“Put them on later and stuff with straw, they’re too big for you”, the huntress advised, “What you wear now is going to screw up your feet, so better get used to these. Come with me. I’ll show you the ropes.”

Nua looked at the ropes that held the saddlebags or kept the packages in the wagons from moving.

“It’s just an expression”, chimed in Anki. “It means that she will give you instructions.”

“Sure thing! Did you think I didn’t know!”, the girl huffed. Hessa was gesturing, telling her to follow. She obeyed.

They were waddling in the crowd of animals and people. Hessa started talking, but the noise made it impossible to understand. Between bashmu roaring and stomping in place out of boredom, and drivers yelling, words could not get through. A pungent smell was telling Nua that some of the animals relieved themselves in the courtyard. A courier boy navigated in the crowd. Someone laughed hysterically, someone dropped a package and judging from his tone, was spewing profanities. Shards of straw were floating in the air, glittering in the sun and irritating Nua’s nose and eyes.

“…you good?”

They entered the vestibule of the inn. Nua stuck her pinky into her ear, then looked at it.

“Better”, she said.

“It’s a bit of a hassle, now”, Hessa admitted. “When the whole caravan is packing up.”

“There are many caravans here, though?” the girl blinked.

Hessa laughed.

“What you imagine as caravans”, she explained. “Are the convoys of small merchants and passenger carriages. They travel short routes between the Overlord Mercy and the surrounding towns and villages. Week or two at the most. You were looking for a job in a caravan and didn’t realize what it was?”

“Well, I know that there are trader wagons, and they go through the desert, and you can make a living out of it…” Nua started. “Better than otherwise.”

“That’s all true.” The huntress nodded. “Come, help me carry stuff. I’ll tell you on the route. I think what you don’t realize is the scale.”

The scale. Hessa, it turned out, had a way with words just like Anki, only they were probably trade-related. Nua thought that this is the sort of language she could learn and not sound too awkward.

“You don’t mean a scale like to weigh trading goods.”

“No, a scale, like a proportion”, Hessa pondered. “How large something is. How many pack animals do you reckon we have, bashmu and camels together? What do you think?”

In the vestibule, the packages were piling up, and people were picking them up in a somewhat organized manner. Hessa passed them by and opened the door on the side. They were now climbing a circular staircase.

“Twenty?”

“Nope.”

“Fifty?”

“Four hundred.”

“Four hundred?!”

“Give or take”, said Hessa. “More than half of them are bashmu. Most of the stables, here and in the surrounding inns, are occupied by us right now.”

That’s why the stable boy was so mean, thought Nua. Everyone and their mother wanted to go with the caravan. A moving city, that was. She planned to travel with something that she realized now was a merchant convoy, and she bit off more than she could chew, yet again. If a short route was two weeks long, how long was the regular one? She was afraid to ask.

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“You’re lucky. We’re moving out tomorrow before dawn.”

“I thought it was today.”

“While I like traveling in the twilight, it is impossible to pack everyone that fast. It took us most of the day today. What are you trying to flee?”, she gave her an attentive look.

Nua wriggled her fingers.

“I… maybe angered a few people.”

“No worries, kid.”, Hessa said. “No gang is going to look for you in this place. Unless they have an army of their own.”

They do, Nua thought. She hoped that they won’t find her that easily though.

“Is Ashra the leader?”

“You got that right.”, the huntress looked at the girl thoughtfully again. “Her full name is Ashraqat Belshatzzaryan, and she’d been traveling the route between the Overlord Mercy and the Vengeance almost for a decade. How did you know where to find her?”

“I got lucky.” That was part of the truth. While Anki was helping with the directions and gauged which groups were easy to approach, he didn’t know who was who.

“Let me tell you, girl”, she said. “Natural talent or not, they won’t let you be a merchant. If it was just about Ashra – she does not care. She’s really sweet when you get to know her.”

Nua raised her brows. That was an odd choice of words, and there was fondness in Hessa’s voice.

“But the others, who trade with us, they would rather talk to a leper,” she continued. “They’ve come to accept that the Unsagga make for good mercenaries, and hire us as that, and that’s all. You’re small for a mercenary, and if I’m not mistaken, past the age of growth. But you can be a desert guide. A scout. That’s what I am.”

“I thought you were a hunter?”

“Oh yeah, that too. But I’m not feeding all of them fat bellies!” She laughed. “And it’s not just the edible prey we need to hunt.”

That sounded ominous.

“Well, you’ve got the eyes, and you’ve got smarts. If you have the guts to match, you could do it. That is, in the future”, she added. “Right now I need a helping hand in the camp. With all the explorers disturbing ancient grounds, there are more of them wretches nowadays. I barely have time to do the deed, and that leaves no space to do any prepping. Or searching through their lairs. Treasures go to waste.”

“More of who?”

“Desert monsters, of course. Ghouls in particular.”

“This is such a bad idea”, she mumbled to Anki.

“Oh, nonsense. It will be good for your training.”

“Are you serious?!”

“I have promised you power. I gave you a binding oath in my name. Right now, we’re fleeing the city because you don’t have enough power to fight off the thieves who claimed my war machine”, Anki reminded.

This is not my fight, thought Nua, and not my war, but she didn’t say anything. They needed to have a serious talk, and it was long overdue.

“You get food and lodging in the caravan”, Hessa went on, “And since your position in the convoy is equivalent to a stable girl, a silver a day.”

Nua blinked.

“…wait, what.”

“A silver a day.”

“Not a silver a week.”

“Not a silver a week,” confirmed Hessa. “We’re not fish dealers. You’re working with people who make money. This means you will get money.”

They were walking along the corridor on the second floor right now, and the echo was resounding between the walls. Nua looked through the arched window. It was fitted with a glass windowpane, smooth like the surface of River En when the wind was still. The material itself, though, was far from perfect, unlike the mirror in Anki’s temple. It was thick, half-transparent, and had small bubbles submerged within.

“How did you know…”

“The smell,” Hessa said. “It lingers.”

Nua groaned inwardly. Hessa opened another door, and inside there was a room for two, with a large wooden bed that the girl had never seen before. Well, she never saw that much furniture, either, perhaps except for the Vedan merchant’s office. There was a wardrobe inside, with a carved mahogany door, and the octagonal table painted in the images of camels looked like something made for a noble.

“It’s so beautiful in here”, she said to Anki.

“A bit tacky, if I might express an opinion. Also, the furniture is badly scuffed, and the carpet is worn”, the king glanced at Nua’s face. “…or never mind, I will just let you admire the inn.”

There were backpacks and saddlebags on the bed, and Hessa passed Nua two of them. She fought off the temptation of reinforcing herself with ether and grimaced, her back still sore. One small bag was left in the corner, still half-packed.

“The pay is good”, the huntress continued. “But you’ll quickly see where all the coin goes. You can’t run half-naked across the desert. You need equipment, and while I can get you some of mine for starters, don’t spend everything on ale. At some point, you’ll have to get knives, weapons, provisions, and lastly, your own steed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s see if you’re not going to run away after the first hundred miles.”

“We can make a bet.”

Hessa smiled.

“I can see you’re different from the regular city stock”, she admitted. “Even if you’re a tad short. It’s in the eyes.”

Nua groaned again. The huntress was smirking. The girl paused, as the reality started to sink in. A silver a day. She was rich.

“Can you send money to your family through the desert?”

“That will cost you, but yes. There are couriers.”

Nua nodded. Her house had no address, and there were no post offices in the Bottoms. But Hala could receive letters, addressed to their friendly tavern. After all, everyone knew each other. Nua had to find a way to conceal the coins inside the letter, but that was a concern for later.