Aniz rubbed his eyes and let out a fierce yawn. It had been many hours since he had last been able to catch even a bit of sleep, but tonight was not looking in his favor for such purposes. He sat with his back against a wooden wheel attached to a rather elegant looking caravan wagon. Around him sat quite a few other wagons of varying condition, all parked in one of the few open spots in the entire town. Era, while known for many things, did not tend to leave much space for merchants to leave their goods overnight, and the knowledge of where these few places were made them easy targets for robbery as Aniz had come to know.

He had been contacted earlier that day in accordance with a man looking to hire a mage to do a rather menial task. The man, Augustus as he was called, had hoped Aniz would look after his caravan for the night before he and his men set out for Hargeon the next morning. Not one to easily turn down a job, Aniz had accepted quite readily, and found himself only more incentivized when he learned about the payment involved. Sure, it wouldn't make him rich, but he was looking forward to having just a bit of spending money to keep his belly full for a few weeks. The job hadn't been an issue at first. He had made a few rounds along the caravan in order to make sure no one was approaching from one of the many points of ingress, but so far all had been quiet throughout the night. Well, as quiet as Era could be. The town was a bustling metropolis compared to some of the other towns in Fiore. Just a few streets over, Aniz could hear the sound of revelry coming from taverns and inns, and how he wished he could join in. But, he had a job to do, and failure, at least to him, was not an option.

Standing up from his relatively comfortable position, Aniz yawned again while he took another walk around the caravan in the cold night air. Winter was absolutely the worst time to be dealing with an outdoor job, and to have it take place in the dead of night was not something he found any more appealing. The rather tall mage had wrapped himself up tightly in his biggest winter coat, and pulled his scarf as tight as it would go around his neck just to ward off the cold during his sentry duty. A light amount of snow had fallen to the earth only a few hours before, and although walking through it wasn't much of an issue, Aniz still felt the need to complain about the powdery nuisance he had come to loathe over the years. After his round about the caravan was complete he leaned back against the cart for a moment, and once more tried to shake off the drowsiness he knew would claim him if he wasn't careful.

A few more hours passed, and the moon had risen quite high into the night sky by the time Aniz even bothered to check. He had been making so many rounds and watching each road so carefully that the passage of time had simply flown past him like a fine breeze. Alone with his thoughts, Aniz tried desperately to entertain himself, but to no avail. The night was doomed to be as dull as it had seemed at first, and there was hardly a thing he could do about it. But just then, a hushed noise came from just beyond Aniz's line of sight. Turning his head and cupping his ear, the mage tried to see if he could pick up anything, but it had fallen silent once more. Just as he was about to go back to making his rounds, Aniz heard the noise again. With a frown he made him way as silently as he could walk towards the source of the noise. He had been warned by Augustus that some kind of bandits or thieves might try to make off with the goods in his caravan, and Aniz had no intention of allowing such a thing to happen. The crunch of the snow beneath his boots was a dead giveaway, but considering the noise was still going on he assumed no one had heard him yet. Drawing ever closer to the source of the noise, Aniz took note that the sounds seemed to be coming from a nearby cart. Sidling up to the side of the caravan he took a deep breathe before taking a peek inside through a crack in the wood. Inside, he could barely make out two individuals in a rather intimate position. They seemed to be sharing words of affection, such that made Aniz feel rather sick to his stomach. Turning away silently, he slowly made him way back to the caravan, and gave it his all not to leave his dinner in the process. He had never been a big fan of such antics, but the close proximity to such things had made him quite queasy. Settling back into his routine, Aniz resolved to make it to morning without any further issues.

As the sun began its slow climb over the buildings surrounding the caravan opening, Aniz continued to blink away the exhaustion that was creeping up on him. It had been a long and frigid night, but he was glad to see that it was coming to a close. He was pretty sure about a hot bath would fix him up just right, but he still had to wait for his relief. It wouldn't take long. A mercenary wearing the garb of his employer's company soon approached bearing a pouch of jewels and a mug filled with some unknown, but clearly cold drink. He passed both off to Aniz with a word of thanks, but Aniz could only return a nod in response, he was far too tired. Leaving the caravan in the care of the mercenary, Aniz began his frigid walk home, but happily comforted by the drink the man had given him.

(1037 WC)