A stone-headed arrow punched through the canvas side of the wagon, narrowly missing Marian’s head. She ducked and another poked through right where her head had been. She pulled the front cover up to see what was going on only to have the wagon lurch under her feet as it sped up, throwing her backwards. Marian tumbled over the pile of leather and had to catch and right herself. She grabbed the cord again and raised the cover.

Rain drenched the gray landscape. An arrow stuck out of Hadiin’s shoulder. Two more sailed in from the right side of the road and thunked into the seat and side of the wagon.

“Churls!” Hadiin grunted, in obvious pain. He flicked the reins but the horse was already going as fast as it could.

Several skinny figures wildly danced and fired their bows from just off the road in the knee-high grasses. They had mottled skin that looked dried and mummified and they wore distinctive tribal masks decorated with fur or feathers and painted with bright yellow or red magical runes. They seemed entirely unbothered by the storm.

A greater minochurl appeared, a minotaur-like churl standing twice as tall as its fellows and possessing huge muscles and a bull-like head and long horns. Instead of a typical mask, the creature wore a giant skull of some kind painted with yellow runes. Shaggy, dark-brown fur and loincloth were matted from the rain. It charged shoulder first at the wagon with a massive wooden shield raised before it. A spray of water churned up in the massive beast’s wake.

Marian fired magic at the minochurl, setting the shield ablaze, but the flames were blocked and did nothing to the monster behind. She tsked.

The assault was slightly off target thanks to the wagon’s speed and the shield attack only clipped the back end of the wagon. Given the size and power of the minochurl, however, it was a powerful blow.

Hadiin shouted in dismay. The wagon skidded sideways and tipped up onto two wheels. Marian fell sideways with it, crashing into the bed and smacking her head on the sidewall. She winced and cried out. Damn that hurt! Stupid churls!

The wagon hung in the air for a few seconds, seemingly unable to decide whether it wanted to crash or right itself, before dropping back down onto all four wheels.

More arrows buried themselves in the wagon and its cover.

Marian groaned in pain and pushed herself up. Touching her head, was glad that no blood came away on her fingertips. She threw open the side and back covers so that she could fight. Only to see them leaving the churls behind as the wagon drove onwards.

The monsters lowered their bows and gave chase, the smaller ones hooting and hollering.

“Mage!” Hadiin snapped.

Marian whirled.

A dark being in violet robes had popped into view. It looked like some kind of evil thing, born of magic. It brought to mind some kind of dark fae, hailing from some mysterious and magical realm and wielding nasty powers. This particular mage floated in a clear bubble of crackling, purple energy; a barrier of some kind. It was the height of a human toddler, otherwise fairy in shape, that is to say humanoid, but with black, moth-like wings and solid-black eyes and a mouth full of needle-like teeth. It grinned and pointed a taloned finger.

Lightning erupted and blasted Hadiin in the chest. He slumped in his seat.

The horse, frightened by the lightning and the mage directly in front of it, sharply veered off the road and into the grass, screaming. Their pace slowed as the wheels slogged through the prairie, sinking into the drenched soil.

Marian grinned back at the dark fae. Lightning mage with an electro barrier, huh? Perfect. Lightning plus fire go boom. Well, if fiction and video games were anything to go by. She wasn’t entirely sure what would happen in this world. She pointed her hands. Fire erupted, bathing the electrical sphere as she passed. She saw the mage’s eyes widen, then fire and electricity combined, swirling together, and…then both winked out of existence.

The mage fell to the wet ground, landing on its butt.

She was more than a little disappointed that a great explosion hadn’t resulted, but that was physics for you. Stupid physics. And stupid video games for misleading her. Before she and the wagon could move out of range, she sent a second wave of flames out.

The mage made a warbled, high-pitched scream as its robes and wings caught on fire.

Marian laughed in triumph.

The horse pulled the wagon into a depression in the ground, full of water and mud. The wagon came to an abrupt halt, launching Hadiin into the air. Marian’s fall was cushioned by the leathers again. The horse reared and looked over its shoulder in fear as the churls chasing them closed in.

She cursed at how outnumbered they were. But she’d had no idea the road to the next town would be so difficult. At the very least, she should have levelled up a few more times first.

There was no time for regret. The monsters were nearly on her. The mage was smoking but very slowly getting back up after the rain had extinguished the flames.

Did she run? Abandon the wagon and Hadiin? It’s not as if any of her own money was invested here. She wouldn’t lose anything if the monsters took all the goods or if they destroyed the wagon. Not that they’d want the cryo slime, whatever that was for. She was annoyed that he hadn’t explained that to her as she was rather curious.

On one level, leaving him to die felt wrong and she was a tiny bit guilty at thinking it. On the other, stronger, hand her own survival was paramount. And her flight response was pushing her to flee with all haste.

Still, he was the only other Earther that she was aware of. And his being a merchant did have vague potential that might benefit her in the future. He didn’t seem to be a bad person either.

The minochurl running at her flexed his his massive muscles and raised his huge, burning shield, preparing to bash her and the wagon again.

Marian fretted, not liking the pressure she was under. She wanted to run. But if she could save the wagon and goods, and Hadiin, that was ideal. And if she killed all of these monsters, she’d probably level at least once.

Before she could overthink it, she jumped from the wagon and sprinted for the mage. He was the biggest threat.

The fae mage flapped his soft, mothy wings a couple of times and regained its feet. The wings crumbled to ash as it did. It turned, furious, and took a lot of fire right to the face. It screeched in pain. Lightning blasted from its fingers.

Marian ducked as she ran and kicked him in the tiny head.

The body flew back through the air and landed as a corpse. Either the flames had done it in or the force of her kick had snapped its tiny neck.

Spinning, she saw the big minochurl had slowed and turned to go after her while the half dozen smaller churls went for the wagon. Well, Hadiin was probably screwed. Sucked to be him. Whatever. She had a minochurl to barbecue. She was scared but she smiled, getting herself amped up for the challenge.

The beast came straight at her, head down, red eyes angry.

It was thankfully simple enough to dodge to the side of the stupid creature’s charge. Well, almost simple. A shoulder managed to brush hers and it felt like she’d been glancingly hit by a car. Picking herself up from the grass, she fired at him.

Wet hair sizzled and steamed in the rain. The minochurl grunted in pain and came about, then charged her again. His head lowered, his longhorns as sharp as spears.

This time, she successfully dove to the side without being hit and then turned on him, covering his back with fire, causing him to scream. The fur was no longer soaking wet because her earlier shots had dried him off. This one scorched his flesh, burning the hair away and leaving only blistering, black skin.

He staggered and turned again, this time reaching for her instead of charging. There was murder in his eyes. His big, flat teeth ground audibly.

Marian mentally checked her mana reserve. It felt low. Very low. She probably had only one more shot. She backed away, keeping her distance and fired at his face, then bolted for the churls. They were smaller than her, and they had weapons. And she needed one. She no longer had the luxury of trying to outrun these monsters.

She saw that three of the six smaller churls had surrounded Hadiin. They were having a lot of fun poking him with their fingers and dancing on his body. She left them to it. The other three were at the back of the wagon, investigating. One was already climbing inside, while the other two were fighting each other to get access.

She bowled into the two on the ground, knocking them over. Then she reached into the wagon, grabbed the other churl by the ankles and yanked.

The churl face-planted onto the edge of a barrel and lost half its teeth.

She dragged him out of the wagon and dropped him onto the wet ground. Then she eyed the barrel. And the buckets. All covered in a coating of ice. An idea came to her.

Leaping into the wagon, she stomped the top layer of ice in one of the buckets. It cracked and revealed the cryo slime within. With a grin, she snatched up the bucket and flung the contents at the churls, taking care to get most of it on the badly-burned minochurl that was almost upon her.

The blue-white slime hit the rain-soaked monsters and the ground. They chilled under a layer of cold and slowed, crying out in pain. With the rain coming down and their bodies wet, it must have been like having ice water tossed all over one’s naked body. Even the minochurl halted, hair icing up. The bull-like face bellowed with rage and pain.

Marian hesitated only a split second, then jumped to the ground. Her feet slipped out from under her and she fell hard onto her hip. Sharp pain lanced through her. “Ow!” she cried out. That had been stupid. A layer of ice was forming over everything the slime touched. There was no time to waste. Groaning, she tried to stand.

The magically cold slime started affecting her too. She ignored the fragile layer growing on her and kicked the arm of the nearest churl. A rusty sword fell from the monster’s hands. Picking it up, she chopped him in the back of the neck with it.

[Sorceress: Level 3]

She smiled wide. She’d levelled up! Her mana well increased slightly, allowing her to use her spells again. Laughing maniacally, she stabbed the next churl in the back, killing him, too. Then she chopped an arm off of the last of the freezing churls.

The minochurl slumped over, weakened by fire and ice, breathing hard.

That’s when the other three churls came running, leaving Hadiin behind. Was he still alive?

She had magic again. Both hands came up. All three churls became human torches. Er, well, not human ones. Churl torches. They steamed and hissed in the rain. She waded into the middle of them, naturally resistant to flames, and hacked about wildly with her new sword, cutting and bashing them as they flailed about in confusion and pain. They soon died screaming deaths.

Marian fell to her knees, chest heaving. Her clothes were heavy from the rain and growing ice. Her lungs felt like they were full of knives from the effort of fighting. But she’d done it. She’d killed them. She’d survived!

The minochurl bellowed. Ice cracked like a gunshot.

Oops. She’d forgotten about that one.

💰

Hadiin returned to awareness. He looked about. He was back outside the hamlet, in the same place the goddess had deposited him. The place was soaked but there was only a drizzle now. Though the clouds were iron gray above, the rain was moving on.

He sighed but felt some relief. Thank the goddess he’d had that extra life. Too bad that he’d already wasted it.

And, everything that he owned was sitting on that wagon. In the storm. Surrounded by monsters. He frowned and his pulse picked up.

Marian was probably at the mercy of those damned churls!

He took off at a run. Or, at what a merchant with no stamina called a run, which was more like a jog frequently punctuated by stops where he fell to his knees, breathing so hard that he thought he might die.

“I need to start working out,” he mumbled before he’d even reached the end of the hamlet. But he stumbled on. He had to get to Marian and that wagon. He had to prevent the monsters from taking his goods and leaving him broke. He had no idea how that was going to work, but he had to try.

He just hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

It took him a pathetically long time to return to the wagon. He was struck, in turn, by periods of resignation and giving up any hope of recovering all that he’d acquired so far, and by frustration that he couldn’t get there faster to save it. But at least he didn’t run into any trouble along the way. Which was good because he didn’t even have a weapon, nothing at all with which to defend himself.

Surprise and hope blossomed in his chest when he emerged from the forest and saw the horse and wagon where he’d unwillingly left them. Neither was on fire. That was good! Better, there didn’t seem to be any monsters moving about. That was excellent! But perhaps they’d simply robbed him and fled? But even if they had made off with the leather, they’d at least left the wagon and horse, so he could live with that. What about Marian? He slowed down and gave himself time to catch his breath and calm down.

Something was on fire, actually. As he neared the scene, he saw that it was the minochurl. It lay on its face, oily, black smoke rising from the flames dancing along the corpse.

“Marian?” he called out.

“Hey. You’re alive!” She’d been reclining in the back of the wagon, arm behind her head, safely out of the rain, chewing a stray piece of deer jerky that must have been left behind. At his voice, she jerked up in surprise. “How?”

“The goddess. She gave me an extra life before she left. Out of pity, I think. I guess it stopped me from dying.”

She nodded slowly. “Ah. That would explain why your body vanished. I figured something was up.”

Hadiin looked around in astonishment. “You killed them all? By yourself?”

She looked very proud of herself. “Yup!” She grinned. “And I levelled up.”

“You—!”

“I’m level four now,” she told him with a smug grin.

Hadiin bit back a smart-ass retort. Instead, he twirled his moustache and smiled. “Congratulations, my dear. And…I’m very impressed. Handling all those churls, and a strange mage thing too. Really quite something. Especially at your level.”

“Thanks. I thought so too,” she matter-of-factly answered. “Which is why we’re gonna split the profits a little differently: seventy-five to twenty-five.”

His eyes widened and despair pierced his heart.

“Only fair, right?” she continued matter-of-factly. “I mean, I did save everything. Well, except one bucket of cryo slime. I had to use that to take out the churls. But I saved everything else. And the slime is super cheap to reacquire. So three to one sounds fair. I mean, I’m the one taking all the risks and doing all the work. And it would all be mine if you hadn’t had that extra life, which isn’t really fair seeing as how I never got one.”

Hadiin’s brain kicked back in after the initial shock. He really shouldn’t have been surprised by her audacity. And a part of him did understand that her demand was actually reasonable given the circumstances. But still, he couldn’t afford to give up his future profits that easily. Could he change the way she thought about the issue? He bowed his head, putting on a thoughtful face. “Yes. That does seem fair,” he pretended to agree.

Her brows lifted and her eyes tinted with suspicion. “Really? You’re not going to argue?”

He waved in acknowledgement. “Well, I freely admit that you’ve done masterfully, Marian. Saving not just the goods, but also the horse and wagon, that’s the real prize. I could never have done it without you. You’re amazing.”

She sat up straighter and seemed to flush a bit. “I’m glad you recognize that.”

“I do! You were brilliant. Deadly. The bane of churls everywhere,” he flattered. “I have no doubt that you’re going to grow into a powerful dragon sorcerous.”

She grinned. “Damn right.”

He lifted his hands and shrugged. “If you want to cripple our future for a payout right now, I understand. It’s your right. Three to one sounds fine.”

Her grin vanished. “Cripple? Why?”

“Basic rule of business: it takes money to make money,” he casually explained. “The whole point of doing all of this is to raise funds so we can invest in bigger and better ventures. But that requires seed money for the next. And if you take most of the profits then it means I have less to invest, which means it’ll take that much longer to make more money.”

She opened her mouth to object, then closed it. Crossing her arms, she sat back against the stacks of leather again. A few seconds later, a thoughtful expression came over her and she relented. “Does that mean if I give up my half share now you’ll do even more with it than if you only have your share?”

He sensed victory approaching and suppressed a smile of relief. “I could, yes.”

Her nose twitched. “Fine. When we get to the town, take all the money we make and reinvest it. But you’ll owe me. And I mean extra for supporting you.”

His face brightened. “Marian! Thank you. That will make things much easier.” He gave her his best smile. Thank goodness he’d changed her mind.

She turned a shade of pink and looked flustered. “Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s go.”

He started to tell her to help him free the wagon, then thought better of it. No sense pushing his luck after that nice little victory. Though he was honestly grateful that she was letting him take all the revenue from the future sale of their goods. He’d have to think of some way to pay her back later. After all, she really was turning out to be a blessing.

It took a long while to get the wagon free and back onto the road. But by then the sky was clearing and patches of blue had appeared behind the steely storm clouds. Hadiin took the driver’s seat and guided them towards their destination.

In no time at all, they spotted roofs on the horizon. They passed a stone sign, carved with the words Town of Belleville, a little row of rose bushes growing in front of the sign. Then the town wall came into view. The bottom half of the wall was stone, but the top half was wood, indicating a town that either wasn’t attacked very often or that it did not have the funds for a proper stone wall. Or it indicated a people who perhaps cut corners and spent their gold unwisely, perhaps not taking their defence seriously.

Hadiin wondered if his assessment of the walls foreshadowed anything about the future. If nothing else, as a merchant, he should pay close attention to the details around him. One never knew when something seemingly in the background could prove to be useful—and profitable—later. Anything that indicated the way that people here felt or thought could be very valuable indeed. Commerce was, after all, about people far more than it was about trading goods alone.

They lined up with others waiting to enter the town. There were a few locals on foot and two more wagons ahead. Guards lazily checked the other two wagons, peeking under canvas tarps and knocking on barrels. The locals on foot passed through with only a quick word.

Marian rolled the sides of the wagon up behind him and watched the goings-on. “Are we gonna have to pay a tax to get in?” she wondered aloud.

Hadiin froze. An entry or import tax. Of course. That was standard for merchants. Except…he checked his purse. Yep, still two silver pieces. He delicately cleared his throat and looked over at his companion. “Dear Marian—“

She glowered at him. “What?”

“Well, you are quite astute. If there is some kind of entry fee—“

“You don’t have enough money?”

“Maybe?”

She grumbled. “Idiot. Why didn’t you save some for things like this?”

His smile wavered. Well, he was just starting out as a merchant. He had to expect to struggle, right? And maybe next time he’d hold a little bit more coin in reserve for this sort of thing. Live and learn. Anyone who lived without learning was a fool destined for poverty of one kind or another, be it monetary or of the heart and soul.

They pulled up to the gates. A guard waved them to a stop. He was plain looking and he wore worn and faded, black leather armour. A simple helm with a dent in the top sat on his head. A longsword hung from his belt, the wrapping on the hilt threadbare. He had a bored look on his face. “State yer business!” he called up to Hadiin. A big, red nose indicated a man too fond of ale.

Hadiin bowed his head. “Come to trade. Leather and goods to sell.”

The guard nodded as if this was routine. He reached over into the wagon and pawed through a couple of leathers, his eyes checking Marian out a lot more than the goods. Then he saw the buckets and barrels of cryo slime. His features screwed up. “What the abyss you carryin’ that stuff for?”

Hadiin shrugged and smiled. “Don’t know yet. Thought it might be worth something.”

The guard snorted and shook his head in a way that indicated he thought very little of Hadiin’s mental competence. “Slime’s worthless. Everyone knows that.” He looked around. “That it?”

“It is.”

The guard nodded. “Fine. Move it along. Market Street is just along this road. Keep going ’til yer there.” He waved in that direction, quickly bored.

Hadiin politely bowed and started the horse moving. Thank goodness there had been no import tax to pay. Lucky!

The town of Belleville was sizeable, probably holding a thousand residents. It was more affluent than the hamlet by far. That said, however, there was quite an array in aesthetics and property values, reflecting a wide range of wealth levels. While some buildings were stone or brick, others were wood. Some were in good repair and others were obviously slums. Many of the buildings were two stories, though a few were three or even four or five stories and poked up here and there above the rest. Roofs were blue tile or wood shingle.

The main road was cobblestone, turned dark from the rain, and lined with black iron street lamps. Narrow swathes of grass grew on either side of the road in front of houses, shops, inns, and other buildings, giving the place a rural feel despite how close most buildings were to each other; no backyards or driveways here. Patches of various kinds of rose bushes in the grass gave the area a riot of colour, even on a gray day such as this.

At each intersection, a grand apple or pear tree stood on each corner, heavy with fruit that anyone might pick as they came by. There were even tall ladders standing next to a few so that one could reach higher fruit. Little fruit was visible, and only the least ripe; it looked like the trees were well used.

Market street was a long, open stretch with a row of big, colourful stalls lining each side of the main road, which was blocked off for pedestrians only by a guard hut and wooden picket fence. On either side, behind the stalls, was an alley filled with merchant wagons and carts. It appeared that the main thoroughfare was solely for shoppers on foot and sellers parked behind their stalls with their goods.

A lazy-looking guard in front of the fence waved for Hadiin to stop. He wore padded leather armor with bright yellow and white l “What stall?” he asked.

Hadiin shrugged. “Whatever’s open will be fine.”

The guard made a long-suffering sigh. “You don’t have a stall booked?”

“No...?”

“Do you even have a license to sell yer goods?”

“Uh…”

The guard rolled his eyes as if to say ‘yet another idiot merchant wannabe who doesn’t know the rules’. He pointed to the alley on the right. “You can park your wagon just there. But leave room for others to get past. You can’t sell anything without a license. Visit the Merchants Guild. Come back with a licence. You’ll need to book your stall there as well.”

“But someone might steal—“

“Not around here, they won’t. Leave the wagon. We’ll keep an eye on it.”

“Ah. I see. Thank you, kindly, sir.”

The guard just rolled his eyes again and waved them to the right without further word.

They parked. Hadiin was still a little anxious about leaving his wagon and goods attended though. “Marian, would you mind staying and guarding everything?”

“Why?” She jumped down to the ground. “I’m sick of the wagon. I want to walk. And I want to see this merchant guild.” She brushed herself off and looked around. “Besides, he said the guards would watch it.”

Yes, but who would trust these lacklustre fools? They might officially be town guards, but so far, none of them had given him the impression they were a very professional lot. Hadiin fretted for a long moment, paranoid. He looked around. There were a lot of people about. Maybe it would be ok. “Let’s be quick then.”

They asked around and found the Merchant’s Guild in the middle of Market Street, a four-story affair overlooking the commerce below.

Marian looked up at the building. “This is the richest building on the whole street, isn’t it?”

“Probably,” he acknowledged. Then he noticed all the security. “I’m guessing it’s not just a guild. It probably doubles as a bank as well.”

The guildhall was large, with plenty of open windows on the second to fourth floors, though all had bars on them. That said, the bars were all stylishly formed so that they looked more like wrought-iron vines than basic security measures. The doors to the guild were heavy, reinforced steel, the metal brushed and engraved with symbols for grain, cattle, metal, wood, a keg for beer or wine, wooden crates, and coins.

A pair of mages in robes, one in white and the other yellow, stood on the roof, watching over everyone. Two very muscular guards stood on each side of the front doors. Unlike the town guards, these were in much nicer armour, with steel cuirasses, and were armed with nasty-looking pikes and spiked maces. No boredom here, they grimly scrutinized all passerby as if anyone might be an enemy.

Two extra-cheery women in uniformed yellow dresses stood out front of the guildhall, chatting with passersby and offering to be helpful. They had probably been placed here in order to combat the negative effect of the guards.

The nearest guild greeter turned to Hadiin and Marian as they approached. She beamed and reached out to greet both of them, using both hands to shake each of theirs. “Hello! How can the Belleville Merchant’s Guild make your day wonderful today?”

Hadiin answered. “We’re trying to obtain a market stall. And a license to sell goods in town?”

“Of course. Of course. Just inside, good sir. Our lovely receptionists will take care of everything for you. Please, right this way.” She, unnecessarily, led them to the door only a couple of meters away and grabbed the handle, swinging it open for them. “Welcome!” She waved them in and bowed.

They entered.

Hadiin smiled at the sight of the interior. Ah, now this was exactly the kind of thing he’d had in mind when becoming a merchant. Yes, this was definitely going to be much more interesting than swinging a sword around. As a merchant, he was going to make some real money.