"You were thinking of traveling without a traveling pass. How could we travel like that?" Emma sighed dramatically, tugging onto his clothes. "What would you have done without me?"
Nomad snorted. "Knocked him out. Then maybe stolen someone’s pass."
She snorted as well, and he gave her a side glance. She shrugged.
"The kingdoms don't let people without passes travel between their territories," Emma said. "It's pretty much mandatory."
Well, this certainly made things harder than they needed to. He wondered if he was the cause behind this.
"And they have some way to track the passes, too. Criminals get caught easily, thanks to that. Regardless if they have a pass or not."
Nomad was definitely the cause. He’d need to move soon, then.
"How do you know all this? I feel like this shouldn't be public knowledge. Sure, most veteran criminals would be aware of it, but the common criminal let alone the public?" He looked around as they entered the town. It was lively, with lanterns hung at night, and a few merchants hawking their wares at the roadside, travelers and adventurers moving about.
"Well... it was my brother's traveling pass, he's the one who told me about it. I'm not eligible for one, yet. And I don't know about criminals."
Nomad dropped the topic and focused on walking instead. Soon, they got to an Inn with a rusting plate on the outside walls saying 'Lahey's Tavern' with two poles outside having banners waving and showing off an orange bird of sorts.
Nomad stopped for a moment, the thought of money hitting him. He sighed internally and entered. He'd need to ask for the adventurers guild.
He was hit by the stench of alcohol the moment he entered the small-ish building. There were tables placed against the wooden floor. Most filled with the local drunks, laughing away to their content, gulping down cheap liquor, and eating off plates that overflowed with some stew of meat, mushrooms, and cooked veggies.
Nomad forced himself not to smell the food—it made his stomach grumble. They hadn't had anything to eat for a few days now, and his body required food given his long slumber and lost stats and physique. They had no rations and had to make do with some small animals he hunted here and there.
The little thing didn't cook anything, grumbling about a lack of supplies and how it would hurt her pride to cook anything less than luxurious dishes with the scant supply available to her. He cooked up whatever he could, himself, and didn't argue further with the unreasonable girl proving useless for the only thing he'd taken her with him in the first place.
Nomad reached the counter in front where a black-haired boy smiled at him from behind. He was barely Emma's age, and wore a thick-blue shirt which hung from his frame loosely, revealing his smooth-skinned frame.
The boy looked up, a goofy smile on his lips.
"Are you two looking for rooms to stay in?"
"I'm looking to sell goblin ears," Nomad said, placing a hand on the pouch made of goblins' dirt and ragged clothes hanging from his hip, "so I'm going to have to ask for directions to the Adventurers Guild. So, we can pay for our stay."
"Ooooh, no problem!" He straightened up, beaming brightly.
Emma went to the wooden counter, eyes on the basket of fresh, red apples resting behind the boy on a shelf.
"These are great on the tongue--"
Nomad cut her off, "Not now. Later."
She clicked her tongue.
"Anyway, boy, the guild. Where?"
"Yeah, okay." The boy nodded. "Hey! Ma! I'll be back! Mind coming to the front for a bit!" He yelled as he ran behind a wooden door.
Emma stayed where she was, her attention shifting away from the boy to the many drunk patrons lying all around.
"Why are they even drinking that much... booze isn't good for you. And especially, especially this crap."
"Oh yeah? You are a connoisseur at a young age. Did some research on alcohol?"
"Hm. I'm a [Chef], you know. Many recipes involve alcohol. It's great for sauces as well. But I would not even let this touch my mouth. Ugh..." She placed a hand under her chin, eyeing the cheap booze again and again.
The boy's mother came after him, looking rather pale and nervous. She swallowed, reaching the bar counter with her frail body, and her hair covering up her forehead and framing her face as she forced a smile and made her best attempt at eye contact, "Sorry—I am Lahey. Can I help you?" She forced her voice out.
"Adventurers Guild." The boy said. "They want rooms. Don't got no money. I was thinking of guiding them."
She nodded, smiling for some reason as she shook her head at him.
"Head East, over the crossroads in front of the fields, follow the dirt path straight, the big building to the side, can't miss it," Lahey said. "There, saved you lot a coin."
"Yes... that you have." Nomad nodded when the boy grumbled with a pout, shooting his mother an unamused look. She shook her head at him.
"As for a night here, that would cost you 9 Copper Pennies a night for a room."
Nomad nodded.
With that out of the way, he made his way outside, Emma trudging on slowly.
It took him a little while to find the Guild. Unlike the shabby and beaten-down town, the large building looked new and polished and a stone-brick wall kept it apart from the rest of the town. He crossed through an opening, leading into the adventurers guild itself.
He heard the grunts, chatter, and metal meeting against something. Weapons. People, drenched in sweat from the heat of the sun.
"Will you pay him already or not, punk?" The gruff man stared down at his sitting companion.
"C'mon..." The one being glared at shook his head, eyeing his prize with hungry, greedy eyes.
Nomad moved his eyes away from them, and looked for the counter. He had no reason to engage. Soon enough, he made his way to his destination. An orc woman with some met his eyes. She flashed him a professional smile and went ahead and asked him what he needed.
"I have these." He opened his pouch and retrieved the pile of ears he'd plucked from the goblin he'd killed, laying it on the counter quickly so as to not get his already dirty clothes filthier—he needed to buy new ones soon. He may have had a high tolerance and comfort regarding the concept of dirt and 'living on the streets' but a simple wash didn't hurt, and it definitely was better than remaining covered in filth and blood from killing a few more monsters on their way to this town.
"Mhm. Goblin ears," the woman confirmed and peered closer to take a look at the blood-ridden, pointy green things on the counter.
"Mhm," he echoed the words of confirmation. "Thought they could be turned into a reward or something of equal value."
"Any quest?" The lady tilted her head.
"No. Not adventurers. Travelers. Just happened upon the lot on our way into town. Didn't seem too dangerous a mob given their looks. Still," Nomad tapped on the counter, "some copper would do, in either case."
The woman nodded at his answer, her lips twitching briefly before she turned back.
"Give us a second... Barat! Get to work!" She yelled, causing the green-skinned fellow who'd been at the other end to snort, roll his eyes, and reluctantly lumber towards his colleague who'd signaled him.
Soon after, Nomad held the price of his hardship. 35 Copper Pennies.
He nodded at the girl, giving a small and thankful gesture of the lips—a small smile—and pocketed the coin. He'd probably buy a small snack, maybe some drink. Emma could do with some cooking supplies. Not to mention 9 Copper Pennies a night in the inn. Nomad hummed, he'd need more.
With nothing else to say to the woman, he turned to the exit with Emma in tow, the sun's orange-yellow beams landing on his clothes as they exited the adventurers guild. The chirps of grasshoppers filled his ears and a rustling of trees met his eyes as he looked to his right and found a clearing with a forest at a distance. The guild building stood in the center of a huge clearing, with the town surrounded by plains of lush greenery with houses erected at various places at uneven distances.
Nomad's stomach growled once, twice.
He sighed internally.
The two of them went to the Lahey Tavern, entering it once again to be greeted by the stench of ale. The young man from earlier rushed toward the front, beaming at them.
"What will you have?"
"Some apples, maybe a few biscuits," the brown-haired girl said immediately after he'd finished his greeting. She let a small grin overtake her expression, almost snorting after she'd said her piece. Nomad sighed. He'd said later, alright.
To think such days would be upon him, where he had a young girl depending on him for necessities, and a lack of money. How time changes its pace and flow for those like him, who sleep deep in the ground, unaware and lost to its existence.
"Also, we would need two rooms to rent out."
Nomad snorted. "One. Two beds preferably."
He wasn't paying for more than he could afford.
"Hey! A girl's got needs!"
He closed his eyes, turning and meeting her irked, narrowed pair of eyes. She put an index finger forward, pouting.
"You can decide not to follow me." He shrugged.
Her expression became conflicted.
"You might find another party. They can take you wherever you want." He suggested.
"Wait no, okay... we could compromise!" She said, crossing her arms. She frowned deeply. "Okay... if you say so. One room."
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