Chapter 23: Chapter 22 – Interior I

Black crows are cawing to signal the coming evening. The sun has almost set, and the sky away from it has tinted the environment an eerie bluish-grey color. A dry, cold wind makes a rustle when occasionally swooshing through the trees.

A lone coachman wearing a haggard expression is trying his best to stay awake sitting at the front of a large, primitive carriage covered by thick white linen cloth as protection from the cold wind. A hood covers his head and thick dark clothes the rest of his body, down to his toes. His hands are holding onto reins bound to four horses.

They trod along a crudely-made gravel road, just large enough for a single carriage to pass through. The road snakes in between bare bushes and small trees that only make the view even more somber. It continues a little further ahead, where it seems to then disappear into a large forest of bare trees. Unlike those surrounding the carriage now, they are taller and grow much closer together, sometimes bumping one into another, other times merging into one. With the tallest ones completely overshadowing the rest, and with the low-hanging fog common to the area, the visibility off the beaten path is extremely low.

Numerous black crows perched upon the dried out branches cry louder and disperse out of the forest once the carriage comes near.

With the coachman's weak and tired pull on the reins, the horses halt with a neigh and shake their bodies while letting their heads down, as if finally happy to be allowed rest.

The man looks around with sleepy eyes, taking in the vastness of the woods in front of him. With a relieved sigh, he relaxes his shoulders and leans onto the backrest, his eyes almost closed.

「We've arrived!」 he suddenly shouts.

A few moments pass, with only the sounds of the resting horses and more crows in the distance breaking the silence of the woodland.

「Curses! You guys sleeping back there? Come out and help me unload the carriage, dammit!」 he keeps shouting.

Low grunting comes from inside the carriage, and soon two big figures stumble from under the linen cover. Green skins, big tusks sticking upwards and large noses — orcs.

They wear expensive-looking silver armor with intricate gold markings covering their bodies from the neck down. The material itself has seen better days — covered with grime and dried blood spatters in multiple places, it causes the orcs' gear to appear mostly a dull, matte gray. Each carries on his back a one-handed iron club, made out of a single block of metal, chromed on the surface.

One of the orcs huffs and looks around confused,「Where we are? I dun' see no one.」

The man responds, tired and confused too, 「Should be southern Wilderness, a narrow road, gravel, out of Enzeheim, leading into a large forest of tall, bare pines, beeches, and oaks. It matches the description on the order.」

「Let's just unload the darn' items, and get out of here. I've heard of this one before, a bit weird, but bossman values them considerably. Supposedly filthy rich and always do special orders. Nak, you keep a lookout for beasts!」 the other, more eloquent orc, commands his partner.

With a yawn, he uncovers the carriage, revealing huge packages of various items, including barrels, boxes, wrapped parchments, and bundles of tubes, stacked on top of or closely next to each other.

While the two orcs are busying themselves with unloading and protecting the packages, the coachman hops off his seat and steps down to the front wheel, letting his body lean back onto the heavy wooden spokes.

「I'll keep a look out on this side,」 he mutters and lets his tired eyes drop down with a slight smile, embracing his much-needed rest.

Only a short moment of that repose passes before a feminine voice that carries well through the moist air echoes, interrupting the three.

「Oya? Goodness gracious, you have gotten here swiftly, ahead of my schedule even!」

Feeling like cold water was just thrown at him, his body jerks, and his face grows sour at the interruption.

Turning his face to the side, towards the forest, he spots two women, one human, the other an elf, walking towards them with slow steps.

The human is wearing a long, burgundy dress with long bell sleeves and a gilded faux belt around her waist, while the elf has a patchy, navy blue cloak, brown linen vest, grey gathered linen skirt and thigh-high boots.

The elf is looking around frantically as if wary of something while hiding behind the human.

Upon taking in the sights of these two, the man suddenly relaxes again, and his face shifts from displeased to looking as if all of his worries have been mysteriously melted away.

Eyes widened with elation and mouth open, he is about to call out, but then a lecherous whistle sounds from the opposite side of the carriage. Realizing it's one of the orcs, he stops pursing his own lips, embarrassed to have almost joined the orcs, and quickly straightens his posture.

「A-are you...」 he begins, then fumbles for a small paper inside his small chest pocket, unfolding it before finishing his sentence, 「M-miss R?」

「Fufu... Indeed I am, you can be at ease, I won't bite,」 the human says, amused, and slides away a lock of blonde hair that the wind blew into obscuring part of her face, properly revealing her crystal green eyes.

This simple gesture alone gives the man an urge to get down on his knees and prostrate in worship, but the presence of the orcs makes him able to hold back, just barely.

The woman examines him from a distance with an elegant smile. Her eyes look him up and down with a sense of authority and grace, like the gaze of royalty.

The man becomes aware of his haggard appearance and tries to force a fresh look by raising his chin and contorting his face into what resembles a decent smile.

「Ara, I certainly wasn't expecting a new coachman. These two I don't recall either,」 she says while nodding at the orcs behind him at the carriage.

「Y-yes, I'm Bernad. The previous coachman, unfortunately, got into an... uhh accident, as they say, so I'm replacing him. I'm pleased to meet you, miss!」

「Oh is that so? I do hope I did not burden mister Crowley with more work than he could handle this time. How does he fare?」

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「Yes, boss, I mean, mister Crowley was very eager to fulfill your request, miss. He even went the extra mile and was able to import goods from a nearby border town. The quality of the goods can be assured, miss!」 he says with a high-strung voice, and eyes expecting to win the woman's favor.

A satisfied smile on the woman's face makes the surrounding somber environment seem to almost light up.

The man puffs his chest with pride, looking like the long tiring road he just traveled is worth the trouble now.

「My... as expected of mister Crowley, indeed. Always so dependable,」 she says with her hands together.

「Aren't you happy Percibell? You can finally officially start your duties now that your maid outfit has arrived,」 she says, turning to look at the elf standing behind her.

To her surprise, the elf is scowling intensely.

「Oh my, what's wrong?」 she asks the small travel companion but gets no response. Looking around in confusion, she eventually follows her gaze towards the working orcs behind the man.

「Percibell...?」 she tries again, this time nudging her shoulder.

「Eh? Ehh—? Ehmm... Y-yes... that's right,」the elf stops scowling for a moment and looks up at the woman, then, as if not wanting to miss a single movement, she quickly juts her eyes back towards the orcs and instinctively scowls again.

The orc unloading the carriage is carrying the last set of items, a few sacks with various kinds of food and grain, and carefully sets them on the ground.

「We done unload!」 the other orc, who is on the lookout, shouts. Not wanting the coachman to have the women to himself, he strolls towards them with quick steps, his armor and iron club clanking against one another.

Agitated, the elf retreats a few paces, body trembling and posture lowered, as if ready to leap. Her eyes narrow and her ears start pointing back, almost at a horizontal, while she nervously moves her hands around her shoulder, feeling around for something on her back.

「Percibell?? What in the heavens has come over you?」 startled by the elf's movements, the woman looks at her.

As they all eye her in confusion, the orc curls the corners of his mouth, an attempt to show a friendly smile. Percibell grimaces with a face full of contempt, an expression you would only give someone who had bullied you violently all the way to adulthood, and taken all you held dear.

Choosing to take no notice of this, the orc shrugs and moves his attention back to the human woman.

「You want help carry?」 he asks the woman, a big smile on his face.

「No need, thank you. You have already performed a great job」 she replies while eyeing the goods behind them, then adds with a worried glance towards the elf,「We shall take it from here.」

「Are you certain about that ma'am?」 the more eloquent orc shows up from behind the carriage and joins the conversation,「Mister Crowley ordered us to make sure all your needs were met. His words, 'her satisfaction is our top priority', is what he said.」

His voice is monotone and, as the only one, his expression blank as if unimpressed by what he is seeing.

A tug steals the attention of the woman for a brief moment, making her turn her head. The elf has started pulling on her dress and is now wringing the material out in her small hands, with strength that seems to increase in tandem with the approaching steps of the orc.

「With all due respect ma'am. You don't seem to have...」 the orc continues while scanning them from top to toe, 「...capable hands to carry all this. We ca—」

「That is fine, I said. Your work here has been sufficient,」 the woman interrupts him, a bit harsher in her tone.

She gives the elf a reassuring smile and then turns to meet the orc's gaze with a placid one.

An awkward silence fills the air for a few moments before the coachman puts on a mellow expression.

「Of course, of course, if you have anything else you need, just tell us, miss. We will leave the items here for you to handle,」 his jovial tone breaks the rigidity of the mood.

「Fufu, yes, thank you. The region has been rowdy as of late, has it not?」

「There has been an increase of beasts on the roads leading up to here for some reason,」 the orc states matter-of-factly.

「I see... I do hope your travels have been safe nevertheless. Take this as a reward for your troubles, before you leave,」 the woman says and hands the man a small pouch.

Immediately deciding to open it, he's joined by two big green heads looming on each side of him, so they all can take a brief peek. The three stand with shock on their faces and the more eloquent orc shows a wide grin and scratches his head.

「Ma'am, you're too good to us. We will now consider the goods delivered and be on our way,」 he says with a suddenly upbeat demeanor.

With those words, they quickly start readying the carriage to leave, setting out not long after. While the horses pull away, all three heads turn back occasionally, curious and confused, shifting their gazes between the women the goods let in the middle of the road.

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