Valerie eased off of the wagon once they'd come to a halt, glad to have finally arrived. The mood in the village was not the cheeriest, what with the armed men on constant watch, and the brave souls living within the walls looking on at the battered mercenaries that came with the caravan. She had to admire their fortitude. Mercenaries accepted the dangers they walked into, and were paid well enough for it. These people simply had to live with such threats, with their only reward being survival.

"Your payment," Tobias said, when he'd worked through the mercenaries before Valerie and Markus. He handed both of them a small coin pouch, which Valerie quickly stowed away inside her rucksack. "Threw in a few extra silver for you two, seeing as we've a few who can't collect now. You more than earned it, it was a tough fight."

Valerie couldn't disagree with that. "I'm sorry about your hand. Glad we could help get the caravan through."

"Ah, could've been worse." He gave both of them a clap on the shoulder, and took his leave, moving on to the other mercenaries still awaiting payment. Valerie turns to Markus, exhaling heavily.

"Well, where to? We have some extra coin on our hands, it seems."