"Three silver that she won't be able to do it." Said a young, but burly guy in plain clothing. Next to him was a man, about twice his age, looking carefully, judging. He then tilted his head to the side, and nodded to himself.

  "Nah, three silvers that she'll lift it." As he agreed to the bet, they shook hands. Both of them had chestnut hair, the same face shape, and even similar voices. Might've been related.

  A groan, a strain, and a difficult lift. Inch by inch, I was lifting the cart, and I could see the two men's expressions show a lot of emotions. Seems like they both agreed that until the operation ends, the wager is on. Next to them, in his rich coat, stood the merchant who, instead of working, was looking, as if he saw a monster.

  "Can you put on the damn wheel?!" I barked in between heavy breaths. I wanted to curse him, these two village bumpkins, and myself for agreeing to help out with the wheel repair, but in reality I knew, I was the only one here who could reliably do it. And finally, after a few awkward seconds, the merchant knelt down, and grabbed the broken wheel, pulling it off the axle.

  It only took about a minute, but when finally the coast was clear, I slowly put down the cart, which settled down on the dirt path with a groan. And without much shame, I fell down on my ass, breathing heavily.

  "Damn you, old man..." The youngster wasn't happy, but he spread the pouch on his side with his fingers, fished the silver coins, and put them in the older man's palm. "But how did you know she'll manage?"

  The man gave me a knowing smile, before he turned over to his son. "Your so-called 'old man', has seen some world before he settled down. I know when there's some real potential before me."

  I didn't even listen to them, as I was far too busy relaxing now. In the last seconds, I really felt like I would drop the cart, and my bonus pay would be completely wasted. But then a shadow was cast over me, and as I looked up, a gloved hand was extended towards me. It was the merchants'. I grabbed it slowly, and let him help me up to my feet. He was completely amazed by my achievement, and showed it with his wide smile.

  "How did you do it? I thought we were gonna get stuck completely!"

  I knew sharing the full truth would be unwise, and I would probably not see him again, so instead I've said it in a dismissive tone. "I'm kind of special, nothing more than that."

  I then looked over towards the cart, which remained full of his goods. "At least your very pricy cargo is safe."

  The truth was, lifting the fully loaded cart was a stupidity, and a way for me to boast how strong I was compared to normal humans. But also, my way of securing myself a payment bonus. What he transported were jugs of oil. The cargo was very fragile, and any mistake during unloading could cost him a massive amount of money, and he was more than happy to talk about it for almost 10 minutes when the wheel broke originally.

  "As I said, the bonus will be paid once we deliver the cargo, so better hop up on the cart, and let's continue." Without waiting for me, he climbed onto the bench in front of the wagon, settling himself comfortably. I took a longer moment, as I had to pick up the sheathed sword from the back, and sat next to him, placing the weapon across my lap.

  By the time we arrived at the back of the queue, it was already noon. Five carts in front of us, and just as we stopped, the front one just moved through the gate. Seems it was not such a busy day for cargo transport.

  "After we pass the checkpoint, we're going straight to the warehouse district, so I'll ask you to stay at the back, and make sure that nothing happens to the jugs at the very finishing line, of our little journey, alright?" Merchant proclaimed, with a worried tone. By the look of him, I could tell that once already he's lost some cash at the very end, and didn't want a repeat. I simply nodded in acknowledgment, and kept calm.

  But as we waited for our turn at the gate, the silence caused me to wonder what to do after the job is complete. We were in Amandor, and as far as I could remember, they didn't have an inn specifically for merchants and mercenaries. That means I'll have to sit with the adventurers. My mood was already ruined, and I cringed at the idea of it, but there wasn't much I could do. I simply needed a place where I could potentially acquire myself a job contract, and leave. And under no circumstances starting a fight.

  Time passed slowly in silence, but finally we got to the front of the line, and the guard looked over us both, but kept his eyes on me for a bit too long for my liking. "Contents and name?" He asked, with a tinge of something I couldn't figure out in his voice. Was he annoyed, or stressed, maybe?

  "Three dozen jugs of oil. A-and the name's Harkon." The guard lifted his eyebrow, waiting, before the merchant continued. "Ah, yes, Harkon, with the Silver Feather company." And then finally, he produced a small pendant from under his shirt with said feather symbol. The guard then noted the information on the paper, and looked over to me. "And the lady?"

  "Security, and emergency repairman." I spoke with a bit of sarcasm, which wasn't to the guard's liking, but he only scoffed. "Any company, or independent contractor?"

  "Independent. Karya the mercenary. I've already sent my papers to the adventurers guild, they should've arrived by this point." After I had spoken, his expression changed to a pleased one. He turned over the page, and then next, looked for a name on a list, before he nodded. "Yup, you're in here. Finally, a merc that knows how to do their papers. In you go, stop before the plank." He pointed towards the wooden barricade that was at the other end of the gatehouse, where two other guards stood.

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  Harkon nodded politely to the guard and steadied his grip on the reins. The horses moved forward, and then stopped a few steps later, in front of the barricade, far calmer than the merchant, who constantly fidgeted in his place.

  "First solo round?" I asked him, and made him jump in place at my sudden question.

  "Umm, yes. So far, I've been going with my senior. Actually, on our last trip, I might've caused a bit of a mess at a loading zone, that's why I'm worried."

  I wanted to make a snarky comment, but then decided against it, and instead gave him a gentle pat on the back. "You'll get used to it. So just relax, and let's finish with this job, and eat something." He immediately cracked an awkward smile, and relaxed slightly. Stress was still there, but my reassurance helped a bit.

  The guards took their sweet time, as one of them wanted to check every single jar of oil, to make sure everything's in order, while the other one very much couldn't be bothered to do his job properly, and looked into every third jug. But after some curses from behind us, the guards finished the check-up, moved the barricade, and let us through the gate. The streets of Amandor were wide open before us.

  And as soon as we passed the gates, I did as he had previously told me to do, and got off the cart. I let it move slightly forward, as I stood in place, before I grabbed onto the back gate, and lifted myself effortlessly onto the back with one arm, as the other one held my scabbard. I wrapped the belt over my waist, buckled it up, and stuffed the rest of the belt over itself, in a small loop at the front, and everything was secured. I shook my hips a bit, to make sure everything was in order, and then crouched down at the back of the wagon, making sure that no jug falls over and breaks.

  The transaction was surprisingly efficient for the novice merchant. Hakon asked for the client, and in a few minutes, the man arrived, and he immediately showed what a rich burgher's attire was supposed to be. Where Hakon had a simple brown outfit, with the most expensive part being an embroidered green hood, with a clover pattern, his client was something else. Clean and well-made, dark leather shoes, red woolen hosen, a buttoned yellow doublet, and a yellow hat, with a peacock feather in it.

  And while they spoke about details, and most importantly - the price, I was much more focused on something completely different. Hakon's outfit was plain, but well kept, and most importantly, it fit him, unlike the other rich snob. The doublet was buttoned only around his chest and neck, with the bottom being completely loose, to allow for his sizable gut, to push through the space. The hat was the wrong shade of yellow, so it gave a really weird contrast between the middle, and the top, as if one part was brand new, and the other was years old. But the worst offender that I've noticed, was the fact that his hosen had a hole in it, at the side of the leg, right at the seam.

  "Miss Karya!" Hakon said loudly, waking me up from my imaginary picture, of the bright red hosen breaking all the way, from ankle to the hip. I looked down from the wagon and noticed that he had a small leather pouch, which seemed to be his payment.

  "Ah, I see time to get paid." I spoke nonchalantly, as I jumped off from the wagon, right next to him. "Let's find a good ale house, and you'll give me what I'm owed."

  He only nodded enthusiastically, and led us down the road we had just come from. I looked over the large wooden buildings, lining both sides of the road, noticing different coats of arms, or company emblems on each wall, signifying who they belonged to.

  "I have to admit, never seen a district specifically for warehouses."

  "That's because Amandor is a trade hub, and a lot of merchandise is stored here. Depending on the season and politics, cargo sometimes can stay here for months, before it can be moved." He spoke with a bit of pride, as if he intended to impress me with his knowledge.

  "The more you know." I simply replied, and cut the chatter short. I could feel dryness in my mouth, which wasn't exactly a thirst for water. I subconsciously licked my fangs, imagining a large piece of bloody meat at the butcher's, or a blood sausage sizzling in a pan.

  Luckily for me, as we walked for a few minutes, the sign of an ale house was visible across the street. A wooden sign, with a mug of ale, that was spilling its contents. 'An Abundant Tankard' was the name, and it immediately made me hungrier. We entered the building, and it was halfway filled with customers. Some were just there to drink and socialize with other attendees, some were there for lunch, and some for the business. Me and Hakon immediately went to secure ourselves an empty table, and I sat facing the entryway, with him opposing me.

  "So, let's talk business before we eat. As per our agreement, I'll pay you two gold, and thirty silver coins. With an additional fifteen silver as a bonus for lifting the cart." He spoke calmly, and was pulling coins from his pouch as he was speaking, now counting them in his hand.

  "Yup, just as we agreed." The pay was decent, and would allow me a comfortable living for a bit of time, though considering it's a trade hub, I expected much higher prices for anything, compared to a provincial town.

  Counting everything up took him some time, but in the end, he didn't make a mistake, and I happily accepted my money. I hid it in a small leather purse, that could barely hold that amount of coin, and hid it within my shoulder bag.

  After we finished doing our business, a young woman approached our table. She was a blonde, with a smile on her face and a cheerful voice. "Do you want to order something?"

  "I'll have a mug of ale, and the..." He stopped mid-sentence, as he looked over the bar, trying to take a peek inside the kitchen behind it, to see what was being cooked. And then I could see a shine in his eye. "Oh, is that a whole pig? I'll have the ribs then!"

  His reaction made me curious, and I looked over at the kitchen myself. The roast looked appetizing for me as well, but then I looked over at the bundle of dark brown sausages hanging right below the ceiling.

  "Also a mug of ale, and a few of those blood sausages."

  The girl nodded along, and walked over to grab our serving. I then looked back to Hakon. "But you're paying for my food as well, you know that?" And as I spoke, his smile immediately faded. He forgot that it was customary, that after an escort, the client traditionally pays the protectors for the first meal.