horses immediately. They were 7 riders counting Herger, plus one men to guide each carriage. 19 in total counting Riou and the Dracar Hunters.
Riou went straight to the back carriage as no one showed him a horse. And after giving it a thought, he even preferred that way as he considered it to be a more comfortable way to travel. Riou clearly intended to lay back and let Herger and his men do the hard work. He just wanted to get to Thanes.
While he walked back to the carriage he heard Herger talking to Elias once again
- "So where are our horses? The Dracar Hunters will scout ahead for danger while…" Said Elias proudly before being interrupted by Herger
- "You bunch go in the back carriage, you defend the rear… let me worry with the front." Said Herger winking and patting Elias on the shoulder.
Riou threw his bag in the carriage and jumped in, finding a good spot near the opening, right behind the driver. He quickly used his bag as a pillow to lay down comfortably with his head on the bench protected by his bag and arms behind his back for more support. His right leg crossed on top of his left… he was good for a nap while traveling.
But it didn't take long for the others to join. The first to come in were the girls, one had black straight hair with some hairclips to hold it from falling on her face. It was well cared for and treated, it shined as it reached the middle of her back. Riou quickly knew that hair demanded a lot of care. Her face was delicate with rose lips, she was not stunning, but was far from ugly. Her eyes as her hair, had a dark shade and hints of a purple color. Which caught Riou's attention for its uniqueness.
She was wearing a kind of a training gear very similar to the one Eileen wore, but of a much inferior quality and a tad altered for the worse. It seemed like, deliberately, someone altered it to become more fashionable than practical.
It had a dark purple color instead the brown leathery shade Riou was used to. Her chest was tightly hold together as if to showcase her bigger than average attributes, and especially tightly at the waist line as if to thin it forcibly. It clearly was not designed for comfort. The pants followed the purple shade and seemed overly decorated with laces that had absolutely no practical use. With its pompous and voluminous details Riou concluded it had never seen a training session, much less a battle before, he also noticed that she carried no weapons with her.
The second girl dressed very similarly but with a dark blue shade color and different laces and buttons placement. Her hair was of a curled dark blond that reached her shoulders. She was much less gifted than her friend in terms of feminine attributes. She had a less than average chest size and was a bit chubby. Her freckled face was far from delicate, and she could be considered to have an average beauty, at best, when in a good day. Her eyes were of a hazel color.
Both of them looked displeased at Riou and sat the farthest they could from him.
The next to enter was a young man wearing a studded leather armor of a dark green color, he had short dark blond hair and freckles all over his face with hazel eyes, very similar to the girl next to him. Riou thought they must be brother and sister.
He wore a brown leather pants and boots, he carried an ornamented longsword to his left.
The fourth was also wearing a studded leather armor of a dark brown color with many leather layers disposed horizontally. His hair was also short and of a brown color as his eyes. Both were very similar regarding gear and had the same kind of ornamented longsword as a weapon.
Lastly Elias came in blabbering – "As I was saying, we as the trump card of this caravan we must remain hidden from prying eyes, this way we can take any enemy by surprise if the caravan is attacked…" He stopped as he saw Riou laying down in the back, with such leisure – "Don't mind the greenhorn, he will be amazed watching us in action, perhaps he can learn a thing or two from the great Dracar Hunters" Before Elias could say anything else another member joined the carriage.
A woman jumped in effortlessly, she was wearing a dark brown hooded cape covering her head and face, but what caught Riou's attention was the dark brown leather bodice that was barely strapped together in an attempt to holding her gorgeous and well proportioned, hand sized, attributes in place.
It covered from the shoulders to the waist line and showed a lot of cleavage as it was completely opened in that region. And despite of a red shirt that she wore underneath it a good part of her breasts were showing dismissively. It had two straps that went on her shoulders for support.
Her right forearm had a dark leather bracer. Her pants where very tight at a low waist line, also in a dark brown color. A bit of her belly skin seemed to intentionally be showed as she moved. Her body was very lean, with a small waist and wide hips and perfect round butt, clearly very agile and used to athletic performances, easily demonstrated by her easy movements to enter the carriage.
She removed the hood showing a very intriguing and beautiful face, her hair was auburn and very straight down without any sign of curls and despite being long beyond her shoulders it was not voluminous. Carefully disposed in the front, split into 2 long and thicker bangs, one for each side of the head falling down over the length of her face almost to her shoulders, leaving the face fully visible while the following hair was set to fall to the back of the head.
Even if done in an uncaring manner still seemed very stylish.
Her eyes were of a light shade of azure, her outer rings and pupils could clearly be seen which gave a strange feeling of piercing eyes to her gaze.
She had small rings as earing on both ear lobes and on her right ear 2 extra rings on the upper part of the ear. She wore a necklace with 5 small red stones along its cord with no pendant.
Her lips had an unusual redder tone than normal and she had a mischievous seductive smile as she looked inside the carriage.
- "I almost didn't make it!" she said while moving to sit between Elias and the blond man, carefully avoiding the girls who had a spare seat beside them, she clearly preferred to sit very tightly between the two man. They were very polite and immediately tried to give her space while smiling goofily.
Riou quickly noticed at a glance when her cloak moved away from her waist and thigh, 2 daggers hanging, one in each side of what appeared to be a very long belt that after a few turns around her waist and that went down on a loosely arc toward her right thigh where one of the daggers was concealed by the cloak.
The girls didn't like her presence there and quickly crossed their arms and turned their heads
- "Call me Viki" She said seductively while gazing at Elias who swallowed hard quickly recovering afterwards
- "I'm Elias, Elias Blazetalon, founder and leader of the Dracar Hunters" He said pompously while returning the gaze, attempting to be as seductive as Viki, but not succeeding at it one bit.
Her eyes widened in surprise – "Oh my, Dracar Hunters? I didn't know there were famous adventurers in this caravan" Elias blushed and moved awkwardly to face her better.
She was an actress, Riou could tell from afar she was a rogue playing some angle on them, very skillfully nonetheless as they responded as expected for every single comment, remark or gesture she made at them.
The boy smiled to himself while watching the scene with the corner of his eyes.
Didn't take long after that for the caravan to begin to move. The first light of the morning was just coming in the distance as the caravan moved out of the city towards the east.
The journey to the north lands had begun.
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