Chapter 11

Wolf and Business Habits

Though festive and lively the patrons of 'the Gold Nugget' appeared, there was one among them whose facial features was that of perturbed astonishment which was far from any merriness expected to be seen within the hostelry. The astounded face turned towards the masked one next to her and stammered with trembling lips.

"Did you know we were in Yoites?" asked Holo with a tone of retroactive distrust to what ever the answer may be.

Instead of answering her plea, Ranger turned towards the serpent god and ignored the dynamic inquiry all together by addressing the latter, "Who is this Evgeny in Cross Iron?"

The snake man gave a smile that complimented his character, "A man who can serve as the gateway to all your predicaments if handled correctly of course."

Becoming all the more negatively aroused, Holo gave a sputtering demand, "Can you not be more helpful than this?"

Slanting his head in which only one of his long and thin pupiled eye was in full view from the draped hood, the information broker replied with an unnerving coo, "I'm being as helpful as your two trenni is worth."

Suddenly both her palms smote the table as she unexpectedly made a voiced aggression, "This is my husband!"

This caught the attention of a view fellow customers who peered over their shoulders to validate the source of the commotion, then went back to their own endeavors. Holo's outburst did not go unpunished, for the waitress, whom she found to be unendurable, approached the table.

"Ya having troubles little lady?" asked the server with a smirk, which nearly drove Holo to violence.

"We are fine!" caromed the she wolf.

The hostess gave an obnoxious snigger, for she found this amusing, "I can still fetch ya some alcohol darling if that'll cool yer nerves."

Reaching the climax of her patience Holo sharply responded, "If you do not leave us in peace, I am going to scream!"

The attendant then left them be only to be called upon by another man who wished for other appetites to be fulfilled by simply grabbing hold of her waist and having her sit in his lap. Holo rolled her eyes and huffed at this shameless display of unchasteness, then turned towards the broker who was helping himself to a mug of cider.

"Well I suppose then that some thanks are in order then, true?" said she with defeated gratefulness.

The snake man cocked his neck and as if to show some sympathy then returned, "Do not be discouraged, just because I did not tell you all, does not mean you can't discover it."

Holo then looked to Ranger who posed himself with his arms crossed and appeared to be stewing within his own mind. She then reset her subtle gaze upon the broker and muttered, "Do not worry, consider the cider a tip, a token of our good will and faith in you, that your information is accurate."

The lips of the serpent being tinged upwards as he began to refill the vessel with the pitcher and replied with a sneer, "Allow me to show you mine."

He then put the inner rim of his mug under his left fang and pressed. With a curl of the lip a jet of venom shot into the cider in which he arose shortly after and offered it to the man who was preparing to take the lusting waitress to the rooms above. Placing the mug on the table he slapped the patron on the shoulder and said with good will towards his fellow man, "Some liquid courage my friend?"

The man was unanimously grateful and consumed the intoxicated beverage wholly within seconds. After this exaggerated display of random generosity, the man took his wench upstairs to be alone for the time being which left the broker to return to his seat with a devilish grin painted across his face.

"Poisoning a stranger is how you exercise a token of trust on our behalf?" inquired the befuddled Holo.

"Oh fear not my well meaning little wolf, it won't kill him; not in that dose anyway."

"But what has he done to us to fall prey to such a trick?"

The snake man said with self gratifying charm, "That waitress was burdensome to you, her plans for coition shall be wrecked when she is vomited upon."

Holo nodded then changed subjects, "Which way to Cross Iron?" said she with an inner longing to hasten this journey and be reunited with her love.

The broker arose and slighted, "Better to ask; how will you afford to get there? Evgeny will not meet with anyone other than merchants or Beatrice."

"Who is Beatrice?"

The broker respired one of his heart crushing respires then said in the very spirit of making this encounter a rapid departure, "I believe you have asked enough questions."

He attempted to rise until the cold aggression of Ranger's voice pierced each soul, "Yes but there is one question you will answer for me."

The snake eyes turned towards him with an inexpressible glare of confusion and acrimony, "And that is?" said he failing to keep his nerves from reverberating in the waves of his voice.

Ranger's head turned slowly in with such a devastating scowl that even the broker was stiffened and Holo was put on guard.

"The man who plays the role of Jurgen's enforcer, wearing a black tunic….Who Is He…?" demanded the masked man with a subtle threat in his tone.

Taking a moment to recollect his slithering dominance, the snake man replied with a repudiating whisper, "What more can you offer me than just two trenni to divulge that information to you?"

Ranger leaned forward and gave a penetrating stare before making a response that doubled as a perilous promise, "Your life."

An antagonizing hiss followed in which the response was, "You are not fooling anyone, I know what this is about."

Ranger intensified his stance, "Then you should also know the lengths I will exert upon myself to see it through."

"I cannot say for sure if he is whom you suspect, even if I did I wouldn't tell you."

"Then I would discover it for myself, and if that be the case then pray our paths would never again cross."

Holo, in the meantime, rapidly exchanged glances between the feuding individuals with as much perplexity as there was hostility among them. She had not even the faintest idea of the history that tied them together.

The snake man arose and walked away, his stride and posture resembling more of a slithering shadow than a normal human making his way on his own two feet. He stopped at the bar and put the two trenni down and said, "Keep the rest for tip."

Ranger and the she wolf were then left alone from there on out. Holo took the last mug and used it as a means to drain the remaining cider from the pitcher. Once it was all consumed, Ranger broke his posture and said as he was making plans to leave, "Shall we then?"

Before the she wolf could fully internalized all that had transpired, the swashbuckler was already at the door. She quickly bolted after him, who by this time had already moved himself outside and was heading towards the wagon, once she had went through the doors she called out to him.

"Is there anything else you wish to tell me?"said she with a tone of disapproving duplicity.

Ranger stopped and moved his profile just enough to catch her with the corner of his eye. She continued on as she was approaching him, "You did not tell me that Valenfurt was within the borders of Yoites."

Ranger then made a pondering inquisition, "And you feel it would have made a difference?"

She put her hands to her chest and protested, "This is my home! I have not seen it for centuries."

The masked man then made a quick reply as he returned to his journey to the wagon, "It would only have served as a distraction."

Holo could scarcely believe the words she was hearing, therefore she chased after him and continued to press other matters, "But there is more, he seemed to know you. In fact he seemed to know you in ways that you found distasteful!"

Ranger was not stopping nor making any notion that he was to reply in which Holo ran in front of him and stopped him with her hands, "He said that you of all people could tell me more than I could ever wish to know. I have the feeling that it goes beyond the information you have obtained while working for the count."

Ranger, as always, refused to give up his reluctance to the wolf girl and let silence be his response. Holo spoke more quietly but with more yearning, "I am not a simpleton; the familiarities I have seen you display hints to something more. The way the serpent spoke, it was almost as if he knew you personally and that there is a greater history at play that I am not aware of." She then moved closer and asked with pleading eyes in a calmer yet beckoning tone that fit well her yearning to know all the mysteries within his head, "Who are you? And why is it that you do what you do?"

The masked man eventually moved his eyes towards her and said so subtly that it sent shivers up her spine, "If we live long enough, all will be revealed to you in time."

He then moved his way around her to prepare the wagon for their return to the cabin.


As the shire was pulling the wagon up through the backroads, Holo withdrew her tail and began stroking it. In this instance, it was not a mere grooming habit which drove her, but of contemplation. Ranger took note of her quashed attitude and eventually said to make some form of amends, "It was never intended to be an insult,' Holo starred upon him with interest as he went on, 'If you were to discover that Valenfurt is apart of the old lands known as Yoites, it could have been problematic to your judgement."

Holo gazed upon him with a blank stare before returning to her tail, "I happen to be an excellent judge of character, and I do apologize for my outburst. It is only I have longed to see my home, and now that I am here, I do not know what to do."

Ranger then corrected, "Theoretically we are not in Yoites, or that is to say, it is considered more of a provincial territory in this day and age. We would have yet a ways to go if you were to see your native lands."

With his face set upon the trail, she glanced up at him with her eyes with tender want that stemmed from an aged desire, "Do you think we will make it that far?"

The masked man let out a soft respire through his nostrils before responding, "It may be for the best if we do not."

The ears atop her head stretched upwards faster than her contrast could make the transition. No words within her vocabulary could adequately describe the hurricane of emotions swirling within her bosom. Her curiosity pushed her to extract more details on the statement but then quickly deduced with her reasoning that perhaps she was not ready to see what had become of her beloved home and aside from this, the man would never yield a straightforward answer even on the best of days.

"Have you any idea what your contact said concerning Jurgen's motive?"

Ranger began to massage his ribs to press the wrap underneath his vest closer into his skin, leaving Holo to conclude that whatever remedy he applied beneath it needed to be rubbed in further to reduce the pain, while he answered, "I have heard that phrase before, however the tongue is lesser known."

"That is not what I asked.' interjected the she wolf, 'I too have recalled that phrase, and I as well cannot remember fully the meaning. Have you any guesses?"

"Guesses avail nothing."

Holo rubbed her brow in taxation then out of her frustration moved to another topic that would yield more fruit for the sake of making leeway in any degree. "What of the message written in blood? 'Can the warrior conceal the fight? Can the wolf withhold the bark yet yield the bite?' What do you suppose it meant?"

Ranger made a wispy inhale then pronounced with the surety Holo was expecting, "It is a challenge."

"How so?"

After tugging back on the reigns to keep Gallavaun at a steadier pace (for he began moving too fast for the wagon to handle on the windy roads) he declared his reasoning, "He said that Jurgen was know as Lord De Buhr in these regions which plays both in and out of our favor."

Holo quickly pondered and answered before him, "That would mean he would hold an office of power, true?"

"Yes, which means he has more money, power and resources than originally thought. He could possibly even posses a form of territorial control. However for every strength that is made bare a weakness shall make itself known. In summary he would not want his activities be brought to the public eye."

"That would be detrimental for him seeing how he is a public figure, yes?"

"You speak true, however this escapade applies also to the safe guard association as well."

Holo, when having enough of the evidence before her to extend her knowledge and decipher the true meaning of the script written in blood replied, "In other words, the challenge is to see if we can hunt one another while remaining under a shroud so that kings and authorities will not be alerted to one another's activities. Then that would explain why the count and Stephano never reported one another to the local militia for they both then would be compromised and exposed, therefore Jurgen still wishes to use this deterrent so that he may go about his work with little resistance."

There was neither denial or affirmation in regards to her concluding verbiage of the whole matter, however the she wolf proudly flicked her tail for silence normally meant that he had nothing left to say for it had all been spoken and it had all been accurate. She returned to grooming her pride and joy with so much self satisfaction that even the charred and bristled ends of the recently white tip did not vex her in the moment.

The masked man took note of this victory of which her pride was placed in and replied with a dismal tone, "I do hope for your sake, you know how to skin and clean an animal."

With lifted eyebrows she turned to him, "I beg your pardon."

"Every hunter must prepare his or her trophy."

"This is already known to me, what are you playing at?"

"I will not clean the deer you have slain, even if you are squeamish for it."

Grunting she declared to him, "I am Holo the wise wolf! Blood and viscera of living things to not disturb me!"

The wagon finally found it's location at the cabin at this point in time, in which Ranger ceased Gallavaun's trot, reached back and grabbed a small knife and handed it to Holo while saying, "That relieves me. Let us be swift, I have one moose and one deer compared to your five."

Holo took the knife within her possession with a role of the eyes and dismounted the seat. As the anomalous duo made their way to their game, Kaytaff peered around with a surprised and guilty stare in his innocently forced eyes as his mouth was puffed out with one of the dead squirrels dangling off both sides of his jaws. Ranger inspected his own kills while Holo did the same and fortunately they were in the same quality in which they were last left, for the dog's sake.

The masked man started with the moose for it was the creature that would consume the most amount of time to prepare. Unclasping his sword he made the correct incisions in order to gut the large beast. In the meantime, Holo studied his technique in which the man took note and said, "If you wish for guidance, I can assist"

The she wolf locked her posture and sharply returned with a sour disposition, "You despaired against my attempts to assist you, so I shall likewise turn down your proposal."

He kept his eyes on her for a few moments more before, to her bewilderment, they softened slightly before returning to the task in in which he was recently engaged. She wondered if perhaps he had in some way regretted his conduct towards her in the contemporary of the hour. Perhaps his offering of assistance was a mere way of him expressing a restitution, on the counter note however, he appeared to be a man who perceived himself above such ceremonies.

Holo glanced down at the knife in her hand then said aloud, "Would it not save more time to sell the game as they are to a nearby meat shop?"

Ranger at this time was prying the prone section of the moose open allowing the viscera to fall into a barrel he had underneath for collection before responding, "Yes, however he may charge less to balance out the price of the labor he would have to exercise in order to gain what he needs."

She nodded then went to approach the five tethered carcasses. The antlers had all been removed, now that all that needed to be done was simply skin and clean the creatures in hopes to obtain profit through them. She became uneasy and only resigned herself to gawk at animals with an estranged uncertainty.

"Time is of the essence." said Ranger while finishing what remained with the moose before moving on to his deer.

Holo continued to peer at her warped reflection given off by the steel of the knife before saying with a profound epiphany, "You know it is strange, though I have hunted many a times…' then turning her head towards him, 'I have never used a knife to mutilate any creature in my life. I never thought the sensation would be so different."

Twas true what she spoke, for Holo had performed such similar deeds with the extent of her natural instinct at hand, that is to say when she was as her wolf form, however in the form of a fair lass the act of cutting into what was once living tissue was less instinctive and an art that had to be learned. She crooked her neck towards him and said with tender humility, "Perhaps I could benefit from a lesson on how to clean them."

The masked man briefly ceased what he was doing as if to contemplate, then forfeited his undertaking and made his way to her with his own knife. There was an odd standstill between the two as they faced each other in close proximity, one of such that could not be put into the simplest of words.

Alas Ranger held out his blade to her carcass and said, "Make the incisions here and follow it all the way down to the neck."

Holo nodded with a pleasant smile, for in her mind and perhaps as well as his; Apology given and apology accepted.


It was just before sundown to where we see our two adventures making their way back down the canyon and once again to Valenfurt. This time they had all their provisions within their supply and the hour was generous enough for the market to allow.

Holo, as usual, spent her precious free time grooming her tail however she would not be extending more effort to enjoy the act if not for a bandage wrapped around the thumb of her left hand. Coincidentally, she had decided to make haste in the skinning for if the hour grew too late then they would be delayed another day until the stalls and vendors would make themselves available to sell their cargo. And in that haste, Holo put more her effort into speed instead of technique and as an end result the blade left its mark on her hand in which it had to be bound.

She began to manipulate the bandage for additional freedom of movement but was forbidden by Ranger who quickly spoke, "Keep the binding tight."

Sticking out the afflicted tactile member, Holo murmured with less sophistication than expected for her maturity, "I cannot even feel my thumb, look here the color has gone from it!"

He understood the true intent behind the complaint; it made the grooming of her tail a more foreign endeavor than a familiar one. In this state she found it more meat to simply blame the man who tied it so, but was abruptly put in check when he said with callous reasoning, "Are you sure you wish to have full feeling in your hand?"

She huffed, for she knew the logic behind his words was to express the agency that she could enact either numbness or pain in her afflicted area. This only left her with a feeble defense for her pride, "I was only doing it the way you had told me."

Ranger's mood changed to a more unexpected calmness, "You moved too swiftly for what your experience could dictate, even the wisest of lessons cannot prevent the calamities of such follies."

"Hmph! Perhaps you should have not given me such a dull knife!" said she with a heavy pout.

He reached back into the wagon and retrieved the blade she was bidden to borrow and replied, "Let us see." He then held out the back of his thumb and rested the edges at an angle upon the nail. With a few gentle swipes, a few shavings came off, in which he replied, "The edges are not dull, only the wielder.'

With a brow creased in the very angles of eternal fury, Holo shot her face towards him and nearly bellowed, "You dare conclude the wise wolf Holo as a dull wit!?"

A deep breath was sucked in through the mask of the man as he closed his eyes and changed his mood. This left the she wolf to conclude with brisk rationalization that the man was taking upon himself the moment to teach.

Holding the blade to his eyes he began to lightly twirl it around and around. This astonished Holo to see the skill portrayed for the steel fell between his fingers and was pushed about with the edges coming close to the nooks of his hand, yet no flesh was marred as the knife continued to circulate through. While still persisting in this demonstration he asked of her, "Tell me, do you know why it is that I am to do this without drawing blood?"

Shaking her head, Holo said with subdued circumvention, "Because your skill at it surpasses my own, I understand!"

Ranger then retook the knife by the handle to embody its stationary state and corrected with keenly patience, "Because I allow the knife to do the work for me."

Her ears flexed as she leaned further forward and inquired, "What are you getting at?"

"Your attempts were too vigorous. Instead of allowing the blade to do its part, you wished wholly for the responsibility to fall on yourself."

"In lames terms please." she moaned.

"You worked too fast." said he with a begrudging to her attitude that disrupted the mood of this precious education.

Holo then pondered with some annoyance, "Well then if you knew that this would happen then why did you encourage me to skin the creature myself? Or is my pain your pleasure?"

Ranger kept his polarized pupils on the width of the knife and replied, "It would do you well to learn how to be proficient with a blade, for I may not always be here to protect you."

She nearly scoffed with hysteria, "I am Holo the wise wolf, you think that I of all people need your protection?! Honestly I do not think you give me the credit that is due."

With a slight raise of the eyebrows the man replied, "Not as you are. Your formalities only increase when you are in wolf form. As a petite woman, you can easily become overpowered."

Holo quickly neutralized her face to a more blank complexion and replied, "That may be, however I can sense danger from greater distances. Aside from that, all I would need is a few grains of wheat and I would no longer need your protection or any weapon to save my life, am I right?"

Ranger was motionless and said nothing in return. Holo perceived this as a personal victory and relaxed herself with grace and satisfaction. However the lesson was not yet over, for as she transitioned herself to a tranquil state there was a loud thump that caught her off guard. Sitting in marginal proximity to her right foot was the knife. Ranger had hurled and transfixed the blade only a finger's width from her sole.

Swiftly moving her foot away she irately said, "Have you lost your mind?! You nearly impaled me!"

With louder yet calmer voice, Ranger replied with an assenting tone, "Could you not have simply ingested the wheat to avoid the danger?"

She paused for a great moment. She knew well what it was he had implied. Though severely a force to be reckoned with she was, there was brief elapse of time to take upon herself her wolf form. It need not take much to exploit that one minuscule moment when she was vulnerable. By doing this demonstration, Ranger had shown her that one split second of a calculation, one slight dither of recklessness, one jot of error is all it took to bring one's mortality to a fatal end.

Holo reached down and plucked the knife up into her possession and looked upon it with profound interest. During her entrapment of thought the man asked of her, "Tell me, if the pagan gods really are so powerful and have nothing to fear of humans, then why hide from them?"

Shooting her head towards him she was about to answer however the words caught in her throat leaving her to muster an insecure, "We do not want them to be afraid."

"Because they are a dangerous force on the earth and it is you who also does not give them the credit that is due either."

She had not rejoinder at the moment, for she had always thought humans as curious and entertaining yet always weaker and lesser species. Though never concluding them as a thing naught but now realized their place in the world weighed heavily upon the dominions of nature.

"Very well then you have made your point." said she, "I will carry this with me wherever we go just in the happenstance that I cannot use the power of the wheat so that I may preserve my life. Will that make you happy?"

The wagon at this point had been pulled back into Valenfurt in which Ranger let out a slight huff which almost sounded like a silent chortle, "Only a fools trust their lives to a weapons."

At this point the wagon was being hauled back into Valenfurt to where their goods could be bartered for. Holo looked about the streets and said more to herself than to the man she had a reluctant companionship with, "We must find a butchers shop."

Before Ranger could make a reply Holo called out to a passerby who was on his way to satisfy his own undertakings, "You there sir!' she voiced aloud, 'Where might we find a butcher's shop?"

The pedestrian scowled at the notion of having his daily routine interrupted and merely pointed in the direction to where she would find what she sought. He looked as though he wished to say something but in the end held his tongue, either out of respect for her beauty or fear of the man next to her.

Gallavaun was steered to the left at a muddy intersection before Holo was able to decipher with a point of the index finger, "Lo there, that is the place. I can smell the raw meat."

With the same amount of acknowledgment a statue would have for it's observers, Ranger guided the wagon up to the shop and there ended its transit. Holo was the first to disembark and quickly rushed inside to find the butcher behind a red stained, wooden counter beginning to file away his wares and close for the evening.

He took note of her as he was removing his hematic apron and inquired with a gruff voice, "What can I do you for little lady? I'm closing soon."

She quickly piped up, "Good sir I have a wagon filled with venison, antler and skin of both deer and moose and the furs of rodents. How much will you take them for?"

The butcher's eyebrows tinged with some frustration for selling his goods extended less hours than purchasing. Rubbing his eyes he asked of her, "How fresh are the kills?"

"A few hours at least and not a moment more." said she with hopeful enthusiasm.

He let out a sigh yet showed that he was a more rational being in this town than most and informed with sympathetic regret, "I am not a trading firm so I could not hope to pay even half of what they're worth, but I can pay you the most in this town."

"Well…' mused Holo, 'I have one moose, six deer and three squirrel. What would you be willing to pay?"

With a remorseful grimace the butcher stated, "Thirty silver."

Holo's heart went through a plummet in feeling. In her own experiences, furs could trade in the hundreds in high enough quantity. Therefore she attempted to sway his stance.

"The animal are already skinned and the antlers removed, this alone will take away the price of labor on your behalf."

"Thirty five silver then…"

Holo attempted to make one more push and chose so carefully, "That is most generous of you however have you noticed the changing of the seasons?"

The butcher let off a soft face for he knew well what was to be implied next, "Winter vastly approaches, I know."

Holo held both her hands to her chin while having her finger interlocked, "Then you know that it shan't be long until the animals will hibernate. Atop of this, the wolves and bears in the forests will grow more ravenous to hunt down their prey making it all the more hazardous for any hunter to trek into the woods thus slowing your business, am I right?"

Closing his eyes and fighting the churning of his head, the butcher nodded.

She then smirked with the left dimple of her lip and stated, "How long will it be until you can have meat to sell. The entrails are all collected for you to make sausage and the carcasses are prepared for steak. May I ask for fifty?"

She knew well it was too high a price however it was a tactic in bargaining. For the butcher's eyes widened and said, "Forty, that's my final offer."

She chose to close there for she knew he would not be moved. "Deal." said she.

Then motioning to the door, "Shall we take a look."

Another tactic that the man fell for yet left Holo more surprised that she had succeeded in, was that they had agreed to a price without examination of the product itself. Any merchant would have insisted upon this in any engagement, especially Lawrence.

Scratching his neck the butcher went outside to inspect what he would be trading for and prayed it would be worth the forty silver. He stopped outside the door when seeing Ranger leaning his back against the wagon who turned and inquired with a near frigid demand, "What have you settled on?"

The butcher walked up with caution and said with an innocent stillness, "Forty Silver."

Ranger squinted, "You realize that life and limb was risked to bring these to you?" then referencing to the moose, "This one here charged me, I believe and interest should be tacked onto this as well."

The butcher's temples began to perspire as he noticed the masked man caressing the end pommel of his sheathed sword. Stuttering, the meat vendor protested with a tone that he felt undeserving of this treatment, "Look s-she asked fifty of me I-I…."

"And why then are we ten short?" asked Ranger with the scowling eyes that could bring damnation.

"Look, I can do forty five but that's the best I can do!"

Ranger was about to make another rebuke until Holo stood between them and answered for him, "Forty five is more than enough." then shooting a fiery glance of heinous disapproval towards the masked man, asked, "Is it not?"

Ranger was put off slightly, for he had a bargaining agenda of his own. He shook his head and stated, "Very well, I suppose you will need help hauling it in?"

The butcher was rapid to respond by shaking his hands, "Oh no, I can summon my apprentice."

Ranger pushed off the wagon and then whistled and pointed to the ground by his foot in which Kaytaff leapt out and healed by his master's side. "By all means then." he returned with an even coolness.

Dog and master removed themselves from the wagon and positioned themselves by the exterior wall of the abattoir while the butcher nervously called for his apprentice who was a young adolescent of perhaps ten and three years of age to come out and take up the provisions out of the wagon. At this point a displeased Holo marched up to the masked man and made aggressive whisperings with him to keep the conversation within their ears.

"Was that necessary?" she insinuated in reference to the previous interaction.

Tilting his head with pretentious confusion he replied dully, "Why murmur? I have obtained for you five additional silver."

Glancing back at the man and the boy who thus laboring she rejoined empathetically, "To be a successful merchant, one must rely on trust and good feelings, not through fear and intimidation."

"And did these good feelings pocket you the most coin?" said he in an interrogative matter to win over the argument.

She quickly acknowledged that, yes, more profit was obtained however it was not an honest means for business therefore she quickly caromed, "So far, I am in charge of providing funds. And from now on I do not want profit to be made in this way. Am I understood?"

Ranger's eyes floated about. He was not at all put off by her boldness, in fact he almost seemed to be complimentary of it, "As you wish." said he.

Holo's posture relaxed at the compliance then made a closing statement, "Very well then we are at an agreement? You will spearhead the man tracking and set the destinations, I shall due my part in taking the role of the merchant, yes?"

After a brief pause of this standard being proposed, Ranger simply said, "Agreed."

The expectation was set, now it had to be honored, which Holo was unsure if he would or not. For it was the first time that she demanded compliance from him.

The butcher and his apprentice had finished with the task ending with the man approaching them with a small sack filled with coins. Holo went out to him as a means of damage control to keep distance between the meat vendor and the masked man. She took the money with gratefulness then took it upon herself to make further restitution, "I do apologize for him, you see our situation has grown so desperate and we need all the money we can get."

Suddenly the young boy piped in, "You need more money? There are jobs that pay well here."

The butcher quickly turned and attempted to quell his outburst, "You've done enough today Samuel, you can run home."

Ranger however was intrigued, "What employs do you speak of boy?"

Samuel shuddered slightly, for he was at an impasse to respect the wishes of his master or fulfill the demands of the robust stranger. Weakly he pointed down the grimy streets and said, "There is a warehouse that mainly deals in delivering goods from here to Cross Iron. They will hire anyone with an empty wagon to deliver a load up there and will pay handsomely for it."

"Cross Iron actually is our next destination." replied Holo with some sweetness for the boy's helpfulness.

The butcher quickly intervened, "What he's not telling you is the reason they pay so well is because the roads are extremely dangerous, riddled with bandits and wild animals. Most merchants actually take it upon themselves to hire mercenaries for protection."

"That will not be a problem." said Ranger to dispel any doubts.

Holo quickly asked another question, "Do you know what it would be that we would be hauling."

The boy's complexion brightened as he said with a chipper, "Wine."

This would play very well for the duo as Holo began to place herself into deep thought. She had an excellent discernment for quality and knew she would be able to perhaps sell it for higher than what originally paid for, and to top that, the cost of hazard could move the price up even higher.

"How can we make this arrangement?" she asked.

Samuel made the haste known by announcing, "You will see the warehouse if you just head down there, they will close soon so just enter and ask for a man by the name of Jacopo."

"Load up." said Ranger in which the hound bolted and leapt into the wagon. He then walked up to Holo and persisted on taking the money pouch from her. He then withdrew five silver pieces and handed them to the butcher, "For your helpfulness." said he.

The man took them with astounded gratefulness which left Holo in a similar abyss of bewilderment. They were then found on the wagon and quickly heading down the street to hasten their journey to Cross Iron.