Jordan was not alone in his curiosity; another mercenary took a moment to see what sort of cargo the group carried, when another ran over and clanged his shield over the back of his head, asking, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"<br/><br/>"The hell was that for, asshole?" the first asked, reaching for his sword.<br/><br/>Before blades could be drawn, or blood shed, a much larger individual intervened, his scarred arms easily telling of his greater experience than the pair who were moments away from coming to blows.  "Look, I agreed to take you to into my team because you both can fight, and because you both looked like you had at least a clue between you.  Don't make me regret the decision."<br/><br/>"Besides," added the shield-carrying mercenary, "you don't want to mess with anything on that cart.  From what the guy with the money told us, the less we know, the better."<br/><br/>The apparent leader nodded his assent.  "We're here to make sure the goods get to where they're going.  Nothing more.  All any extra knowledge will do is give us extra baggage to deal with."  Glimpsing sideways at Jordan, he nodded, even though he was not that particular mercenaries superior.  "In any case, I'm pretty sure I can guess what we're guarding.  It doesn't matter."<br/><br/>"So why can't I know?" the first insisted, disgruntled.<br/><br/>"Because if you know what's in it, you become a liability," the boss mercenary noted with a decisively discussion-ending tone.  Even as he slowed his pace to speak with their merchant employer, the other two continued their argument over whether or not they were entitled to be more informed about their client's goods.<br/><br/>Overhead, the canopy of trees thickened to filter the visibility down to a twilight glimmer, still fairly warm despite the volume of vegetation about.  Numerous brambles and bushes clumped about the base of, and between trees - even with the clearly marked path, and the sliver of direct sunlight that worked its way through the gap in the canopy seemed tenuous at best, a candle flame poised to go out at any moment.  With the sun already past its zenith, the odds were that they would be perhaps a quarter of the way into the Devilseed Reaches before night fell.