A Soldier's Life - 272 - First Adventurer's Job (Patreon)

Chapter 272: First Assignment

I absent-mindedly poured myself a drink, taking an empty but probably used mug. Benito was excited at the mention of food. “So what is for dinner? I bet the elves have some amazing cooks! These sandwiches were pretty good. I bet they spent thousands of years learning how to cook well, right?”

Maveith rumbled a laugh, “Elves can live to a thousand, yes. But few ever complete a second millennia.” Our conversation was catching the unwanted looks of the elven adventurers seated around us. I thought it best to steer the conversation away from discussing elves.

I looked over my happy companions and dampened their mood some. “You can’t wear your armor or weapons to the dinner. We are dining with an Elven Regent,” I announced. Maybe I should not have told them about the dinner and showed up only with Maveith.

“Elven Regent? What’s that?” Mateo asked, snacking on breadsticks with a noticeable crunch.

“The elves elect regents to their cities and large towns. They rule for a period of time before another vote is cast. All the regents gather here in the capital in the Assembly to discuss policy and enact laws.” Maveith nodded in agreement to what I said. Hopefully I had simplified it enough for Benito.

Benito was thinking really hard and his response wasn’t surprising, “So, the food should be really good then?”

Blaze was more thoughtful and curious. “How do they cast votes? Does everyone get a vote, even the children? How do you know who to vote for?”

An elven adventurer with jet-black hair had been listening in. She leaned her chair back dangerously close to tipping and craned her neck to look at our table before speaking. “The towns hold a festival. Those wishing to be regent give a speech and everyone over twenty summers votes. The top two vote receivers then debate in front of the crowd. At the conclusion, another vote is cast to determine the winner. It takes an entire day but only happens once an eight-year. Larger cities are divided into districts and elect a proxy to cast their vote in the city’s court or petition for regent.” She leaned back to her table to resume a game of Go.

Mateo, seeing an elven beauty interested in our table, made to stand and clumsily introduced himself to our amusement, “I’m Mateo, and I find what you said extremely—fascinating. Could I buy you a drink, and you explain your politics to me?”

The elf turned slowly back, her sharp features studying a grinning Mateo intently. “No,” she said flatly and turned back to her game. Mateo looked a little hurt, and we held in laughs.

“Don’t worry, Mateo. There are a lot of fish in the sea,” I said to cheer him up. The elven woman turned and briefly arched her eyebrow at me, but her two male companions had sour looks as they locked threatening gazes at me. I happily returned a blank stare until they looked away.

Maveith's face was scrunched in thought as he puzzled out my analogy about fish. Blaze thankfully whispered to him to explain it. I looked at my rough-looking group, and they couldn’t go to the Regent’s residence in their armor underclothes. The problem was clothing was expensive and my group was poor. I leaned and tapped the raven-haired elf on the shoulder, she looked over at me questionally. “Can you escort my companions somewhere they can get some decent clothes?”

“Which regent are you looking to impress?” She was clearly interested and posed her question with a smirk.  It was an interest that her companions clearly disproved of.

I didn’t know if Regent Maerlyn would draw unwanted attention so I didn’t mention her name. “I am not looking to impress her, just have my companions in clean clothes that won’t embarrass us. A large silver for an hour of your time to take them?” I offered her a large silver, seemingly making it appear with a soft snap of my fingers. The trick didn’t impress her, and she probably thought it was sleight of hand.

“Enyara, don’t help the Telhians,” her companion said testily. He was the one opposite her playing the board game.

“I can make my own decisions,” she barked back, annoyed. She surprised me, snagging the silver coin like a viper. She nodded at me, “A large silver for being a tour guide for an hour, no longer.”

Mateo was both happy and pale when he realized he didn’t have any coins for the shopping trip. As the emotions played on his face, I saved him again. “Maveith, go with them and pay for their clothes. See what you can get for yourself as well.” His massive hand encompassed mine in unspoken understanding, and I palmed Maveith four large gold coins from my dimensional space. Maveith had his own coin, and I hoped ten gold coins would buy each of them something presentable. Being the leader was getting very expensive.

With my team headed out into the city, I had a chance to look at the jobs posted on the wall. I got some stares as I walked the length of assignments on the board. What I needed was something that would take us into the Caliphate. The nearest thing I could find was a merchant escort from Artira to Khoura. Khoura was an orc city on the border with the Esenhem and one of the places I was told we could register as adventurers in the Caliphate. I needed to work on my written Elvish as it took time to puzzle out the posting to the amused glances of the elves watching me.

Wanted: Mounted Guards for Three Wagons. Minimum six, maximum eight. Two silver per day, per guard. Food and feed included.

The distance was five hundred miles in my estimate, but I was not certain what the merchant’s pace would be. I pulled the tack out of the heavy paper and brought it to the desk. The elven attendant took it and held out his hand patiently. I quickly figured it was for my adventurer’s medallion. He was a little surprised that mine was silver when he recorded the information. “I actually wanted to ask the merchant a few questions before accepting,” I asked before he proceeded further.

The elf appeared moody and went into some files in the back. When he returned, he stated flatly, “The Stumble Inn, down the street to the left. Rolf Sheadings, room six.” I wasn’t sure if my treatment was due to the Guildmaster or just that humans were generally not liked—or maybe it was my Telhian accent.

The inn was easy to find. Rolf, who was drinking at a table and reviewing stacks of paper while an elf bard crooned a melody by the hearth. Rolf had a manicured beard down to his waist and a thick head of rusty brown to match it. I moved to stand across from the dwarf, my adventurer’s medallion displayed outside my armor. “Rolf? I am Eryk Marco, and I am interested in your posting in the guild hall.”

The dwarf looked up studying me. “Human and silver adventurer to boot. Don’t care about the color of your medallion, the rate is still two silver per guard per day,” he stated firmly.

“How long will the trip take, and will you be traveling further into the Caliphate?” I asked, helping myself to a seat opposite him. His large crystal blue eyes studied me more intently, and he put down his fountain pen. Most of the documents appeared to be ledgers.

His beard swayed as his jaw worked. “We make thirty miles a day and have planned stays in towns in the evening. Your party will all need to be mounted, with no exceptions. Had too many a guard who said they could walk thirty a day, and their feet always failed them. The wagons and horses will be stabled in a barn in town, and I expect at least half your men to sleep in the loft there. The trip takes twenty days; sometimes bad weather adds a day or three.” Rolf finished and waited for my response.

“What dangers are typically on the road that you need guards? You also didn’t say if you would venture further into the Caliphate.” I responded.

He clasped his hands. “Most trips, I have had no trouble. But along this road in the last twenty years, the most serious confrontations we have had to defend the wagons from were a forest drake, giant spiders, meddlesome sprites, and a banshee.” He watched me as he listed off the dangers, and I didn’t flinch. He nodded, “I will not venture into orc lands. I will spend a month selling and buying from the orcs in Khoura and then return to Artiria. Usually, we have a train of two other merchants, but this time, it is just me.”

“No bandits? Do you usually have more guards?” I asked, thinking this job was a possibility.

The dwarf laughed at me, “Bandits in Esenhem? Maybe close to one of their borders, but elves don’t tolerate thieves and cutthroats.” He finished his chuckle, “Aye, you are right. We normally have a dozen adventurers guarding the train, but eight is the most I can afford without denting my profits too much. My regulars took off with a caravan to the south,” he added, some bitterness to his words.

“There are five of us but I am looking for a sixth at the moment. A goliath and four men.” I informed him.

His eyes widened. “Heard there was a goliath walking about. So that is him, and he is an adventurer. I can’t wait to see the beast he rides,” he said, slapping the table.

“Yeah, me too,” I added, thinking it might be hard to find a horse big enough for Maveith. And Maveith didn’t even know how to ride yet. Thinking back on my own riding lessons, he would be in for a rough time of it.

“I think we can accept. If I don’t find a sixth, will five be good enough? And when would we depart?” I asked. There was always the possibility of just riding out on our own, but I wanted the appearance we were true adventurers, especially before we headed into the Caliphate.

“Five? Are you the only silver?” I nodded. “With a silver and goliath I could agree to that. Should charge you extra for how much I hear a goliath can eat,” his smile showed through his beard. I think he was going to be surprised if Maveith could keep his ring on. “Three mornings from now. You can meet me here, Eryk.”

We shook wrists on it, and he completed a letter to the Adventurer’s Guild for acceptance to the job. I returned to the Hall and spent nearly an hour filing the paperwork for accepting the posting. The funds for payment would be held by the guild and paid in the Khoura Adventurer’s Hall when we delivered the merchant safely. When I asked what would happen to the funds if we didn’t arrive or failed, the elf scoffed a little and said they would revert to the Guild after a year if they were not claimed.

The others had not returned, so I was off to purchase mounts. After asking around, I was finally directed outside the city. A good mile walk brought me to a stable. I had only seen a few horses in Esenhem, so this was either going to be cheap or very expensive. A half dozen corrals had a few horses each, and the stalls in a large building were also full. A tall, lean elf woman in tight leathers saw me watching the horses and approached. She had a strong scent of horse about her and almost matched me in height.

“Do you need help?” She asked in a business-like tone.

“Do you have a horse big enough for a goliath?” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at my unusual question.

“A plow horse?” She hedged.

“No, a riding horse for the road.” I returned, and her brow furrowed.

“How big of a goliath?” She tested.

“Seven and a half feet and maybe three hundred and fifty pounds—but could be as high as four hundred with gear.” She slowly nodded as she thought on it.

“I only have two that might work for him. A black from the Caliphate. Spirited but listens well. Or a painted-brown from the south. A bit old but still serviceable. If you are not in a rush, I have a few that I can break over the next two months.”

“We are departing in three days. I will look at the black,” I said, and I followed her into the stables. The black was huge, standing taller than Maveith.

“He has been studded a few times, but none of his progeny have matched his size,” the woman said unhappily. I walked into the stall, and he was spirited and could be dangerous to the untrained rider. But after an apple, he cooperated with my inspection, and I spent a good fifteen minutes checking him out and was impressed.

“He is not battle trained but would do. How much?” I finally asked, satisfied.

“Seventy-five,” she said, causing me to cough. That was the price of a prized warhorse in the Empire. Horses were not as common in Esenhem, but that was ridiculous. “He is a good stud when the mare can hold him, and I hate to lose him.”

“How much for a good riding horse for me?” I asked after regaining myself at the sticker shock.

“Twenty-five,” she said, undeterred. Damn, I hated being the leader.

I sighed. “Show me your stock, I need three.” Her face beamed with dimples. She called in two other stable hands to help as I went through their stock.

I spent three hours looking at over thirty horses, and their scent rubbed off on me as I worked. I was looking primarily for temperament and fitness. I was not going to find or be able to afford warhorses—not that I saw any in the stables. The three I chose for Benito, Mateo, and Blaze were large and fit but didn’t come close to the black in size and strength. I almost considered getting Benito a pony as a joke, but then I would have to buy him another horse later.

Haggling was not part of Esenhem culture, so I was not going to be able to reduce the cost. Still, I tried, to get a little more. “Can I at least get saddles and tack thrown in?”

The horsewoman looked amused, her dimples showing again, but looking to close a sale. “Used and refurbished. We even have something that should suit the goliath.” Relieved, I produced the two-hundred and fifty gold. It was painful and took a massive bite out of my coin reserves.

It was really late in the day and close to sunset, so I needed to get back. I arranged for the mounts to be brought to the Adventurer’s Hall stables and returned. I found my companions in the common room drinking with the raven-haired elf. Benito was telling the tale of how he became a legionnaire, and she was laughing hysterically. So, elves did have a sense of humor. I scanned the room but didn’t see her original companions.

My men were dressed in suitable dark green and brown outfits, and their wet hair indicated they had bathed. Blaze looked at me questionably as I still wore my adventurer’s armor. “I will go change,” I announced to the table. Maveith handed me the leftover coins, three gold, and a dozen silver. I went to the room and changed into my best clothes, donning my manticore cloak. My outfit was mostly black, and looking in the mirror, I looked more sinister than my companions. Maybe I should have joined them on their shopping trip. It was too late now, as the sun was already on the horizon.

I returned to the common room to find two city guards standing at my companion’s table. A brief pit of worry rose in me, but they were our escort and not here to arrest my companions. It was time to go and meet the regent, and I just hoped the men hadn’t drank too much beforehand.

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