Caravan Escort

When I arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild, one of the receptionists spotted me and waved in recognition.

I remembered him at once—the kindly clerk who had pointed me toward commissions before.

“Ceris. Looking for work again today?”

“Yeah. Something decent.”

After a brief exchange of greetings with the nameless receptionist, I headed for the board.

The usual goblin subjugations, rare-herb gathering, lost-item retrievals—plenty of variety. One notice, though, snagged my eye: a missing-person request.

I rubbed my chin while reading the sheet. Until my parents gave up searching the village and went home, I would either have to stay buried out of sight or leave this city entirely.

Then another notice caught my attention.

A thirty-day long-term job. And a caravan escort meant leaving the capital. I tore the notice free without a second thought and carried it to the counter.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Excellent choice. Caravan escorts are usually safe ways to gain experience while still pocketing a decent fee.”

The receptionist checked the sheet, nodded, then scribbled busily with a pen and handed me a small slip of paper.

“If you reach the port city, be sure to try their seafood.”

“Any place you’d recommend?”

“Salt Plains!”

He answered with absolute confidence. I nodded and left the guild, careful to tug my wolf-fur hood lower. With a missing-person notice already circulating, showing my face and running into someone from the village would be disastrous.

Finding the merchant company called Dawn’s Breath proved easy enough. A city guard on patrol pointed me in the right direction without fuss.

Joining the caravan went ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smoothly. My appearance did raise a few doubts about my skill, but a quick demonstration of swordsmanship settled the matter—one of the company staff happened to know how to handle a blade.

The man who seemed to be in charge of the expedition handed me a token stamped with the company’s mark.

“Name’s Verde. We leave at noon in two days. Don’t be late.”

Two days. That was exactly when my stay at the inn would end. I nodded and returned to Mary’s inn.

When I told her I would be leaving the city in two days, Mary looked heartbroken. She clearly hated the thought of parting from the first friend her own age she had made in a long while. But what could I do? Adventurers were not meant to linger in one place.

Until the day of departure I stayed in my room and swung my sword. I practiced every technique I knew until my lungs burned and my vision swam, then collapsed into sleep soaked in sweat. The same routine repeated for two days.

Early morning.

As I prepared to leave the inn, Mary held out a small pouch. Inside were strips of jerky.

“I-I made it myself…”

I accepted the gift as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Receiving earnest presents from children my age was already familiar territory.

“Will you… come back and visit someday?”

I had no idea when that might be, but the request was hardly difficult. I nodded. Mary’s face lit up with a bright smile, and she scampered back inside the inn.

Morning in the capital was always bustling—merchants setting out stalls, laborers heading to work, adventurers prowling the streets in search of jobs. The sun, climbing higher, painted them all in warm light.

“Hnn…”

The wind was cold. I sniffled and set off toward the company. The appointed hour was noon, but I had nothing better to do until then. Hoping they would not simply shoo me away for arriving early, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hurried along and finally reached the front of Dawn’s Breath.

I was not the only adventurer who had come at this hour. Three others lingered near the entrance, looking equally awkward. A subtle silence hung among us; no one wanted to be the first to speak, so none of us did.

Then a company employee approached the group gathered at the door.

“Are you the ones who accepted the caravan escort commission?”

“Ah… yes.”

“That’s right.”

The adventurers answered stiffly. The employee’s gaze shifted to me, silently asking whether I was here for the same reason. I nodded and produced the small token Verde had given me.

“This way, please…”

Clearly used to the routine, the employee led us into a small room containing only a wide table and several chairs. The complete lack of decoration suggested the space had been set aside solely for waiting escorts.

Even after we sat, no one spoke. Time simply crawled by until one man, apparently unable to bear the silence any longer, stood and cleared his throat.

“How about we introduce ourselves briefly?”

That broke the ice. One after another the adventurers began.

“Rick. Bronze-rank swordsman.”

The first was a bald man with a jagged scar across the top of his head. He carried a short one-handed sword and an oval shield.

“Jane. I serve the Goddess of War. Bronze rank.”

The second was a pale-faced woman. The mention of a goddess and the unusual holy symbol in her hand marked her as a cleric. This world still held mountains of things I did not know. I watched the symbol with open curiosity.

“Agul. Warrior. Half-orc. Bronze rank.”

The third was a giant of a man nearly two meters tall, a massive battle-axe slung across his back as if it weighed nothing.

My turn. Once every eye was on me, I spoke.

“Ceris. Bronze-rank swordsman as well.”

Introductions finished, questions flew. Most of them landed on me. I could not understand why. Wasn’t a half-orc or a cleric who served a war goddess far more interesting than an ordinary thirteen-year-old girl? Yet every single one of them kept staring at me as if I were the oddity.

Conversation soon proved that none of them were bad people. Agul especially surprised me. Judging by his looks he seemed ready to cleave anything that annoyed him with that enormous axe, yet he turned out to be the most talkative of the lot.

We were still chatting when an employee burst in and shouted,

“Everyone, prepare to depart!”

Outside, more adventurers had already gathered. Including me, there were twelve of us in total. The company master must have hired eight others besides our group. There was no time to mingle; we climbed into the wagons at once and set off.

Rick, Jane, Agul, and I ended up as a team—simply because we were the only four who already knew one another’s names.

The Dawn’s Breath caravan rolled out of the capital at a leisurely pace. I leaned out of the wagon and watched the city walls shrink behind us. Someday I would return… wouldn’t I? The brief friendship I had formed with Mary still tugged at my heart. I smiled faintly and ducked back inside, away from the cold wind.

Only after we reached the broad highway did the wagons pick up real speed. The crack of the driver’s whip and the snorts of the horses filled the air. The canvas covering the wagon snapped and billowed in the winter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gusts.

The first two days on the road were pure boredom. No monster attacks, no bandit raids. I knew that was preferable for safety’s sake, yet I could not help feeling a little disappointed.

By the third day I had grown used to the constant jolt of the wagon—enough that I could even sleep through it.

Then came the evening of the fifth day.

I had just finished the meal provided by the company and was settling down to sleep when a shout rang out from outside.

“Bandits!”

I snatched up my iron sword and sprang to my feet. A heavy thudding filled the wagon; a massive shadow tore the canvas aside and leapt out. It was Agul. For all his bulk he moved with startling speed. The rest of us piled out after him.

Chaos reigned. Adventurers drew weapons and formed a loose ring around the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wagons; company staff who could fight joined them. I narrowed my eyes and studied the figures writhing in the darkness. Ragged clothes, weapons little better than sickles or axes—only a handful carried proper swords or spears.

Agul stepped forward, battle-axe already in hand, and unleashed a roar.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Before anyone could stop him he charged the nearest bandit and swung. The huge axe howled through the air and split the man’s skull clean open. One blow, and a human body was torn apart. Blood sprayed upward. That crimson signal ignited the real battle.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Dieee!”

Terror-laced howls rose from the bandits. Even after witnessing Agul’s overwhelming strength they did not retreat—perhaps they simply could not.

I steadied my breathing and leveled my sword. Maybe my small stature made me look like easy prey; more bandits were closing on me than on any of the others.

“Shit…”

My grip trembled. In that instant a man with an axe charged straight at me. His eyes burned with a raw, desperate self-loathing.