It was a few hours later when Pale was awoken by the wagon coming to an abrupt stop. She lurched upright, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Nightmares had plagued her unconscious mind yet again; she still hadn't gotten used to what having them felt like, so accustomed was she to putting herself in hibernation and waiting out the time.

And at this point, it wasn't at all a stretch to say she much preferred her sleep to be dreamless more than anything.

Next to her, Kayla began to stir awake. Judging by the expression on her face, she'd suffered in much the same way Pale had, but she was careful not to pry, instead turning her attention outside the wagon. Curiously, the snow-covered ground had given way to patches of white and splotches of green instead, and the temperature was far warmer than it had been even a few hours ago. Pale's brow furrowed, and she moved to the front of the wagon to speak with Evie.

"Where are we?"

"Well, good morning to you, too," Evie said without looking back. "Or evening, more like – you were both out for quite some time. Anyway, to answer your question, we're at a small village a few hours away from the sea. The sign out front said this place is called Stonebriar, and before you ask, yes, this is where my caravan is supposed to be – we've got a delivery to make here."

Pale relaxed slightly upon hearing that. "You were awake the entire time?"

"I was. But don't worry about me – I've got a little pick-me-up." Evie held up a small mug, which was filled with a steaming liquid of some kind. "My people refer to it as morning dew – it comes straight from my home forest; it's a type of caffeinated drink brewed from dark brown beans that grow there. I always make sure to take a bunch with me whenever I'm about to go on the road. Want some?"

"I'll pass for now," Pale said. "But thanks."

Evie shrugged. "Suit yourself." Noise from behind interrupted them, and a faint grin crossed her face. "How are you feeling, Kayla? Sleep alright?"

"I've had better…" Kayla muttered as she approached. Upon seeing the outskirts of the city coming into view, she immediately perked up. "Whoa… what's this place?"

"Stonebriar," Pale answered. "Apparently, this is our first stop. Evie, are we staying here for a while?"

"A few days, ideally," Evie answered. "There's a blizzard coming in that's gonna leave us stranded for a bit. Not that I mind – we'll collect payment for our delivery, wait out the snow, and then be on our way with our next package, whatever it may be. So not quite an in-and-out job, but not too bad by our standards, either."

"You seem confident that you'll be able to get more work out of this place," Pale surmised.

Evie smiled at her. "One thing you learn doing this for as long as I have is that there's always work to be done, Pale. Ultimately, it just comes down to finding it and negotiating proper payment… well, and fending off the occasional bandit raid, but thankfully I've got you two to help with that."

"Expecting trouble?"

"No, but trouble has a way of finding you, especially when you're carrying around valuables. Doesn't hurt to be prepared, just in case. But somehow, I get the feeling you understand that just fine."

"More than you could ever believe…" Pale said quietly.

XXX

After a few more minutes of traveling along the road, the caravan made it to the front gates of the city. They were just about to cross into it when a cadre of guards stepped out in front of them, flanked by an officer in regal-looking bronze-colored plate armor.

"Ah…" Evie said under her breath. "Heads up, we might have trouble."

"What's going on?" Kayla asked, a small tinge of worry creeping into her tone.

"Nothing, nothing. But don't be surprised if we have to grease a few palms to get inside."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just act natural and follow my lead, alright?"

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Kayla gave a reluctant nod at that, settling back into her seat. Pale, however, was much more on-edge – she watched as the guards approached, one hand drifting to the knife still sheathed at her waist. It was the only weapon she currently had access to, her old ones having been left in the snow and any replacements currently in orbit, but it was still better than nothing.

The regal-looking officer approached Evie's wagon, allowing Pale to get a good look at him for the first time. He was tall, standing just over six feet, and was well-muscled. His head was shaved, save for the bushy black beard he had styled into a short braid, and a series of scars covered his right eye, the iris of which was a dull gray compared to the brilliant green of his left eye. A large sword was hanging from his right waist, and a shorter dagger accompanied it on his left.

As he stopped at the side of the wagon, Evie flashed him her best grin. "Evening, sir. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Cut the bullshit," the officer snarled. "State your business here."

To her credit, Evie's jovial expression didn't falter one bit. "Ah, come on – at least give me the pleasure of knowing your name."

"Knight-Captain Allen," he all but spat. "I will ask one more time – state your business here."

"Alright, alright, geez. We're just a few traveling merchants, here to deliver some spices by caravan."

"And your papers?"

This time, Evie's expression faltered. "Papers…? The person giving me the job gave me no mention of-"

"It's a new policy this city's Lord just implemented to ward off bandits, bootleggers, smugglers, and other assorted criminal scum. Just went into effect a few weeks ago. If you don't have any papers backing you up, then you won't be delivering anything."

"You can't do that!" Evie protested. "We've been on the road for weeks, how would we even know about-"

"I don't make the rules, just enforce them," Allen said, his expression narrowing.

"Do you really think if I was a smuggler or bootlegger, that I'd try to take the main entrance into town?" Evie asked, desperation creeping into her voice. "Come on, I've got someone paying good money for this stuff!"

"That so?" Allen asked, suddenly interested. "Who is it?"

Evie seemed to realize her mistake instantly, as she quieted down. Allen's expression narrowed, and he leaned in. "Who?" he growled.

"S-some bartender…" Evie muttered. "Runs a tavern called the Stuck Pig, or something like that… three hells if I know his name; the guy setting up the delivery just told me to drop the stuff off and collect the rest of my payment there."

"Evie-" Kayla began, only for Allen to suddenly whip towards her and level her with a harsh gaze. She shrank back underneath it, and Pale's grip around the hilt of her blade turned white-knuckled.

"And what's this?" Allen asked. "These two don't appear to be elves."

"Elves or not, they're family," Evie declared. "And no, I don't have any damn papers to prove that, if it matters so much to you. But they're with me."

Allen turned towards Pale. "And you? Your outfit doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before. Where'd you get it?"

"Classified," Pale answered. "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

"Is that a threat?" he snarled.

"No, it's a-"

"Pale," Evie interrupted, silencing her. "Look, Knight-Captain… I mentioned earlier that I'm getting paid to make this delivery, right? Well, I can tell just by looking at you that you're a man who appreciates the finer things in life. So what if we were to cut you and yours in on the deal?"

"Are you bribing me?" Allen demanded.

"Oh, not at all." Evie shook her head. "This is more of an assurance on our part that what we're doing is right by this city's Lord. So, how about this – you escort us to our destination, make sure everything we're doing is on the straight-and-narrow, and in return, we pay a not-so-little tribute to this city's Lord. Seems like a win-win for everybody, if you ask me – we get to complete our job and get paid for it, your Lord gets a cut of the profits, and you and your men get to rake in all the glory of a deal well-struck, along with the knowledge that your Lord would certainly want to repay you all for it. Definitely sounds much better than just turning us away, now doesn't it?"

That gave Allen pause. He thought for a moment, a hand going to his beard in thought, before he gave a begrudging nod.

"...Very well," he conceded with a grunt. "Follow me. And if any of you or yours so much as step a toe out of line in my Lord's city, you can rest assured that I'll be cutting it off in the blink of an eye. Understand?"

"Crystal clear," Evie said, giving him another smile. "Let's get going, then."

Allen said nothing in response, instead motioning for his men to form up alongside the caravan as they began to move through the city.

The entire time, Pale's hand stayed stuck to her knife.

XXX

"Asshole…" Evie muttered as they all watched Allen and his men disappear further into town.

"How much did he take?" Kayla tentatively asked.

"Fifty pieces of silver," Evie spat in response. "Half the damn payment."

"You had to know this would happen," Pale said. "Why strike the deal with him in the first place, then?"

"Because fifty pieces of silver is still better than no pieces of silver, not to mention that there's still that blizzard coming in we're going to have to deal with," Evie pointed out. "And I don't want to be out on the road when it finally hits. I've met his type before – the kind that are completely loyal to their king, or lord, or whatever. He was never going to let himself be bought out… but his master is a different story, and he knows it." She sighed tiredly. "Well, we're here now. Might as well make ourselves comfortable the best way we know how."

"And how would that be?" Pale asked.

"I mean, we just got paid. And I can think of no better way to celebrate than by getting properly wasted."

"Ah…" Kayla ventured. "Is that such a good idea?"

"No, but I'm mad, and this is the best way I can think of to blow off some steam," Evie explained. "Plus, you two probably need a drink after what you've been through. So I insist that you join me tonight."

"Do you know a place?" Pale asked.

"No, but trust me, finding one won't be too hard."

Evie motioned for them both to follow her, then began to walk. Pale and Kayla exchanged a glance, and then a moment later, took off after her.