"Looks like we found a path for carriages."
Twiiii!
Bliss agreed with my thoughts. Although the dirt road was overrun with weeds and wildlife, there was definitely a path with ruts in the ground where a carriage had passed.
"Clearly this is not a main road, but may be some kind of back road from a town or city. Hopefully this means we are close to civilization."
Twiiii! Twiiii!
Although Bliss and her shouts would sound the same, I could better understand what she meant by her tone and the feelings that were received through our bond. You could say that we had an empathic bond.
"Well, we have two choices in path. North-West or South-East?"
I considered both directions. The reason we came south was to get off the mountain and towards a city. But if there is a path going back north, doesn't that mean there must be a destination on the mountain itself? With that shaky bit of reasoning, I decided it was enough to take our journey back to the North-West.
Walking a somewhat groomed path was much easier than journeying through the forest. I was glad to have this road. My senses were geared to pick up sounds within a mile of us in any direction. I started to pick up the sounds and vibrations directly ahead of us. By focusing my senses in that one direction, I was able to identify four horses and many people. Most of them were quietly riding the carriage and leading the horses. But one of them seemed to be striking against something metal and was crying. Could it be?
I strongly disliked the idea of facing villains in this isolated area. If my senses were correct, three individuals were in some kind of cage. The other carriage was clearly weighed down by gold or other metals. Both carriages were covered in cloth, so I could not identify as much as I would have liked. There seemed to be 7 or 8 people ahead. I decided to hide in the nearby bushes. Direct confrontation might be a dangerous situation – especially if I were to fight 5 people.
Skill Acquired: Presence Detection Lv. 1
Skill Acquired: Improved Perception Lv. 1
Several minutes later, the two carriages came into view. The horses seemed tired. There were 4 individuals leading the horses in front of both carriages. They did not seem to be having a good day. The individual with white hair was clearly some kind of rabbitkin, since her ears were standing out. The two with orange hair seemed to be related, perhaps they are catkin? The one with black hair was in a cloak, so I couldn't make out much about him. As the group got closer, I noticed a glinting metal on the necks of a few of them. Slave collars, I knew it! I really hoped I wouldn't encounter slavery in this fantasy world. The guidebook that I was given upon my arrival said that the majority of cities have outlawed slavery, but I guess there is still an underground market for it. I couldn't see any of the other passengers, but suddenly heard a voice from the back of the heavier carriage.
"Hurry it up! We're still 5 days out from Lizala and we need to make our appointment!"
Even as I observed the place where the voice originated, the shadows seemed to be playing tricks. I couldn't locate exactly where the person was, but I did hear a scraping noise of something – his leg? No, it must be his tail. I guessed that the voice must also belong to a beastkin.
I decided to start by stopping the horses. I got as close as I could to the road without being seen and projected a barrier in front of me. This caused the horses to bump into the barrier. To their credit, the horses did not seem to panic. In fact, they seemed too tired to do anything but stop in the road. 3 of the 4 horses decided that this was an opportunity to lay on the ground. They must have been riding a long time. The carriage passengers seemed confused, while the leader from the back shouted in outrage. I took the opportunity to cast Analyze Vision on him as he approached the horses.
Name: Monte
Race: Lizardman
Occupation: Shadow Thief and Trader
Level: 31
Level 31! That would make his stats at 72 each, at least! If he had any perks or skills that boosted them, his stats might be even higher. I decided that fighting Monte the lizardman directly would be a dangerous thing. I wasn't brave enough to face this opponent when I had lower stats. My strength was only 42 and my constitution was 53. I honestly did not want to take the risk with Monte. I put together my plan. As a precaution, I placed Bliss down in the bush where we were hiding.
"Stay here, just to be safe, Bliss."
Bliss nodded but did not make a sound. She was quite intelligent, not to give up our position to the shadow thief. While Monte shouted at the exhausted horses, I first ducked into the nearest covered carriage. This one was filled with gold coins and metals. The metal bars seemed to have an insignia of a dwarf on them. It was obvious where these came from!
I pushed everything in the carriage into my Storage. I jumped into the other carriage, slowly approaching the locked cage inside it. In the cage were 3 young-looking dwarves. I decided to try a new trick I have been practicing. Using flame vision, I focused the beam of heat to be as small as possible. This narrow beam struck the padlock on the cage door with great intensity. The three dwarves were shocked to see my figure appear when I did. After a mere 5 seconds, the padlock fell apart. Before it could strike the ground, I pulled the lock into my Storage. How convenient.
I whispered to the dwarves, "Quickly, head to the back of the carriage and hide in the woods. I will help you get back home."
The 3 victims looked at me with a bit of hope in their eyes before they ran into the forest. I grabbed all the remaining supplies in the carriage before heading towards the back exit. Unfortunately, life isn't that easy.
"Where do you think you're going?", the shadowy voice spoke with a menacing tone only a few feet in front of me.