At the forest that surrounds the Eisensargburg villa, lord Azerback stood, surrounded by his entourage of soldiers and lesser nobles. Their eyes were all pointed at the corpse of the assassin. His face displayed nothing but pure wrath.

"He..." He gasped "This cannot be, this cannot be!"

His eyes turned to Kilo and he smacked the man so hard that Kilo's golden tooth fell out of his mouth,

"My... My lord!"

"You stupid, stupid bastard!"

"..." Kilo fell back unable to fight the fury of his master as he took in more and more beatings.

"Urrrr Aaaaaaah!" Caleb, unable to contain his fury proceeded to beat Kilo down with his foot. "You stupid, stupid, stupid..."

"My lord, let us be calm."

Those sudden words irritated Caleb once more and he turned his eyes, ready to unleash his fury onto whoever tried to speak up to him only to see a large black man facing him down, his arms crossed leisurely as he gave a toothy smile, "It would be terrible if you were to suddenly die now would you?"

"Are you trying to say something huh!" Caleb's wrath began to slowly ebb, but being in front of him he found himself rather more irritated than angry. "You are speaking to a duke, mind your manners."

"Forgive me, it was just that I was worried about your health that is. Men in the heat of passion tend to suffer from heart problems you see." The man rubbed both his hands as he turned his eyes over at the body, "Nightstalker was one of a kind, an assassin with a unique set of skills capable of killing mages... That said, if the slave managed to kill one of our best assassin, then you got yourself one heck of an escapee, your lordship."

Caleb's wrath waxed strong upon hearing the mocking tone that this man uttered, that said he could not so easily move against him, as a member of the Hands, particularly the Black Chapter, even being a duke would be powerless against them.

"And how does your organization intend to take responsibility?"

"It's my, no, the Black Hand's fault now? We weren't informed of an exceedingly powerful combatant that our enemy has." He replied with the same exaggerated tone that irritated Caleb, it felt as if he was trying to get him to bite at the bait.

But Caleb kept his cool,

"I too wasn't informed that your 'greatest' adventurer assigned for this was that pathetic that he couldn't capture a mage and a woman. The Black Hand has fallen that low now?"

"Oi oi oi... Nightstalker wasn't weak, not at all. But the Black Hand wouldn't let this shame go unrepaid, as you have said we intend to correct our mistakes thus if you are willing to pay, say, 1000 gold coins then we shall see to it that this man dies."

"1000!?" Caleb gasped, "You... What idiotic garbage are you spew-"

The man interrupted, "A thousand, indeed. Let me remind you that this man is capable of escaping from a diamond ranker and to top it all off Titan himself. Unless you want to see the Bismarcks march their army down with him at the helm then I suggest you pay us what amounts to half of a city's monthly revenue, if you wish to live that is... We might have to pull some strings here and there to prevent anything from happening, so there is an added premium."

"And... And how can I be sure that you will not fail?"

"We. Will. Not. Fail." He replied, "The Black Hand is not small or weak that it won't be able to bring down such a weak fool. If we so wish we can even have Jotam killed. We are after all the most powerful organization within the whole continent." The bald man then grinned widely, "So... When do we expect the payment?"

Caleb contemplated the offer before turning his eyes at the corpse of the assassin, "900 coins." He bargained, expecting a fight but was surprised to see him agree immediately,

"Good..." The bald man nodded as a soldier approached him, he began to whisper long into his ears. Once finished he returned his attention to the duke, "So about this mage..." His eyes scanned the surroundings which were littered with the scars of the battle, "Isn't he, you're slave? How come you didn't use the magic?"

"Well, he was branded..." Caleb replied as he turned to Kilo,

"We... Uh, cough cough, things were too chaotic to do that.."

"I see..." The bald man nodded,

"But..." Caleb spoke up before he could, "I want him alive and brought back to me... And so is Nicole got that?"

"Of course, of course, that said we hope you don't mind us borrowing this mage from time to time..." The bald man then stretched his hand for a shake, Caleb left it hanging for a while before shaking his hand, "A pleasure doing business with the great Azerback himself."

***

Isaiah quickly left once he saw that Nicole was safe in their company. He decided to march down the path opposite them in hopes of finding the cities she mentioned before, finding a job was the first of his priorities as being registered to an adventurer's guild seemed like the best and only option he had for the moment.

'If they exist that is.' He chuckled. 'Well, they should be, otherwise, a mercenary company might do the trick... Anything that involved fighting.' He had thought about using his knowledge about modern stuff but realizing that his comprehension of those topics is surface level at best, he opted to use his magical skills instead. More complex advancements can be pursued once more time passed.

He continued on his path, sticking close to the highways whilst ensuring that he was deep enough in the forest to avoid detection. That said, he found his current situation rather boring. Though they rarely engaged in small talk before, her mere presence alone magically made everything brighter and long quiet adventures more fun, whereas right now, only an ocean of loneliness awaited him. He hung his head low, ignoring his hungry stomach, parched throat, and burning fever only moving his legs forward without a care for anything. For hours on end, he continued to walk and walk until he found a road junction that came from the opposite side, both roads were made of the same material but it seemed that further ahead, the composition changed dramatically, from the clay road to a rock and dirt one instead.

He paused momentarily and looked around, there were no signs or symbols anywhere, he couldn't tell where one led, but he knew they led to something.

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'That said, where is a city?'

Nicole had mentioned a city in the east, but it was a two-day walk from there, if he didn't find sustenance quickly he might not make it and he didn't want the saga of his life to end because of hunger.

And so he sat down, and rested his foot whilst trying to figure out where to go next, as he was contemplating his situation, a small horse-drawn carriage suddenly appeared from the road in front, it was driven by an old man wearing a leather hat. The thin, old-looking man eyed Isaiah suspiciously but soon they passed by him.

'They must be heading somewhere big,' He thought to himself as he felt his stomach rumble even more. He had lost his bearings, the sun having disappeared from the clouds and Isaiah too hungry to wait for said clouds to move out of the way, thus, having no knowledge of the localities of this place and the hunger in his stomach he decided to follow after the caravan in hopes that he would find his way inside a city.

Every step he took would only make his stomach grumble harder. His dwindling strength was rapidly declining. More and more, he began to regret ever leaving her behind. Sure the politics that would follow would be complicated to deal with, but at least he would be well taken care of.

'I should've just joined Nicole, at least then I could eat or something... She did say her father would turn me into a knight... Damnit, why do I always make the wrong decisions?'

But regret only comes after. Right now, he needed to survive somehow.

He walked slowly, so as to avoid suspicion and because his foot was tired of the constant walking. For hours he continued to follow after them, his eyes scanning the carriage every now and then trying to see if there was pity to be found amongst its riders. After a while, he noticed a pair of eyes looking at him, curious to see who their stalker was.

The morning then turned to noon, and as the sun was setting the carriage suddenly stopped. Out came a rough-faced woman carrying a pitchfork while the driver rushed to the front and raised his axe,

Isaiah stopped not too far, surprised at them approaching him. He decided to walk the other way but before he could move,

"You there... Get away!"

"There is nothing to worry about," Isaiah replied,

"Worry? You are a thief, here to steal all our goods,"

"No, I am not, I am simply making my way to Koln if you be so kind as to tell me where..."

"Nonsense," The thin man shouted, "What kind of poor beggar would be here in the first place?"

'Poor beggar? Is it because of my clothes?' Isaiah asked himself as he looked down, indeed he was only wearing what could be described as just long rags with cuts all around. He responded with a lie, "I was attacked on my way here, they robbed me of my goods and horses and brought me along wherever this is... I simply need to find myself back to Koln."

"Is... Is that the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then show me your hands and turn around!"

Isaiah readily complied,

"That! What is that over there, a weapon!" The thin man pointed to his hips but no matter where Isaiah looked he couldn't really find anything, "You are a thief, you liar!"

"No, I am not... What can I do to make you believe?"

"Then... Lie on the floor with your face to the ground..."

"What?! Why?"

"Just do it!" The thin man shouted and Isaiah sighed before complying, all those fighting from before physically drained his mind. He was not in the mood for any kind of fighting at the moment,

Once Isaiah was on the ground, the thin man quickly bound his hands while his wife searched his person for any kind of weapon. "He's clean,"

"Right..." The thin man unbounded Isaiah, "Forgive me... Yes, we were just attacked by bandits, so..."

"It's alright," Isaiah waved his hand, "It's good to be cautious"

"So, you wish to find your way to Koln then?"

"Yes... So if you could tell me where it is then I can leave."

"If you are heading to Koln, then, are you an adventurer?"

"Ah no, but I do plan to become one why?"

"But you have no weapon with you?"

"I am a mage you see..." Isaiah lifted his arms and it erupted into lightning. The thin man then turned to his wife who nodded her head. He then returned his eyes to Isaiah,

"A mage... I see, I see. Well if that's the case then why don't you join us? Koln is two days travel by carriage and we too are heading there."

'Two days for real, by carriage? But she said two days by foot!' Isaiah managed to hide his surprise at being offered a lifeline and nodded. "Ah, that would be great..."

"But, I don't plan on taking on squatters... You did say you plan on becoming an adventurer right? Most of them do escort duties for merchants and lords, I guess you could start your first quest with us. I plan on paying you once we arrive."

"Fine by me."

"Right then, your name?" The thin man asked.

"Isaiah" He gave his first name, having realized that this man might be someone beneficial to his adventuring career in the future, considering that he looked like a merchant

"Isaiah, right... Ephillus," He introduced himself by lowering his hat, "This is my wife Aria," the lady nodded as they slowly made their way back to the caravan, "As I said we are heading for Koln but as there are many bandits around I'd rather you be with us for safety. As for pay, hmm, 1 silver coin... That should help you out,"

"Indeed," Isaiah nodded his head. He wasn't too sure if he was being cheated here or was the man generous as he had no idea how much a single silver coin was worth, but considering it wasn't bronze he believed it should be right,

Ephillus looked at Isaiah and nodded to himself before quietly returning to his post at the front, his wife motioning for Isaiah to join them in the back. As Isaiah stepped inside, the first thing he saw was the rows of boxes placed on the floor, he couldn't tell what was inside as the boxes never made a sound whilst the carriage was moving. Sleeping on top of the boxes were two boys, and their children.

Aria placed her finger on her nose, telling him to remain silent. Then she took out a sleeveless shirt as well as some pants made out of yellow leather. They weren't in good shape, but they were far better than the one Isaiah was currently wearing, having no underwear wasn't good in the first place.

That said, having to strip in front of another woman was an embarrassing deal.

Aria then threw away his old clothes, which carried the swamp's odor with them, before making her way towards her sons, lying near them but keeping a watchful eye on the stranger inside. Isaiah relaxed himself in the small place behind the carriage, placing the pillow behind his neck he leaned himself in and closed his eyes.

It had been one long day, and for the past twenty hours, he walked and walked without stopping, thus seeing his journey end was very refreshing. He was hungry, and he was thirsty, but at least he could sleep in peace.

He peeked at Aria and saw her still watching him, that said even if she could hear his audible growls she made no effort to produce some kind of sustenance, even bread crumbs would suffice. That said Isaiah said nothing more, surely they would feel guilty and give him something to eat later on.

He then returned to his rest, closing his eyes. In mere seconds he had succumbed to his drowsiness.

***

"Kuya..." Isaiah was shaken awake as a voice whispered to his ear "Kuya..."

He opened his eyes and saw the face of one of his classmates, "Josh..." Isaiah quickly got up and yawned grandly, "You're here?"

Josh did not reply as he leaned his body to the left,

"Ah, Josh? Is there a problem?" Isaiah asked as Josh turned back to him,

"You know you lied to me... Kuya... Kuya... You said you-"

"Wha... Josh?" Isaiah found himself looking at the green eyes of another man when he blinked,

The boy tilted his head, as Isaiah slowly got up and wiped his hair, "Aah... You, you're one of Ephillus and Aria's sons..."

He nodded as he took a plate from his side, "Mother told me to wake you up and give you this, also my name is not Josh, I am Quincillus."

"Quincillus... Yes, good evening... I am Isaiah,"

"Mother told me already." The boy spoke coldly, "Anyway, you should eat before going back to bed, mother said you can have nightmares if you are hungry."

"Sleeping paralysis," Isaiah murmured as Quincillus nodded slowly despite not understanding, before heading outside.

Isaiah peeked at the flaps and saw that the night had already fallen, Quincillus joining his brother in washing the dishes while their parents sat beside the campfire. Aria was busy pondering over her book with a quill in her hand while Ephillus was operating an abacus, his head looking at the scroll to his side.

'They are indeed merchants.' He turned to the boxes to his side and found one of them somewhat open, he decided to take a peek. He was greeted with the strong scent of spices, but his unfamiliarity with spices didn't tell him what it was. He dipped his hand and tasted a bit, 'Mmm... Is this Indian Curry Spice or something, it's kinda spicy and sour...' He quietly closed the box, the sudden intake of flavor in his tongue reminded him of the food he was preparing.

A bowl of porridge and some disfigured bread. He quickly partook in his meal as the night dragged on.