The caravan

"Sure you know where we're going?" Damian asked Alysanne, looking at her skeptically.

"Of course!" Alysanne's cheeks heat up a bit, she is very vehement in her response. "The current dragged me down the river so we have to go upstream to find the caravan!"

"That would be the case if they had stayed put in the same place they were camping when you bathed in the river. If they went looking for you down the river-"

"Then we would have seen them when we were walking towards your horses!" Alysanne cut him off.

"When you fell unconscious you ended up under the water, I had to dive for a long time to find you. The caravan may have passed just when we were both under water."

"That-" Alysanne hesitates for a moment and looks uncertainty towards the river. "That is highly unlikely. For that to happen our luck has to be abysmal."

Damian can only laugh at that comment. Memories of all the near-encounters with bandits flash through his mind, as well as the group of men from that village who he is sure followed him in search of his coins and goods.

"You almost drowned, merchant girl, your luck is proven to be rather bad."

"Well, I was saved." She replies with a pout. "We still have to keep going upstream. The only bridge that crosses the river is a few miles in this direction." She explains.

Damian can't deny it as he already studied the area using his map. Going upstream you will find a bridge about 5 miles away, while going downstream the nearest bridge is almost thirty miles away. Going downstream would be a horrible decision, not only because of the distance but because that area is known to be the hideout of various groups of bandits and other criminals.

`The Black Hills, a place full of outlaws. Approaching that place is like begging to be mugged.`

The Black Hills is an area with several hills and valleys, it is a wooded area where it is easy to hide and the horses have difficulty moving. For centuries, or perhaps millennia, the criminals of the Reach chose to make it their hideout, in fact there are those who say that this area is a kingdom in itself. A realm where law and order have no place, a place where one's reputation and strength are all that matter.

Bribes or fear. Or maybe a mix of both. Damian thinks those are the reasons why the lords have not assembled a military force to clean up that area.

`Or maybe laziness?`

The two continue to ride up the river for almost an hour, during which time they see no sign of Alysanne's father's caravan and the girl's mood visibly worsens.

"Father said to not go far from the shore, that the storm made the river very raging." Alysanne mutters to herself.

Damien opens his mouth to say something but he thinks better and stays silent. Comforting people has never been his forte and he's pretty sure Alysanne wouldn't thank him if he were to try.

`She seems to be rather proud.`

"Look, the bridge!" Damian points into the distance and sure enough, there is the bridge. It is a stone bridge with round arches and a watchtower almost in ruins.

"I wonder how long that watchtower has been abandoned." he wonders aloud.

"Since the conquest," Alysanne answers, looking almost bored at the tower. "House Gardener had a brotherhood of knights whose duty was to guard the roads of Reach. The Roseguard, they were called. They had several watchtowers throughout the kingdom, now the only thing left of the once noble brotherhood are these ruins."

Damian looks at her in surprise.

"You are rather knowledgeable."

"Hmph. Why the surprised tone?" She looks at him irritably. "My father is a merchant and I am his only heir. It is normal for me to know the kingdom and its history, these kinds of details can mean the difference between a good and an excellent deal. Once my grandfather sold some rolls of cloth to a man for five times the usual price because he tricked him into some stories about a knight that idiot was particularly fascinated with."

The redhead nods, agreeing completely. In his past life, he's risen to the top at that damn company thanks in large part to researching top executives in detail, from their favorite foods to their ideologies. He learned all kinds of information about their interests and used it to make them think he shared their interests and way of thinking. By becoming "friends" with them, he was able to move up the company's chain of command much faster than his performance would otherwise have allowed.

"We have to hurry, the caravan isn't very fast so we should be able to catch up with them before dark." Alysanne kicks the horse's sides with her heels and crosses the bridge. Damian follows her, glancing curiously at the tower as he passes it.

"The Roseguard, huh? Going to Oldtown is the wisest decision, there are many things about this world I don't know and that city is the perfect place to acquire all kinds of information." He mutters under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Alysanne looks at him with a raised eyebrow and he shakes his head.

"Nothing important." Damian rushes Marengo. "As you said we have to hurry if we want to reach them before dark."

Alysanne snorts and hurries her horse.

***

The two rode for hours following the river bank and looking for the caravan, on the way they had several arguments and discussions. Alysanne wanted to ride near the river but Damian refused, saying that the ground is not very stable due to the storm.

"I doubt the caravan went near the river bank. As I said the ground is not very solid in this moment. Besides I doubt that a single cart could circulate so close to the river, let alone a whole caravan"

"Hmph." She refused to agree with him but stopped protesting.

`Stubborn and proud, I am actually surprised she is not a noble.`

Moving away from the river they found the tracks of the caravan and Daman didn't fight his smug smirk, which only made Alysanne angry.

"From the marks on the ground they passed through here recently." Damian looked at the ruts in the road left by the wheels of the carts.

Damian's words proved true and just in the last hours of daylight they saw the caravan in the distance. The sight of the carts and riders made Alysanne so happy that she smiled brightly and hurried the horse into a gallop.

`She is beautiful when she smiles.`

"Papa!" She yelled as she got closer.

Damian followed her much more slowly and watched with a small smile as a man ran towards Alysanne calling her name, she jumped off the horse before it came to a complete stop and ran into his arms.

The redhead watches the reunion between father and daughter with nostalgia and slows down Marengo to give those two a moment of privacy.

"Halt!" A man on horseback rides towards him and looks at him with hostility. "Who are you?"

Damian raises an eyebrow and looks back at him irritably, all the tenderness he felt when he saw the reunion between father and daughter is forgotten. Luckily Alysanne's father steps in and he doesn't have to talk back to this rude and clearly hostile man.

"Benton, let the boy through. He saved my daughter's life!" Alysanne's father took a few steps forward and glared at the guard.

Damian saw that Alysanne inherited much of her appearance from her father, they have the same curly black hair and green eyes. He doesn't seem to be more than thirty, his age surprises Damian a bit, not because he has a teenage daughter (he's met kids his age already with kids) but because at such a young age he owns his own caravan.

"But he is clearly armed to the teeth!" Benton points to Damian's gladius and bow. "No boy his age goes around with that many weapons! He's clearly the scout for some bandit group sent to gather information on our numbers! With how close we are to the Black Hills I'm surprised we haven't encountered any bandits yet. This is why!"

"You're being paranoid, Benton." Alysanne's father shakes his head and glares at the man who refuses to move out of the way.

`Actually this Benton is not completely wrong, I could be a bandit scout.` Damian doesn't say that out loud because it wouldn't help at all to resolve this situation. `He is not stupid, he in fact he is quite smart. Distrusting me is the most sensible thing to do in this situation.`

"Damien saved my life without knowing who I am, for all he knew, I might as well be a farmer's daughter." Alysanne stands up for him and Damian is grateful for the trust she is showing him. Looking into the girl's green eyes he can see that she thought of Benton's words and didn't dismiss them entirely but still decided to put her faith in him.

"I will not allow you to treat the boy who saved my daughter's life that way. Back off, now." Alysanne's father stepped forward and stood between Benton and Damian, eyeing his guard steadily.

"Fine, but if his companions ambush us in the middle of the night, it will be on you." Benton walks off toward the caravan huffing and muttering to himself.

"Sorry for his rudeness, Benton's always been paranoid." Alysanne's father smiles at him a little sheepishly.

Damian gets off the horse and says:

"Don't worry, caution is highly recommended while we're this close to the Black Hills. I am Damian."

"I am Alester, proud father of this beautiful girl and owner of this humble caravan."

Damian looks towards the "humble" caravan and raises an eyebrow, causing Alester to burst out laughing. Alester's caravan has nine carts, Damian hasn't seen many trade caravans but he doesn't think one with nine carts is considered humble.

"Come, it's going to get dark soon and I'd like to hear your story in detail."

***

After setting up camp Alester invited him to have dinner with him and his daughter, during dinner Damian told how he saved Alysanne and Alester listened carefully.

"You are a blessing sent from the heavens, boy!" He exclaimed with joy. "When they told me my dear daughter disappeared, I feared the worst, I sent all the guards to look for her and when they returned empty-handed, I could only pray to the Gods Above. My prayers were answered and my dear Alysanne returned safe and sound! And everything, thank you! Tell me, Damian, what do you want in exchange for this wonderful gift you have given me? Name your price, dear boy."

"Alysanne told me you're going to Bitterbrigde, I'm headed in that direction too." Damien said. "Allowing me to join you will be more than enough. As both Alysanne and Benton said, this is a dangerous area and it is safer to travel with more people."

"That's all?" Alester looks at him in surprise. "Consider it done! But please, Damian, ask for something else, I won't feel at ease unless I have rewarded your brave feat."

Damian thinks about it for a moment, places a hand under his chin and looks around.

"Do you want something from my caravan? I transport fabrics, spices, wine, some ceramics and furs."

"No, no. You could help me sell some of my horses. I have not much experience in the mercantile arts, and you, owner of such a splendid caravan, must be quite an expert."

Alester laughed and shook his head.

"Expert? I couldn't call myself that, I just inherited the caravan this year from my late father. He was the expert. As for your horses, I'll buy them myself!"

`All is going according to my plans, now I have free guards for part of my journey and many sources of information. I even got a buyer for my horses!`

***

NOTE: There are advanced chapter in my p@ tre on if you want to support me and read some chapters earlier.

p a t r e o n. com /EdenofKovir

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