A Hand-Woven Universe 141 140. Selling Out?

The two had waited for almost half an hour for Noone who had still yet to appear. Sarah was also beginning to worry, however she trusted Clayton wouldn't have left any dangers for Noone to accidentally stumble across.

"I only showed him a bland weapon room, don't tell me he was so taken by them that he can't decide what to take." Clayton thought, chuckling to himself. To Clayton, everything in the room was of low quality, even the magical weapons which he had left alone. "They were enchanted with the simplest of strengthening runes. Nothing worth being excited over." He thought.

Finally, after another few minutes, Noone's tall and robust figure exited from the caves, entering the front courtyard.

Clayton and Sarah's eyes widened slightly when they saw what was in Noone's hands, each having their own thoughts.

"I don't remember seeing that in the room." Clayton's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before relaxing. "Eh." He thought, "It doesn't matter."

Sarah on the other hand couldn't help but think Noone's resemblance to a carved statue was even more complete. Now complete with large and intimidating grey battle-axe. Even the white lines which Noone allowed to glow freely seemed the tiniest bit brighter.

"Noone I must say you have a bad eye for weapons." Clayton chuckled. "That room had a number of magic weapons and you come out with that hunk of metal… want to go back in with me and I can help you pick one of them out?" He jabbed. Noone could only smile and chuckle to himself, shaking his head.

"Suit yourself then." Clayton scoffed.

Sarah smiled harmlessly as Noone caught her eyes. They shared a smile for a moment.

"I'm not just copying Tobias." Noone said flatly, voice tinged slightly with humor.

"Of course you aren't Noone." She laughed. "Don't worry, we all have role models. I am sure he will be flattered."

Noone could only smile wryly, joined by Clayton who was bemused by the banter of the two young ones.

"Alright that's enough joking for now. Down to business." Clayton undid his pack and began rustling through it before pulling out two medium sized pouches and some rolled paper.

"Noone. Sarah." He tossed the pouches over, they arced through the air in a way that showed their considerable weight. Both Noone and Sarah caught them only for their eyes to go wide in surprise when a jingle sounded from within.

"Clayton…" Sarah said breathlessly.

"All gold, split three ways. That should be all the cash within the camp. I am very thorough, after all. I will be taking the most valuable stolen goods and selling them for myself, that okay?" He asked.

Noone and Sarah both nodded. Neither one could say anything after being placated with these pouches. Each one was filled to the top in coins, mostly gold. Noone used his divine sense to scan the pouch and estimated almost 85 gold to be contained in his.

He had to sell two epoch-tribe axes just to make 2 gold. Noone wasn't even aware of what he could possibly spend 85 gold on. Sarah had a bit better notion to the value of such an amount, but even she felt like it would be a long time before she ever saw the bottom of the pouch.

Once Noone and Sarah hid the pouches away in their clothes, Clayton handed over the rolled parchment he had pulled out of his bag to Sarah.

She looked at him questioningly, quietly unfurled it and began reading through the contents. About halfway through the paper her jaw fell to the floor and she made a shocked gasp. But she continued to read until she finished it.

Noone watched her carefully and could see subtle trembling develop in her body as her eyes traced the finely printed lettering.

As soon as she was done, she forcefully handed the parchment to Noone and crossed her arms Scowling. There was a look in her eyes Noone had not seen before.

It was a letter addressed to a 'Jess Natas,' later noted to be the female leader of the bandit encampment they stood in.

In the letter various topics were brought up, but it wasn't until Noone read halfway through the page that he realized why Sarah had reacted so strongly. His brows furrowed as he read on.

This letter had been written by an Epoch Tribesman. A high-ranking epoch tribesman.

It seemed that Jess - as well as the other bandits in the camp - had agreed by unanimous decision to sell all the information they had about the six nearest cities to the epoch tribe for a fairly steep price.

Battle capability, crop yield, traitorous nobility, it was all there.

Noone frowned. If the Epoch Tribe got a hold of this information, they would be able to sweep through those six cities with great ease. Knowledge was power, and this knowledge was extremely dangerous.

It seemed that the epoch tribe wholeheartedly believed in the information Jess was going to provide. Her position as bandit leader of the area no doubt accounted for that.

Finally, Noone rolled the parchment back up, and silently handed it back to Clayton. While he didn't have as strong of a reaction as Sarah, an anger had built up in his heart. "How…" He thought, "How can they sell out their own so freely." He was… disappointed. These people on the surface are far too divided.

"So that's why Hoar sent us to exterminate them…" Sarah mumbled. She and Clayton didn't understand why Hoar would care about some relatively harmless bandits in the boonies. Clayton had dismissed it as an excuse to give Sarah and easy assignment, until he ran into the bandit head within the caves. He found this parchment on her, and after he read it everything became clear.

Clayton only nodded. "He is a god, and knows things we as mortals never could. Normally even Hoar would not get involved in the wars of us mortals, but when the epoch tribes are involved, it seems he will make an exception." Clayton sighed.

Noone quietly stood there listening, his own thoughts indecipherable by the others.

"Alright… there's only a couple hours before daybreak, it is time we wrap this up. I have more people to kill after all." Clayton chuckled softly. He looked at both Noone and Sarah. A giant statue of a man, glowing white and holding an iron battle-axe, and a well-built tall-for-human girl dressed in black armor holding her heavy pole-mace with ease, her blonde hair swaying slightly despite being pulled back.

"You both did very well, especially you Sarah." He let off a casual smile. "After you told me how this happened, I can only commend your stalwart strength. You did great and you will make a wonderful Paladin. You must serve Hoar well, and he too will take care of you." Clayton smiled, clapping her on the shoulder.

"Noone. The plan you came up with was ingenious, and you have my respect for choosing to stay and fight. You faced the first group alone, while drawing the attention of the entire camp. As dangerous as that was, you seem to have some confidence in your ability." Clayton laughed as he spoke. "I know I didn't make the best first impression, but you didn't abandon Sarah when you had every reason to – this counts you as a good guy in my book! Should we ever meet out in the world, I truly hope it's as allies." Clayton smiled, and as far as Noone could tell – he seemed completely genuine. Noone returned the smile, saying a small 'likewise' and nodding his head.

After that Clayton talked with Sarah for a bit, giving her some pointers before sending them both off.

"Are you going to report the letter?" Sarah asked, still uncomfortable at the idea of the epoch tribe possibly having information on the (mostly) human settlements.

"Why should I? No one else is aware of this exchange, and we nipped the problem in the bud before it could manifest." Clayton shrugged. "We work for Hoar, not for the common realm bureaucrats."

With that Clayton wandered off, disappearing into the forest.

Noone and Sarah both looked at each other before sharing a nod between themselves. Despite being surrounded by corpses and covered in blood, they had no doubt bonded over the experience. Noone respected Sarah's ability and drive, and Sarah respected his cunning and strength.

"There should be a stream nearby." Sarah said. "Let's wash up before heading back to the camp." Noone looked down at his own matted clothing before nodding in response and the two disappeared into the forest as well. Neither of them had spells which could clean their clothes instantaneously – however they were aware that such spells existed.

At the base of the hill within a moon-lit clearing, Clayton stepped out into the open followed by three other figures.

A broad-shouldered man in white armor with stark white-grey hair which practically glowed in the moonlight.

Tobias.

A tall, lithe, woman with short blue hair wearing intricate white robes designed strategically to allow ease of movement in combat.

Raelith.

And finally, a shorter bald woman, incredibly fit but well hidden behind simple robes.

Sally.

"Tobias. Sally." Clayton faced them and nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. He glanced a Raelith. "And Company."

Tobias's expression was neutral. "Clayton." He responded simply. He had run into Clayton only a handful of times throughout his life, and was vaguely aware of Clayton's story. He glanced at Sally.
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Raelith had a light smile which seemed to perpetually play on her lips, she said nothing but instead gave him a courteous nod.

Sally was the most emotive of them all, giving a scowl as Clayton said her name. "Clayton." She hissed back.

He only chuckled at this, well aware of her scorn for him.

"So how can I help you all tonight?" Clayton's smile finally diminished slightly. If he had his way, he would prefer not having to deal with Sally, but he couldn't refuse Hoar from coming here either.

"Sarah may be an emissary of Hoar now, but she is still a part of our party." Sally spoke first, seeming to curse her words through gritted teeth. "You are not to do anything that would harm her. Unlike you-" She paused, letting her accusation hang in the air. "Unlike you, she is still of a good heart. You will not do anything to change her into a leech like you." Sally's anger was evident in her talk, her eyes practically shooting daggers.

"Oh?" Clayton said smoothly. "And what are you going to do about it?" He smiled, deliberately provoking his old friend…

Sally was about to respond when Tobias held up his hand, restraining her. He gave a soft sigh which still sounded loud and intimidating due to his size.

"Clayton. I know you two have bad blood, and I won't presume to try to fix this relationship, but please don't provoke her. We have travelled with Sarah for more than a year, and are well aware of her demeanor. She is a vengeance paladin now, so there is only so much we can do. But until she leaves our party, we will take care of her." Tobias's deep voice was soft with care. He was speaking genuinely.

Clayton finally reigned in his provocative front, listening carefully to Tobias's words before turning around with a sigh.

"You guys don't need to worry about her. She is a far better person than I am." They couldn't see it on his face, but they could hear the regret of a history long passed on his voice. "Even you should be able to see it, Sally. After tonight, her eyes were still clear. She didn't make excuses to justify their deaths." He shook his head, smiling bitterly to himself.

"Well, if you will excuse me, I have some people to kill. No rest for the wicked and all that…" Clayton chuckled, waving his hand in a 'it is what it is' manner before walking off. The group of three said nothing, and merely watched him disappear.

"Well." Rae finally spoke. "He seems nice." Her expression was the same meaningless smile she always wore, and thus Sally nor Tobias could tell if she was joking or not. Tobias smiled wryly and Sally let out a scoff. They all returned to the Caravan uneventfully.

It was only a little while later that Sarah and Noone returned, sneaking back into their sleeping pads. As soon as their heads hit the pillows, they quickly fell asleep.

…

A small and thin figure wandered the halls of a cave system carved within a grassy hill.

He wandered casually, undisturbed by the death which reigned heavy that night.

Soon the small figure came to a large and heavy steel door, and a bony hand reached out - casually pushing the door open as though it was made of wood. He easily stepped inside, glancing around before coming to a conspicuous pile of weapons in the middle of the room.

He knelt down, joints popping slightly as he did, and waved a hand over the weapons.

"Hmmm? How interesting…" His thin voice chuckled. Then with a wave of his hand, the contents of the entire room disappeared as though they had never been there.

"Interesting interesting…" He continued to repeat happily as he walked further through the caves.

Chapter end