by Nic Weissman
Urlabus hated traveling, and this commission had forced him to do so more than ever. First he had to go to Norvik, to have to end up participating in that insane auction. All efforts to get there quickly had not helped at all and, ultimately, they had had to pay a crazy sum to get the item. And to make matters worse, he had to cross the Kingdom to bring the orb to its destination.
Devgon said he didn't trust anyone else to transport it. It really was a dangerous object. But that was why he built the special container! And it had cost him a lot of work. But it had not helped. In the end they could not send a soldier of confidence, no! He had to go, even though he got really dizzy when he traveled.
At least Devgon had provided a luxurious covered wagon that was drawn by four horses. His driver was professional, experienced and capable, but also surly and unhelpful. And those roads! When they crossed Bor Central it hadn't been so bad, but when they abandoned that county to enter the marks, the roads became irregular, poorly maintained, narrow and twisty. The cart kept jumping and Urlabus had gotten dizzy on several occasions. That idiot driver never heard him when he asked them to stop.
As they passed near the capital, they were joined by an escort of eight soldiers. Four preceded the cart and the other four were guarding the rear. At least he could feel safe with that deployment. No bandit would even get a league close to them. Each time they stopped there was always a horse that took the opportunity to relieve himself. For Oris, what huge amounts of excrement! It was amazing everything that fit inside the belly of those animals. The smell was foul and Urlabus genuinely didn't know if he got dizzier during the journey or when they stopped at a stream to let the horses rest and drink.
The distance was too great. He had been traveling almost a week in that cart and that was more than a human being could resist. At least they were almost there and they would hopefully reach their destination the next day. Once he gave the orb, he would seek a good inn to rest in a comfortable bed for several days. He'd need rest before starting the way back to the capital. He expected, at least, that that ungrateful Devgon would recognize his efforts and dedication as they deserved. If not, the next time he'd have another mission like that one, he'd have to find someone else!
Urlabus would have been happy using a portal to teleport instead of making that infernal and endless journey. But it was not advisable to go through a portal with such a powerful object like that one. The power of the orb could destabilize the portal and the result would be fatal. Urlabus had heard that magicians of great power, as the Masters in Magic, could create portals that remained stable, even when carrying the most powerful objects through them, but Urlabus had not reached that level yet. So he had to travel leagues and leagues of chariots and dusty roads.
The carriage took a new bump and jumped. Urlabus almost hit the ceiling with his head. Then he heard a bang and the cart was destabilized. The driver pulled the reins sharply while the horses whinnied, scared. Soon after, they managed to stop abruptly and the cart was still twisted. Outside they could hear several men talking loudly. Finally, the driver opened the door and asked him to come down. It was no easy task given the inclination of the carriage. Despite the lack of help the driver, he got down. He carried the container, which he didn't separate from even when he was sleeping.
The last downturn had damaged the vehicle axles and it lost a wheel. It was impossible to continue. The driver took one of the horses and went back down the road to try to recover the wheel. Two soldiers accompanied him. The other six kept circling the wagon while keeping lookout on all sides.
“What is it, soldier? Why so much deployment?” the magician asked restlessly.
“Your Honor, it is a common tactic to sabotage the roads to bring a stop to the party when it is intended to launch an ambush. Many robbers use this trick. Whenever there is an accident of this type, we prefer to think the worst and be prepared. You never know,” the soldier said.
Well, this was more information than Urlabus wanted to know. Were they really in danger? Was this accident provoked? The magician was not sure, but as the minutes went by, he became more and more nervous. Where had that driver gone to? Why was he taking so long?
Somewhat later the man appeared carrying the heavy wheel in his horse. He explained that it had cost him to find it. It had shot out of the way and had gone into the field about fifteen steps away. Because the grass was so high, it had not been easy to locate. It took nearly an hour to fix the carriage and three soldiers were required to lift it, to be able to make the repairs. And it was only provisional! In the next town they would have to stop and make a more serious repair. Possibly they would have to spend the night there. Great! How horrible! Almost another day late and they still would have to stay over to sleep in a seedy village. Urlabus thought that, with the luck he had, there probably wouldn't have a decent inn there and he'd have to sleep in a stinking tavern.
The procession started off again, this time much slower. Finally, they hadn't been attacked. It really had been an accident; a more eventful journey, which Urlabus hadn't enjoyed. The magician could not wait for this mission to end.
