After the warning, Ryan put his hands on the hilt of his sword and perked his ears up for any unusual sounds. The autumn leaves crackled under the feet of the lizards and the wheels of the caravan. Several other sounds came from the forest and Ryan unsheathed his steel falchion and jumped off the cart as they came to a halt after Vade’s shout.

A giant murky green creature stood out from among the trees, a head or two taller than them. Smaller, creatures of lighter shades of green were scattered at his feet and charged towards the caravans with no care to their well being, numbering in the high twenties.

The other passengers in the back jumped off their caravan and stopped at the edge of the road, not wanting to leave their safe zone. The squeaks and squeals of the goblins grew louder as they hastily scaled the distance between them.

A large man with a flail in hand swung it towards the giant ogre, whose ugliness was only rivaled by its fat. The damage was nearly non-existent as it swung its giant club at the striking man. A ball of water to the stomach knocked down the ogre, smashing through several trees in the process.

‘That was magic.’ thought Ryan, but he had no time to admire it. A goblin swung a chipped sword at Ryan, quickly sidestepped and countered by a slash to the neck. Another one threw a rock at him and it caught him in the shoulder.

The goblin laughed disgustingly as a spear pierced through its skull from behind, ending its miserable and irritating life. Ryan saw that the goblins were too fragile to be a challenge to the fighters onboard and were being taken out one after another.

He couldn’t falter after just taking out one and run into the battlefield. Another goblin appeared out of nowhere and swung a hammer at Ryan’s head, but he jumped above it and kicked the attacker down mid-air, stabbing his sword through its head.

The skull and flesh were far too soft to even damage his blade by even a little. He then beheaded two others that had been planning to attack an archer’s undefended back. The three goblins left started running after seeing its ogre comrade being drowned alive in a bubble of water.

The man that had been shouting earlier that day smirked smugly as he looked down at the fallen ogre from his spot at the top of one of the caravans. He was a mage.

At the command of the mage, everyone started boarding their ride and the line started moving as normal. Vade was replaced by a younger man and Ryan then took his rightful place inside.

“What was that… giant ugly thing?” Asked an attractive silver-haired girl with a frown.

“It’s called an ogre, little lady.” Said a long-haired man holding a spear. “Are you perhaps a noble?”

“H-How did you know?!” She asked with wide eyes.

“I saw your style resemble dueling a little more than it should for anyone else.” The spearman answered with a smile.

“Don’t believe him. He just read your expression.” A larger man, the one that had swung the flail said with a sigh.

“For god’s sake, can you stop ruining my pick up tactics?” The spearman shouted.

“A playboy like you doesn’t deserve a noble.” The larger man said with a sigh.

“Oh, so does a barbarian like you?!” The spearman countered.

“I never claimed to.” Said the bigger man. Just from the interaction alone, Ryan concluded that the spearman was indeed the barbarian and the bigger didn’t mean dumber.

The spearman shut down and an awkward silence reigned. Within moments, Ryan dozed off.

***

The merchant caravans were a delicacy in the world of bandits, and a lesser guarded one even more so. Most would swear allegiance to a kingdom and part with at least a quarter of their profit. However, the caravan of Elisa Riversong was an anomaly. Although no kingdom defended it from the clutches of rogues, it was said to boast tremendously strong guards.

Their only weakness would be the lack of manpower and the fact that the owner valued quality over quantity. Elisa giggled as she sipped her tea, careful not to spill any on her revealed skin. She knew this weakness all too well after the last time she was robbed.

Luckily, the gang was led by a honorable man that refused to take hostages or prisoners. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to travel with such a small crew of four again. The pay for the bodyguards was far more than enough, so they wouldn’t think of running away instead of holding up the enemy’s strays from reaching her.

It was times like these that she cursed herself for not learning any martial arts or spells, fancying a normal school for nobles and merchants. But having money meant power in the cities. As long as she wasn’t too stingy and invested in her safety, she would be fine.

As the caravan travelled through the Evergreen forest, she was quite surprised that an ogre would appear. But that was nothing for her trusty bodyguard Marcus.

“Hey, wanna make a bet?” Elisa asked with a smirk.

“On what?” Marcus questioned with a curious glance, a cup of coffee in hand.

“If bandits will attack our caravan this time, with the flag standing tall and all.” She said.

“Ok, I’ll bet on they will.” Marcus answered with a condescending smile.

“I’m pretty sure they won’t. How does 20 gold sound?” Elisa chuckled.

“How can you be so sure?” Marcus asked with a chuckle of his own.

“You’ll see.”

***

Ryan awakened from his slumber by afternoon, when the caravan abruptly stopped. The noisy bunch got off and he too followed, not too long after the noble girl appeared outside as well. All the carts seemed to be aligned in a circular shape and the three personnel, including the mage, were setting up camp.

The sun wouldn’t set in another one or two hours, but being prepared never hurt. Ryan noticed that they had arrived in the plains, and the evening wind had defeated the scorching heat of midday. The lizards were released into the fields. As herbivores, they wouldn’t hurt humans.

Ryan wondered why they let them go, even if the lizards could escape. Then it would be a blunder and waste a great deal of his time. He produced his canteen from his pouch and gulped a few times. The several coins in his pouch clanged as he placed the leather bottle back in its rightful place.

“Hey, you guys. Help out over there!” Shouted a caramel skinned woman in her twenties, wearing surprisingly revealing clothes. The only covered places were her privates and the upper part of her chest.

Ryan started collecting firewood with Vade and the others for the evening meal. Relief washed over him as he learned they’d be fed and get water for free. Those were his biggest worries, and with this they were sated.

They walked over to the river, with willows covering the banks, and harvested the wood from there. Ryan ended up carrying the two big bags of wood while the others carried boulders filled with water.

He didn’t complain as he was the one with the lightest load… except the mage who didn’t carry anything. From the short conversation between the employers, Ryan learned the mage was called Marcus, the other younger man who took up Vade’s job after the attack was called George and the boss was called Elisa.

The ingredients and the cookware had been prepared before they got to camp and started the fire. Watching the flames swirl below the pot in the darkness soothed Ryan as he awaited his dinner. His rations would last longer than he thought it would, he thought to himself with a smile.

The stew was boiled for several dozen minutes before being served, complete with a vegetable garnish at its side. As Ryan took his first sip, his eyes opened wide at the taste. This dish alone had a large amount of spices, too expensive for common folk, let alone an orphan. The amount of salt was just enough, not the almost complete lack of it Ryan was used to.

Chatter filled the campfire as everyone started talking to their companions. The spearman had the giant to keep him company, and the employers were mostly inside people except when they were bored or had to talk to the employees.

Then his eyes started searching for the noble. She was the same age as him and was missing. After a few moments, his gaze landed on the caravans. The said girl was sitting above one of them, staring up at the stars.

Ryan decided to join her in her lonely hours and walked up to the caravan. Jumping above it was no challenge to the athletic boy as he scaled it easily as he climbed with one hand behind his back. He would much rather train while going through everyday activities than make time for it.

“What you doing here?” Ryan asked as he took a seat next to her.

“Looking at the stars.” The girl said as her hair fluttered in the wind, shining up to its color. “The only thing that is same everywhere.”

“I see. They never change, but we can’t even see the difference anyways. A lot like the royal families and kings.” Ryan said with a sigh.

“You have a good sense of humor.” She said with a chuckle as she turned to look at Ryan.

“May I ask your name?” She said.

“Ryan, yours?” Ryan asked back.

“Valerie. Valerie Bluewood.” She said as she lied down quite comfortably on the wooden roof, but Ryan decided to continue the conversation in his sitting position.

“Where might the young noble be going?” Ryan asked, using his best impression of a noble, receiving a giggle from the girl.

“To Lunestier.” Valerie said.

“What a coincidence. Me too.” Ryan said as he turned his head towards the girl, finding her surprisingly attractive. He suppressed his primal urges and turned away, looking up at the stars.

Ryan remembered what his parents said about the deceased going up to live on with the stars and wondered if his parents were looking at him from above.

“Your son will definitely become a legendary hero.” Said Ryan to the stars, as a mere whisper to reassure himself from losing sight of his goal.