A Hand-Woven Universe 128 127. Master Hopborne and Novrada

"Good evening, are you Master Hopborne?" Sally approached a young and mild mannered looking human with blonde hair who was overseeing the organization of the caravans near the city's eastern gate.

The man was startled by the sudden interruption, looking over his notebook at Sally and company. Noone was able to see that written within the book was some sort of itinerary. It looked that the human was organizing the supplies for travel.

"Yes. That is me. How can I help you?" The man gave a courteous nod of his head when he noticed their parties' affiliations with the Order of Life.

"We are a unit of the order on our way back to the capital city. We had heard from a man named Will that you might have room in your caravan for some extra hands." Sally smiled as she spoke, not wanting to intimidate the young man.

The Hopborne name was a noble family in Cinapul, with strong ties in the Capital. For a noble's child to be serving as a merchant all the way out here… she could only imagine the circumstances.

The man's gaze scanned over the people in the party. Three clerics and a paladin of the Order… a woman in black hide armor, and… he stared at Noone who stood behind everyone else. When they met each other's gaze, the young master couldn't help but look away.

"I- uh. I don't think that will be any problem at all. Regrettably because of the circumstances at the moment, there are a lot of people heading inland joining with our caravan. But as long as you carry your weight, we will take care of you." The man fidgeted with his pen and paper for a moment, reorganizing his itinerary.

"If you go speak with the foreman and tell her I OK'd it, then she will set you up." He said, pointing out a dwarf female who was barking commands around the front-most carts. Her voice was surprisingly pleasant but the way she yelled was intimidating to say the least. "She may seem mean… but she's actually very nice." The man said, half to himself and half to them. "Oh! Her names Novrada, by the way."

Sally and the party gave their thanks before weaving through the mix of carts and horses.

Noone looked on silently, allowing his eyes to wander across the various sights. This was his first time seeing a caravan of this scale. To someone who had grown up in an isolated community, he couldn't help but find it fascinating.

"Alright, your team go and prepare the food in the third wagon, make sure to restock on salt!" A voice like steel pierced into the ears of everyone present. Novrada stood on top of a set of crates, pointing and listing instructions without hesitation. Noone did his best to reign in a smile which had been creeping into his expression.

He could tell just by looking that this woman wasn't all bark - but the sight of her short stature standing on a set of crates was amusing. Until now the only other dwarves he had interacted with were a couple of tool-makers back in Ardglass.

"You six! Come here quick, I can already tell why you're here. Tell me your levels and affiliations." The woman didn't waste any time organizing them as soon as they approached.

As she spoke, Noone took the time to observe her with his divine sense. Her armor was a mix of chainmail and plating, which added to her already impressive bulk. On her back Noone was able to see a shield and Hammer combo made of some kind of yellow gold alloy that looked similar to Raelith's spear. Even down to the engravings which snaked across its surface.

"Sally. Human. Fifth level cleric of the Order of Life."

"Raelith Ringflower. Moon Elf. Sixth level cleric of the Order of Life."

"Feylin. Human. First Level Order of life…"

"Tobias. Human. Tenth Level Paladin of the Order of Life."

"Sarah. Human. First level Vengeance Paladin…." Sarah was hesitant at first, but eventually she stood up straight to speak her affiliations. Novrada gave her a cryptic look, taking inventory of her equipment. Despite being young, the dwarf had a good impression of this girl. Specifically noting her choice in armor.

Finally, it was Noone's turn. He hesitated for a moment, deciding what he would say.

"Noone. Human… fighter." Novrada stopped writing and gave Noone a hard look. She met his eyes with no resistance much the same way he had done with Patrin before. Finally, she sighed and decided not to say anything. If he was travelling with a party comprised of mostly Order members, she doubted he would cause any trouble.

"Alright. Clerics will take up the middle and be in charge of any healing and prepping food each morning and night. Tobias, considering your level, I am going to ask you collaborate with the other security leads. Take Noone and Sarah with you. They will be under your care." Novrada spoke quickly, coming up with the most ideal scenario after only a few moments of considerations.

They all nodded and began to walk off.

"Wait." Suddenly Novrada stopped them, her hand on her chin thinking. "You three." She said, pointing to Tobias and Sarah and Noone. "Depending on what troubles we run into, I will pay you accordingly as long as you prove useful. This is a five-month journey which leaves a lot of time for things to go wrong… especially along the border of Montese." She looked each of them over, meeting their gazes to make sure they understood her point. Tobias smiled and nodded before leading the group a little ways off.

Noone watched as the dwarven woman resumed her command immediately, putting thoughts of them aside. He couldn't help but feel he had missed something in that last exchange… his eyes narrowed, and he considered whether or not there was a hidden meaning behind her words.

"Alright. You all know your assignments. Judging by the state of the caravan, it should be less than an hour before we depart. I am going to go find the security leads and introduce myself. You all just make do." Tobias seemed to relax as he slipped into his usual charismatic self, walking into the middle of the bustle.

"Feylin, come with me. We should go figure out whether or not there's anything we can help with before we depart." Sally spoke curtly, giving Rae a look as if asking if she was going to join them before walking off. Raelith chuckled lightly to herself, a discreet wry smile crossing her expression before following along silently. She gave Noone and Sarah a small wave as she went.

The two of them were at a bit of a loss as what to do with themselves in the meantime. After talking for a bit amongst themselves, Sarah left to find Tobias and Noone found a shady spot where he could meditate while the caravan was prepared.

From where he sat, Noone watched people scurry back and forth moving crates of supplies and food, brushing horses down and checking on the states of the carts.

Almost everyone looked to be normal worker, with no real strength inside their aura. Noone wasn't interested in these people at all. Instead his attention was focused on the security and mercenaries which wandered the area.

Seventy percent of the people he was able to see were human, looking to be various flavors of adventurers and fighters. They carried plain weapons and were equipped with mostly leather armors. Some of the stronger ones had chainmail, though Noone was vaguely able to tell that the quality wasn't comparable to the one worn by the dwarven woman.

The other thirty percent was comprised of the various races he had seen so far. Including a few half-orcs. Each one exuding their own unique strength.
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During their short stay in Pinepass, Noone had locked himself in his room to cultivate from the higher density energy, thus he didn't have a chance to get to associate with any of the other races he had seen. It seemed like he would get that chance over the next five months.

As he looked around, memorizing the faces of the strongest individuals, a small smile crept onto his face. He clenched his fist and the air around it swirled lightly, pulled in by the energy circulating through him.

Chapter end