The soon-to-be-free slaves were starting to look healthy again, so Blake upped their rations. A promise well-delivered.

It was an uphill climb, from the river to the town. The weather got colder the whole time. Blake had to put on an extra coat, and everyone else stayed inside the carriage the whole time, away from the wind. At some point, Blake swore it was starting to snow, but it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

The horse needed rest all along the way. Lots of it. Carrying this many people up this road with a single horse was a mistake. So the going was slow, and they had to rest and camp a lot.

They came to a fork in the road. North, to who-knows-where, or east, to another who-knows-where. But the north road went closer to bandit country, and the east road went closer to the capital of Queensland, so they chose east.

Despite everything, after a few days, they finally made it to town.

A decrepit house to the left. Okay, just drive past it, no big deal.

A fallen-down house to the right. Well, maybe the town's outskirts have seen better days.

Town center. Two buildings here were half-demolished. There was no building that looked like a town hall or a church or anything, just shops and homes and the like, and nobody was outdoors doing any sort of business at all.

"Guys, peak your heads out, look what... What the hell happened here...?" Blake said.

"Monster attacks?" Riley said.

"Drought? A forest fire?" Nash said.

"No, it's not like that, this is more like... Nobody here's had any money for ten and a half years, and all the skilled workers moved away, so there's no way to keep anything in good condition, and not enough fit laborers to help take down dangerous structures. That kind of town," Blake said.

"Bandits?" Sophia said.

"Oh, yeah, that might be it, too, huh. Yeah, this really isn't a safe town..." Blake said.

"Blake, that description was awfully specific..." Riley said.

"I drove through a lot of them when I lived in the states. It was a mess."

"The states?"

"One of the things we called it where I grew up." He paused. "There's no point setting them free in a town like this. We should just get some pointers to the next town, find a warm place to stay for the night, and then get out of here."

"That's as good a plan as any," Sophia said.

They looked around for an inn, found the only one in town, and Blake walked in, leaving everyone else behind in the carriage.

"So, uh," Blake started.

"Yes?" a clerk said, appearing from a door and getting into position behind the counter. She had pinkish skin and white hair, but without a hint of old age, and with a strange growth in the middle of her forehead. Blake didn't pay her appearance any mind. He was nervous enough as it was, and it was probably just some unfortunate medical situation.

"So, we just arrived in the country, a party of four, plus, uh, some slaves."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Slaves? Why?"

"Well, we killed a party of bandits, and they were just sitting there, and I figured it made more sense to bring them here than to leave them with the Guild. But, uh."

Blake gestured at the window behind him. One of the buildings getting demolished was visible through it, which he noticed. That wasn't what he was trying to gesture at, so he moved his arm to point at his party's carriage instead.

"Oh, you're helping with the bandits?"

"No, this happened in Greenwood."

"Ah..." the clerk said. "Say no more. You want to go to Sky Crest, where the biggest orphanages in Queensland are."

"I guess that's the name of the capital, right?"

"What are you saying? Of course it is. Now, you can stay here for free tonight if you'd like. How many Companions?"

"Slaves. Not Companions. Don't sugar coat it, it's awful. But there's like a half dozen. And then four of us."

"Very well. You'll have two rooms. I'll have the furniture rearranged appropriately."

"Thanks. It's a big help."

That night, they all slept in warm beds, and ate... serviceable meals. The food was a bit strange, but nothing they couldn't adjust to after several days of eating travel food.

The next morning, as they got together and went to head out, Blake noticed something strange about their vehicle.

"Uh... Why does our carriage have two horses now?" he said, staring at the carriage, the party already on board.

The clerk stood behind him and responded.

"Well, we saw that your horse was getting very tired, so we adopted an extra driving horse from a merchant for you to help make your journey to Sky Crest easier," she said.

"Why. I don't have the money for this."

"Oh, please, we know how this sort of job goes, it's free of charge. We also took the opportunity to perform some maintenance to the carriage itself. It should drive more stably, now."

"Job...? Uh... Well, I'm not one to complain about a free upgrade."

"Happy trails!"

Blake climbed onto the driver's bench and drove off. What a strange sequence of events.

Skipping the villages, the ride to the next real town was smooth and swift, taking only a couple days, despite the many turns in the road and the steep hillsides. That maintenance must have been overdue, and the extra horse was an incredible help, though having to feed it was putting a dent in their feeding supply.

Well, the ride itself was smooth and swift. Nash was having a hard time of it, and was getting carriage-sick, it seemed. Or maybe it was the cold. Blake hold him to use an extra blanket. Nash listened, appreciating the attention. Riley was okay, but a bit quiet. Where they're going must be a big deal to her. On the other hand, Sophia was taking charge more than normal, at least when it came to things other than navigation—she must've been able to tell that driving so much was wearing Blake out.

Once they got to the next town, there, too, they were given a night's stay for free, and planned to leave as soon as possible. The town wasn't in as bad of a condition as the previous one, but it still wasn't the kind of place they wanted to free a bunch of slaves. They certainly didn't interact with anyone they didn't need to. Blake was perplexed by the inn clerk's complexion again, but too hung up with everything to think about it. They left the morning after, uneventful.

After the many more twists and bends of the now mountain roads, they reached the gates entering into Sky Crest, and were, for the first time ever, forced to go through a formal entry procedure. A guard in full armor stopped them, and spoke out in a harsh voice.

"Halt! What business do Transporters have in Sky Crest?"

"Transporters?" Blake said. "We're not Transporters. We're adventurers."

"Adventurers? In a Transporter's carriage? Are you perhaps—"

Blake cut the guard off.

"We, uh, cleared out a bandit camp in Greenwood, and there were a bunch of slaves. And it seemed like a better idea to bring them here than the Guild. I'm not big on this stuff."

"An interesting alibi. What political causes do you support? Are you a friend of the queen?"

"Bad news. I don't even know what causes I support."

"Uh. Very well. Please allow me to search the carriage."

"Go ahead."

"Let's see here... Ah, yes, this must have been a long trip... Half a dozen demihuman Companions in the back compartment... This is your party in the front compartment, I suppose... No contraband... These are brand new wheels, interesting..."

The guard went down a long checklist and, at the end, spoke up again.

"Well, you are clearly not Transporters. No Transporter in their right mind would approach the front gates of Sky Crest in broad daylight with a full carriage of Companions, at least not without a very strong cover story, and furthermore proceed to consent to a cargo search. You have no suspicious cargo, either, save for the Companions, but there are countless plausible good reasons to bring them. I will not ask your business here, but if you are here on a strange job, please be careful. Regardless, welcome to Sky Crest."

The guard opened the gates and beckoned the carriage to pass through. Blake obliged.