While preparing to head out along the south road, the boy saw a group of travelers that had come from the capital to the east and after resting a short while, where now starting to head to the south. There was a merchant, who had two teams, one with a freight wagon and another with a carriage. He was riding in the carriage with a few other people. There was another carriage, which the boy recognized as being something that must belong to a noble family. A wagon with a family of four, who seemed to be taking one or two people somewhere, seeing as how there was no way they were staying anywhere for long that little amount of luggage. There were some people, the boy counted 8, that were just walking along with the group, same as he was. There was also the 6 adventures that were probably hired as escorts for either or both, the merchant and the nobles.
A couple hours after leaving the border crossing, the group stopped for the night. They moved off the road a safe distance and set the wagons and carriges in a circle with the a couple of fires and the walkers inside. Of course, most everyone still kept to themselves other than some small talk here and there. The boy ended up setting his small pallet and pack further away from most everyone else, except it put him closer to the horse team pulling the wagon of the family of four. He stayed out of the fire light mostly, and even in the dark, he still had his hood pulled up. As he chewed on some dried meat and hard tack he had brought, he watched the others. The family he was next to, consisted of a middle aged man with a slightly heavy build. His wife who looked close to his age, and was also slight1y on the round side. A boy who looked too be in his early teens, if that. He had a thin build with a medium height. Lastly, there as girl who looked to be about 10 or so. She was petite and had the same auburn hair as the boy and the mother. The father had brown hair and beard with a salt and pepper mix of grey. The Father and son, made pallets halfway under the wagon, while the two females stayed inside the wagon, now that a canvas had been stretched across the support ribs. As the night grew darker and everything started quieting down, the 6 adventurers and two men that had been staying close to the nobles carriage, took shifts with nightwatch.
The next morning, when the light of dawn barely started to edge its way over the horizon, the boy was already sitting up and packing his pallet and bag, preparing for the day. One of the night watch who was the last rotation, walked into the camp, passing the horses close to the boy.
"You're sure up early," he said in a low voice directed at the boy.
"I just get up early, so I can get my morning routine done. That way I don't hold anyone up when we headout."
The adventurer watched him and nodded a bit, "The name's Frank. I'm actually from Tasklyn. I work for the adventurers guild there, and just happen to be on my way back from another job that took me to the capital. If you need any help with anything, or need help finding your way around Tasklyn, just look me up."
The boy nods at him before getting up and walking out of the camp and away from the road. The adventurer whatches him for a bit then turns to go wake up the other adventurers. He's a little surprised to see a kid like that taking his training serious while thinking of the other travelers who are complete strangers to him.
A while later, after a small cold breakfast, the group starts moving again. Frank looks around but does not see the boy anywhere. Seeing him looking back and forth and off into the trees behind where they camped at, the father of the family of four watches him.
"Did we lose something?" He asks Frank.
Frank turns to him with a half smile, "Not yet, I think. Just trying to see if that boy made it back in time or not."
The father looks around then back behind them. His brow furrows a little with worry. "Did anyone see him leave? Or know anything about him?"
"He was just getting up when I came into camp to wake up the others. Said he was going to go do his morning workout routine before we left, so he wouldnt slow us down." Frank kept looking around and continued with "I was hoping he'd be back before we started out. I'd hate to see anything happen to him, he seems like a good kid who actually thinks of others for a change."
The father eyes him a bit then looks back over his shoulder, thinking of the boy, He hadn't really paid much attention to him, until everyone started laying out their palletes for the night. It struck him oddly that a, what appeared to be a young boy, was traveling alone and kept a comfortable distance from everyone and somehow managed to stay out of they way at all time, yet close enough that his presence was still known, Now that he thought about it, the kid did move in a way that he was aways just out of anyones way. He almost felt like a ghost that glided along with them instead of actually walking with them.
Someone made a sound a head of them and when Frank and the father looked up ahead, they saw the boy standing on an outcrop of stone. He was silently watching them come up, and pass by the outcrop. He was perfectly still, just watching straight ahead of himself. Kinda creepy was the feeling both Frank and the father got from it.
"Bandits to the west. 10 of them. 4 archers, one axeman, 3 swordsmen and 2 that apear to be mages." The boys word startled everyone, and the adventurers moved to west side of the column, keeping skirted glances to the west.
"What are they doing?" Frank asked.
The boy hopped down and came up to fall in step between Frank and the Father driving the wagon.
"They're measuring us right now. I think they'll try something tonight. The tracksthey left behind us, showed they came up on our camp early this morning. Probably did not plan on coming across anyone at that time. If they had been earlier, they would have attacked. They see to be at low levels, so they won;t attack untill we have the fewest actuve guards."
Frank just eyed the boy for a minute without saying anything, then looking at the man driving the wagon, they both shook their heads.
"Damn kid, just whi are you? Not even some of the adventures with a little experience would figure out that much that quickly." He looked at the boy again, then said. "I'll go let the others no, we shouldnt have to be as worried about it untill tonight."
Frank then goes off to talk to the other adventurers leaving the boy keeping pace with the driver of the wagon.
"So boy. Whats your name?" Asked the driver.
"It's Luke, sir" The boy says with a slight nod.
"The names Henry, my wife is Emelda. Thats my son, Reginal and my daughter is ReiAnn. We're taking Reggie to the Tasklyn Academy."
Luke nods hearing that. "I'm headed there myself"
"Well then, you might as well be friendly and stick along with us. Maybe you and reggie will get along."
Luke looked back at the now uncovered wagon, seeing both the kids sleeping in the back. Emelda looked back at Luke and showed him a soft smile and a nod. He nodded back and turned to keep walking,
They stopped for a short lunch break at a small creek before continuing south. Luke had disappeared again during the stop and reappeared about 15 minutes after they started moving again.
"So, is there anything new?" Frank was standing with another adventurer as he asked.
"They're planning on hitting us an hour after the camp goes quiet. From what they were saying, they're planning on taking everything of value, loaded in one of the wagons. And taking whatever women and girls that dont get kiiled, to sell as slaves." Luke's response was in a low but firm tone. It gave the impression that he was more than a little upset by the idea.
"You planning on something kid?" Frank asks.
"They're pacing us. The 2 mages are in the middle, 4 archers ahead, Axeman is right behind the mages. The swordsmen are spread out behind them and 2 behind us. I'm going to move around the wagon, and out of sight of the ones behind us. I'll be back in a while." Lukes departure is so amoothly done that even with Frank and the other trained adventurer walking beside him, neither notices him leave. Its just like he instantly vanished. They look at each other with goosebumps running down their backs. How and what did he just do?
Its not the same as erasing ones presence. Though he could do that too. Luke has a unique skill, one of many he was born with. Though, some of them are actually blessings from the gods. The one he uses in times like this is called "Mind slip". Due to his demeanor and the way he moves, the skill lets him "slip out of someones mind". Its actually a passive skill, that is constantly in use, but it only shows its effect when he slightly changes his stance or movements from his otherwise normal movements. Because he moves in a ways that barely interferes with the environment and people around him. People are always at the edge of forgetting hes even there to begin with. So when he makes the shift to activate it, they forget he was there, until they realize he really is not there. Its also the reason he was able to get away from his home, and make it this far. Well, that and thanks to the help of his mother.