Contrary to what Luna had expected, things now started to happen really fast. The talk with her parents had been heartbreaking and she had to tell the story several times, but in the end they had been very understanding and supportive, going as far as helping her with a cover story for the headman.
He was everything but happy, but Luna could do what she wanted and if she decided to leave, there was nothing he could do about it. Sure, he could have asked Luna to return the basic gear he had provided, but that would just have been petty. So they agreed that Luna would hunt some additional animals and deliver them directly to him, as recompense to the village.
The story they had come up with was that Luna's parents had held some of Luna's belongings back until after her Rite and with them in hand, Luna had a real lead to find out if she had other relatives out there. She had not expected for her parents to just make up a story and take all the blame, but she could not be happier. At first she had felt really bad about doubting them in the first place, but she kept reminding herself that caution would be her best friend in the future.
The yearly merchant visit was expected to happen in the near future, as he was returning from his yearly trek across the kingdom. If a merchant could afford to, they would not return to their hometown before winter, as traveling through snow and ice was not only uncomfortable but also dangerous. Even without monsters the roads could be treacherous und more than one caravan had never returned after being caught in a bad snow storm
In the meantime Luna spent her days working on her skills. The chance of very real trouble would only increase in the future and she would have to get used to using [Silent Shot] and [Double Jump] without hesitation. At first Luna had trouble with it, not being used to having active skills at all. She idly wondered how crafters felt, who would get nearly double the amount of active skills compared to combat classes, in return for reduced stat gain. Would they get confused over skills or did it get instinctual after a while?
The first thing Luna felt when using the skills for the first time was that both used Stamina and Mana. The amount of Mana was miniscule, but it was there and she wondered if that had to do with her race and special classes or if that was normal for the normal human classes as well? She reminded herself that asking about that would be absolutely stupid, because if the use of Mana was unusual, people might get suspicious.
[Silent Shot] was absolutely unnatural. Animals had no warning whatsoever and Luna missed the first shot with the skill, because she had anticipated the deer to raise its head and move, but without the advanced warning from the sound of the string hitting the bow, the arrow narrowly missed while the deer kept munching on some weeds, completely oblivious that death had just flitted past. But training makes perfect and it wasn't long until Luna got used to the skill. The absolute silence of the shot allowed for her to hunt with nearly double efficiency. Without the animals being spooked she had the chance to fire a second shot before the first one hit its mark. Taking nearly no time to aim the second shot led to frequent misses, but that should also improve in time.
While [Silent Shot] was unnatural, [Double Jump] was absolutely magical. Or at least that is how it felt to Luna. The Skill worked the same for every kind of jump she made, she had to trigger the skill while performing a jump and it would allow her to jump in midair as if she had solid footing on one foot, like pushing off a branch or rock. Jumping a small stream at full speed was easier than ever, jumping vertically into a tree turned into child's play, now even trees without low branches being easy targets for climbing up.
She even tried using the Skill to gain distance from an imaginary enemy, quickly jumping backwards twice and using her bow on the move to pepper an evil ash tree with arrows.
But most importantly Luna prepared for travel. She got a new improved backpack with enough space for all the travel and camping supplies she could ever need. Luckily Luna was no little waif of a child anymore, otherwise the fully packed backpack would have looked hilariously out of place. Packed to the top and convenient loops and straps securing her bow, quiver and buckler in easy reach, she was ready to go.
The smallest part of her travel supplies was food, as she was confident in her ability to hunt and as much as she wanted to, she simply could not carry any more and still travel at a decent pace. Not that she was expecting to carry the backpack while traveling with the merchant, but what good would it do her if they had to split up at some point and she could not carry her things?
Another thing Luna had to get used to was her ability to see a small status of nearly everything and everyone she looked at. It took conscious effort to make the ability work, which was a blessing, otherwise there would be nothing else to see but tags and tags everywhere. Still, Luna had to get used to using it, as it provided useful information.
[Hunting Bow]
Type: Selfbow
Material: Basic Ash
Quality: Simple
[Hatchet]
Type: Single-Bit Axe
Material: Beech Handle, Iron Head
Quality: Flawed
[Buckler]
Type: Flat
Material: Oak
Quality: Simple
[Arrow]
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Type: Blunt-Head
Material: Birch
Quality: Simple
[Arrow]
Type: Piercing
Material: Birch, Iron Head
Quality: Flawed
Being suddenly able to see item descriptions had Luna check her items, not that there was anything surprising. Her items were just ok, nothing special, but nothing to complain about either, although she was a little disappointed that basically every item that combined wood and metal into one, was only of flawed quality. For her purposes they would suffice, all she did was hunt some animals after all, not storm a fortified castle or slay mythical creatures.
It was late into October when the merchant finally arrived. One late afternoon he rumbled into the village with one wagon and carts, the goods covered by tarp to protect from the weather. He was quite late this year, apparently some heavy rains had washed out part of the road further south and they had to wait nearly two weeks for the local lord and city to figure out who would pay for repairs. That was of course absolutely outrageous and the villagers readily agreed with him, if only to make him finally stop whining about it.
Obviously he would only be staying for two days this time, as the delay had already cost him so much time. That declaration evaporated the remaining goodwill in the village, as now it was them who had to hustle and find the time to trade with him. Everyone in the village had a job to do and not all of them could just make time for a self important merchant.
Of course the day the merchant finally arrived was a day Luna was outside on her usual route. She spotted the small caravan rumbling down the road, but she had to wait until evening before she could finally talk to him. Two rabbits slung over her shoulder Luna walked up to the merchant and his three carts. With the merchant was a woman of maybe 40 years of age and 2 guards, who were lazing around the wagon. The guards were clearly bored, waiting for the merchant to finally pack up for the night.
[Jurgen]
Level 38 Human
Luna checked the merchant surprised by his relatively low level. She had somehow expected him to be further along, but she did not know what activities his classes earned experience from, so she could be completely wrong in her expectations.
When she approached he quickly focused on her. "Hello young lady. What might you be looking for? A nice comb? Or a shiny silver trinket?"
Rolling her eyes at the generic sales pitch Luna pointed at the two dead rabbits, still slung over her should, as replied. "Do I look like the type to buy shiny things and fawn over my hair? If you are now thinking 'Absolutely not', then you are correct. I am here to negotiate traveling with you towards the next city, maybe further if you are heading towards the capital."
"Traveling with me? Now do I look like I have the time for some hanger on? Nah, you can make your way..." His tirade was interrupted by a meaty slap to the back of his head by the middle aged woman. She shooed him away, telling him to deal with the customers.
[Martha]
Level 48 Human
"Don't you mind my son. He is a little slow on the uptake sometimes. I rue the day I let his father talk me into traveling with him on our usual trade route. I tell you, the boy should have become a lumberjack, at least trees won't outwit him. Did you hunt those rabbits yourself?" Seeing Luna nod she proceeded. "Then I don't see a problem. You supply some fresh meat for the pot, take a watch shift at night and you can travel with us. See what I mean with slow on the uptake? Those two rabbits were a dead giveaway that you had a useful class for the road. Be at the village gates in two days, crack of dawn. What is your name?"
Luna had not managed to get a word in until now. The woman just kept talking, not leaving even the slimmest opportunity for her to interject. "My name is Luna. I got a backpack with my things ready, I can store that on a cart for travel right? And just to be clear, I am going to hunt for meat, keep watch and in the unlikely event of something attacking us I will obviously fight. That is all, nothing else."
Martha nodded at her. "Yes, that is all. Good to make sure, you never know what people take for granted. A young lass like yourself can never be sure enough of the company she keeps. Anything else?"
Luna grinned at her. "Want to buy some rabbits for your stew tonight?"
Martha started laughing. "Oh I like you girl. Alright, I'll give you a good deal. I take the two rabbits now and you can use the credit for getting some things from me on the road? I am sure after a day or two you will realize you forgot something." She extended her hand to Luna. "Deal?"
Luna shook the hand, happy with the deal she got and handed over the rabbits. To be honest, she had no idea how much to charge for the rabbits in the first place. Money was basically useless in the village anyway. Sure, everyone had some bits and pieces and they were used to buying things, but mostly people just traded with each other. Only when the merchant came into town did the little copper and silver coins any real value. Coins were a convenient way to teach children the basic numbers in school, so everyone knew that there were 100 copper to one silver, differently sized coins having their different values stamped on them in the form of numbers. But what was the value of two rabbits? Luna had absolutely no idea.
After saying goodbye Luna hurried home to let her parents know she was going to leave in two days. She would also have to say goodbye to Jonas, the headman and a few neighbors. Luna felt really weird about the idea of leaving. On one hand she was giddy with anticipation, but on the other hand she was afraid of actually making the leap into the unknown.
The next day, Luna got up early. Luckily for her, it was one of her usual days off and she had the time to prepare. First she visited Roland, the headman, and informed him that she would be leaving the next morning. Under much grumbling he conceded that she had held up her end of the bargain and delivered enough animals to cover the costs of the items she would be taking with her. In the end he wished her luck on her travels and expressed his wish for her swift return. Shaking hands they parted, but Luna knew that it would most likely be a very long time before she saw him again.
Her next stop was at Jonas', but she did not even have to make it all the way to his house, as they crossed paths in the middle of the village. Apparently he had been on his way to visit Luna, having guessed that she would be leaving with the merchant the next day. He gifted Luna a small belt knife, a slim little blade that was attached behind the belt and would go unnoticed by the casual observer.
He also gave her a last piece of advice. "Stay away from adventurers. I know the stories make them sound all nice and heroic, but those are the versions the bards are allowed to spread. Many of the fighters are dimwitted brutes, more brawn than brain and to be fair, for the jobs they are doing that is exactly the type you want. But they don't make for good company, so keep your distance if you ever meet some and if you cannot avoid it make sure there are other people nearby. You will see what I mean when you meet some. Travel safe, keep your eyes open and please come back some time and tell us some stories."
He gave Luna a hug and then turned around walking away. For the first time in a long while Luna was fighting tears in her eyes. She was really going to miss having people to talk to. Only now she truly realized that she would be all alone.