Meeting the Client (Minotaur)

The past two days had been rough for Helena. She’d managed to cross over a deep gorge without relying on the only bridge across, saving about a day of travel. She’d also managed to scale up and down several mountains in one day rather than four, which meant she had finally arrived at the farm sitting near the one the minotaur had taken over. She was worn out and low on mana, but she was here.

When she knocked on the door to the farm house, it wasn’t long before a middle-aged woman arrived at the door. “My, are you a traveler? You seem awfully tired, please feel free to come in and rest,” she said.

Helena followed her in, but corrected the woman. “I’m actually a mercenary here about the request you and your family put up about your neighbor’s farm.”

The woman’s eyes went wide. “Really? It’s only been a few days since I sent out the call, I wasn’t expecting a reply for another few days, and that was if someone picked up the request immediately!”

“I understand how serious situations like this can get, so I rushed over as soon as I could.”

The older woman led Helena over to the kitchen table, and indicated for her to sit down. “Young lady, thank you so much for coming. Please, you must be tired, let me fix you up some stew to warm you up after your trip and recharge you for the fight ahead.” She went to work, beginning preparations before Helena could get a word in edgewise. “My name’s Nancy by the way, Nancy Beeman. My girls are out working the fields right now, and keeping an eye on the Stockmans’ farm.”

Helena nodded. “I was hoping you could give me some information,” Helena said.

“I’d love to, dear, but it might be better to hear from my girls. They’d explain it better.” She pushed open a window, stuck her head out, and shouted with a volume that made Helena’s chest vibrate. “Girls! A mercenary came here to help! Come tell her the situation!”

A few moments later, a pair of girls entered the farmhouse. Like their mother, they had red hair, although theirs lacked the grey streaks their mother’s had. Both were freckly girls wearing straw hats and overalls, both around Helena’s age. “Hey city girl,” one said. “I’m Gretchen and this is Giselle. You here about the job?”

Helena nodded, and was going to elaborate but that was all the answer the farm girl needed. “The mages at our local guild branch said it’d be a week before we got help, if at all. They said it’d take at least two for their forces to gather up so they could take it on themselves, so I thought it was a waste of time. But here you are!”

“Glad to have you here,” the other, Giselle, said. “Haven’t seen any of them since they got dragged into the barn a couple days ago. Heard them though…”

The other sister nodded. “I’m praying for those poor girls. Shelly and Millie are sweet ladies, they don’t deserve to have that beast have his way with them. We’ve been keeping an eye out, since it’s only a matter of time before the minotaur decides to lumber over here to come after us.”

“Right you are, sis. I reckon he’d have already done so if we hadn’t set up those traps. A couple pitfalls, some pitchforks ready to skewer anyone who gets too close, the works,” the sister explained to Helena. “But I doubt that’ll hold him for long. Just ‘til he figures out the best way to get through it. So I bet you have a few hours to recover, you seem like you had a rough trip.”

“Not a rough trip,” Helena said. “It was uneventful. But it was draining. I rushed out here, but it cost most of my mana. A few hours rest, plus a hot meal, should be enough of a recharge for me to get to work. I’ll handle this in the evening, I promise you.”

“Now miss, you don’t need to rush. I’m sure you’re worried about those poor girls in the clutches of that beast. Can’t blame you. But getting caught yourself won’t help anybody. You’re already early, so no one will fault you for taking a day off. You’ll still be getting things done well ahead of what any other adventurers could.” With that, she served some bread for Helena to eat while the stew was heating up.

Helena took a couple hasty bites from the bread, grateful for the food. But after swallowing it all down, she spoke. “I still want to end this as quickly as possible. I can assure you, I’m fully aware of my limits. I just need a few hours for my mana to fully recharge and then I’ll be in top shape” She gobbled up the rest of her bread, and then a thought occurred to her. “Do you have any idea where this minotaur came from, or if there are more?”

One of the sisters, Helena was already having trouble telling them apart, spoke up. “There's actually a tribe of minotaurs living up in that mountain range you crossed through to get here. Some of the other farms closer to it trade with them, and they think this is an exile. The tribe themselves are pretty well-behaved, which is why some of the folks around here trade with them. But this one must have done something worth getting kicked out, and ended up here.”

Helena nodded, feeling a bit relieved. If this was an exile acting alone, there’d be little chance of this situation escalating. But if it had been the first step of a larger conquest… then it might be above what she could handle on her own.

The conversation continued, shifting more towards Helena and her experience, until the stew was ready and the mercenary could finally fill her belly.

After that, the sisters gave her a rundown on the traps they’d laid so she could avoid them, as well as what to expect on the Stockmans’ property. This took enough time that Helena’s mana completely replenished, and she was ready to make her move.