Arche ran through the streets of Arwintar as far as fast as her feet would carry her.
Normally the eldest daughter of a noble house would not be allowed to be 'running around like a common street urchin' as her father would tell her. However, she was outside of her house right now, and in the moment, she was a worker, not the heir to a noble family.
It would have been easier for her to [Fly] to her destination, but here was an issue with that, of course, namely the fact that you'd be drawing far too much attention to yourself.
It was not actually technically illegal for one to use flying magic while within the city, however, no doubt it would lead to a large number of questions and a large ruckus. It was also very likely that the Imperial Knights were not take kindly to such a display, not to mention the Royal Air Guard.
One of her friends from the time she had been at the Magical Academy had gotten in trouble for trying to [Fly] somewhere. Well they were not in trouble. for the actual spell, per se. They had been flying in order to not miss a class but because they had ended up being detained and questioned by the Imperial Knights, and they had ended up missing all over their classes for that day.
While she was pretty sure that her friends would have no issue waiting for her, she was already at least 15 minutes late, and keeping them waiting any longer would have no doubt drawn their ire.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Arche said as she bursts into the Singing Apple Pavillion.
The place was name such because there was a rare species of magical singing apple trees whose wood was harvested for the tavern- no wait, she had gotten that story completely wrong. However, in the heat of the moment, panting, she did not have the brainpower to try and scramble her thoughts as to what the actual story behind the name was.
Her barging in like this had led to some dirty looks from some other people, but they all recognized her and who she was, as such, an angry glare was the worst that she would get.
She found the irritated faces of her team members near a table.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she told them again when she was able to catch her breath.
"You surely kept us waiting," Roberdyck said with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah," Hekkeran added. "If you kept us waiting any longer, Imina would have started drinking and then well, you know..." he trailed off as Imina punched him playfully on the shoulder. At least, to her it was probably playfully but Hekkeran started rubbing his shoulder and winces.
"Ah, I'm sorry," Arche told them.
The reason why she was late was because she had run into a debt collector. And unfortunately, that man had stuck to her like goo from a Predator Slime, and it had taken quite a while to get him to buzz off.
"So, how is the new job?"
"Well, right to business, are we?" Roberdyck asked as he stretched his hands. "Well, I already told the others about the main details. I won't lie to pay might be good, but it still sounds fishy."
Hekkeran scratched his chin.
"I'm still not sure exactly why you were saying that. What about it makes it sound fishy?"
"Um I'm sorry," Arche interrupted. "But what exactly is the job?" Unlike the others she had not been updated on the basic details and as such could not participate in the discussion.
Roberdyck liked his lips. "The job is to hunt down a large colony of Quagoa at the foothills of the Azerlisia Mountain Range."
"What are... Quagoa?" Arche asked. She had never heard that word before.
"I'd never heard it before either," Roberdyck said. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and laid it out on the table- it was a crude drawing of a bipedal creature with gray fur. "Apparently they are bipedal demihumans. They look quite similar to oversized moles, although their skin is as hard or even harder than enchanted armor. Depending on what kind of ores they eat when they grow, their fur changes as it accumulates those minerals. They are nearly completely immune to melee weapons, but they have a crippling racial weakness to Lightning-type damage. Although this isn't confirmed- they do not going out in the light as it hurts their eyes, so there is also a possibility that they are weak to Fire-type damage as well. " Roberdyck looked at the ceiling. "Then again this is all secondhand information. I got this all from a friend in The Adventure Guild of the Empire. I can't verify any of it on my own and I haven't met another Worker who has ever seen a Quagoa."
"And who is the client?"
Hekkeran smirked.
"You know what? Let's do something to make this more interesting. Let's play a game."
He said this with a smile that was mirrored by his other teammates. "Why don't you guess who the client is? I can almost guarantee you that you will be wrong. "
Arche was a bit annoyed, but she had come in late after all and this was probably her teammates' way of giving her her comeuppance.
"Here's a hint," Roberdyck said. "It's someone we've met before."
Someone they had met before, Arche wondered.
She went through a list of her old clients, but no name came to mind.
Who would be interested in something at the base of the Azerlisia Ranges?
"If you can't guess, right," Imina said. "You owe us all a round of beer!"
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"Fair is fair," Hekkeran said. Yeah, this was definitely comeuppance for coming late.
Arche didn't get any further with wondering.
"Is it Count Alexios?" He was a nobleman who they had to eradicate rats for- huge rats which had resulted in one of the worst smells she had ever experience. Arche's mother had not let her back in the house for three days after that incident.
Hekkeran chuckled. "No, no. Dead wrong. You're not even close."
"Sorry, I'm out of ideas," she said. "Who is it?"
"Suzuki Satoru," Roberdyck said.
"Oh," Arche's face blanched. They had said that they had met this person before, but they hadn't said that he had been an earlier client of theirs.
"Wait, you mean the Adamantite adventurer Suzuki Satoru?" Arche asked. During their meeting in the Katze Plains, she had noted how he was a Sixth Tier caster- the only one besides her teacher she had seen.
"Why would he need help with-"
"Technically, the request doesn't come from him," Hekkeran said. "It actually comes from your old teacher Fluder Paradyne. However, even the small amount of digging led me to the fact that Fluder is currently doing this on his new teacher's orders."
"So it's true then?" Arche asked, eyes widening. "Fluder Paradyne, he's become Suzuki Satoru's apprentice?" She had heard rumors of this, of course, but she was no longer associated affiliated with the Magical Academy. And as such she could not be sure.
"Dead on," Roberdyck said. "Fluder has been following him as if he's his shadow, if reports are to be believed."
"But this, of course raises the question naturally-"
"-if they want to hunt monsters," she said, completing his sentence. "Why don't they just go do it themselves?"
Fluder Paradyne was renowned hero within the Empire capable of using Sixth Tier magic. He alone was capable of fending off many threats which no one else could. An example was that monster that was said to dwell within the Ministry of Magic, though Arche actually had never seen it herself. But she had heard rumors from other students. And there were far too many rumors of it for it to not be true.
"There is no need for someone like that to ask for people to help him," Arche said. Truth be told, she had not fully accepted the fact that Fluder had subordinated himself beneath this man. What she thought was more likely was that he saw an equal in Suzuki Satoru, and so the two of them were researching magic together. As for why Fluder would make something up about being his apprentice... she honestly could not think of a good reason. But she could not imagine someone truly surpassing Fluder Paradyne, and as far as she was aware, the last time that she had met this Suzuki Satoru he was a shade weaker than her teacher.
He had had time to grow since then, of course, but as one climbed higher one's growth was also slower, Arche knew. There was a possibility that one day Suzuki Satoru would overtake Fluder Paradyne, but she did not think that such a day would pass within the next decade or so.
At least, that was her assessment.
"Unless of course the task is so dangerous that even Fluder requires help," Imina said.
But she could not imagine an enemy which the famed magic caster of the Empire could not defeat- perhaps the eldest of Dragon Lords, maybe. But even in that case, what use would they be?
"Why would they hire us? That is the question," Hekkeran said. "On paper, the reason they've given is that these Quagoa are quite numerous. They are said to be somewhere between 20 to 30,000."
"30,000!" Arche exclaimed extremely loudly.
"Yep," Roberdyck said. "They've contacted nearly every single worker in the Empire as well as the Kingdome. A large task force is going to go near the Foothills of the mountain range to deal with them. I did some more digging, apparently about a week ago a large coalition of them, attempted to attack lands, controlled by Suzuki Satori. Not only that but a frontier village was also attacked."
"The question also arises," Roberdyck said. "Why didn't he just ask the Adventure Guild of the Kingdom for help if he needed it?" If it came to simple one-one-one combat, an Admantite adventurer team could easily plough through twenty or thirty thousand ordinary demi-humans, though real combat was rarely so cut-and-dry. One had to factor in fatigue, mana loss, the possibility of their being exceptional fighters on the enemy side, as well as the fact that they might be mowed down by human wave tactics.
Still, given that an adventurer team was small, they would have the advantage of maneuverability, and so should be able to make a stand against such a force. And Arche believed that that man could take on such a force on his own- not to mention if he had Fluder Paradyne backing him. Such magic casters could easily smite the enemy from afar, teleport, regain their mana, and then re-engage the enemy. In that way magic casters, no doubt, were superior to warriors.
"But... if there are so many of them and a frontier village was attacked, shouldn't the Kingdom's Adventurer Guild be mobilizing? And if not them, than even the Royal Army itself?"
"The official reason" Roberdyck said. "Is that the Kingdom's Adventurer Guild does not find think of it as a large enough or close enough threat to act. As it is, it is far removed from their borders. And I doubt the nobles of the Kingdom would be able to mount a sufficient strike force even if they could be bothered to deal with it in time, and as far as I know, they aren't considering it a real threat."
"However, our client has deep pockets," Hekkeran said. "He could probably hire half the Adventurer Guild of the Kingdom, Not to mention that he's an Adamantite ranked adventure himself. If you all he would have to do is pull a few strings, and probably have the entire guild at his beck and call."
Arche nodded. That analysis seemed to be spot on and she could not find a flaw with his logic.
"So why hire workers?"
To this Hekkeran smiled. "Well, I can only speculate at this point but I've heard some... interesting rumors about Suzuki Satoru. Granted they are only whispers but they say that he is involved with the Eight Fingers."
"The underground association of the Kingdom?" Arche asked. She had heard of their name. They had not been able to establish influence within the Empire mainly because the Blood-Emperor would not tolerate the presence of the drugs, they peddled in his streets.
"Yes, he seems to have ties with them," Roberdyck said. "So, the only reason I can think of for him to hire workers is that there's something there that he-"
"-doesn't want the authorities to see," Imina said.
"Exactly," Hekkeran said. "We are technically being paid to keep our mouths shut regarding anything we see."
"And how much is he paying?" Arche asked, curious to know.
"Six hundred gold pieces, with two hundred being paid upfront if we take the mission," Robberdyck said. "Quite a handsome sum, though that's not all. We're also promised a silver for each Quagoa we kill as a performance incentive."
"Oh," Arche said. On the battlefield, an ordinary soldier's life was worth little more than a silver coin. However, these were demi-humans, which usually required specialized training to kill. She felt that the reward was not commiserate with the skill needed to kill them... but the base pay was already quite high, so she couldn't see many people complaining. Not to mention if they were exceptionally weak, perhaps it would be possible to kill a few thousand of them over a few days? In such a case, the performance bonus could be quite a large sum.
"Given the huge numbers that we'd be facing," Roberdyck said. "I think it would add up quite quickly. A single zap of [Lightning] and they turn into fried meat, or so they say."
Arche was not a Lightning-element specialist, but she did know the third tier spell []Lightning].
The main issue with the third tier spell however, was that it only worked in a straight line. It could pierce through targets, but if the enemies were not in a straight line, then it'd be hard to strike them. It wasn't like [Chain Lightning], the fifth tier spell which moved from target to target until all enemies had fallen. However, there were very few magic casters in the Empire who could cast a spell like that.
Though, there could be no doubt that Fluder Paradyne would be able to. It made her wonder again as to why he simply didn't handle the whole situation himself.
"Anyway, I think that's all the information that we'll be able to collect," Hekkeran said. "Unless we try to scout out the area ourselves. However, I've been told that the area around where we are going has a lizardmen and a toadmen village- we are to avoid them if possible. And I don't see the point in dragging ourselves into meaningless conflict."
"Well, if it's that far in the wilderness as you said, it makes sense that the Adventurer Guild will not want to send its men there," Imina said. "Though, what does Suzuki Satoru have there, that's important?"
Hekkeran shrugged. "There are a couple of options, maybe he's smuggling things and there are smuggling routes they which only he knows about. Perhaps he is growing the Black Dust there on some secret plantation. Or maybe it's something else."
He took a deep breath. "Regardless. we are supposed to give our answer within two days and I can't see us gaining much more information while sitting here in Arwintar. So the question arises, do we take this or not?"
Six hundred gold pieces. It was quite the generous sum. And though the bonus of a silver per demi-human killed seemed to be on the lower end, it still meant that there was the possibility for an even larger reward.
On the other hand, while the pay was high, pay was usually tied to risk. A high payout meant that there was a high risk naturally.
The fact that this took place out in the wilderness, way from either the Kingdom's, or the Empire's borders meant that if they died or got into trouble, no one would be coming to rescue them. They would essentially be abandoned in a way.
It was quite common for workers to have such a job.
Not to mention, there was a bit of unease. Why, exactly would an Adamantite ranked adventurer ask for something which he should be able to do himself? The sheer numbers could be an issue. But still...
"Ultimately, I say we do it," Roberdyck said. "The pay is good, and the risk of getting into any sort of legal trouble is low. Not to mention there's a nice chance of squeezing out a significant bonus."
"I'm in as well," Imina said.
Hekkeran sighed. "Well, I guess there's no use overthinking it- and I'm tired of hunting undead on the Katze Plains. I'm in for the ride too."
Eyes fell upon Arche. Arche opened up her mouth- but instead of an answer, something else came out entirely.
"I'm sorry... but before I say my vote there's something I need to tell you." The reward was indeed large, but that meant that hiding her secret would be equally irresponsible.
And so the words came tumbling out of her mouth. About her loans. About her father's financial status. About the fact that her sisters had to suffer. And why she was late to the meeting. And why she was never able to upgrade her gear.
The others listened and she knew they must be judging her.
The fact that she had a large debt, which she had not disclosed, which could be limiting her judgement- they certainly had a reason to not trust her. Well, it was understood within worker and adventurer circles that one did not pry into the history of one's teammates if not necessary, but something like this was also a big no-no. Judging risk and reward was extremely important- more so for a worker than an adventurer, and as such, if there was something compromising it...
"In that case," Hekkeran said. "We can't rely on your judgment. I'm afraid you don't get to vote then. The votes right now are for a yes, are they not?" He looked around him.
To be fair, the votes were already three in favor of going along with the job- so it could be said that Arche's voice would not have mattered, but it was not the case. If Arche had an objection to something, it was possible to sway some of the other members to her side.
"Yes," Arche said. Truth be told, it was a bit relieving to have gotten all of that off her chest. The stress of dealing with it every single day had been overwhelming at times.
"But this poses another problem, doesn't it?" Roberdyck said. "What this means is that once this job is over, you'll be taking your sisters away from your parents."
"Yes," Arche said. "That is correct."
"And that would mean, naturally," Iminia said, "That you would quit being a worker..."
"Oh," she swallowed. She had not wanted to bring this up at this point. But it was true.
Once she was able to secure the future of her sisters and was able to pay off her debt, she had no further need to continue to do such high-risk activities as being a worker. She could get by very easily on the income of a third tier caster and she and her sisters could live in relative comfort.
"So," Hector said, "This may be Foresight's last mission together." He smiled. "In that case, let's make it count. Bartender, one round on me!"
"Hey, wait," Arche said. "Wasn't the first round supposed to be on me?"
"Don't worry about it," Hekerran said, "Consider this to be a parting gift."
What went unsaid between the two of them was the fact that if Arche was in so much debt, it would leave a bad taste in the other's mouths to make her pay for a round of drinks.
"Now, we're talking!" Imina said.
The next three hours were spent in going over the budget, their plans, and strategies regarding the upcoming mission.
They do not know much about the Quagoa but it was very clear that lightning was a clear weakness and possibly fire as well. Their claws seemed to be very sharp but they had no magic if Roberdyck's sources could be trusted regarding this.
Armor that could withstand slashing and cutting damage would be helpful, not to mention, they would need magical items which were capable of discharging electricity.
There was also an alchemical potion one could pour over a blade, or dip an arrow's tips in that would grant it partial Lightning-based elemental damage, and so several vials of those would have to be purchased.
And then they split duties as follows:
Roberdyck and Imina would go purchase the items they needed tomorrow.
Hekerran would go scouting for any further last-minute information that could be gleaned from the other worker team's heads.
Arche had not actually been given a task. She wasn't sure whether it was because she was about to leave, or because of her debt situation, because of her being late, or just a combination of all of them.
However, she felt like she could just not stand around and she told everyone that she would try to find out from any of her contacts at the Magical Academy whether they knew anything about these Quagoa creatures. It was possible that she might find a text somewhere within the academy's library, though, she would not have the time to bury herself in week's worth of research like she had been able to do during her years as a student.
And with that, their meeting ended and they promised to meet early in two days' time. They were to meet up in an area owned by a merchant by the name of Osk- that name sounded vaguely familiar to Arche, but she couldn't place it, and it seemed like a trivial thing to be hung up on.
Arche did not go home directly after the meeting. Instead, she found herself at a local spice shop.
This was one of the ways that she augmented her income when she wasn't on missions.
Lifestyle spells were a cornerstone of life in many cities, and Arche knew the first tier spell [Create Spices]. Unfortunately, she did not know any higher tier spells in the same branching tree, otherwise the quality of what she made, and subsequently the price would have also gone up. As it was, she had to prioritize spells that were useful in combat, though once she retired from being a worker it would not be a bad idea to pursue further study regarding making spices.
She created spices until all of her mana had run out, pocketed her pay, and then returned home.
It was an hour past sundown at this point. And no doubt her mother would be chastising her saying that it was not appropriate for a lady of stature to remain outside past dusk. Not to mention she was absolutely filthy given all the running she had had to do.
But as a worker that was to be expected. Still, she had to try somewhat to keep up appearances by washing her face off with a washcloth so that some of dirt came off.
She had barely taken ten steps into the manor when she was attacked by two small creatures- they were not monsters, but though they lacked the strength of monsters, they did have their ferocity.
Squeals of delight reached her ears as her twin sisters latched on to her and she had to pry them off.
"Yes, yes, I'm here now. Yes, yes, I'll read you both a story before you two go to sleep," she told them before asking them to scamper off. They did and while normally running would not be allowed within the manor, especially for a lady, the two were young enough to get away with it.
Watching over them with a faint smile on his lips was the family's head butler, though from the way he glanced at Arche she could tell that there was more to this and once her sisters were out of earshot, she asked, "What is the matter?"
"It pains me to trouble the young miss for this," he began. "But regarding the matter of payment..."
"How long has it been?"
"Two months," the man replied. Arche sighed. Two months. The man had been working for them for two months without receiving his pay.
It was likely only his remaining loyalty to the family and the fact that a bad recommendation from her father would likely damage his future job prospects which kept him for so long.
Arche took out all the money she had earned from the last three days from making spices.
It was worth about two weeks of the butler's salary. "I'm sorry. I can't give you more than this right now but I'll have the rest soon."
"I appreciate your generosity," he said with a light bow.
Arche marched towards her parent's room after that.
It was time for her to stand up to her father.
Her parents glanced at her as she walked in.
"Arche, what on Earth happened to your hair?" her mother asked. "And why who are you out so late?"
"Probably stealing away with a boy," her father said, waving his hand. "That's the kind of thing that your daughter has been up to."
Arche, in another context would probably have been flustered at that comment, but she had a serious matter to resolve. "I was not out with anyone."
"Good," her father said. "Do make sure you don't do anything that may spoil our family name and that'll make it difficult for us to have you married off."
"Speaking of which," her mother said. "Here." She handed Arche a small vial. Initially, she thought it was some kind of potion, but that was just her worker training kicking in, of course they would not be handing her some potion. It was perfume. The bottle was hardly larger than her palm but her mother excitedly told her that it was an exotic fragrance, which had cost one gold piece.
One gold piece, Arche thought. Such a huge sum for a bottle so tiny...
Well, from the point of view that marriage and having children was considered the ultimate happiness of noble daughters, it could be said that this perfume was an 'investment' of sort into Arche's future. If it would help her land the hand of a wealthy noblemen- from that perspective, it made sense somewhat. Granted, Arche had no desire to be wed off, but at the very least she could somewhat understand why her mother would purchase such a thing.
She wanted to yell at her mother that they shouldn't be wasting frivolous sums of money on such things, but her voice died down in her throat. Because, for one- it was ultimately because her mother cared about Arche in her own way that she had bought this, and secondly, because she had to save her voice and ire for her father.
Because while her mother's behavior could be somewhat excused, what made absolutely no sense was what stood on the table.
"Is that a lamp?" Arche asked- it let out a soft light and in a world without electricity that meant that it was enchanted. One could find many things which were enchanted with magic that would have been found to be operating on electricity back in Suzuki Satoru's home world, for example, one could find the modern equivalent of fridges or heaters within the Empire.
Of course, this meant that this lamp was likely very expensive.
"Ah, have you finally noticed?" her father asked.
His expression changed to one of pride as he puffed out his chest. "It is a artistic piece from a craftsmen in the Draconic Kingdom. A bargain at five gold pieces!"
The perfume at least could be explained. But not this. "And what purpose does it serve?" Arche asked.
"Why it is a rare collector's item," her father said. "Not to mention an important piece of art, as high-class nobility it is our duty to-"
"We are bankrupt," Arche said, putting as much emphasis on the word bankrupt as she could. As far as she knew, her parent's debt currently totaled to one hundred and fifty gold pieces, and now she would have to add six on to the pile.
"What of it?" her father said.
"Why do you insist on keep on wasting money like this?" Arche asked. Her family had been stripped of their lands by the Blood-Emperor, meaning they no longer had any source of income. Even if they sold the house- which her father would not agree to- they would still need to relocate and given their debts the money from the sale would not last them long.
"This is how we show our power," her father said. "We show that false emperor that he may take away our titles and he may take away our land but he cannot take our status and fame. Eventually, he will realize how important we are!"
Arche shuddered- for one, they could all be executed if word of this conversation leaked outside. Secondly if her father had wanted to win the favor of the Blood-Emperor, well, in a way, Arche could understand that. And she would my even commend him for such. However, what the emperor admired was merit and not the significance of one's bloodline. Which was a complete antithesis to her father's philosophy. And unfortunately, she did not know any realistic way that her family could get into the emperor's good graces.
This lamp was without a doubt, a waste of money not to mention she was absolutely sure that her father had overpaid for it.
"This is enough," Arche said. "I'm done with you."
"What do you mean you're done with me?" her father asked, his face turning red.
"What I mean to say is, I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago," Arche said. "I have a big job lined up. I'm going to go ahead and pay off your remaining debt. And I'll be taking my sisters with me. After that you're free to do what you please and run this house into the ground if that's what you wan-"
"Arche! How dare you talk to your father like that!" her mother snapped at her.
Arche winced. While she regularly butted heads with her father, her mother usually chose to stay out of such things and was far more soft-spoken.
But Arche was not about to back down.
"That's all I have to say," she said.
She could feel tears forming at the corners of her eyes, but she would not let them fall not in front of her father. He would just take it as a sign of weakness.
"I can't take living like this. Continuously dealing with debt collectors- with the fact that you can't pay your own staff, with the fact that you have no money and that instead of trying to find a way out of the hole like a normal person, you've chose to dig further down."
Her father looked like he was going to slap her and it was probably only the fact that he knew that she was an experienced worker who could fry him on the spot which stopped him from doing so.
"As for my debt to the family- I'll repay that before leaving," she said. "But just that and no more."
Arche stormed out of the room, her eyes now dampened with tears.
That had gone far worse than she had expected. But still she had pulled through and that was what mattered, she wiped her face and then went to go spend the rest of their evening with her sisters.
As Arche went to go sleep, her thoughts drifted to the task at hand. And to the sight of that magic caster Suzuki Satoru. A sixth tier caster who was possibly Fluder Paradyne's equal- or even better? What kind of enemy was he up against that he needed help with?
The sight of his magical aura was something she wouldn't forget so long as she lived.
She drifted off to sleep.
Horizontal rule
The next two days later when she went before Osk's manor, she realized where she had heard the merchant's name before. He was the sponsor of many of the arena's fights and he had also been the sponsor of the current Martial Lord, The martial art who had been defeated by Suzuki Satoru, though she had not been there to witness that fight on her own. A large crowd that numbered just under one hundred and fifty had gathered there.
"Hello," she said to her team members when she found them. Well, at least there was Imina and Roberdyck. Where was Hekerran?
"Hekkeran is speaking to the other team leaders," Roberdyck said. "Quite a crowd here."
Indeed. Arche had never seen such a huge large group of workers gathered in one place before. Without a doubt, this was one of the largest jobs that must've been requested in recent years, possibly even within the entire history of the worker's organizatin.
Hekerran came back after 10 minutes. "All right, so the other teams seem to know pretty much the same things as we do. There seems to be a big emphasis on the use of lightning elemental magic, as the Quagoa's weakness. So, I think we were right to focus on it."
"And who are they?" Arche asked.
There were a group of adventures, all of them wearing gold plates near the corner of the lot.
"They'll be guarding our luggage while we deal with the Quagoa," Hekerran said. "They won't be going inside to fight alongside us, of course."
"Really?" Arche said, surprised. Gold ranked Adventures were hardly inexpensive and the fact that someone could pay for them to do something as mundane as guard luggage- though given the fact that they were going out into the wilderness it could not be said that such precautions were completely unwarranted.