They made good time on their way out of Labbat. The roads were in good condition, and the horses had rested and been watered during their time at the warehouse. Several kilometers down the western road, they came to a fork, and took the northern path — apparently towards Tanner's place.

  Novek found it a bit odd that they'd sold so much scrav meat — that must have been most of a juvenile — and were then taking Tanner to his home, only to have Ellie continue on alone. He'd glossed over it earlier but now that they had a fairly sizable sum in the coach, it seemed odd that Ellie would be traveling alone without having arranged for more protection.

  It seemed haphazard — which implied this was an unexpected windfall, given what he'd seen of how both Tanner and Ellie handled meeting him, as well as the sale process.

  It's not like it was that great of a sum — no more so than any other mid to high value cargo run, but it was still fairly risky. Novek assumed that Ellie was usually just a low-value people transport, so she was used to being overlooked as the locals would all know she didn't carry anything high value. Her safety was essentially in being known as a poor target — ransoms were risky business, compared to fencing goods. More liable to bring angry parties or local law for retribution, or revenge — if things didn't go well.

  Well, he was here, so he'd make sure things went smoothly as long as he was present, but he'd liked what he'd seen of them both so far, so he hoped for the best for their sakes. The world needed more reasonable people, and they'd been kind regarding the kit — Siya. He needed to remember to use the name to keep suspicion low.

  An hour or so into the northern leg, the kit woke up and started scratching at the door to be let out, so a quick stop behind some tall brush with a few trees was made. Everyone took their private time, the horses watered briefly, and they were back on the road soon after. The kit hopped up on the makeshift platform to watch the world roll by — remaining almost unnaturally still as it did so. Novek thought it had fallen asleep a few times, but when he looked he would see the bright green eyes staring out the window slot. He'd caught Siya looking back at him a few times as well — the kit would quickly look away once he looked in its direction.

  It wasn't long before they were approaching the mill — it was obvious long before they could even see the mill itself. There were thousands, no, tens of thousands of cacti of various species all planted in clean rows lining the road and extending back as far as the eye could see through the dense field. He could also see piles both short and tall of various species already cut and stacked; left out to dry, he supposed.

  There were a couple wagons out in the fields, with small groups of workers gathering from nearby piles. Novek could also see a few people moving among the rows and cutting down suitable growth — mostly Brin, it seemed. That tracked — fur, scales, or thick hide would certainly make this job easier; Humans would require thick, hot over-clothes. The coach drew some curious glances from the workers, but nothing unusual, so Novek managed to avoid starting a detailed tactical assessment. Well, he did one, but it was only a short one dealing with how to defend from two or three different types of assailants — more like an entertaining diversion than a real battle plan.

  They passed the mill proper — which was an open structure with just a roof and some side posts, no real walls, and headed towards a circular cluster of houses atop a small hill, in an area clear of cacti. Novek thought it was probably a pack commune. This kind of arrangement was fairly common with canine and lupine Brin, with the adult members of the pack all operating as a single family to work and raise pups. There was a large central building, clearly a communal kitchen, and this is what the coach pulled up next to.

  A smaller, dark furred wolfen stepped out of a side door from the central building and approached the coach. This would be Bettany, then, Novek surmised. She was wearing a potters smock covered with brownish mud, but that didn't stop her from running up and embracing Tanner as soon as he'd jumped down from the bench.

  “Tanner! What happened? You're a day late! Is everything okay?”

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  “Just some minor issues at Bell House. Something to do with Nat. I'm sorry I couldn't send word, we had to leave in a hurry and camp out near the wilds.”

  “Nat? Nat who — Oh! Awake again, eh? And the wilds? Why the wilds?”

  “We'll talk later. Bettany? This is Ellie. Ellie, my wife.”

  “Pleasure, ma'am.” Ellie tipped her hat, and took it off.

  “Nice to meet you. You the new driver?” Bettany flapped her smock in lieu of another greeting, clearly indicating the mud.

  “Master, if it's all the same to you.”

  “Master, then. Well, thank you for bringing my Tanner home safe. The pups are mostly at creche — you'll meet them soon enough, I suppose. Khe's out with his cousin, though he'll not be making the trip yet this year.”

  Tanner interjected, a toothed smile starting to form, “About that. Lyn, the new therapist, made an offer. But I don't think we'll to take them up on it.”

  Bettany stepped back and looked over Tanner, raising an eyebrow. She glanced at his tail, which he'd been unable to keep from an excited wag.

  “Ellie? You mind? We're safe here.”

  “Sure thing. Then I'll need to water the horses before we're off again. Novek? You mind stepping out a moment?”

  Novek did, with Siya palmed for safety. He wasn't sure if the kit would be spooked by the other Brin, but better safe than sorry.

  He turned to Bettany and nodded. “Novek, Ma'am. Don't mind the gear, I'm just a bow for hire.”

  Bettany looked at him appraisingly. The knives, the crossbow. The kit. Both eyes turned to a squint at the latter.

  “Uh huh. Pull the other one.” Novek started to seriously consider the value of some training in subterfuge.

  Novek looked at Tanner. “You don't get away with anything, do you?”

  “Couldn't if I tried, so I don't.”

  “Should I ask? On your way to the packlands, are you?”

  “Not as such. Probably the border with the wilds.”

  “The wilds? That's not place for a…” Bettany cut off. Looked at the kit. Looked at Novek. The kit again. “Oh. Well, you let me know if you need anything. For the kit. To be safe.”

  She side-eyed Tanner. He looked at her and nodded.

  Ellie came to the rescue, coming out of the coach with a small sack in hand — about a quarter of the earnings from the earlier sale. Small it might have been, but it was heavy. She brought it over and held it out to Tanner. “Half metal, half marks okay with you? The mill's near enough to both town and traders.”

  “Half and half is fine. Thanks, Ellie.”

  Bettany's eyes snapped to the sack, her eyebrows both raised, and she stared.

  “Tanner? What did you do?”

  “Helped clean up a mess of scrav meat, and take it for sale.”

  “Scrav? You fought a scrav?”

  “Lands below, of course not! It was dead when we got to it. It was Nat and Lyn, and I didn't ask for details.”

  Lyn? That was the second time he'd heard the name, and it was nagging at him. Probably just a local doctor — they tended to get around, and Novek's compatriots spent a lot more time with doctors than the average person.

  He was getting a death glare from the other Brin still.

  “I swear it! I never even saw the thing.”

  The glare continued. He went on the offensive with the best strategy available to him that Novek could see — silently holding the pouch out to his wife.

  A brief discussion between the husband and wife pair ensued. Novek helped Ellie with the horses and did some repacking of the mess in the coach back into the boot.

  They had no need to wait on Tanner — Ellie's task was complete at this point, but they'd been in a hurry to leave the town, so they hadn't repacked earlier, and the coach master was very conscientious about her horses. Many drivers would only water them at inns and stables, and a horse could dehydrate quickly in the desert heat.

  Novek took this time to ask about the travel plans.

  “We'll head back south to the main road and turn to the riverbed. That's where our companions are waiting for us to return — the site of the scrav attack. Then I'm taking them northwest, to the boundary of the wilds and the packlands. No specific destination — they have a need for some isolation. If they're willing to have you along, I'm happy to take you as far as they go, or even back east with me to the Gravlin circuit if you're looking for guard work.”

  “I've no set destination either. Things have just sort of happened. But northwest is the direction I think I should head for now — towards the wildlands. The Ber are safer than the alternatives at the moment.”

  “Sure, no skin off my nose either way. Lets finishing packing up, and I'll go tell the happy couple it's time we're on our way.”

  Novek finished up and climbed back up into the newly spacious coach. It was much more comfortable not having to bend around various containers and pieces of tack. Siya took their prior position at the window slot quietly.

  A few minutes later, the coach wobbled as Ellie climbed back up onto the driver's bench. She raised her voice to the couple who were still having a fairly heated discussion, “I'll be back next week, as agreed.”

  And with that, they headed back down the hill, past the mill and onto the road.