Alya loved the life of a merchant, well, loved most of it, she certainly wasn’t a fan of the literal pain in the ass that came with riding on a stiff wagon bench for hours along the, often poorly kept, backroads she liked to use because they allowed her to reach her destinations ahead of time, time was money after all and Alya loved only one thing in life more than money, it was selling things and only because it made a lot of money.
The afternoon sun was beating down on her as she rolled down the road towards the Windbrook river. Her wagon was being pulled by her beloved pair of horses, whose leg enhancement implants shimmered beautifully in the afternoon sun. Next to her rode her business partner Veyer and his wife Jullie. They were a funny couple since Veyer was half a meter taller than his wife standing at 2.2 meters, broad shoulders and heavyset muscular frame, made ridiculous contrast against his lithe wife who didn’t even reach his shoulder in height, her slim yet toned body was almost the complete yin to her husband's yang.
Alya enjoyed these shorter trips between Krato mines and the city of Clia. She always managed to get some great gems from the industrious miners, and you could often find alchemists and gem crafters who chose to practice their trade there. After all, the success rate when creating the coveted enchantment implants was rather low even among more experienced craftsmen so it was always a good idea to have an almost inexhaustible source of rare gems at hand. More often than not you could find some of the more common implants for a premium price there.
Another benefit to this route was that despite the abundance of potholes along the way the roads were well patrolled and there was no need to hire extra muscle for protection. The imposing frame of Veyer was often more than enough to scare away any idiot that decided to start their career as bandits on these roads. Those unlucky enough to be born with the same amount of brain as wild beasts, that sometimes came out of the forest and were tempted by the plump frame of her workhorses, received the same fate as the aforementioned beasts, a quick death by Jullia’s arrows.
It was shaping up to be a very profitable trip, they managed to get 7 crates of great quality gems from the mines and 4 crates of some basic implants that were always in high demand. “You know, Alya, we have been talking about putting our wagon to rest and opening a store for a while now. It's not like we lack the funds for it” Veyer said while looking ahead with a more serious tone than they usually had when they talked about this topic. “Why so serious all of a sudden old friend?” asked Alya. “that's the issue, Alya, I am getting old. In a couple of years, I will be 50. Jullia and I were talking about having kids, and that’s just not going to be possible on the road. I know that age is less of a concern for you half-elves but I and Jullia are humans we need to plan for these things”.
Alya had to admit that was a very reasonable argument, she wasn’t against settling down as well, maybe she could even find a warm body to share her bet at night. “We can look into some property when we are in town Clia is a great place for a store a lot of trading routes converge there. And who am I to stop you from trying to unleash more of your spawn on the world” Veyer started laughing after hearing this. “I just pray to Vira, goddess of all life and mothers, that the kids get more of their likeness from me than their father or I will split in half trying to, as you so eloquently put, spawn them” added Julia with a mirthful tone in her voice. That brought laughter out of all of them.
Suddenly Jullia got quiet “Up ahead, single woman”. Alya took one of her monocles that was hanging on her neck and fastened it to the gem that was implanted next to her right eye, sure enough, she could see a woman walking in their direction on the side the road. She was still quite far and didn’t seem to be armed. She was wearing what could be generously called rags. “Most likely a vagabond. Looking at her skin I'd guess an ascetic from the northern sects, they tend to travel in nothing but rags” said Alya after disengaging her monocle and letting it hang around her neck again. Jullia just shook her head “I bet she's a poacher she’s carrying pelts on her back, no bow, so most likely a trapper”. Alya sighed no way her monocle could compete with ranger eye implants at least her multipurpose system eye enchantment had versatility and it was far more useful to her than just the ability to see far.
“Quite brazen if she is a poacher, walking openly with poached furs on King’s roads is just asking for trouble,” said Veyer. Alya stayed silent she didn’t know if she was a poacher or vagabond, or gods know what. It was pretty rare seeing northerners so far in the south. She was already looking behind her if they still had room in the wagon for some extra furs if she managed to haggle a good price from the alleged poacher. After all, Alya never turned out an opportunity to make some money.
When the stranger got close enough Alya could truly appreciate her looks. The stranger was tall probably around 2 meters. Long, shiny, and unnaturally white hair cascaded down her back, where the slightly purple ends stopped just below her shapely ass. Despite ill-fitting clothes, Alya could clearly see that this woman was quite well endowed. The merchant looked at the alleged poacher's face, there was unbridled confidence pouring out of her large, reddish, eyes. Her thin lips seemed to be frozen in a cocky smirk. What Alya found to be truly strange was the fact that this beautiful vagabond stranger seemed to have no implants on her, or at least ones that she could see. Not even the cheapest ports around the eyes or ears that even beggars could afford were there. And yet she looked like her face and body were painstakingly refined by the best flesh sculptors in the capital.
Things were not adding up no matter how Alya look at them. Though the closer the stranger got and the longer she looked at her the more Alya was getting certain that this was no vagabond or poacher they were about to run into. In another few short moments, they were in the speaking distance and Alya stopped her wagon and offered a friendly wave of a hand to the stranger. "Hello there traveler, I hope that Ebisus, the benevolent patron of all travel and commerce, blessed you with safe roads." Alya gave the most common greeting between travelers, but the stranger only tilted her head, and then said something in a language that Alya never heard before. So someone that doesn't speak the common tongue. The half-elf started looking through her collection of attachments that hung around her neck first she clasped the translator to her ear universal port and another right under her chin to the little gem that cost her quite a bit to be implanted there.
time to try again "Hello, kind stranger, I guess you have come from far off lands if you do not speak the common tongue" the stranger seemed startled for a moment, but then she started laughing and said, "Oh, believe me when I tell you that you wouldn't fucking believe me how far my lands are". Well, this is going to be interesting thought Alya, as the stranger was assessing each member of their party with unapologetic curiosity.
