Ryder and Faye continued along the road together. He told her that the road wasn't traveled often in recent days and that most people traveled along the south eastern road instead.
For the most part their travels continued unhindered.
After almost an entire day of walking, however, they spotted something heading their way along the road. Faye paused in her steps and considered looking for a place to hide, but Ryder didn't seem to mind the incoming cart. She quickened her steps to catch up with him, but still allowing him to take the lead.
He didn't seem to mind and started humming quietly to himself as the cart grew closer.
Slowly, it became clearer to Faye as she tried to make out what type of traveler it was. It was pulled by a single horse, and the cart was without a top. It seemed to hold a variety of bags and wooden boxes. There sat an older man steering the cart, with a large man sitting beside him. In the back of the cart was another man, who was watching Faye and Ryder as they grew closer, but didn't seem overly worried.
As the cart drew closer, the man controlling it slowed the horses into a trot before coming to a complete stop on front of Ryder and Faye.
"Hello~" the older man spoke with a slight lilt to his voice. He nodded to Ryder before smiling at Faye as if greeting a child. To be fair, she was much younger than any of those around her.
The man's eyes took in Ryder and hers appearance, clearly forming an opinion based of their dirty clothing and lack of grooming.
Ryder smiled as the man looked then over. "Hello there, might we trouble you for a spell?"
The older man returned his gaze to Ryder before glancing at the man next to him.
"You, uh, you two look a bit worse for ware, are you in need of any assistance?"
Ryder shook his head at the man's question. "We wish only for information and perhaps to buy a few things from you, kind sir. We've come from far, and may have something for tribute."
The older man's expression hardened for a moment but his smile expanded slowly. "Tribute you say? One has difficulty finding such things outside of the cities."
Faye listened to the two speak with each other silently at Ryder's side. She felt nothing was wrong with their words, but they sounded strange. Like they were almost rehearsed?
Ryder nodded and replied, "We have very little to trade, and no companions to ask for help."
The older man's eyes grew a bit less friendly as the man next to him stood. The man in the back turned around to watch. He had a piece of straw in his mouth that he'd been chewing on.
The only man replaced his smile once again. "Alright. What can we help you with?"
"Is the road clear ahead?" Ryder asked.
The man nodded in response. "There were a few wild hogs nearby, but they have since left. Aside from that, I am unsure."
Ryder nodded with a wry smile. He waved his hand to indicate the cart.
"Any goods?" The old man leveled Ryder with a stare.
"That depends....prices vary."
Ryder nodded again. "We are without gold at the moment, may we take anything in good faith?"
The old man furrowed his brows as the large man beside him scoffed.
"Only family and friends could receive such a deal." The man shook his head as he spoke. His eyes were less friendly as he watched and waited for Ryder's next move.
Ryder smiled again, nodded as if to say this was obvious.
"Then, the price for a friend of a friend?"
The old man seemed to not know what to say before laughing out loud. The man beside him huffed, but sat down once again.
The old man shook his head and waved Ryder off the road. Ryder gave a self deprecating smile as he motioned for Faye to step aside with him. They stood in silence as the cart passed them by. The man in the back gave Ryder a glare and spat on the ground as they passed.
Faye watched in confusion at her companions side. She waited for the cart to become smaller on the horizon before breaking the silence.
"What the hell was that?"
Ryder sighed and began walking along the road once again.
He shook his head as Faye fell into step beside him.
"That was us being lucky." He said with a sigh.
Faye tilted her head as her brows furrowed.
Despite seeing she didn't understand, Ryder made no move to explain further.
Feeling he didn't want to continue speaking of the matter, she decided to ignore the questions in her mind and maybe ask at a later date.
They soon found a suitable place to camp for the night. There were still mostly plains around them, but they found a place with two large boulders that allowed cover from two sides. Ryder began building a fire for the camp. With two people around and a fire, it should deter most creatures from disturbing them in the night. That didn't mean they were completely safe, not by a long shot, but they should be fine so long as the fire continued to put off smoke for most of the night.
That didn't mean they could rest easy without issue, however. Faye stayed up later than Ryder and awoke him for another watch in the night. They didn't allow themselves to rest until late in the night and then tried to stagger their sleep to have at least one awake for some of the night. That still left a large portion of the night where neither were awake, however....
Maybe it was because of her new found class, or perhaps it was just because she couldn't seem to allow herself to fall into a deep sleep without being sure of their safety. Whatever the reason was, Faye heard something in her sleep and awoke in the dead of night.