Yin had been almost too anxious to sleep, worried that he would sleep too late and would end up having to make the journey alone. Not only that, but Boss Jin had really gone out of his way to get him this opportunity, so he didn’t want to let the man down. Thankfully, he was able to get some sleep and woke up with plenty of time to get to the Tavern before day broke.

  Now dressed in one of the sets of clothes that Boss Jin had gifted him, the beige pants and shirt were well made and much better than his rags which he had discarded. Even if the clothes weren’t fancy for him, they were a treasure. Especially the shoes, it was such a great feeling not to feel stones stabbing into his foot repeatedly.

  As he made his way through the still sleeping town, except for a few farmers already out and moving he saw a row of wagons near the tavern. Boss Jin was there directing a few of the men of the Caravans where to set down different boxes and bags of goods.

  As Yin walked up. Boss Jin waved him over, next to him a man who looked to be a few years older than Boss Jin stood next to him. The man had the appearance of someone who had been on the road a long time. A tanned face, lean form and sharp blue eyes that seemed to always be on the lookout. The blue eyes stood out, certainly not a man from this area.

  “Yin, good you’ve made it. Let me introduce you to the head of the Caravan here Erik.” Yin cupped his hands and bowed to the Caravan leader. “Thank you for letting me join your Caravan."

  “No need for pleasantries with me. You’re here because I owe Jin a favor and because he said you would work hard. Do what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll get to Valecroft just fine.”

  Standing up as Erki spoke, Yin nodded at the man, appreciating the bluntness of it all. “I’ll make sure to work hard and not betray Boss Jin’s trust in helping me. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do.”

  Boss Jin laughed and gave Yin one last look and patted his shoulder. “Good luck. Now I must go but make sure you do everything Erik says.” With that the portly bartender turned away and headed to the tavern, leaving Yin and Erik standing there.

  “He’s always been a bit of a softy for young travelers. They remind him of his son; he left to become a wanderer. “

  That drew a look of surprise from Yin as he looked at Erik, then over to the retreating form of Boss Jin. “I didn’t know, he didn’t say anything about him.” Erik snorted and rolled his eyes. “Of course not, you haven’t known him long enough to hear him talk drunk about it. Now come on we got work to do so we can get out of here.”

  “Of course, what do you need me to do!”

  That reaction earned a nod from Erik, approving of the enthusiasm to get to work. “On the trip you’re going to be a guard. You’ll be part of the watch rotations, though I expect the paid guards to handle most of the fighting. You’re just going to be an extra pair of hands. Running to grab water, food, whatever those lazy bastards need. So, while we finish unloading you go find Captain Leif near the front of the Caravan.”

  Heading off immediately he headed towards the front of the long Caravan, on the lookout for this Captain figuring he would dress differently or stand out. It turned out to be quite easy, the man certainly stood out. As he stood head and shoulders above everyone. He was the tallest man he had ever seen and with the same type of blue eyes as Erik.

  “Captain Leif, my name is Yin. I've been told to check in with you as I’ll be part of the guards for the caravan.”

  The tall man looked down at him appraisingly, he had felt being appraised before on his first journey, this man could give any of those elders a run for their money. Apparently satisfied, Leif nodded.

  “When we leave, you will be in the middle column. Be ready to walk and listen to the other guards. They will tell you when to start fetching water for the others.”

  That seemed like all the words the man had for the day, as he waved Yin off, who quickly headed off not wanting to bother that man anymore than he had too. An itch in the back of his brain told him that man could use his internal power, or maybe he was just that dangerous.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  After meeting up with the other guards he would be working with, the caravan got moving not too long after and thus the next month’s journey had begun. He was finally on his way to Valecroft.

  He gave one last glance back to the Whispering Wind Tavern and smiled as he saw Boss Jin standing there watching him head off. He wished he would have gotten more time to know the man. Or ask him about his son and if he was still out there. One day, he decided that he would come back and tell Boss Jin about his own adventures.

  He gave a small wave and turned back to look down on the long road ahead of him and the caravan and continued to walk forward. A sense of fear gripping him, if only for a moment. There was no system this time on his journey, this was his own and he was going to have to own it. It was terrifying and freeing all at the same time.

  After a few hours of walking, the only thought he had in his head was how tedious and long this journey was going to be. The other guards for now hadn’t tried to interact with him, only keeping to themselves. They hadn’t been unfriendly, but he was a new guy and a temporary one at that he could at least understand their feelings.

  “Hey new guy.”

  The words snapped him out of the thoughts he had fallen into while walking, having spaced out so he didn’t have to think about the tedium as much. Looking at the guard who called out to him.

  “Time to get to work, go get our food, don’t need to refill our water just yet we will probably be good until we finally stop for the day.”

  Yin nodded and with that he headed off and made his deliveries of food for the other guards around the middle and back of the caravan. The meal consisted of some sort of hard bread and some dry meats though that was giving out quite sparingly.

  That did let him reflect on his time a bit when he was on his first trip. Most animals near population centers with people didn’t have internal energy. The food was fine and if that’s all you had ever tasted it was perfectly good. However, having tasted the flesh of beats with internal energy, now that truly was a wonder. So delicious people would gladly risk their lives for it as beasts like that were infinitely more dangerous than a regular animal.

  He let himself lament on the loss of such delicacies for a moment, having settled back into the monotony of the walk. It finally came to an end for the day, and his aching feet and body was thankful for that to be over. While he tried to ignore the thought that this was going to be his life now for the next coming month.

  The caravan was efficient in setting up camp, this was a well-trained caravan and with no other group to take care of they didn’t waste any time. Yin was shocked at how such a large group could be camped and ready in what felt like no time at all.

  All he wanted to do was lay down and fall asleep after getting his tent set up that the caravan was letting him use for the trip. Yet, he knew that wasn’t happening as all the guards were summoned to meet up with Leif.

  The impossibly tall captain quickly handed out watch rotations, with Yin getting the watch rotation with the captain himself on the first watch along with a few others. He noticed that he was the only one wearing a sword, all the other guards used spears for protection. Watching them he thought if he would go for a spear instead, it was a possibility.

  Thoughts on weapons faded away for now as he and Leif made their way out to the perimeter while the bustle of those in the Caravan faded behind them. Leif hadn’t said anything for a long while, as the sun went down and night reclaimed the world. So, Yin quietly kept watch.

  “So…” Leif cut in suddenly nearly causing Yin to jump from the silent giant finally talking. “You plan to join a sect?”

  “I am. I need to be able to get stronger and ascend the mountain…Though I’ve heard the test for aptitude on internal energy and I might fail before I even get started.” He said it calmly even as the possibility of failing so quickly made him sick to think about.

  Leif grunted at that, going quiet for a moment with those blue eyes of his not looking his way. “Our land is one of the few without a sect. Our kingdom is a power all its own but like the sects those who wish to join the army must have enough aptitude. You either have it or you don’t.”

  Yin looked at him, having more questions about his homeland and how the tall man came to be in the caravan and if he had failed to make it in the military. Yet, the way Leif was silent afterwards made it feel like he didn’t want to offer more.

  At least until the man look directly at him, holding him with his gaze, Yin rooted to the spot as he watched the man. Then watched as those blue eyes became like thunder clouds, wisps of crackling lightning running across them. The smell of a brewing thunderstorm coming from Leif as it looked like lightning might come from his body before it died down.

  Leif grinned and looked away. “I had the potential so I can’t tell you what to do if you don’t. I’ve found a better life on the road than in war. So, if you do or don't, just find the right road for you.”

  Yin nodded at the wisdom from Leif. It was wisdom he would have taken had his situation been different. Maybe one day, it was advice he could take. For now, though, that was a far off dream he would just have to shelve.