The merchant

Leo felt a steady bumping, bringing him back from his slumber.

He held his head, a sting running through his body, followed up by the feeling of pain.

He groaned, alarming a man sitting on the driver seat of the coach.

"Hey young man, rest up a bit longer. That state I picked you up with is no joke."

He steered the horses, advising while concentrating on his thing.

"At least lay down, your wounds could open up again, especially that nasty wound your leg."

Leo sat up a bit, looking around to know where he was.

Surrounded by some fur, wheat and fruits, he got obviously picked up by a merchant. He inspected his body and was astonished of his state.

His many smaller wounds were bandaged up, his shoulder relocated and stopped hurting.

The leg was even more of a surprise: it was neatly sewed together, already closing up and no signs of an infection.

Wanting to take a look at his saviors, he turned to the driver seat.

From behind he saw a man and a woman, the man wearing a simple white shirt and black pants, the woman a dark blue dress and matching hood.

He had grey, short hair and a trimmed chin beard. She had red, long hair coming out from the hood, her facial features captivating him when he caught a glimpse of her.

'So beautiful' was all he could think at that moment.

"Did you patch me up?" he asked, thinking how to get a conversation started.

"Sure we did, who else." answered the woman.

"What did you do to receive such a beating?"

Leo then told them his circumstance, how he accepted a quest with a stranger, followed track to the lair and walked into the Shamans trap.

"I was too careless. My friends always told me to be careful, to secure my escape, but in the end I nearly lost my life back then."

The two listened patiently, asking questions at key moments of his story.

The woman hustled out some air, complimenting him.

"Honestly, you were quite smart there, how you used that Shaman's attack to escape."

She flipped around, her pretty smile somehow mocking him.

"But also very dumb. Why would you go on a mission with that girl, with no prior investigation who she is. Gathering information is an important part as an adventurer."

Leo nodded. He was already aware of his bad choices through the course of the mission, but also proud.

"Still, now that's that over, I am grateful for this experience." he admitted.

The grey haired man lifted an eyebrow, asking him:

"Why so? Considering your state, it is already a miracle to live through that. And without us your wounds would maybe cause your death now."

Leo laid back down before answering him, as his body hurt all over.

"I got out of the village, learned my bounds and fought, overcoming my hesitation. Now escaping alive, it will only bring me further in the future."

'And experiencing the escape of Zero I learned not to trust people so fast anymore.'

"By the way, my name is Laurence, and my companion there is Holo. Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Leonardo."

Before Leo could ask how they knew his name, the woman named Holo spoke first.

"When we patched you up, we searched through your stuff. To see if we should even help you.

Finding your ID card, of course do we know your name."

"We are soon in Naoka, so you should be good. Don't worry, your real name is safe with us."

Laurence promised.

Still, recent events still fresh in mind, Leo was doubtful. Why trust them, he knows them for around half an hour.

He sat back up, facing this duo. They knew a lot about him, from his name, origins to his race.

Better being safe than sorry, he explained his qualms:

"Although grateful for your tremendous help and friendliness, I need some kind of proof that you will really keep my information. I hope that you can comply with my demands."

The woman laughed and Laurence gifted him a pleasant smile. They exchanged a look, nodding to each other.

"It is good you are thinking more, shows that you learned something." Holo said, lifting her arm

s to her hood, ready to remove it.

"Concerned about your identity as a dwarf being leaked? Worry not, as-" taking off the hood, Leo witnessed something truly surreal.

"-I am not your average human either."

Bouncing up from her head were two animal like ears, same color as her hair, and the occasional twitches proved the validity.

Leo's mouth stood open. Staring at these ears, he took a moment to recall the info he got from Sam's group back then.

'I guess among the races were Beastkin, if remembering right. To meet one like this..., truly astonishing.'

Winking, Holo wore the hood again, hiding her ears from sight.

"Trust us some more now?"

"Yes, but..., are you a Beastkin? I never saw one before, so I'm curious." Leo stammered.

Never seeing a human with real animal characteristics, he had a natural curiosity towards them.

Laurence answered instead of her.

"I guess she is, even more rarely seen in these parts of the continent. Just so you know, I am a regular human.

Now rest, in about an hour we arrive at Naoka."

He pointed forwards, directing Leo's sight along the road, and sure enough, in the distance he saw the wall surrounding the village and its gate.

Feeling relieved, he made himself comfortable on some furs. While laying there like that, he noticed how these goods smelt really nice, like a fresh bunch of apples.

Sooner than expected, the carriage arrived by the gate. The guards were the same as when Leo went out with Zero. So when seeing him coming back full of bandages and without her, their gazes got serious, with a tint of pity.

One of them gave Leo a advice:

"When one of your colleagues went missing or ended up dying on the mission, report it back to the Guild as soon as possible, understand?"

Nodding, he proceeded the procedure of entering.

The guard welcomed Laurence heartily, like he comes to this village often.

After passing the gate, Leo asked him:

"Do you come here regularly? The guards seemed to know you quite good."

"Couple of times a year, first time this season. I sell my goods to the shops in the Main street and Guild street. This time, as you see, fur and some groceries."

Holo got excited when they passed a stall with fruits, pressing Laurence to buy some.

Leo felt out of place, so he decided to excuse himself.

"Mr. Laurence, Mrs. Holo, from the bottom of my heart I thank you for your hospitality and care.

I'll repay you in the future, so that this debt will be paid."

He tried his best to make a bow like he saw it from Mr. Sieg, placing his hand on the chest and bowing down.

"I would not want it otherwise." Laurence replied, a smile on his face.

He came over to Leo, put a hand on his shoulder and said:

"Although this bow is poorly executed, I appreciate your effort. But as a merchant I prefer the less noble way."

He stretched out his right arm, ready for a handshake.

Familiar with that gesture, Leo took his hand.

The strong grip of Laurence surprising him, as he seemed weaker from the outside.

"Till we meet again." He bid farewell.

"Yes, be careful on your journey." Leo responded.

He went to the Guild Street, while Laurence proceeded to the Main Street.

Drawing some interested gazes, Leo made his way onwards.

His body yearned for a good rest, but knowing he had to report to the Guild and show up on time for his ongoing mission had priority.

'No training this dawn.'

He entered the Guild, walking straight to the quest counter.

The clerk mustered him a moment long, then asked:

"What happened?"

Leo told him everything, from the moment they accepted the quest till the moment he got unconscious on the road.

"We were not able to properly fulfill the request, is there a penalty?"

The clerk assured him:

"No, as this quest was ranked as G, but the dangers you faced were at least E rank, there is no penalty. I would say what you lived through is enough already."

Leo gave him back that token, and sat down by a random empty table.

He looked around: not many adventurers were in the Guild right now, most probably on missions or still resting.

He saw the clerk taking a piece of paper, crossed out a part and rewrote it.

When it hang on the board, Leo could from his place notice the writing, and a G replaced by a E.

'Another risk, huh. Not knowing if the requester told all information and was honest. Sucks for me, I guess.'

Ordering a light meal, he calmed himself down a bit. He filled his stomach, inspected his weapon and armor.

'Have to clean that one before it begins to stick.'

He went to the washing room, used his old shirt as a rag and cleaned it roughly.

After that he got to the armorer, requesting him to repair his west.

"Is it even possible?", he asked.

The metal inside was bent on some parts, and the ripped parts were barely holding together.

The craftsman, a small, slightly plump man in his late 30ies, shook his head.

"I would need to replace many tiles of metal, inspect the connected parts and maybe reforge some.

After that a tailor needs to patch up these parts here and there.

The finished product would cost much, and provides less protection. My advice: just by a new one."

'Another expense.' he sighed.

But due to that equipment his live was saved, so he bought it without another thought.

Leo left the armorer with a new protective equipment, this time more sturdy.

It was a leather armor, reaching down past his hips. Reinforced by some sheets of metal, smaller than before, but more numerous and layered at vital parts.

He also bought pants with mail underneath, as his leg wound was a major hindrance in his fight.

'That is now far to light.', he mourned, as he lifted his purse and shook it a few times.

'I want to visit Thomas again. Maybe this evening.'

Making his way to Mr. Sieg's house, he realized the lack of his shield he ousted.

"Buying is not an option. Even if the quality is good, the price is the nail in my coffin.

I have to make myself another one."

On the way he thought about what kind of shield he wants to make.

'The old one was a bid too big, and now that I know my potential future height, there is a need for adaptation.

And the form was too clunky. A shield does not need to have a pointed end. It should protect me, but not get in my way.'

A design in his mind, he arrived at the house. He imagined Mr. Sieg and Ms. Sophie, like how they will react when seeing his state.

He knocked. It doesn't felt like only a day since his departure, more like a week.

Silvia opened the door, wanting to say something. Noticing his covered up body, the new equipment and his carefulness not to pressure his leg, she remained silent.

Guiding him to the study, she only said:

"Please be more mindful in the future, at least till your mission here is over."

Leaving, Leo went into the room.

Mr. Sieg eyed him, shook his head lightly, and began with their lesson.

Contrary to Leo's expectation, he grasped control over his inner Magical Energy quickly.

"Mr. Sieg, I think I've succeeded!"

Stroking his chin, Siegfried studied Leo's body, coming up with an explanation.

"I assume you were on a particular dangerous mission yesterday?"

'Does that have anything to do with me getting better results?', he wondered.

"Yes, I was wounded badly and was under constant pressure, barley escaping and surviving with the help of a merchant."

Mr. Sieg nodded, closing his eyes.

"Then listen, as you are not far from awakening, at most a week or two."