Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Bazaar 

ON OUR EIGHTH DAY on the Begaritt Continent, we lowered ourselves down off the rock shelf and headed for Bazaar. 

From our vantage point, the city looked a bit like a doughnut. The big round lake in the middle was surrounded by a ring of white “frosting” — tents and buildings—with a small green area on the outskirts. Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything sweet in a while now. 

“We’re finally here,” sighed Elinalise. “That was quite a hike, I must say.” 

“Yeah, no kidding. It feels like we covered a lot of ground in the last week.” 

“I suppose the monsters made it feel even longer than it was.” 

The ground in this area wasn’t just sand. There was actual soil here, although its reddish-brown color suggested it wasn’t particularly rich, and the plains were dotted with sizable boulders and a few scraggly plants. It reminded me a bit of the Demon Continent, actually. At least it was easier to walk on. And the temperature was much less extreme here. There was a stark difference in climate compared to the desert on the other side of that rock shelf. 

By the time we reached the outskirts of Bazaar, it was already evening, and bats were starting to flutter through the sky. They didn’t swoop down to attack us, though, and there weren’t any Succubi accompanying them. They were just ordinary bats. Still, there might be other monsters lurking around, even if we were close to the city now. We stayed alert as we approached it. 

Just as we were getting close, there was a piercing cry from somewhere nearby. Recognizing the call of a Gryphon, the two of us instantly tensed up. 

“Is it coming for us?” 

“No, I don’t think so. They’re fighting over there, see?” 

Elinalise was peering at something up ahead of us, but I couldn’t make out what she was looking at. “Who is it?” 

“I couldn’t say.” 

We moved forward cautiously in the direction of the city. Soon enough, I spotted a small group of people fighting a pack of Gryphons up ahead. There were four humans and five of the monsters. Well, there had been six humans, but two of them were lying motionless on the ground. Of the four survivors, one was crouching down and clutching his head rather than fighting. 

In other words, it was three against five. The outnumbered humans were fending off the Gryphons with sizable broadswords. They were a well-coordinated group, but it was obvious that they were starting to get tired. 

“Should we help them out, Elinalise?” 

She shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. “I’ll leave it up to you.” 

“Let’s do it, then.” 

Abandoning them would probably leave a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t see any reason not to ride to the rescue. 

“All right. Cover me!” 

“Got it!” 

Elinalise was already rushing forward. As she approached, I fired off a shock wave blast at a Gryphon that was currently in the air. 

My spell was a direct hit—the monster had been focused on the enemies in front of it. The blast wasn’t enough to kill it instantly, but it did send it tumbling to the ground, spraying feathers in all directions. Elinalise leapt on the fallen beast and stabbed it in the neck with her sword. 

I fired off more wind spells in quick succession. My second target went down from a single blast, but the third managed to evade my spell. The creatures were aware of my attacks at this point, but they also had armed warriors in front of them, and Elinalise was blocking their path to me. I was free to fire off as many spells as I wanted without fear of retaliation. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. 

“Kyeeeaaah!” 

Once I’d picked off four of the monsters, the last of them tried to flee. I finished it off with a Stone Cannon to the back. It was never smart to let a wounded, desperate beast go free. 

With the battle over, Elinalise and I sheathed our weapons and approached the group of warriors. 

“I-is it over?!” 

The man who’d been crouching down and quivering finally raised his face. After looking around the area nervously, he smiled in obvious relief. The warriors who’d been fighting the Gryphons turned and approached him. 

Rising to his feet, the man immediately began shouting at them. “What are you standing around for? You! Get out there and start looking!” 

The warrior he’d addressed nodded and immediately ran off. 

“Good grief, what a disaster,” the man muttered. “What on earth was a pack of Gryphons doing all the way out here, anyway?” 

Shaking his head, he turned and approached us with the other two warriors at his side. 

“Your assistance was most kind, travelers. Allow me to express my gratitude.” 

The man wore a turban and a red robe underneath a thin yellow gown of sorts. There was a small red dot in the middle of his forehead. He had a long, skinny mustache, but it didn’t make him look especially imposing. He struck me as more of a timid sort—the very picture of a stereotypical desert merchant too. That was fine by me. 

“Well, it looked like you were in some trouble,” I said. “We couldn’t just abandon you.” 

“Most people certainly would have.” 

The man was speaking in the Fighting-God Tongue, so I’d replied in kind. Fortunately, he appeared to understand me just fine. That was a hopeful sign. 

“May the blessings of the wind grace you and yours.” 

With those final words, the man promptly turned and walked back to his fallen companions. Not the most expressive sort, then. 

“…” 

The two other members of his party were fighters who wore red armor and a thick, skirt-like garment around their waists. They were more heavily equipped than the average Central Continent warrior. The weapons at their hips were large, curved swords with thick blades more than a meter in length. I’d often seen similar scimitars on the Demon Continent, actually. They were probably effective against larger monsters. 

Still, such heavy arms and armor wasn’t ideal for fighting agile monsters like Gryphons. Maybe that was part of the reason they’d been struggling. 

“Don’t see mages too often in these parts.” 

The one who spoke up first was a huge man with a patch over his left eye and a tattoo covering his face. He was nearly six feet tall and probably around forty years old, obviously a seasoned veteran. 

“Hey, Boss. Is that girl a Succubus?” The other warrior was a girl with light brown skin who was staring at Elinalise. I couldn’t see much of her underneath the armor, but she looked muscular. I would have guessed she was in her mid-twenties. 

“What is she saying, Rudeus?” asked Elinalise in the Human Tongue, looking a bit confused. She didn’t speak the local language here. 

“She’s wondering if you’re a Succubus,” I told her, also in Human Tongue. 

“Well, I suppose I am. In a manner of speaking.” 

“Wow. She admits it.” 

“That said, I don’t make a habit of spraying foul odors all over the place.” 

“I keep telling you, they smell really good to me.” 

The huge man turned to his companion and chopped her on the head. “Don’t be an idiot! What kind of Succubus travels with a man? You’ve got some nerve insulting them after they saved our lives!” 

The woman whimpered pitifully in reply. “Oww! But Boss! You said a girl who shows up when there’s bats around’s gots to be a Succubus!” 

It took some effort to understand what she was saying. Maybe her accent was just really strong? I could make out the words, but it wasn’t easy. 

“This is exactly why they call you Bonehead, kid.” 

The man, on the other hand, spoke more clearly. I didn’t know if he was more fluent in Fighting-God Tongue or what, but I understood him much easier. 

Sighing, he turned to Elinalise to apologize. “Sorry, miss. We didn’t mean no offense. Carmelita here is kind of a moron, that’s all.” 

Elinalise looked awkwardly in my direction. She had no idea what the man was saying to her. 

“What’s this now?” she asked me. “Is he trying to make a move on me or something?” 

“No. He’s apologizing because the woman called you a Succubus.” 

“Ah, is that all? Well, tell them I wasn’t offended at all.” 

Elinalise turned her most brilliant smile on the big man, prompting him to blush fiercely. 

“She says she doesn’t mind,” I added helpfully. 

“N-no kidding? Does she not speak our language or something?” 

“Nope. I can interpret for her, though.” 

The big man was openly staring at Elinalise now. It wasn’t hard to guess what he might be thinking— that’s a fine woman there, or something along those lines. Maybe too bad she’s kinda flat-chested. Elinalise didn’t seem to mind the ogling. If anything, she looked kind of proud to be ogled. I guess she was used to it by now. 

Pulling his gaze away from Elinalise, the man looked over at me again. “…My name’s Balibadom. Thanks again for your help, stranger.” 

“I’m Rudeus Greyrat, and this is Elinalise.” 

“Got it. Well, if you ever need anything—” 

“Hey! What’s the hold-up, you two?” shouted the mustached man we’d spoken to earlier, interrupting the warrior mid-sentence. “We need to find that cargo now !” 

“Whoops, sorry. Gotta go. I’m sure our employer will reward you later too.” 

Balibadom and Carmelita ran over to their boss. The three of them had a brief conference, then split into two groups and ran off in different directions. They were gone in an instant. 

“What, they’re just leaving? I expected a bit more gratitude,” said Elinalise. 

I could understand how she felt, but we hadn’t gone into this expecting a reward. 

“Looks like they left their wounded behind, too…” I looked down at the fallen fighters, ready to cast a healing spell or two. “Oh. They’re dead.” 

Come to think of it, the survivors hadn’t even attempted to aid them after the battle. They’d probably been well aware that they were gone. 

“This one was still awfully young, the poor thing…” 

One of the dead was a teenage girl, maybe eighteen years old. There was a gaping hole in her forehead where a Gryphon’s sharp beak had struck her. She must have died instantly. 

“I wonder if leaving the dead where they fell is a tradition on this Continent?” 

“No decent adventurer would ever do such a thing.” 

“Well, those people didn’t look like adventurers to me…” 

Since their party had vanished, I burned the bodies with my magic and buried them myself. It did seem a little heartless, the way they’d left them here. 

That Balibadom guy had promised we’d be rewarded later, but we didn’t even know the name of that guy with the mustache. And how were they supposed to come find us if they didn’t know who we were? Did they expect us to track them down and demand payment or something? 

…Well, whatever. It wasn’t like I’d intervened in the hopes of a big payoff or anything. I’d have to satisfy myself with having done my good deed for the day. 

“Let’s get going, I guess.” 

“All right then.” 

The two of us walked off toward Bazaar. 

By the time we reached the city proper, the sun had set. The place was surprisingly well-lit, though; there were large bonfires all around, like the kind you’d see at a festival fair. The ground around these bonfires was covered in carpets of some kind. People sat on these in groups, happily eating and carousing with each other. It kind of reminded me of a big cherry blossom-viewing picnic, actually. 

Everyone seemed to have turbans on their heads. The colors and patterns of their clothes differed widely, but many of them reminded me of the tribal clothing I’d seen on the Demon Continent. Elinalise and I were going to stick out like sore thumbs. Not that it really mattered. 

“I’m getting a bit hungry, aren’t you?” 

“Yes, I suppose so.” 

Watching everyone feasting all around us got our stomachs growling quickly enough. Still, we had to find ourselves a place to stay first. 

As I was looking around for an inn, though, a man came up and called to us. “Hey, you two! Looking for a meal? I can squeeze you in for just three Cinsha right now!” 

From the sound of things, his group was selling off the excess portions of a huge meal they’d made. We decided to take him up on the offer. You couldn’t think on an empty stomach, after all. 

Once we’d settled ourselves down on the carpet, the man who’d led us there held out his hand expectantly. “Gonna have to ask you to pay up front, folks. We already cooked the food, see?” 

I took out three bronze coins and handed them over. 

He examined them suspiciously. “What th’ hell are these things?” 

“Bronze coins from the Kingdom of Asura.” 

“The kingdom of what now? I can’t use these things, buddy.” 

As I’d feared, it looked like money from the Central Continent was no good here. It made sense, really. I’d been planning to exchange my currency somewhere, but we hadn’t had the chance yet. 

“How about this, then?” 

As I was trying to figure out my next move, Elinalise dropped something else into the man’s palm. It was a small golden ring. He held it up and examined it closely, then nodded happily and went off to find another customer. 

“It’s best just to barter in situations like that,” Elinalise explained. 

That was those veteran instincts at work again. She’d figured out the right move almost instantly. 

“I’m glad I’ve got you around, Elinalise. You really know your stuff.” 

“There’s no need for flattery, dear.” 

We settled down on the carpet to wait for our food. This brought back some very old memories from my previous life in Japan. I hadn’t been doing much sitting on the ground lately. 

“Here y’go, folks!” 

We hadn’t placed an order or anything, but our food came anyway. The main dish was a thick white bean soup with some mysterious chunks in it, but we had spicy steamed meat on the side. There was also a strange tropical fruit with a slightly sour taste, which they’d covered in a sweet sauce of some kind. 

The sweet soup, spicy meat, and sour fruit made for an interesting combination. The meal seemed a little lacking in the carbs department, but once I got started, I found myself enjoying it a lot. The soup was particularly good. The mystery white chunks floating around in it turned out to be rice, rather than meat. So it was a kind of rice gruel? 

I hadn’t been expecting to find rice here, of all places. There couldn’t possibly be any rice paddies in this climate, so they had to be growing it in dry soil. I’d heard that was possible, although more challenging to pull off. It was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I ended up gobbling down the soup in no time at all. 

My love for rice had only grown stronger over the years. Just getting a cup of it in my belly made me feel invincible, like I was ready to take on the world. I’d have to see if it was possible to cultivate rice in the Northern Territories somehow. If I taught Aisha the basics of planting crops, maybe she could get a little field going in our yard… 

Then again, it probably wouldn’t be right to turn my little sister into an agricultural worker for my own pleasure. 

“Oh? You’re not whining about the food for once, Rudeus. That’s unusual.” 

“Well, it was better than I was expecting, honestly.” 

I even ended up asking for seconds. I never complained about Sylphie’s cooking or anything, just to be clear…but rice definitely held a special place in my heart. If I only had some eggs and soy sauce to go with it, everything would be perfect. 

I could always raid a Garuda nest for the eggs, right? They were basically just giant chickens, after all. That just left the soy sauce. Maybe this continent would surprise me again, and I’d find some for sale in the market. 

“Let’s see if we can’t find ourselves an inn, then.” 

But of course, we weren’t here on vacation. If we had a little extra time after saving Paul, maybe I could pursue this little side project. Now wasn’t the time. 

“Right,” said Elinalise. “I think it’s best we leave finding a guide until tomorrow.” 

Most of the merchants around us were already closing up shop and heading home. The bonfires were going out one by one, and people seemed to be getting ready for bed. It seemed a little early to me, but we clearly weren’t going to be able to hire anyone tonight. 

Spotting the man who’d sold us our meal earlier, I called out to him. “Excuse me! Are there any inns around here?” 

“Inns? What are you talking about? Just sleep wherever you want.” 

Interesting. Apparently, visitors to Bazaar who hadn’t brought their own tent just slept out under the stars. We could always make ourselves a shelter with my magic, though. 

“Where should we settle down, then?” asked Elinalise. 

“It looks like people are clustering closer to the water.” 

“Okay, then, let’s set ourselves back a little bit from the crowd.” 

The two of us picked our way around for a while, then found a nice open spot midway between two larger tents. There were guards hanging around outside them, so we probably wouldn’t have to worry about any thieves. 

I made our shelter on the larger side this time. It took longer to create than usual, but we’d have more space to spend the night in. Once the sun rose, it would probably get brutally hot in here really quick, so we wouldn’t be using it longer than that. 

“Phew. Well, at least we made it this far, right?” 

“So far, so good.” 

Dropping our bags on the ground, we allowed ourselves to breathe a sigh of relief. 

“Still, we’re only halfway there. Let’s make sure we stay on our toes.” 

“First things first,” agreed Elinalise. “Tomorrow, we’ll buy the provisions we need and find ourselves a guide.” 

We spent a few minutes quickly going over our priorities. First and foremost, we needed to exchange our money, buy provisions, confirm the route to Rapan, and hire a guide. We also took a little time to maintain our equipment. Elinalise cleaned her sword and shield, and I looked over our protective gear for any damage. This was just a part of our daily routine by now. 

After a few minutes, we finished up and spread out the furs we used for our bedding. But just as I was about to turn in for the night, Elinalise got to her feet. “Okay then, I’ll be going out for a little while.” 

What? Is she running to the convenience store or something? “Uh… to do what?” 

Elinalise smiled at the question. “To pick up a man.” 

In other words, she was going to reset the timer on her curse. 

“You’ve still got a little more time, don’t you?” 

Elinalise’s curse kicked into full gear every two to four weeks. Cliff’s magical implement more than doubled that deadline, so she was good for at least a month in between encounters. It had only been two weeks since we left, and it was probably beginning to have some effect on her, but it wasn’t urgent yet . 

“That’s true. But I’m going to hire someone anyway, while we’re here.” 

“Right…” 

This trip was going to last three months at the very least. Given how uncertain we were about what lay ahead of us, four months was probably a more likely estimate. Even in the best-case scenario, Elinalise would need to sleep with someone at least once in that time. There was no getting around it. 

“Okay, then. I guess I’ll see you later.” 

“Yes, I’ll be back eventually. Don’t wait up for me, though. Get your sleep in.” 

“Well, okay…but you don’t speak the language here, do you?” 

“That won’t be an issue. This sort of thing works the same way anywhere you go.” 

With that, Elinalise left the shelter and walked off into the city. 

The next morning, I jerked awake to screams of “Ant attack!” as an army of Phalanx Ants descended on the city. 

…And then I woke up for real. 

For once, I’d actually gotten a full night’s sleep, and my dreams had mostly been pleasant. I remembered one that involved Aisha and Norn demanding that I carry them on my shoulders. When I hefted Norn up there, Aisha would sulk, and when I switched to Aisha, Norn started bawling. But eventually, Sylphie showed up and seized their prize—my shoulders—for herself. 

I’d gently chided her, explaining that everyone should take turns, but she replied, “Too bad! This is my seat now! Nobody else gets to use it!” My poor sisters started wailing miserably, of course. Sylphie had been a grown woman when she first showed up in the dream, but she turned into a seven-year-old version of herself once I put her on my shoulders. 

It was a nice dream. When I woke up and remembered it, I found myself smirking. Today felt like it was going to be a good day. 

Looking over, I saw Elinalise fast asleep, a satisfied expression on her face. It looked like she’d had fun last night. That was good to know, although I felt a little bad for Cliff. 

In the morning hours, Bazaar had completely transformed itself. The quiet of the night gave way to a burst of lively commerce. Merchants spread out their goods outside their tents and called out loudly to everyone who passed by. 

“I got big, juicy melons here! Last chance, folks! They’re all gone tomorrow!” 

“Gryphon claws here! Thirty Cinsha if you buy now!” 

“Anyone got Nania cloth? I’ve got Tokotsu fruit to trade!” 

The sellers shouted out their prices, while their prospective customers yelled back offers just as loudly. Some were exchanging currency, but many were bartering too. The market crowd seemed to stretch out all around us as far as the eye could see. Here and there, I saw scuffles or fistfights breaking out, but they seemed to be quarrels between merchants, rather than anything really dangerous. 

“I’ve got glass bottles from Vega! I won’t be taking these any further east! Anybody need to stock up?!” 

Glass products, in particular, seemed to be a focus of trade. I had to assume it was a major industry in this region. One merchant had shelves and shelves full of rectangular containers with intricate symbols carved into their surface; they looked a bit like fancy whisky bottles. Some were brightly colored, but they were all remarkably smooth and clear. 

The Central Continent had glass as well, but it tended to be thin and only semitransparent. I’d heard that the richer parts of Asura had artisans who made good glass, but this region probably produced the real quality stuff. 

Of course, even this glass wasn’t comparable to what I’d gotten used to back in Japan, but some of their pieces were obviously handcrafted with care. I found myself tempted to buy something as a souvenir. 

“Rudeus, we didn’t come here to shop for gifts.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

As the market bustled all around us, Elinalise and I got to work on our to-do list from the night before. First of all, we needed money. The currency around here seemed to be the Cinsha—something unfamiliar to me, which was kind of exciting, in a way. In the Central Continent, everyone tended to use simple names like “gold coins.” 

The currency itself wasn’t particularly different from any other, though. It was just a small, round piece of gold with a design poorly stamped onto its surface. I’d seen some of these before, actually, when I was passing through East Port with Eris. 

We sold off some of the things we’d brought along with us and got our hands on a fair amount of this local currency. It seemed like barter was very common here, but it was always smart to have some cash in your pocket. 

The things we’d brought from the Central Continent fetched very good prices. To my surprise, a few cheap cuts of jerky sold for three times what we’d paid for them. We might have been able to negotiate them even higher if we’d tried. I felt like there was an opportunity to rake in some real cash by selling off meat here and buying up glass to sell back in Ranoa…but trying to make money off that teleporter was just asking for trouble. 

For now, we secured ourselves about 5000 Cinsha to pay for our short-term needs. I wasn’t sure how much we’d end up needing, but our dinner yesterday had only been 3 Cinsha. We’d probably be fine for some time. 

With our money issue sorted, we started gathering information about Rapan. It was apparently a major city, so this wasn’t difficult. As Nanahoshi had assured us, it was apparently about a one-month journey to the north. 

I asked about the road there as well, just to get a sense for what we were up against. 

“So, the usual route is to head through the Nkots region and take the long way around the desert, but there’s been a lotta bandits out that road recently, so it ain’t safe. The smarter merchants are cutting right through the Ucho desert these days. You head east till you hit the marker, then go north to the oasis. From there, it’s a winding road over to the west fer a while. Once you see the Kara Mountains, you keep them on your left and head north to the next oasis. From there, the desert’s a little less brutal off to the east. You push your way through that as fast as you can, then head northwest to rejoin the normal road.” 

It was nice to get such a detailed reply, but none of this meant anything to me. There were lots of references to specific places I didn’t know about, most of which sounded like generic mountains or patches of desert. I got the basic message that there were two routes to choose from, but if we tried to follow either, we’d probably get ourselves lost. 

“Are there maps of this area for sale or anything?” I asked. 

Maps weren’t always reliable, but they helped. You could usually at least get a general sense of where you were. That was always reassuring. 

“Maps? Who the hell would bother making something like that?” 

It didn’t sound like we’d have much luck on this front. This continent hadn’t found its Ino Tadataka yet. We clearly needed to find ourselves a trustworthy guide, after all. 

“Okay, then. Do you know where we can find someone who’d be able to guide us to Rapan?” 

I’d assumed this wouldn’t be a problem, but… 

“I’m sure there are people who know the way, but you’re not gonna find any guides looking for customers here. This city’s more of a way station on the road.” 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yeah. I mean, usually you want to travel between the bigger trade hubs, right?” 

“Ah, I see…” 

That did make sense, now that I thought about it. Why hadn’t I realized this might be an issue before? 

Elinalise had assumed we’d find a guide quite easily, but her experience didn’t really apply here. When she visited an unfamiliar land for the first time, she always started off at border cities where travelers were common. But this time, we’d used a teleporter to jump right into the middle of the continent instead. That difference had thrown us off. 

Things already weren’t going as planned. 

Still, there was no point in panicking. Life always throws some curveballs at you. We’d only been out here for two weeks, and the journey would normally have taken an entire year. That was some impressive progress, no matter how you looked at it. 

“What would you normally do in a situation like this, Elinalise?” 

“Push straight through on the shortest possible route. To be honest, though, I’ve had enough of walking through the desert for a while.” 

“Yeah, same here.” 

“What do you think, then?” 

“…Hmm. Maybe we can tag along with a merchant making their way to Rapan?” 

“That sounds like a plan. Let’s see if we can find one.” 

Aisha had managed to reach Ranoa quickly by hitching rides with merchant caravans. There was no reason we couldn’t use the same trick. We didn’t need to rush, even. The only thing that mattered was getting to our destination safely. 

“Sir, would you happen to know of any merchants who’re on their way to Rapan?” 

There wouldn’t be any caravans actively looking for guards here, for the same reason that there weren’t any guides to be found. But Elinalise was an S-rank adventurer, and I was a Water Saint-tier magician. If we offered money and our services, we might find someone willing to bring us with them. 

Unfortunately, the man told us there weren’t many people heading to Rapan in general. Most of the traveling merchants were on their way to a place called Kinkara in the east. 

There was some traffic to the north, though. Rapan was famous for its labyrinths, which produced a steady stream of valuable magic items; if you stocked up on those, you could sell them at higher prices in other cities. Some merchants made their living that way. Most of them brought magic stones and crystals from the southwest up to Rapan, where they sold their cargo and funneled the profits into buying magic items. 

“Dunno if there’s anyone like that around right now, though,” the man concluded. “We’ll definitely get a bunch in a few months, at least.” 

This wasn’t too reassuring. I was starting to think we might be better off just hitching a ride to that city out east. We’d be going out of our way, but at least we’d reach a trading hub where we might find a guide. 

Still, I tried asking around the city for a while. Almost everyone was headed to Kinkara, and after an hour or two, I’d very nearly resigned myself to that route. 

But then, just as I was getting ready to give up, we stumbled on a lead. 

“Oh, Rapan? You’ll be wanting Galban, then. I think he pitched his tent over on the west side of the river. Go see if you can find him.” 

Elinalise and I immediately went looking for this Galban. He’d evidently made his fortune by traveling the route between Rapan and a city called Tenorio, bringing magic stones to Rapan and taking magic items back. People said he traveled in a caravan of six camels, which meant he was earning good money. 

It didn’t take much asking around before we found the tent that we were looking for. It wasn’t that huge, but there were in fact six camels tethered out front. 

As we approached, a brown-skinned woman emerged from inside the tent. She wore a breastplate and a skirt-like wrap around her waist. You couldn’t see her muscles under the gear, but she looked pretty strong. 

It took me a few seconds to realize that this was actually Carmelita, the same warrior we’d met yesterday. 

“Hey! You’re those people! From yesterday!” 

Apparently, she remembered us as well, although she looked surprised to see us. It seemed the mustached little man we’d saved yesterday was Galban himself. Good thing we’d decided to help. 

Galban welcomed us with a warm smile as we stepped inside his tent. 

“My apologies for yesterday, friends! We were surprised to see you’d already left by the time we got back!” 

Apparently, they had run off to track down their camels, which had fled in the chaos—along with the valuable cargo they were carrying. They’d returned to the spot of the battle afterward, only to find that we’d buried their comrades’ bodies and disappeared. Galban claimed to have spent a good deal of time trying to find us that evening. 

You could have just explained the plan before you disappeared, then… 

Still, maybe that was just common sense in a place like this. Your cargo comes first, and everything else can wait. 

“It must be fate that you’ve found us like this. Would you care to join my caravan as bodyguards?” 

He’d been looking to hire new sword-arms anyway, from the sound of things. That made sense, since he’d lost a few yesterday. 

“How about 500 Cinsha to Rapan? What do you say?” 

Judging from the way he rattled off compliments on our elegant defeat of the Gryphons, he’d had this idea in mind from the start. I seemed to remember him being curled up in a ball for the entire battle, but whatever. This was exactly what we needed. 

“All right, sure. We’ll come with you as far as Rapan, then.” 

“Ah, splendid! That’s truly wonderful. I’d even be willing to sign you both to a long-term exclusive contract, if you’re interested. I’ve never seen a magician of your caliber before! I’d make it worth your while, I assure you. How about 10,000 Cinsha a year? No, wait, Balibadom would kick up a fuss. Would 8,000 be enough? I could—” 

The offers were starting to get a little too ambitious, so I ended up having to interrupt. “I’m sorry, but we’ve got something we need to take care of in Rapan. We’ll keep the offer in mind, though.” 

Galban accepted this easily enough. We’d found our ticket to Rapan. Everything was back on track.