Currently one day of travel away from Chansa, on a popular traveling trail, there sat a merchant on a wagon. He was dressed in beautifully colored leather clothing, his white hair was neatly combed back and he wore a short yet stylish beard making him stand out from the masses. His face was not only clean but also nice to look at. His posture was straight like a candle despite his visibly old age and under his clothing one could make out a muscular built.

The wagon was carved out of a wooden material in an exotic orange color and the horses drawing the carriage had lime green patterns drawn on them, which would emit a faint glow once the night reigned in the sky. If one looked carefully while standing next to the carriage, they could see all sorts of colorful lights being reflected inside the carriage.

Everything about this man gave the unsuspecting onlooker a vague impression of trust and a high standing in society. Everything except his expression; he was currently making a scowling face, because his schedule had been delayed for a whole 4 days.

The merchant currently traveling to Chansa village was none other than Raylon Hawkinson, a veteran among the traveling merchants and a childhood friend of Hamish Altwald.

<<Curse you, Hamish!>>

Currently he was in a very tense state, because one of his prized horses had broken its leg on the way to his next stop. This had caused him to take a three-day break to apply the proper healing procedures to his horse and a one-day break to stop at a nearby village and stock up on rations.

Typically when planning a trip, he would only take with him a limited amount of food and water because a high amount of rations could go bad quite quickly and were a heavy baggage for his steeds to carry. The downside to that was his need to make unprepared stops to resupply rations in case something went wrong which delayed his schedule by a substantial amount.

<<I really need to end this relationship between us… Sigh, or not. >>

Truth be told, over the last few years ever since he changed his routing to go through Chansa village, accidents like this one happened more than just once or twice. At this point he had already gotten used to slight delays in his travels, all be it this was an extreme case among those.

He never really blamed his friend for persuading (begging) him on changing his route this way but it never hurt to let out some steam when one needed to.

<I wonder how he is holding up these days?>

The last time they saw each other was 8 months ago. It was supposed to be 4 months ago but Raylon had been able to get a big gig with a big guild during that time and was unable to come at that time.

The Hamish he remembered had already become an old man but even then, one thing hadn’t changed.

His eyes showed the pride he held in himself and his family.

They were the same eyes, when he confessed to Raylon’s first love, Theresia.

They were the same eyes, when Raylon bid the two of them farewell for them to move to a remote village.

<I oftentimes have been envious of you, my friend.>

But I always respected and admired youngest

After losing himself in his thoughts, Raylon got a hold of himself and continued his journey.

<I’m definitely overreacting.>

He made it seem like it was a one-sided favor from his side to change his route, but in comparison to his previous income, this new route actually provided a decent alternative. This was largely due to the nature of trade in outskirt villages. While the outskirts also used the Ayrillian currency, the Ayria,

their main source of economy came in physical trading. If they wanted a brush, they would trade a recipe for herbalists. If they wanted new sewing material, they would trade some of their finished products. If they wanted bigger and more expensive stuff, then the people would even trade entire animals for them. At one time, Raylon got two beautiful Ayrilian peacocks in exchange for an earplug

enchanted with earth spirits(He quickly discovered why the owners of the peacocks were this generous). Apart from that, the Chansa people were quite friendly and open to strangers, which was a welcome experience for Raylon.

Tomorrow morning, he would arrive at Chansa village. He was quite happy.

___

on the next morning...

Raylon POV:

I have finally arrived at the villages entrance. In front of me, the guards do their typical check-up.

<<It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Mister Braylon and Miss Breyla. How have you been?>>

The two of them smile a slightly strained smile

<<It truly has, Sir Raylon. A lot has happened since your last visit.>>

I am surprised by her tone of voice but before I can ask them, what they mean by that, I hear a small boy running up to me.

The one running up to me is Hamish’s grandson, Haja. Over the years, I have grown quite attached to the little man so I am quite taken aback, when I see his expression.

He isn’t happy at all, no on the opposite, he seems rather angry.

<<What’s going on, little Haja >>, I ask in a concerned voice

<<Why?>>

Tears are welling up in his eyes and it seems like he can’t decide whether to be angry or sad.

I decide that the situation is urgent and take a step toward him but he suddenly runs away.

I am left there, standing in confusion before Braylon, the guard comes over to me and continues.

<<You see, it’s about your friend Hamish.>>

He looks me straight in the eyes and says

<<He died. He passed away three days ago.>>

I can’t hear the rest of what he is saying as I stagger towards the seat of my carriage. Without listening any further, I drive my carriage in the direction of the Haja family’s house.