Chương 43: 28. Don't Worry, It's Insured

By the time Amberlin found the caravan again, they'd already set up camp for the night. They'd reached a clearing just off the road and parked all the carriages and wagons around the perimeter, fencing the horses and mules safely in the center, where the animals slept peacefully beneath a patchwork canopy protecting them from the rain. Only half the caravan had fit in here, and the other half had set up at another site nearby. But Amberlin knew she'd found the right one because Havlo was here waiting for her.

"I'm so sorry," she said to her appentice, keeping her voice down so as not to disturb anyone's sleep.

"I meant to get back and relieve you from duty a lot sooner. But I kind of lost my bearing."

"It's all right," he replied.

"I'm guessing you didn't find the source of that light show?"

"No," she said wistfully.

"And they weren't kidding when they said that these hills are dangerous. On the way back, I heard the most terrifying roar. I seriously thought it might have been a dragon or something. Oh, but don't worry, it came from the other side of the hills, so we should be safe here."

"It's lucky you didn't run into that dragon." She would have liked to, and she might have sought it out, had she been traveling on her own. But there were too many people relying on her for her to go off on such a reckless adventure. Remembering something important, she scanned the clearing for their carriage and then made her way over to it. Havlo caught up with her and whispered, "I've already set up our tents. There isn't much space in the carriage, and it isn't that comfortable."

She opened the door at the back and saw her cat Boots sleeping in the same exact spot as when she last checked—atop a mountain of wool in the carriage's cargo hold. He yawned lazily, blinked at her a few times, and then went right back to sleep. But she wasn't looking at him. Her light spell had revealed a splash of blood on the wool that hadn't been there before. The driver stirred from his cab.

"Is that you, Miss Amberlin?" he asked groggily.

"Did something happen with Boots?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. You've got quite a warrior there, miss. He scared the bandits right off."

"Bandits?"

"There was a raid while you were away. Don't worry, the other guards were able to fight them off. No one was hurt—not on our side anyway. It was a small force. More of a probe really. Though one of them did manage to get into my cargo for a moment." She looked around the hold and realized, "There's something missing."

"There was a sack of medicinal herbs. I think it's the only thing they got out of their raid." She turned in horror to Havlo. He also appeared mortified.

"My apologies, Lady Amberlin. I stepped away from my post and allowed this to happen..." But she wasn't listening. Because it wasn't his fault. It was hers. She was the one hired to do the job. It was never his place to have to fight. She'd left her post and something was stolen. Her reputation was ruined. Who was going to hire her now?

"I've got to get it back," she said.

"Did you see which way they went?"

"Miss, they'd be long gone by now," the driver said.

"But I wouldn't worry about it. I heard that they managed to get insurance for all this. The trading company isn't going to lose a single copper no matter what happens." That's right. That rich guy she saved in the sewers had insured this caravan. The merchant wasn't going to ask questions because it wasn't their loss. And when the insurance company started poking around, she could just call in that favor. One good deed and one misdeed—it all balanced out, right? She allowed herself to relax.

Her adventuring career was off to a rocky start, but it was salvageable. And something good had come of it. She'd saved that girl from the kidnapper. But then something clicked in her mind.

"Did you say that they stole medicinal herbs?"

"Yeah. Lorelark is a major regional supplier in certain rare ingredients. There's a lot of things that grow well in Lorelark that are hard to find elsewhere."

"Ingredients like moonflowers?"

"I guess so," the driver said.

"I'm not an alchemist. It's all just herbs to me."

"I've got to get it back," she said.

"You just... you just said that a moment ago," the driver said.

"I've just been explaining that everything is insured—Oh!" There was the sound of a clap from the cab.

"You must be friends with the insurance guy. You're worried about him losing money?"

"I don't care about that guy," she replied.

"But insurance only replaces the money, it doesn't replace what is lost. I was thinking about the people who are relying on that medicine."

"Oh. I didn't think about them." The driver went quiet for a moment.

"Well, I didn't want to say this in case it might jinx us, but if it would make you feel better..." When he didn't continue, she prompted him with, "Yes?" A sigh came from the cab.

"I don't think that's the last we're going to see of those bandits."

"You reckon they're going to attack us again?"

"If they're probing us, it must be in preparation for a larger assault. I fear that tomorrow they're going to come in force. There are a few likely places they can set up an ambush."

"Then if we beat them, I can get the medicinal herbs back!" she exclaimed.

"Well, ideally they won't make an appearance at all. They'll only attack if they think they can win, and that wouldn't be very good for us. We'll be passing by a guard station in the morning, where we hope to pick up enough of an escort to deter the bandits from even trying."

"But you think they're going to try."

"These bandits are bold, capable, and well organized," the driver said.

"I'm afraid they might find extra motivation in the challenge." In the end Amberlin decided to leave Boots where he was and walked with Havlo to their tents.

"I'm really sorry I let this happen," Havlo said again.

"You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your job to stop the bandits. I put you in an unfair position."

"I'm your apprentice. I knew there would be fighting when I signed up for this."

"Why don't you get a little stronger first?" She climbed atop one of the carriages to watch out over the campsite. Scattered across the other carriages were the adventurers who'd pulled first shift on guard duty.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Havlo asked from below. She never needed to sleep anymore. It wasn't like her body or mind ever got tired. While she still enjoyed sleeping, she felt like she had to find a way to make up for how she'd messed up today.

"Don't worry about me, I just need a moment to work through my thoughts. You go and make sure you're well rested for the battle tomorrow," she instructed her apprentice.

"You sound certain the bandits are going to attack." She wasn't sure if she should tell him about the lizardkin she'd encountered in the hills—the girl who was trying to get away, and the bandit hunting her down. There was no reason to burden his mind with these sorts of matters. His mental energy should be directed to his studies. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Once Havlo disappeared into his tent, Amberlin gazed out into the night.

She really wasn't sure how to feel about her mistake. On the one hand, some medicinal herbs got stolen. On the other hand, she'd saved that girl's life. Would she do it all over again? As another flash lit up the sky, she hoped that the girl found some shelter from this rain.

A crash of thunder from outside rumbled through the cave. The good news, May-Lynn thought to herself, was that she was dry. She was getting rather hungry though. Being on the run, she hadn't had a chance to eat all day. It didn't help that the aroma of roasted rabbit wafted in from the mouth of the cave. The bandits had a fire going out the front, and it seemed that they'd had a very successful hunt today. She couldn't help her stomach growling, and the one nearest the entrance turned to look inside.

His eyes landed on her, and her heart skipped a beat when he rose to approach her where she lay.

"Are you hungry, little lizard?" the bandit sneered. She couldn't answer because her mouth was gagged. She also couldn't move because she'd been tied up. It was rotten luck being captured by these scoundrels so shortly after getting a lucky break. She didn't know who that lady was who showed up, but she was grateful for the chance to get away while the assassin was distracted. As much as she'd wanted to stick around to thank the lady, getting to Marina had been more important.

Being kept from helping her friend was the most frustrating part about being held captive here. But Marina had to be all right. She was the strongest warrior in the Draegorian Empire. She could take on fifty assassins and win—five was nothing to her. May-Lynn genuinely held this belief, but it was fragile, like it would shatter if she allowed herself to probe it too much. That's why she had to pretend that her current predicament wasn't so bad.

Like maybe the bandit would be nice enough to offer her some of that delicious rabbit haunch he was waving in front of her face. She could feel her mouth water.

"Do you know what we were talking about, little lizard?" the bandit asked, continuing to taunt her with the food.

"There's a group round these parts that's been snatchin' people up. Don't know what they do wit'em. But we's reckon if we can find 'em, they'd pay a pretty copper to take you off our hands." She hoped it was some sort of catch-and-release program.

"Hey, Picker's bleeding again!" another bandit called from outside.

"Bring some more bandages out here will ya, Dodger?" The bandit turned away from May-Lynn and called out to his friend, "Why don't we just heal him with those herbs he grabbed from the caravan?"

"It's got to be brewed first, fool. Which one of us is gonna do that? Do you know alchemy? Didn't think so. Now get out here with those bandages."

"I don't get how a cat scratch can cause this much trouble," the bandit muttered while rummaging through their supply stash. When he found what he was looking for, he took it out to the front. When she was alone again, May-Lynn continued to work on cutting her bonds. The bandits had forgotten to restrain her tail, and she could morph the tip into something quite sharp. It wasn't great for stabbing—it would hurt her more than it hurt her target—but wasn't too bad for slowly sawing through rope.

While she was at it, she had to keep a close eye on the bandits to make sure they didn't notice her tail moving. That's how she was able to see everything as it happened. Something dropped out of the sky right in front of the bandits. In an instant they were all on their feet with their weapons drawn. There was a bit of chatter and some raised voices. From that, she could tell that the new entrant was a woman. The discussion became heated very quickly, and one of the bandits pointed a finger at the woman.

Whether he intended to attack her or not, it wasn't clear, but this move turned out to be a fatal mistake as in the next instant they were all consumed by a [Firestorm]. Just like that, all the noises faded from the world save for the rain outside and May-Lynn's own heart pounding in her ears. She was holding her breath, hoping that this woman wouldn't see her. The woman turned and looked directly at her. And then started walking into the cave. She crouched in front of her and removed her gag.

"What's your name, little one?" She realized she was holding her breath.

"M-M-May-L—" She caught her tongue just in time. She'd almost told this scary lady her real name after Marina had warned her not to reveal it to anyone.

"Mayler?" the woman said. She tried to think of a fake name on the spot, but her brain wasn't working.

"May... L."

"Maelle?" She nodded. That was her fake name now.

"You may call me Rava." The woman cut her binds and helped her to her feet.

"Are you hungry, Maelle?" She nodded at the same time as her stomach growled. The cooking fire had been reduced to cinders, but it turned out that Rava didn't need it as she had enough control of her [Fireball] spell to have it hover in place while she pulled a frying pan out of her inventory and cooked them up some nice steaks, also pulled from her inventory. It was the most delicious thing Maelle had eaten since the palace coup.

The rabbits that the bandits had been eating were a no-go because they'd all been burnt to a crisp. Rava was an elf, or maybe a half-elf. Maelle wasn't familiar enough with the foreign races to tell precisely. But the way she'd cast that [Firestorm] earlier meant that she was Tier 6 like Marina. But Marina was still stronger because she was a warrior and not a mage, while Rava didn't look like much of a warrior. No one could easily topple Marina from the top of the totem poll when it came to battle capability.

Unless Maelle was missing something really obvious in her analysis.

"Where are your parents, Maelle?" Rava asked.

"They're... dead." It should be all right to reveal that much. It would be too easy to get caught in a lie when it came to something like this. Rava nodded solemnly.

"I thought so."

"You could tell?"

"I can see it in your eyes. You lost your parents recently, didn't you?" When she nodded, Rava sighed.

"The life of an orphan is hard. The world doesn't care about you, and you have to fight for every little thing that other people take for granted. Even when you find happiness, it can be so cruelly taken from you." She wasn't sure what to say, so she stayed quiet.

"I'm headed to Ardark," Rava said.

"You may join me if you wish." She shook her head.

"I have to stay here and find my friend."

"Your friend is in these hills?" She nodded.

"Then your friend is dead."

"She's alive," she insisted, and then shrank back when she realized that she was arguing with a woman who'd just roasted a group of bandits without a second thought. Rava said patiently, "This area is rife with bandits, and some modestly dangerous monsters roam these woods."

"I haven't seen a monster since I got here."

"Then you've been lucky." She firmed up.

"My friend is strong. She's still out there somewhere. I'm sure of it."

"And what about you?"

"I'm not so strong," she admitted.

"But I can't just wait around while she might be in danger." Rava gave her words some consideration before saying, "I'm too busy to help you find your friend, but you may take anything you need from this cave. It looks like the bandits managed to dig up my supply cache, and they've spoiled it quite thoroughly, but I noticed some bandages and feminine supplies left in there. There's also this that they've left behind." Rava held up the sack of medicinal herbs that the bandits had been discussing earlier.

She took the sack. Marina could be injured when she found her, and be in need of healing. While the bandits didn't know any alchemy, Marina surely did, and these herbs could come in handy. She also went back into the cave to pick through the bandits' stash—or she should call it Rava's cache—and added some bandages and a half-empty vial of ointment to the sack. All the other vials were completely empty, and some of them had leaked, ruining a lot of the other materials in there.

Once she was done, she bowed to Rava and thanked her for the meal.

"Not so fast," Rava said, and went over to the stash while Maelle waited nervously by the cave entrance. She'd been given the go-ahead to take anything she wanted, hadn't she? After some rummaging around, Rava returned with a large folded piece of fabric attached to some rope and metal hooks.

"Have you got space in your inventory?" She nodded and was handed the materials.

"You're going to need a place to sleep once you find your friend," Rava said.

"I'm not going to show you how to set it up, so figure it out yourself." She stowed the tent in her inventory and thanked her benefactor once more.

"One more thing," Rava said.

"Don't tell anyone about me or this place, or I'll kill you." Maelle quickly gave her word and then ran off in search of Marina. She still remembered where Marina had fallen from the sky, and this time made it there without incident. She knew she'd found the right place because it looked like the aftermath of a great battle. But as she picked her way among the charred trees, there was no sign of her friend. Rather than bringing disappointment, this gave her room to hope. Marina really was still alive.

She'd fought off the assassins and must be searching for her at this very moment. But these hills were vast, and the chances of them bumping into each other were slim. It wouldn't be so bad if she could fly again, as they'd be able to spot each other easily in the air, but her wings would need some more time yet to recover. And now that she thought about it, there was no guarantee that the assassins might not spot her first. Before the ambush, their destination had been the safe house in Ardark.

Now that she knew Marina was alive, that was sure to be where they would find each other. Remembering Rava's offer to accompany her to Ardark, Maelle regretted not taking her up on it. She considered returning to the cave, but it was a long way back—if she could even find it again. She'd been so focused on her search for Marina that she hadn't paid attention to anything else in this unfamiliar wilderness.

But most of all, the day's events had caught up to her at last, and her body refused to go any longer without rest. With the last of her strength, she unpacked Rava's tent from her inventory and began setting it up. At some point she must have decided that it was good enough because the next thing she knew, she was curled up dry while the rain continued to patter outside. Stoking the fire in her belly to warm herself up, she fell asleep dreaming of her friend.