The wagon bumped along over the road, and Liam was watching as the colossal gray wall of Chairville was getting farther and farther into the distance. The behemoth he had spent his whole life behind was shrinking as they were drawing away.

Liam almost felt melancholy swell up, but more than that, excitement. It was like the whole wide world had been opened up for Liam with his passage through the city gates of Chairville. A world full of possibilities and opportunities to learn about his skills.

Liam’s mind was still racing from the turbulence. He wasn’t sure what just happened or who the people were, but one thing was still fresh in his mind. The feeling of utter helplessness and doom that loomed over him when the Seekers had started walking towards him.

All he had been able to think was about getting away. As far and quickly as possible.

Even now, multiple miles away from the city, he still didn’t feel safe. His mind was uneasy and his eyes kept darting towards the city walls, as if expecting the two black clad figures to burst through them and chase after him any second.

Just why were Seekers after him of all things? Those were usually reserved for the capital

The farther away from the city they rolled, the more he started to relax. Only after the wall had faded into the horizon, did Liam finally have the peace of mind to take in the scenery around them.

The scenery just came much more alive here. He watched the green hills roll by, spiked with cottages and trees. It was a marvelous sight after having his horizon limited by stone all his life.

The few pieces of civilization they passed right around the city were nothing spectacular, one little collection of cottages after another, bundled together into small towns. Some of them were pressed tightly against the city wall, almost like an extension of the city itself, clawing at it in the hopes of becoming part of it.Others were simple collections of huts, built next to a river or a particularly rich place of soil.

The further away from the city they got the more the plains between the settlements started to stretch. Trees took over where houses were, rolling hills of green rose behind them, shutting off the last remains of the city walls on the horizon.

There was this feeling of freedom that Liam had never felt like that before.

Liam took a deep breath and looked around the caravan wagon. He had been pleasantly surprised about the caravan wagon's interior. It was even more spacious than it appeared from the outside, which was already saying something considering Liam sat in a two story high monster.

There was sleeping space on the second floor. Just an open room with a bunch of sleeping bags rolled out in it, and a few scant belongings scattered next to them. The ceiling was low enough that one had trouble standing up properly, but it was spacious enough that they didn’t have to sleep directly next to each other.

Additionally to his sleeping bag, Liam had gotten a small set of spare clothes, since his “tatters” were too worn for the wagons. They were plain and simple clothes made out of linen. They were slightly too baggy for his small frame, but there were neither holes, nor stains. In fact the clothes looked like he might actually be the first person to wear them.

Liam almost felt uncomfortable in such luxury.

Their first floor was mainly their storage area. They carried all sorts of supplies and goods, neatly stowed away in crates, barrels, bags and more. To the untrained eye the interior of the wagon looked chaotic and confusing, but after Jerem’s introduction Liam realized there was a complicated order to the way they stored their supplies.

An order that he would still need quite some time to understand properly.

In between all the goods, there was even a sitting area on the first floor of their wagon. A small corner bench with a small wooden table and another set of chairs to complete it. The table was the place that Jerem and two of the other workers spent most of their time at. Either playing cards, or otherwise idling around.

The table was marked by scratches and spots telling stories of all the evenings and travels it had seen.

The only man usually missing from the table was their driver, Leopold. He was an old, stoically looking man. The type that kept their face carefully free of any expression, and usually communicated only in a wide range of grunts.

His usual seat was at the front of the wagon, underneath the small overhang and with the donkey's reins firmly in his grip.

While the other workers sat at the table, lazing around while there wasn’t much to do, distracting themselves with card games and drink, Liam had wound his way to the open backside of the wagon.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He was sitting down on the wooden floorboard and watched the scenery pass him by.

The rest of his caravan mates weren’t exactly unfriendly to him in any sense of the imagination, but they also hadn’t gone out of their way to integrate Liam.

After their brief conversation when showing him around, Jerem had mostly given him the cold shoulder. The boy showed him a few very essential things, but didn’t spend any more time than necessary talking with him.

The rest of the caravan people were pretty much as expected. There was a certain reputation that these people had. Grim, rough looking men and women

A few times he tried to start some conversation with Leopold, but the man wasn’t very talkative. Mostly responding only with short sentences or a few noncommittal grunts. There didn’t seem any ill will from the man though, only utter disinterest.

Soon Liam gave up his futile attempts and slouched back into his seat. He watched the green plains rise and fall past him. The soft cussing of the people playing their games at the table inside the wagon behind him. Wind rustled his hair, the bright blue sky stretched wide open above him. Things seemed peaceful, except for the fact that Liam couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering to the horizon behind them, expecting some sort of follow every second.

As soon as the first rays of sun started vanishing behind the horizon, and the light started taking on a bright shade of red, the call to halt came. It rang through the caravan all the way from the front spreading like a wildfire.

Almost immediately the wagons drew to the side, and people started jumping off. Like a well oiled machine everybody went onto their tasks. Wood was collected, space was cleared and wagons as well as goods were secured.

Liam watched with amazement how quickly a desolate patch of road was transforming into a camp housing over a hundred people.

Liam's ass was hurting a little from sitting all day and he could feel every bump on the road reverberating through his bones.

Everybody had jumped off their wagons as soon as the call to halt for the night came, and like a well oiled machine, they started going about their tasks.

The wagons were pulled together in a circle. Firewood was collected and ignited. And animals were unhitched on the wagon next to them.

Liam watched the efficiency of the people around him with big eyes.

A shuffling of leaves behind him made Liam jump and turn around, ready to be faced with the two black clad figures from Charville here to take him. But instead he was faced with Jerem giving him a look of mild annoyance.

“Are you not going to help?” The other man asked..

“Uhh sorry, I was lost in thought a little.” Liam clasped a hand on the back of his neck. “What can I do?”

“Just help me unhitch the donkeys for now.”

Liam swallowed. He didn’t particularly fancy getting close to these animals more than he needed to, but work was work. So he trodded over.

Unhitching the donkeys was easier said than done

He was still a little skittish around those huge animals. They were almost a full head taller than Liam, and looked like they might chew off his head should they decide to. So he neared towards one of them carefully.

The thing did not even react to his presence at all, but rather staring mindlessly into space. They were spanned onto the wagons with a complex pattern of ropes, meant to distribute the weight of the wagon all over the animal's body. It was held together by a series of complex knots that made Liam’s head spin. Jerem was mindlessly untying them while talking Liam through the stages.

He stole a glance over towards Jerem. The boy was whistling to himself as his hands danced across the delicate web of leather work and ropes. Within a few moments he had loosened the harness, then he slipped underneath the animal, and began working there.

Liam watched in surprise, he hadn’t known animals were secured all around. But then again, those giant beasts probably had to be secured in as many ways as possible. A few clicking sounds later, Jerem resurfaced, dusted off his knees, and went over to finally draw the harness away from the animal.

The man had moved quickly, but Liam had observed him carefully. Years on the streets had not just given him fast hands, but also a keen eye for details. Not noticing when a stall owner was fully turned, or how to turn to make it impossible for pickpockets could be fateful.

Liam had always prided himself on his ability to learn and strode over to the animal, exhibiting more confidence than he really felt.

He went to untie the first knot exactly the way Jerem had handled it. His hands touched the hard leather, when suddenly he had to draw them away like lightning. His fingers barely escaped the finality that was the donkey's closing maw.

The thing had almost cost Liam a few fingers, and he only managed to pull it back in time thanks to his long trained reflexes. Liam stared at the thing in horror. It returned an even stare.

“Don’t be scared,” Jerem laughed from the side. “They feel your nervousness, that’s why they’re reacting that way.”

The other boy moved over. The animal in front of Liam immediately seemed to relax, exchanging its look of truculent to harmless mindlessness.

Jerem went through the movements again, this time calming talking Liam through the stages. There was a dislike in his undertone still that Liam couldn’t place, but he held himself together.

“See, not that difficult eh?” Jerem stepped away from the donkey

Liam nodded and went over to try it himself. The animals still seemed a little calmer next to Jerem’s familiar presence, so Liam managed to untie the first two knots easily.

The rest was a little more difficult, some knots were utterly foreign to him, but with some patience he wore through them. Then came the part underneath the donkey.

Liam didn’t have a good view of what Jerem’s hands had done there, but he felt confident in improvising.

He kneeled down and robbed underneath the animal. The underside was surprisingly simple. He untied two claps and was mostly done, ready to roll out of the animal.

At least that’s what he thought, when the donkey unleashed an unwelcome shower on Liam.

There was more than a bit of laughter afterwards, mostly, if not totally, at Liams expense. One set of his brand new clothes were ruined, as Liam would later find out that the stench of donkey piss wasn’t one to wash away lightly.

His time in the caravan truly seemed to become less exciting than expected.