Non Player Character

Chapter 13 - Nature

"I'd hide ya' in the wagon, but if those Kurs decide to stop me, there's nothing I can do about it." Benji had parked his wagon and was pacing the road beside the donkeys. "If you don't want them asking questions, you'll have to cut through the woods." Benji gestured to the forest on the north side of the road.

"I don't understand why we need to avoid them," Tara said. "Can't you just pretend you're a tinker like Benji?"

"Look," I said. "I don't have time to explain, but if you want me to get you to Danver, you need to trust me on this. We need to avoid them."

Tara crossed her arms but didn't object again.

"I got no love in my heart for those scaly bastards," Benji said. "Don't care what ya' did to get on their bad side. I won't say a word about ya' if ya' head off now."

"Thanks, Benji. I hope to find you in Danver."

"I hope so too, son. Best of luck out there. Both of you."

Tara wrung her hands and stepped awkwardly up to Benji. Then, she reached out and gave the old man a quick hug. He gave her a kind smile in return and nodded his head toward the forest. "Off ya' go."

This was an unfortunate turn of events, to say the least. Benji had brought us far, but we still had miles to go. Cutting through the forest would add hours to our already long trip, but I saw no other choice. Sure, there was a chance the Kurskins would pass the wagon by without any trouble, but there was also a chance they wouldn't. It was far too early for me to risk an encounter with another Player, let alone a whole group of them.

Tara handled herself well as we bolted through the Vedran wilderness. We pushed through brambles and bushes and darted between trees until we were well clear of the road.

"I apologize for the detour," I said after we had caught our stride. "I didn't think my past would be a problem out this way."

"You should have told me that you're a wanted man." She was sweating quite a bit but seemed to be holding up just fine.

"I'm not a wanted man," I said. How could I explain this? "My situation is complicated. But so is yours. Both of us are holding things back, and we each have our reasons for doing so. How about we just accept that fact, ignore it, and move on?"

Tara snorted. "Honestly, I find that quite agreeable. You can keep your secrets as long as you get me through that pass and delivered safely to Danver."

This was probably for the better. I couldn't tell her the truth, and I couldn't risk being caught in a lie. I'd fail the quest if Tara decided to fire me as her escort, and I had invested far too much time and effort into this to risk failure. Plus, it wasn't like she was ever going to open up to me. She had made that clear from the beginning, and I had been naïve to think I could get her to talk.

I'd get her to Danver, hopefully level up, and let her family take it from there.

At least I had learned that escort quests were the absolute worst and vowed that this would be my last. I would ensure that my next quest could be completed locally and didn't involve a grumpy, lying teenager.

We continued apace for another mile or so before we were forced to scramble up a steep creek bank. After that, I decided I'd had enough running and slowed to a walk.

"How are you holding up over there?" I asked. She looked to be in pretty good shape despite her illness. I think the time in the wagon had helped steady her symptoms.

"I can keep going."

"If you need to rest, let me know. We're safe now, and there's no need to push yourself harder than necessary."