Sai jolted awake, his heart racing. He frantically scanned his surroundings, before realizing it was that same dream again. No, calling it a nightmare would be more fitting.

He clutched his head as if to squeeze out the visions, making sure to check that no one noticed.

The two years he spent abandoned before a helping hand was extended to him and he joined the orphanage had a large impact on him.

Since then, he had recurring visions of lavish halls and clothes draped in gold, along with a woman's regretful eyes as he was tossed in the slums. But he kept such things to himself, desperate for a sense of belonging and friendship.

He opened the window for Altan, whom he expected to be sleeping on the wagon's roof as usual, not wanting to be surprised again.

Suddenly, he heard a sniffling sound. He turned around to find that it was Teuta giggling while pointing at Altan. He had snuck up on him again.

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"

Altan didn't reply but had a sly smile on his face.

"Stop grinning!"

----

From the third stop onward, the merchants had stopped displaying their goods as they felt it was a wasted effort. All they got for their enthusiastic displays and organized stalls was the inconvenience of having to put everything back into the wagons.

This route was foreign to them. So they relied on the rough pointers and ambiguous directions they received from locals to move from settlement to settlement.

Thankfully the weeping season proved useful for once. In this frosty weather, villagers were usually cooped up in their homes around the kindling fireplace, burning firewood to ensure warmth.

They kept on the lookout for such pillars of gray smoke penetrating the white skies, akin to a wanderer heeding the stars.

It was around midday, and finding the village 'just over the steep hill,' as the locals described it, was starting to prove to be an idiotic endeavor.

As they were discussing how to carry on from now, the wind suddenly changed direction and someone shouted out: "Smoke, to the north!"

Everyone looked in conflicting directions, before setting their eyes on the rising grayish clouds.

This caused another merchant to cry out in confusion: "That's not the north, is it? I'm sure it's the east!"

Before a debate could start about which direction the village was in, they decided to head there first.

They arrived at the village after a while and waited for Jaylar to return from his meeting with the elder.

The meeting was concluded in a matter of minutes, and when asked if they would do business here, Jaylar simply shook his head in disappointment.

"They sold their crops and bought all they needed already.."

A few merchants started murmuring: "Is it the same group again?"

It had been 3 days since the merchants left the village. They tried to peddle their wares in any settlement they encountered, but their frustration grew with each passing day.

Observing his host's behavior, Sai was confused. While hopping from one village to another made sense, he didn't understand why the merchants were so desperate.

Thinking about it logically, all the villagers could scrounge together was a few regni—nothing more than chump change for these merchants. But he didn't ask them about it. No, Sai prided himself on his wits and frankly needed something to keep his mind off the looming headache.

He was sick of racking his brain for the reason behind the orphanage attack, eventually deeming it futile on such limited information. So he welcomed the opportunity to both sharpen his wits and keep himself occupied.

He had several theories:

"Maybe they are in desperate need of funds after the attack? Then that's the more reason to rush to the capital, selling goods there will be easier and safer."

"Are they deliberately wasting time here? There may be no traces of the bandits on their heels but that is still a foolish thing to do."

"Does this have anything to do with the other merchant caravan? Going around in the countryside supplying every village is almost saints-like, it's hard to believe that a merchant convoy would go through such trouble"

For him, all these theories had a glaring issue; they were illogical. Ever since he was a young boy forced to survive alone on the streets of Viyashna, he thought that logic was absolute. It dictated that the hungry shall either starve or steal, that the strong shall either take or crumble, and that the weak shall either band or perish.

His survival depended on thinking ahead and ascertaining these possibilities became crucial. For all else was illogical and therefore harmless to him and detrimental to his enemies.

--------------

Over the course of the journey together, a few members of each group grew more familiar with each other, particularly Phahmir, the most senior member of the group, and Klemus, the redheaded, with whom they were but a few years apart.

While the group rested for a while to enjoy their lunch, Phahmir was going off again on his adventures of yore. His eyes lit up when reminiscing, and he seemed several years younger; even though he claimed he was only doing it at Reynard's behest.

"As I was saying! I traveled to the northern Confederation for my maiden voyage. Back then war was on the verge of erupting and most people steered clear of the borders."

"Why did you choose that?"

"I thought I could profiteer of the war" he chuckled "I admit that the wager was also a big factor."

"The wager?"

"Back then, they were but a few disunited gambling dens, but they have since consolidated and become known as the Casting Hand. They own several establishments across the continent and take wagers on anything: fights, small conflicts, wars, trade voyages, and even dabble in elections and successions in some areas. "

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"So it was both ambition and greed"

"Yes, the defining qualities of every merchant. At least that's what I thought back then.."

"Anyway, I spent every regni to my name on the things I thought would sell well in a war, and then found a captain that knew the area well."

"Things like weapons and armor?"

"No no, of course not! At times of war, these things become easier to find than water with how many resources the nation pours into their production."

"What then?"

"I didn't know either at first, but taverns are full of both active and retired soldiers. It didn’t take much— just a few rounds of drinks — for them to reveal that, if you were stuck in a war, what you needed most is something to take the edge off." He grinned before suddenly remembering who his audience was and explaining: "Ahem! Well, mostly wine, beer, and other types of liquor. And a few types of herbs and spices for umm, relaxation!"

Reynard asked: "But how did you manage to sell them? Wouldn't the officers be wary of such items? Having their troops drunk off their mind wouldn't be something they'd allow"

"Those who make the rules are also soldiers themselves. Admittedly, it was hard to sneak off the first barrels of wine, but soon I became a welcome sight."

The story was interrupted by the head guard's loud shouting as he was instructing the guards: "Alright people! Finish your meals, we need to get going"

"The locals have told us that there's a larger village ahead, we should be able to get there by sundown"

Phahmir pointed at the grayish clouds hovering overhead: "I don't like the look of those clouds, shouldn't we stay here for the day?"

One more member spoke out in agreement: "That's what I thought too, do they have a house we can rent?"

Jaylar shook his head saying: "A few abandoned shacks and a barn. Without proper insulation, it's the same as staying outside"

Soon the whole convoy was on the move again. They urged their steeds onward, determined to reach the next village before sundown, looking forward to a comfortable night's sleep; But fate had other plans.

It first started as a drizzle, a few drops here and there dampening the soil. It gradually grew in intensity, and, coupled with the roaring of thunder turned into a torrential storm.

Merchant wagons were designed for long-distance travel, but even they were struggling to trudge forward. The path was muddy from the constant downpour, causing the whole group to be bogged down as they inched forward.

These conditions caused the wagons to have constant breakdowns, and because the fog obscured the view, the wagons started growing distant from each other.

Jasmine was the closest to the window, she took comfort in watching the ice fall. She suddenly heard voices outside and she pointed them out to her friends: "Did you guys hear that?"

Several silhouettes were starting to appear within the fog, everyone was on edge, thinking this to be an ambush. They gripped their weapons and shouted at the approaching figures to halt.

"That's far enough! Who goes there? State your business!"

A crisp voice shouted back in response: "We are a group of travelers, we got caught in the storm and lost our way."

"And what is it you want from us ?"

"What else could we-?" he was shushed as a different voice yelled out:

"What business would a parched soul have with a well other than to drink?"

Joshua exchanged glances with Altan, after which he retreated out of sight.

"So you want to ride with us ?"

"If you’re kind enough to offer, we certainly won’t say no."

When they got in sight of each other the original heavy voice said "What the? They are just kids!"

He started moving forward but stopped dead in his tracks when he felt a gust of wind rush past him. He felt a stinging pain as examined his cheek, blood was dripping from the wound. Looking back he saw it was an arrow now plunged in the ground.

Joshua calmly stated: "The next one won't miss its mark, don't make any sudden movements."

**Where did that come from? Did he miss on purpose? In this weather? Impossible!**

The second man yelled out once more: "Are you not a well in our journey after all? Were we fooled by a mirage or do you still intend to rescue us"

Sai answered him in the same metaphorical manner as if to mock him: "This well has many things to feed, it needs to fend off wanderers with ill intent!"

Joshua then instructed them: "Throw your weapons on the ground, then pass them towards us"

"You must be out of your mind if you think tha-"

His companion begged him: "Just pass the damn thing over, stop arguing!"

Disgruntled, he tossed over his axe, as the other two passed over two daggers.

The well-spoken guy then inquired as his voice shivered from the cold: "We are all good, right? Can we come aboard now?"

But all he got in response was silence and eyes that felt they were staring into his soul.

Joshua then said: "Toss over those backpacks too"

"All we have in them is a few necessities and supplies for the road. You already have got our weapons."

The largest of them argued back, frustrated, shouting:" Is this really necessary? We already gave you our weapons!"

The freezing weather made it futile for them to resist, so they flung them over while the man gently slid his across the snow. Joshua briefly looked through their backpacks. He found more than dozens of scrolls and gadgets, a few short knives, and some food.

Sai whispered to him, "What do you think? Should we let them in?" Joshua pondered for a while, looking at the rest of the group inside the wagon and remembering all they went through. Before throwing them a rope and shouting out in a commanding tone: "Tie yourselves up."

Infuriated the bulky guy hollered out: "Listen you little shit! Either let us in or sod off"

Joshua replied: "Fine, have it your way. May the beasts' feast be blessed." As he started heading back to the wagon.

Not wanting to be abandoned in the storm, the third of the figures removed its cap and revealed a long brown hair before pleading: "No, please wait!" The woman then stepped forward saying:" I wouldn't want to have unrestrained strangers in the same wagon as me either, we will do it!"

"My lady!"

"Shut up and start and start tying the damn rope! I'm freezing here!"

Herbert asked him in a low voice: "Shouldn't we have tied those ropes ourselves?"

Sarai then asked: "Were you testing them?"

He pointed to the back: "If they had done it half-heartedly with the intent to fool us, Altan would have noticed and shot them."

Inside the wagon, the strangers were surprised to find even more wary little eyes. They were closely being watched by Altan and Sarai, while all their items were being examined.

The eloquent man kept trying to strike up a conversation, but he was ignored.He kept squirming every time Joshua took out a tool.

Joshua started fiddling with a red tube, flipping it around in his hand.

"That's not how it-oh!"

He had managed to light it up and tossed it over to Altan "Take this, hang it on the roof of the wagon."

"Careful! That's a very delicate device, made of the finest materials in Cyanos." Joshua examined it for a while, it was a clever contraption in which a ball was sitting inside an elaborate maze.

He begged: "Please don't break it! I haven't managed to solve it yet! " He fiddled with it for a few moments before getting the ball out of its cage, he then put it back together and tossed it aside, a bored expression apparent on his face as he continued rummaging through the bags.

But he was more uncomfortable with Sai, as he started reading through the documents, although he tried not to show it. After all, the documents were encrypted and written in Molarian, his nation's dialect.

But Sai caught sight of his nervous behavior from the corner of his eye and continued pouring over the scrolls. Thankfully, he was diligent in his studies and highly fluent in several languages. He quickly started making sense of all the diagrams and cryptic texts.

But he didn't let it show. After a while, he paused and acted puzzled asking:" What's all this nonsense? What language even is this?"

The man let out a sigh of relief and chuckled: "It's nothing important, just some research materials from the academy."

Sai then whispered in Joshua's ears as he passed him the paper, as Joshua pulled out a golden mask from the bag...