Krys POV

"Oh? Who are you all?" The teen mage asked as he leaned on a rather ornate-looking staff.

Krys took a moment to collect himself, these adventurers were younger than his team but he didn't want to say anything to overtly antagonize them as he looked them over. "We're freelance contractors that Vito hired... Who are you?" He asked, turning the question back on them.

The mage actually looked a little sheepish at that point he scratched his cheek. "Ah, I see... Well, we're adventurers who have associated with Mister Vito before. Considering the dangers of the road, we figured we could tag along with him to watch his back and hopefully in turn he'll help watch over us. It's safer to travel in bigger groups after all." He explained simply enough.

"What dangers?" Krys asked, wondering what they meant, his mind went back to the report he got from the guild last night. There was some activity in the capital to keep an eye out for, not to mention the activity regarding the deserters from the northern territories that settled in the Hegemony; but there was nothing overtly troublesome as far as he knew.

The armored teen spoke up this time. "Active banditry currently along the main road to the capital and in the surrounding areas. They tend not to harass larger groups and caravans in general beyond demanding a tax of foodstuffs, but it's better to play it safe, especially with the rumors that they've been taking people now and then."

"Bandits? Why hasn't the local guard or even adventurers taken care of them yet?" Krys asked, his ears flicking in thought as he regarded them. If there was anything adventurers were good for, it was for cleaning out bandits and monster nests.

The armored teen shook his head at that. "They're a dangerous group, made up of deserters from some war in the north, quite frankly they're too strong for most adventurers to handle on their own." He mentioned before leaning back on the front counter they were all standing around. The innkeeper's son was also there but seemed more content with actively eavesdropping on the conversation than walking off or asking them to move away.

Krys' brow quirked at that, though if they came across any bandits, he was almost certain Vito would be able to make them disappear or worse easily enough. "How strong are they? What do you know about them?"

The armored teen tilted his head side to side at that. "They're rated as a gold-level threat. It's not that they're all especially strong, but there are just that many of them, all with military training and being led by a notable war mage. Currently, it seems they're just trying to stock up for the winter, so we're being advised to stay out of their way and let them take the food they're demanding from passing caravans."

Krys just nodded as he sighed, scratching the back of his head. It makes sense, if they're strong enough to hold their own, then it's likely none of the wealthy merchants or local governors want to risk their own men to clean the bastards out. "I see, well I suppose if it's a group you're looking to travel with, then you will have to take it up with the boss." Krys mentioned, not saying anything positive or negative in regard to what the adventurers were looking for and playing into what he already said about working for Vito.

The armored teen nodded in understanding. "Fair enough, my name is Rantz, this is Cecil and Lily." He mentioned as he gestured to the other two who were with him.

Krys gave a small nod before gesturing to his team. "I'm Krys, they're Zax and Sera, and this is my little sister Ren." He said as he pat Ren's hooded head while she gave a small wave in response.

The trio of adventurers smiled a bit, Lily silently returning Ren's wave when suddenly their attention was pulled to something coming up behind Krys' group. Turning to look, Krys is momentarily startled to see a massive wolf coming up to them.

The wolf in question was accompanied by two cats which sat on its back, the three of them looking over the group curiously. The white cat was seemingly happy to see Rantz and his group, meowing out almost cheerfully to them.

The trio of beasts was accompanied by a brown-furred rabbitkin woman with lop ears and what looked to be an intentionally shaggy-bob hairstyle. She wasn't armed but was rather well-dressed in traveling clothes made with quality materials, she even wore spats accompanied by soft leather wrapping on her feet which wasn't necessary for most beastkin, but certainly showed she was at least wealthy enough to splurge on unnecessary footwear and clothes meant to endure travel according to Krys' reckoning.

The rabbitkin woman looked over the assembled group curiously, plucking a small piece of paper from a pouch on her hip as she looked over whatever was on it before looking the group over again. "Well now, there's more here than what I was told... Which among you are Mister Vito's associates?"

At that, Krys spoke up as he stepped forward. "That would be me and my team. Vito hired us yesterday and told us to wait here for him."

The rabbitkin nodded intently, her pink nose twitching in thought before she then looked at Rantz and his group. "And you are?"

Rantz spoke up at that. "We are adventurers who have business in the capital, we've associated with Mister Vito before and were hoping to join him as he journeyed to the capital as well."

The rabbitkin woman hummed in thought as she looked the trio over. "I see, and how much do you intend on charging for your services?"

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Rantz smiled as he shook his head. "We're not charging anything, we've even prepared our own food and supplies, all we want is to travel with his group."

The rabbitkin woman looked almost pleasantly surprised by that claim before quirking a brow curiously. "What are your ranks?" She asked though Krys could see her eyes noting the elite badges the trio of adventurers wore.

"We're Steel, going on to Sapphire if we do well with our evaluations in the Capital." Rantz explained, sounding justifiably proud about that fact as he offered a smile.

The rabbitkin woman nodded intently again. "I am not permitted to make decisions on behalf of Mister Vito as of right now. However, you are free to follow me to him so you can make your request in person." She explained rather professionally. With that, she turned, making her way out of the Inn as the wolf followed after the rabbitkin woman.

On their way out, Krys watched as Rantz took a moment to grab a small folding cart by its handles and proceeded to follow after the group as they made their way across town.

Before long they were deep in the merchant's quarter, going through the warehouse district as they passed by a number of wagons and merchants making their way out of the fort town. Most of them were not capital-bound, of course, their destinations likely were the other towns and villages in the immediate area.

According to the report Krys got last night, the last caravan that was headed for the Capital left three days ago, so it's unlikely that they'll be traveling with anyone else for the majority of the way.

"Oh wow, is that the Miner's Guild Guildmaster?" Zax said as they rounded a bend and approached a certain warehouse.

Sure enough, Krys spotted Vito speaking with the dwarven guildmaster, a smile on his face as they talked about something or another. Vito certainly looked a lot less intimidating in daylight and when not being confronted by him in a dark alley. However, that's not to say Vito doesn't cut an imposing figure in the light of day.

As they approached, Ren tugged at Krys' sleeve before looking up at him. "Is that the guy who said he could heal me?"

Krys nodded intently. "Yeah, that's him. Don't bother him with that right away, he looks busy and it won't do to interrupt his business." He warned quietly, if his guess was right and Vito really is an eccentric, then he didn't want to do anything that could risk Ren losing out on the potential cure for her condition. As they spoke, Krys spotted Cecil looking them over for a moment before turning away once Krys made eye contact with him.

The cats suddenly broke away from the group, hopping off of the wolf and hurrying over to Vito, racing each other up his back before perching on his shoulders as the duo nuzzled his head rather affectionately, causing the man to chuckle and dote on the two of them. "Good morning you two, did you miss me?" He mused rather cheerfully before looking over to the approaching group and smiling a little more. "Welcome back Riley, I see you found everyone... And a few extras." He mentioned as he regarded the adventurers with a look of amusement.

The rabbitkin woman, Riley, bobbed her head intently as she looked up to Vito. "Yes sir, the adventurers say they know you and wish to volunteer their services in escorting you to the Capital." She explained dutifully.

The massive wolf moved to settle beside Vito, the man reaching out and resting a hand on its head as he ruffled their fur as well before looking at the Guildmaster with a smile. "There we go, now I've got those extra escorts you were insisting I find. I think a trio of Steels on their way to becoming Sapphires are certainly dependable enough to watch my back."

The Guildmaster just smiled a bit while stroking his beard, regarding the trio of adventurers before also looking over Krys and his team. His eyes lingered on Ren for a moment before looking up at Vito and nodding his assent. "I suppose it is now a suitably big enough group to watch over your carriages. Very well, I'll let the matter rest."

Vito just chuckled a bit at that. "Well, I'm glad I have your approval." He mused before regarding the group as a whole. "Feel free to load up your things in that carriage over there, we'll be heading out soon enough." He explained before gesturing to said carriage which was currently being loaded with a variety of bags and crates.

As Krys and his team followed the adventurers, he spotted another nicely dressed individual, a lizardkin man with stone grey scales going over some kind of checklist. He looked up from his paperwork and smiled a bit as he regarded the group as a whole. "I take it you'll be Mister Vito's escorts? Glad to have you all along, we'll be in your care." He expressed pleasantly enough. "Do any of you have any experience driving a carriage?" He asked as he looked among them. Rantz and even Zax held up their hands, much to Krys' surprise as the lizardkin man smiled a little more. "That's great to hear. I thought I would be glued to that seat the whole journey." He mused with no small amount of relief. "Go ahead and unload your things here, the other carriage is more meant for Mister Vito's merchandise."

"Merchandise?" Cecil piped up curiously, looking especially interested for whatever reason. "What does Mister Vito sell?"

The lizardkin man flashed a toothy smile as he seemed rather happy to talk about the subject. "He's an artist, true and true. With a simple pile of sand or a humble rock, he can bend the materials to his will using his magic to make something surprisingly intricate and detailed. I haven't seen anything like it before. It supposedly takes a lot out of him, but when he really commits to his work, he can make a five-foot statue faster than I've ever seen done before."

Krys was rather skeptical when it came to the lizardkin's claim in regards to Vito getting tired out after a single statue after seeing him create three-story stone walls in a matter of seconds, though he could guess his new boss was playing some kind of angle and opted to just kept that detail to himself.

"Ah, so no magical items or artifacts?" Cecil asked, looking especially disappointed for a moment. He then seemed to regard his staff and almost immediately perked up for some reason or another.

The lizardkin looked a little confused by that comment but just went back to his work as he began reviewing the next checklist while the adventurers and his team began loading their packs into the carriage.

As Krys shrugged off his satchel, he turned to help Ren with her things, only to realize she wasn't by his side anymore. Feeling his heart skip a beat, he quickly looked around before watching as she marched right up to Vito while he was talking to the dwarf and tugged at his cloak.

Vito looked fairly surprised by the interruption but smiled a bit as he looked down at Ren. "Ah, you must be Krys' sister, did you need something?"

Ren for her part crossed her arms as she looked up at Vito with a surprisingly defiant look on her face. "You're not scamming my brother, are you? He said you promised to heal me if he worked for you, but if you're just some nobody artist, how exactly are you going to heal me?"

The Guildmaster looked vaguely amused by Ren's accusation before looking over to Vito curiously.

Krys quickly closed the distance between himself and Ren, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her back behind himself as he looked up at Vito with clear fear in his eyes, he could hear his heart thumping in his ears before letting out a nervous chuckle. "F-forgive my sister b-boss... M-mister Vito. S-She hasn't seen what you're capable of, I promise you she only acts out of ignorance."

Vito just smiled a bit before regarding the Guildmaster. "He was among the thieves that robbed me yesterday." He mentioned simply, the Guildmaster just nodding as if that explained everything. Vito then looked between Krys and Ren before getting down to one knee to be closer to Ren's eye level. "I can tell you care for your brother a lot, and you're very brave for your age. I can respect that." He mused with another smile before standing tall. "As for whether or not I'm the real deal? Well, you're just gonna have to wait and see. Just don't push yourself and I'll look you over later today." He then looked over to Krys and chuckled a bit. "As for you... Relax a bit. I already told you, I don't mind thieves."

With that, he turned away, walking off with the Guildmaster as they talked about something else.

Despite what he said, Krys couldn't help but feel as if he just dodged an arrow as he looked at Ren, not even sure what to say to her, whether or not to count himself lucky that nothing happened to her or to chastise her for antagonizing the man.

Ren for her part still looked unsure as she kept her arms crossed. "He's a weird man." She said simply before finally uncrossing her arms and looking up to Krys.

Krys just sighed as he ruffled her hair through her hood before pulling back. "And you're an idiot... Come on, let's go load up your things." He said as he led her back to the carriages.