Five days after the ambush along the road, our caravan reached the town of Jericho. The town stood near the large Skamander river where the first major battle of the war against Ahriman took place around a year and a half ago. 

Since Jericho had escaped much of the war’s devastation, it is now a hub for business. More importantly, the Iasor Labor Bureau had set up a major operation center in this city so jobs were easy to find. 

Most freelancers ,like me, find employers through middlemen such as the Labor Bureau. These organizations are quite similar to the ancient adventurers guild, which came into existence during the age of colonization around five thousand years ago. It was in this era that humans were recovering lost land while the three newly awakened races sought to expand their territory. Because the wilds were infested with monsters, pioneers often hired guards to protect them and scout out new land. These guards became known as adventurers and monster hunting has been attributed with the name ever since. 

Nowadays, most of the world has been mapped out and monsters are far less common than before. So the adventurer guilds had been transformed into labor guilds that connect people to skilled and unskilled workers. More importantly, government restriction of these businesses occurred following numerous incidents of labor guilds manipulating monster activity to increase business. 

It took a few hours for the merchant to sell enough of his wares to repay me. I was given a payment of 12 denarii for serving as a guard. In addition, the loot I got from the bandits and the prisoner I turned into the guards netted me 65 denarii. Since I had spent 8 denarii for quality camping equipment, I currently have 161 denarii. For the sake of convenience, I converted 120 denarii into 10 solidi and 1 denarii into 20 nummi.

The currency I'm using is that of the Iasor empire, which holds a strong purchasing power in the eastern part of the world. Foremost among Iasor currency is the solidus, a high purity medium sized gold coin. The more standard denarius, which is 1/12 of a solidus' value, is a high purity medium sized silver coin. Meanwhile, the nummus, which is 1/20 of a denarius, is a small silver coin with slightly lower purity than the denarius. 

Compared to other mercenaries, I’m definitely on the wealthier side. If my equipment is factored in, I’m top class. The equipment I got from Emperor Alexios consisted of a mail hauberk and  lamellar cuirass both of which were made of mythril, riding boots with steel shin guards, a high quality gambeson, and an open faced mythril helmet with cheek guards, a neck guard and a black plume. Apart from the armor, I have a well bred courser, a packhorse, an arming sword, a dagger, a composite bow with quiver and sheath, and the divine arm that was part of my hero’s pension from the gods. A very rough estimate of the cost of my equipment would be around 28 solidi, not considering the divine arm. Simply put, I’m an ideal target for thieves. 

This pretty much forces me to stay at an expensive inn in the nice part of the city. It’s virtually impossible for me to go around with my luggage all the time. Therefore, it would be more comfortable and safer to leave most of my stuff in my room. 

In addition, my retirement pension I got from the benevolent gods for doing the hero’s quest might even be better than what I wormed out of Alexios. I got to keep a portion of the enhanced physical abilities I had as a hero as well as a toned down version of the divine arms given to heroes. 

Since I’m the hero of the spear, naturally my divine weapon would be a polearm. It seems any long stick with a sharp point qualifies as a spear to the gods. It comes complete with the ability to change forms after a ten minute wait and I can adjust the material composition of the weapon. I already have quite a few forms registered to use as well as the option of using plenty of hardwoods along with iron and steel for the killing part. The current form is a versatile steel glaive with a dangling white tassel and oak shaft. 

After taking inventory to make sure everything was in order, I headed towards the northeastern part of the city. This part of the city lay beside the Skamander river, which flows from north to south of the city. Up here the water is the cleanest, while the water got progressively dirtier as one went south. This made it the prime location for the wealthy. 

Compared to the earthen roads with only a gravel surface, the roads in this area were made of cobblestone. Likewise, many houses were built from stone with timber frames, mostly hardwoods such as ash and oak. Their roofs were constructed from colorful baked clay tiles and the denizens were wearing jewelry and expensive clothes. 

I found a suitable inn that was near the river. It was a wide three story building constructed in a fashion similar to the other buildings. It was accompanied by a large stable that could fit a few dozen horses, as well as a patio next to the river. When I entered I was greeted by a young brown haired man. 

“Welcome to the Silverstream Inn, would you like a room?” the man said as he bowed. 

“How much would it cost for one room and stable spots for two horses?” I asked. 

“If we include meals, that would be 18 nummi a night.” 

“Are there any restrictions on meals? I eat a lot.”

The unfortunate downside of the physical boost is that I have a bigger appetite. The problem even gets exacerbated if I put myself under enough physical strain. 

“Well there is a time limit for when you can order food,” he informed me. “We also don’t provide alcohol with meals, you’ll have to purchase it as a side.”

“What a shame,” I sighed. 

Compared to other places this inn is quite pricey. Normally a cheap inn would cost around 6 nummi and a decent one around 12 nummi. This is with meals and the stable factored in too.  

“How good is security at this inn?” I asked. “I have some expensive cargo that I’m loath to part with.” 

The man put on a confident look, most likely an attempt to get into my coin purse. "Don't worry, you won’t find a safer inn anywhere else in this city.”

Most innkeepers I’ve met say this, even if it’s a blatant lie, but this place does cater to nobles. Some of the guests here might even have more valuable luggage than me. So my chances of losing equipment are pretty slim. I just need to hide my things under the bed and lock the door. 

After buying a room for a week, I led my horses into the stable and carried my luggage into my room. The room was on the second floor and roughly ten square meters in size. A queen size bed stood by the window. The sheets were clean and smelled as though they are regularly washed and sundried. I could have paid more for a larger room with a private restroom, but I didn’t think an extra denarius a night was worth it. 

It was around three hours after noon when I finished unpacking and settling down. I decided against going to the Labor Bureau today, thinking it would be better to spend time exploring the city and gathering information.