Jones P.O.V :

Hearing there was a group approaching made me freeze for an instant. There are a couple ways that this could go bad for us. The most obvious is that this is a group of bandits, despite the most likely violent outcome this is then one I would prefer to go with right now since it is one we are likely to win. Anyone over level forty with a few combat skills has no reason to turn to banditry this close to the capital.

The second situation was that this was a fellow merchant caravan. This would be the worst situation for us as we could be tangentially blamed if they turned around to avoid the same supply seizure we just went through.

“Most of them wear the mark of the Healing Union but the one in the front bears the sigil of house Axebane.” Donny finished his report and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Right now I was patting myself on the back for my earlier decision of not interfering with the previous guards. Had I decided to stand up to them and refuse to hand over the goods this following meeting could have turned into our execution.

As for whether we could stand up to them I would say it wouldn’t have been a problem. They weren’t in great shape to fight like we were and their levels were mostly in the low forties. A year ago I wouldn’t have been so cavalier about the situation but in the last half a year our mentality and approach to diving changed ever so slightly. Ajax being with us and pushing so hard to progress had made us more competitive and determined, everyone gained at least a full level with some who were already close to leveling like me getting two.

“Excuse me, sir…” I approach the man with house Axebane’s sigil and wait for him to introduce himself.

“Leonard Smith.” he said curtly. “What do you want?”

He had taken a brief look around our camp and was already in a hurry to push forward. His name was odd, for a warrior, which he clearly was, in service to a house having a last name could mean a few things, most of them prestigious. The name Smith however narrowed it down to his family having been in the house’s service for at least one more generation before his and the first being employed as a smith.

“I have a message for you.” I quickly explained and offered the scroll I was given. “A captain at Lordin told me to give it to the first party with Axebane’s sigil I came across.”

“We’ll be camping here for tonight” he called out to the rest of his group after he read the scroll. “Would you mind sharing your camp?”

His question put us a little on the spot. I could see one or two carts with them but all of them were filled with people, as it was we were already going to be asking Ajax and his teacher for food. Then again I knew that despite not having used any skill to judge the man’s strength the quality of his gear meant he was at least level one hundred.

“We have our own supplies.” A young woman said. No it wasn’t that she was young, my intuition pointed me to her being maybe older than I was, she just simply invested in Vitality a lot more and a lot sooner than I had.

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“Please, by all means.” The caravan leader spoke up as soon as he heard the word supplies. I wasn’t sure if he was aiming to have them share some of theirs or just that their presence would put pressure on Ajax and his teacher to share theirs but his motivation of getting food was plain to see.

End of P.O.V.

Ajax and Hatchet watched as the whole group approached and started setting up next to the fire. Both had deep frowns on their faces that lessened when they saw the group pulling out their own supplies out of enchanted bags.

Looking over the people of the group Ajax started using [Judge Threat] on them as they approached. Most came across as little to no threat, not surprising considering the healer robes they wore. The exception was the woman who seemed to be their leader as she was organizing them. She came back as a decent threat, not quite as strong as Grievous but she wasn’t far off.

Bringing up the rear and joining Jones and the caravan leader were three men who all wore armor and the Axebane sigil. The ranking amongst them was obvious and as Ajax inspected the one carrying a few packs he judged him to be around a level fifty fighter. The second had come back as stronger than even Grievous, if he had to guess Ajax would put him at level seventy, maybe even higher.

Not only was he strong but he also locked eyes with Ajax right after he used the skill. The brief flash of surprise on his face let him know that he was also inspected in some way. Moving on to the third man who was still talking to Jones Ajax activated [Judge Threat] again. This time he didn’t get any feeling of what power the man was on, instead winced as he felt a brief spike of pain pulse through his temples.

“Well this is certainly interesting” The third man was suddenly speaking from in front of him as he blinked. “That’s quite the level for someone so young looking, would you mind telling me what house you work for sir Ajax?”

Ajax froze up hearing the words. It wasn’t fear that made him freeze, he had mentally prepared himself for this. He quickly sorted through the information the man revealed. First things first he clearly knew his name, that and his level.

His way of addressing him, the comment about his age and the simple fact he was willing to stand so close to him told him a few things. First he couldn’t see his age, and second he assumed he was a physical fighter. He also guessed that he didn’t get a good read on his true power or the reaction wouldn’t have been so small. Most likely none of them had [Judge Threat].

“Silence it is then.” The man continued after a short pause when Ajax didn’t say anything and simply gave him a nod.

He took a step away before turning and saying “My name is Leonard Smith, should you be looking for more generous employment in the future, do look for me. House Axebane is always looking for talented young people.”

Ajax simply nodded slowly as he calmed down. It took almost a minute before he was once again aware of everything else that was happening around him and he stopped staring after Leonard. Unbeknownst to him Leonard took his actions as him thinking favorably about his offer and showed a small smile for the first time that night.

Hatchet had not been standing idly by. While Ajax and the caravan leader had been interested in the approaching party and quickly approached the man’s apprentice and worked out a very favorable deal for them to share their supplies.

Jones and the caravan leader were surprised to see that everyone was already preparing to eat but both had different reactions to the situation. While Jones just smiled, happy that he wouldn’t have to help plead a case to Ajax for sharing the supplies, the leader frowned and headed for his apprentice.

“What happened with the supplies?” the caravan leader asked in a hushed whisper once he dragged his apprentice into a tent, despite the silencing enchantment he still whispered as he wasn’t too trusting and could fully block Leonard.

“The old man approached me to set up a trade.” he said smugly. “Greedy old bastard wanted to sell us the supplies for three times market prices in the capital. His merchant skills are so low that he couldn’t even counter offer anything after I said one and a half times.”

The caravan leader's face went through a few emotions quickly, starting with anger then to acceptance and finally to amusement. “He’s clever that one.” he gave out a quick chuckle.

“What do you mean?” the apprentice asked.

“The man is clearly not a merchant.” he said as he cuffed the man around the back of the head. “He likely doesn’t have any merchant skills at all, he just realized the situation would force him to share the supplies and threw a stupidly high number to get as good an offer as he could of you.”