“What is required for rank three? You ever find out.” I asked.
“Yeah, finally remembered to ask. Rank three is level twenty five at least and ten completed missions.”
“Probably to earn money for the guild. They get one in every five pieces of copper we earn from missions. Four and five?”
“Rank four is at least level fifty and fifty completed missions. Rank five is level hundred and a recommendation of at least two other rank fives.” Bran said.
“So to reach the top would take a lot of goblins.” I said. I couldn’t even imagine how much mana I would have at that level. That was insane as a requirement but understandable in a way.
“Yeah, there are only seven at the moment. From what Boron told me, they mostly hang around the capital and only take special requests.”
“Well their skills are probably Master ranked. You heard Yonson.” I said.
“Yeah. Couldn’t imagine being that strong. Wonder if one will come to purge the goblins.” He said.
“Maybe, who knows? We have a long way to go before we get that far.”
“Yeah, got to change my name when that happens.”
“You would be so strong, people would piss themselves first.”
“True, but I am not going around with the name Bigfish. I was think more along the lines of Branard Belleron.”
“That is actually not bad. I was thinking you would pick, Bumpkins Munchalot.”
“You wish.” I sat there in silence while he wiped down the counter. “I was surprised about George staying.”
“Well with him and Devon.” I waved my hand in the air.
“What do you mean him and Devon?” Bran asked.
“Well…”
“What is it?”
“Their together.” I whispered.
“What do you mean, of course they are in the same party.” I was hoping I didn’t have to spell it out.
“How do I put it? If there were two beds and they were sharing a room, only one bed would be used.” Bran looked confused for a moment and then it hit him.
“No way.” He whispered out in shock.
“Yep, the way they were looking at each other. The time they spent alone in the forest.”
“I thought he was giving him archery tips…” Bran mumbled.
“Or another kind of tip.” I muttered into my mug.
“Then the noise I heard from their room the two nights they were here. No…..no…..way.”
“Trust me, it was a surprise also.”
“How does that even happen?”
“Don’t look at me. My books don’t mention that. No one even talks about it that I know of.”
“If either dies, it is going to be tough.”
“All relationships are like that. Well I will say a prayer for him and wish him good luck in his future.” I took a long drink from my mug.
“No drinking on the job, but cheers all the same.” Bran said.
The next morning we both grabbed our weapons from the blacksmith who had managed to repair them. My sword looked all shiny and smooth again. Bran and I made our way to the merchant guild. In front of it were ten wagons with men standing around and other men who looked like drivers hitching up the horses.
“What do you want?” One of the guards looked at us. His face was scarred and he looked like a warrior from one of the stories I had read. He was huge and his arms were the size of small trees.
“Guard duty for the caravan. Ternor contracted us.”
“Runts like you. Whatever, not my money. We rotate watch even in town to protect the wagons. There are nine of us here so we do shifts of three. I am Karn and run the guard detail. I have a clean record. So if I catch you touching, thinking, or evening dreaming about stealing you will wish to your momma’s tits that I kill you.”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”
“Good, now we take turns walking up front, the rear, and riding on the wagons. Groups of three again. First time guarding by the look of it and twos also. You both will be with me. Peps and Ratface get over here.” Two men quickly hurried over.
“You both are running a shift, I am taking on two ducklings. Work out the men between you two and not next to my head either, got enough of a headache.” The two went off arguing about who would go with who. “Meals are handled by the drivers and tents are packed away. Don’t expect anything great in the towns we stop in. Also you will get paid at the end. The pay for adventurers is five coppers a day right?”
“Yeah.” I replied.
“Good. We are all a long term crew, you are just extra. So if shit happens, you better pull your weight. Oh, we pay you but you better pass on the cut to your guild. Almost forgot that. What else did I forget?”
“Is their bonus pay for combat?” I asked.
“Shit no. You get a really good meal the next stop if you don’t piss yourself.” He grinned at both of us. Some of the scars on his face stretched in bizarre ways. “Anyways that is it. For now you can put your packs on the rear wagon, keep your weapons and anything else you need during the day. No touching the wagons once we get going. Once we start moving, you stick with me.” We both gave an affirmative and started to look around.
We put away our packs but kept our canteens and weapons. I saw Ternor talking with two other nicely dressed people. They all shook hands and Ternor and one of the other men got on the lead caravan. He gave me a nod which I returned. I saw Karn up front and we went up to him.
“Good, we are at the rear, come on.” We followed him to the last wagon. “Not many attacks from the rear but I have seen it happen since people don’t expect it. You just sit in the wagon and keep a look out to the rear, left and right. You can talk, but if I see your eyes not on the road there will be trouble. I will be with the driver. If you see anything just yell. If you need to take a piss let me know. Hop off, run ahead piss where I can see you, then hop back on.”
We both got in position and moments later the wagons set off. “Better than walking.” Bran said.
“You and me both. No pack either, my feet are loving me.” I replied.
“Our points won’t increase.”
“I am okay with that for two ten-days. George is probably fighting for his life against goblins and making shit for money. I don’t blame him, but this is a great time to take a break from the fighting. Go to the capital, work a bit, earn some money, and buy new gear. Then we can get back out here.”
“Yeah, at least Karn knows what he is doing. Can you imagine if everyone just came together to guard the caravan.”
“Probably chaos.” I said. We were quiet for a bit as we left Jopel the town of dreams and began traveling towards Antioch, the capital of the kingdom. With the eighty copper at the end of this, I would have a bit over four silver. Bran would have about a silver. That would be more than enough to get us started, hopefully.
“HALT!” Karn cried out. The caravan slowly ground to a halt. “We leave shortly, so move your asses!” He shouted out. Some people went to the side of the road to relieve themselves while Karn gestured at us. “We are up front. Follow me.” We went past all the wagons and Karn talked to Peps and Ratface. We walked out in front of the lead wagon.
“One of you stay out in front, you see anything you shout it back to me and the other one. If you get to close I will tell you to move your ass. A tree across the road, a pit, or even a shitty beggar you tell me right away. Got it.”
“Yeah I got it.” I said.
“You going up there?” Bran asked.
“Yeah, watch my back.” I went about sixty feet in front of Karn and Bran. I stood around until the wagons got going again. It took a bit but I finally found my pace I needed to match the wagons. It was a fast walk, and I definitely would be completely exhausted if I did this all day. We went past farms, forest, some streams, but nothing interesting came up.
A bit into the afternoon Karn called a halt and we moved to the center of the caravan. “I will be sitting on the wagon in front
of you two. You can sit up front on that wagon. Keep an eye out left and right. See anything shout.” We sat up with the porter.
“Names Han.”
“Ed.”
“Bran.”
“Welcome, to wagon six. One way trip to fame and glory.” We looked at him.
“EYES! ON THE FOREST!” Karn shouted and we quickly looked away. “I owe you a copper Han.”
“Two, I got two to look away.” Karn grumbled at that.
“That wasn’t nice.” I said.
“You know how shit boring this is. I have spent my whole life sitting on a wagon traveling around.” Han said.
“What do you get paid? Must be good.”
“Three coppers a day, but food and lodging are paid for. They keep everything in the main guild hall in the capital we can withdraw money at any time. We also are guaranteed work for so many years regardless of what happens. So if things go to shit, or a village burns and I sit around, I still get paid. Same as Karn and his men. You two though get kicked to the side of the road.”
“Huh, interesting system.”
“Yeah. Most bandits don’t bother with the porters or even fighting either. If they show up with enough men the caravan master just pays them off with some food and supplies. Monsters are the big issue, definitely when we come out to the little towns.”
“I heard a necklace was lost?”
“Oh that, ha. It was huge when it happened. I heard it from a porter who was there. So the noble girl had decided to ride up front and not stay in her carriage. Well no one was going to tell that idiot no. I mean those carriages can take a beating and stay locked. Most monsters just give up before they can break in so the nobility loves them.”
“Anyways, the girl was up front all la de da and the caravan was attacked. The contract guards are normally veteran soldiers who don’t want to settle down and get some exercise. So they weren’t just about to run away. During the fight one of the goblins breaks past the guards and charges the lead wagon.”
“Well the idiot girl had taken off her necklace for some reason. Heard it was a real beauty and mana also. Anyways she was playing with it in her hand when the attack happened and threw it at the goblin in a panic. Don’t you know the thing grabbed it and ran off into the forest. The fight ended, but the girl demanded the guards get her necklace.”
“The caravan master paid extra and five of them went to search. The goblin had run straight off without stopping and they came back empty handed. I heard that there was a lot of shouting in the guild hall when they got to the capital and the caravan master was fired. Should have kept the girl in the carriage.”
“Wow, so that is how a priceless necklace is lost.” I said.
“Yeah, five gold to find it.” Bran let out a sigh. The porter let out a snort.
“That thing is worth at least ten times that, probably more.” Han said.
***
There was only one alarm on the entire trip when I called out a man resting by a tree on the side of the road. Karn shouted at everyone to be on guard and then called out to relax once we were past. He even grunted a good job at me.
It took twenty five days to get to the capital. I wasn’t that concerned. The food was okay and we got to sleep under the wagons to stay mostly dry when we weren’t in a town. Rooms were cheap and shared at the Merchants Guilds we came to. Mostly it was one large side room with a lot of wood beds and a large table in the middle of the room.
Coming up on the capital, it was a city of towers and a massive wall at least forty feet tall. We were in the front but Karn let us all walk together. “No bandit has the steel balls to attack this near the capital, also it is all farms.” He had said. There were no good spots to ambush the caravan.
We came to the large gate and got stuck in a line of people waiting to enter while other people streamed out. “Shit, just had to be a line. All right you shits get the tarps off and folded, I don’t want to stand around here all day with my thumb up my ass.” The porters got to work while the caravan master smiled at Karn.
“You two did okay. At least better than some other shits I have seen.” He frowned at that. “Stay with us to the guild hall and you get paid. Probably mid-day at the rate these slow guards are moving through the Gods forsaken line!” Karn bellowed out. Everyone looked at him and he looked right back not caring one bit.
When we finally came up to the gate all the guards looked at Karn. One even said, “Oh by the Gods, he is back.”
“Caravan, coming from little shit villages to the glorious capital.” They all looked at him. “You don’t expect me to remember the name of shit towns. Now pick want you want to check. Move it soldiers, daylight is burning!” The guards rushed off to inspect the wagons for whatever they were looking for while their Sargent just looked at Karn.
“Really?” He asked.
“What, I know how boring this shit is. Probably the most excitement in a ten-day.” Karn said.
“You wouldn’t be wrong about that. If you ever have an open spot let me know. I think I have a brain leech on me from doing this.”
“Tell me. I keep hoping for something, but shit cursed monsters seem to smell me coming. Now it looks like your boys are having trouble opening a crate.”
“Come on, you can yell at them for me.” Bran and I followed a ways back. It was a lesson in cursing and yelling and I wouldn’t be surprised if Karn had a skill in both. By the time he was done, the inspection was over but all the guards were doing push-ups. Their Sargent silently laughing.
“I want to be like him.” Bran whispered.
“I wouldn’t say no.” I replied. We got to the guild hall. Karn told us to talk to the man inside. We went in and up to one of the tellers. I showed the document that Ternor had given both of us the first night and the teller stamped it and then passed us two silver and fifty copper and the document back.
“Adventurers Guild?” I asked the teller.
“Out the main door and take a right. You will come to a fountain. Guild hall is nearby you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks.” The man was already ignoring us and we left. It was like Azalon but far more packed and the buildings were three stories instead of two.
“Wow, so much.” Bran whispered. His wide eyed look betraying his rural upbringing. We followed the directions to the guild hall. It was a massive building and even had a tower that spiraled up attached to it. We entered and looked around. There were a desk off to one side with a bored looking woman. The rest of the floor seemed a mix between dining hall and bar and it was busy. I counted at least thirty people.
“What do you want?” She sighed.
“Turning in a mission.” I held out the parchment. She looked it over.
“Congratulations, another mission. Yeah.” She said all that in the most bored tone possible. “Punishment detail, three ten-days I need to sit here. Remember that if you ever think of doing something stupid. You owe fifty coppers, take your parchment and money and head up the flight of stairs behind me to the second floor. A door will have the word Mission Completion on it. Just knock and enter.”
“Thanks, hope things get better.” Bran said.
“If you want to start a fight, I won’t complain.” She said with a slightly more interested voice.
“Come on.” I pulled on his arm and we left. “Don’t fall for the first pretty face. City rule number one. City rule two, is keep your coin purse hidden.”
“Got it.” I found the mission room and entered. A man was sitting behind a desk and there was a lot of parchment all over.
“Yes?”
“Mission.” I handed over the form.
“Everything is in order, payment?” I handed over fifty copper. “Edward Monteger and Branier Bigfish correct?”
“Yeah.” Bran was much more sullen in his reply.
“Good, don’t want to make a mistake. Since you are new. Anyways there once was someone called Mouth Onsword. So it isn’t as bad as it can be. Now leave.” We quickly left a
nd made our way back down and went back to the woman. Bran had a slight smile on his face. I just shook my head
“What do you need? Someone to wipe your bottoms?”
“We are looking for a cheap place to stay and work.”
“Cheap. Cheap is here. Common sleeping room is four coppers a night each and no complaining about snoring. Go through that door and ask for Hilda. What kind of work?”
“Bar tending, cleaning. If you…require, I can work with fish.” That last part seemed to pain him. I held up my scribe medallion.
“Well don’t worry about the fish. Ask Hilda if there is work around here. Won’t pay much. You can try your luck in the city, harder to find a job but you will make more. An experienced scribe. Don’t often see one adventuring. Well, it is the same thing. Hilda handles all hiring here and manages the floor day to day. If you want to find other work you can look in the city.”
“Oh, don’t cause trouble either. That is what landed me here. Just a warning.” She closed her eyes and put her feet up on the desk. Bran and I looked at each other and shrugged. We turned towards where the lady had mentioned.
“Probably look in the city for work for at least a couple of days first.” I said.
“I want to work here. Learn what is going on. This seems like the place to be.” Bran said. He enjoyed talking with people a lot more than I did. During the time we had spent with the caravan he talked with the other guards at night while I spent my time working on chants I could practice to try and unlock abilities.
I did keep an ear open while scribbling in my journal for anything interesting but most of the conversations were about various women they had met in various towns. It was very disappointing I wasn’t able to get another easy success like I had with my Meditation skill.
“Up to you.” I said. We went through the double doors and saw a hallway. There was an open door with an office and an older looking woman.
“Excuse me are you Hilda?” I asked.
“Yes.” She looked up from her book. I noticed that there were quite a few light runes around this place.
“We are looking to stay in the common area and food.” I said.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 13
