MERCHANT ADVENTURER

A New Group Made Up Of Familiar Faces

The two brothers Maxim and Marcus made a sudden reappearance. Somehow, when we were in Alesburg, these two had disappeared without a sound. I hadn't thought too much about them since I was distracted by the love triangle. Now that we met again, the two brothers invited themselves to rejoin our group. They made themselves at home around the bonfire, and even cheekily ate the game Garlan had caught.

I kept up the pretense of being on good terms with them, but I didn't quite trust them. The night wore on and the two brothers retired to sleep in their own tent. Garlan and Bacchanal shared the new tent.

Before heading off to bed, I whispered to Garlan, "I don't think those two have good intentions."

Garlan said, "I agree. I've long thought this about them."

The following morning, we ate a quick, simple breakfast. After putting out our fire, we were on the road again.

Since I had told Garlan about my suspicions of Maxim and Marcus, Garlan walked behind them, keeping a close eye on their every move.

All Raine did was stay quiet, while holding onto my hand. He didn't seem to talk much.

While Bacchanal remained just as merry as ever. He seemed unaffected by his surroundings, but the tune of his song was different than the day prior. It sounded somewhat fretful.

"His roving eyes on little girls,

Not good, not good for this world.

A beast in sheep's clothing,

With big smile for bootlicking."

"Hey, you bard," Maxim sneered, "Can't you sing anything better than that?"

A smile on his face, Bacchanal answered, "Would you like to hear a song about thieves and murders?"

Maxim's face turned ugly and he quickly declined.

The quick reply was rather suspicious. Bacchanal shared a meaningful look with Garlan. It seemed, all three of us were in agreement those two brothers were not good people.

Raine sluggishly shuffled along, unable to even lift his feet properly. As I was about to release his hand, he quickly laced our fingers. This bad habit of hand holding must stop.

"Come now," I cajoled. Raine shook his head fiercely.

Bacchanal chuckled. "It seems the young lad really likes you."

Embarrassed, I only wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible. In the end, my pack was placed on the handcart, while Raine was on my back. Raine clearly enjoyed being piggy-backed. He didn't make a single peep. His head leaned on my shoulder and soon I heard his breath even out. He had fallen asleep.

By this time, Bacchanal had stopped singing. His ears were alert to the surrounding noise. He and Garlan shared a secret whisper. I noticed Maxim and Marcus appeared a bit anxious, when this happened.

Was something bad about to happen?