Ryan fastened the tie around his pouch and put an old brown cloak on, from his father’s adventurous times. It was through painstaking efforts and years of training to be accepted into one of the Hero Academies for an orphan with no background.

His suffering showed in the form of well-toned muscles, tan skin and calloused hands. The trusty blade he had been gifted by a blacksmith lay on the left side of his belt in its sheath and the pouch in the other.

After a quick check up of his belongings, he finally exited the shack that was his home for the past three years. An empty feeling appeared in his chest and Ryan couldn’t help but smile. It was shabby, but it was through his own meticulous efforts that the building had come to be.

Sawing all those logs and planks, connecting it with rope and his adventure to find a stove. All the memories he had in this house flashed before his eyes and he waved at the shabby building. It could be said that it was his child, after all.

The town of Deadrum wasn’t small by any means and that would mean it had access to many trade caravans travelling to the bigger cities or some of the academies. From the words of Uncle Izzie, the kind blacksmith that helped Ryan immensely during his first year, a trade caravan travelling to Amberpeak would arrive in an hour or so outside the bazaar.

They were looking for able guards to protect them from monsters during the travel and Uncle Izzie had recommended Ryan to the owner, so it was a ride that would pay him for doing what he would have done either way.

As it was too good a chance to pass up, he took it.

The bazaar was a street bustling with people and noise, it made Ryan dizzy. He preferred the shopping district more, as there wasn’t as much traffic and far cheaper. However, his goal today wasn’t to go shopping, and so he took the turn left instead of right and circled it to arrive at the back, the place where the merchant would be waiting.

There were several wagons arranged in a line, some packed to the brim with stock and people sitting in some of them. The mid noon sun was harsh around these parts and Ryan wished he could take shelter from it.

A man was standing on the front of a cart and shouted in a voice louder than any other he had heard, touching his throat with his index finger.

“Hiring guards to defend the caravan! I repeat, hiring guards to defend the caravan!” The man said repetitively, stopping once in a while to take a breath or two.

“I’ll do it.” Ryan said as he raised his hand.

The man descended the platform and beckoned for him to come.

“Ok, here’s the deal. We’ll be travelling through Lostfair, Ragewell, Ironhall, Amberpeak and Westcoast. You’ll be paid 5 silver a stop, how’s it sound?” The man asked as he eyed Ryan, noticing his sword and worn out cloak, mistaking him for an adventurer from the looks of it.

“Sure.” Ryan nodded his head and pointed at a caravan, “Can I take a sit in one of those?”

“Do whatever you want, but don’t touch the merchandise. Boss can get real angry sometimes.” The man said as he took up his previous position to recruit more.

Ryan chuckled, wondering how much money these merchants could have to pay such a high price and hire this many people. Just he alone would get 2 gold from protecting it. This truly was the best chance he had at getting to Amberpeak within a month.

As soon as he entered a caravan, he realized they weren’t faring as well as he thought they were. It felt like he was starting to be cooked up in a steaming pot, with 5 others sitting inside with him. But being steamed was better than being scorched. Or so he thought and decided to remain inside.

He took a seat at the far corner at the side of the cart, as it was vacant as the passengers tried to get a taste of wind from the opening at the back. To their relief, the carts started moving and the small opening that served as a talk-through between the travelers and the whoever was driving the caravan.

The occasional loud hisses of the lizards kept Ryan from dozing off, saving him from the migraine that would surely follow as well. As much as he tried, his eyelids closed and started soundly snoring away, completely ignoring the bumpy road along with most of his companions.

The caravan moved through the plains and the lizards’ pace sped up as they caught sight of the woods, resulting in Ryan bumping his head into the hard wood that made up the ceiling. A surprised yelp resounds from his mouth, and he sighs in relief as no others were awake.

A gentle breeze chased away his sleepiness and the alluring smell of plantlife did the same to his nose. With nothing interesting to do, his eyes landed on the man in the front of the cart. He seemed to be as bored as him, but in a lot better environment as there was a roof overhead and the air would flow towards him.

The elderly man with a balding head had let go of the reins and just took a comfortable position to sit in, as the lizards were already trained to go in a straight line, led by the first in line. It made Ryan curious, how the two lizards would simply stare at the caravan before them without getting bored or straying away too far, and follow it while the one holding the reins was too bored to even sit straight.

“Hey, old man.” Ryan said with a calm voice.

The recipient turned his head towards the talk through and noticed the brown haired youth.

“Mind if I join you over there?”

“Come on up.” He said with a smile, happy that he found a chat partner to chase away the monotony.

Ryan complied and jumped off the cart. Overtaking it wasn’t a hard feat by any means as he simply jogged up to the old man’s seat and jumped up.

The bench was big enough to fit 4 or so people, leaving him more than enough room to take a seat.

“Name’s Vade, been working here for years.” The old man said as he turned to look at Ryan, as if asking him to introduce himself.

“I’m Ryan.” Said Ryan awkwardly, not finding anything else to say.

“Well, Ryan, huh? So where ya going?” Asked Vade.

“Amberpeak.” Answered Ryan as he felt the breeze on his face.

“For school?” Vade asked with a strange expression.

“Yeah. Was accepted to Lunestier. How did you end up here?” Ryan asked as he looked to the side, noticing the surprising beauty of the forest.

“Food’s not gonna find its way over to our plate, will it? This was merely the best paying easiest job for a klutz like me. And my sword ain’t gonna be antique anytime soon.” Vade said, pointing at the sword lying next to him.

Ryan sighed. The old man had experience, and had learned to place his sword in the most unassuming place. He now made a mental note to himself to check for weapons in the close proximity of a possible enemy.

“So, what’s it like travelling without any action like this for a long time? Can it be mentally tiring?” Ryan asked. It was indeed a young man’s characteristic to get bored easily.

“Oh, trust me, you won’t get to rest.” Said Vade with an uncharacteristically maniac grin. “They’ll keep coming.”

“Sorry for that. Just a warrior going senile.” He then explained and the friendly smile returned.

“Yeah…” Ryan said, slightly unnerved by his words.

“So you are already a student at Lunestier?” Vade asked.

“Doesn’t being accepted mean becoming a student?” Ryan asked in surprise.

“Good grief, that’s why so many people drop out. For that very reason. They are most unlikely to be ready without prior knowledge. That’s why I always hated Lunestier’s ethics about noble and common.” Vade shouted, not unlike a drunk. “You’ll have to pass the entrance exam to become a student there. A simple duel against the instructors would do most of the time, but some years they’d hold latent talent testing and some years they’d make the children fight among themselves. That’s just ridiculous, just to start studying there.”

“You know so much about the school, were you a student there?” Ryan asked.

“I’d never attend Lunestier even if it was my only choice. It’s rotten to the core. Ej Har is far better than it.” Vade said with a disgusted look.

“So you are a hero then. No wonder you’d be a warrior.” Ryan said with stars in his eyes as he looked up at the older man.

“Wait. I’m an alumni of Ej Har.” Vade looked at the boy with wide eyes.

“So what? It’s a Hero Academy, isn’t it? That means you’re a hero.” Ryan said with a wide smile.

“Good grief. I wish others shared the same view as you.? Vade sighed as he looked to the side. “Grab your sword. Goblins are coming.”