The streets on the way to the western gate were almost empty. It was still dark out, only a slowly brightening sliver of the sky sometimes visible between the buildings. Edwin hadn’t slept much, thoughts of his first adventure and his first real fight without magic invading his mind and keeping him awake. He wasn’t tired though, and his steps through the cool darkness of the morning were fueled by eager anticipation.

Edwin wore his new clothes, a second set stuffed into his backpack, and the gambeson and cloak he wore on top of the shirt kept him comfortably warm. He knew that he would have to shed the outer layers soon enough, but he hadn’t been able to fit the stiff and thick gambeson into his backpack. Dagger and mace hung on opposing sides of his belt, and he had strapped his shield to the outside of his backpack. Apparently, he hadn’t tied it down well enough, as it swung around on every other step.

Edwin saw the line of carts before he spotted the western gate. They were queued up on the street, waiting for the sun to come up so they could begin their journey west. The roads weren’t too dangerous for travelers, but if you drove carts from city to city every day of the year, sooner or later you would find yourself beset by monsters. For this reason, trading carts liked to travel together.

Edwin walked along the caravan, looking for the others. As he approached the gate, he spotted Bordan off to the side. The old soldier was equally on the lookout, spotting Edwin a few seconds later and waving to him. Bordan wore simple traveling clothes, a short sword hanging from his belt. Edwin didn’t see any other weapons or a backpack, however.

“I see you’re the first one here.” Edwin said in greeting.

“It’s the bloody army. They made me get up early for so long, I can’t seem to shake the habit.” Bordan offered him a hand and a smile, and Edwin shook the first and returned the other. He liked the man, and he found that he got along with him quite well. Maybe that was because Bordan was much closer to Walter’s age than the other recruits.

“Did you get everything we need?” Edwin asked.

“Sure did. The price for rations has gone up, though. When I asked if adventurers got a discount, they asked to see my identification. Turns out we were supposed to get a badge when we finished our training. They forgot it in the rush yesterday.”

Edwin scratched his chin. “Makes sense. I knew that adventurers got discounts and privileges for some things, so there has to be a way to identify us. Otherwise, everybody could say that they’re adventurers. Did you have to pay full price then?”

“No, I explained the situation and showed them the request letters. It helps that I know the owner somewhat and he knew that I was an adventurer in training. I went back to get the badges afterwards, though. You should have seen the embarrassed look on Fiona’s face.” Bordan chuckled. “There was supposed to be a ceremony I guess, but I’m sure you will manage without one.”

The old soldier pulled three badges on woven leather cords from his pocket, sorting through them until he found the correct one, then handing it to the larger man. It was a small metal shield, a stylized Adventurer’s Guild dragon on the front and Edwin’s name on the back. He turned it over in his hand, regarding it with a surprising amount of pride. After all of Walter’s achievements, being proud of something so mundane felt…wrong somehow. Edwin thought about it for a moment, deciding that that was nonsense. Any accomplishment was worth something, and this had been the first one that Edwin achieved himself, and without the help of magic. He put the cord around his neck, rubbing the shield between his fingers one last time, then letting it disappear under his clothes.

“There they are. I was getting worried.” Bordan’s words pulled Edwin from his reverie, and he followed the older man’s look. Leodin and Salissa were walking towards them along the carts, spotting the other two when Bordan waved. As the younger half of the team approached, Edwin gave them a once over. Leodin wore the brown clothing of hunters and woodsmen, a sword on his belt and a backpack on his back. Fastened to the backpack was his crossbow, a powerful weapon that Edwin had seen plenty of times on the range. A full quiver was tied to one side of the backpack, and a tightly bound pack of bolts was strapped to the other. Edwin hadn’t given ammunition a thought since he didn’t use any, but apparently Leodin had, and he had no interest in running out of it.

The female mage had shed her gaudy robe, and to Edwin’s surprise, was clothed in simple traveling garb not unlike what Edwin and Bordan wore. Edwin had expected her to wear her College robes, as the garment was practical enough that most mages wore it every day, or maybe a more sturdy traveling robe. Instead, there was nothing that set her apart from the other people on the street that morning.

Does she not want others to know she’s a mage?

The two were walking side by side, and Edwin noticed with amusement that while Salissa wore her usual, bored expression, Leodin didn’t quite seem to know where to look. Maybe the young man wasn’t all that experienced with women either?

Greetings were exchanged and Bordan relayed the mix-up at the Guild and handed out the remaining badges. “I spoke to the gate guard when I got here, and we should still have a few minutes. We will most likely be riding on different carts, so let’s distribute the rations into our packs while we have time.”

With that, the former soldier pulled a wrapped package from behind the corner he was standing next to, handing it to Edwin. Next, he pulled out his backpack. At first glance, it looked massive. A sleeping roll was strapped to the top, another cloth-wrapped package to the bottom, a bow and quiver hung on one side and a short spear on the other. A shield on the back completed the monstrosity.

Edwin raised his eyebrows. “I see you come prepared.”

“This? This is nothing!” Bordan laughed. “Back in the army we’d carry twice this amount. Most of it is weapons and armor anyway, so once those are off, there won’t be much left. I just strapped everything down for easy handling. We’ll be riding a cart for a few days after all, this way I can just toss it in the back and everything stays together.” He looked at Edwin, eyeing first his gambeson and then the shield swinging from his backpack. “You should probably repack that, unless you want to wear that all day. Might get a bit warm.”

Salissa didn’t have a backpack as large as the others’, instead carrying a pack on a sling much like the one Edwin had arrived in Pel Darni with. Edwin remembered the waterskin he’d bought, giving it to her, and when Bordan helped him repack his bag and tie down his shield and the bundled-up gambeson, Edwin quickly offered to take the majority of the rations. He was carrying much less equipment than Leodin and Bordan, and with his enhanced strength he barely felt the weight of his backpack anyway. As they were finishing up, a heavyset man in nice, but functional clothes approached them.

“I take it ye’re the adventurers, what with the weapons and all?”

“We are.” Bordan answered, offering the newcomer his hand which he shook firmly.

“Good, ye’re on time. We’ll be sending the caravan out in a few minutes, so if ye’re ready ye can get on.” He inspected each of them quickly, his eyes roaming their equipment. “Two shooters?”

Bordan glanced at Salissa, then nodded. “Yes, two.”

“I’d ask ye to split up then, one each front and back of the line. Ye’re new, aren’t ye?” When they nodded, he continued. “Alright, so here’s how this works: Adventurers ride for free, but ye have to help to defend the caravan if it gets attacked. The drivers are all armed themselves, but its always nice to have professionals along, so they’ll expect ye to do the bulk of the fighting if it comes to it. All good?”

Bordan nodded again “Sure, that’s about what we expected. How often do caravans get attacked these days? It must have gotten worse with the rise in monster activity.”

The man nodded, his expression turning sour. “It sure has. Usually, monsters don’t like to attack large caravans like this, only going for single carts or travelers on foot. Lately, they’ve gotten more aggressive though. Or maybe dumber, who knows. There’s an attack somewhere on our routes every week, even with your guildmates patrolling them. So keep yer weapons close. A few arrows usually do the trick to chase them off, but I wouldn’t wanna be on the roads at night right now, or even on foot.”

His story was interrupted when a call went along the line of carts, and movement came to the drivers that had been standing in small groups on the side of the road and talking in low voices.

“They’re about to leave, so ye better get on.” The man said in parting, walking away to exchange a few words with the gate guards.

“Isn’t he coming?” Leodin asked, confused.

“No.” Edwin answered. “He’s with the city’s transport office. They manage all the shipments in and out of the city and plan these caravans and such.”

Bordan clapped his hands, getting their attention. “Alright, so he wants one bow in front, one in the back. I guess that means two groups of two. Any preferences?” Nobody answered, so after few seconds, Bordan continued. “Guess not. Fine, then Leodin, you go to the front because you’re the better shot. Edwin, you with him, Salissa and I go in the back. Questions? Good, let’s go.”

Edwin shouldered his backpack and walked the few steps to the first cart, Leodin following him. The vehicles had high wooden walls, the driver sitting in a seat at head height that was covered to the sides with wooden boards. Edwin knocked against the panel, and the driver’s head peeked over it.

“The adventurers. Hop on, make yourselves comfortable in the back.”

Leodin looked up the tall cart with raised eyebrows, unsure how to climb it, until Edwin easily ascended the vehicle using the wheels and half-hidden footholds. The top was covered with a tarp that was tented up by a pole in the front and back. The weather was dry, so the front was open, and Edwin clambered inside, carefully stepping onto the boxes that took up the entire interior. He placed his backpack down in a corner and looked around. Memories from Walter’s childhood came rushing back, bringing a serene smile to his face. Walter’s father had been a successful merchant, and while little Walter had been expressly forbidden to play in the warehouse and on the carts, that hadn’t stopped the nosy boy, as the tall stacks of boxes, fortified carts and friendly oxen had been an ideal playground.

Leodin pulled himself through the opening with some difficulty, apparently having missed some of the footholds that Edwin had used. He plopped down next to the large man and opened his mouth to say something, when the huge city gate in front of them slowly began to swing open. The driver blew a whistle, signaling the carts behind him, and snapped his reigns. The cart lurched, then slowly rolled forward. They rode through the inner gate, then a short, dark tunnel under the thick walls, and suddenly the forested hills of the northern countryside opened up before them. They were on their way.