The rest of the day was far more mundane than Lolk would've liked. He did deeply enjoy the food and the mead. Spel seemed to like it as well as he was chuckling to himself the whole way for no disenable reason. By sunrise Lolk was up doing what he did on a regular basis until he heard Check called for them. Spel didn't actually show up but he knew if he had he would've smiled as wide as the street seeing everything being walked in. He spied climbing picks, what could've been miles of rope and enough food to feed three armies.

Spel did finally come down as Lolk and Check were taking inventory on it all. "Wow… He really wants this treasure." Spel said after letting out a low whistle.

"You don't know the half of it." Check said showing him the list. "He's given you enough food to last two ponies for almost three months."

"And enough gold to buy a sweets shop." Lolk chimed in.

"Yeah, and that's not all. Here's the map he's got for you." She handed off the map.

"How many caves!?" He shouted. "The old man's gone mad! I mean twelve caves?"

"Oh come on you're incredible. I'm sure it's no problem for someone like you."

"No problem!? You realize how fast we'd have to move? If we don't get everywhere we need to go before we run out of food we're basically fucked!"

"I don't understand what the problem is. We can get more food if we run low can we not?" Lolk asked his friend.

"I told you the unicorns don't like pegasi. In fact I'm lucky earth ponies tolerate us."

"Well then I'll go when we need to get supplies."

"Oh please you're hopeless socially."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"Like I'm wrong?"

Under his anger, Lolk felt a pang of emotional betrayal. Spel was his friend… wasn't he?

"Cave Diver shut your damn mouth before I back hoof it shut for you. You need somepony with a horn growing out of their skull and he's it."

"I-"

"No Spel. He's going with you and he's going to help you if you like it or not. Lolk go get packed you'll be leaving after lunch."

"Very well."

They made good on that deadline. Just after lunch they'd left for the edge of town to find some traveling ponies. There were plenty of carts, plenty of ponies selling their wares from their carts. Granted, some were rather odd. One stallion in particular had a zebra mare and stallion in chains at the front of his cart as he showed off two more on wooden boxes. He shouted about how strong they were in an accent Lolk hadn't heard before.

"Tell me that is not common." Lolk asked Spel holding back the urge to pull his dagger on the man selling them.

"Sadly yes. I don't agree with it but there really isn't much to do about the earthponies in the south."

"First the servants in that man's house and now them. It sickens me how those with more treat those with nothing at all."

"The servants in Crow are all paid. I knew a zebra that escaped from there and he said it was much worse than what."

"You said she could be whipped and flogged!"

"Yeah but my friend was starved and branded."

"What!? That's it I am having a word with that man." He was in the process of turning around before Spel stopped him and put a foreleg around his shoulder, dragging him along the road.

"How 'bout we actually find somepony that'll take us to Unicornia, ay?"

"Bu-"

"Shut up. You have the gold?"

"Yes." He said pulling the purse from his hammer space. "See anyone?"

"Not one unicorn in the bunch so far but the day's still young."

"We don't need a unicorn to get us there."

"That's kind 'a wrong."

"How so?"

"Why not? Everywhere needs merchants so they should be accepted anywhere. Look there, there's a pegasus with great business!"

The stallion behind it had a gray coat and a golden nose ring in the center of his nose. His golden yellow eyes matched the tips of his emerald red mane.

"Oh that's Sham. Yeah don't buy from him."

"Oh you know him?"

"Yeah but he's-"

"Well let's talk to him." Lolk instantly broke away faster than Spel could get to him. He went over to the plain wooden cart with a sign reading JEWELRY.

The stallion quickly noticed them and waved off a couple of ponies. "Cave Fucking Diver!" He said excitedly ducking into the cart and coming out the back. "Been what, two years?"

"Two too few…" Spel said under his breath.

"Hello, I am Lolk." he said going up to him holding out a hoof.

"Yeah that's nice." He said pushing past Lolk. "What can I do for you? Want something for your sister?" Spel opened his mouth to reply before Sham started talking again. "How is she by the way? She ever talk about me?"

"No, none of ya bees wax and you wish."

"Oh don't be like that. What's with the hostility?"

"The wrist band you gave her put her in the bleedin' hospis!"

"I am appalled you'd accuse me of causing that."

"The edge cut her hoof and the crappy metal you put it gave her a nasty infection!"

"Uh, Spel I th-"

"This a friend of yours?" Sham asked cutting Lolk off again.

"As a matter of fact I am." Lolk said getting annoyed with his demeanor. "I am Lolk.

"Well a friend of Diver's is a friend of mine." He said going back to the back of his cart, soon popping out of his window. "And that means a discount!"

"No, we'll be goin' now." Spel said about to grab Lolk's hoof and leaving.

"Actually." Lolk said getting out of reach again. "How long are you in town?" He asked as a mare came up and started browsing.

"Not much longer. You want me gone too?"

"Yes, now we're leavin'." Spel said desperate to leave.

"Are you going to be moving towards unicorn territory?"

"Oh yeah, they love my wares up there. Why Elk?"

"It's Lolk and w-"

"We're not asking him."

"Let the pony ask me what they want to ask me Cave Diver, he wants to know something."

"We were hoping for someone to help get us passage. Spel has been given a job to find a treasure a-"

"Say no more!"

"Hang on Sham, I need to speak to my friend for a tick. Just wait here."

He nodded and turned to sell something to the mare that had walked up. Spel dragged Lolk away a ways and pulled his head low.

"The hell do you think you're doin'?"

"Getting us a way to Unicornia."

"Could you just find another pony? Anyone else at all?"

"Why not Sham?"

"He's a con artist Lolk! We have him take us out there he'll want a share. Hell, he'd probably kill us soon 's we get a look at it!"

"Well you know him and that relationship could benefit us."

"Yes but what about Cage? If he finds out I'm done for."

"Then we don’t tell him that he took some as payment. Look, if it doesn't work out I'll… Well I'll do whatever you want for a month."

He looked up at the cart as Sham finished selling jewelry to the mare, holding her whole coin purse.

"Okay. But you'll pick up my slack for three months when we get back if you're right."

"Excellent. Sham!" Lolk called as he slipped from Spel's grasp. "When will you be leaving?"

"I was planning on leaving tomorrow morning but for you two, I'll go today. For a price."

"Ten gold pieces?" Lolk offered.

"Thirty." Sham said quickly after.

"Fifteen or we'll find somepony else." Spel said standing up with Lolk.

"Fine, fine. For you fifteen. Get what you need and we'll leave. Payment upfront by the way."

"No." Sham says as he starts walking away.

"Thank you very much." Lolk told him bowing. "We will return at sundown."

"Great. And feel free to buy something when you come back!" He called as Lolk started jogging away to follow Spel.

"You're gonna regret this Lolk." Spel said when he caught up.

"Why? He seems nice enough. And we didn't even have to pay him too much. We still have more than enough gold to get more supplies when we need them."

"I told you he's a co artist. He'll probably charge us extra fees as we go and by the time we make it to the first cave, we'll be out of money."

"I doubt he'll do that."

"He's done it before. Two years ago he took up to Unicornia and that's exactly what he did."

"Perhaps he has changed in those two years." Lolk said optimistically.

Spel just rolled his eyes and shook his head as they went back into Crows.

Author's Note

Two in one day? Yeah I've been doing work on this.... When's the next one you ask? Uh............ *Runs from the room*