Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman who was born in a family of merchants. She lived her life simply and happily, following her parents around the country as they traded silks and spices. Along the way, she would make friends with nobles in numerous countries and fall in love with a hired guard that travelled along with them. Once she reached the age of seventeen, her parents gave her a choice; she could continue travelling with them or she could use the connections and experience she had gained from her childhood to become an independent merchant. Filled with a childish excitement, she immediately set out on becoming an independent adult, looking forward to making a name for herself as a prodigy.
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"Have you made yourself a bank book? It's important to keep tabs on things."
Grace nodded towards her mother who lovingly stroked her daughter's hair.
"Do you have your destination charted out properly? Did you double check that you have your map and compass."
Grace quickly jumped up onto the driver's seat of the carriage and opened the drawer installed into the footing area, pulling out a freshly printed map and a shiny new compass, showing it to her father.
"I'm still nervous about letting you go…"
"I'll be fine!"
Grace jumped down towards her father, her arms wide open, pivoting around his neck and making a full circle around him. He returned the favour with a large hug, enough to last the many months they would be apart.
"I still don't like the idea of you and that Furra boy be…"
Grace quickly put a finger to her mother's lips, both giving one another a disapproving frown. They froze for a moment until Grace melted the atmosphere with a nervous smile. She wrapped her arms around her mother's sides for a warm hug, with her mother giving in quickly and returning the gesture.
"I still want to make sure you're hiring other guards. Safety comes in numbers, after all."
"Don't worry mom, they're at the front gates waiting for me."
"Well, best you be on your way then."
Grace released her arms, but her mother took a moment to hold her tighter than before, until she quickly realised that her words and actions didn't match. Once the hug was over, Grace quickly hopped up onto the driver's compartment, grabbing the reins firmly with two hands and checked the cargo behind her. From a glance, everything seemed to be in place; all there was left to do was to leave. She took one final moment to wave at her parents before heading out in a completely focused silence.
As she reached the front gate of the town, she came to a slow stop, her horses obeying her commands as if they were a part of her body. After a few seconds, one person jumped up to the driver's carriage wearing a sturdy cloak and with the jingle of chainmail following them.
"Alright, let's go."
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The girl and the guard left as a pair with the blessings from her parents. She had been given enough money to kick start her business and with it she purchased a carriage, a horse and her first load of cargo, carefully handpicked by her from suppliers she had connected with over the years. Ignoring her mother's warnings, she decided against hiring any more guards, viewing her upcoming travels wit her beloved as an early honeymoon.
For about a month their travels were smooth, with the girl making a good amount of money from mimicking transactions she had learnt from her parents. The guard fought off a few wolves here and there, but there was nothing that was too perilous for the sole warrior. They were happy, at least, that's how it seemed.
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"Furra. Bandits."
"I'm on it."
The guard quickly jumped down, his jewelled plate armour granting him a less than graceful landing. Barely managing to keep upright, he reached for his sword, unsheathing it and letting the sun reflect along the polished blade.
"You look so dazzling, honey!"
The guard turned and smiled and she smiled back, waving as he ran towards the skinny, unarmed bandits. With a sword in hand he charged forward, swinging his blade with deadly accuracy, taking out bandits one by one. Soon, he left behind a small trail of corpses, but there seemed to be no end in sight; more bandits continued to appear and attack with daggers and spears. Soon enough, his movements became sluggish and slow and weighed down by armour unfamiliar to him, he collapsed to the ground.
Grace looked on in shock as the bandits gathered around Furra's body, one with a large rock in hand. Without a word spoken between them, the four bandits each pulled on one limb of Furra's body, stretching him out and leaving him vulnerable despite his effort to shake them off. A moment later, the bandit with the rock smashed it on Furra's body and he flopped onto the ground, limp and lifeless. Almost immediately, the numerous bandits crouched down and began taking off the armour piece by piece, with a particularly tough looking bandit picking up the sword and inspecting the blade.
Shock, confused and enraged, Grace ordered her horse to charge forward. The thumping of hooves and the imminent threat of being trampled was enough to dissuade the bandits from looting momentarily, but as she came closer a crossbow bolt sunk into the side of the animal. The horse screeched in agony and the carriage began to topple from its erratic movements, the cargo beginning to spill out of the back as it all tipped onto its side. Grace landed on her shoulder, the shock rippling through her body and leaving her temporarily numb; but that was enough to see the bandit with the sword approaching her and to understand that she was about to be knocked out.
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About two months after setting off, the two of them encountered a fearsome group of bandits. Thanks to the pair's foolish confidence in their expensive gear and Furra's swordplay, they were outnumbered and overpowered within minutes. The bandits stole the cargo, they stole Furra's equipment and they kidnapped Grace, selling her to a factory owner who worked her like a slave. For years upon years she maintained sowing machines, unable to escape the meticulously crafted cage that was the factory. For each cheaply made shirt sold she would make nothing more than enough food to barely keep her alive and enough close encounters with death to scar her for life. Her natural beauty faded into the coal dust and her dream slowly drifted away like fumes, with the only thing growing inside of her being her desire to escape and her contempt for humanity. Five years later, she had her chance; a sewing machine exploded from poor maintenance, causing a fire evacuation that even the owner couldn't ignore; finally, the large metallic doors were open and she had her chance to escape. Almost immediately, she ran into the forest, ashamed of what she had become and her distrust in others fuelling her desire to escape. In the forest, she would manage to avoid the monsters that lurked, but without the proper knowledge a merchant was sure to starve.
And she did.
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"Hey! Neat!"
Nem skipped over to the body slightly to the left of the path he had already been taking, with Venius behind him eager for his next meal. The man crouched down towards the corpse, quickly turning around to see its face; her face was stained in black spots and her hair was dark and greasy, with her body thin and frail, almost as if a light tap could snap her limbs. Venius poked his head over Nem's shoulders, curious to what was going on.
"Hmmmmm."
Venius chimed in with three croaks of descending pitch, pointing towards the corpses face with its tentacle.
"I mean, that's true… but I don't think beggars can be choosers. Let's grab it on our way back, we can put it up to try and maybe wash out the grime."
Nem stood back up and continued onward, with his monster friend following close behind.