I spent the remaining day practicing with my new staves just to get a feel for them. I was more than happy with the results.

The morning to leave came quickly and I was standing next to the freshly christened barge. Silk Road was the name my employees had decided on for the craft. I thought it was a bit presumptuous but didn’t argue about it. There were certainly worse names they could have gone with.

The barge rested in the same parking lot as the fortress, the ramp extended to allow the merchants to get their carts aboard. It seems a few more merchants had decided to take my offer as more than previously agreed to my offer got on board. That was a good sign that they saw this opportunity in a positive light.

Fiona was spending the last hour with Martin before we left. Who could blame her, we were going to be gone for nearly two weeks. In that time we would hit up eight different towns and also cross the Spine to hit up that town we freed from the Cartel goons.

The last wagon of goods came aboard and I retracted the ramp.

“Please use the tie-downs to secure your goods for transport,” I yelled over the noise of the merchants' conversations.

A few looked around before they spotted the anchor points on the deck of the barge. Simple ratchet straps were included in a box on the deck. Most seemed confused but they watched the few human merchants and figured out how to operate the devices. That had been another surprise. Most of the merchants I had convinced to come were outworlder merchants. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised as they were more familiar with the Bazaar and its costs.

Fiona appeared next to me just as the last merchants were securing their loads. Many of the carts reminded me of Frathsar’s and I assumed they were magical in nature, allowing for the merchants to store an enormous amount of items for sale inside.

Storage rings were nice for a single person’s use but even the most expensive ones could only carry nine cubic feet of gear. You could have a master craft a larger one but there were limitations on the magical framework available for items of that size. Even a necklace couldn’t go far beyond that limit of storage. I had seen the inside of Frathsar’s cart and it was like looking into a warehouse.

The magic of the carts was also different than the rings. If a storage ring was destroyed, everything inside was lost. When Frathsar lost his cart, all of his items still existed, there was some weird pocket space and all he needed was another entry point created with that specific coordinate for him to be able to access it again. Frathsar hadn’t told me this but I overheard a conversation while I was roaming the Bazaar.

It was no wonder Frathsar didn’t mention it, If you somehow got the coordinates, nothing was stopping you from having an entryway crafted to access those items yourself. This made those magical coordinates the most prized possession of any merchant.

I waited a few more minutes for the merchants to settle before I spoke. “Prepare for liftoff!”

I smiled at the concerned look on the merchant's faces before I stepped inside the control room and began powering up the barge. Fiona sat on the roof, swinging her legs back and forth in boredom. She had nothing to really do but keep me company and we would have plenty of time to chat on the slow journey.

There was a metallic groan as the landing gear scrapped across the parking lot while we rose into the air. A stray gust of wind had pushed us slightly before the directional plates stabilized the platform. In moments we were a dozen feet into the air and rising. The shield popped into place to protect us from wind and other small hazards and I rotated us toward the west and our first destination.

***

The first three towns were much the same. Small groups of people had gathered together to try and survive the new world. They had been notified ahead of time by the Marshall’s men that a group of merchants would be arriving to sell all sorts of goods. They were a bit surprised to see the flying barge but that quickly faded as the merchants got to work hocking their wares.

It was quickly realized that setting up a stall on the barge was much easier than carting the wagons off and bringing them back.

They negotiated with me to just let them set up on the barge and I reluctantly agreed. I got two things out of the agreement. A year-long contract from each merchant to use the barge services once a month and a quicker travel time. They got the ability to sell their wares as fast as possible.

And when I say fast, I do mean fast. The entirety of the first town had flooded the merchants' stalls. And the merchants couldn’t be happier about the sales. We stayed at each town for a full day, allowing people to come and go as needed. The second town was much the same but the barge was packed with people to the point that I had to limit access.

“Let me on board, I need to purchase some items.”

“Sir, wait your turn, the barge is full and you have all day to shop before we move on.”

I was starting to regret my hasty decision to allow the merchants to remain aboard.

“Don’t you know who I am, I demand to be let on right away.”

I snorted, “I don’t care who you are, wait your turn or I will ban you from ever stepping foot on another one of my barges.”

That seemed to finally get through to the stubborn man as he stepped back and grumbled impatiently.

I did actually recognize the man, he had been the rude bastard that ran into me after exiting Martin’s meeting. He didn’t seem to recognize me though. But then again, I was wearing my full armor. My weapons were not on display but I had already shown one rude customer that I didn’t need a weapon to deal with them. I also made a mental note to hire guards. Some of the Marshall’s men might like to earn a few extra credits for a simple job.

As the barge cleared, I let the next group on board. The merchants had set their carts in any location they deemed ideal for sales and I would have to put a stop to that on future trips. It made it a hassle for people to shop and limited the number of people that I could allow on board.

***

It was our sixth stop when we ran into trouble. We were across the old Mexican border and an ex-group of cartel thought they could make an easy payday by forcing their way on board and taking what they wanted.

I saw the group coming, It wasn’t hard to spot them. The townsfolk got out of their way and the group was all armed with swords or hand axes.

“I think that’s far enough!” I stated,” Dominion and Destruction appearing in my hand.

The group slowed to a stop glancing at me and my weapon before looking around. I knew what they were thinking, I was one man and they had eight.

“You will give us everything you have and we will let you leave with your life. If you resist, we will kill you and take it anyway,” the leader said, pointing his machete toward me.

I laughed, I had already checked all of their levels and not a single one was above ten.

“Well, what are you waiting for, come see if you can take it,” I stated, twirling my staff as I watched the gears in their heads turn.

They came to the obvious conclusion as they tried to rush up the long ramp. Some were faster than others due to the activation of skills but none matched mine or Fiona’s speed.

The dragon head on my staff took on an icy aura, turning a crystal-like blue color as I Imbued it with ice and water. The ramp was a choke point that I used to great advantage, casting Frostwave down the length of it.

I had to take a step back as the chill even permeated my skin. The effect of the enhanced magic was devastating to the low-level thugs. The man in the lead was frozen solid and the extreme cold covered the ramp in a haze of ice, causing the remaining men to fall and slide back down. One man remained standing as he was behind the leader at the time. He jumped over the man’s frozen form and came crashing down in front of me while screaming and making an overhead chop with his axes.

I watched him descend, waiting until the last moment to use Time Shudder to avoid his attack. He seemed shocked by the miss but he was more shocked as I shoved the dragon head into his face and released a Stunning Gust.

The man was dead before he hit the ground at the end of the ramp. The spray of ice and water from the dragon’s mouth had been far more potent than the ice from Frostwave. It was condensed into a solid jet of elemental fury, enhanced by the staff and further enhanced by the elemental powers I had Imbued into the staff.

As the man landed amongst his allies his head impacted the ground, shattering like bloody red glass.

The remaining men saw this and tried to run but Fiona cut them down with swift deadly precision.

As the chaos came to an end I heard clapping. When I looked over I saw the people of the town bowing and clapping. Thanking us for ridding them of these evil men. I was a bit embarrassed by the praise as I hadn’t done it to help them.

Due to the disruption, we remained a bit longer in that town. I allowed the people of the town to take the gear off the dead men, it wasn’t any use to me and they seemed like they needed it more anyway.

This had been one of the towns that Martin had visited but they hadn’t sent a representative to negotiate. That changed as a man approached me.

“May I have a moment of your time?” The elderly man asked.

“So long as it doesn’t distract me from my duty.”

The man nodded, “I have heard that you came from Houston is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Would you be willing to bring a passenger there?”

“For what purpose?” I asked, genuinely curious. Passenger services could open up a whole new market for me.

“When your representative arrived a few months ago we had planned to send someone to discuss an alliance but soon after the Cartel men arrived. They had been drawn here by the running vehicle. It is no fault of your town or the man you sent but because of that we were prevented from leaving the city limits.”

“So now that they are dead, you want to send someone as quickly as possible?”

“That is correct. We see the technology and opportunities that are possible with an alliance and we do not wish to be left out.”

“The trip won't be free, but… instead of credits perhaps something else can be arranged?”

“I won’t sell any of our people into slavery or prostitution,” the man added forcefully.

“What… no, nothing like that. I am looking for people that would like a job. You see, I built this barge and I will build more but I can’t pilot all of them myself.”

The man scratched his chin in thought, “Are you willing to accept anyone for this position, or do they need to have some sort of ability?”

“They need to have a decent mana pool. The higher the level the better, but I can help with that.”

“And what about trouble?” the man asked, looking pointedly at the corpses piled below.

“I plan on hiring guards for that. I will pay per trip for each round trip from Houston on the route specified.”

“Very well, I will discuss your proposal. You will remain here for the remainder of the day?”

I nodded.

“Ok, By the end of the day either the representation will come alone and pay in credit or he will bring some people with him.”

With that, the man walked down the ramp and over to a group of older people.

True to his word three people walked up the ramp near nightfall.

“Hello, I am representative Castillo. Behind me are Javier and Maria. Javier is a Venerable Padre and Maria is a Voodoo Priestess. Both are willing to accept your offer for employment.”

I didn’t need the man to tell me their classes as I had used Identify on all three.

Castillo | Shepherd of Verity | Level 9

Javier | Venerable Padre | Level 7

Maria | Voodoo Priestess | Level 8

It seemed like an odd bunch to be together but so be it. “Welcome aboard. Javier and Maria, I will come talk to you before we leave.”

The three nodded as they stepped aboard. The two that wanted to join for employment were young. I doubted they were older than seventeen. I watched as the kids went their own way on the barge. So, no friendship between the two of them. I wondered if it had anything to do with their class choices. I could ponder it later and so long as they got along while I trained them, it would be fine.