Luna found a spot outside of the village and took a quick dip in the water. Clothes and all. Nothing had been spared from her genius idea of carrying the mutilated deer carcass. Only her equipment was cleaned carefully, not taking the risk of rust on the metal or the wood soaking up water, which would have a high potential of ruining her bow.

Dripping wet, but 100% less gruesome to look at, Luna returned to their campsite. "Can I use the wagon to switch to another pair of clothes? I really cannot stay in these, or I will catch a cold." She asked Martha, who just nodded and ushered her inside. "Do not worry, I will stay outside so the men folk do not get any silly ideas."

Blushing from head to toe, Luna quickly vanished inside. She had not really considered the possibility of someone peeping on her, but now that that was all she could think about while quickly getting some replacements from her backpack and changing. Finally back in dry garments Luna got back out and thanked Martha, who had a new trick to teach her. She sent Luna out to gather some larger dry stones around their campsite, they would put them close to the fire to heat them up and then Luna could dry her wet clothes on them overnight.

The stones were collected quickly and now they just had to wait, but first they had to deal with the deer meat. "Luna, that deer you brought back was massive. And yes, this one is bigger than what you are used to. As you surely know, there are different types of deer and upriver is an area where they get quite a bit bigger than they do around the Everwood. Now what do you want to do with it? I mean sure, we can use the meat to cook, but it won't keep long enough for us to use it all."

"Can we not sell it here?" Luna asked. "I mean, the rabbits were gone pretty quickly, so I do not see why this should be any different."

"Oh I agree with you there. But it is yours and you decide what to do with it. But if you don't mind, I would rather sell it to a local butcher, only keeping some choice pieces for ourselves. That way we can get already preserved and seasoned meat, have a bit of fresh meat for today and tomorrow and do not risk spoiling the fresh meat on the road. What do you think?"

Luna happily agreed with that way of action. She had also considered what to do with it, but having a solution presented to her was perfectly fine with her. At least Jurgen had started to look at her a little differently after seeing a blood covered Luna return to camp with that massive animal on her shoulders. It drove home that Luna was not just some villager, but that there was a fighter hiding behind the looks of a girl.

The local butcher was quite happy to trade for the deer carcass, even though he was hemming and hawing about the missing head and some especially good pieces that had been lost, all thanks to the madman who hacked the poor deer apart. Luna did not care, simply staring at the butcher and telling him that she had to carry it back alone and if he wanted it, she could tell him exactly where to find the remaining pieces. That quickly shut him up and Luna, with some help from a still chuckling Franz, carried their new travel supplies back to camp. She even got a handful of copper out of the deal.

That evening, feasting on a perfectly grilled piece of deer with onions and potatoes, Franz had to tell everyone the story of how Luna had expertly shut down the butchers attempt to haggle down the price. Halfway through the story Luna interrupted Franz, asking him what he meant by, 'The butcher was just warming up to haggle.' Franz looked at her, comprehension slowly dawning on his face. It took him nearly a minute to calm down enough to explain that he had been absolutely wrong. Luna had no idea how to haggle, she had just accidentally intimidated the butcher.

To Franz, he had obviously been trying to reduce the price, but Luna had taken him at face value, accidentally ruining his whole negotiation scheme. Everyone, except Luna, was highly amused. She felt just a little stupid for not recognizing that, but that kind of bartering over prices was rarely done in Creek Springs. So how would she know? In the end it was just another life lesson for Luna and after replaying the scene in her head a few times, she considered it a good fortune to learn it on the road and not after arriving in the big city.

After another good night's rest Luna collected her dried clothes in the early morning hours. Her socks slightly singed, but that was still better than wet and moldy. Another lesson learned, hot stones are good for drying cloth, too hot stones will singe them just like a fire would. After everything was tied back down, the fire extinguished and the oxen put back in their harnesses, it was time to begin the next leg of the journey.

According to Martha there was only one village left before the capital, but they would not stop there. It was in sight of and with easy access to the river, just two days' travel away from the capital and they would see merchants regularly. The time setting up there was most likely wasted and so they never bothered with stopping. First they would have to travel down from the hills they were currently in and cross the river once again. Until they would get down to river level this meant constant vigilance and very slow going. They would not risk losing the wagon or a cart because they were reckless. It was very hard to stop once you went really fast, that much even Luna understood.

The slow pace stretched a short part of the road into 4 days of mind numbing travel. That, Martha said, was the other risky part of the descent. Drivers getting bored and not paying attention. Luckily for Luna, nobody messed up and they reached the expected bridge on the fifth day of travel after leaving Thunder Falls. So far they had been lucky with the weather, but shortly after crossing the bridge the sky started to turn dark, a storm was brewing somewhere to the south. Night fell quickly that night and they parked wagons and carts close to the fire, so they could sleep under them while still getting some warmth from the fire.

It was an absolutely miserable night, as the storm hit them with strong rain that quickly turned the earth into mud and extinguished their meager camp fire. When the storm finally blew over they were thoroughly frozen through and dawn found them huddled around the fire again, trying to get some warmth back into their bodies. Martha had decided to sleep inside the wagon, but even she and Jurgen looked miserable, apparently the wagon was not exactly designed to withstand a storm and they did not get much sleep either.

At least the tarps on the carts had been properly secured and without leverage to work with the storm had not been able to ruin the goods. Losing those, this close to the capital, would have been a minor disaster. But the good preparation had paid off and after getting some warmth into their bones with some hot tea, they set out again. The previous expectation that, once they came down from the hills, their travel speed would pick up, were utterly crushed. When previously the road had been mostly hardly packed earth with occasional strips of gravel, it was not mostly soft mud, with extra slushy mud when the wheels ran through it.

Luna quickly decided that watching the road slowly devour any hope for moving more than a few miles on this day, was not how she intended to spend her time. She grabbed her gear and jumped from the wagon to the roadside, a quick double jump allowing for safe passage across the vaguely road shaped mud bath. She had promised Martha to find some small critters for dinner and also range ahead and keep an eye open for a good spot to camp. Preferably on high ground and dry.

Luna ate some jerky and picked some fruit for lunch, but the animals were making themselves scarce. Just a few squirrels flitted around the trees, but none of them were easy targets. After noon the rain came back in a very light, but constant drizzle. It made for a miserable vision and even less pleasant traveling. Luna did not even want to imagine being out here without her waxed wool cloak. It was already miserable enough without being completely soaked to the bone and cold.

She did however find a promising place for them to stop, nightfall was still hours away, but Luna did not expect them to make it any further today anyway. Martha was delighted that Luna had found a somewhat dry spot for the night, even if there was no fresh meat to be had for the nightly stew. Under these circumstances the easiest way to cook was to just toss everything together in a pot and cook it. Even some small pieces of meat jerky made it in, apparently if they were cooked long enough they got soft enough to chew normally.

After the two days of rain however, their good fortune returned. The sun greeted them the next day and after the first two hours of travel they left the area where the storm had brought that massive amount of rain in one night. They started to make good time again, at least compared to the snail's pace they had on the muddy road. So on the 12th day after leaving Thunder Falls, the capital finally came into view. They had passed by the hamlet of Halingstead, which lay directly next to the road leading to the capital, on the previous day. Starting at that hamlet they were now rolling on a paved stone road, allowing them to make excellent time.

The land around the capital seemed to be just flat grassland. They and the plains near the river were all used for agriculture. Martha explained that they would flood each spring when the snow melted and the floods brought rich soil with them, fertilizing the land and improving the yield.

Thanks to these plains Laven City, the capital, was able to expand to a massive size. Several small hamlets around the city worked the land and supplied massive amounts of food, the area easily being the most bountiful in the whole kingdom. At last count over 200,000 people had been living in the city, a number unimaginable for Luna. 1000 times their village? How would that even work. Who decided who did what? It was an absolute nightmare to think about.

But her destination finally in sight, it was time for Luna to ask some more specific questions about the capital. On the last stretch towards the gates Luna hopped back onto the wagon and sat down next to Martha. "Tell me about the capital please." She asked her.

"Of course, I was about to call you over to tell you just that. Letting you go in there without a proper warning would have been as good as tossing you off that last Esting River bridge. You lived in a village where everyone knew everyone, so you will not understand how a city works. In there it is only the family looking after themselves and in some families they do not even do that. In the cities you will find the richest and most noble, but you will also find the poorest and most depraved. Never show your money to anyone. Never wear it in easy reach, otherwise someone will try to steal it. You are way too easy to recognize as not being from here."

Looking at Luna to make sure she was listening, she went on with her lecture. "Never go down to the harbor district or into the slums alone. You will not be safe there. Do not offend anyone, better hold your tongue if you are not sure who you might be addressing. Now tell me, do you know where you can stay in the city and where you want to go?"

Luna shook her head. "I do not know where I can sleep, but I have to deliver a message and then I am supposed to find the Pathfinder Guild and talk to someone there. Apparently they might be able to help me with something. I was hoping they might also be able to help with the accommodations for the night."

"Nonsense." Martha replied. "You will stay with us, at least for tonight. It is too late in the day to let you just wander around the city without a place to rest for the night. The city will still be there in the morning. Now we are going to enter through the south-eastern gate, which will be very close to where we can store our cargo and finally get some real rest. The Pathfinder Guild is, as luck would have it, only 3 streets down from our family compound. These days that place is a little rundown, as there isn't much left to do for those guys. Still, the guild still owns a sizable chunk of land in this district and has resisted any and all attempts to buy it from them."

"There have been rumors going round for the past few years that someone is trying to raise money for some kind of harebrained expedition, involving the Pathfinder. But nobody was buying into it, apparently it was quickly decided that the guy pitching the whole thing was utterly mad and would simply disappear after grabbing the money. But let us talk about that more tomorrow, since you will be staying with us."

Coming with a small caravan of a known trading house had a few perks. They simply bypassed the normal inspection at the gates after showing some kind of seal. Apparently the trading houses with such seals held the trusted status and could transport goods directly into the city, to be inspected at their warehouse instead at the gates. It was mostly a convenience thing, but also reduced the strain on the gate guards during peak times.

Luna had not paid much attention to it all, the city held it all. The city gates were absolutely massive, 20 meter tall towers flanking the gate, which was more of a 6 meter high tunnel leading into the city. The city wall, which had crept closer and closer while they traveled towards the city had already been imposing from afar. But the gate structure was special all of its own. A monument to human ambition, but also a warning, to everyone who thought about it, what measures had been required in the past to protect humans from either monsters or each other.

With Luna completely overwhelmed by everything happening around here, she barely noticed the time it took to reach their destination. Only when they traveled through a gate onto a small field did she realize they had arrived. Martha motioned Luna to follow her, as people came out to greet them and begin the unloading. Apparently their part of the job was done, as Franz and Rich also left, only saying quick goodbyes. Both were eager to see their families again and inside the family compound no extra guards were required. Much to Martha's chagrin, Jurgen had also disappeared at some point. Nothing they could do about it. Luna was introduced as a Hunter from Creek Springs who had traveled with them. After a quick supper, Luna found herself in a real bed for the first time in weeks and despite the thrilling experience of seeing the city, it did not take long for her to succumb to the exhaustion that had built up over the last stretch of the journey.