The young mage was hanging out in the town of Era for about two days, before he had heard about a possible job for him. It wasn't much, of course, both in the reward and the job itself, but he knew that he had to pace himself. Start his journey nice and slow. Thane found the job flyer by chance, when he thought about it. The employer, who went under the name Augustus was seeking a mage to guard the caravan. Apparently there had been rumours going around about a possible attack or robbery of the said caravan. So, when Thane had arrived at the scene of his job, he was prepared to take possible action if there was a need.

The night was falling upon the town, as Thane surveyed the area surrounding his guarding post. Unfortunately for him, it was quite a suspicious area with a number of alleyways leading to and from the place. There were also some other caravans stationed there besides the one the young man was there to provide guard, with one parked next to it. All of this meant that Thane would have to keep a close eye on every possible exit. /"I will have to keep making circles around the caravan or something."/ He pondered as the night grew ever so darker, urging him to make his move. Thane couldn't think of a different solution to this conundrum, so circling caravan it was.

One of the main things that he hasn't considered when the young man was agreeing to job was the possibility of him falling asleep. His sleeping schedule was getting pretty messed up and his body was already telling him to pack the day and go rest. He tried his best to stifle the first of many yawns as he began his first circle. /"This... this is actually going to be a looong night..."/ Thane thought to himself tiredly as he slowly finished the first circle.

The time passed painfully slowly. It seemed that way to Thane, anyway. As a small precautionary measure against falling asleep, he stopped counting the amount of circles he had already made. The area wasn't exactly well lit, which only added to the somberness of the situation, amplifying his tiredness that was gnawing at him. He looked over at one of the alleyway that were connected to the place, as he stretched his back. Nobody there. As a matter of fact, he hadn't seen a single soul out here yet. /"I guess I should be thankful for that."/ The young mage thought to himself as he peered over more alleyway, scanning for any signs of threat. Again, empty. What cought his attention, however, was a faint ruffling sound, coming from not that far away.

Thane finished his current circle and located the source of the sound. It happened to be a caravan parked right next to the one he was guarding. What a coincidence, wasn't it? Rumours about a possible robbery and now this? Too convenient to be a coincidence. The young mage prepared himself, as he tiptoed to the rustling caravan as quietly as possible. He was lightly crouching next to it, listening for any more hints. He got a slightly more than he wanted, though. Right on cue he heard hushed giggling of two different voices. A single male and single female voice, if he had to exact. He could hear them whispering to each other, but he had trouble deciphering everything that was being said. However, from what he understood, they were a couple being all lovey-dovey. After realising this Thane turned a light shade of red. Both from embarrasment and slight guilt of eavesdropping. Even though he had done it in the name of his job, he still felt wierd after experiencing that. He really didn't want to disturb them or his thoughts, so he left the caravan as quietly as he could.

The little run in with the giggling couple sure added to the excitement of the night that got Thane's blood running faster. However, the night was still in full swing, though and he had a caravan to guard until it was over. His tiredness had gotten to the point when he just couldn't stifle the yawns anymore. He was yawning for too long and too often. The regret of his decision was slowly starting to outweigh the vision of the reward.

The night was, at long last, coming to an end. Thane didn't want anything more than to just collapse into a bed and sleep. Scratch that, he was ready to collapse just about anywhere. Countless circles have been made around the caraven, the other caravan was investigated and there was nobody else seen, during this endeavor. The young man stretched for what felt a hundreth time in last few hours with a shaky sigh. He couldn't wait for the merchant to come by and clock him out.

The dawn was painting the sky in beautiful colours. Thane appreciated the change of scenery. Even though the area where the caravans were stationed at felt still as shady as ever. The supposed rumours, as it turned out, weren't true. Probably for the better, if he had to be honest. He had no idea how he would've fought if somebody did show up. He knew that he was nowhere near in shape to fight, let alone fight at his peak performance. As Thane pondered about all the possibilities that could have happened during the night, he didn't hear the approaching footsteps. He jumped a little when he was addressed. "Oy there, boy! I am one of August's mercenaries. Nothing happened during the night, I take it?" Thane was exhausted to the point that he had no evergy left to even answer the question, so he just shook his head as a response. The mercenary chuckled at the sight. "That tired, eh? Here you go, kid. Go get some rest. I'm gonna take over." He said and handed the young mage the promised payment. Thane bowed in thanks and did exactly as the mercenary said.

[WC: 1052/1000]