The next day, we packed up, and kept moving with the horses.
There were four heavy wagons, filled with materials from the dungeons around the capital, mostly from the B-rank and A-rank dungeons.
There were so many crates, there wasn’t any room for us people to ride.
In the caravan’s group, there was fifteen people.
The leader, who was an old adventurer turned merchant.
Then there were the guards for the caravan, most of whom had adventuring experience too.
The majority were F-rank, with a few D-rank sprinkled in.
The wolves who attacked us last night were monsters who escaped dungeons.
F-rank mostly, which was good for us.
The guards should be able to fend off the wolves and safely escort us to Port Pleasant.
Rey and I helped out in the morning, and the leader accepted the fact that the wolves we killed were ours easily.
It’s not as though there was a lack, as his group had killed nearly twenty wolves.
While we did that, they made up the grave, and buried their comrade, holding a short ritual for him to help him rest.
Then while they handled their wolves, we helped feed and water the horses.
After that, it was time to start off again.
We walked with the others as the horses trundled along, until nightfall.
It had been an uneventful day.
We hadn’t even seen any other travelers, which felt… weird.
This was a big road, that connected two major cities.
Even if everyone knew travel can be dangerous, trade still happened.
Adventurers explored.
While there was still a chance we had simply not met anyone, the implications of the empty road disquieted everyone.
So, as we pitched our tent and settled down for the night, the mood was far more subdued.
Rather than cards, Rey practiced his sword techniques with the daylight we had left, and I joined him in practicing magic, which impressed almost everyone.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, and only the light of the half-moon shown in the sky, it happened.
“Wolf!
We’re under attack!” The guard cried from the right side of camp.
Rey and I glanced at each other before shooting up, setting our bowls of dinner down.
I readied my wand and watched Rey’s back as they began crawling under the wagons to get into camp.
“Mana arrow!” Right in the eye.
Then again, it was only five feet away.
A snarl from behind me.
I glanced back and saw Rey take down one with a slash before smoothly transitioning into a thrust, skewering the next.
I turned back and blasted another that was crawling under a wagon.
Now that we were in better lighting, I could better tell their numbers.
Dozens, maybe even a hundred of them.
Screams, shouts, barks, and yelps filled the air.
We took down five more wolves before they began to withdraw, tails tucked between their legs.
I breathed hard, scanning around to check that was the last of them.
The leader went to the center and called roll again.
Rey and I stood off to the side as he counted.
He finished and was deadly silent.
Finally, he made the announcement.
“We lost two more in that attack.
That means there’s only thirteen adults.
Damn it!” He turned and took a moment to compose himself before turning back.
“This wolf pack is too large.
Tomorrow, we’re leaving the wagons here.
There are seven horses left… So, two to a horse… there should be enough for everyone.
Our goal is to get to a city and inform the adventurer’s guild about this wolf pack as quickly as we can.” The guards murmured, worried, but broke apart now that they had a plan.
Rey and I glanced at each other before finding the leader.
He was patted an injured horse, who had a nasty gash on her side.
“Shhhh, girl, it’s okay.
Just let me bandage you up…” He opened a first aid kit and began cleaning her wounds, and Rey finally worked up the nerve to ask.
“Um… sir, about tomorrow…” The man glanced at us.
His eyes tightened, and he sighed.
“Seven horses.
Fifteen people.
Even doubling up… the two of you are light.
You can ride with me.” Oh, thank god.
“Thank you.
We’ll be ready to go tomorrow, at first light.” His eyes remained hardened as he looked back at us and gave us a tight smile.
“Go and get some rest.
You’ll need it, because even on horses it’s a seven-day ride to Port Pleasant.” Right.
We thanked him again and bid him goodnight.
This time, I skinned our kills right away, using the light of camp.
Rey helped the guards gather the other corpses together before putting them in a pile and laying the human ones side by side.
Once the heavy work was over, we huddled into our tent.
I held my pillow close, and my wand closer as I sat on my bedroll.
“Do you think they’ll come back tonight?” Rey was quiet, shuffling into his bedroll with his clothes on and his rapiers right next to him.
“I… don’t know.
We’ll sleep lightly, just in case.” I guess he couldn’t exactly lie to me, even if I desperately wanted a comforting lie right now.
“This is the last time we’re traveling in a large group.
Our rope is a better defense than all those guards out there.” Rey sighed.
“I guess this explains why so few people trade between cities.
Mostly its little traders carrying what they can on their backs, or a single wagon.” We’ve seen them.
I guess it also explains why each city and town had to have at least one farm dungeon.
Each little piece of civilization had to be self-sufficient.
I reluctantly let go of my pillow and settled in.
“Goodnight Rey.” “Goodnight Kat.
Don’t worry.
Even if they do attack again, we can protect ourselves.” That was a comfort.
That we could handle ourselves against the wolves.
And with that, I was able to slip into an uneasy sleep.
Mmm.
I blinked.
The first rays of light were just beginning to filter through the tent, but it was still mostly dark… Dark.
My eyes widened.
We should be in the lit circle.
Why was it dark?
A whine.
From outside the tent.
My blood turned cold.
“Rey.” “Huh?” He blinked over from the other side.
He sat up.
There was a scratching sound outside, and another whine.
He shot up, grabbing his swords.
“Stay sharp.” I nodded, clasping my wand tightly.
He went to the entrance flap first, and softly untied it.
He took one look outside and gasped.
He quickly tightened the door again.
“Rey?” I spoke softly, but he turned and shook his head, eyes wide.
Uh… He came over and pressed a finger to my lips, shaking his head harder.
I slowly nodded, staring at him with wide eyes.
No talking.
Got it.
He sat beside me on my bedroll, and put his arms around me, hugging me close.
We both just sat there as there was movement around us.
The sun rose into the sky, higher and higher.
The movement around us eventually faded.
Finally, Rey let me go, softly shuffling towards the flap.
He gingerly pushed it aside, peeking out.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“They’re gone.” Okay, we could speak again.
“Who’s gone?” He turned back and swallowed.
“Wolves.
The wolves came back.
Luckily, they couldn’t figure out how to get past the barrier rope.
But if they were out there…” “… are they all dead?
But… we didn’t hear anything.” And we both slept very lightly last night.
We both took that in silence.
Finally, I sighed and moved towards the flap, steeling myself for whatever might be out there.
I pushed it aside.
Um… so far so good.
I didn’t see any dead bodies that were immediately obvious.
I slowly shuffled outside the tent, staying in the barrier rope in case the wolves were still around.
But all was quiet.
Birds sang.
I looked at the pile of wolves.
Which… had been skinned.
Did they skin them last night?
And the bodies next the wolves… they were gone.
Two mounds with hastily carved graves sat off to the side instead.
“Huh.
It’s like they all just… left.” Rey scanned the area with me.
Left?
A sick feeling began to grow in my stomach.
“Do you think they would just… leave?” “I… No, the leader, he offered for us to ride with him.
Why would he…” Rey’s eyebrows knitted together, and he looked back out into the clearing.
All their stuff was packed away into the wagons.
The horses were gone.
I swallowed, realizing what happened.
“He left us.” Rey was realizing it too.
Looking out over the camp.
“Son of a—” “Rey!
Language!” Even if we had been left for dead, I wouldn’t tolerate such bad words.
“Well, he is!
He must have ridden by himself and led all the guards away!
That… That… Gah!” Rey kicked at the ground, frustrated.
I shared it, but we had to focus on our own survival right now.
“How much food do we have?” I shuffled into my bag and sighed.
Not much.
Plenty of pelts hanging off the side, but few rations.
We usually hunted and gathered on the road.
The rations were mostly for emergency or to supplement our meals.
Rey sighed, slinging his bag around and shuffling through it.
“Um… I have about a day’s worth for just me.
What about you?” “Same.” I looked around the camp again.
No immediate signs of danger… “We should try and keep moving.
We’re about twelve days from Port Pleasant on foot.
Or we can turn around and head back to the capital, which is two days away.
We can warn people about the wolves and wait for the problem to be taken care of before moving on.
I feel like that’s the smartest decision we can make right now.” Rey immediately grimaced.
“Go back?
But… that’s the opposite of what you’re supposed to do on a journey!
You should always push forward, no matter the obstacles you face!” He struck a determined pose, and I rolled my eyes.
“Well, our obstacle is about a hundred wolves.
There’s two of us.
I still say we go back and wait until it becomes safe to travel again.” Rey huffed.
“Well, how long will that take?
Besides, we’ve never had any trouble just traveling with the two of us before.
Like that guy said, packs of monsters leave smaller targets alone.
Let’s just… keep going.” “Uuuugh.
Rey, this is stupid.
You really want to push forward when you know there’s a giant pack of man-eating wolves out there?” He crossed his arms.
“We can take care of ourselves just fine.
Our barrier stopped the wolves once, it can do it again.
So, we can set up camp and sleep in relative safety.
The only time we might be attacked is on the road, and we’ll keep our eyes out for them.
Come on Kat, we can do this.
I know we can.” And now he was pleading.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
I knew what the smart choice was.
The safe choice.
But I guess if I wanted to be safe, I never should have let Rey talk me into running away with him in the first place.
I let out a long, controlled breath.
“This is stupid.
Rey, I want you to know that this is stupid.” His face lit up.
“Is that a yes?” I groaned and he celebrated.
Finally, he lifted our rope up, breaking the barrier, and began winding it up.
“Let’s pack up.
We’ll try and move quickly and get to Port Pleasant as quickly as possible.” I jabbed my finger at him.
“If I end up dead, I will haunt you for the rest of your life.” “If you end up dead, then I’m already dead by that point, so we’ll be ghosts together.” He pulled his bedroll out of the tent, rolling it up.
He always had a smart comment for everything didn’t he?
I can’t believe I let him talk me into this.
I began packing up my bedroll too, already regretting my decision.