Insure This

"So you see we offer insurance on your wagon train, should you be attacked and lose your cargo we'll reimburse you for the money you lost!" The trade caravan hadn't even left Zorn when we were beset by a man with two bodyguards who claimed to be an insurance agent.  Now I'd heard of insurance previous, usually some kind of scam protection money you pay a fellow like this who's planning on robbing you if you don't pay him.  But normally in that case the man doesn't do it flat out in the open dressed in a business suit. I couldn't make out what the caravan leader said (the insurance guy shouted, the caravan leader tended to talk in hushed tones) I could kind of guess from the defeated look on suit man that he said no.

We didn't really talk over what happened, just moved on, it was early and the sun felt like it was right above our heads already.  We made good time because the roads were mainly dust, in spite of the heat sapping away my desire to do anything (I prefer weather to be overcast and moderate, that way it effects me not at all, in either direction too much and I'm annoyed). I was just starting to get into good spirits when the smell of burning hit my nostrils, up ahead past a bend in the road there was a makeshift barricade on fire. Beside it were men with bang sticks (6 to be exact), apparently that insurance thing was a good idea. Duz moved forward bow already at the ready.

"There is a toll on this road, and you shall pay it or die!" I like those kind of options, they always sound so optiony.

"We will not stand down for some bandits, step aside we are protected by the Red Hand." Duz was either bluffing, thought I was a member of the Red Hand, or the caravan was keeping secrets from me.

"Then you'll..." The lead bandit of the six took an arrow through his throat, his companions went to fire their bang sticks but were dead before even a single shot could be fired.  Duz smiled back at me, like sharing a secret with someone else (so I wasn't the only magical person on this particular journey). We cleared the burning barricade and buried the bandits in it.  It wasn't very surprising to see that one of them had been with the man in the suit earlier, apparently bandits were now trying to extort in style instead of just idle threats on roads.

Kind of a sad thing really, insurance is a very real practice now and it even was back then, but like anything good for making money, its usually corrupted by jerks.  Stupid jerks.  We made Lork without future incident, though Lork itself was another story altogether.  One I'll tell tomorrow!