The Life

by Paul Kite

  A sense of relief washed over me. The initial part of my personal plan was completed! I was hired. Now I was supposed to learn how to get to the monastery from the headman.

  “Don’t return those tools yet,” Cleto hurried to stop me when I put the pruner and the saw in the cart to take everything back into the storage room. “Let’s have lunch, and then you’ll come back and finish trimming this path, and work on the second one of your choice.”

  “Is that all?” I asked delightedly.

  There were less than one and a half pathways left. I could manage for two hours, maximum three, even with interruptions, and then I would rest. When the headman returned, I’d try to overhear what Cleto and he were going to discuss business. It might be worth knowing.

  “Of course, not!” The old man looked at me in surprise, “You aren’t in your crappy little village, so don’t try to be lazy! When you are free, you come and find me immediately, got it? You need to clean the house. There are layers of dust from a hundred years ago that needs to be taken care of.”

  My hope of having some time to plan was dashed. However, his behavior was understandable. The workforce had to be used to the fullest while it was possible. I was used to it.

  “Well? Don’t just stand there like a lemon! Let’s have lunch.” And without waiting for me, the old man turned around and went to the house.

  During lunch, I introduced myself Cleto, or rather, he asked for my name. In general, he wasn’t very much interested in my past life, so our conversation was rather simple. It was more like an interrogation. I answered all of his questions briefly and accurately. After lunch, I was allowed to rest for half an hour, and after my brief respite, I set to work.

  While working on what seemed to be the twentieth tree, I was interrupted by a notification alarm, and a message appeared before my eyes. I was quite unpleasantly surprised by its contents.

  Attention player!

  You’ve spent a lot of time working hard and pursuing your chosen goal. You have perfectly mastered such items as a pruner and a scythe.

  You can choose the specialty ‘Gardener’

  It was as if the system was mocking me. I threw the pruner to the ground in frustration.

  I had no restrictions on the number of specialties. I could get as many professions as I wished. But to get the first specialty as a ‘Gardener’ was infuriating! It was good that it wasn’t a ‘Jeweler’; after all, the system could have offered me that profession earlier in Noar-Rahor. Thankfully, this profession wasn’t apparently provided for the players. I couldn’t be sure, but there may have been strange people who preferred to spend time in their own garden there. Sculptors and artists weren’t exactly uncommon in the world of Noria.

  “Okay, I’m going to be a ‘Shadow’ Killer with a Gardener specialty. That’s very original!” My words bled with irony. Ultimately, I accepted my first specialty in that world. Whining about it would do me no good. Picking up the pruner, I returned to cutting off dry tree branches.

  I decided to take my time. There was no need to hurry. If I had the time, I would clean the house, if not...

  The crisp sound of the pruner rang and the last tree branch fell down. I climbed down the ladder, collected the dry wood and put it in the cart. I drove the branches and unloaded them at the end of the path. After storing the tools back into the storeroom, I returned the ladder to its place. After a short break, I decided to look for the old man.

  I found Cleto on the porch of the house, sitting in a rocking chair. One of the dogs was lying at his feet; it immediately jumped up at the sight of me.

  “Cleto, the backyard is finished!” I said hastily, eyeing the dog cautiously.

  I was curious to know what that creature was. I’d never seen such mobs before. Moreover, I hadn’t even heard about the existence of such strange animals. They looked similar to dogs, but I felt that the similarity only went skin deep.

  “Well done,” the old man praised me. “Now clean the living room. Water’s in the well, the well’s in the yard to the right of the house. Take what you need in the storeroom…”

  It started getting dark soon, but I had already finished cleaning the room by that time. I had almost finished, being more precise. It remained for me to wipe a couple of cabinets and remove the cobwebs above them when suddenly the door opened, and the manager entered the room.

  “Wow,” the old man nodded in satisfaction, glancing at the walls, which were almost shining with cleanliness, as well as the floor and furniture in the living room. “It’s good that I took you on! Well, I see you’re tired, Kraven. That will be all for today. You can have dinner and rest,” Cleto said. “Better put some food on your plate and go back to your room. Don’t set your foot out of the bedroom. The owner will come soon, he’ll be irritable and cross as always. Therefore, you better stay out of his sight. By the way, his name is Garlon, but don’t even dare to call him by name when I introduce you to him tomorrow. Call him master. That’s all. Got it?”

  “Yes, Cleto.”

  “That’s good,” the old man nodded. “Now get some rest.”

  Cleto left the living room, and I wrung out a rag dry, covered a bucket with it, and went to the kitchen. I really needed a snack. Then, I planned not to miss the return of headman Garlon.

  After a quick dinner, I went to my room, threw all my work clothes on the bed, took out the slightly battered Shadows armor and quickly put it on. Then, after some consideration, I put on a belt with quick access cells just in case. I filled them with the potion of night vision and scrolls of disguise from the inventory, some being related to smells, sounds, and even tastes. I decided that I could use that disguise in case those dogs were let into the house, I knew absolutely nothing about those creatures. Invisibility wasn’t a panacea. Even mobs whose vision was like a thermal imager existed. I had no idea why they were created in the world of Noria, but they were dangerous and that had to be reckoned with.

  I activated invisibility, left the room and quietly closed the door behind me. Besides, I took out the key and locked the door, S that it would seem as if I’d gone to bed and closed the room from the inside. Although, I was sure that Cleto had a spare key. However, at the same time, I hoped that it wouldn’t occur to him to check what his employee was doing in his bedroom.

  I sneaked towards the exit from the house. Two shadows flashed outside the window and I quickly ducked into a room nearby. I could hear someone’s steps as they approached the front door and their voices were clearly audible. One was familiar to me — it was Cleto. The second voice was low, young, in a tone of anger and discontent, and apparently, it belonged to Garlon.

  The door opened, and the old man entered first, followed by a tall man of thirty with a rather unpleasant, repulsive face. He was wearing a slightly crumpled, light brown jacket.

  “What happened? Did you get into a fight with someone again?” The old man asked, helping the headman remove his outerwear and hanging it on the coat hanger.

  I made a couple of steps to the side and pressed myself against a wall covered with a tapestry.

  “It’s all those damn... monastic loons!” The man swore. “Let’s go to the office, I need a drink! I’ll tell you everything on the way.”

  Cleto and Garlon passed me by and went up the stairs to the second floor. I followed behind them slowly and cautiously, keeping a distance of fifteen yards.

  On the second floor, they went to the end of the left wing of the house. The manager unlocked the last door next to the wall with a window and let the headman go in first, and then followed him inside and slammed the door behind him.

  I quickly approached the office and put my ear to a rough wooden surface...but I could hear nothing! I almost cursed aloud. That door wasn’t as simple as it looked. There might be some kind of a protective spell. It was quite possible.

  Then my eyes fell on the window again, and a brilliant idea popped into my mind! If I couldn’t hear them, then I should try to see them. Of course, I didn’t kn
ow how to read lips, but it was also possible that what I saw would be enough to help me develop a plan of entering the monastery.

  Without a squeak, I opened the window and slipped outside. On the left, through the window of the office, a yellow dim light penetrated the outside, slightly illuminating the courtyard and the trees near the house. I hoped that the dogs wouldn’t detect me at the height of the second floor.

  There was nothing to cling to. With difficulty, I squeezed my fingers into the gap between the laying of stones and I shimmied over the three-yard wall that led to the window of the office. I was holding onto the bottom of the frame so I pulled myself up and peered into the room.

  Apparently, my luck was running out. The window was draped; all I could see were the silhouettes of the people inside.

  Frustrated, I was about to go back when someone came up to the window, pulled the curtain aside and, throwing back the latch, opened it widely. And I was quite lucky that it opened inward, not outward. Otherwise, it would have made me lose my grip, and fall down from the height of the second floor. The invisibility would have stopped working from the damage caused, also.

  “So, are you alright?” Cleto’s voice rang out. “Is it not stuffy anymore?”

  The chime of glass echoed as if several bottles clinked against each other, and the headman’s sluggish answer was heard,

  “Nope! Now it’s good. What a nice breeze!”

  “Then, maybe, you’ll put down that twenty-year-old cognac and start telling me what’s happened?” The old man spoke impatiently. “Your father bought that ‘Gavrtolsky rage’, and it was not for you, who drinks it like juice.”

  “Wait a minute, old man, what’s the rush,” Garlon answered, followed by a few hurried gulping sounds.

  The conversation stopped for a while. In the room, someone pushed the furniture, then rustled some papers.

  “Well, who exactly did you meet with?” Cleto asked.

  “With one of the monks. I don’t know his name,” the headman grunted. “But he certainly belongs to the elders. I saw his amulet.”

  “So? What about the contract?” The manager clarified.

  “Nothing,” the man said irritably. “I was sent to hell.”

  “Why so? What did you discuss? What did he offer?” The old man continued questioning patiently. “Stop making me ask you what happened! Just tell me everything in detail!”

  “They don’t like the prices!” Garlon slammed the table with his fist. “They want lower prices! Moreover, we will have to deliver the goods to them! Insatiable beasts!” The sound of breaking glass rang out, then the sound of a chair being toppled and nervous, heavy steps of someone pacing around.

  “I warned you,” Cleto noted quietly. “You should have reduced the prices to match Lanwan’s. But no. You’ve increased the price and decided to change the conditions of cooperating with the workers as soon as the terms of your father’s contract came out ... Don’t freak out! Sit down!” The manager shouted sharply. I never imagined that the old man could yell so loudly.

  “Fuck off!” Garlon snarled in response. “I don’t want to live in this hole!” He broke into a scream. “I want to get out of here. I want to…”

  “I want, I want,” the old man mocked him. “Garlon, you’re a fool! A complete fool! You were always too greedy. You started offending the locals. People are whispering, they are outraged. The guards have been calling you Toad for a month already. Beware, if the rumor about your deeds reaches Prince Fadlos, then your dream will come true. You will fly off the island like a cannonball, straight to the quarry.”

  “But what should I do now?” Garlon sounded a little calmer and, judging by the sounds, lifted the chair, put it back to its place and sat down on it.

  “For starters, you can stop whining!” Cleto chastised him. “Go to the city tomorrow morning, find this monk and agree to all his conditions. It’s better to reduce the price by five percent than lose the contract completely.”

  “But it’s cheaper than…”

  “Yes, you’ll sell cheaper than Lanwan. This means that you need to stop wasting money on women, drinks, and parties. Money doesn’t grow on trees. Did you manage to forget how your father lived?” The manager reminded. “He counted every coin, and he never cut corners, and he never had any problems. He respected his employees!”

  “Why should I respect them?” The headman seethed. “Who are they and who am I?”

  “That right there is why they run from you as if you’re a leper. Look! Don’t you dare try to mistreat the new laborer, or then…”

  “Have you found one?” Garlon interrupted the old man. “He must be fed now and paid salary.”

  “Fed well, and paid money. Yes, you’re right!” The old man said sharply. “He’s a good worker, just what we need. The guy has recently arrived from the mainland, so he doesn’t know how you treat your people. Remember well, we’re going to take good care of him. Perhaps he’s your future supplier of goods to the monastery. The guy’s strong, he can handle it.

  “One is not enough.”

  “So we’ll find more workers! When you’re in the city, don’t forget to talk to the right person. Promise him you’ll pay as much as he asks.”

  “And the security?”

  “I’ll arrange it myself, I still have some old connections from when your father was alive. That means that I’ll probably have to go with you to the city tomorrow.”

  “Eh, waste of money again,” the headman began to complain about the lack of his funds.

  “What exactly did you expect? Did you think that the hard workers could drag the goods and handle a sword at the same time?” The manager asked. “Or maybe you think we don’t need any workers, and you yourself will do everything alone?”

  “Are you crazy, Cleto?” The headman was sincerely amazed. “I’d never think anything of the sort! That’s what workers are for.”

  “Then tomorrow we’re traveling to the city. Go to bed. I’ll order horses and a cart. We are leaving early in the morning.”

  “Maybe it would be better to take a carriage. It won’t be convenient for us to ride in a cart.” Garlon tried to suggest,

  “A waste of money! We’re not going to a date with a woman or to your friends. Be sensible!”

  Garlon asked something else, but I was no longer listening. Realizing that they would soon come out of the office, I quickly returned to the open window and climbed back into the house.

  I had to try and get them to let me accompany them tomorrow. My mind was occupied with that thought as I went back to the room.

  The reason I wanted to get into the city was that city traders offered better goods and scrolls than the villagers. Moreover, I had to see that very monk from the monastery, especially since he was an elder. According to the information I’d found in the Noar-Rahor books, the elders were representatives of the highest rank. They were like the masters from the guild ‘Elghinn Dal Veldrin’. It was a pity that the Shadows knew very little about them. Their ranks, basic skills, and capabilities were the only information they had on them. The identity of the head of the monastery, their learning process, the procedure for the selection of novices and much more remained behind a veil of secrecy.

  With the armor back in the inventory and my clothes in the dresser, I went to bed.

  Chapter 3

  In the morning, I got up before everyone else. Cleto and Garlon were still asleep. I thought it was dangerous to go out into the yard because I had no way of knowing how the guard dogs would react to seeing me without the presence of the old man. I needed to ingratiate myself with the authorities in the residence, therefore, I picked up a rag and a broom, finished cleaning the living room, and then moved to the corridor and continued to work.

  It was nine in the morning when the shuffling steps of the old man accompanying the thumping sound of his cane rang out on the second floor.

  “Oh, well done!” Cleto said as he came down the stairs and saw how hard I was rubbing one of the num
erous walls. “Why didn’t you change the water?” He glanced at the dirty liquid in the bucket.

  “Because of the dogs. I don’t want them to attack me,” I honestly stated the reason. “I’m afraid of them.”

  “Eh, my memory is getting worse and worse,” the old man shook his head sadly, “I forgot to tell you yesterday that they pose no danger to you now. Unless, of course, you try to leave the territory of the manor. So, do what you want in the yard.”

  “Then I’ll go for the water,” I put down the rag, and took the handle of the bucket.

  “Yes, hurry up. We’re heading to town soon. I’ll need to give you your assignments for the time we’re gone.”

  “Maybe you need my help on the road? I can carry your things and purchases.” I decided to take a chance and get into the town. “You won’t be able to lift heavy things, and the master’s unlikely to do this. What if someone attacks you on the way? I am very handy with an ax as I used to go hunting with my father in my native village.” I lied shamelessly.

  “I don’t know…” the old man spoke thoughtfully. “I’ll think it over at breakfast. Don’t go to the second floor, continue to clean down here. The master’s still sleeping.” With those words, Cleto headed towards the kitchen.

  An hour later, Garlon got up. Dressed in a bathrobe, he silently went down to the first floor, threw me a sidelong glance and went towards the kitchen, where the old man had already begun to cook something.

  “Have you seen our new worker?” The voice of the old man rang out.

  “Yeah. So-so, to be honest,” the headman answered. “He’s too thin as if he has come from a poor house. That means he eats too much.”

  As for food, listening to the quiet rumbling of my stomach, I really wouldn’t refuse breakfast.

  “Don’t judge him by his appearance,” Cleto replied. “He’s better than many other workers we’ve had. He’s as hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve! And besides, he’s not lazy!”

  “Really?” Garlon asked briefly, then smacking sounds were heard, he apparently ate the meal the manager had cooked with great pleasure. The headman continued, “If you are so sure of him, can we take him to town with us today? There’s no guarantee we’ll find suitable workers in the town first-time around, but we have a lot of things to carry.”