To Carcass Mountains

To come to this city there are principally two main routes, taking a boat towards the Black Port, a place of crime and piracy, which many for obvious reasons avoid, and then take a caravan through the wasteland, or coming by land through the dusty road, crossing the Carcass Mountains and the wasteland, usually many caravans transit that route, even if is not safe is what most of the people do, merchants, adventurers, mercenaries and criminals alike. 

The mountain path was treacherous, full of caves, and spiky rocks, bandits lurked in the place and monsters too, but it was nothing she could not handle. The first time she crossed that terrain she was hidden in a box in a cart pulled by Wormtongue, if that sassy guy could make it pass so could her. 

The Wasteland itself was dangerous, some mad people preferred to cross it without using the roads, but the monsters that stalked that place were very dangerous, also there were almost no known places with water... even she once heard the water you could find was infested with worms, so it was no good. Unless you have a guide or something it was not an option, it was more like a death sentence. 

So the plan was very simple in Raven's mind since the trip sucked so much and took many hours, the intense heat of the wasteland, the bumps in the road, and the usual annoying company, she would get just get wasted and hop on whatever Caravan she could find to the Carcass Mountains... 

'Simple and effective, I'm not having that pain of the travel this time' 

Last time travel from the nearest town to this place took longer than it usually does, and she was stuffed inside a box, she almost died out of suffocation and survived through pure sheer power of will to stay alive, the first thing she did after arriving to the city was launching herself towards the artificial dungeon river and almost drowned. 

After leaving the bar she walked towards the market square of the city, she hadn't been here many times, the first time she came here she almost got caught, since if you have a red name in your status you can't buy or sell anything here, which at the time she didn't know and had a horde of gold starving adventurers following her. But the place was messy and extended in various directions, where you could find shops or stalls, even people selling their wares in the street, materials such as ores, herbs, or monster parts were easy to find here, and also weapons and armor forged by blacksmiths and even some shops had dungeon weapons such as her Hydra Fang, pawn shops, artisan shops and of course, there is the slave market alongside the food and booze stalls. 

Raven's nose led her through the crowded, chaotic marketplace, weaving between stalls and dodging over-eager merchants thrusting their goods into the path of anyone who passed by. The scent of roasted meat was intoxicating, rich, and smoky, cutting through the usual miasma of sweat, spices, and the metallic tang of freshly worked metal from the blacksmith stalls nearby.

She made her way to the source... a bustling food stall run by a burly man with arms as thick as tree trunks and a face flushed from the heat of the open grill. The meat sizzled on skewers, dripping fat onto the coals, which flared up in hungry bursts of flame. Some customers ate and drank at the sides of the table of the stall. 

Raven stepped forward, ignoring the wary glances from a few of the more observant patrons who caught sight of her... the telltale swagger of someone who didn't quite belong to this bright side of the city. She pulled a coin from her pouch and tossed it onto the counter.

"One of those skewers, and a drink" she said, her eyes still scanning the crowd as she kept an ear on the sounds around her... footsteps, murmurs, the occasional bark of laughter, the candid discussion about products, and even insults. She couldn't shake the habit of staying alert, not even in a place like this, and less now that the city was in this passive-aggressive turmoil. 

The vendor snorted but didn't comment, slapping a skewer into her hand and passing her a clay mug filled with something dark and potent-smelling "Strong stuff" he warned, watching her with a mix of amusement and caution "Don't blame me if you end up flat on your back."

As she took a bite the flavors exploded in her mouth... savory, salty, and rich.... and the ale, though rough and not that delicious, helped wash it down, but as the owner had said it was strong, like the stuff Thorsen liked to drink. The whole experience was grounding, a brief pause in the chaos of her life. As she ate, her mind wandered back to the Carcass Mountains, the treacherous path ahead, and her plan to survive the journey with as little discomfort as possible. The first time she'd come through, hidden in a cart, had been a disaster. She was determined not to repeat that mistake, which meant making sure she was well-fed and sufficiently drunk to ignore the inevitable annoyances of travel.

"More!" She claimed as she finished, earning some surprised glances from the other clients of the stall. 

"Hey look at her go..." Whispered one human male to his partner, another human but with the tone of his skin darker. 

"Its bad manners to point at someone like that" He said annoyed, but none the less he too was amazed of the cat who was devouring her food and drink as if her life depended on it. 

"A troublesome customer" Smirked the owner as he began to prepare more skewers seeing that this was just starting. 

The day was still young...

...

...

...

"Drink motherfucker drink!" The crowd cheered.

Raven was in her element, surrounded by a growing crowd of onlookers who cheered her on. The marketplace, always full of life, had found a new source of entertainment: a drunken cat girl downing drink after drink like it was a contest.... one she had every intention of winning. The mugs of ale piled up beside her, and the vendor was making a killing off the spectacle, his grin wide as he poured another round. At this point, he didn't care about selling more to the girl, since he was making big coin with all the spectators buying stuff themselves.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" The chant grew louder, egging Raven on as she tilted back another mug. The strong, bitter liquid burned as it went down, leaving a warm trail in her chest. She slammed the empty mug onto the counter, earning a roar of approval from the crowd. Merchants, mercenaries, and some adventurers were part of the masses, most of them at this point were just having fun or waiting for their caravans to depart. 

"Brrring me somethin' strongerrr!~" Raven slurred, her words thick and muddled but still carrying that unmistakable edge of defiance. She was swaying a little now, her balance teetering on the edge, but her eyes were sharp, pupils glinting with that feral gleam that told everyone she wasn't anywhere near done.

The vendor hesitated for a moment "You sure, lass? This stuff will knock you flat if you're not careful."

Raven just grinned, baring her teeth in a wicked, lopsided smile. "I'm not carrrreful. Come oooon hurry~"

The vendor chuckled and reached beneath the counter, pulling out a small, dusty bottle. The liquid inside was a deep, murky red, thicker than the ale she'd been drinking. He poured it into a fresh mug and handed it over, a knowing look in his eyes "Firewater. Be careful with this one"

Raven took the mug, eyeing the thick liquid as if sizing up an opponent. She raised it high, to the delight of the crowd, and then downed it in one go. The burn was immediate, intense... like swallowing liquid fire. Her eyes watered, and she had to cough, but she refused to show any weakness. She slammed the mug down once more, sending a ripple of excitement through her onlookers.

"Next!" she shouted, voice rough but victorious.

But then everything became blurry and fell to the ground as if she was knocked out by a powerful attack, lights and faces distorted in the eyes of the barely conscious bandit, as the crowd laughed. 

"She is done, boys!" Raised his mug one of the onlookers.

"I want some of that too chief!" Exclaimed a Hobbit near the bar. 

"Hey where was she babbling she wanted to go?"

"Hey the caravan is departing, just carry her with us!" 

Two men helped her stand carrying her by the arms. 

"I wrishll commm back... kay?" Said Raven defiantly but she had no idea what was going on as the people just carried her. 

Destiny sometimes is kind to fools and clowns, when they arrived at the departing caravan they got scolded by the security foreman for being late, even if they were passengers. 

"Hey who the hell is she!?" The man said suspiciously. 

"She comes with us!" Both of the men said cheerfully.

"Don't care, just throw her on top of one of the cargo! The boss don't want drunkards puking on the interior of the carts!"

And thus she got thrown on top of some sacs of grain and she passed out. The sun was starting to set down... on other places of the world this would be stupid, to travel down the path at night, but sometimes in places with intense heat it was a way to avoid the death of the animals pulling the carts.