Aladra

We spent the next week enjoying our newfound wealth gained from the reward of our recently completed contract. In the end we had taken the cost of the meal and dishes from the full amount so that I wasn’t left destitute.

The week passed in a flash as we engaged in our various vices and debauches. Korin spent most of his time in bars, enjoying the diverse flow of liquor that passed through the capital, Rayall didn’t enjoy the same pleasures but each time I saw him he seemed to have a new outfit made in elvish fashions. Sara and Cleo found their enjoyment in each other’s company, spending their time together as they dined at restaurants n the city and explored the popular districts. I spent my money on expanding my wardrobe, as its emptiness had been pointed out by Cleo, on top of that I also spent time visiting my other friends in the city and training more through the days with the guidance of Opal and Bella’s compatriots.

In that week, I also travelled to the temple of Tallaque to collect my adventurer ring, featuring the visage of Tallaque in the silver. When I was visiting the temple, I found myself on the receiving end of disdain from some of the other adventurers in the place. One of them spat at me and muttered something about not being a real adventurer for attacking the lion. It became clear that Zarin had been working his charm on the adventurers of the temple and had made a considerable number of them dislike me for one reason or another. I endured the misery for the few minutes it took me to collect the ring and hadn’t returned there since.

I had been spending the morning with the others in the staging district as we enjoyed a play about the tale of Olar and his adventurer party who slayed a dragon and then delved into a plot of treachery and deceit as they fought over the hoard. We had feasted on the small cakes that were brought round by servers during the play and were talking lively as we returned to the house.

We passed by some of the other play goers as we walked down the streets under the cloudy sky as a faint shower of rain came down on us. The change from the staging district through to our street was noticeable with the material of the buildings becoming sturdier and the clothes decorating the citizens changing from threadbare to ornate.

As we got back to the house, I opened the door, and we stepped on through to see a woman seated in the living room. She was clad in worn leathers that fitted firmly to her slender figure, she had dark hair that fell to below her shoulders and a forgetful face that I couldn’t seem to focus on. On her hands were two rings, one with the face of Soras, marking her as a disciple of that goddess, and the other featuring a large white pearl that had a sort of glow to it. She looked to be approaching her thirties and sat in a chair sharpening a dagger on a whetstone.

When we saw her, we stood still in the doorway and just looked at her, “Er, hi?” I said inquisitively. “What are you doing?”

She snapped her dagger into her hand, sheathed it on her belt and pocketed the whetstone, “Ah, you’re back. You should get better locks” she said nodding towards the door that we had just entered from. We stayed there silent and looking at her for a moment longer before she spoke again, “I’m Aladra, Orsat sent me”

“Oh you’re the one that’s joining the party” I said, relaxing a little as it became clear that she wasn’t a random woman that broke into our home. We carried on into the living room and sat down, eyes still on Aladra.

She hummed softly to herself, “That is what he asked” she said with a sigh, “and little Orsie gets what he wants”

My eyes bulged at how she talked about the Prince, but I couldn’t help but laugh a little to myself, “Right, so who are you exactly? Prince Orsat didn’t tell us much” I said, clasping my hands as I leaned forward.

She looked at me for a moment and smirked slightly, “I’m Aladra, an adventurer” she said and held up the hand with her ring that marked her a disciple of Soras, “And Orsat’s errand girl.” We sat in silence, looking at her expectantly until she said more. She let out a long sigh and leaned back in her seat, “Let’s see, I went through a few parties when I started out, but they had a habit of dying. After I started going solo, Orsat recruited me, and he sends me on the jobs that he wants done discretely. Since then, I’ve done a few assassinations, a lot of ****, some sabotage, and he’s even sent me to kill some monsters”

“Wow, that’s pretty impressive” Sara said as Cleo stood up and offered to prepare some tea for us all, “So what now? Has he sent you to join parties before?”

She shrugged, “Sometimes he gives me a party for a job, but you’re the first he’s asked me to join. He said he wants me to train you all and to help you with your jobs, make sure you don’t all cut your fingers off” she said

“Hopefully we won’t end up like your other parties then” Korin chimed in, getting a snort from Sara. Aladra looked at him with a cold expression, then gave him a menacing grin.

“Who can say, just try to stay on my good side”

Sara laughed a little at that, “Yeah, you’re definitely dead” she said as she leaned into Korin, jabbing a finger into his ribs.

Cleo came back with a tray of cups with steaming tea, handing them out to each of us, I took mine with thanks. Aladra took a long gulp of the drink before continuing, “And we’ve got a contract as well” she pulled out a sheet of parchment from her jacket, “Orsie wants us to go to the west and deal with some rebels” she said, flicking the sheet over to me.

I started to read it but as I did so she went on to explain the situation to us, “There is a group on the western coast that does not agree with the direction of the crown. They have been causing trouble for a few years, robbing nobles that travel the roads there, and given the… situation in the east” she gave me a knowing look as she said the last part “they want us to help deal with the problem. There are too many of them for one party to have any chance of fighting them all, instead they want us to clear the path there and scout their numbers and strength”

I nodded as I listened to her, reading the parchment as she spoke. “And what’s this about the shale island raiders?” I asked, running my finger over the line that mentioned them.

“Ah yes, they’ve always been a problem in the west, but the crown’s spies have seen the rebels meeting with some of them. If we can, they want us to determine what sort of relationship they have and if they will become a serious problem in the future” Aladra said, finishing her tea rather quickly.

“Okay, that sounds manageable I suppose. Is there anything else?” I asked

She nodded, “One more thing, they want us to negotiate with them and try to convince them to return to the fold. Given their numbers and the east, the crown wants as many adventurers as possible ready to fight for us rather than fighting against us” she informed me with a satisfied expression.

“Sounds like a bunch of talking” Korin grumbled, glancing towards the axe that he left standing by the door.

I couldn’t help but agree with him on that, though not for the same reason. “Yeah, it does. Are you sure that we’re ready for that? It sounds like a lot of responsibility for a new party” I said, tasting a hint of mint in the tea.

She batted her hand in the air, “it’s nothing, just do what I tell you to. Orsat has me do this kind of thing all of the time”

“Okay then” I said, not quite completely reassured, given her lax attitude. “Well, I guess it’s good to have you in the party then. We can get supplied and leave tomorrow” I looked to the others who nodded in agreement. There wasn’t much that we needed to do before we left, but it would be good to get another night in a real bed before we travelled.

Aladra rose to her feet, “I’ll meet you here tomorrow then, I’d suggest getting some warm clothes. We’ll have to go through the mountains to get there, and they can be pretty cold” she walked to the door and glanced back, drumming her fingers on the door frame, “get something nice for the rebels too, maybe a clock” she shrugged her shoulder, “I don’t really know what they like”

I nodded my head to her, “right” I said, trying to hide the incredulity in my voice. “We’ll see you tomorrow then” I walked over to the door and closed it behind her.

After she had left, we read through the contract once more and descended to the basement where we devised a plan of travel to reach the western coast. We went to the market to purchase the necessary supplies for the trip including food, warm coats, a worn velum map, and a clock as Aladra had suggested. Having got everything that we would need for the journey, we returned to the house and got one last night of comfortable slumber before departing the next day.