"Haaa...." Traveling some 30 kilometers didn't look as much, even at the average walking pace. Still, this first day of my return journey to Megvuroz felt far more tiring than it was. Thus, my half-sigh as I lowered myself on the blanket extended next to a campfire, some meters away from the resting spot's well.
The last stop before Bald Hill. The hill that had met us with sabotage on my first visit and the one that stressed Aison so much on my second passing. Still, it would be now safe, with the [Rophe'Graz] leaving it not later than the end of the first week of the [Rophedoa] month. As for sabotage, I shouldn't fear anything. After all, not only I had a single companion who was interested in reaching Megvuroz even more than I was, but we had nothing to sabotage, traveling on foot.
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Oh, well, who am I kidding? How could I fear danger with people caring about our well-being? From behind and the front? Here, on my [Record], I should note them, even if I ignored them as I traveled.
My thoughts, in Bigradh, about my sleep being safe were true, but even so, I couldn't have expected that I would have a tail, nearly an escort, as Dart and I moved out.
But well, it was so, my quick [Life Radar] confirming dots moving at our same pace from behind, and a covered wagon passing us a couple of times, only to find it at the next stop and then to have it speed past us later.
There was not even a need for [Status Screen] to check it, as I already knew, but I couldn't help but confirm the fact, and indeed, the wagon's driver and single passenger were no one else but members of the [Royal Hound] group.
And as average as they were, I was sure our journey would be safe, the two young men obviously having some tricks or at least a way to call for reinforcements. Otherwise, they wouldn't be controlling our route, would they?
As for the pair of dots, I always would find behind, during each of my seven [Life Radar] spells, I didn't doubt they were the same, [Hounds] assigned to look that I did arrive to Megvuroz.
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"Ah, don't bother. I got enough food for both of us until we get to the city." Well, in truth, I had splurged nearly half of the remaining money Zelindo gave me for travel expenses in food in a tavern near the [Trade Guild] branch of Bigradh this morning, so we could probably live for a couple of weeks without touching the cooking utensils.
"Hmm?" Silent as always, not that it would be strange as Dart was mute, a forced one, he looked at me while humming inquisitively.
"I can use magic, right?" After a nod of agreement, I continued, "And I knew we would walk until Megvuroz, so I bought everything I could, so there is no need to bother with that." Finishing my short explanation, I summoned a full-course meal. Meat broth, roasted pork, a plate of mixed chopped vegetables, and a big wooden jug of beer for each of us, cutlery included, as I didn't bother to move anything, just bought it with the plates and all.
Seeing this, Dart was probably surprised, but he held himself outstandingly, only deeply nodding in gratitude. Well, I can't blame him for feeling the latter. After all, I was supposed to help him get to Megvuroz, not take care of him. "No worries, I am grateful for a companion, and I promised you would get there..." I shrugged, considering that offering some meals as part of the escort didn't affect me, not now - a few silvers, what I spent for everything, nothing more than mere spare change.
After finishing the food peacefully and without anyone bothering us, which was surprising considering the road was supposedly pretty well-transited this season, I prepared to sleep. As for Dart, he reached for the pair of daggers on his belt, which I provided after confirming he had no weapons in possession, probably intending to stand guard.
"No need for that either. Just rest. We not only have a tail but also got some guards close by from the front. And if the unexpected happens, I will wake up first." Dart had already pointed me at the tail, with signs and drawings of something resembling two figures behind the dots I assumed to be us as we ate the meal provided by Sid earlier in the day. At that point, though, I didn't explain anything, merely saying he should ignore them. But now, maybe I considered that I should, "The people around us are making sure I get to Megvuroz, and as you travel with me, they will defend both. So, take the chance to rest. After all, who knows what Soni will have you do in Megvuroz."
{Or what we can run into while traveling.} While I didn't want to involve someone I recently met in my own troubles, ones that could surface at any time, as deal or not, I felt unable to trust no one would attempt to silence me, so I was prepared for some shit to happen. And the [Hounds] escort only confirmed my thoughts, actually. After all, why would they escort me now, on supposedly safe territory, if there was no threat?
"Hmm?" Dart probably didn't buy my shortened explanation, and between the gaze of his upturned eyes, and the twitching of his ears, I understood he still doubted our safety.
"I can't share much, as I did promise you would arrive safely, so let's just say that powerful people are looking after me." Sharing anything about the events from Chubu was dangerous, especially to a nobody, or even worse - Dart was just a recently freed slave, after all - would spell him only disaster.
This time Dart did accept my words and started to prepare his own sleeping spot, nothing more than a blanket on the ground near the fire, nearly the same as mine. {I could have gotten some camping stuff, couldn't I?} With this thought, I straightened my blanket and, summoning a bundle of cloth from my [Inventory] to serve as a pillow, fell asleep as soon as I laid down.
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As expected, the night was absolutely peaceful. No one bothered us, and as I woke up, there was no sign of anyone else but our tail and vanguard on my [Life Radar]. Surprisingly, or maybe not, Dart was still asleep. Not that I can blame him, it was probably the first time in a while that he could sleep easy. I could say that thanks to me if my words about safety were trustworthy, even to myself.
Considering that giving him some time wouldn't affect me, I tried to stand up silently, but I hardly made a sound as Dart jumped up, his hands (hands, right?) darting to the daggers on his belt.
"Good morning."
"Mmm." Dart nodded, dropping his guard only after he looked, and even sniffed, around.
"Let's eat and move out." There was nearly nothing to gather as our camp was nothing but a couple of blankets, so after summoning, and finishing, a whole casserole of porridge with herbs and nuts, we restarted our journey barely half an hour from when I woke up.
***
The [Bald Hill], then our meal, and by sunset, the [Crossroads Inn] walls; The same places I have traveled back and forth, except today, there was no one to block, sabotage, or attack us. Hell, there wasn't even anyone to whom I could talk! I saw no one but the same wagon from the previous day once, and while it would be a lie to say that there was literally no one around, my [Life Radar] indicating several dozens of dots at the side roads, it didn't change the fact that I, and by consequence Dart, traveled an absolutely empty, surprisingly safe path.
{I understand that they want me to reach the city and complete whatever deal Zelindo prepared, which seems a part of a bigger, probably even Royal, plan, but..? Isn't this going a bit overboard?} Indeed, what else could I think about the [Hounds] obviously making sure that I wouldn't even see something? So what to say about getting endangered?
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Dart also seemed surprised by the empty road, his ears, tails, and nose twitching at every step we made, his head turning from side to side, trying to get a whiff of at least something. Regretfully, no matter how I wanted to calm his nervousness, I had no way to do without revealing something he shouldn't know.
"Seems that the road is empty today. Maybe something happened?" A half-assed lie which wasn't even one. After all, something indeed happened - me. As Dart's head turned towards me, I added, "Let's not tempt fate and continue forward. We should move closer to [Tessaway Fort] and its patrols." I didn't doubt our safety, at least not to the degree of panic, but after considering the options, I decided to go towards the fort. Or at least the well where we parked with Reuben's caravan on our last night before Megvuroz.
A journey that previously took about three hours took Dart and me about an hour and a half. The sun was yet to set entirely, but after thinking for a bit, I decided against continuing forward, as it was clear that we could only reach the fort past midnight, and [Hounds] or not, [Light] spell or not, I felt that traveling during the night was unwise.
"Let's sleep here. So we reach Megvuroz gates by midday or so." Taking our speed into consideration, it was perfectly doable without any rush. {Hopefully, the night is peaceful as the previous one.} For some reason, I had a feeling of something about to happen, and my last thought as I went to sleep reflected it.
The same feeling was also reflected in my use of [Life Radar] thrice between our dinner and going to sleep. Probably the same thing occurred to Dart, or maybe it rubbed from me as I saw how he purposedly covered his right arm, dagger in hand, with the blanket.
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Feelings or not, the night was peaceful, nothing molesting our sleep. And in the morning, as we woke up, there was no sign of anything happening during the night either, my [Life Radar] showing the four dots, the [Hounds], in the same position as before I went to sleep.
{Maybe I was mistaken?} From the very few instances that my intuition had actually told me to be wary, it had never been mistaken, but who knows, maybe it could be. Thus my words as we woke up, "With the closeness to Megvuroz and the Fort's patrols around, it was peaceful, wasn't it?"
"Mmm." Dart nodded in agreement, though I did feel him doubtful of something. Still, with him unable to speak his mind, I could only shrug the matter aside, dropping it entirely.
"Let's eat and move out. Megvuroz is barely half a day away." With nothing else but to continue our path, what else could I say?
***
[Tessaway Fort] met us with the same nearly-black towers, the bridge between them, and soldiers visible at every battlement. With us being no threat or maybe already informed of our passage, there was no trouble passing under the bridge or reaching the water source at the caravan spot. The [Rampbridge], as I dubbed it previously, was up, and no one came down to interfere, receive, or interact with us, so, after a brief stop, we continued our path, which in less than an hour would conclude, the white walls of Megvuroz before us.
The three gates met us with absolute solitude, something unexpected, as even when traveling with Reuben, I saw some people loitering around the first gate. {Are the [Hounds] so powerful? Did Zelindo and the Viscount prepare for this, or am I just being paranoid, and there is no one just because of other logical reasons?} Even as I [Record] this, and the moon is high in the sky, I am pretty much in the dark about this part, as, indeed, a city with not a single person wanting to enter? At midday?!
Well, if something remained unchanged, it was the heavy control at the gate, as we had just made our first steps towards it when four armed soldiers blocked our paths, their spears blocking any way forward, "Who are you?!" A commanding voice that, while slightly insecure, was still full of authority resounded in the emptiness of the ravine, one of them asking out loud.
"I am from the [Trade Guild] and have been tasked with delivering a message." There was no need to lie or play games, not with me going with my original name and looks, well, with the points of my hair still brown but whatever.
"Badge?" The same guard, a youngster barely above the adult mark, sixteen in this world, standing closer to us, asked right away.
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Now, here, I met a dilemma. I had several badges in my possession, from the now-dead Rador's one and the bronze one given by Zelindo to the two given to me by Lelani after I accepted the deal presented by Gudea. Even leaving Rador aside, I had three, each carrying some weight, but only two bronze ones related to the [Cadowen Trade Guild].
The first one, Zelindo's, had no name engraved and was for me to use if I was to ask for assistance or command Guild's guards.
As for the other, Gudea's, somehow, issued one? It was not for a branch but directly for the [Guild] and did have my name. But it also stated my authority as an envoy of the Headquarters, which was not so far from the story spun up by Zelindo but would actually place me in some position. The latter was something I didn't want, especially not now, when after so many games, I had no other desire but to break free from them.
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After a small inner debate, I slowly, deliberately showing the action, reached for one of the pouches on my belt and, using [Inventory], summoned the nameless bronze badge, taking it out as it always was there.
"My name is Lindar. You can check with Maester Zelindo that I am who I am." My words were on the verge of being suspicious, but well - I flashed the badge, so they would have to ask the Guild, wouldn't they? Then less than a moment later, recalling I wasn't alone, I quickly added, "And my companion is an employee of mine, so do consider us as one."
While the guards were dutiful, they were far from being good actors. So, as their faces showed doubt at my claims, I found myself reinforcing my words by slowly procuring yet another thing from the same pouch, "If you check this scroll, it's one confirming I not only have the right to live in Megvuroz but also temporarily own a Guild's house."
"Oh!" With the scroll unfurled before their eyes, the city's emblem, the seals of the [Trade Guild] and the city, as well as the one of the Viscount, in front, the guards quickly moved their spears before asking us to wait. And as they requested the scroll, excusing themselves for the holdup, "Viscount orders, we can't allow anyone to pass, not even with identification. At least not before we check it thoughtfully!"
"I understand, security issues after all." Sepyre's holy tantrums (a new one!), if I understood or agreed to stand before the gate, yet I had to act my part, so I did.
"Thank you." The beardless, baby-faced guard that had been speaking to me smiled as he bashfully bowed, running off towards the gate's guardhouse quickly, leaving us in the company of the other three guards.
"Did something happen? I haven't seen such an extreme measure before!" As if I had seen any, yet some information was always good, so I acted as if I crossed the gate each friggin day.
"I am unsure that I can share what we were told-" One of the guards, a slightly over thirty man with average stats, started, but as I quickly shoved my hand towards him, a silver coin appearing on my open hand, his tune changed, "-but lately there have been several incidents in the city, damn fanatics of the flame god managing to somehow torch one of the altars in the temple of the Ten and one of the priests killed, disemboweled with his own ceremonial dagger."
"With his own dagger!" Quickly recalling what I knew about the ten, I remembered who of the Ten had anything to do with weapons and asked, "You don't mean one of Ovgyn's priests, do you?!"
"Indeed, a lamentable event, but Ovgyn lost one of her own just two sunsets ago." One of the other guards, a balding man in his late forties, confirmed my guess, his head bobbing up and down.
"I hope it wasn't the same one that blessed our outing last time I visited the temple! That young man truly spoke to the Goddess!" Considering my last departure, the [Trade Guild] could jump over the inspections if needed. And as I doubted that every guard read the entire book of passage anyways, I decided to go and lie big.
"You mean Orvor? No, thankfully, the boy is alive." I rapidly nodded at the mention of the name, as inwardly, I hoped for them to take the hazy explanation as bait to mention it.
"Thank the Ten, so then, who was the one killed?" With the guards adding to my barebones story, it was time to ask for specifics.
"Ghal, the one from the [T'roi] family. Even if of noble birth, he decided to dedicate himself to Ovgyn, and this to happen? The man was good, I heard several of his sermons, and he still got killed by some crazy fanatic." A previously silent guard, a bushy mustache hiding nearly half his scarred face, shook his head, unconsciously revealing the poorly healed scar along his neckline.
It is interesting to see people with such scars, as genuine healing magic would eliminate them, so it always raised the question, was it a money problem? Or did the holders of these scars hold on to them as proof of some event?
Or maybe the scars were signs of a big, genuine battle where no authentic healer was around, and redoing the process later was just too expensive. The restorative magic mentioned by Thafraeni at some point in her comments on healing was rare. Even by the old dwarf's words, only a couple of people among a thousand could understand it.
"Never meet him, but any loss among the faithful priests is painful indeed." I didn't care about someone's faith, be it to anyone, Ovgyn, the Goddess of [Battle, Chivalry, and Weapons] included, but any life was a life, right? Thus my words were sincere, even if I didn't follow the Ten, outright opposed them with my goal to establish Sepyre's worship.
"Oh, Rok's coming back. It seems that everything is fine, Maester Lindar." The guard I had passed the coin to nodded towards the gate, from where the youngest of the guards was starting towards our spot. But while it was clear he did get a confirmation of identity, I found myself nearly about to curse.
And indeed, how couldn't I, with him not alone but accompanied by two women, one of whom I had no desire to meet?!