Black Wagons (1/2)

They left Eastwynn a bit past dawn, long after most of the farmers had gone out to tend their fields. Threadbare was a bit surprised that Apollyon hadn't stayed with his family while he was in town, but instead the young man quietly paid for a private room at Thee Leaky Buckett tavern, and retired early.

Buttons hadn't been surprised by that at all, but she didn't say anything to the rest of the group. Instead she just sat down in the main hall of the place and played cards with them until dawn. Nor did she open her mouth when they were over the last of the river bridges and walking down the dirt road past the final farmsteads before the frontier.

Dracosnack didn't particularly care. He was busy reading through his book of spell scrolls, and fussing with the order. It helped improve his Librarian skills, and it settled his mind, besides. He wasn't always the best at fighting, and this would make him feel less nervous if it came to combat.

But Glub could tell that something was gnawing at the guy. They were out in the boonies now though, and it wasn't a good idea to get into long, soul-searching discussions while you had to worry about monsters and bandits and other hazards. So he decided to keep his peace until the time came to make camp. He could have a talk with Apollyon then.

It wasn't a bad idea, but when night came Apollyon shook his head at the mention of camp. “I want to get a little farther away from the town.”

Glub glanced over to Threadbare, and found the latter's button eyes already on him. He noticed it too. Glub flared his fins and offered a small nod, then shrugged.

Threadbare nodded back. And the group continued their walk on as the sun sank low ahead of them, and Glub had to squint against it. He wasn't in danger of burning his eyes, thanks to his golem body, but it was still annoying.

Also, when the black speck grew on the horizon, it made him hesitate for a precious few seconds until it was almost too late.

“Hey,” he said. “Hey! We got like a wagon or something coming fast! Better get off the—”

Minutes later, half of the group was picking themselves out of the creek to the side of the path, and the other half was untangling themselves from the scraggly underbrush on the other side.

And Apollyon shared a look with Buttons. “Does that wagon look black to you?”

“I didn't get a good look. Where did it come from?”

“Clean and Press,” Threadbare said, magicking mud from his frame. “This is the second time I've had to dodge a wagon today. They should drive more carefully around here. But if we need to know where it came from, we could probably just follow the tracks.”

“I'd also like to know what it's doing,” Apollyon said, torn. “I've heard some... rumors that need following up on about black wagons recently.”

“Hey,” Glub said, glancing at the drainage ditch. “You still a Scout Threadbare?”

“I am.”

“Let me follow the wagon and keep an eye on it, and you can follow the tracks. This ditch joins up with the river, and I can fast track it back to town, then rejoin you guys later. Sound cool?”

“You really mmm... think you can go that fast?” Dracosnack asked. “AND get back without losing too much time?”

“Dude. You're talking to an Explorer here. Work smarter, not harder!” he walked over to the nearest milestone. “Set Waymark. Create Waystone.” He tucked the newly-created glowing crystal into the pocket of his baggy pants.

That decided Threadbare. “This is a good plan. Go ahead, Glub. We'll handle the land part of things.”

“All Terrain Boots!” Glub burbled. And then he was off.

The drainage ditch was narrow and cramped, but he knew he wouldn't be in it long. Explorers were made to cover ground quickly, fishmen could swim faster than they could run, all-terrain boots let him handle most obstacles without slowing, and as for the Scout part of his portfolio, one quick chant of Best Route was enough to let him close with the wagon at about the point it hit the creek they'd passed earlier in the day.

It still took half an hour. The wagon was really booking it down the road. If the river hadn't been flowing toward the town, Glub would have lost sight of it quickly.

Fortunately it slowed once it hit town. Just like last night, the streets were empty, and the doors were boarded up tight. But Glub's perception easily let him see the way window curtains twitched, and shadows moved against the glass, backlit by lamps as people watched from the safety of their houses.

There were no streetlights out this far, so they couldn't be seeing the wagon clearly, he knew. It was mostly humans and halvens out this way, and most of those folks had bad nightvision.

The wagon got to the edge of town and circled around, and Glub took a chance to break out from behind it and head back into the village. If he was right, this could pay off.

He was right.

INT+1

The wagon took a wide arc around the edge of town, but it was clearly heading back to the west. And perched atop a small church, Glub peered around the crowning icon of Old Koss adorning the roof and got his first look at the front of the coach.

There were two horses, sure, that was to be expected. He'd gotten the impression of horses when he was dodging into the drainage ditch. And there was a figure up top driving them. A small figure. Halven-sized? Hard to tell.

Glub debated with himself, then decided to take a risk. He pulled off his boots, stowed them in his waterproof pack, then pulled out two large crocheted booties.

He barely got them on over his webbed feet in time. And with just enough seconds left to settle the pack onto his back once more, he leaped down onto the wagon as it passed by.

Your Stealth skill is now level 52!

Glub would have sighed if he still breathed for non-recreational purposes. That message told him two things: first that he'd been undetected. Secondly, that there were consequences for being noticed.

So he waited a bit, secured his handholds on the cloth cover of the wagon, before starting to inch forward.

The cloth had a few tears in it, and he peered inside, eyes luminous in the darkness. But there was nothing to see in the back of the wagon. Just the empty bed of it.