Journeymen could make fully metal spears, shortswords, and axe heads. Now that Azgath and Dalmar were Journeymen, they leveled up to level 11. That was enough for them to do the ritual. When word got out, the immediate neighborhood demons with orange eyes all pitched it to make sure they go the high tier ritual. Azgath chose a nice Earth element and Dalmar took Water. Dalmar could shoot jets of water from his mouth. Azgath got some nice passive health buffs. The caravan was going to leave and a few days. I asked Dalmar to come with me, but he said "I have told you multiple times already. I am not going with you, Uraris. You knew that. I am not going to say it as nicely the next time." That was not that surprising to me. I left him alone. After work, I approached Dalmar. We were walking when I asked him about it. He was not happy. "I am not leaving my town with you and your wine eye friends! Just drop it, Uraris!" he said. I looked him in the eye and a shiver ran down his spine. I took 5 steps toward him and he backed up. When he was backed against a wall, I place a arm by his head.
The passive domination was enough. He looked down at the ground and said "I have a family here to protect." It was practically a whimper. He really did not want to go. I wondered if this would bite me in the ass later. Azgath was already marked by me though. I leaned in and he shivered again. "They'll be here when you come back. They will be so proud at how much you've learned and the things you'll bring back for them. Azgath. Come on the caravan with me. I want you there." I whispered into his ear. I smiled when I saw his muscles go slack and he nodded. "I'll go." he whispered. I then escorted him to his house. When we got there, I told him the things he would need for the journey. We were going to need our smithing tools and some ingots. I could lend him some of mine, so that was just fine. When it was time to leave, we were still in the workshop. The master and Dalmar were seeing us off. "Make us proud." the master said to us. We both nodded. Dalmar was obviously less enthusiastic about the situation. He then joined my party as we left there. Dulgron and Helelin joined my party as well.
On the road, we were able to buy and sell whatever we had whenever we got into a new settlement. After spending a few days, we would move on to the next place. The caravan was sponsored by the guild, so there were not going to be many surprises on the road. I was a bit disappointed that I was not able to kill more bandits. The 4 of us all got a lump sum of exp. for making good deals in a settlement. It launched me to level 18. There were also a large range of side missions during this long questline of roaming. Some merchants needed some materials. Some needed protection. Some of the more evil aligned demons needed some... insurance when dealing with a certain type of their customers. The type that were not willing to do any buisiness in the first place. I was keen to do it all. My party and I got a whole lot of exp. and clout within the caravan. Azgath and I were also able to make some money selling ingots and making small things like horseshoes and nails for the merchants and double the normal price. By the time we returned, we were able to make profits. We were almost Experts.
Personally, my relationship with Azgath increased a lot. We shared a tent and, of course, I did not molest him. After a week on the road, he began to question me. I told him the same thing I told Dulgron. He actually went to him when I was not looking to confirm with me. "Your snow-skin is pretty funny. He does not know what you are up to even after working with you all this time." Dulgron said. I nodded and then said "Well, even you were left wondering if I was going to force myself on you." He frowned at me. Dulgron just said "It was because I was too used to Thalox. My rump still twinges whenever I see dominant males. Thanks to you, I'll never have to deal with that brute ever again." That was a bit too much information for me. "... If you feel that bad, you can come see me. I would take care of you." I said, slightly uncomfortable. He just shook his head. "That won't be needed, Uraris. I am already courting a young female." I hummed and said "Okay then. Just keep your rump safe then." I then walked off. Dulgron just began laughing at me as I left. The caravan was an overall massive success.
