"It's just some dumb animals. How hard could the job be?" - Famous last words of all too many overconfident young adventurers and mercenaries who undertook an escort request to or from Alfheim for the first time.

"It'll be a pretty long ride to Alfheim, so just take it easy and cool yer britches," said Helgr as he offered mugs of good ale to Cal's group, who were seated in the same large open-backed wagon - around three-quarters full with merchandise in crates - as he was. "It won't be till another day or two before them beasties start to sniff us out. They usually don't hang around too close to towns."

"Makes sense," replied Cal as she sipped on the offered beverage. The old dwarf was a veteran of the trail, so there was no reason to shun his shared knowledge. "So what sort of monsters are in this region? It's my first time here"

"Depends. Most of the time we just got Gale Rippers and Saberfangs," said the dwarven man. The two kinds of monsters he mentioned were ones Cal was familiar with. The former being a large flightless bird of prey that was capable of gliding somewhat with the aid of their wind affinity, with powerful legs and vicious talons. The latter were sabertooth tigers that awakened life affinity, known for being hideously durable. "From time to time ya hear some caravans be getting wrecked by a stray Tusked Behemoth, but that's like, one every couple o' years or so."

"Huh, those things rarely separate from their herd," said Cal in reply as she nodded her head. A Tusked Behemoth was an elephantine creature, nearly half again as tall as the largest elephant, and covered with coarse, shaggy hair, with tusks capable of uprooting trees. They were usually docile animals when amongst their herd, but stray herdless ones are a dangerous threat, doubly so with their strong earth affinity. "I definitely see why you guys seem eager for them to come if the plains' full of those sorts though."

All the monster types Helgr had mentioned were ones whose bodies contained plenty of valuables to be harvested, and the same applied to their animal cousins. After all, monsters were merely animals that had awakened their affinities, which usually led to greater size and increased threat.

Gale Ripper plumes were luxury goods in their own right, and its beaks and talons were usable for crafting weapons. Its flesh was also a sought after delicacy, while several of its organs had medical uses. A Saberfang's eponymous fangs and claws similarly had values as high-end weapon material, and an undamaged, complete pelt could fetch as much as a platinum in auctions.

Cal's students and nieces had been spoiled in some ways as equipment went. They used gear that the vast majority of people would not be able to afford without some providence. Willa's full suit of high purity adamant steel armor alone likely cost more than what most small-time adventurers or mercenaries earned in their lifetime.

Her nieces were similarly so attired. Leila's gear were gifts from Cal, but Elaina and Sidonie still wore the gear they had brought from their erstwhile home. Idania had also been reasonably wealthy, and her daughters had not been left wanting as equipment went.

Their supple vests, armguards, and shinguards, were all woven from a fibre only found in the Great Emerald Forest, supposedly one that grew out a unique type of heartwood native to the forest.

They looked like thick cloth woven from plant fiber from the outside, but despite their flexibility and comfort, they were extremely resilient, especially against blunt impacts and stabs, though slicing against the grain of the fiber would work reasonably. Much like heartwood, they too would repair themselves when supplied with mana.

Similarly, Idania had not spared much expenses on the weapons she gave her daughters. Elaina's spear was made of ash heartwood - one of the most common types, so reasonably cheaper compared to the ebony heartwood one Cal has - with a forged mithril spearhead. Similarly, Sidonie's katars were mostly made of a mithril alloy that was even sturdier, edged with pure mithril for a keener blade.

That sort of weapon would have been the envy of nobles in many nations, though it was not that uncommon in the Great Emerald Forest, as the forest had plentiful heartwood trees and mithril mines deep in their territory.

In contrast, while good steel weapons were the norm for most adventurer and mercenary types, some monsters had fangs and claws that were better than regular steel, and pelts that made for fine, flexible, supple armor. The use of monster body parts for weapons and armor was thus a common practice most everywhere.

Despite its great qualities, adamant steel was actually rather unpopular amongst most people. It was generally considered to be too heavy for many to use well, on top of the exorbitant prices the dwarves placed on it. Only the dwarves themselves used it heavily, where their elite units and royal guards usually had full sets of plate armor made from adamant steel.

Therefore, to say that Cal's students and nieces were well equipped, was a gross understatement to say the least.

The day's travels proved peaceful much like Helgr predicted, and they stopped to rest for the night around thirty minutes before the sun went down. The merchants amongst the caravan seemed used to the road, and quickly set up tents while they allowed their beasts of burden to graze freely.

More than a few of the mercenaries threw positively envious glances at the sight of the enchanted large tents Cal's group brought out - Kyara had one as well - and grumbled when they looked at their own simple, sparse tents.

Those grumbles of envy quickly vanished when Cal offered to share some of her stock of monster flesh with them however. By the end of dinner most everyone - the merchants included - praised the last bits of wyvern meat she got from Jötunberg three years ago as some of the best they've ever had.

It was so much easier to conquer people's hearts from their bellies, after all.