"Ah, you are the one Old Jiao asked me to look out for, huh," Merchant Wang called out amicably.
It had been half a day since they began their journey. When Duncan arrived at the town square he was promptly assigned a cart to guard along with an old timer by the name of Tang De.
Tang De was a gruff man with dark hair and greying beard. He looked as if he was nearing thirty-five. Being a veteran caravan guard, Tang De took him under his wings and explained their responsibilities in his usual gruff manner.
Duncan didn't mind his gruff tone as he had prior experience with dealing with gruff miners. As the day progressed, Tang De told him about what kind of things to watch out for and even gave him some tips on how to act.
Their conversation from there flowed towards their life experiences. Tang De regaled him with the few battles and confrontations he had been in and Duncan, in turn, told him about his mining days.
As Duncan greedily listened to Tang De's tales, Tang De had a rather good opinion of Duncan. Duncan would occasionally ask some questions causing Tang De to explain further. The more the veteran talked, the less gruff he became.
By half day, it could be said that Duncan had developed a tiny amount of rapport with the veteran. His experiences in the mine also paved a way for a good impression as Tang De realized that Duncan was no stranger to hard work.
"Your Granny was right, unless you haven't stepped foot in the Starmist City, you will never know how big the world is. I myself come from the Painted Star Town, that's north of Starmist City. I started working as a guard when I was a little bit older than you. Let me say, the first time I say Starmist City, I was blown away because of how big it was," Tang De had said sometime into their conversation.
"But, guess what, the Starmist City is said to be only a small city. There are bigger cities out there if you know what I mean. Those things are called Provincial Cities. As far as I know, each Provincial City rules over ten big cities. And each big city has two or three small cities under its command. Can you even imagine how big those Provincial Cities are?"
Tang De told boggling Duncan altogether. He could hardly imagine how big they could be when he was told even small cities were dozen times bigger than the Starsinger Town he hailed from.
As they talked noon rolled around and the caravan was halted so that they could eat and stretch their legs a bit. Halfway through the meal, Merchant Wang came over to talk with Tang De.
Merchant Wang was a rotund man decked in fine garments. His mere appearance screamed wealth to Duncan. He was affable enough as he joked with the guards and always had an easy-going smile on his face.
"Yes, Merchant Wang," Duncan replied when Merchant Wang noticed him for the first time.
"What do you say, Old Tang? Does the boy have any promise?" Merchant Wang asked Tang De.
"He is alright. At least, he has the common sense to bring a sword. Not like those imbeciles that think a small dagger would save them. And that sword is a good one too. If I am right, it had seen some action too. The kid has potential, however, he isn't a guard material," Tang De said in his usual gruff tone.
"Oh, why do you think so?" Merchant Wang asked not bothering to pay attention to Duncan.
"When I talked about Provincial Cities, I could see the sparkle in his eyes," Tang De shrugged. "This one's got wanderlust. A very bad case of one I ever saw. Maybe when he settles down a bit he will have the proper mindset to be a guard."
"Ah, I see. It's a good thing for young people to have wanderlust. Make sure you don't lose yourself in that lad," Merchant Wang said patting Duncan's back.
"I will, Merchant Wang," Duncan replied humbly.
Merchant Wang moved on without any further delay. Duncan watched the merchant talking and smiling as he enquired about the day's events and gauged the people guarding the caravan. Later he moved towards the tagalongs who had joined the wagon and conversed with them.
It was an eye-opening experience for Duncan to see people from different towns mingle and travel together. On the second day, they reached a small village where they sold off some of their wares. Duncan was given some free time to roam around the village, which he took to gladly.
When it was time to leave, Duncan returned and the caravan once more set off. It was on the third day that Tang De started to become serious. Duncan took note of it and prepared himself for a possible conflict by unsheathing his sword and readying himself.
Tang De nodded in approval as he saw Duncan's actions.
"We will be entering a stretch of grasslands a few miles from here. It will last for half a day. If we are lucky we will not run into any bandits roaming around the grasslands. The grasslands are big and we will only be passing through a small part in the outer region," Tang De whispered to Duncan causing him to nod.
"Apart from bandits, you need to look out for wild beasts too. Some of them roam around in this area. If they see the caravan then they will definitely attack it. We can manage wild beasts easily, so no need to worry about them," Tang De said as he took stock of the surroundings.
"What about demonic beasts?" Duncan whispered back.
"Pray that we don't come across them. Normally, they will not roam around this region. They can be found only in the interior regions. We are in the outermost regions. So, the chance of meeting them is close to zero. But, if our luck is bad and if we end up meeting one, there is only one result – death."
Tang De said in a grave tone.
"Say, wild beasts, demonic beasts, and bandits, among this which is the worst?" Duncan asked curiously.
"Definitely bandits," Tang De said grimly. "We can handle wild beasts easily unless they are in a pack or a horde. Even then, we can defend ourselves and the caravan from them. If a demonic beast appears, then we are all going to die. There are no two ways about it," Tang De huffed.
"On the other hand, bandits are a different matter. They aren't the most dangerous, but they are the most vicious. If beasts attack us, it is simple. Either we die or they die. But, bandits are something very bad."
"Even if a Demonic Beast attacks us, some of us may escape it. But, bandits will hunt you down, torture you and play with you until you die. That is why meeting bandits are very bad."
"Can we defend against bandits?" Duncan asked.
"Of course, we can, but it depends on the number of bandits present in a group and the level of the bandits. Some experienced bandits are no less dangerous than Demonic Beasts."
"I see…" Duncan murmured.
Just then, Duncan noticed grasses rustling in the distance. He pointed it out to Tang De, who squinted at it before turning serious. He gave Duncan a jerk of a nod and began hollering.
"Wild beasts coming from the left ahead, prepare to defend," Tang De hollered and jumped off the cart.
The caravan was brought to a halt and the guards including Duncan rushed towards the front to defend the caravan from the wild beast's attack. Duncan wiped the sweat in his palm off by using some gravel and sand present in the earth and tightened his grip on the sword. Taking a deep breath, Duncan prepared himself to face off against the wild beast.
"ROAR"
The wild beasts have arrived.