2 Convoy, cat girls and wind

A convoy, comprised of four carts, two carriages with bow tops and a few horsemen, was slowly drawing away from the church.

Sylvia, Lavinia and another priestess were sitting in a carriage, pulled by two horses. The event of the day before was still fresh in their minds.

After the declaration of the goddess, the archbishop immediately had someone bring Sylvia in her bedroom and then went to the adventurer guild, located in the nearest town.

He hired as much adventurers as he could find to escort Sylvia to the capital. For the church, money was not a problem at all.

He found around thirty willing to go.

And just like that, Sylvia, who had never left the surrounding of the church, had to depart for an adventure, as soon as she woke up.

The archbishop decided to send only an experienced priestess with Sylvia, but Lavinia cried so much, asking to follow her friend, that he let her go as well.

Sylvia and her were both orphan raised by the church. They were very close to each other. They wouldn't be able to bear to be separated for to long.

Sylvia was comforted by the presence of her friend. She knew the other priestess, she was called Selene. But she hadn't had a lot of interactions with her. She seemed to be around thirty. She had a slender body, with a voluptuous chest. Her hair was black and her eyes were green. Although not as pretty as the other two, she was still quite a beauty. And the three of them were wearing their usual outfit.

Two cat girls in leather armor were chatting next to them. They looked like normal human but had cat ears twitching on their head.

-It's been quite a while since we went to Photia, the younger one of the two said.

-Yeah I really miss the life there, the other one responded .

-Why didn't you stay there then ? Sylvia asked.

The one who seemed younger turned her head toward Sylvia, and said :

-Well, one must have achieved some fame to be able to find a good work as an adventurer near the capital. And it's not our case. I'm Yuki by the way, and this is my sister, Yuko.

-Nice to meet you, I'm Sylvia, and these are Selene and Lavinia. Can you tell me how's the capital ? The farthest place I went to is the town east of the church.

-You mean Tzaki ? It's so small that I don't know how it can be considered as a town. Do you even know about elves ?

-Of course, although I never saw one, I've read a lot of books mentioning them.. They are few in number, and live far from humans. Their physical and magical abilities are far better than ours, and they despise us because of that. But some of them joined the Daemons and became dark elves.

-Yeah you do know a bit about them. But some of them actually like humans and even live among them. You will probably see some in the capital. It's a really big city, it takes a few hours of walk just to cross it. There is one church for evey god. You will also see a lot of different shops. There are shops for everything you can imagine... even for humans.

-You mean slavery ? That's horrible ! Do they also sell other races ?

-Yes, especially other races.

-Even elfes ?

-Yes but not in the open, there would be repercussions from them otherwise. But every nobleman dreams of having one.

-It's because of their beauty right ? Are they as beautiful as they are said to be?

-Yes they are, but in term of beauty you don't loose to them.

-th-thanks. Sylvia said, blushing. So, how long have you been an adventurer ?

-We register at the guild when I was sixteen. My sister was eighteen at that time. We did odd jobs for one year. We decided to leave Photia after that, because, as I told you, it was impossible to find a good job. It has been four years since we left and we managed to become quite famous by chasing monster and saving people. By the way, have you ever seen a monster ?

-No, but I have seen the result of running into one too many times.

-I heard that you will join the heroes. You will need to get used to them. Let me give you an advice, Yuki said with a serious look on her face, if you ever get captured by a goblin or an orc, you better kill yourself, I have seen too many times...

-Stop scaring that poor child, Selene interrupted angrily, she has plenty of time to learn how to fight, and with the blessings she has, she doesn't have to fear anything.

-If you say so, responded Yuki.

The conversation ended like that.

The journey continued without anyone talking. Only the sound of horseshoes hitting the ground and wheels slowly rotating could be heard.

As time went by, the scenery slowly transformed. They first crossed a plain. Then a town, where they bought supplies. The church provided a lot of money for the trip which shouldn't last for more than a week. They continued their trip and arrived in a forest. The road became too narrow and the horsemen couldn't ride beside the carriages anymore. They had place themselves in front or in the back of the convoy. It was midday but the sunlight had a hard time piercing the thick foliage of the trees, resulting in a gloomy atmosphere.

Sylvia looked at Lavinia, who was clinging to her left arm, asleep. She was deep in her thoughts. "She must be really anxious, but I'm glad that she decided to go with me. I hope nothing bad will happen to her. I can't, die but she can. Yuki said that it's better to die sometimes. But I can't. Why did she say that ? What would happen to me if I were captured ? Monsters are so scary, Daemons are so scary, I don't want to fight them, I can't fight them." She shivered and hugged her fiend tightly, trying to chase away her fears.

Yuko, who was sitting in front of her, noticed her behavior. She more or less understood what she was thinking about and tried to reassure her:

-You don't have to worry, she said while smiling. I may not look strong but I really am . And Yuki is almost as strong as me. We will protect you.

-That's right Sylvia,Yuki continued after poking her sister in the ribs in reply to the hidden attack thrown at her. And besides, there are lots of other adventurers here, and none of them is weak.

-And I'm also here. With me around, nothing bad will ever happen. My protection spells are among the strongest you know, Selene bragged.

-Thank you, Sylvia smiled, if you ever get yourself wounded, I will heal you. My healing skills are top notch too.

Appeased, she quickly fell asleep.

***

Hidden inside a bush next to the road, a man was spying on the passing convoy. He was wearing a black bandanna and his long brown hair was hiding his eyes. He was holding an unsheathed knife in his right hand.

He used a spell on himself to strengthen his senses. He felt a warm flow of mana run into his body and pour in his eyes, ears and nose.

The man first concentrated his senses on the leading carriage. He heard the sweet clinking of money. A smile appeared on his face, although no one could see it. He also perceived the smell of food. It would have been a good catch, if it wasn't protected by so many fierce looking adventurers.

There were four adventurers in each cart, and around fifteen riding horses. "What the fuck is that for ?" The bandit wondered.

He really wanted to run away as fast as possible, being so close was too dangerous. But nevertheless, he checked the second carriage, just to make sure not to miss anything important.

-You don't have to worry, I may not look strong but I really am...

He listened to the whole discussion, and understood that the convoy was made to escort the girl named Sylvia. Curious, he cast a spell allowing him to see trough the wood of the bow top. He discovered that Sylvia was actually a priestess, and that two others accompanied her.

"Jackpot !" he thought.

Priestesses were extremely valuable commodities as slaves. Especially the one who mastered healing or other kind of magic. And two of them were bragging about their talent in this field.

Overjoyed, he sacrificed more mana for a new spell, left his bush and disappeared into the forest. He was faster than a horse and more discrete than a feline.

One of the adventurers abruptly turn his head in the direction of the bush that the man just left.

-What's happening? Have you seen a monster ? another one asked

-Nah, must have been the wind.

***

The bandanna man arrived in an encampment. A few tents were distributed in circle around a campfire. It was night already, some people were sitting around the fire. When the newcomer made himself visible, a two meter tall man stood up, and went to meet him.

-Trev ! Did you find something interesting ? He asked

-Hello Rhys, yeah I did, Trev answered. Something really interesting.

-Go on.

-I found three priestesses, and at least two are really competent in magic.

-Are you sure ?

-Well if they weren't lying yes. But even if they were, I have rarely seen women so beautiful. And one of them is even as pretty as the boss. But they are protected by thirty three adventurers.

-If it's as you say, we must try our luck.

-But the boss said that we mustn't take any risk!

-So what, this cock-sucking bitch is totally addicted to mine ! She will forget once I give her something to swallow.

-If you say so. Oh, and one more thing, the sisters Yuki and Yuko are there.

Rhys suddenly froze. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

-That's perfect, he said. I will settle the score once and for all. But I want them alive. Tell me the details, we will prepare afterwards.