The first few days after the orc attack had been endless suffering for Chuck. His injured ribs causing him pain every time the wagon hit a bump. He had been moved from the rear wagon until his injuries healed and into the tent wagon. He lay there most of the time trying not to move.

The ride was much softer than the lumber wagons due to the softer materials he lay upon. His armor still sported the large gash in the outer layer where the orc weapon had struck it. The thick hardened leather doing its best against the weapon. It probably saved his life. He might feel better if he removed the armor but he decided against it, in case they were attacked again.

The convoy was coming up to the first town since Lionoss. It was a small walled city called Durma. Most in the inner kingdom or those that lived in the great plains liked to call themselves, wouldn't be caught dead living this close to the Erg jungle. Even though the jungle ended a full two days from the city. That left the town little more than a waystation for people traveling to Lionoss and some of the smaller communities.

It also meant the city had little in the way of amenities. The people living there not looking to cater to travelers. There were a store and a stable for people passing through. The rest was homes and a few government buildings. There was no inn, bar, or even brothel to welcome a weary soul to their town. Not that Chuck was in the mood for any of those this trip.

He was grumpy, even in his injured state which, thankfully had finally healed enough that he wasn't in constant pain. The trip had offered him no time to read. Every stop was, eat, sleep, and patrol. Chuck could tell people's nerves were beginning to fray. Especially, those who had not been on long trips like this. He found himself snapping at people for no reason on more than one occasion. That's why he had been so happy to see the town, and maybe rest for a day.

Most of those hopes were dashed. The caravan did stop for two full days to rest and restock. Still, that left guards to protect the wagons. Chuck didn't miss the looks some of the locals gave towards the wood. A quick glare was enough to turn their attention elsewhere.

That evening Chuck got his first bit of free time. Sure he could have spent it reading and trying to unlock the issue with his skill, instead, he slept. He slept for twelve hours straight. It had been just what he needed, his mind and body felt normal again. He saw that others had taken advantage of this opportunity to do the same.

He thought about seeing what Kalina was up to but dismissed those plans when he found out she was sleeping.

***

An unassuming man slipped out of Durma's north gate just after sunset. He rode slowly until he was out of sight of the city. Then he hurried his mount on. He needed to alert his boss of the bounty heading their way. With the border skirmishes brewing in the north and talk of war, patrols were scarce along these roads.

The man smiled, their crew could easily take the ten guards out and ride off with the lumber. Nobody would know until it was long gone and sold. As for the rest of the people in the caravan, they wouldn't amount to much. Hell, they even had a kid barely out of his awakening as a guard. Maybe he would save the kid, he liked them young and supple. The man licked his lips at the thought.

If only the man had stuck around to witness some magic maybe he would have had a change of mind on his target.

***

Chuck managed to get some reading in before the caravan started on its long journey again. He had better luck understanding the equations and diagrams within the arcane knowledge book. Without context, it was a lost cause though. He sighed, any further understanding would have to wait until he got to the capital.

The caravan was getting close to the third day of travel after leaving the tiny town of Durma. They were starting to slow down to stop for the night when the front wagon veered left sharply. Chuck swung his head forward as a loud crash could be heard. He saw the front wagon overturned and the logs spilled along the road.

The quick stop was too much for the other wagons and they were forced to veer off the road to avoid hitting the disabled wagon. At first, Chuck thought the wagon had broken a wheel, that was until the dozens of men rose from their hiding places in the tall grass and started running at the remaining wagons.

"Attack!" someone in the front yelled.

'No shit,' Chuck thought, already firing ice arrows into the groups of men.

He ducked a few rocks thrown his way from slings. With wood a luxury, bows were uncommon in the grasslands. A rock thunked into his back, nearly throwing him from the wagon. He quickly put up his wind barrier and healed the already forming bruise. He tossed elemental shield on as well, figuring it couldn't hurt.

The driver took a rock to his skull and collapsed limply in the seat. Chuck had been at the top of the wagon when the attack occurred and wasn't able to defend the man with his spell. He looked around frantically as the wagon started to slow even faster. He noticed the other wagons were picking up speed again.

He saw Mellas gesturing for him to jump off and catch the next closest wagon.

He did just that, running and casting spells at the approaching men. They must have misjudged their ambush spot because most of the wagons were already past the largest group of attackers. That just left them between him and safety. The rocks stopped pelting his shield as the attackers ran out of stones, now pulling out swords and spears as they raced after him.

Some were in his way trying to cut him off. Chuck ducked a firebolt spell one of the men cast. Chuck wasn't having any of that he returned the man's generosity with a mana manipulated ice arrow.

The man didn't even have time to contemplate his demise as Chuck emptied a quarter of his mana pool to enhancing the spell's speed. There was a loud crack as the magic tore through the sound barrier and into the man. The shockwave was enough to blow the two others near him out of his path.

The unassuming man that left Durma, smiled as he saw his quarry heading towards him and his brothers. That smile faded as his older brother was blown to paste and he was deafened by the shockwave that threw him to the side. He would never be quite the same after the attack.

Nobody else got in Chuck's way as he caught the next wagon forward and climbed aboard. The remaining bandits had abandoned attempts to chase down the rest of the carts. Their losses were heavy from the fighting to secure two wagon loads of wood.

Chuck glanced over at the remains of the lead wagon. He saw Kalina's body among the logs, her neck twisted at an odd angle. It felt wrong to leave the body behind so Chuck drained another quarter of his mana to enhance flame thrower, making sure to avoid any other wagon including his own.

The pile of wood went up, denying the bandits half their prize. Their angry yells faded into the distance as the caravan continued through the night.

The remaining members of the caravan came to a halt the next morning. Everyone was tired and stressed out from the previous night's events and the rest stop along the shallow river would not last long.

Chuck saw Nadine hobble over and gesture for everyone to gather up.

"Roll call," she said in a hoarse voice.

Chuck could see the was bruised heavily and her leg was splinted. He walked over and used minor heal on her. She gave him a grateful nod and some of the bruising healed.

Five people had died during the assault, Kalina, his driver, the lead driver, and two workers.

"The bandits are more brazen than I ever experienced in my twenty years of running logs. Today we mourn the ones we lost, may Niros shelter them in his eternal embrace."

"Breaker, have mercy," was the chorus of replies.

Chuck was saddened by the loss of Kalina, and angry that the bandits would get away. Erwin walked up behind him and put a reassuring arm across his shoulder. Chuck was glad in this world or at least this country, that displays of affection weren't considered odd.

The rest of the trip was quiet and subdued.

Once they passed the next city there was quite a bit of traffic. Some merchants tried to buy the lumber but all were turned down. A few curses were thrown Nadine's way from the angry merchants as we continued through the last town on our way to the capital.

We arrived at Brightwater after twenty-eight days of traveling. The first thing that struck Chuck about the city was its lack of walls. The city was enormous, spreading across miles of low hills. The largest and tallest hill was dominated by a castle and surrounded at the base by a large wall.

It wasn't your typical medieval castle. This had minarets that resembled a middle eastern church more than a castle, with its large central dome.

Off on another hill stood a hexagonal tower that rose ten stories into the sky, topped with a dome similar to the castle. Chuck assumed this was the tower. It had to be huge, at least as wide as a city block back on Earth. The entire thing was constructed out of three differently colored blocks, set in a random pattern.

As they got closer Chuck could make out the ornate woodwork surrounding the windows.

"That must have cost a fortune," he murmured out loud.

The driver looked to where he was looking. "I, and took over a century to build as I've been told."

Chuck just nodded and continued marveling at the massive structure as they entered the town proper.

The trip through town was slow and agonizing. They constantly had to stop to make way for other more important traffic.

That's when Chuck got to see his first soldier of Nur. Or as Edwin referred to them, the Imperial guard of Nur. A group of about a hundred rode past in full regalia. Chuck was impressed. The Imperial Guard wore full plate, with a silver and red tabard. Their helmets sported a large feather of some sort, in the same colors as the tabard and slightly offset to the right. Behind them rode two men that looked bored but sported cloth armor with the same tabard. Each had a beret style cap with a small feather.

Chuck wondered about the significance of the smaller feather as the men rode past. One gave him a glare and Chuck decided to turn his attention elsewhere.

An hour later the caravan pulled into a large walled-off compound within the city. Logs were stacked along the far side of all shapes and sizes. As soon as the wagons came to a stop, workers swarmed them to help unload the logs.

Chuck was shoved a few times as he tried to get out of the way. Once clear, he headed over to where Erwin and the other surviving Guild members were standing.

Nadine was meeting with her boss, going over the attacks and the loss of two wagons. Chuck could tell her boss was angry about losing the precious cargo, more so than the loss of life. This made Chuck angry and he vowed never to work for the man or his company again. He also felt bad for Nadine, she had been nothing but friendly the entire way.

When she returned to the waiting Guild members she started handing out pay. "My boss docked your pay two gold each for failure to keep the load safe," she said, "Sorry... I tried to argue in your favor."

Shoovo was angry, he took his pay then spit at her feet before walking off. The rest took their pay in silence. Chuck accepted the eight gold and five silver with a nod.

Chuck had no idea how much the wood was worth but it must be significant if they could afford to pay this much for guards.

Chuck was happy for the money but he would have preferred that nobody lost their lives on the journey.

"Come on Chuck, we gotta report into the Guild."

Chuck followed along behind Erwin and the others as they exited the compound. The local guards eyeing them the entire time until the heavy door slammed closed and was latched from behind.

"Not very friendly are they?" Chuck inquired.

"This is the big city now, Chuck, everyone here has an agenda so keep your eyes open and your hand on your weapon."

"Noted."

Chuck was surprised at the Guild building in Brightwater, it was tiny. A desk and a small waiting area with a job board on one side were all it consisted of.

After they left Chuck had to ask. "Why is the Guild so small?"

Mellas and Bargo chuckled, while Erwin replied, "this is only an outpost facility. There are dozens in the city for ease of use. The Guild Headquarters is actually located in a city in the eastern end of Nur called Chelwisk, located on the coast."

"So where are we going now?"

"Where, else," Mellas replied, "Food, drink, and good company," he added with a wide smile on his face.

Chuck wasn't sure he was in the mood for company, but he would join them for some food and drink, then a bed to sleep in.