Mira sighed as she followed Uni toward the community center at the center of town. The cat had been a bust. The little girl had stated the reward was her entire life savings. Mira could not take that from the child. Uni did...but that did not mean that Mira had to. She had immediately handed her portion of the reward back to the child.

  Mira caught a glimpse of the medicinal building in town as they walked. "Uni, I'll catch up with you..." Mira sighed as she turned toward the building.

  "Need me to come with you?" Uni asked.

  Mira shook her head, "Just find us a job." Uni nodded and head toward the community center.

  The door to the medicinal building was plain, but the vines that grew around it were gorgeous. A few vines fell just so in the doorframe, Mira had to slip past them without touching them. Even though she hadn't touched them she watched as a few lengths of vine began to wither.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she muttered to the vines as she made her way into the build. Her breath caught when she saw the room filled to the brim with plants. She moved around expertly trying to avoid getting to close to any of them.

  "I'll be with you in a second..." a lovely feminine voice called from the opposite side of the room. "Just weeding the flowers." She glanced up her smile quickly falling when she saw Mira.

  "Hi." Mira waved awkwardly.

  "Oh my..." she frowned. "Do you need medical attention? I fear you may need something more than I can..."

  "I'm fine," she stated yet again. "I heard that you are a druid..." The woman nodded hesitantly. "I am also a druid. I am looking to find a druid that may know what is wrong with my magic."

  "Oh, I see." She stated. "May I ask what is happening with your magics?"

  Mira shrugged and walked up to the nearest plant, holding her hand close and watched as the beautiful flower quickly began to wither. "This is what happens."

  "Oh, oh no..." The woman quickly pulled the plant away from Mira and began to tend to it. "How long has that been happening?"

  "As long as I can remember," she stated sadly. "It has gotten worse lately. But it has always been like this."

  "Did you grow up in a grove or circle?" She asked hesitantly her mind still obviously focused on her dead plant.

  "The Grove of Beginnings," Mira stated. "They couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with me."

  The woman clicked her tongue, "Well their expertise is much higher than my own. I'm sorry but, I do not know what is causing your...ailment." She glanced around the room quickly and then grabbed two vials. "These may not heal you, but they won't hurt. Drink them when you need a little pick me up."

  "Thank you," Mira smiled. "I'll try not to hurt anymore of your plants on my way out."

  "I would greatly appreciate that." The woman smiled warmly.

  As Mira left she sighed. Another bust in a long list of busts. She added the vials to her pouch and began to make her way over to the community center. She passed the small man, Jasper walking back toward the farms on the edge of town. He was carrying what looked to be a few quilts.

  Inside the community center there seemed to be a market of sorts. There were many vendors set up with clothing, sample fabrics, dyes, dyed fabrics, quilts, and even a good size alcohol section.

  Mira glanced about finding the bolo tie man, Mister Memo sitting in the drink section. He appeared to be playing his harmonica for a small group of engaged listeners. Mira spotted Uni in the section of fabric samples. She strode over to her friend to see if she had found anything interesting.

  "What are you looking at?" She asked causing Uni to glance away from the fabrics.

  "Do you see how the light catches on this one?" She asked. "Something is different here."

  "Why you have a good eye," the dwarven merchant smiled. "That would be none other than Cartan Wool." At their looks of confusion the man continued. "That wool comes from the sheep in the valley. The fabris itself takes many years to create as the spring that the sheep are found by imbues the wool with magic." He handed the small fabric square to Uni. "Here, hold this and I shall show you." Uni held the fabric and the man attempted to stab the fabric with his dagger, but the dagger just bounced off the wool. "The wool requires specialized tools and handling to create this fine fabric. It is the pride of Carta."

  "How much does this square of fabric cost?" Uni asked.

  "Oh that piece not for sale," he sighed as he took the square from Uni, "and unfortunately our current supply is already claimed by the guard of Purntel."

  Uni nodded in understanding and took her leave. Once they were out of earshot from the merchant she leaned over and whispered to Mira, "I got us a job. I think we are escorting a merchant group with that fabric." She nodded toward a taller dwarves woman with short white hair. "That is Sanzier. They lost the last two shipments of fabric heading to Purntel, and the group of merchants that were accompanying the merchandise have not been seen since."

  "That's not good," Mira stated.

  Uni shrugged, "Two gold per day, per person." She eyed Mira.

  "Well we should probably go get some rest," she stated.

  "I'm not sharing that bed," Uni chuckled. "You are more than welcome to sleep on the floor." They wandered through the community center one more time before making their way back to the Broomspider Inn.

  ...

  The mid-spring air was refreshing as they made their way back toward the community center in town the next morning. Mira sighed when she saw the men from the day before standing near the carts. The older man was saddling up a very frail horse, while the younger man sat nearby eating his breakfast.

  "Mister Memo," Jasper started, "you really should eat breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day."

  "I've got my breakfast right here," he stated pointing to his flask. "Never ate breakfast a day in my life. Won't start now."

  A look of shock fell over the younger man's face, "Mister Memo, you are missing out on some very important macro nutrients that will help your body remain healthy."

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Mira watched as Memo took a swig from his flask. "All the nutrients I need, right here." He stated not turning away from his horse.

  "Well now that we have everyone," the dwarven woman smiled. "I'm Sanzier, for those that I have not met." She glanced at Mira. "It should only be about 3 days to Purntel. The goal is to get the fabrics there safely and hopefully without issue. As promised you all will receive two gold each per day of travel."

  "Any extra if we run into trouble?" Uni asked. "You mentioned that the last two shipments have gone missing."

  Sanzier nodded slowly, "If we run into trouble and still make it to Purntel safely...we may be able to arrange a bonus of sorts. Hopefully, there will be no trouble."

  "Of course," Uni stated.

  "Well if no one has any other questions," she nodded toward the merchants, "we should really be on our way. Do not want to delay this trip any longer."

  The road out of Carta to Purntel was well marked and well traveled. Mira stayed up near the front of the caravan while Uni stayed near the back. Jasper and Memo were in the middle chatting with the merchants and Sanzier for most of the day. Every so often Mira would catch bits of their conversation, but she was trying to remain focused on the path ahead.

  "Sanzier," Memo started as they were stopping for lunch. "You mentioned that these roads are well traveled, and that there have been no reports of people being attacked. Do you have any idea what or who is taking your cargo?"

  She tilted her head to the side clicking her tongue, "We assumed the first group was hit by robbers and that everyone perished." She nodded toward the merchants. "The caravan was almost exclusively made up of merchants. We had never had any type of trouble before. We make this route regularly, about once a month. After we got word that the second group did not make it to Purntel we got a little worried. Hence the reason you all are escorting us to the city."

  Memo nodded, "A little extra safety."

  "Exactly," Sanzier smiled. "But we are hoping that it won't be necessary."

  The remainder of lunch was fairly quiet. Many of the merchants kept to themselves. Mira didn't mind the quiet. She found it quite soothing. As they packed up and continued on their way, Mira started to notice that the scene around them was beginning to shift. Instead of grasslands and hills they were heading toward a mountain path. It was still a ways off, they most likely wouldn't make it to the mountain by nightfall.

  Toward the evening Mira started to see birds circling in the distance. Vultures. She kept an eye on them for a while marking their direction and placement in their path before pointing them out to Sanzier and the group.

  "Probably just a dead animal?" Sanzier offered. "We won't make it quite that far tonight. It should be fine."

  Mira nodded in agreement, "You're right. It is probably just an animal."

  They walked for another hour or so before setting up camp for the night. The night was dark and quiet. Mira fell asleep quickly, accustomed to sleeping on a bedroll under the stars. Memo woke her for her watch and she joined the dwarven merchant near the fire. She made a few patrols around their camp, but there wasn't much to see. About halfway through her watch the dwarven man tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

  "I think we have company," he whispered as he pointed toward a rustling bush.

  Mira squinted, it was hard to make anything out beyond the light of the fire. She grabbed a torch, lighting it with the fire and walked forward. The light casted ominous shadows, making her gnarled horns appear larger and her frame menacing. As she reached the edge of the fires light she finally saw the reflective eyes of the fox. The creature glanced up at her as it slowly stalked forward. Mira raised the torch slightly and her shadow grew. The creature shuddered in the bush and then hurried away.

  "Just a fox," Mira sighed as she made her way back toward the merchant.

  The remainder of her watch was uneventful and quite. She woke up Uni for the third and final watch and fell asleep.

  The next morning while the group was working on breakfast, Mira noted the vultures circling just a little ways off the road. She made her way over to Uni and pointed them out.

  "Maybe we should check it out?" Uni offered. "It's probably just an animal."

  "Or it could be the last caravan..." Mira offered. "Might find another...bonus...if we can get them answers on their missing cargo or merchants." She whispered.

  "Hey!" Uni called, "We are going to go see what those vultures are about." She nodded toward the direction and began walking.

  Memo raised a hand, "Hold up...we should come with you."

  "Yeah," Jasper added. "Safety in numbers and all."

  Mira shrugged, "It's just some vultures. It's probably best if someone stays with the caravan."

  Sanzier glanced at the men and then Mira and Uni. "I can stand guard for a little while." She patted her side where a weapon hung. "I am fairly capable if need be."

  Memo nodded and started following Uni. "We'll be back in about 20 minutes. Should give y'all plenty of time to get ready to move."

  Mira led the group off the path and through the trees. Within a few minutes they came to a clearing. It was immediately apparent to why the vultures were circling. A mutilated deer. Mira grimaced as she stepped closer to examine the wounds. She could see a trail of blood leading from the ridge nearby. The wounds on the deer were not consistent with an animal attack, rather they appeared to be caused by an uneven weapon.

  She furrowed her brow, "I think we need to head back."

  "I agree," Jasper stated glancing toward the ridge. "I do not think that animal was attacked here in this clearing...there is not enough blood."

  "That is not reassuring..." Uni sighed.

  They made their way back to the caravan. Jasper and Mira went to Sanzier to give her an update.

  "Well, that is less than ideal..." she frowned. "And you are sure that it was a weapon and not an animal?"

  "Positive," Mira stated. "It looked like they were 'playing' with the animal before they took the final blow."

  Sanzier's frown deepend. "Let's keep an eye out, I do not want to worry the rest of the group if there is no need."

  "Of course," Jasper and Mira said in unison.

  Mira stayed in the front of the caravan again. The day was quiet, almost easily quiet. As they traveled further and further away from Carta, the general nature sounds became less and less. During the break for lunch, Mira noted that she had not seen or heard a single bird or animal in some time.

  "It is awfully quiet..." Memo muttered as he took a seat next to Mira. "Don't you agree?"

  She nodded, "Unnaturally quiet." She stood from her meal. "I am going to do a quick perimeter check." He nodded in understanding.

  Mira didn't stray far from the group on her perimeter check. On her final circle, she noticed a singular track in the mud. She knelt down to examine it more closely. It seemed to be a dwarves foot, or at least a partial print. She glanced in the direction the track went, but there was nothing there.

  She made her way back to the group, her brow furrowed as she tried to ignore out how there would be half a footprint with no additional tracks.

  "We should try to make it through the forest before nightfall," she said to Sanzier. "I have a weird feeling about this path."

  Sanzier nodded in agreement, "We should get back on the trail then." She pulled out a map, showing it to Mira. "There is a nice spot to camp right here. Think we can make it by nightfall?"

  Mira measured out the distance and glanced toward the sky. "Shouldn't be a problem. We will just have to be quick."

  The group packed up their midday meal quickly and head back out on the road, Mira again in the lead. The forest grew thicker and thicker as they traveled. It was hard to see if there was indeed anything off the path other than the trees. Noises had slowly returned to the forest. Birds here and there, but it was still way too quiet.

  Mira watched as a lock of birds scattered up into the air about a mile ahead.

  "Did you see that?" One of the merchants asked, worry evident in his voice.

  Mira nodded, "We should expect trouble." Sanzier nodded.

  "Keep your heads up," she stated. "Keep in mind, whatever is up there thinks it has the advantage over us."

  Mira and Memo stayed about twenty feet ahead of the caravan with Jasper walking alongside and Uni in the back.

  "Roads blocked," Memo stated as they came up to the fallen tree.

  "Should we move it?" Mira asked.

  "Take too long," Sanzier sighed as she joined Mira and Memo. "It's much too large."

  Memo smirked, "Aww man...What a conundrum we are in..." He said loudly as he walked toward the fallen tree. "This would be a wonderful place for an ambush. How about a nice little chat instead? Would hate for this to get messy."

  Mira froze as she saw the bark shift ever so slightly on a nearby tree, whites of eyes just barely visible. Mira turned back to Memo just in time to see a dwarves man step out from the fallen tree behind the cowboy. His body seemed to merge with the tree making it very difficult to tell where one ended and the other began.

  Memo turned slowly, meeting the dwarvan mans gaze. "How about a parlay?" The dwarven man seemed to consider then nodded ever so slowly. "What I would like is to ignore bloodshed all together. Why don't you tell me why you and your friends," Memo gestured to the trees surround them, "set this little trap for us."

  The man's mouth parted revealing yellowed teeth with bits of flesh in between. "We encountered something of great..." The arrow pierced his throat and blood began to bubble from his mouth.

  ...