One of the victims, a young woman with brown hair that hung to her waist approached them.
"Thank you so much, good sir! You really saved us!" She gushed, taking Niko's arm and hugging it to her chest and making him tense up in response.
"It was no problem. Please, let's just get you guys back on the road." Niko offered, trying to rescue his captive arm from the lady's surprisingly strong grip as he inched closer to their cart. Hopefully, she'd get the hint and board it instead of holding him hostage forever.
He gave Plu a look, trying to signal an SOS as the lady clutched him tightly.
"Oh you must come with us! We're going to the capital for the festival! It's going to be beautiful, and I heard the guards have been giving rewards for people who capture bandits. It would be perfect for you, brave fighter!" The woman exclaimed, dragging Niko over to her companions.
"Mother! Please, can we take this gentleman with us? He can claim a reward for his benevolent act of kindness!" She addressed an older woman, graying hair solidly bound in a tight bun. Niko found her eyes fascinating, the pupils having the shape of stars as they stretched across the golden brown irises. He stared at them closely, forgetting for a moment that they were probably a common thing in this world, and making everyone pause at his overenthusiastic leaning.
The woman raised a brow at his behavior, before addressing her daughter.
"Ira, show some manners. It isn't polite to grab your benefactors like that and drag them along with you." She scolded, before turning to Niko.
"I apologize for her behavior, young man. My name is Ivana, this is my husband Derrick." She gestured toward the man righting their crates of supplies. He had a long beard, black and choppy at the end. His head was balding, bushy brows set over a set of normal brown eyes. He nodded at the introduction, before continuing with his work.
"And this is our daughter Ira, and our helper Liam." She smiled as her finger pointed toward the young blonde man gathering up some fruits that had spilled from a tipped over crate. He smiled softly, ducking his head as he continued with his work.
Ivana smiled politely, asking what Niko was called, for which he provided his name. Plu graciously offered her own as well, drawing the peoples eyes as they took in the strange little companion. Flair's are rather common, but it was apparently rare for them to make contracts with people, especially humans. Something about them not having enough magical prowess to really draw the interests.
It took a while longer than anyone would have liked to get everything picked up and righted. Gathering the donkey that had run when the men came charging from the trees was another issue, though it was made much more easily accomplished with the help of Plu's magic. Niko had hidden his fancy coin in his pocket, still unsure where exactly it had sent its prisoners, and not willing to lose it in case that meant their incidental death. He wasn't prepared to be the cause of people's death before he had even spent a single night in this new world. That would just be rude.
"How far away is the capital from here, Ivana?" Niko asked, having decided to tag along at the fervent requests of the bedraggled merchants.
"Oh, not far. It should only be about a day's walk from this point." She answered from her seat on the donkey cart. They had offered the spot to Niko, but he had thoughtfully declined, saying how good it would be to stretch his legs. The answer of how far away their destination was made him almost regret that choice, but it was too late now. These people thought he was a strong man who could magically defeat his enemies. He couldn't act like he wasn't used to walking for an entire day like a modern bitch. It just wouldn't be conducive to keeping his strange identity as a traveler from another world a secret.
Niko sighed under his breath at the answer, smiling and acting like that was definitely not too far away. Plu eyed him from the side, chuckling at his crappy acting and floating around with pink sparkles flaking all over the road. They fluttered off her body and eventually disappeared after lingering on the ground for a few minutes.
The path they followed led along the edge of the woods, open fields of strange crops across the other side, stretching all the way to the horizon.
The sky was completely clear of any sort of clouds, bright and vivid in patches like a wonky quilt, with stars strewn about it in random specks of neon coloring. The sun hung high, heat radiating from the source of light in powerful bursts. It looked the same as Earth's sun, though this one definitely looked bigger, or just closer in perspective. It didn't seem to make the world any hotter than normal with its proximity.
He could see people working down in the fields, most on two legs, though there were definitely signs of different species. Some of them appeared differently colored and covered in fur or feathers. Scales glinted in the sunlight from a few. Certes was nothing like Earth, with the people that made it their home. The foliage itself held far too much magic to be mistaken for anything remotely similar to Niko's world, unless you counted the extremely tropical portions of it.
The walk felt like it dragged on far too long, for the comment of not being too far. Niko had blisters on his unprepared feet, the modern shoes doing absolutely nothing for the long trek across the countryside. He had received a few stares and the odd comment on his clothes, not at all blending in with the general tone of this world.
When they finally reached a village not far from the capital, they stopped outside a large inn. Ivana went inside to get them a couple rooms, Derrick and Liam taking the donkey and supplies to the stables to get them situated. Ira chose to stay outside and wait with Niko and Plu.
The things people wore here were surprisingly well sewn, perhaps due to their magical capabilities, though the styles were different than anything on Earth had any hope of being.
People wore lots of colors, pieces dangling and flowy as they tied together seamlessly. They also seemed to incorporate a lot of leather, patches making up large portions of the clothing as it melded with the softer garments that draped across in fancy patterns. All in all, Niko kind of enjoyed the fashion styles they used here. It all seemed much more artistic and creative than anything people lounged about in back on Earth.
"Are we sure this is a good place to stay?" Niko whispered to Plu while Ira dusted off her clothes near the front.
"What's wrong with it?" Plu whispered back, eyeing the establishment like it might answer her question.
"I'm just not sure about how good the service would be at a place called The Crusty Biscuit. Seems a little shabby or something, right?" Niko gestured toward the big sign above the entrance, blue with black letters in bold.
Plu looked at the place he was indicating, appearing to seriously consider the implications a name like that might hold.
"It seems like a normal enough name to me. Do people not name eating and sleeping establishments after food and experience in your world?" She looked back at the young man, perplexity practically radiating off her.
"What kind of experience can they be promising with crusty in the name?" Niko asked, eyes wide and mouth agape at the implications.
She smiled, as though it were a funny reaction, before answering with a dramatic wave of her tiny hands.
"A crisp and fresh one, of course! The crispiest things I've ever experienced could always be referred to as crusty. I'd rather give them points for creativity, most people wouldn't think of that as a good replacement in wordplay. And don't even get me started on the biscuits! Naturally, those are akin to some fluffy breakfasts. The stay is practically guaranteed to be delightful." She raved, as though she had personally stayed here on multiple occasions.
Niko nodded along numbly, realizing with slight dread that he wasn't entirely prepared for this new world and its strange customs.
At least he could say it would never be boring, though.