Truth Of The Forgotten Age

"Alright, I got one!" Seraph exclaimed, jogging back to the group as she held up the paper contract.

"What's the job?" Kazue asked.

"Simple caravan escort."

"Take people from point A to point B safely, right? Not the other kind of escort..." Aviris wanted to make sure.

"Yeah...?" Seraph answered, confused by Aviris' question. "Anyway, the merchant in charge of the caravan is waiting at the tavern near the north gate."

The girls nodded and left the academy's branch office and headed towards the north end of the city. Since the academy was rather central, the walk wasn't too long. Lo and behold, the "Hungry Owl", a wellkept tavern just a few buildings away from the city's north exit.

"Let's see... we're looking for... a relatively old man..." Seraph said, surveying to tavern goers.

"Half the people in here are pretty old, Seraph. You need to be more specific." Sirtia said with a sigh.

Seraph didn't say a word, but she lit up and speed walked towards one of the many older gentlemen in the establishment. The rest of the group followed Seraph, after all, a dense young woman shouldn't be wandering in a tavern filled with drunks by herself.

"Hiya! We've taken on your escort contract!" Seraph spoke with confidence to the old man.

"Ah, so you're the students to take it. I've to say, there are more ya than I thought." He said with a slight smile and a firm handshake.

"Half the group here is training under us, so we're taking them on a contract."

"I see. It's my pleasure to meet you lasses. Follow me!" He explained, springing up from his seat. With a better look at him, he was certainly rather old, perhaps in his seventies or even eighties. Yet, he was still rather spry.

The group, following the old man, walked just outside the gate, where the rest of the caravan was waiting.

"Grandpa!" A young girl exclaimed, running over to the old man and hugging him.

"There you are, old man. Who are the wenches?" A cocky man asked, with a twinge of distaste.

"Our escorts. They've come straight from the academy."

"You're letting a bunch of schoolgirls decide whether we live or die? Your age must be getting to you." He scoffed and went to one of the carriages, entering the rear to stay away from everyone else.

"I apologize about him. He's... had a rough time." The old man apologized, watching his granddaughter play around with Veronica.

"It's fine. That happens somewhat regularly. Anyways, can we see which route you'll be taking?" Seraph said with a smile, not bothered by the other man.

"Of course! Come, come." The old man agreed, leading the group over to small area on the otherside of the carriages, where a few other people were.

A younger man, writing something on some paper. A young woman who was simply waiting, and a small baby in her arms.

"Are those our escorts, father?" The young woman asked.

"Indeed. Girls, this is my daughter, Beatrice and her husband Francis." He introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm Seraph, that's Kazue, Sable, Sirtia, Veronica, Aviris, Eleanora, and Cassidy. We'll make sure you arrive to you destination safe and sound." Seraph was beaming, as if nothing could get under her skin.

"Francine, come here, you've got dirt on your face." Beatrice said with a slight smile, rubbing the dirt off her daughter's face.

The old man showed them over to a small, makeshift sitting area, where he unrolled a map. It was quite detailed, showing forests, hills, mountains, rivers, and even elevation here and there. The roads, however, were what they were paying attention to the most.

"There are two routes that'll take us to Aubergine. There's this one..." He pointed at a road on the map and traced the route before continuing, "which would get us there the fastest. However, it's a hot spot for bandits. We don't have much to give them, and we don't want to risk death or slavery. So, we'll take this route instead." He traced another road, east of the previous one. "It'll take another couple of days, but it's much safer. The only danger here are wild creatures. Though, recently, there have been reports of more dangerous monsters in the area."

"I see. Well, we can take care of most monsters and creatures. And the new girls haven't uh... really handled fighting against people yet. So, the longer route is definitely better." Sable said, taking a glance at the underclassmen, who are Half paying attention and half playing with the kids.

The old man nodded, understanding that the younger girls haven't really gotten too much experience outside of the academy.

"Then, we can agree on the longer route. We'll leave in the morning. Go ahead and rest at the tavern. The rooms have already been paid for. Though, you may have to share beds." He said, admitting he really didn't expect so many people.

"That's fine." Kazue said, hiding a sly smile.

The girls excused themselves and headed off. There was still time before they needed to sleep. So, t'was time to explore.