Merchant Caravan

The next day arrived quickly. Flora, Feng Ye, and Anne gathered together for a quick breakfast before heading over to the caravan meetup spot. 

It was almost noon. Redwood Town was busy and field with chatter. The chaos that had erupted the past few days has caused damage throughout the streets.

Numerous adventurers and hired hands could be seen helping out in the effort to rebuild and repair. As the trio walked through the streets, they could observe how busy the border town was around noon. Bartering and discussions could be heard everywhere. It was as though the majority of the town was a loud marketplace.

The trio approached one of the exits leading out of Redwood Town. An enforcer noticed them and waved them over.

"Hey! Over here! Follow me. Krum sent me." The enforcer motioned to the trio to follow him and led them to an area filled with wagons, horses, and merchants preparing for departure. Everywhere were crates filled with goods and supplies.

Some horses nearby neighed as merchants can be seen busily loading up the wagons with goods and securing them with rope.

The enforcer led them up to the caravan leader. A short, gruff man with a thick beard. He was sitting on one of the crates and waved them over.

"Hey Marvo, Krum sent these three over. They'll be with you on your trip. I'll be taking my leave." The enforcer greeted the caravan leader and then took his leave.

Marvo glanced at Flora, Feng Ye, and Anne. In a gruff voice, he asked. "You three are the ones Krum mentioned?"

Anne nodded as she showed her stamped guild document. Flora and Feng Ye did the same. Marvo glanced at them briefly.

"Okay, looks good. You can ride as passengers. It'll be a few days journey. It's a bit far from this border town. We might make a few stops to resupply on the way there." Marvo picked up a carrot from a nearby wagon and took a bite. 

He paused a bit to chew before continuing. 

"You can take the third wagon over there. You may want to keep your weapons handy. The route is mostly safe and we have adventurers as escorts, but you really never know what crawls out of the trees and wilderness."

Anne grinned. "No worries, we are also pretty great at slicing up beasts and bandits." She winked at Feng Ye.

Marvo cracked a smile. "Great, more protection is always welcomed! You can take the second wagon instead."

The trio climbed aboard the second wagon. It had a thin fabric that acted as a roof which blocked the sunlight. The space within was spacious as the second wagon was a more spacious wagon than the third. They shared the space with some crates, but it wasn't packed to the point of feeling uncomfortable. 

At around five past noon, the caravan started moving. Five wagons pulled by two horses each rolled down the dirt path that led towards the capital. Some hired adventurers walked alongside the wagon and patrolled the surroundings tightly guarding the goods.

As they moved along, the large trees with red bark slowly disappeared. Large trees with brown trunks appeared instead. They had made their way out of Redwood Town's forest and were well on their way to the next destination. 

Along the way, the air contained the scent of pine, dust, and wildflowers.

The first few hours were relatively quiet. Occasionally, they passed other travelers going in the opposite direction towards the border town. These were usually farmers with carts, lone adventurers, merchants, and other workers from smaller towns. 

Within the second wagon, Feng Ye sat on one of the crates with his eyes closed. He wasn't asleep, but he was resting his eyes. He calmly listened to the sounds from outside the wagon. 

Anne nearby was messing around with an apple. A sudden jolt of the wagon made that apple fall out of her hands, causing it to roll on the floor.

"Oops. Unlucky bump there." Anne grinned as she picked the apple up

Flora sitting on a crate across glanced at Anne and asked. "When did you end up picking that up?"

"I bought from a merchant just before we boarded the wagon. Apples are a great snack for later!"

Anne's fingers lit up as mana wrapped around her fingers. She waved her palm at the apple. The mana wrapped around the apple delicately. The dirt that had stuck onto it was slowly removed as though the mana was scrubbing it off.

"Have to clean this up. It got dirty when it fell." Anne grinned.

Flora showed a speechless expression. "You are a true talent. Excess mana to clean an apple."

Anne gave her a thumbs-up before yawning. She glanced at Feng Ye nearby who had his eyes closed and then at Flora. "So… has either of you been to the capital before?"

Flora shook her head. "Never. This will be my first time."

Anne blinked as she thought for a brief moment. "Really? But you are a guild receptionist. I figured you'd have visited for business or training."

Flora smiled. She gazed outside the wagon at the scenery outside that was filled with colorful wildflowers.

"I grew up in a small town just west of Redwood Town. I never had a reason to go that far. After my father died, I stayed close to home to take care of my mother."

Anne's go happy expression became serious and softened. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's fine." Flora shook her head gently. "He was an adventurer. Went to the forest near the mountains and didn't come back. There was a search party, but he was never found…. I was raised by my mother alone after that. I decided that a stable, safer path was for me. Joined the guild to be close to the adventurers without risking my life every day."

Feng Ye opened his eyes slowly while Flora spoke. He observed Flora's fingers tug at the loose thread on her sleeves.

"I thought it'd be safer," Flora added. "However, the world had other plans." 

Anne rubbed her temple. "You seemed to be pretty ambitious though. That's pretty dangerous at the guild branch."

Flora nodded. "Yes, the branch had many layers of corruption. One wrong move could land you in hot water. I had no choice."

"For what it's worth, your father would be proud," Anne reassured while leaning forward and placing her right hand on Flora's shoulder. 

"Now you are taking on the capital. If you need any help, you can reach out to me." Anne grinned.

"I'll be sure to reach out." Flora nodded. She also glanced over at Feng Ye who now had his eyes open before turning back to Anne.

"What about you? I know you are from the capital. Your name had reached all the way to Redwood Town."

Anne leaned back and bit her freshly cleaned apple. "Born and raised in the capital. Big family, lots of expectations, and many annoying nobles trying to impress my parents. I left as soon as possible. It was tiring and adventuring was more suitable for me."

Flora knew of Anne's background from the guild, thus, she wasn't surprised. 

Feng Ye added to lighten the mood. "So, you are that kind of noble." He smirked. "The runaway kind."

Anne stared at Feng Ye before she cracked into a sly smile. "That's pretty course. I would refer to myself as the freedom loving wanderer."

Feng Ye let out a dry laugh.