Since I have to buy supplies for our snake hunting trip, I decided to take an early leave for the day. So instead of being stuck at the Bureau, Sekh and I are now walking around Damask to buy equipment. My first destination was an archery shop recommended by Minerva. The head bowyer is supposedly an orc from the north so I’m hoping to find some quality equipment.

“Are you going to be done with this whole training thing soon?” Sekh asked as we walked through the streets. “It’s nice that I get to spend every night with you, but I’d also like to have more quality time during the day with you.” 

“I feel the same way,” I replied while squeezing her hand. “Well I should be relieved of the whole training thing in a week or so. Then we can spend all our time doing requests together.” 

“Speaking of requests,” Sekh began as she started to puff out her chest. “I actually want to show you how much I’ve improved when it comes to fighting.”

“Is Minerva a good teacher?” I inquired.

“She’s easier to keep up with,” Sekh told me. “Plus I would say that my fighting style is closer to hers than it is to yours. Even if we both use spears, you never use a shield.” 

Well I had already recognized that I was the odd one out. Compared to the other two, my approach focuses more on maintaining distance and waiting for an opponent to make a mistake. On the other hand, Sekh and Minerva gravitate more to an aggressive approach that tries to pry apart an opening. Plus I don’t have to deal with a slab of wood in one hand. 

Shortly after, the two of us arrived at the designated location. The shop was a fairly large two story building constructed out of timber and brick. Upon entering, I saw that the first floor was the shop section. A plethora of unstrung bows sat around on display along with a variety of arrows. At the counter was a bored looking clerk. Most likely the craftsmen had their workshops upstairs. 

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” the young man at the counter asked. 

“I’m mainly looking for practice arrows and heavy broadheads,” I told him as I began to inspect the available arrows.“Maybe a good bow if I can find one.” 

“Well just let me know if you need any help,” the clerk said while rubbing the back of his head. 

Evidently he could tell that I was an experienced archer, so his assistance was most likely unneeded. It also helped that I harbor my bow with me. While I searched, Sekh constantly peered over my shoulder in curiosity. After some looking around, I picked out a total of four dozen arrows. Half were triangular broadheads with ashen shafts. The other half were standard practice arrows. The broadheads cost a total of 26 nummi and the practice arrows were 10 nummi. Currently my own stash of arrows consist of 8 hardened steel bodkins and 10 broadheads. I originally had more, but a few had broken. Although the shop had some very high quality bodkins, I currently have no need for them. Even if I had been using my bodkins for target practice, practice arrows would be more suited for that task. 

“Can I talk to the head craftsman?” I asked the clerk after I had purchased the arrows. “None of the bows here seem better than the one I have with me.”

“In that case, just wait here for a bit,” the clerk requested as he started moving towards the stairs. 

A moment later, the man came back with a middle aged orc. Said orc was a thick dark green stump with a mildly disgruntled look. However, once he saw my holstered bow, his face began to light up.

“That’s a southern style bow right?” the orc inquired.

“Yeah, want to have a look?” I offered as I presented my bow.

The orc brushed past his clerk and grasped my bow in his hands. For a while, the bowyer inspected the bow in front of him, he even pulled the string back a few times. It almost looked like a kid playing with a new toy. 

“Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think that I have a bow for you,” the orc remarked as he handed me my bow back. “From the looks of it, you want a bow to use from horseback right?”

“Exactly,” I replied. “But I’d like that bow to have a draw weight equal to or greater than one of those heavy orcish warbows.”

When the bowyer heard my request, his mouth dropped in a flabbergasted expression. For reference, the draw weight for such a bow would be around 230 lbs. Although the arrows shot from such a bow would lack speed compared to using a normal bow, heavy arrows would be horrifyingly powerful. 

“This will sound a bit strange,” the bowyer started as he made a serious face. “But I’ll consider your request if you arm wrestle me.”

“Huh?” Sekh mouthed in astonishment. 

Despite the confusion emanating from the clerk and Sekh, I simply nodded my head in agreement. I’m almost certain that the bowyer wants to test my strength. This is probably to ensure that a human like me could draw such a bow without injury.

The bowyer and I moved towards the counter and sat across one another. I extended my right hand out in invitation. Based on the situation, it might be prudent to approach this at full strength. If I hold back, I might not be able to convince him to make me a masterpiece. 

The two of us linked fingers with one another, with the clerk acting as a confused referee. Once the clerks hand fell in a signal, the bowyer and I commenced our match. Both of us rushed at one another in full force. Despite how strong I am, an orc is still an orc. Still, I was able to force his arm against the table in a show of brute strength. It just took a bit longer than I would prefer. 

After he had been defeated, the bowyer pressed his face near mine to examine me. “You got any orc blood in you? There’s no way a human of your size could be that strong.”

“Ah, I don’t know too much about my ancestry,” I said with a smile. “So any chance I can commission a custom built bow?” 

“Well you’re definitely strong enough,” the orc sighed. “But I don’t think I can make a bow like that, at least as of right now. For something to be that powerful and be usable from horseback, I would need special materials. It would be easy to make something like that for use on foot, though compacting so much power would be different.” 

“So do you have any materials in mind?” I inquired excitedly. 

The bowyer scratched the back of his head as he formulated an answer. “For something like that, I would probably need prime monster material. The iron bark of a treant might be interesting. As for horns and sinew, I think that any tough monster would suffice. If you bring me materials, I’ll cut the cost proportionally.”

“Thank you very much,” I said as I shook his hand. “We’ll be off in that case.”

“In that case, would you like anything miss?” the orc asked Sekh. 

“No thank you,” Sekh answered as she went out the door.  

It’s a bit of a shame that I couldn’t find a new bow. Even though the one I have is perfectly fine, I feel that I don’t get to use my increased strength to its fullest. After I had purchased my archery equipment, the two of us made three more stops. The first thing I bought after were some medical supplies, particularly a few concoctions meant to alleviate reed serpent venom. The total cost of the medicine was 2 denarius. Sekh then went to buy a simple metal helmet with a nose guard for 4 denarii. Our last stop was a footwear store to get boots for wetland travel, each pair costing 24 nummi. 

When we came back, I proceeded to show Minerva our supplies. She seemed to be satisfied with it and agreed to come along with us the following day. Fortunately Minerva already had a horse and wetland boots, though she lacked proper armor. Since the two of us are roughly equal in size, I decided to lend her my lamellar cuirass. 

Because the three of us were leaving early in the morning, we all went to sleep early. It was around dawn when the three of us left the Bureau. By that time, we had already eaten breakfast and left a notice for the clerks. 

For nearly half the day, the three of us rode towards the designated location. We only took a break on the side of the road. Since I had already prepared sandwiches, we didn’t have to waste time cooking. It was during the afternoon that we came upon the reed serpent’s territory. In fact, it was Sekh who found the shed skin.

“Yeah this isn’t good at all,” Sekh remarked as she picked up the snakeskin. “Iblis, can I sit on your shoulders for a better view?”

“Go ahead,” I answered as I bent downwards. 

Now I know this isn’t the time to get distracted, but having Sekh’s thighs pressed against my neck feels real nice. While I was enjoying my bliss, Sekh peered around in search of our quarry. Although the tall reeds would hinder direct vision of the serpent, the reeds would still show the movement of any large creatures. 

The three of us continued our search for the serpent nest for a while. Minerva hacked apart reeds with her sword, while I carried Sekh around on my shoulders. 

“I think I see something over there,” Sekh almost shouted. “It’s definitely something big, though it’s not moving towards us.”

It’s a real shame that there isn’t any highground for me to aim from. However, I think I can make the best of this situation.

“Here’s the plan,” I announced to my companions. “Minerva, I need you to clear a swath around us so we can see clearly. I’ll make some fire arrows with the reeds and a little lantern oil. Sekh, once I start shooting, I want you on my shoulders to direct my aim. If we can hit the serpent that would be nice, but I just want to burn off a few patches to direct it towards us.”

“Are you not concerned with starting a massive fire?” Minerva asked me worriedly.

“We should be fine,” Sekh observed. “It’s currently the wet season so the fire won’t spread as easily. Even if it does then we can just run towards the mud bank nearby.”

Had it been the dry season, things would have been done quite differently. It would have been likely that hunters would just torch most of the area then kill the surviving serpents. Well this doesn’t always work since the serpents could  just dive into the water and escape. This was the reason that I was using oil arrows, since it could be used to cut off the serpent’s escape route. 

Once Minerva had finished clearing out the reeds near us and I had prepared the arrows and flame, we put our plan into action. Sekh plopped onto my shoulder as I readied my bow.

“Target is one hundred fifty meters away at one o’clock,” Sekh reported on top of me.

Well I’m tall enough to slightly peak over the reeds, though I wouldn’t mind being taller. With utmost confidence, I sent the flaming arrow flying through the sky. It must have been on point since Sekh made a happy noise of approval. I continued to guide the serpent towards us as Minerva handed me arrows and Sekh directed my aim. 

Fortunately the marshland didn’t completely catch fire, though a few patches were roaring with flames. Meanwhile the large creature was making haste towards our position, or at least the reeds in front of us were shaking quite violently. As the creature closed in, Sekh hopped off my shoulders and readied her spear and shield along with Minerva. On the other hand, I prepared to loose an arrow at whatever popped into sight. 

And what popped into sight was a massive greenish brown serpent. The sheer size of the beast was probably enough to swallow Sekh whole with just a gulp. As soon as it exposed itself, I launched an arrow directly at its heart or lung. I was unsure of what I hit, since I'm unfamiliar with the anatomy of a reed serpent. As the arrow soared through the air, I dropped my bow onto a patch of dried ground and pulled my glaive out the ground. 

My companions weren’t idle either. Both of them darted towards the king reed serpent and began to cautiously strike at the beast. Their attacks had mixed results, since the thick skin and scales got in the way. Meanwhile, the serpent lunged at Minerva with the intention to bite. However, Minerva’s shield intercepted the snake before it could rip into her shoulder. Still, Minerva buckled under the raw force of the creature. 

While the beast tried to extricate itself from the shield, Sekh and I attempted to finish it off. Sekh jabbed at the serpent’s body, as I swung my glaive in a vicious arc. Although my glaive struck deep, the creature refused to die. Worse, the lower half of its body had nearly pulled Sekh into a constricting grip. 

As Sekh hurriedly backed up, the snake's head instantly darted from Minerva’s shield towards my face. Perhaps an unskilled hunter would have been done in by this. However, I immediately yanked my glaive from the serpent’s body and ran it through the mouth of the snake. I had thrust with so much force that the creature’s fangs had raked across my mail sleeve. During our exchange, Minerva had gotten back on her feet and stabbed her sword into the snake’s side for good measure. 

Once I pulled my weapon from the monster’s mouth, I immediately hacked off its head and began gathering its body. 

“Definitely a king serpent,” Sekh observed when we inspected the giant corpse in front of us. “Now we have to find the nest.”

It’s interesting to note that reed serpents are actually hermaphroditic creatures. So even though the large ones are called kings, you could call it a queen too. The kings, or queens, serve as guardians of a large nest where they have a harem of smaller serpents.

After we had harvested the skin and fangs of the massive snake, we proceeded with our nest extermination. Amidst the burned reeds, we saw a cluster of eggs hidden safely away. Around it were a few reed serpents. Though these monsters were only around a third of the size of the king, we still had to proceed with caution. 

And by caution, I meant that Sekh and I just pelted them with projectiles until they died. Once we skinned the three serpents we gathered up the eggs and headed back to the paved roads. Instead of burning the serpent corpses, we decided to just chop up the flesh and dump it in the water. I guess the crabs will be eating well for a while. 

“You think these eggs will hatch before we can eat them?” Minerva joked as we were walking back. 

“We can still eat them in that case,” Sekh replied nonchalantly. “The eggs and young ones taste good, but the mature ones have this really nasty gamey taste.” 

“I think the real concern is our pay,” I complained. “10 denarii to wipe a nest with a king? Should be at least 2 solidi. No wonder the last group bailed.”

“That’s definitely true,” Minerva sighed. “I’ll contact the merchant group that issued the request.”

After the three of us got back to our horses, we began to make our way back to Damask. As night approached, we set up camp near the side of the road. But today was a special occasion, since I would not be the only person cooking. Sekh decided to demonstrate a reed serpent omelette recipe native to her village. So that night we had spiced rice, steamed greens, and snake omelettes with smoked meat and scallions. 

“Open wide,” Sekh said cheerily as she pressed a bunch of eggs towards my mouth. 

Minerva seemed a bit flustered by the open flirting, but I just spent my time enjoying the food.

“Normally I’m always the one doing the feeding,” I remarked happily . “Have you suddenly started taking pride in your cooking?”

“I’m preparing,” Sekh began as she stretched her back. “I intend to retire early to be a housewife.”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be considering retirement?” Minerva commented. “Wouldn’t it be wiser to seek an advancement in your position.”

“I would consider the position of housewife to be a promotion from mercenary work,” Sekh answered. 

“I’m inclined to agree with her statement,” I added. “There are far more mercenaries who end up as housewives than the other way around.”

“You two need more ambition,” Minerva complained. “A 19 year old that’s considering retirement and a royal guard candidate turned sellsword. It almost sounds surreal.”

“By surreal, you mean realistic?” I asserted wryly. “Not every youth is so short sighted to neglect their future retirement. Besides, the amount of elite guardsmen that turn to mercenary work due to circumstances could fill an army or two.” 

“Alright, you win this time,” Minerva conceded with a smile. 

Once the three of us had finished eating, we sat around the fire for a bit before getting to work. Sekh did the dishes, I cleaned the snakeskins, and Minerva cleaned our gear. Before long, we were ready to go to sleep. The order of the nightwatch shifts was Minerva, Sekh, then me.

“You two better go to sleep,” Minerva told Sekh and I. “Absolutely no funny business.”

“Roger,” Sekh and I said with mock salutes. 

“Make sure to try waking me up first if anything happens,” I told Minerva as I crawled into my bedroll. “You might end up getting eaten before you can wake Sekh up.”