Bandit numbers were rising as less and less people began traveling, and those who do usually came with lots of supplies. There wasn't much that could be done about the bandits, as they hid in camps in the middle of the woods, all having hounds of their own. Attack them, and you'd be facing people skilled in fighting, and hounds whose only purpose is to kill. Not to mention, the threat of demons coming up from your weaker, unprotected sides. No one was willing to risk it.
I don't know how far the man had travelled during the night, but I was glad to have at least got some rest. He must have thrown the blanket over me to keep me hidden, but I was surprised I wasn't attacked by them. I stood up to get out of the wagon, only to face a pounding headache in my left temple. My hand snapped up to touch it, and I felt a little dried blood.
I take back my previous statement, of course the bandits had attacked me. Probably to make sure that I stayed down, which would explain why I didn't wake up from it. I took a minute to look around, trying to see if they had missed anything. Sadly they were through and left nothing, so I slid out of the cart, and looked around. To my surprise, they had left the horse.
Out of kindness, and not wanting to be a bandit myself, I check the pulse of the man, confirming his was dead, before undoing his horse from the broken wagon, and mounting it. Taking off in a steady trot, I began my journey to the city of Yüblin. I was actually really glad to have obtained a horse, as it would be easy traveling in the future. The only issue being bandits attacking me, thinking that I was someone with some wealth. And if- no, when I disappoint them, that would be the end of me.
It took me a while to figure out how to properly get the horse to move, but I was quick to learn. I wished that I had some coin to buy some new clothes, but that was a luxury that I could not afford. Seeing that I was now on horseback, I figured that I was maybe a day and a half away from the city, rather than two or three. The horse showed no signs of becoming tired, and stuck to the path like it had travelled it a million times. I thanked the man for having such a well-tempered horse, and continued on my way.
Night came soon, and my stomach was roaring with hunger. I pushed on anyway, knowing that there would be plenty of food in the city. I realized that I had nothing to feed the horse, and began debating selling it off to a merchant. Then I could buy clothes and other supplies, and maybe stay under a roof for once. The horse huffed, slowing to a stop. In a panic, as it was dark, I kicked it and shook the reins, trying to get it to go again. It reared up before taking a few steps back, obviously spooked by something.
It took me a minute to work the horse into a trot, and the only thing I could hear was the soft screeches of the forest demons in the distance. A little scared myself, and urged the horse to go faster, and this time it had no problem with taking off in a gallop. We sped along the road, and the screeches of the demons grew louder and louder. At this point, I knew the horse was running for it's life. And I was glad, because mine was dependent on it as well.
We actually ended up passing some people, who shouted at me to slow down, but I didn't dare listen. The city lights weren't too far ahead, but that didn't want me to discourage the horse from running full speed.
We reached the city as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and only then did I slow the horse down. I rode into the city, the horse going slower than normal to take a breather after a full day's running. I felt bad for it, so I hopped off, and guided it to a small creek where there wasn't any people. It drank like no tomorrow, and I dropped down to my knees to do the same. After a few minutes, it lied down on the ground, and I sat down next to it, patting its fur, "thank you."
We lied there, napping for I don't know how long. Eventually the sun rose higher, and the city began to become more active. I checked on the horse, seeing that it wasn't panting anymore, and reluctantly urged it to get back up. I really began to wish that I could afford to keep the horse, but as the merchants began opening up their shops, I knew that it was time to part with it. I walked around the section of those who were selling animals, and learned that horses were going as low as a thousand neos, meaning I could make quite a large profit, as they weren't very well kept or had any outstanding traits.
I took a deep breath, and went to the first vendor that was open, offering ten thousand neos. The man looked at me, looked at the horse, and laughed. He immediately dropped it down to a thousand, and I simply walked away. The next vendor didn't laugh, but dropped it down to five hundred. It was irritating, that because I was a boy they thought I was stupid. It pissed me off, and so I approached the third vendor differently.
Accusingly pointing a finger at him and narrowing my eyes, I made sure he knew that I wasn't joking around, and that I wasn't stupid, "I've had enough crap with people trying to trick me, I'm not dumb, got it? I just want ten thousand for my horse, and I know it's not worth any less than that."
"Why is that?" The vendor, an old man probably in his fifties, leaned forward with a small smile.
I brought the horse closer, glad I was being taken somewhat seriously, "I don't have any hounds of my own, so when demons come, my only option is to flee. This horse detected them before I did, and got me to safety. Ran at full speed for longer than any other horse I've known of, and is able to carry a full wagon at a steady speed from town to town. It's a good merchant horse, I can tell you that."
"Hm," the man said, a smiling growing a little wider, "horses like that are hard to come by..." He pondered for a moment before nodding, "deal."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Someone said from a few people behind me, "horses like that are extremely hard to come by! Listen kid, I'll give you fifteen thousand!"
"Sixteen!"
"No, I'll give eighteen!"
And just like that, it became an auction.
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