“Hello, what can we do for you three?” A middle aged lady looked at us and asked.
“We want to pay for a bath and breakfast.” I said.
“That is six coppers each for breakfast and each twenty four for the bath.” She said.
“You each better kill twenty goblins on the next expedition.” I said as I pulled out a silver piece. I turned towards the lady. “Can we get our clothes washed for the remainder during our bath?”
“I will have to call in some help but I suppose.” I pulled out twenty more copper.
“That should ensure our clothes are clean and patched and good servings with breakfast.” I said looking at her. I saw the greed in her eyes. If we were doing this, we were doing it properly.
“Of course. Right this way.” She led us to a small elevated stone room with a drain in the middle. She had picked up three baskets when I wasn’t looking. “Just place your clothes in here. One for each of you. I will have someone bring in two buckets of warm water each and sponge. There are towels sitting on a rack outside. Once you are cleaned off just head to the private room across the hall and breakfast will be served.” She left after that and we all began to strip.
Now I wasn’t shy, but I always had my own room growing up. I only hesitated a moment before stripping completely. Thankfully there was nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything I was in better shape than George with my daily exercise despite being a scribe. A male servant brought in two very warm buckets of water with a sponge in each and then left. Bran and I began washing ourselves down while George waited for the last bucket which was brought in a few moments later.
The servant then brought us each a second bucket of water. We all rinsed off and made our way outside. The towels were there and we wiped down and then covered ourselves before we went into the next room. There was a four person table and we took our seats.
The same servant brought three large platters of cooked vegetables, eggs, and a few strips of meat. “I want to live like this every day.” George said with a wishful sigh.
“You better learn how to be a noble since no one else could afford to do this every day.” I replied.
“A Nobles Guild, now that would be hilarious.” Bran said.
“Come now my fellow nobles, we have to yell at everyone else some more.” George said and I let out a chuckle.
“Don’t be silly, we just need to find absurd ways to spend all our gold.” I countered.
“I don’t even touch gold. I have my trained goblins to do it.” Bran said.
“Trained goblins, why that is so exciting. Perhaps I shall sponsor a goblin festival.” George said. It just devolved from there as we kept exaggerating how nobles would act and absurd ways to waste money. Just as we were finished stuffing ourselves and sipping the watered down ale our clothes were brought in. They were still damp, but smelled a lot better and the holes were patched.
Even the boots had been scrubbed and washed out. The matron returned. “Is everything acceptable?” She asked.
“Definitely. Excellent service, just give us a few moments and we will be on our way.” I said and the hostess left.
“Time to go.” George let out a sigh after we had eaten our fill. We all got dressed and then left the town to lay next to the river just outside the walls. The sun was nice and we all took off our boots to let them dry out properly. We all made sure to keep our blades nearby but it was relaxing just drying off in the cool breeze.
“Winter is coming soon.” George said.
“Hmm.” I replied.
“What are we going to do then?” He asked.
“First we need to make some real money. I think our next expedition we should really push hard on the ruins.” Bran said.
“There has to be at least a thousand there. Probably another thousand support goblins. Say about a three hundred wargs. That is a lot to kill.” I got up and looked around and didn’t see anyone else. “So my skill you were asking about. You can’t say anything ever. Not as joke, story, or anything. If you can’t handle that let me know.”
“It can’t be that-“
“Yes it can. So think carefully. After being a party this long I hope we are friends but this is a big deal.” George went silent.
“I can keep a secret.” Bran said.
“I am not sure. I don’t want to get into trouble.” George said looking off to the side. “I mean, I trust you. On the other hand I don’t want to create more drama for myself. On the other hand you just paid for everything, but I don’t want to make a mistake. I am a low stress kind of guy.”
“You are low stress and became an adventurer?” Bran asked.
“I wanted the ladies and the money. Oh whatever just tell me so I won’t go crazy, and yes I will not say anything.” George said.
“I use time mana.” I said.
“Time mana, but, wait, but…” George said.
“So?” Bran asked.
“Are you an idiot? He is an unregistered mage…that’s a big deal.” George whispered.
“I still don’t get it.” Bran said.
“All use of mana must be registered with the Mages Guild. They certify mages and have the authority to declare ones that don’t certify as rogues and hunt them down. There is a standing bounty of one gold piece for any rogue brought in alive.” George explained.
“Why not register then?” Bran asked.
“It is expensive. Ten silver a year. Also the type of mana I use is unique and may cause issues.”
“Wait time mana, so what are you doing?” George asked.
“I am slowing them down. I can also speed things up, but I haven’t used that on a person.” I said.
“That’s it?” George asked. “I was thinking you were teleporting through time and…I just thought it would be a bit more than that.”
“I can slow down seven times at full mana and it takes a couple of days to regenerate.” I said.
“So that is how you keep getting more kills than me. Makes me feel a lot better. I thought I was a complete idiot swinging a sword.” Bran said.
“Once we get out of town I would be interested in trying to speed one of you up and I can slow you down if you want to experience it.” I offered.
“Never been hit with mana before. Why not.” George said. “Oh if my brain explodes, I want a freaking gold statue of me made.”
“Same here.” Bran added. I was glad they didn’t freak out. It was nice to have actual friends. I had a small smile as I watched the various clouds. We spent the time on the river bank until later afternoon when we put back on our dried out boots and other clothes we weren’t wearing. We also cleaned out our packs. It is amazing all the dirt and crap that kept accumulating. With that done we made our way back to the guild hall for dinner.
We were sitting around and enjoying our meal when Oxfort came up to us. “Excuse me.” He said. We all stopped talking and looked at him. “I was wondering if I could join your party for your next expedition.”
“Nope. First you tried lying with Riven yesterday and also sent us a number of mean glares. I can’t have someone with me I don’t trust. I don’t trust you.” I said. George and Bran remained silent.
“I see, sorry for wasting your time. Good luck out there.” He turned and left.
“A bit harsh.” George said.
“I am not being nice about it after what he did. I can’t keep my eye on him and on the enemies we are going to face. What happens if he shares information about us with Riven? He wasn’t very nice yesterday.” I said.
“True, just he looked like a sad puppy.” George said.
“More like a fish. Fish go in barrels.” Bran said. It made we wonder what other things went into those barrels and got mixed up with the fish guts. With our meal done we stuck around looking at the other people in the guild hall. Oxfort had left and I didn’t see any of the others. I got up to take a look at the request board for anything a rank one could handle.
Rank One, Open
Goblin
raid on caravan that held daughter. Lost black opal necklace to goblins. Attacked near Jopel, goblins came from Gilleth Forest.
Posted by Earl Marcount Helith the Third
Reward: 5 Gold
I carefully took the request off the board and went over to Boron. “Aw you saw that did you?”
“Yeah, rank one?”
“Well sometimes, the nobles just want revenge or action so they post a large rewards at a low rank. Everyone will be out after that thing. All requests like this cost extra to put up since we use a contract mage to make sure it is the truth as they know it. No nonsense missions. But the goblins could throw it away, trade it to some other monster or who knows what. Also if the main stash they have is ever claimed, then this necklace can’t be sold elsewhere without causing a fuss.” Boron said.
”Do we need to register for it?” I asked.
“Nope, since it is open, just leave it up there. Anyone can attempt it, going to be a blood bath.” Boron muttered the last part. I put the bounty back up and returned to my seat.
“Good news and bad news.” I said. They both looked at me. “A rank one mission went up. Reward is five gold. That is the good news. The bad news is that goblins took a black opal necklace and the mission is open. So anyone can go for it. Boron thinks a bunch of people are going to jump at the chance and the odds of recovering it are low.”
“Well if we find it, we find it.” George said.
“Yep.” Bran said.
“You…you both know how to kill my excitement.” They laughed. I had been wanting a mission instead of just killing goblins.
“You just looked so eager, like a puppy.” Bran said.
“With big eyes.” George added.
“I hate you both. So did you find anyone else to add to our band?” I asked.
“No, those two are clearly old timers who just hang around since they have been here every time we have stayed here. That guy in the corner is seriously scary. A wicked scar on his right cheek and just glares. The other people are just passing through one way or the other.”
***
After selling our metal scrap and buying food for two ten-days money was low, very low. We set off into the forest once again to kill goblins. On the fourth day we ran into another group. There were five of them including Yonson.
“Hello and well met.” He called out. We lowered our weapons and the other group did the same.
“Hello to you as well. A pleasant day out here isn’t it?” I asked.
“Yeah, teaming hordes of goblins and wargs.” Spat out an older man. “Let me tell you kids, that ruin is a death trap. Need at least fifty rank threes to clear it out, probably twice that.”
“I am afraid my companion is right. A funded expedition may be put forth soon once we deliver the information back to the guild hall. Maybe even the Royal Army will be brought in.” Yonson said.
“We will keep that in mind. Thank you for the warning. We are working on their patrols at the moment, no plans for the ruins.” I said.
“A good choice. I won’t warn you to be careful since you already survived out there and if my count of days is correct at least twice. Fair well.” They left and we kept going.
“Well that was a nice encounter for once.” George said after a while.
“They looked worn down. I saw the sack the big one was carrying. There was probably two hundred pairs of ears looking at the size.” Bran said.
“Probably killed more but had to retreat. My guess is they made an attempt on the ruins. We are staying away for sure.” I said.
“I liked setting up that ambush spot from before.” George added. Bran and I agreed and made our way back to that location from the previous expeidition the next day.
It was easy setting up behind the hill and on the ledge. It was the middle of the afternoon when we saw a group heading through the narrow valley between the two hills. I counted two wargs and six goblins, which seemed small. It was similar to the first group we faced, but still small.
“Let’s do this.” I said and we moved down the hill. George put an arrow into the back of one of their heads and it collapsed on the ground. By the time the rest were turning around and raising their weapons both Bran and I let out war cries as we rushed them. I cast slow on the warg rushing at me and easily dispatched it.
Bran was hard pressed to hold off two goblins and the remaining warg while the last two goblins rushed me. I hit them both with slow and a couple of seconds later their heads were leaving their necks. George had covered for Bran and managed to kill the other warg. The last two goblins were easy to kill between us.
It was already a routine for us to loot and cut off the ears once that was done. We dragged the bodies behind some rocks and returned to our overlook point to wait for the next group. I meditated while those two relaxed and kept an eye out at each end of the narrow valley.
“Come on, day’s over.” George said. I opened my eyes. “I kept an eye on you that fight and I will say this. That time mana stuff is totally shit. I mean they just stand there, like please kill me, please. And then you chop off their heads.”
“I am glad you appreciate it. Think of all the experience you are getting off me.”
“Yeah, still complete shit.” George said. Bran had checked his snares but nothing had been caught. We spent the night eating cold dried meat, stale bread, in the dark. Not the best but definitely not the worst. It was too risky to start up a campfire in case goblins were in the area and saw it. After we ate we climbed to the top of the hill but didn’t see any campfires to investigate.
The following day a large group moved through around mid-day. Sixty goblins and ten wargs. We all rejected ambushing them. No fires spotted that night, but we had a nice fox stew with wild potatoes. The next day a group of five goblins and a warg were heading towards the ruins. It was simple enough to ambush them and finish them off.
As we were waiting on the ledge I was getting nervous. “I think we should leave, right now.” I said.
“Why, this is a great spot?” George asked.
“I have a bad feeling. That under powered group makes me nervous. What if they were sent out to patrol this area? When they don’t return that large group will know where we are. Goblins are monsters but they aren’t stupid.” I said.
“No hurt in leaving. We rested up enough anyways.” Bran said.
“Fine, but I think you are worrying about nothing.” George said. Bran took down his snares and we left. We traveled the rest of the day and set up a new camp by a stream. We didn’t make a fire that night and nothing happened.
The next day we kept up the same route that edging us around the ruins at a great distance. It helped they were near a mountain which was easy enough to spot when a clearing opened up. After another day of travel we turned around, making our way back, closer to the ruins and mountain.
A deer quickly ran by us barely sparing us a look. “Ambush.” I hissed out and we readied ourselves. A couple of seconds later we heard the yelp of wargs and saw three chasing after the deer. George shot one and I slowed the other two allowing Bran and I to finish them off. We quickly cut off the ears and retrieved the arrow before continuing on through the forest.
As the afternoon dragged on there was no more excitement until we started to hear a lot of noise. Moving through the trees and up a hill we saw a town. Not a human town but a goblin town. They had a wood wall set up and fields next to a river. I saw goblin kids and baby wargs in the encampment. By my count I put it at least fifty goblins and twenty wargs who could fight and another hundred goblins and ten wargs that appeared to be freshly spawned from wherever monsters came from. That was just an estimate since they all kept moving about.
We watched for quite a while and the sun was beginning to go down. “What do we do?” Bran whispered.
“It’s a lot to kill. I will just get tired cutting them all down.” I replied.
“The wargs are kept in a pen. As long as they don’t get loose it shouldn’t be too ha
rd.” George said.
“No way there are too many. My arm will get tired from cutting off so many heads.” Bran said. We all looked on in silence at the small goblin town going up. I thought about using fire, but at best it would prove a minor distraction. “We head back, ambush some more patrols and recruit people to help crush this place. I figure three more at least.”
“That could work, but they will fight even fiercer for their home here.” Bran made.
“Being an adventurer is such shit.” George cursed quietly. I couldn’t disagree with that.
“Come on, let’s get out of here before they see us.” I replied. We scrambled backwards and then retreated into the forest. We walked quite a ways from the goblin town before we settled down for the night.
***
When we returned to Jopel our rations were completely exhausted. The good news was things had gone much better after finding the town. We were able to ambush a large number of patrols. Entering the guild hall we all had smiles.
“Our heroes return once again.” Boron said.
“Hey, fifteen wargs and forty goblins.” I said.
“Not bad at all, not bad. Take a seat and have one on me.” Boron poured us each a mug and then took our ear sack. We sat there quietly drinking while we waited for him to return. He came out of the back room and Bran took the empty sack. “So that means eighty five copper. How long will you be staying?”
“One night. Double servings for dinner.” I said.
“Only one?” He asked.
“No money….” George sighed.
“That is why being an adventurer is tough and most never make it past rank one.” Boron said. “Don’t look so surprised. Bounties are low on purpose since there are so many goblins. Only when there are not that many and the monster is very dangerous do bounties go up. If bounties went up taxes would have to go up as well and no one can afford that.”
“Anyone interested in maps or light runes?” I asked.
“Hmm, Ternor will probably want some more. Anyways you get eighty five copper minus twenty nine for the meal and the room, leaves you with fifty six.” I took all the money he passed over and gave out ten to both Bran and George. I had been voted official treasurer of the group so I got to take and distribute all the money.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 9