"On the roads that led to and from Alfheim, many a friendship or rivalry, and at times feuds have come to be. Due to the preponderance of multiple groups of adventurers or mercenaries handling the escort of larger caravans, it was unavoidable in some ways.

Put several groups of such people together and there was bound to be something going on, whether it be benign or not." - Ashram Bafesdi, Merchant based in Alfheim.

Early morning, on the day the caravan they agreed to escort would be departing, Cal brought her group towards the southern gates of Ebende. They were scheduled to meet up with the rest of the escorts and later the caravan itself there.

They had some quick breakfast along the way, bought off street vendors who make their living in the morning. Bread-like dough - though with more herbs in it - were stuffed with minced meats and vegetables and deep fried until the outside was perfectly crisp, with fluffy insides.

Some thin, cracker-like pancakes were also had, filled with a mixture of spiced potatoes and vegetables and folded while still soft. They were washed down with a drink that tasted like strong tea, with plenty of milk and an admixture of spices, served in single-use clay cups they were told to just smash on the ground after using.

Apparently they were absurdly cheap to make - and they ought to be, as they were literally made from mud fired in a kiln - which led to the practice. Perhaps it was just her, but she felt as if they also lent an earthy bit of taste to the drink itself.

By the time they reached the agreed upon meeting point - a staging area commonly used by adventurers, mercenaries, and merchants alike - they saw that the other group, which consisted of thirty-four people, was already there.

In situations like these, where there were more adventurers and mercenaries that answered the call compared to the request, it was commonplace to waive the fees for their lowest ranking members, though they would still receive the contribution as normal.

Cal had agreed to waive Ashani's, and the other group had similarly waived three of their copper ranked members. Cal knew of the rough makeup of the group, seven gold ranks, twenty one silvers, and six coppers in total.

It was normal for groups to bring their less experienced members on missions that's a touch above their grade like this, though the guilds always demanded that there be a higher rank member present to take up the slack in such cases. A gold rank was usually considered fine for outweighing two silvers, or four coppers, so the group was definitely well qualified for the job.

In contrast, Cal's group of eight golds and her own eye-catching black tag definitely was way overqualified to balance out the copper tags Kino and Ashani had. Fyodor was not registered as one, so he was considered as a tag-along. As for her students, their gold tags were based off ability - though Willa was supposedly in the running to be upgraded to black after that tournament in Sabaya last year - rather than experience, with the exception of Elaina and Sidonie who had simply done lots of tasks in their time before they met Cal.

Surprisingly, Cal recognized the scarred dwarven man who came forward to greet her group, and he in turn recognized her. It was the same man they met during the first day when a drunk tried to hit on Giselle in a tavern.

Said drunk could be seen amongst the gathered mercenaries, along with some of his friends who had jeered at him that day. This time they all wore their silver tags prominently.

The drunk had caught a glimpse of Cal's group - and the collection of gold and black tags they wore - and immediately paled somewhat. Some of his friends noticed his reaction, turned to look, then howled uproariously while he slapped the man's back.

Cal heard the way the mercenaries jeered at their friend for "getting his comeuppance" for "hitting on someone way beyond his paygrade" even where she stood, and chuckled to herself when she noticed the mocked man blushed red like a tomato from embarrassment.

"Hope ye can pardon the silly boy fer his drunk antics," said the dwarf, who had introduced himself as Helgr Rosendorn. He was a veteran mercenary who had retired for a more peaceful work that involved less killing and founded this adventurer group. "Lad be fresh silver, it got a teeny bit up his noggin'."

"Water under the bridge," said Cal as she signaled her agreement to hold no grudges over the minor matter. "Besides, if he tried anything funny… pretty sure all of those girls could gut him like a fish if they felt like it anyway."

Helgr took one look at where Cal's group had started to mingle and interact with his group. Willa was enjoying herself as she arm-wrestled against three of the burliest men in Helgr's troupe all at the same time, her one arm not budging despite the three's collective and obviously strenuous efforts.

"I can believe that, aye," he said to Cal as he wiped a drop of sweat from his brows. Fortunately for him, all the roughhousing that occured while they waited for their employers were of the good-natured sort to be expected of fit, active young people who made acquaintance with one another for the first time, and not anything actually violent.

Helgr had the feeling that should it come down to it, his party would have stood no chance against Cal's despite the number disparity. Doubly so when he took another glance at the platinum-bordered black tag that hung next to a small pendant on Cal's neck.

After a couple hours of waiting, their employer for the trip arrived, with his caravan of four large wagons, drawn by a pair of long-bodied sleek lizards with six thick trunk-like legs each. The lizards reminded Cal a bit of the massive horned lizards she saw in Ur-Teros, but longer and far sleeker, and much smaller. Each of them also only had a single horn at the top of their beaked snouts.

The caravan itself had eight armed guards mounted on bipedal lizards similar to the feathered lizards common to north Alcidea, but bulkier in size. It was enough guards to make many small-time bandits think twice, but not enough for travel through the plains.

Beasts and monsters usually have far less consideration than bandits after all.