In my rented room at Malt, a somewhat cheap inn, I looked into my handheld mirror and made sure my face completely set into my adventurer shape. I was quite glad to be rid of the hero figure for some time.

My first stop was the adventurer’s guild to sell a modest chunk of orc tusks and hand in the request completion. I needed money for supplies and to repair my sword, especially if I agreed to accept the job from the guild master later in the day.

“Congratulations Mr. Gor,” said the black haired receptionist, Bon, when she processed my request completion. I don’t know why, but I always end up with her by the time I reach the front of the line. “You’ve put in a great effort to defeat this many orcs, though I’m sure you were quite safe with such a strong man nearby.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? A gentleman by the name Loth defeated a small horde of orcs that were camped in the forest north of White Creek.”

Her cheeks turned a shade of pink as she described my hero self. This was going to be a pain; how can I quickly move off this topic? I really want to get my money for the tusks.

“I had no idea,” I responded flatly. “The information I got was that there were orcs east of the town, so I was camped out at the edges of the farms. Fortunately, I only met a couple orcs. I had no idea there was a lot close by.”

“Sir Loth must have protected you too then!”

“Right…I will have to give him my thanks if the opportunity arises. Back to the request I had. It was properly completed, right?”

“O-oh, yes Mr. Gor. Here is the payment for the request. There were no reported issues from the requestor.” She handed over a small bag of coins. “And the guild will purchase ten orc tusks at the listed rate, since they are in good shape without damage. Two, four…ten silvers.”

“Thank you very much,” I said while hiding away the coins and getting ready to leave.

“Please wait. Since you completed a quest at this difficulty you are able to rank up to an F-rank. I just need to process your guild ID.”

Great! Now adventurer me would join the ranks of the average adventurer. I handed over my sleek metal card, tannish in color. She slid it into a twisted tower that sat on her desk. Fitted in the tower was a milky colored mana stone the size of a pearl, which I assumed powered the magic tool. I was told to place my palm against the tower, and a small flash of light later, I was handed back my ID. It was now a richer, bark-like brown with a gilded letter F at the top right corner.

The ID still listed my information I gave to the guild:

Gor

Bladesman: Sword and Dagger

Basic Mage: Fire and Water

Alesdale Branch, Loamania Registration

And on the backside was my ID number I could use to access a bank account reserved within the guild. Although, I have not registered for an account, nor do I plan to use one yet. I am quite happy keeping my gold nearby and where I can defend it with my own two hands.

There was nothing left to do at this time in the guild, so I left for the shopping district composed of several buildings and a large market that lined two wide streets. While the shops extended all the way from the castle in the center of the city to the outer wall, the inner wall separated noble access from common citizens. I had no need to enter the inner city anyway.

While I made my way toward my usual general goods shop, I was interested to see several immaculately drawn posters. More so, there was even a bard in front of the fountain square singing about the heros who saved Fort Highclaire. Seoras was right when he dispiritedly mentioned how fast the information spread around.

Almost intentionally.

I took a closer look at one of the posters, not fully believing the hype. Four people were shown: A young man in the center who wielded a sword, which seemed to glow through the artist’s representation. Two women. On the right of the swordsman, a ‘holy’ cleric clasped her hands, and on the left, a mage cast a plume of fire from her wand. Depicted behind the three was another man, crown on his head, and he grasped a magnificent spear in his outstretched arms.

I had to admit that the artist well drew these figures to look strong. Even if they aren’t as powerful as the rumors, I had to admit these so called heros created a well-rounded party—something I was sorely lacking.

 

In the shop, I bought a larger bag, preserved vegetables and meat, and a small tent I would use on overnight trips. I was going to need one from here on out if I was taking on more difficult quests. I added a self-heating pan and self-filling water skin that ran on mana stones, and grumbled at how deep I had to dig into my pockets. Fortunately, the stones would last for some time and could be replaced.

The rest of my earnings were spent on a new sword and some essential armor at my trusted craftsmen’s shops. Apparently, using firesword with my old-bulliron was too much for the weapon. I needed a whole gold piece, one which I had been saving up, to pay for a similar iron-hide sword—enchanted this time with extra mana durability. I had to specifically ask the old geezer of a blacksmith to do it, but he was all too happy after seeing the money on his table. Thankfully, I was a regular at his place, so he gave me a small discount to renew and repair my damaged breastplate, shin guards and flexible gloves. I only wore light armor, enough to protect against the elements and minor damage, to ensure my maneuverability.

The sword would be done the next day in the evening.

Right next door to the blacksmith, his old-geezer of a brother made and worked on all sorts of shoes and boots. He also made money off handbags and gloves made from various monster leathers, but I was there for the boots.

“Eh, Gor is it?” he said as I walked in. “You see my brother first?”

“Of course not. You know I always visit your store first when I come around,” I lied.

I did not know why, but these two old men had a feud going on between them.

“I don’t know if I believe you. Last time the dimwit said you went there before coming here.”

Sigh… “But he just sells hunks of metal. The boots you make however, I cannot do without.”

Should be enough flattery right?

I didn’t give the geezer anytime to respond and got right to my purpose for being there.

“I need another set of boots. Going to start taking requests that will have me away for longer. You got anything lightweight and waterproof?”

Both of these brothers were very skilled, enough to call them artisans, so I didn’t have to ask about durability at all.

Funny though, the boots I wore were also made from bulliron. I wondered about the chance that my boots and previous sword used the same bulliron.

“Yeah, I got something,” he said.

He plopped a pair of thick-soled shoes onto his counter. They were black and faintly reflected the dim light in the shop. Shininess meant water resistance, and thick soles meant I could move around in them for hours.

“What are they made of?”

“Some poisonous water snake. Can’t remember the name. Already have minor restoration enchantment in the leather, and I added a manastone for speed. Should outperform anything my dimwit can hammer over there.”

Right…

“Right. They sound perfect,” I said. “How much?”

“What you got on you?”

I knew the boots were just as good as the sword I was getting. Damn, it would take the last of my savings, but I couldn’t pass it up. I also was not going to skimp on the money and lose the geezers’ trust. Him or his brother.

“This is all I got,” I put down the small golden coin. It really hurt; I could rent out my room at the inn for half a year with that money.

“It’ll do,” he snatched up the coin and slid the boots over my way.

 

…

 

I made my way back to the guild after a long lazy lunch, backpack over my shoulder. I had dropped my shopping off back in my room and had grabbed a sandwich platter at a stall near the city’s park. The park was cramped with planted trees and benches, but I enjoyed the shadowy corners it provided. It was peaceful to watch children run around and the adults have near meaningless arguments.

I emerged out of the park after shapeshifting into my hero form. Inside, Bon the receptionist immediately saw me and waved me over to her counter. Doing so, she abruptly paused her conversation with another adventurer. He gave me an annoyed look, but his face wasn’t worth remembering.

“Loth, the master is waiting for you,” she said cheeks pink. “You can go on up.”

“Thank you.”

I knocked at the guild master’s door, and entered upon receiving an answer.

“Hello Seoras.”

“Oh it’s you Lothe. Come, sit.”

I did, and put my backpack at my feet.

“I have your ID here,” he said.

He passed a card over. It shone with a metallic luster and had an engraved ‘E’ in the corner. Somehow, Seoras must have gotten my mana signature, since the ID was properly filled out with my name and registration.

“Did you want to include any skills?”

“I think I will. Bladesman and Mage.”

“Any specific weapons and spells?”

“Sword and dagger, and elemental spells.”

Seoras wrote down the information and put the card into his own little machine tower, like the one Bon used downstairs earlier in the day. I figured, for my hero shape, some more of my skills should be openly known. Eventually known, as I continued to pick up more.

For now, the information on the ID was essentially the same:

Lothe

Bladesman: Sword and Dagger

Elemental Mage

Alesdale Branch, Loamania Registration

“Now, with that out of the way, I will explain the request I have for you. After the recent attack on Fort Highclaire, the fort is in desperate need of supplies. A member of an influential merchant company, who has a branch in Alesdale, has put together a caravan that will head to the fort in three days. This request will have you guard that member, specifically, in addition to protecting the caravan during the journey.”

“A request separate from a regular caravan-escort quest. So, there are two requests for this one caravan?”

“Right. From what I gather, the requestor is quite important in the company. Don’t know much else unfortunately. A maid made the request to the guild asking for the master, me, to recommend a trustworthy and strong person.”

“I’m that person?”

“You are.”

 

It was a serious conversation. I had just met Seoras, and he had just met me. There was a lot of opportunity available if I were to successfully and complimentarily complete this request—more than the immediate reward. Having a relationship with an influential merchant company was something all adventurers wanted and what all successful adventurers had. And I needed the influence for more than one reason.

But was I right to trust Seoras? I had a feeling the mutual respect was earned way too fast. Yet, it may stem from another factor.

Omenspect: [Seoras Goldmine, grandfather, mauler.] While the words floated in front of the old guildmaster, a vision suddenly flooded my sight. I saw Seoras and I sitting in front of a giant meal in an unfamiliar room. We competed for who could eat the most, and the scene ended with us both sprawled on the floor laughing and bellies stuffed.

Woah.

“I accept the request.” I said.

“Great!” Seoras smiled. “In three days the caravan will set off from the east gate. You’ll travel alongside the merchant’s carriage, though the request specifies that you are not to make contact with the person inside.”

He handed over the form detailing the request. Everything he said was written, nearly word for word.

“Yeah, it’s a little weird, but rich people, right? Also your main task is to protect that merchant, but also to fight alongside the others to help guard the caravan. Knowing these kinds of requests, though, the merchant may ask of you to do some other tasks they may need personally.”

“Is that so?” I had yet to take an escort quest, and on top of that, this one seemed a little unusual.

“Yeah, you have the right to refuse, but from experience it would be a good idea to do all that you can for this merchant. Getting on their good side has a better chance to receive more recommendations in the future.”

“Thanks for the help and information.”

I stood and shook Seoras’ hand gratefully. It was nice to receive trust from another person, and I was emboldened by the time he took to more deeply explain the request.

“I am happy too, my boy,” he clapped my shoulder. “I have a good feeling about you. I think you’ll do great things, and I want to be a part of that.”

“I won’t disappoint.”

 

[~2290wds]