Payday

The journey back to Alynthir was much shorter than it had been to Greenheart, we found a merchant who was willing to buy the wagon from us and after spending the night in beds that if not entirely comfortable were at least warm, we set back with each of us mounted on a horse. I had not had much experience riding a horse, in Blue-Rock some of the farmers had allowed me to have a go on their steeds and I had been taught enough to not make a complete fool of myself, but I had never rode for hours at a time before. It was not comfortable. Each night that we rested I felt as though my backside had a fresh spattering of bruises. It was worth it however, as in just three days we were able to return to the capital without facing any more troubles.

Rayall’s leg was still sore, we had found enough time to make sure that it was healed to a point where riding would not break it again, but it pained him still. He could not walk far on it and when we camped for the night, he would ask for one of the girls to tend to it. It was good that we had arrived so soon to the capital as he would at least be able to find an experienced healer to take care of his battle scar.

As our horses trotted across the stone cobbles and through the gates of Alynthir, we had already decided that Sara and Cleo would take Rayall to a healer whilst Korin and I went to the temple of Soras to claim the reward for our contract. The city was not as lively as it had been on the day which we had left, likely because most of the new cohort of adventurers had departed on a contract of their own.

We left our newly claimed horses in the care of the stable hands at the temple and dismounted to enter the magnificent structure. We found one of the clerks that seemed to be responsible for the contracts and told her that we had returned from completing one. After she had found the one that we were referring to, we explained to her that we had been unable to bring back the target alive and he had died in our confrontation. She accepted the ring that Korin had pulled from the corpse and after examining it for a few minutes she left and returned with five small cylindrical boxes and a piece of parchment. Each of the boxes contained one hundred silver coins each, held securely in the containers; after I had signed the document, recognising receipt of payment, we had been allowed to take the coins and the thanks of the temple. The clerk had then asked us some questions about the contract, noting down my answers in a book before she had allowed us to escape her clutches.

I turned around to leave the temple and return to my new house for a well-deserved rest when I saw Opal and Bella, both sat talking to each other at a table with hot drinks in their hands. Before I could say anything, Korin was striding across the room towards them, I quickly followed him.

“Guess who just ridded the world of a madman with a monster army” he declared loudly as he sat himself into a seat besides Bella, flashing her his dwarfish grin.

I groaned internally at him and found myself taking the seat next to Opal, “Aucus!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug, pressing her ample bosom against my chest. “I’ve missed you, it’s been too long”

Korin grumbled at that, “No actually, it was me” he muttered to himself. Bella smirked and ruffled his fiery hair.

She looked at his beard and saw the singed ends, she moved her hands to inspect them. “Looks like you took some serious injuries too” she said sarcastically, “Maybe now you can find your way to a barber”

I snorted my laughter at that, it was as likely that he would find a barber as it was that he would take up sobriety. “Ay, a dwarf’s beard is his pride. I won’t have any of your human hands on it” he said as he jovially smacked her hands away from the fiery mess that covered his face.

“We did take some real injuries though” I said more seriously, “I kinda… brought a cave down on Rayall’s leg” I explained, raising my arm scratch the back of my head.

Opal’s eyebrow climbed on her face, “Oh? What did he do to you?” she asked inquisitively

I smiled at that, “Well it was either that or get murdered by an army of monsters, I think we got off lightly though” I told her, recounting to them both the different monsters that had emerged from the cave to attack us after we had killed the rogue adventurer.

“Strange” Bella said at last, “Most of those monsters wouldn’t be found within miles of the others without trying to kill each other, and I doubt he could have had enough mana to keep up his control on them for as long as he did” she sat in silence for a moment. “There seems to be more and more cases of things like that though, monsters gathering together in… well, in hordes”

Opal nodded her head, “Yeah, it is a bit weird. But it looks like it just means there’s more work for you new guys” she said, lightening the mood as she prodded a finger into my arm. “Just be careful though, I heard some news about parties of adventurers being killed in the east. I think they got whatever it was that did it, but it sounds to me like monsters are getting more dangerous lately”

I felt a clenching in my stomach at that news, I had already heard of those deaths before. It seemed as though the role of devils had been kept secret for now at least. “Right” I nodded my head in acknowledgement, “I was thinking that we take a bit of a break for now though, we need to enjoy our payday a bit” I said as I patted my hand against the stacks of coins.

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time, that many silvers go a long way. Especially when you don’t have to pay for lodgings” Opal said as her hand found its way onto my arm, “speaking of which, I noticed that you haven’t invited me to see your house yet” she pouted as she leaned into me

I couldn’t help but swallow as I looked down at the cleavage of the woman, “Well, why don’t you both come by tonight. I think we could all do with a good meal after what we’ve been eating for the past few days”

She smiled at that and sat upright, “Well that sounds lovely, I expect the food to be good though” she said as she rose to her feet, “Come on Bella, I think I need to pick out something to wear for the evening” she gave me a mischievous grin that for some reason made my blood rise to my cheeks and blossom to my ears.

“I ain’t cooking” Korin said gruffly as he watched the women walk off and turn to a staircase.

“Well that’s a relief” I replied, smirking as I saw his angry gaze. “Come on, we should probably buy some stuff to actually eat” I added as I got to my feet, and we made our way to the doors.

Outside the temple, we decided that Korin would take the horses back to the house and try to find a stable where we could keep them in the long term. He would also tell the others about dinner that evening so that they could make whatever preparations that they needed to. Reluctantly, I also entrusted him with four of the five coin stacks to take back to the house. I was not entirely convinced that they would not all be spent on booze, but somehow it seemed riskier to take so many coins into the market.

I made my way to the market with a single stack of silver coins to spend on food and, having thought about it, I would also need dishes to cook the food with and serve it on. In the market I stood at a stall, examining a batch of potatoes that the merchant had assured me were the very best of the harvest. I wasn’t too sure about his claim as I saw green bruises marring the side and finding them squishier than they should be.

“Aucus” a familiar voice called out, I turned around and saw Henry with his mother. She was clutching at a basket in her hands and was wearing a heavily stained apron. “I thought that was you, I take it your adventuring went well” he said as the two of them came over.

“Yeah, I just got back today” I said with a smile, “Hi Mrs Conly, I was sorry to hear about… everything in the village” I said, feeling the mood dampen with my words.

Her eyes glistened for a moment, and she nodded her head, “Oh, come here boy” she said as she captured me in a hug, “I’m glad to see that you’re okay, you’re eating well, aren’t you?” she demanded, and I couldn’t help but smile at how naturally mothering me came to her. She had been like that with all of the children who came into her bakery.

“Afraid not, it’s hard to come by good food on the road” I said with a chagrin expression, “And it just might get worse, I’m supposed to be cooking dinner tonight” I added

Henry’s eyes lit up at that, “You are? I can help if you want” he offered, “You know how good my cooking is, let me cook for you” he seemed rather eager to do so.

“I mean, I’m not going to turn down a good meal. We don’t have anything in though, so I need to decide what we’re having”

His nose wrinkled at that, “Wait, you’re not actually thinking about buying from here?” he said as he looked at the goods of the merchant I was standing in front of. He shook his head at my oblivious expression, “Come on, I’ll show you the good places” he said with a sigh, before glancing back to his mother. “I mean, if you don’t need help with anything tonight mother” he said as he remembered himself.

She smiled warmly and shook her head, “It’s okay Henry, you spend time with Aucus. It was good to see you again” she said before leaving me to Henry’s excitement and flowing along with the crowds.

I had expected to only spend a silver, maybe two on the food that I needed for the night. In the end, Henry had borrowed a cart and filled it with Carrots, Potatoes, Cabbages, Radishes, Onions, and other vegetables that he had insisted would be needed. He also **** on me a variety of fruits, a few bottles of milk, fresh eggs, a goose, a wheel of cheese, and some strange spices from a merchant that he seemed to know. I was six silvers down and thought that was to be the end of it until he had taken me to another part of the market and made me buy pots, pans, plates, cutlery, and a large tablecloth. By the time that we were done, my coin stack was down by thirty coins. I had winced a bit at the loss, but Henry seemed excited, and I couldn’t help but raise a smile to his attitude. That was until he had taken me to a Vintner who had taken another five silver coins for each bottle of wine, we had bought four and I wanted to cry or **** Henry, or both.

I grunted under the weight of the cart as I pushed it along the cobbles, telling Henry of the details of the contract I had returned from, leaving out the parts that still weighed heavily on me. Under his watchful gaze, we did not lose any of our new goods. I looked at the wine and thought that it had better be the best drink I had ever had for the damage it had done to my coin stack.

Eventually we arrived back at my homestead and was met by the surprised faces of my friends as they opened the door to a cart piled high with merchandise. We went inside and I let Henry take control of the kitchen whilst I readied everything else for the evening.

With Henry settled into the kitchen and eagerly utilising his new cooking instruments, I busied myself with cleaning the house for our guests. We had left rather abruptly for our contract and there was some mess in the house with cups left out and clothing strewn across the furniture, however with it only being lived in for a couple of days my task of cleaning it was relatively simple. The most difficult part of it was finding all of the surfaces that had received a build up of dust in our absence.

Korin had elected himself to decide what we would be drinking that evening; he had inspected the bottles that I had purchased for a small fortune and had a taste from one of them. By the time that he had finished his tasting the bottle was almost half empty and it took all of my might not to beat him senseless. In addition to the wine that I had brought back from the market, Korin added a couple of bottles from what we had left the Citadel with.

I had refrained from pestering Henry in the kitchen after he had smacked my arm with a wooden spoon and **** me to wait patiently on him. As we were waiting, Sara and Cleo came down the stairs of the house dressed in fine clothing that appeared to be new. Sara was wearing a deep blue dress with green trimmings on the hem that Cleo had bought for her, it was a modest dress though it did cut off slightly above the knees. As for Cleo, she was wearing a lilac dress that matched Sara’s in the style though hers was slightly less modest in the chest area. Both women looked beautiful and had made a clear effort to make themselves presentable for the evening.

“You’re not wearing that, are you?” Cleo asked as she looked at me with a frown. I was still in the clothing that I had been wearing for the contract though I had removed the armour. The cotton shirt wasn’t particularly dirty as I had taken two sets of clothing that I would change between when we found somewhere that I could wash the other pair. I had only worn the shirt for the past two days; I had thought it was a good choice for dinner.

“What?” I asked as I looked down my body, “It’ll do, won’t it?”

She gave her head an exasperated shake, “honestly” she muttered under her breath and got a humorous smile from Sara. “Come on, up the stairs. I’ll see what you have that won’t make you look like a beggar” she said, forcefully grabbing my arm and dragging me up the stairs.

I looked back in Sara’s direction for help and simply saw her smirking at me. She caught my eye and gave me a wave goodbye before turning her back on me and going to inspect the smells that were wafting from the kitchen.

In my room, Cleo tutted as she inspected my wardrobe. It was a bare sight filled mostly with the clothing that the Citadel had given to us and the few garments that I had brought with me from Blue-Rock. By the sound of things, if Cleo had her way, she would burn my wardrobe and **** me to start anew. In the end she chose the black outfit that Opal had bought for me before I went to the Citadel, it was the only smart outfit I had, even if it was a bit formal for a dinner with friends.

It seemed that Korin also did not have an expansive wardrobe as he had dressed in the dwarven attire that Bella had bought for him. We were sat in the living room and were discussing how we would be spending our reward money when a knock came from the door. I sprung up to answer it, expecting to see Opal and Bella.

Korin beat me to the door and opened it to see Rayall stood on the other side in Elvish styled clothing and holding a bottle of wine. The dwarf couldn’t help but adopt a disappointed expression at the sight. “Ah, come in then” he said as he stepped aside and held out a hand for the bottle. Rayall passed it to him as he entered and Korin inspected the label, muttering under his breath. “Elven wine, how do you expect me to drink this?” he complained loudly.

The next knock on the door was Opal and Bella, arriving together as a carriage departed down the street after dropping them off. They were both clad in rich dresses, made of fine silks and adorned with gems that shone in the moonlight. I got a closer look as they each gave me a hug and as I saw the golden stitching, I couldn’t tell whether or not it was somehow made of real gold. As we embraced, I also got a whiff of their strong perfumes that they had sprayed themselves with, reminding me of the flowers in the citadel gardens.

After I had greeted them both, I turned around to lead them inside and introduce them to the friends that they had not yet met. My head jerked backwards as I felt a pinch on my bottom, and I saw the grinning face of Opal. I flushed and opened my mouth to say something, but after my jaw hung slack for a few moments I shut it and shook my head, continuing to lead them inside.

After they had met Sara, Cleo, and Rayall properly, they were given a brief tour of my residence. They seemed rather impressed by the size and the soundness of the structure itself, Opal was most enthralled with the size and quality of the bed, making a few suggestive comments to me about it.

As we sat waiting for dinner to finish being cooked, Korin made further attempts to flirt with Bella to the humour of us all as she rebuked him time after time. As for Opal, she investigated the kitchen and seemed overly eager to talk with Henry about my childhood in Blue-Rock. I was mortified by the interaction as he insisted on choosing the most embarrassing tales to give her. It seemed though that Henry was as flustered by the talk as I was at least. Opal continued to flaunt her considerable beauty to us, and he almost ended up overcooking a dish as he stared at her cleavage.

At last dinner was served. We sat at the long dinner table in the dining room with a tablecloth laid over it and the new cutlery that I had purchased that day laid out for each of us. We were first served with a delicious soup; it was a thick dish that contained a meat that I thought was chicken along with ground almonds and chunks of potato. It had a strange taste to it that I thought the spices were responsible for but we all hungrily devoured it all nonetheless.

As the next course was coming out of the kitchen with plates laid high with goose, roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables, and other delicacies, a knock sounded on the door. I rose from my seat and excused myself as I left to answer it, thinking it strange that someone would knock at this hour.

When I swung open the door, I was greeted by two figures, one dressed in a dark cloak with his hood pulled up to conceal his features, the other was less well disguised. He was clearly some sort of guard, he had a muscular build and seemed to have little interest in me, I could also see the glint of chainmail under his shirt. I panicked for a moment, thinking that Zarin had found out where I lived and sent them to give me another beating. That was, until the man lowered the hood of his cloak.

Prince Orsat had come for a visit.