Wyatt knew she must have been given the location by the man at the shop, and given how much he had already helped it seemed wrong not to follow this advice. “Ok. Let’s go.” Wyatt didn’t want to have any further discussion about it because it was clear to him that this was happening. They were going to the location on the map. There was no other viable option, and wasting time trying to come up with one was not productive. It seemed Ugandan was about to say something, but a look from Argana stopped him before he started talking.

Despite all of the stressful things that had happened over the past few days or perhaps because of them everyone walked along with only the sound of their walking, breathing, and the occasional sigh breaking the silence. Sometimes you just need time to process, and being put in jail and threatened with near immediate execution is surely one of those things. Wyatt had other considerations. The old man who had given him the assistance had been what he imagined when he thought of an exciting adventure. That was the type of hidden master that would train him to be a powerful superhero like existence. Except that did not happen. A man that likely had a ton of answers for him had sent him away almost immediately after meeting him. Hours passed, and then days. None of them had a clue as to where they were headed, but the map gave them an eventual destination. It appeared the journey would take a month or so. He had a good amount of supplies in the packs, but by the end they would be rationing if they didn’t find a way to supplement their supplies along the way.

As Wyatt had learned from his time alone the perception of how much time had passed was very strange sometimes, and with minimal talking weeks seemed to fly by. Other than occasionally checking the map together everyone still seemed to be trying to process their most recent experience. Su seemed to be an exception to this internal contemplation. “Story?” Su asked as she grabbed the leg of Wyatt’s pants. This had become a habit every time they stopped for the night. She would still not use many words, but she was engaging much more than she had previously. Her expressive face often let Wyatt know what she thought of his stories. He had told her stories of his life, his mother, cars, movies, and so much more. She absorbed it like a sponge. Even without her saying much it became clear to Wyatt that Su was much like him. He had known for a long time that he wanted the type of adventure that only going through the gate could provide him. It had also been an escape from a world that had little hope, but adventure was still at the core of what he wanted from his life.

When he was not telling stories, traveling, or sleeping Wyatt had taken to working out including performing an intricate kata which Su started to follow along with. Occasionally Ugrand the second would also join them, but Su took to it with an unusual seriousness. Wyatt began to realize that the experience with the noble, the arrest of her parents, and the escape had all had a much more significant impact than anyone likely understood. He started to help correct her form and give her additional exercises. She took to the training like she had been born for it. He couldn’t give her cultivation exercises, but she would have a solid martial art base when she did learn cultivation.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Time passed quickly, and Wyatt was truly amazed at the progress Su made. In less than a month of practice he was positive she had made more progress than he himself had made in over a year of training. The more she learned from him the more she also began to improvise. She adapted the moves to her size, and strength in addition to adding more moves to give her additional options. During their travels they had moved from just training into sparring. While Wyatt still won the fights the improvement he saw in Su was nothing short of remarkable. It ultimately took about 2 months to make their journey rather than the 1 they had expected. Part of this was was that it was more difficult terrain than expected, but a large part was that after a few weeks without any signs of pursuit they had by unspoken agreement slowed their pace significantly. None of them were left unaffected by the last experience in a town, and although there were many reasons to be excited to be back within civilization there was also that underlying fear they were all trying to deal with.

The journey had been mostly uneventful other than a few encounters with wild life which thankfully supplemented their food supply. Things went relatively well upon arrival. They only had their packs so other than one of the guards who looked rather enviously at Wyatt’s spear they were waved in without much fuss. They had very little to offer or trade with which Wyatt along with Ugrand the 2nd had come up with a plan for. All of the animals they encountered along the way they saved any fur and hides. While they were not the best quality they did manage to get enough money for a few nights stay in an inn, and also for a few meals. Wyatt was chomping at the bit to learn more about cultivation. He took this new town as an opportunity to advance himself. He also knew if he was going to stay here for any amount of time he needed a job. Asking around town he became aware of an opening for a watchman type position for a warehouse within the city.

Taking the initiative Wyatt sought out the owner of the warehouse to have a conversation with him about the potential job. “Hello, are you Azuka?” Wyatt asked the elderly nooku man. He had been given directions to find him at a small general store. Apparently the man owned the general store, but often kept items in his warehouse for storage until he had space to show them at his shop or sometimes he would keep them there as an added layer of security so less people knew he had them.

The elderly man looked at Wyatt with a look that belied his age. It was deeply observant. It felt like Wyatt was having his soul examined. After a rather uncomfortable pause Azuka finally answered. “I am. I imagine you are here about the job that I have available? It just so happens I want someone from out of town for the position. It won’t be the most high paying job, but it should be rather easy and uneventful. You should also check out the caravaner’s guild regardless of whether you accept my job offer. If there is nothing else I am about to make myself some lunch in the back. I close my shop for lunch around this time each day. Normally I wouldn’t offer this, but if you would like you can eat with me.”