At Myra Dawnblade's invitation, Karin and the members of the Ranger Squad joined the caravan.
With the help of the caravan's drivers and many of its other members, the dozen or so parked wagons began moving south!
Karin noticed that the wagons were rather cumbersome. They clearly carried a considerable amount of cargo, so this journey would probably be slow going.
The Rangers had spread out along the caravan's outer perimeter, watching their surroundings... but they were still within Quel'Thalas, where a Troll attack was unlikely.
Karin did not head out with the Rangers. He stayed near the rear of the caravan! A short distance ahead, Myra Dawnblade was talking with his two bodyguards, apparently discussing something.
Behind them, Karin gently raised his Staff.
"Troll Detection!"
Karin had developed this spell himself from Undead Detection... anticipating frequent encounters with Trolls during this period, he had adapted and learned it some time earlier.
The results surprised Karin. Neither Myra nor either of his bodyguards showed anything unusual.
Karin lowered his Staff. Had I judged them wrong? Or was the spell not powerful enough?
The black-skinned Dwarf suddenly glanced back at Karin... for an instant, his gaze exerted a faint pressure on him.
This Dwarf looked quite formidable!
"All-Knowing Eye, can you estimate the chances of encountering danger on this journey?" Karin had no choice but to seek help from the Legendary Magical Creation in his mind!
"There are too few reference factors to make an accurate projection..." the All-Knowing Eye answered slowly. "If a projection must be made regardless, the host's probability of encountering danger on this journey is 7.63%, more than five times the normal probability!"
"More than five times the normal probability. Something really is wrong!" Karin became even more certain of his earlier judgment.
"Then can you assess the strength of those three?" Karin asked quietly.
"Yes. Please wait..."
"Myra Dawnseal has the strength of a Mage Apprentice. Given that he is at least three hundred years old, his chances of advancing to the first ring are virtually zero!" the All-Knowing Eye assessed. "The black-skinned Dwarf and the bald human man have both undergone prolonged physical training. Their muscle density and muscular vitality are no lower than those of Captain Leguli, whom the host met over three months ago. Their combat capabilities are considerable!"
Captain Leguli had once been a Cavalry Second Lieutenant in Lordaeron, and after retiring, he had quickly used his abilities to establish a caravan... which raised a question: if these two were such capable fighters, why had they ended up working as Myra's bodyguards?
Besides, an ordinary Ranger Squad might not even be stronger than these two "bodyguards." Why had they pulled strings to bring Karin and the others along as escorts?
And there was one thing that puzzled him most... why did this caravan have so many people? A dozen or so wagons hardly needed nearly a hundred drivers and other workers... quite apart from paying each of them wages, when crossing a dangerous region like the Ghostlands, where Trolls could appear at any moment, the sensible choice was either to bring plenty of guards or to make the caravan as small a target as possible!
It looks like I'll have to go over and sound them out myself later!
Since they remained within Quel'Thalas, they encountered no trouble along the way.
Not until they made camp that night...
Several female Elves brought wine and bread. The dozen or so wagons formed a circle, with numerous makeshift tents pitched inside and the animals left outside... Vereesa led the Rangers on patrol around the camp.
Karin noticed that the two "bodyguards" seemed to have gone off to eat as well!
He stood up and headed toward Myra Dawnblade's tent.
"Mr. Myra, I have this bad habit of always wanting someone to share a few drinks with over dinner. Sorry for the intrusion..." Karin said, striding casually into the tent.
Myra was about to refuse when he suddenly noticed the cross-shaped insignia on the right breast of Karin's red mage robe.
"You may not know me yet. My name is Karin Sunstrider. My mentor told me to spend some time training with these Rangers..."
Sunstrider? He must be a distant member of the royal family, and a second-ring mage at that! Myra instantly abandoned any thought of refusing and adopted a warmly welcoming manner. "What a coincidence! I was just hoping for someone to share a few drinks with. Lord Karin, you've arrived at just the right time."
As he spoke, Myra hurriedly brought out several bottles of fine rum from inside the tent!
Karin picked up a bottle and took a swig straight from it!
"Tastes great!" he exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and clapping Myra on the shoulder.
Touch of Fatigue. As he clapped Myra's shoulder, he cast the spell... his target was only a fragile apprentice with little resistance, after all. Even this rather underwhelming zero-ring spell could work quite well on him.
Sure enough, Myra suddenly felt mentally exhausted. With Karin constantly urging him to drink, he soon became thoroughly tipsy.
"Mr. Myra, who are you delivering this cargo to? Does it have anything to do with the Trolls?" Karin asked quietly.
"How could it have anything to do with those green-skinned monsters? I'm taking this shipment to Mrs. Hoffman!" the drunken Myra said slowly.
Karin immediately frowned. Had I guessed wrong?
"Mr. Myra, those two bodyguards of yours look pretty capable. Where did they come from?" Karin could only continue questioning him.
"They aren't bodyguards. Mrs. Hoffman was worried I'd make a mistake this time, so she specifically assigned them to me... honestly, I can't stand those two stony-faced fellows. They're no fun at all..."
Mrs. Hoffman. That name has come up twice now!
"May I ask who exactly Mrs. Hoffman is? I've never heard that name before!"
"Mrs. Hoffman is my boss, a major merchant in Stratholme, a kind and generous Goblin lady... everything I own now was given to me by her..."
A kind and generous Goblin? Karin found that claim rather amusing...
"So the real owner of this cargo is Mrs. Hoffman, not you?" Karin continued.
"That's right. Since I have some connections in our Dawnseal Family, Mrs. Hoffman approached me... traveling back and forth between Stratholme and Silvermoon City over the past six months has earned me more than three hundred gold coins in pure profit..."
More than three hundred gold coins in easy profit in half a year? If word of that got out, plenty of mages from the various families would probably head to the Ghostlands to abandon magic and take up trade!
Karin was beginning to see how everything fit together!
He left the tent, and at the same time, a promising plan occurred to him.