The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

[20] A Real Caravaneer

Freja woke up to the sound of Wyatt and Caleb, the goblin brothers, complaining about having to clean up the campsite so early in the morning. She was in a small one person tent and even had a sleeping roll lent to her by Sabec. Bjorn was curled up with her though he was already awake. She had to force him inside the tent when they went to bed as he wanted to stay up and guard her all night. She doesn’t know if he actually got any rest but having him with her helped. 

Now that she could feel his emotion through the familiar bond she knew he was apprehensive but not hostile to the people in the caravan. She felt about the same but mostly felt thankful they had been treating her so well. With the new perspective into his emotions he felt more like a father figure always looking to protect her. Given the fact that he had been doing that since he was born it was no wonder he felt that way. She hoped being in the caravan would allow both of them to have some normalcy for a change. She knew damn well she was ready for something normal. 

She reached for her glasses pleased with the runes carved onto them that had protected them all this time. She crawled out of the tent and stretched, Bjorn did the same thing. The goblin brothers approached but not for her which she didn’t mind as goblin males were not handsome. They were known for their appearance being an acquired taste to most other races. Goblin females loved every bit of their partner's ugliness and in fact have not been known to date outside of their race. 

The brothers are more easily distinguished by their hats. Wyatt always seemed to wear a brown fur hat while Caleb wore a blue leather one. They pulled out jerky from their pockets and ran over to Bjorn. They only seemed to notice Freja after he walked around her and they nearly ran into her. 

“Oh, good morning, Sif.” Wyatt said. “Can we give these to Bjorn?”

“Good morning, let me see it.” She said as she held out her hand. “What is it?”

Wyatt handed her one of the strips, “Chevon jerky.”

Freja smelled the jerky and bit off a small corner, her teeth easily slicing through the jerky like scissors. She then handed it back to the waiting goblin. 

“It should be fine if he wants to eat that is.” Freja said.

Freja stepped aside and the two boys reached out their hands for Bjorn, each head took one of the strips. The goblins lit up with excitement, their long tails wagging in the air.

“He is so cool, what is he?” Caleb asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Freja shrugged. “I couldn’t find anything on him in our bestiary. He is only about a week old though so he is probably going to get very big.”

The boys continued to ask questions about Bjorn. How big is he going to get, is he venomous, can he breathe fire or something, and why does he have two heads among other questions. Freja told them that he was venomous and that, yes, she found out yesterday he does in fact breathe fire. She kept the fact he grew a second head after being decapitated to herself.

“Since you don’t know what he is, you should talk to Joha. He knows a lot about monsters.” Caleb says with a snap. “I think he used to hunt them a long time ago.”

The boys wanted to ask more questions but their dad, Owen, quickly found them and told them to get back to work. Freja looked around and it seemed like everyone was already awake and packing up their campsite. She saw Joha walk off to where he tied up his horse. Freja knew she needed to get to work too, so she could ask him later. She started by disassembling her tent and folding up the cloth. 

Everyone's wagons were different. Sabec had the least impressive looking but largest standard merchant wagon. Cloth top on wooden frame but with some notable reinforcement runes carved into the wood. It would make the wagon much harder to damage and allow it to carry more cargo as long as he had the horse power. Which he did, there were two healthy chestnut colored horses.

Joha’s wagon was by far the most impressive and also the smallest. His was colorful with exaggerated lines and curves following the motif of a different culture than what Freja was used to. It was all wood and metal with a double door on one side like what she would expect on a carriage not a cargo carrier.

The goblin family had a large wagon that looked like a big wooden box on wheels. It was all natural colors, fully business and no pleasure. Freja knew they were all merchants but realized she didn’t know what any of them sold. She would have to ask about it later, for now she summoned her wind hands to help her carry everything to Sabec’s wagon. The large gnoll was in the process of hooking up his horses when she approached.

“Ah, good morning, miss Sif.” Sabec says. “How did you sleep, hmm?”

“Best sleep I have had in days honestly.” Freja responded. “Where do I put this stuff and I am ready to help.”

“Sabec will show you, yes?” He said as he finished tightening the straps on the horse. “Come with Sabec and watch your step.” He said as they walked along the side of his cart.

“I know you all are merchants, what do you all sell?” Freja asked.

“Sabec sells tools. Wood, iron, steel, and orichalcum for any need. All orichalcum tools are enchanted.” He  noted Freja perk up a bit at the orichalcum. “Wendigo loves enchanted tools. They have a large population of those who can use magic, yes?” Freja nodded and Sabec chuckled to himself. “Joha sells spices from his homeland. You liked the food yesterday, it is because of some of his spices. The goblins, they sell a little bit of everything. Sabec doubts all of it is legally acquired goods so watch your things. They have not stolen from Sabec, but I catch their scent around my cart time to time.”

“They are thieves?” Freja asked as she looked over to her bag that she left out in the open.

“Sabec is not sure these are only observations.” He said dismissively. “Children are curious are they not? The goblins have two and they like to snoop.”

She believed Bjorn must have picked up on her concern through their bond because he ran over to her stuff and inspected it. She turned her attention back to Sabec as he opened the back of the transport. Inside was filled with shelves stocked everything from hammers and nails to saws, anvils, and farming equipment. He jumped up the four or so feet in a single bound and Freja had to use her mana muscle saturation to do the same.

Mana Muscle Saturation
Magic cost: 1
Push your mana into your muscles and bones to temporarily increase your physical attributes.

“You will be riding with Sabec on our journey.” He says as he points out a space for Freja to place the folded up tent. “Sabec is the only one with space for an additional rider. Go bring your things, we will store them now.”

Helina was cooking breakfast over the fire for her family. It was a mixture of sausage, potatoes and manchet bread. Bjorn laid down across from her, angling himself so he could see Freja and Sabec and react quickly if he needed to. He felt like he was just being cautious about meeting such nice people out on the road. Owen walked up and kissed Helina on the cheek.

“Almost ready?” He asked.

“Only a few more minutes dear.” Helina stated.

“What did you find out about our new guests?” Owen inquired.

“Wait, shh.” Helina stated. “Her familiar is right there.”

“He's delta at the most.” Owen with a dismissive chuckle. “No different from a regular pet right now.”

Helina looks at Bjorn for a long moment then sighs. “She is definitely on the run, at first I thought thief, or common criminal. Her staff and knife are druid made and I think she killed someone to get them.”

“Hmm… That could be trouble.” Owen said in a long breath. “You think she is a deserter from that war they're fighting again?”

“Does she look like a fighter to you?” Helina asked sarcastically. “No, I don’t know how she got the weapons but she definitely used them on someone or something recently. I think it was her first time too. I’ve seen eyes like hers when she first arrived.”

“Yeah, I was worried about that.” Owen said as he got much closer to his wife.

She playfully nudged him with her tail. “More importantly I remember that uniform she is wearing. Some magic academy in the Salstar domain. She said she was kicked out of her family, the shiagaunt thing they do to failures or whatever.”

“Hmm. It's a shame they do that to their own like that, but it does mean no one is looking for her.” Owen said as he rubbed his chin. “Let’s see what she can do. She just survived a harrowing experience after all. We can let her see what it is like to be a real caravaneer. No reason to rush things.”

Bjorn continued to lay there acting as if he could not understand them. The two goblin’s conversation quickly shifted to bedroom fun as they got a little too frisky for Bjorn’s liking. He chose a time in which Freja was walking around to get up and leave inconspicuously. He knew he was going to have to watch the goblins a little closer now.

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