While the bonus from her new skill was nothing to sneeze at, Tess still spent time the next day parsing through everything she’d received. Some skills looked fairly useful: Stargazing could help her navigate during the night while Fairy Light would reduce the need for torches. Others, however, were downright odd. Tess had absolutely no clue what to do with the skill Sheep Radar, and Word of Mouth seemed extremely niche.

Though now that she had plenty of skills, Tess could upgrade the ones she found useful. Like Ancestral Guard. Fifty skills would be a lot, but reducing the cost by two-thirds would more than make up for it. As she walked, Tess slowly fed skills into Ancestral Guard until she unlocked the secondary effect.

By that time, the makings of a city appeared in the distance. The dirt road shifted to a cobblestone and cementlike mixture. The forest fell away in favor of straight fields filled with varied plants growing over each other. Jejende resembling Mirari worked the fields, using their innate wind control to harvest the ripe plants.

A group that resembled Esti worked away from them, burning various organic material and mixing it with the soil.

Soon, the fields gave way to clumped huts nestled beside a long, flat wall made of the same spotted stone as the fortress in Ortzerri. Guardsman in sturdy chainmail stood atop the gatehouse, looking towards the forest for anything brave enough to attack.

Mirari led Tess through the gates, waving at the guards above as he did. The guardsmen waved back, happy to have someone interact with them during their boring watch. A small child ran up to Mirari, pulling his sleeve to direct him to a market stall filled with a variety of dried goods. Mirari graciously refused and continued leading Tess down the street.

“So where are we headed?” Tess asked after she collected herself.

“I’m going to inform Gimu Ortzi of our arrival,” Mirari said. “He can offer you a contract and we can perform a few jobs to get you familiarized with the work.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tess said.

Mirari walked along, Tess following behind, until they reached a wide expanse of gardened land holding a tall house. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but it had the makings of one. Unlike most mansions Tess had seen, however, this one felt more open. Many of the rooms had wide, inviting windows filled with various greenery while the doors stayed open to allow air to travel through.

Servants of all kinds walked about the house, all with smiles on their faces.

Mirari waved to a man walking out of the house. “Garbi!”

The man squinted, then burst into a smile so wide it almost looped in on itself. “Mirari! What brings you back to Ipairi? Here to accept Gimu Ortzi’s offer?”

Mirari shook his head as he walked to meet the man. “Not as such.”

Garbi clasped Mirari’s hand and pulled him into a hug. “You Aire can never settle down, can you?”

“What can I say?” Mirari smiled. “The wind calls me to adventure.”

“No doubt the reason you’re here now,” Garbi said. He turned to Tess. “With a new face even!”

“Tess,” The woman said curtly.

“Good to meet you, Tess!” Garbi boomed. “What brings the two of you here?”

Tess stared at Garbi’s wide smile framed by bangs that shimmered in the light like water. He almost resembled Mirari, in that way distant relations tended to.

“We’re here to get an adventuring contract,” Mirari said. “Tess has the skills for it.”

“Impressive,” Garbi said. “Not many get approval from our friendly adventurer.”

“Is the Gimu in?” Mirari asked.

Garbi nodded. “He and Alai are out in the gardens. If you don’t mind waiting for a moment I can fetch him.”

“Of course,” Mirari said.

“Excellent!” Garbi led the two into a sitting room filled to the brim with flowers. Along the way he pulled another servant to the side and procured some tea to drink while they waited.

Tess had barely settled in before a booming laugh pushed open the doors.

“Haha! Mirari! What brings you back to my humble town? Here to bring me some early taxes?”

The man laughed again at the obvious joke. He wore a simple white tunic and brown pants, but it was easy to tell that both pieces of clothing were good quality. His cloudy brown skin matched nicely with the ensemble, giving Tess an overall good impression.

“Worried about the coming harvest, Gimu Ortzi?” Mirari asked playfully.

“Please Mirari,” the Gimu said. “No need to use my title in private! You’ve saved my life twice over with all the work you do.”

Tess heard a small gasp next to the Gimu. She glanced beside the man to see a gangly teenager openly gaping at her. He had the Gimu’s face, high cheekbones that gave way to earthy brown hair, but none of the girth that the lord had. Where Ortzi was stocky the young man was lanky, as if his arms and legs had been stretched a bit at birth.

Tess realized she was still staring at the teenager, who hadn’t closed his mouth the entire time.

She gave him a concerned look.

Gimu Ortzi noticed the stare. “Ah! How could I forget. Alai, come greet the guests.”

Alai stepped forward, taking a breath before contorting his face into a look of austere regalness. “A pleasure.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Mirari asked. “That’s a dreadful face you’re making.”

Alai blushed and darted behind his father. “I’m quite alright.”

“Are you sure, Alai?” Gimu Ortzi asked. “You were practicing hard today. Perhaps you need some rest?”

“No. No, I’m fine,” Alai answered. He straightened up and tried to look imperious. “I was just surprised by our guests.”

“If you’re sure,” the Gimu said. He turned back to Mirari. “So, what brings one of my finest adventurers out of the woods and back into civilization?”

“Tess is in need of a contract,” Mirari said. “She has the makings of an adventurer and would like to join.”

“That’s right,” Tess said.

Gimu Ortzi turned with a laugh. “An endorsement from Mirari, who would have thought I’d seen the day.”

“You make it sound like he stops everyone from adventuring,” Tess replied.

“I do,” Mirari answered. “Most people who come to me are drunk on the stories about glory and honor.”

“For a while there our mutual friend found himself knee-deep in young ones who thought they were the next great hero!” Gimu Ortzi laughed. “It got so bad Mirari started dragging the overeager ones out to the woods.”

“To show them the ropes of course,” Mirari said.

“Of course!” Gimu Ortzi laughed. “It’s not your fault none of them were prepared for a day’s journey and passed out from hunger halfway through.”

Tess snickered. “That’s one way to teach them.”

“I take it Tess is more than capable?” Gimu Ortzi asked Mirari.

“She saved my life,” Mirari stated.

That got the Gimu to stare. “Truly?”

Mirari nodded.

“Then… Garbi! Bring me a contract!”

The servant nodded, stepping out of the room before returning a moment later with a roll of parchment. The Gimu unrolled it before Tess.

Don’t worry! I got this! Nabbed a new translation software and everything when I heard you might have to do some reading!

 

Tess squinted as the words wriggled in her vision, forming into familiar symbols. However, the sentence structure was all wrong. Verbs came before subjects and adjectives seemed scattered all over the place. It was a wonder Tess could glean anything from the translation.

Eventually, she understood the gist of it. Like Mirari said, Tess would be granted sanction to work as a contractor, performing odd jobs along with scouting for ten years. The Gimu could hire Tess at any time, and there was a persistent contract that paid her for creatures defeated that left the wood. At the end of her service, she would be granted a parcel of land to do with as she pleased.

There was only one thing that stood out to her. “What’s this clause about conscription?”

“If there ever comes a time where we require your services for war you work for us,” the Gimu said.

“Without pay?” Tess asked.

“No, no,” Gimu Ortzi answered. “The conscription is the same as any other adventuring job. The contract is worded this way to ensure punishment if you change sides in the war.”

“You’re worried about spies,” Tess reasoned.

“There isn’t much that binds adventurers,” Gimu Ortzi answered with a shrug. “In fact, many leave for other lands before their ten years are finished.”

“Are wars common?” Tess asked.

“Skirmishes break out here and there,” The Gimu answered. “But we don’t request adventurers unless we require some sort of special task. Likely scouting.”

Tess nodded. She had tensed a little at the mention of conscription but released it when she realized it was a way to prosecute the adventurer for war crimes. From the look of it, there wasn’t anything magical binding her into service, and from what the Gimu said it was easy enough to leave. Overall, it looked like an innocuous contract.

“Alright, how do I sign?” Tess asked.

Garbi placed a quill pen in her hand. Tess wrote her name in flowing cursive on the line at the bottom.

“Congratulations on becoming an adventurer!” Gimu Ortzi boomed.