When he rounded the corner to the traveling merchant square, Liam was surprised to see only a handful of caravans still in the city. Usually, this square was bustling with activity, one of the biggest trading hubs in town with enough space for hundreds of stalls, but it seemed as if today was kind of a slow day.

Liam didn’t have to wonder if the public executions and the witch hunt the nobility was doing were the reason for that.

Amidst the few caravans that were left, it didn’t take Liam long to spot what he was looking for. A flag with a black snake on a dark green background. The caravan Lorence described him. There was a small crowd of people in front of their stalls, so Liam could only catch occasional glimpses of the merchants and their goods.

He guessed around half a dozen merchants traded with the steady stream of customers. Behind them were a few crates and small carts, probably supplies and goods that were either freshly bought or about to get traded off. What was surprising though, was that there were no caravan wagons that Liam could see.

Next to their supplies another handful of men stood, workers probably, who were idling around and keeping themselves occupied with a game of dice. All in all the caravan looked rather small.

Not wanting to interrupt the merchants during their haggling, Liam instead opted to approach the handful of men standing to the side.

“Excuse me, sir, I’m here to speak with Blue.” Liam addressed the one close to him.

The chatter of the group died down. The man turned towards Liam and only now could he see his face. It was a mess of scars, his nose looked like it had spent more time being broken than being healed. He raised an eyebrow and frowned at Liam.

“What do you want, boy?”

Deciding that the man must not have heard him clearly, Liam repeated. “I’m here to see Blue.”

“And what reason would you have for that?” The man snickered.

“I’m here to talk about him letting me join the caravan.”

“A brat like you joining our caravan? Please,” the man laughed, revealing a few of his missing teeth. “I know street plagues like you. You either just want to distract us so that your friends can steal our shit, or you want to convince Blue to take you in so that you can steal our shit in our sleep. But the way I see it, stealing shit is what you want, and I’m not a big fan of letting my shit be stolen. So I have half a mind to beat you right now and be done with it.”

As the man spoke more animatedly now Liam caught the smell of gin from his breath. Not just from him but from his friends giggling around him as well. He spotted two empty bottles on the ground.

There was a slightly aggressive undertone to his voice, and Liam had to keep himself from taking a step back.

“Listen I think we started off on the wrong foot here,” he tried to be as amiable as possible. “I’m Liam and I don’t want to steal your shit.”

The man in front of him was about to speak again when one of the men behind him interrupted.

“Wait Bilby,” he said. “I think Blue actually said something about a boy named Liam coming. Something about us picking up another worker here he said.”

The other man turned towards his friend and raised his eyebrow. “Did he now?”

His comrade nodded. “Said he was a friend of a friend or something.”

“A friend of a friend,” the big man mused. “Well in that case. I’m sorry Liam. It was only a precaution you know? Have to be wary of thieves,” he held out his hand towards Liam. “I’m BIlby, head of the workers.”

Liam hesitated but eventually shook the man's hand. “All good.”

“Listen I will take you to Blue right now, but first let's get your documents, he appreciates it if things are already done and in order.”

“Documents?”

“Yes, documents.” The man smiled, proudly presenting his lack of teeth again. “Or actually it’s just your name added to the ledger and you paying the admission fees. We can get the rest of the details from you later.”

“My contact didn’t say anything about admission fees,” Liam frowned.

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“Well there was a change recently, usually they were simply withheld from your first payment, but now Blue wants to do it in advance. It is money you will get back after you leave the caravan though. Like a deposit:”

“How much is it?” Liam asked.

“Two.” The man said, holding up as many fingers.

Liam’s eyes almost bulged. “Two Silver?” That was almost all the money he had.

“Yeah I know it’s steep,” Bilby said. “But see it from Blue’s perspective. What’s to stop a man from joining his caravan, and then running away with some goods as soon as we hit the first town? As I said, the money is only a deposit. You will get it back at the end of the season. We even have it on a written receipt for you.”

“Alright,” Liam said.

“Will, go get the paperwork.”

The man behind him scurried away, leaving Liam and the other men standing opposite each other in uncomfortable silence. Luckily the other man returned only a few moments later, with a neatly folded note in his hand.

“Okay,” Bilby said, taking the note out of the other man’s hand and giving it a glance. “Just put your name and your signature here, and we do the rest.”

Liam scanned over the contents of the note briefly before signing it. Then he rummaged through his pockets and grudgingly handed over his two silvers.

“Very well,” Bilby rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get you to meet Blue.”

They approached the stall with the merchants, a few gave them quick glances, but soon continued with their business when they recognized one of theirs. Bilby and Ernie passed most of them by, steering Liam towards one man in particular. A man that Liam would’ve never picked out to be the caravan leader.

He was only a little taller than Liam, but his face was weathered by many seasons on the road. He wore a distinct-looking long mustache with curled ends, fitting right along with his expensive clothes. The man was lost in some calculations he was doing on a ledger, while the men next to him were in the middle of haggling for the price of some spices.

“Blue,” Bilby said. “We have a new guy here.”

Blue turned towards them, giving Liam a scrutinizing look over. “You are Liam?”

“Yes…”

“Perfect, our mutual contact told me about you,” the man let all his business demeanor drop, and greeted Liam with a warm smile.

“Paperwork is also already done,” Bilby injected and handed the note to Blue, who gave it a quick glance and stowed it away in his breast pocket.

“Good, thank you, Bilby.” The man turned towards Liam. “I hope these two didn’t cause you any trouble?”

Liam decided to not mention their first welcoming and let bygones be bygones. “No, no trouble at all sir.”

“Please, you can call me Blue,” the man smiled at him. He clasped a hand on Liam's back and led him away. “Well let me show you around the caravan. You’re lucky you made it in time. We’re about to leave this afternoon.” His soothing voice made Liam instantly relax a little. The man didn’t seem like a caravan leader, only like a honey-tongued merchant. In fact, he almost vanished next to the hulking figures of the two workers. How could he keep men like those two in line?

“Bilby, finish stowing away the Jennings crates, then help with Levy’s supplies. We leave soon, so hurry. And I swear to god if I see a third bottle added to that pile there before everything is hitched and ready I will personally deduct half a day's pay from you.” He spoke with an edge to his voice, and the two men sobered up almost instantly.

They grimaced, but nodded and withdrew, leaving Liam with Blue and the rest of the merchants

Now Liam could see how he kept them in check. He spoke like a man who was used to being in command. There was serious venom in his voice when he wanted. A man that could commandeer like that, with money to back him, that explained a lot.

The man smiled at Liam. “Walk with me.”

The man led Liam away from the stalls, and the busy air surrounding them, towards a bare-laying fountain with some seating places next to it. It wasn’t very far away, Liam could still see the market stalls from here, but it was more private.

“Listen, Liam, I don’t know what your reasons for wanting to leave the city are, and I respect your privacy too much to ask, but I want to make sure you’re certain about your decision.

Life in the caravan under my banner isn’t easy. There is some excitement, and I would like to think I pay fairly. But I will also put you to work. Hard.

There will be dangers. The world out there between the cities is infested with dangers and monsters, as you know. I can’t guarantee anything. So are you certain about your decision?”

“I am,” Liam said. “I neither shy away from hard work, nor from dangers.”

“Good,” Blue laughed. “Pay is five silvers every month, you will work with the workers, which means you will take care of the animals, and haul the goods. Meals and expenses are naturally covered by me.”

“That sounds… surprisingly generous.”

Blue laughed. “What did you expect? This is dangerous work, I need a little incentive to get people to work for me.”

“But you didn’t have to tell me that much. Lorence should’ve told you I was quite keen on leaving the city anyways.” Liam frowned.

“Well, I learned that it always pays to treat people well. Especially if you’re out on the road with them for a while. I would gladly pay a little more silver in exchange for knowing my back is safe.”

Liam was surprised by the man's generosity. Something about it almost seemed suspicious to him, but as he looked at Blue’s face, he could see nothing other than honesty in it. Liam wasn’t sure what to think about that.

Another man suddenly walked up to them at a brisk pace. Judging by his clothes, he was another one of the caravan’s merchants. There was a mild alarm in his eyes, as he gestured Blue over.

Blue excused himself and the two men fell into a lively talk, which elicited curiosity in Liam. He knew better than to barge into their conversation though. And so instead he waited until Blue came back to him with a heavy frown on his face.