After spending a few days getting caught up on some rules, having proper meals and exercising to be combat ready, I feel like I'm finally ready.
Karna is still a bit sore and tired but seems to have recovered with some kind of salve. Meanwhile her brother has taken it upon himself to supervise my first few missions. This includes getting some new weapons from storage as well as giving me a tour of some local gathering places where I can 'relax' in his words. Which judging by me having to carry him back for at least two of the nights doesn't seem like a place I will frequent.
The quest he chose for us both to go on is an extermination mission. Not usually for small groups according to the warnings on the note written in bold red. Even if I still need to learn some of how to read, due to a lack of translation books I could have used as reference for a replacement overlay.
"So our quarry is located on the outskirts of the city to the east, we should be able to avoid too many people there." Aelric states, reading from the parchment he took from the job board before looking over at me.
"What should we expect from them?" I ask, not wanting to be surprised if I get attacked while trying to get away from their trap.
He smiles at me warmly, "Well, our prey this time is a mole-like creature called a Gromnu, which looks about two or three times the size of a normal field mole and prefer to burrow under sleeping creatures to attack them."
My body shivers slightly at that image, but with a shake of my head I clear it from my mind and focus on my new mission. "That sounds like it would be difficult to deal with from afar, so why did they pick this one?"
"It's quite common for these beasts to be found in the forests surrounding towns so it isn't exactly unheard of," Aelric explains, "They tend to stay underground and only emerge for food or water. Since there was a heat wave recently they are likely coming out of their tunnels more frequently than usual and attacking people."
"Do we have any special gear for dealing with that kind of thing?" I ask as he hands me a scroll filled with information that I scan through before putting it to the side.
"No," Aelric answers with a frown, "The heat wave might have killed off some of them but the best tool we have are things like pitchforks. If you stab the ground enough you could kill a few of them before they run off."
I nod along with that. The heatwave has definitely been affecting my home country lately, so if anything I'm glad that the heat hasn't hit me too hard. Still I hope this mission goes smoothly so that I don't need supervising after these first few missions.
We set out early in the morning with our gear packed away on either side of us in case we have to engage with the enemy in close combat. We follow a dirt path that leads eastwards out of town past some farmland and eventually into the forest itself.
As we pass between a few trees Aelric stops suddenly and turns to face me. "Meidu I need to give you some advice since you likely plan on being solo." His voice becomes serious as his eyes seem focused on something in front of us.
Taking a deep breath I nod, not sure what he's going to say now. "Go ahead." I reply cautiously.
"If you ever find yourself in danger, make your best attempt to flee from the situation first. Don't try to confront or attack your opponents, just use your speed to get away before they can get you." He repeats, looking straight forward again, "This is important because if you are caught by surprise then you may be forced into a fight with little options available to you."
"How do you know this?" I ask as I turn around, checking out the surroundings in the process. The trees block any view of the area behind us but I can see far enough down the path that I'm fairly certain that if there's anything coming up behind us then I will be able to spot it before they reach us.
"I grew up fighting," Aelric replies as if it explains everything, "I know better than most how quickly someone can become outnumbered in a fight. I've seen people just as strong as us try to stick around because they thought they could handle everything alone. Then when their allies come running to assist them they realise that they've lost control of the battle completely. If you flee, even if only temporarily it gives you time to think things through and prepare for the next stage of the fight."
His advice is good though, so I keep listening. "How did you end up fighting though?"
"I grew up in a small village surrounded by hostile monsters. When the monsters attacked everyone fled to nearby larger settlements, leaving me and other kids behind to defend our home. In the end it was only my Sister, a few friends and me left with some of the adults having died and the rest having either fled or hidden. By the end of it, out of the families who didn't run we were only left with a handful of people." His eyes widen a little as he recalls some of the events. Probably a form of PTSD if I had to guess. Judging by some others also in the guild and the town there seems to be little consideration for the condition so that sets back medical understanding and basic processes. Not worth my energy to help solve though, I'm here for money not friends.
"When the attacks ended, and the monster threat had passed, I decided that I wouldn't let anyone else die because they couldn't protect themselves. That's how I became an adventurer, I knew that I needed to be stronger than everyone around me if I wanted to be able to stand alongside them." He finishes before turning back to face the forest once more, "Let's go, you have your mission."
