A chill crept in through the window and woke Joshua up.He wanted to close the window but found himself cushioned between his sleeping siblings, so he sat there staring at the passing trees.

He heard the horses grunting as the coachman urged them forward. But as the group rode all through the night, wanting to put as much distance as possible away from their pursuers, the strength of the horses waned and they slowed down to a trot.

Altan came in through the window, startling a half-asleep Sai causing him to gasp:

"What the? Where did you come from?"

"..." Altan ignored him and said "We're stopping at a village"

Herbert "What? Did they forget that we are running? We should continue straight to the capital! Why bother stopping at every village"

Sai commented:"The horses can't just ride forever, they need to rest"

Joshua also speculated: "And these merchants still need to compensate for their losses, we're just guests here. We can't do anything but follow their lead"

Stepping outside the wagon, they saw the merchants preparing their stalls and organizing their goods. Their previous fear and hesitation vanished as they worked with mechanical movements and excellent organization.

Jaylar, in particular, seemed like a different man, he barked orders and pointed out mistakes as he oversaw everything.

Seeing Joshua approaching him, Jaylar finished his instructions and greeted him with a smile

Joshua asked: "Can we do anything to help?"

"You've helped us enough! You're our guests now, so relax and let us take care of you"

"We could really use the experience, learning how to trade and barter from professionals is an opportunity we can't pass by"

Jaylar pondered before answering: "In that case, you can pick one of the stalls to observe. I'll let them know"

"Is it fine if we add some of our items to the display?"

"If you need the coin just say so, we are a little cash-strapped at the moment but once we reach the capital we can give it to you"

"I appreciate the offer, but as I said, I think learning how to trade is an indispensable skill. And we were taught that a hands-on experience is best"

After thinking for a while, Jaylar responded

"Is it okay if I inspect the items?"

The few pelts they had were approved after a brief inspection, after which everyone made ready in anticipation of the arriving customers.

Sai asked the merchant he was with: "Do you think a lot of people will come?"

"Villages like this rely on trading caravans for all their needs, so we should see a fair share of business." He continued "I find it admirable that you want to learn how to trade. I have a son your age, he's more concerned with spending money than making it."

When the merchants finished setting up their stalls in the vicinity of the village the sun was already early morning. All preparations were done and everyone braced for the wave of customers to arrive.

A few minutes slipped by, then half an hour, and soon an hour had passed but only one or two people came to inspect the goods.

The merchants were puzzled, it was the starting weeks of winter, and small villages like these that were too far from cities relied on trading companies and peddlers for supplies. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were at their mercy, many are the tales of such settlements that perished through the winter for the lack of food and firewood.

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Sai approached Joshua and stated "I think there's something going on"

Herbert asked "Do you think they suffered from bandits as well? Maybe they don't have the money to buy things"

Joshua replied: "If that were the case they would be here haggling over essentials, everyone has a few coins buried somewhere."

Altan chimed in: "I think so too, I saw a few villagers earlier and their clothes were not too shabby."

Herbert questioned: "Why don't we just ask around?"

"The merchants already beat us to it, I'm gonna go check on Reynard"

--

Reynard was staying in a separate wagon, as he needed to be under constant observation. As Joshua approached he started overhearing a conversation bet

"You should have seen him that day! " as she started elaborately gesturing while imitating him:

"Are only warriors allowed to leave in this world?"

" Saint Romulus will bless you as fierce warriors!"

Reynard was in tears until he noticed Joshua slowly opening the wagon's door.

Loretta was too absorbed in her acting to notice Reynard's eye motions and warning, she brought her arms to her heart and shouted:" Saintess Iustitia will be on your side! The side of justi-ow!"

Surprised, she turned around to find a red-faced Joshua breathing down her neck as Reynard burst into laughter.

Loretta tried to act natural "Heeey boss, how's it going~?"

Joshua sighed and implored her: "Please don't do that again, it's embarrassing..."

"But you got a way with words brother, today you all became warriors!" But his silence spoke volumes so she continued: "Alright I'll stop"

He turned to Reynard who was still laughing hysterically and said "It seems I don't have to ask if you're doing fine"

Reynard replied while wiping his tears "I'm alright, but why have we stopped?"

"We stopped in a village on the way, do you wanna step out for a while?"

Reynard's eyes shined "Oh really? Are you thinking of selling the pelts we got?"

"I don't know, the thing is no one came out to buy anything. They're still figuring out the reason why."

Reynard then became disinterested saying: "Then I'll just stay here, it takes too much effort to walk anyway." he sighed while staring down at his injured foot.

"I see, you should rest properly."

"Don't worry I am, and Loretta is keeping me entertained too!"

Joshua's sigh was met with a nervous chuckle from Loretta as he made his way outside.

Loretta then chided him saying: "Why didn't you tell me he was behind me? Uh, I can still feel my ear tingling. Are they as red as I think they are"

Reynard teased her saying"I tried! You were just so immersed in your acting to notice." He took her hand pulling her closer and blew in her ear before whispering: "Now it's not so red as your face"

--

Joshua reconvened with the rest and inquired"So what happened?"

Sai responded: "It seems this village has already been supplied by a different caravan group, the merchants tried inquiring about their name but didn't find any clues"

Joshua: "So what do they plan on doing for now?"

Sai: "They will have a short break before moving out, they plan on trying the next village. "

--

The next village inhabitants were more talkative, Jaylar approached a group of inhabitants and greeted them saying "Hello there, we are the Glowing Sand Merchant Company. Might I interest you in some salt or grain, or perhaps some wool and linen to fend off the cold, we even have jars of fiery liquor"

One of the residents replied: "We already bought everything we needed this winter, you won't find business around these parts"

"Pardon? Where did you get them from?"

"It was a group just like yours, what did they call themselves again? The yellow dirt?"

Another chimed in: "Nah, I'm sure it was the sunny soil"

"Well it matters not, they sure saved us from a perilous winter"

Jaylar came back with empty hands and stated: "What rotten luck, let's rest a little and have a meal before heading to the next village"

However, it was the same at the next village, and the one after that. Each time the description of the caravan got more distorted, some claimed it was shining dust, others that it was polished earth. The conflicting reports Left Jaylar and his merchants confused about the identity of these mysterious merchants.