There once was a traveler keen,

Who roamed through the streets unseen.

With map in one hand,

And feet in the sand,

They found sights they'd never foreseen!

Goldie Honorhide.

It wasn't boots—it was leather vests. The general store had leather goods for sale, but there was not a great selection, and the tanner's husband could only make minor alterations.

"The thing with vests," Makara explained, "is that without sleeves, they can be a bit tighter without restricting your movement too much."

"I am not sure I can breathe too deeply in this," I said, wearing their largest one.

Makara looked at me. "Yeah, we might have to wait till we get to Becov and get something made."

"What about boots?" I asked.

"Do you want to wear boots?"

"Not particularly," I said.

"Me neither," Makara said, "but some more formal situations require them, and you can get quite comfortable ones. Another decision that can be left for Becov."

"None of these will fit me anyway."

Makara negotiated for food supplies for the trip to Becov and bought two packs to carry it in. She also bought herself a smaller pack and suggested I do the same. "You can carry more stuff than in belt pouches, but small packs don't hinder movements like those," she said, pointing to the large packs.

Everyone has this fixation on carrying more stuff with them. I don't know why. I guess I have a second set of clothes now, and I need to hold them in something. I shrugged and tried some on. The only one that would fit was halfway between Makara's small one and the large packs.

We got everything back to the Inn. Yoboc was not back yet. Goldie had left a message that she would be in the bathhouse for most of the day getting a massage and spa treatment, whatever that was.

I patted Felix. "What shall we do?" Felix wagged his tail. "Yeah, let's find somewhere to watch how people buy things. That seems important."

I left the Inn. Some temporary stalls were being set up in anticipation of the caravan arriving later, so I found a quiet place to sit and watch. I was near a corner of the Tailor's shop with the General Store across the street. There was a narrow alley behind me, and then a house next to it.

I realised it was not just a house. The two human ladies there received customers, despite no signs up. When a bearded human entered, I extended my aura to see what they were selling. It turns out they were selling mating services. I was not particularly interested in watching humans mate, although I guess I would have to do something similar if I were ever to mate in my humanoid form. It would be more straightforward as a bear. I shaped my aura to exclude the house, although my Hearing Aid still picked up some of the sounds..

Felix and I sat there for several hours just watching the townspeople go about their business and, in particular, how they interacted with each other.

Suddenly, it was like everything sped up. "The Caravans arrived!" Was the yell. A little while later, ten large wagons, each pulled by two big, heavy draught horses, rolled past me to the open spot near the other gate. Each Wagon had a driver and a guard, and the caravan master rode a horse in the lead. The wagons circled, and the drivers started unhitching the horses. Several people piled out of a covered wagon and began to collect luggage. That one must carry the passengers.

Some town guards arrived and talked with the caravan master. They then started inspecting the wagons. Maybe they are looking for some of those illegal herbs.

Once the guards inspected the passengers' documentation, some headed to the Inn, and others greeted people waiting.

Some of the wagon drivers seemed to be more than just wagon drivers and started organising things and inspecting the temporary stalls. Are they merchants as well? It seemed likely.

There were a lot more people around now. I think the townspeople had come out. Kids were running around. One of the merchants/drivers went into the General Store. I noted the Guards stayed around the wagons guarding their contents. I know that some people in this small town are willing to break the law, so some thieves will be around.

Looking at the guards, I am sure some of them don't have the Class, or maybe they have not been trained properly. I imagine it is not a high-paying job and probably not that dangerous on an established route. They will probably hire whoever they can. Should I offer to work on the caravan? It might get me a level for my Guard Class. I must talk to Yoboc about it.

Stolen story; please report.

One of the benefits of my training and the Guard Class is my increased situational awareness. My Void Sensing helps with that. In my defence, I have never worked in such a crowd before. My escape routes were blocked off before I realised they were closing in—all my escape routes except the alley behind me. Guess where they wanted me to go.

There were three of them, and one of them was the orc with the scars and knives. It might be better to start a fight in the street than get killed in an alley. I was about to step forward when I heard, "I wouldn't if I were you," from behind me.

The other end of the alley was outside my Void Sensing range when it was centred on me, which was its resting state. At the other end of the alley were two figures, and one had a bow.

Yeah, I thought, but I am not you. "Get Yoboc," I said, and Felix darted off as I dropped to a crouch and launched myself at the left-hand figure, hopefully putting the building corner between me and the archer. I didn't bother with a weapon, and I struck the human's legs, drawing blood with my shortened claws. I am keeping decent claws next time.

I didn't hear an arrow, so they must have declined to shoot. I tackled the man and went rolling on the ground, but this guy was a brawler. They might have expected intimidation to work, but they were used to violence.

Blows started raining down on me, and the other two were only steps away. I used Quick Claws and then Crushing Bite on a leg. I will keep my teeth sharper next time as well.

Unfortunately, I didn't push the fight into the street very far. I did draw some attention, but I was soon bundled into the alley away from it. They were hitting me, but no one had drawn weapons except the archer. I got a few claw strikes in and drew blood.

Eventually, I was thrown to the ground in front of the human who had first spoken. The orc tried to put the boot into me, but if you end up on the ground in a fight, you don't stay there. I rolled and went for the speaker. I had the advantage of Void Sensing and knowing where everybody was.

The speaker was quick and darted out of the way, but my real target was the archer. I got a fist to their head, and they dropped like a stone. I sprinted to the other end of the alley.

"Get him!" commanded the speaker.

They might have had the home town advantage, but I had a pretty complete map, and I could see around corners. The guy with the wounded leg was carrying the body of the archer and coming behind with the speaker. The Orc and the other humans were chasing me.

I ducked, and the stealthy human flew over my head from her roof jump. Unfortunately, she had a very high agility. And mid-flight, she threw a knife at me, and it was hard enough to pierce my Tough Hide.

I yanked it out as I darted around the next corner. My Hearing Aid heard, "I got a knife into him; he will be slowing up."

Goblin Shit. Probably poison. I focused on the knife wound in my upper arm and slammed Frigid Void on it. I didn't know if it would help, but it should slow the poison from spreading. I could probably take the two following me, but the quick one on the roofs worried me.

I was heading for the Guard Barracks, but I don't think I will make it—time to get serious and hit hard and fast. I darted around another corner and used my toe claws to slide to a stop in the muddy alley. My Breath Control stopped me puffing noisily, and I drew my knife. I could sense a couple of rats hiding in the rubbish nearby. It was a narrow alley with a stone building on one side and a wooden one on the other.

Something on the roof darted through the edge of my aura. I didn't have time to shape it and catch them because I could hear the others coming and breathing heavily. I monitored them with Void Sensing. My arm was aching, either from the poison or the slow circulation, probably both.

Just before they rounded the corner, I heard a "Wait…" from the rooftops, but it was too late. They were both in my aura, and I slammed Tremor into their minds with all I had. Mental Strength was the base attribute used to counter a mental attack. The Orc had plenty of it. Their race was known for it. My attack was weakened because of my low Mental Attributes. He barely stumbled, but it was enough for him to lose his footing on the slippery frozen surface of the muddy path—a product of Frigid Void.

The human was affected worse and collapsed, with his whole body trembling. He slid along the frozen mud, crashing into the orc. I dived into the pile of bodies, my knife moving fast, and Death Strike active.

Suddenly, I was booted backwards by a massive kick. It must have been a skill of some sort, and the orc got to his feet as I went skidding backwards. The human will never get up again.

I could no longer use my arm from the poison, and I think the kick cracked some ribs. The orc had several cuts that were bleeding heavily, but the blood loss was slowing as I watched—a healing skill of some sort.

I could hear the footsteps of the others coming, and the roof girl was trying to sneak up behind me for another attempt. Her stealth might be good, but she can't get past Void Sensing.

The Orc didn't give me time to deal with her as he was coming at me with his double blades. I backed up a step to give myself room and focus, and then threw everything into Frigid Void. I narrowed the target to freeze his heart specifically. The Orc had very high Cold Resistance, and I had to take another step back. He did not have extreme Cold Resistance. His face looked shocked as I stepped forward and used Death Strike to send my knife up through his chin and into his brain.

I stepped back as the orc collapsed at my feet. This turn of events was not what the rogue on the roof was expecting, and she paused her strike. I turned to face her directly. I couldn't see her, but I knew where she was with my Void Sensing. It took a couple of seconds, but then my Clearsight pierced through her stealth, and there she was poised on the edge of the roof to knife my back. I could sense her heart beating fast.

She slowly stood up and spread her hands in surrender. She took a step back from the edge but stopped when I said, "Antidote first."

People who use poisons usually carry antidotes, or their lives are typically short. Eventually, they will develop Poison Resistance at a high enough level, but she looks young. I could see her debating whether she could get away. She was fast. The roof was also slippery.

She pulled out a small vial of liquid and tossed it to me. I nodded, and she took off. The question was whether this was the antidote or more poison.

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