Ophelia wasn’t the only one unimpressed by Karl’s choice. Dana also sighed and shook her head. “Now we have an enemy at our back that can use portals. That’s going to make our whole trip dangerous.”
“The other side of that portal was downtown Lutonade. I don’t think that they have the luxury of following us around. Hawk can still see the city from high enough in the air. I think they just attacked because I made a mistake stopping this close.”
They were still looking mad, so Karl raised his hands in defeat.
“If they attack again, I will leave no survivors.” He relented.
Lotus frowned at him. “Why do I feel like the bad guy now?”
Tessa laughed. “Because there is no good answer to that situation. Killing them all brings more powerful ones and subordinates to avenge them, but leaving them alive puts an enemy at your back. I suspect that none of us will sleep particularly well until this is all over. But if they could easily grab prisoners from anywhere in the country, they would have emptied every village of its young girls by now. The slave trade is insatiable, and they want mostly women for breeding children that can be trained. They learned years ago that taking adult men is more trouble than it’s worth.”
[I want to smack more things with that hammer. Did you see how big of a hole it knocked in that Troll? That was awesome.] Cara added helpfully.
Karl smiled and reached down to pat her before realizing that the Void Badger was covered in blood.
[That’s easy to fix. I just go in and out of my space, and I’m all clean. But I don’t smell like soap anymore.] Cara replied, demonstrating as she spoke in Karl’s mind.
Karl stroked her head and Cara made a happy noise before flying over to the cart. Lotus was good with a brush, and Cara wasn’t sure that Karl even owned one.
“Well, we might as well get going. We’ve had enough trouble for one evening.”
Karl packed up his hammock, back into his backpack in the storage bag in his inventory, and helped everyone into the wagon before hooking up Thor and taking his seat.
Thor got the wagon moving down the road, leaving behind a blood soaked patch of grass as a warning to others that the campsite was not a safe one.
Heading east to Halsearing would take them all day, but according to the map, it should be safe enough. It wasn’t known for bandits, thieves, slavers or really anything negative. It was just a decently sized city full of Monsters and Demons.
That might be awkward for their team, but as long as everyone kept their hoods up and their helmets on in public, it would be fine.
Tessa had it easiest, as she had [Dragon Armour] which made her look like a dragonkin with a healthy dose of dragon bloodline. They might technically be beasts, but not many species of monsters volunteered to mess with the dragons.
With the mask and hood of her new outfit in place, Dana could be from a half dozen different species, especially with sunglasses on.
Ophelia had no reason to be anything but a Werebear, even if that marked her as a foreigner, so it was just Lotus and Karl that would have the hardest time blending in.
Lotus had supervision, and Karl wasn’t particularly concerned about himself. Even if they realized he was human, there were humans here. Not ones with the powers of Elites, but some were mages, and many were hybrids with monster blood.
[There are bandits near the road, but they’re moving away.] Hawk noted as the hours rolled into afternoon, and Thor kept up his happy trot with the wagon.
They were in a wooded area between two hills, impossible to see from a distance, unless you happened to be flying overhead.
What Karl couldn’t see was their scout. They were pulling back from the road, which suggested that they could see someone coming that they didn’t want to fight, but they shouldn’t be able to see him yet.
[Hawk, who else is on the road?]
[I dunno. Pike people in Bob armour riding horses, and someone in a shiny carriage that I am surprised you can’t see from there. It must be the hill in the way.]
That sounded a lot like armoured knights and a nobleman’s carriage.
[Are they all wearing the same colours, or do they have someone carrying a flag?] Karl asked.
[They have six flags, and they all match. They’re all shiny and the horses are all green like the flags.]
Karl made a mental note of where they were in Hawk’s mental image, and then the speed they were going. They should be on this side of the valley with the bandits before Karl reached it. That would make life easier, as they would be expecting him to move out of the way. Rich people always acted like they owned the road. Even the mine’s shift supervisor drove like a douchebag in the company truck.
Karl slowed Thor just a little, to give them a margin for error, in case he guessed wrong, or they slowed down through the trees.
When they got close to the trees, it was clear that Karl didn’t have anything to worry about. The knights were already on the close side of the valley, banners flapping in the wind as they trotted along the road.
Karl moved Thor to the side of the road, giving them plenty of room to pass by.
One of the lead guards peeled off to speak to him, and Karl brought Thor to a full stop.
“Merchant. There are bandits in the woods ahead. I would recommend not bringing your precious cargo through there.” The knight informed him.
“What power level?”
The Knight frowned. “At least four Commanders. But they have nearly fifty members in total. If you go thirty kilometres south, there is a bridge across the river that will get you around the valley.”
That would put them nearly five hours off course.
“Are there rewards for them? A bounty perhaps?” Karl asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly.
“You did hear me say that there are fifty of them, right? You’ve got passengers, and only two guards plus Golems.”
The knight obviously thought that he was an idiot.
“They can wait here a minute. Fifty bandits below Commander Rank won’t take me more than an hour. But if there is no reward, I’m not putting in the work.”
The noble carriage had stopped beside him, and from inside someone was laughing.
“You think that you can take out an entire bandit camp within an hour, alone? I would pay good money to see that.” A delicate female voice announced.
A Lamia stuck her head out of the window, though Karl would have thought she was human if he couldn’t see the heat signature inside. Her smile was warm and genuine, and her dress looked like it was made of thin layers of the finest silk. Even Rae was impressed with the quality.
Karl turned back into the wagon. “Do you mind staying here for a few minutes? I will go make sure the road is clear, and we can earn a few extra coins.”
Ophelia laughed. “I give you ten minutes, or you have to turn over the good sleeping spot for the night.”