“Are you alright?” Wolf asked the startled people within the caravan. They whimpered and withdrew from the pair of men.

“It’s fine.” Tiger said. “You can come out now, we won’t bite.” He then stepped back to give them a moment of peace.

Wolf glanced at Tiger. “Slaves…”

Tiger nodded and crossed his arms, furrowing his brows into discomfort. They exchanged another look for a moment.

Then Wolfs eyes found them at the slavers who had been roped by Tak. She was making sure they behaved, which wasn’t hard. She was a woman of the steppe and everyone knew how dangerous the steppe people were, the Hei were terrifying entities. Luckily, Tak was an average Hei, which was to say she was about as strong as any highly trained soldier. If she were a martial artist like Wolf and Tiger…

Wolf wondered if he’d be able to handle someone that powerful the way he was now. Considering his bout with Brahman, someone who was trained by a contemporary of his master, he was still injured. Not quite so heavily, but he could feel it, and without the proper rest, he would remain below his peak.

The slaves were hesitant, but seeing as these scary looking individuals weren’t doing anything and had taken out the slavers, they stepped out from the over turned wagon.

Once they had done so, Tiger righted the wagon with ease, clasping his hands together. “There we go.” He chuckled.

Wolf walked over to the slaves. “Are you well?” He could see how thin they were. “Are you able to walk to the nearby town?” He then started to remove their bonds.

A woman weakly nodded, though Wolf wasn’t so sure.

‘The wagon…’

“No. Ride in the wagon.” Wolf looked into the distance to see where the pack animals had ran off to during the fray. They were quite far, and were spooked to the point they continued fleeing even now. He didn’t do with those kinds of animals, nor did Tiger. He wasn’t so sure Tak would be able to handle them either. He called out to Tiger.

“We need to pull the wagon.” Wolf reached for the reigns.

“Eh? I guess I could.” Tiger scratched his chin and then stretched his neck.

“No, I’ll do it.”

“It’s fine.” With that Tiger took the reins and tied them around himself. “Alright, come on. Get in the wagon.”

The slaves looked confused, but they clambered in. With that, Tiger began to walk and lead the wagon away.

Wolf kept his eyes on the slavers for a moment, but Tak had reigned them in well enough. Instead he kept his eyes out for any outside threats. They would need to deal with the slavers… He tied them up and then had them stumble along, limping on one leg as they dragged the other.

As Tiger pulled the cart, Wolf scanned the nearby land. It was fortunate they didn’t come across anything that could have been an issue.

They eventually came to the city gates, though night had already fallen so they were closed. A couple of guards remained on duty, though were stationed on the walls.

“Ho there, what brings you here?” They asked suspiciously, their eyes glued to Tiger who had pulled the cart by his own strength.

“We have apprehended some slavers.”

“Slavers, eh?” The guard looked at the slavers who were tied up. “Looks like you’re the slavers to me.”

“It was convenient for us to keep them tied up.” Wolf replied.

“Ay, no doubt. Alright, wait there a second.” The guard then went out of sight.

There was a long moment as Wolf’s ears twitched, listening in on the muttering guards.

Eventually they called several other guards to make sure this situation wasn’t anything more than just some good hearted folks bringing back some slavers.

“Oi, hurry up. We’ve got injured people out here.” Tiger groaned, stretching his neck.

“Tiger…”

“Yeah yeah.” Tiger sighed.

Wolf’s ears twitched as he heard the jangling of metal before the gates opened to reveal several heavily armoured men, and a knight. The knight was adorned in full plate, though wore no helmet. A cape of red draped over a shoulder and down his back. He was a handsome man, a little older than Wolf, with long golden locks.

Wolf remained the diplomat between the guards and his party. He informed the guards and the knight about what had happened.

“Oh dear, oh dear! Slavers within out land?” The knight scoffed. “We deeply apologise for having not found this ourselves… I can’t have this be.” He walked briskly over to the slavers. “It would be best for you to cooperate.”

The knight took the slavers into his captivity and they made no protest about it. The knight would be bound by a code after all.

“We have several people who were held captive by the slavers. Can we leave them in the care of the city?” Wolf asked.

The knight looked at the freed slaves.

“I shall see what we can do for them.” He replied. “I give you my word that I shall deal with the matter personally and to make sure they are taken care of.” He extended a hand.

“Thank you.” Wolf took it and shook his hand.

“You may stay the night within the Rocky Home towards the centre of the town. Hand the barkeep this.” The knight handed Wolf a small token made of metal with the emblem of a lion’s head glaring at him.

Wolf bowed his head in thanks.

Finally the trio were allowed in. Tak dismounted and led her horse by the reins. She kept closer towards the two men now that they were within the city.

“Is this your first time in a city?” Wolf asked the now timid woman.

Tak nodded as she brushed her steed, who was calming under her touch.

“We’ll need to find a stable for your horse.”

Tak didn’t reply, instead following the two men silently. She was no longer in the plains, so this was foreign territory for her.

Eventually they found a stable and Wolf paid for the stabling fees with a few silver coins and made sure to have it fed.

Tak did not follow the pair though, instead remaining with her steed.

“Very well. I’ll bring some food in a short while.” He bowed his head.

This was the first night that they were able to sleep on a bed, so he wanted to sort everything out as soon as possible. Once the freed slaves were taken in to the nearby temple, Wolf stepped into the inn. The Rocky Home inn was certainly far more comfortable than the name suggested. It seemed homely, he supposed thats where half the name came from, but it wasn’t at all rocky. He ordered some food for the trio, showing the token and then handing over a few silver pieces. The keeper, introducing himself as Rocky, was a large, rotund man with a bald head and tired eyes.

“No need.” Rocky said with a voice that was low and calm, motioning motioning to the token. “We’ll sort you out right good.”

Rocky then handed over two room keys to the pair before ordering their food for them.

“We have a friend at the stables. We’d like some food for her.” Wolf bowed his head.

Rocky nodded in acknowledgement before they were set free to do as they pleased. Wolf, with Tiger following behind him, made his way over to his room. The door was a heavy oak, and he brushed his hand along it. Then he unlocked it and stepped inside. It was large, or at least large for the inn, and was fitted with a bed, a dresser and a small desk with a small orb situated above it. He stepped over to the bed, but paused. Food first, then a bath, and then sleep.

The thought of Dragon plagued his mind. He felt a little pang of guilt, but at least tonight he would be able to recover a fair amount. That was all he could do.