Adrian was stumped. He looked at the pursuers, and then at the person who was still running shouting for help. ‘Ah shi-. I messed up big time,' was the only thought that came to his head. Turning to the man who had been giving the orders, he spoke “It’s all a misunderstanding sir. I wasn’t trying to help him escape.”

“Misunderstanding or not! What do you intend to do about the extremely valuable package we lost because of you?”

Adrian clenched his fists and said, “I......give me till this evening, I’ll definitely find the thief and capture him along with your package. I promise it’ll be in your hands before the sun sets.”

“You think, we are just supposed to trust you after what you have done?!!” the swordsman at the front retorted back.

“Hold up. Let him speak.” The man who looked to be incharge turned to Adrian. “My name is Matrin and I am the vice president of the United Merchant’s guild. The package that the thief stole was extremely important to us to say the least. What proof of trust can you give us that we may put our faith in you. What guarantee can you give us that you won’t simply run away when given the opportunity?”

A thought crossed Adrian’s mind as a grin naturally formed on his face, “Rest assured for I, Adrian Ainsworth, do not go back on my word. Furthermore if you think the apprentice of the wind Paladin would ever break a promise, then you are highly mistaken.”

Silence fell upon the group as all the men looked at him, with the noises of the crowds in the market being the only thing audible. 

The entire mob broke into laughter and even Martin couldn’t help but let out what looked to be like a restrained smile.

“An apprentice of a paladin he says.” The group continued laughing.

“The wind paladin nonetheless.”

The crown continued to jeer. As their laughs became more hysterical.

“Come on kid, if you are lying at least come up with a better lie. Hahaha. Oh my stomach hurts!!”

“My two year old child tells better lies than him. Hahahaha”

‘Can two year olds even speak?’ Adrian thought but decided not to comment.

“Now now, men, calm down.” Martin started with an angry and dangerous tone to his voice, “Do you take us for fools, or do you simply have a death wish? It's public knowledge that the wind paladin has never shown interest in taking an apprentice. And you think he’d take in such a fool as his student? A true apprentice would have been able to stop my men without even having to draw his sword. And what would the apprentice of a Paladin even be doing out here in this city?”

Now Adrian was in a fix. He had never thought about the possibility of them doubting his words. He had been an idiot in the truest sense. Giving out a sigh and still maintaining his composure, he said “Believe what you want to believe. I have promised you that I shall return your package by sunset, so I will do just that. In case I fail, you are free to take action against me. My master and I are travelling together to the Citadel right now and we had decided to stop here on the way. If you so desire it I shall take you to him.”

“Hmph. Arrogant brat thinking he can use a high title to scare us. He is even desperately bluffing that the Wind Paladin is in this town. Let’s see him make a fool out of himself!” the men commented to Martin without even giving the thought that Adrian could still hear them. Martin however maintained an air of composure as he eyed Adrian warily before signalling his men to be quiet.

“If you are able to prove your words then we shall take you up on your offer, however if you can’t, you will have to hand over all your belongings, along with that sword on your back.”

This sudden proclamation surprised Adrian, but he quickly calmed himself down. After thinking for a minute he turned to meet Martin’s eyes, “If that’s what it takes, so be it, But i reckon you won’t need to take anything from me.” And with that Adrian turned leading the men to the inn.

“Follow him, men. Let’s meet the paladin of the wind today.” Martin uttered with a sneer.

The group made their way through the market roads, working their way towards the inn, the crowd normally would have been a hindrance to travel through but the people made way seeing the mercenary group. ‘Great, more attention, just what I needed’ Adrian sighed as he turned the corner leading to the inn.

However as they were nearing the Crivelwolk inn, Adrian noticed that Aero was talking to someone on the street. Adrian immediately called out to Aero, waving as the group made its way to him. The robed man Aero was talking to however turned and left as they were approaching. Aero turned to face Adrian as he gave a surprised look seeing him accompanied by so many men.

As Adrian arrived near Aero, with shaky breaths he exclaimed, “Hey Aero, uh, something happened.”

“Something?” Aero looked at him suspiciously, “Spill it kid. What trouble did you get in this time?”

“So you see these guys? What happened was...” and Adrian explained the entire situation to him, as with every word Aero’s face grew more irritated.

“So he really is the apprentice of the paladin.” At this point Martin was staring at Aero with respect and reverence in his eyes. It must have been his first time seeing a paladin as he looked to be in awe.

“Well kid, if you have stirred up trouble, then you gotta take responsibility. Go fulfil your promise. Merchant,” Aero turned to Martin as he continued, “You can be assured that as a representative of the church he will keep his word.”

“If you say so Sir Aero. We shall trust you. Adrian Ainsworth, please deposit the package at the town’s guild in this town before the sun sets. We shall await your arrival.” saying that the group left after giving a subtle bow.

“That aside, what were you even doing here?” Adrian asked.

Aero clicked his tongue with an annoyed look, “Before you disturbed my peace of mind? I was making a deal with this here gentlem- huh?”Aero exclaimed as he looked around, “Strange, looks like he left already.”

“Wait.......What exactly did he look like?”

“ Well you know a bearded man with a white turban. Chubby face and brown eyes. He seemed out of breath but considering the wares he had to offer.......hold on a moment. Was he possibly the one you were chasing?”

Adrian scrunched up his eyes in frustration as he ran off to the direction the man had taken off to, not paying attention to Aero as he shouted out for him.

Adrian ran through the busy roads, making sure to keep an eye on every person he ran across as he quickened his pace to catch the thief.

That's when his eyes fell on the robed figure. A smirk crept on Adrian’s face. ‘Got you now.’