There were still around forty minutes left and trio found a small restaurant near the Mercenary guild and finally had a calm meal. They already agreed to discuss everything later on the road when no one could overhear, although both Steven and Clayton were very curious to hear Nick’s explanation why he asked for those things in the guild. Of course, none of them cared for the gold he spent – not only he had gotten a lot of it from pirates, they didn’t lack anything in life before.

Nick gave the boy few silvers and reminded to be careful – for the slums he lived in, he was a rich person now. He wished the kid good luck, but what happened with him later was not for Nick to decide. Poor people on this continent obviously had hard time and there were no bright future perspectives.

Near the gates of the Mercenary guild they met the old man who was shouting at his servants while organizing six beautiful steeds. The old man didn’t recognize them at first, but when Nick took off his head cover, he immediately started to smile widely again.

“These are the best horses we could get under such short notice. I allowed myself to add few travel supplies as well.” He passed a smaller sack to Nick, “Here is the information you asked for and the golden token that represents the status of your mercenary group. I hope your master will be satisfied. Also I took the liberty of adding a report on political situation in the capital, may be you will find it useful.”

Clayton nodded his head and Nick gave a small sack to the old man, “Thank you, master is satisfied. Here are fifty more gold pieces for your trouble. We will see each other in few months when we come back.”

The trio mounted the horses and rapidly left the city. Sun was already setting, but they planned to cover some more ground till the nightfall. There were many villages on the way to Anula where they could spend the night, except, of course, for the desert and they had no problem resting on the roadside as well. While switching the horses from time to time they could maintain their speed for longer periods thus they hoped their pace would be much faster than that of the pirate group which was transporting the Emperor’s tribute.

After another hour when they were crossing a bridge over a bigger river, Nick threw away all the supplies the old man provided.

At the questioning gazes of his companions, Nick shrugged and said,”I doubt any of us wants to check what’s in there.”

Even though they paid quite a lot of money to the old man and he and the Mercenary guild seemed to be trustworthy, there was no need to take additional risks.

An hour later they stopped in a small village to rest for the night. There were few inns along the roadside and they randomly picked one. While servant was taking care of the horses, they payed for three rooms and had a light dinner. Afterwards the trio went out to have an undisturbed talk.

“Old man guessed that we are hurrying to the capital because of the tournament, be it our main goal or just for entertainment. Therefore I just let him think that.” Nick started to explain, “Playing the rich master’s card was the obvious choice despite it carries some serious risks. Cons – us getting ambushed or cheated because of our wealth, but pros – getting good horses as fast as possible and the opportunity to switch them later. Also, we don’t know who the old man is and to try to entice a high lever employee or may be even the guild master with few gold would be simply laughable – the sums had to be big. Regarding the documents I requested – they were mostly for smokescreen. It would be unreasonable for strangers like us to rush to capital without knowing anything, so I had to purchase seemingly relevant information. The part about emperor, well ... from one side it was smokescreen as well, but from other, I really want to get more information on him, because …”

Nick instinctively looked around to make sure they were really alone. There were no structures, trees or rocks nearby where anyone could hide, so he continued by softly whispering, “… on the Mainland I killed his brother.”

It was already dark and Nick couldn’t see the faces of his companions as clearly as during the day, but he heard both of them taking deep breaths. A while later Steven broke the silence and turned to more important topic.

“Let’s leave that for now, I am not sure how to process such news.” He sighed, “Clayton, what is your estimation – when we could catch up to the girls?”

“We don’t know exactly when or how they left Berin, but let’s take the worst case scenario and say they are traveling in a small group with a fast carriage. In that case we would be two and a half days behind.” Clayton started to calculate, “We can’t make much ground till we cross the desert, because there we can only move at night and still have to carry some extra water supplies with us. After that, if we continue at the current pace, we should be around twenty, twenty five percent faster than a carriage. I guess Rolum would be the place where we finally catch up to them.”

“Clayton, how do you think they are moving on the desert? There is no a way a carriage could cross it.” Nick pondered.

“I thought of it as well. I think they have some logistical system where they use carriage till the last settlement before desert, then switch to horses or other mounts and after arriving at the other side get carriages again. We all saw the slave trade blooming in Berin.” Clayton’s voice turned heavy, “The route to Olava should be very well developed in that aspect, otherwise – how are the slaves regularly transported and in such large quantities? I guess we will know when we get closer and let’s hope we are fast enough to reach the desert tomorrow.”

“Alright, but there is another thing I will need your help with tonight.” Nick held his chin while thinking out loud, “I want to check the stack of documents to see if there are no weird rune formations on them. We got rid of the sacks old man gave us, but we can never be sure. Also, I want us to read the texts on the recommendation letters to see if there might be some traps or hidden orders to attack, rob or assassinate us. Tomorrow, while we are riding, we all will have to use that time and analyze.”

“Good idea.” Clayton nodded while Steven was looking at his friend with stupefied face once again. The whole day he had been shocked over and over again. And now the kid who was years younger than him showed the way of thinking that was uncommon even between intelligent adults.

‘What the hell is he eating to be able to think of these things? Just when I thought that all is settled and we just have to catch up, he still manages to think of possible traps and tries to cover our backs!’

Although they were suspicious, it looked like the old man did honest business, at least this time. Still, they read the letters several times each so they could think over the contents and analyze the next day. The night was calm as well and, while taking shifts to guard each other, they had few hours of sleep and continued their rush with the dawn.

In the afternoon they did managed to reach the last settlement before the desert. It turned out exactly as Clayton expected – this settlement was actually a large logistics center where the carriages, horses, mules and camels were held and managed. There were few simple restaurants and inns as well, but all the business here was dedicated to serve the needs of arriving and departing travelers and, of course, the slave traders.

Right outside the village there was a beautiful bamboo grove that was currently occupied by a large temporary camp – it looked like a big caravan was planning to cross the desert tonight as well.

There were few hours till nightfall and the group decided to rest. While Clayton and Steven took care of the horses, Nick went around the village to gather information and may be try to buy a tent or other cover for them and the horses to stay under during the next day while hiding from the sun.

He came back with a worried face, “I think we have a problem. Everyone here is waiting not for the departure tonight, but tomorrow or the day after. They say there is a sandstorm coming and usually it lasts for one or two days.”

Trio started to discuss their options when a voice sounded behind them.

“My master would like to invite you for a cup of tea.” A servant bowed towards the trio and made an inviting gesture with his hand.

“I’m the spokesperson of our group and can represent my boss. Is it fine if I go alone?” Nick asked.

They couldn’t leave their horses but it was not really right to split up as well. But if the person who was inviting provided them with useful information, it could definitely be helpful,

“That is fine as well.” Servant nodded and went towards the resting caravan.

In the middle of the big camp there was a larger tent and inside it a fat man in rich clothes was sitting on a pile of pillows while few girls were massaging his shoulders and legs. When Nick got invited inside, he thought that the scene before him was something one only saw in the movies.

“I am Mustafa.” The man spoke, but his voice was soft and pleasant almost like that of a woman, “I’m the owner of this caravan. Also, I’m one of the biggest caravan owners traveling between Berin and Olava.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Nick – one of the Southern mercenaries.” Nick politely answered.

Mustafa didn’t ask him to sit and seemed to be annoyed that only the servant boy was sent over.

“Hmm, I wanted to talk to your boss, but I guess you can pass over the message.”

“Sir, please excuse my boss, he doesn't like to socialize therefore it is my duty. And since we received your invitation for some tea, I would gladly accept it.” Nick spilled a load of crap while smiling and then added, “Do you prefer to drink peppermint tea during the heat season as well? It helps the body to cool down naturally.”

“Oh, you’re an alchemist?” Mustafa was surprised.

“No, I just don’t particularly like the hot weather. But job is a job.” Nick shook his head and sighed.

“Alright, let’s drink some tea.” Mustafa gestured with his hand and pointed at a pillow not far from him for Nick to sit down, “In fact I do drink peppermint tea. I thought it is my own secret, but turns out I was wrong.”

“World is wide and many wise men can teach us a lot of things.” Nick said while still smiling. Obviously he noticed the peppermint aroma and used it as a conversation starter, “Was there a specific reason for you to invite us over or you just wanted to chat about life?”

“Good! Right to the point!” The fatty shooed the girls away and continued, “You already heard that there is a sandstorm approaching and we might be stranded here for a day or two more. But that is not the main concern.”

He positioned himself more comfortably between the pillows and continued, “Lately few dune bandit groups have started to attack our caravans and it is highly likely the next attack will happen right after the storm settles. Last attack was around fifteen days ago and they should be out of supplies again.”

“You want to offer us a deal for helping you to protect your caravan?” Nick asked and took a sip of the mint tea.

“In a way, yes. Your boss is a Qi master, right?” Seeing Nick nod, Mustafa showed a satisfied smile and continued, “Another Qi master and two Qi practitioners is not a lot, but it is a decent force in an organized formation.”

“What exactly would be your offer?” Nick asked directly.

“Join our caravan till we cross the desert and, in case of attack, help us defend. Since you will receive the protection from us as well, you wouldn’t get payed, but I will arrange for my servants to help you to prepare your horses before departing.” Mustafa explained.

“We agree, but on two conditions. First, you don’t expect us to blindly be a cannon fodder and second – you will lend me a good bow and arrows for the time we travel together. I had an accident and don’t have mine anymore.” Nick didn’t want to suddenly take out his bow from wristband in case the attack really happened.

“What is a ‘cannon fodder’?” Caravan leader got confused.

“Oh, that’s just an expression we Southern mercenaries use when a person is sent as a vanguard to almost a certain death.” Nick fixed his mistake. Although he was in this world for a long time, he still sometimes slipped and used a modern term.

“Those conditions are acceptable. Qi master Kardiff is responsible for the security of my caravan, he’ll visit you later with instructions. Also, before we depart I’ll send over a servant who will help you to prepare your horses.” Mustafa agreed and after exchanging a couple more pleasantries, Nick went back to his companions.