Chapter 35- Incoming Battle

The carriage wheels cluttered loudly against the packed dirt road, charging away from the walls of the city behind them. Having escaped much faster from the enclosing walls, the Graves caravan wasn't in much danger anymore. Without a major terrain advantage, the soldiers of Ignar would have a tough time taking down Earl's well-trained men.

It wasn't even likely that the soldiers would even try chasing down the runaway merchant. Catching up to the large convoy wouldn't be difficult, given their heavy load of iron, but taking them on in battle wasn't a good option, and the nearest neighboring city was too far to call reinforcements from.

The story would've been different if they hadn't managed to escape the walls immediately and without incurring any damage.

Within one of the carriages, Alice kept peeking out the back, watching as the city walls faded away into the night.

Having been woken in the dead of night, the girl was already exhausted from their speedy escape.

After asking Ash to wake in at any danger, she leaned against the wolf and drifted back to sleep. As the caravan put more distance between them and the city, Alex controlled his horse to head over to where Alice and Ash were riding, smiling when he saw that she'd already fallen asleep.

"Ah, good. I was worried she'd be troubled by all this. It's going to be a rough time, soon…"

Looking over at the sleeping girl, Alex rubbed his chin.

"Maybe she should head off to the academy early, at least then she'll be away from the border. Still, it might not be safe there, either."

After staying for a few more seconds, Alex shook his head and directed his horse back to the rear of the caravan, keeping an eye out for any pursuers.

The rumble of the carriage's wheels slowed and became monotonous as the night dragged on, and eventually Ash too fell asleep.

It was already midday when he awoke, shouting coming from the rear of the caravan driving away his sleep.

"Stop right there, criminal scum! Nobody breaks the law on my watch! I'm confiscating your stolen goods!"

Peering out from the carriage, Ash could see three soldiers on horseback, shouting at the convoy while charging towards the carriages. Alex had rallied fifteen of the guard to block the soldiers' paths, but the incoming enemies still somehow had the confidence to continue advancing despite the vast difference in numbers.

"Stop! You've violated the law. Your stolen goods are now forfeit."

^Why do these lines sound familiar?^

Ash shrugged, watching as the soldiers finally stopped short of Alex and his crew. It seemed they weren't dumb enough to try taking on the Graves caravan with only three men, and instead deciding to stay at a safe distance and continue to shout about how they were criminals.

All the shouting awoke Alice, and soon she joined Ash in watching the following soldiers.

Eventually, the men realized they didn't stand much of a chance at taking on the soldiers alone, and one of them turned back to return to Ignar.

The next few days were similar.

The caravan traveled steadily, confident in their ability to fend off any potential attacks from the few chasing soldiers. Each day, the distance shadows of Ignar's men were visible on the horizon, but they never approached the caravan. Even when they stopped to let their horses rest from carrying the have iron-laden carriages, the pursuers never tried sneaking up to sabotage their journey.

'Roth, any ideas on why they're still following? They don't have the manpower to take us on, so why not just give up?'

Ash's friend didn't have an answer, and the two continued their boring days of looking out the back of the carriage, watching the ever-present enemies behind them. That said, this time of siding idly wasn't terrible for the young wolf. His paws, which had been worn raw during the initial journey, now had time to heal, and the soreness in his legs disappeared as they travelled. Unfortunately, the journey was soon to be less pleasant.

A man decked out in Graves family equipment came riding in, a second horse galloping by his side, riderless. He wasn't someone who'd been with the caravan for their trip to Ignar, and was instead rushing here to bring a message from Holen.

"Ignar's recruiting mercenaries! They're bringing men from Holen to cut us off!"

The messenger's words were all but confirmed the next morning, as the number of pursuers finally changed after nearly a week of travel.

No longer were there only one or two men watching the caravan idly.

A line of thirty horseback soldiers stood at the horizon, donning the best gear Ignar could provide for the attack.

It was all Ignar could muster up to chase after the merchant without leaving their city completely undefended. It also wasn't enough with just the soldiers, though. Earl still had more men, and they were both better trained and better armed than the pursuers.

Instead of engaging the caravan, the soldiers followed behind, waiting patiently as Earl continued his trek towards Holen.

Around noon, the second troop of enemies appeared on the opposite side caravan. A carriage had been dragged to block the road, and was surrounded by groups of mercenaries, each flying their own emblems.

In all, Ignar had managed to recruit roughly forty mercenaries.

'Crap, nearly double our men. Alex and the guard seem competent, but this might be a bit too much for them.'

Glancing over to the front of the caravan, Ash saw Alex talking with Earl. The middle-aged merchant's hand moved idly, caressing the sword strapped to his waist. The aging merchant wasn't one to leave his subordinates to fight a difficult battle alone.

^Even the old man is joining in. Looks like this will be a tough fight… we're going to join in too, right?^

Ash nodded, hopping from the carriage, ignoring Alice's panicked calls for him to return. The wolf's eyes looked towards the mercenary teams, and he grit his teeth.

Ash's eyes were fixed on one group, standing to the right of the roadblock.

Above their heads, a blue flag was waving wildly in the wind.

On that flag were two birds, their beaks clasping onto an arrow.