He hit the wall hard. This was going to be much rougher than usual.

As he got kicked in his abdomen, one of his tormentors spat, “Fucking half-tall, where is my money?”

“I- I don’t have it yet, John. Give me a few more days and I can get it for you! Just a few more days, I promise,” Aaron pleaded.

His answer earned him another punch, this time to the back of his left knee.

Aaron could hear anger in John’s voice as he said, “You’re pathetic, Aaron. There I was, helping you when no one else would, and now you go ahead and don’t pay what is rightfully ours!”

“I already paid the initial money back, and you know it,” he whispered.

All he could do was wait until they grew tired. It hurt so much, but they knew exactly what they were doing. Aaron was never in any danger of dying or getting something broken. He couldn’t even defend himself, as this would just make his situation much worse in the town. John could just hire more muscle. Not that it was needed, as Aaron knew that he had no chance in a fight against three fully fledged adventurers, with or without magic.

After another five minutes of receiving kicks and punches, they stopped. Before they left, John whispered in Aaron’s ear, “In ten days I want my money. If you don’t have it by then, you better watch out when going out.”

Aaron didn’t know how long he stayed in the alleyway before he thought he could brace himself for the way home to his room.

Multiple times on the journey, his left knee gave way, and he stumbled onto the rough stone path. After he finally entered his room, the only thing he did was fall into his bed and sleep.

----------------------------------------

Light shone through the only window in his room. He still didn’t immediately rise. Only after the shadows finally grew did he leave his bed. “Fuck,” Aaron said out loud before stumbling to one of the only artefacts he owned. The water bucket that keeps the water from leaving its refines and staying fresh was a gift his father gave him when he had decided to leave the mines and enter human society. The thought of his family slowed his gulping. Aaron wondered what they thought of him if they saw him today.

He only left two years ago, but it still felt like a lifetime had already gone by. And the time was not a good one. Aaron didn’t own a shower, so he grabbed a change of clothes and went to the public bathhouse.

While it hurt when the water hit his bruised body, it also did wonders for his mind. He had to get that money. Maybe Lisa or one of his other previous quest partners could need someone to hunt something in the forests.

Aaron left the showers with a much clearer head. Before he could try to talk to his colleagues in the adventurer guild, he would need to eat something.

Luckily, Aaron had a few belecoin hidden in his apartment. After collecting them, he went to the only place that he knew of in the city that would have a warm meal for the measly amount of money he still had.

The Drunken's Haven was nothing to write home about. It stood between two larger houses on the edge of the commoner district. In it, one could find many of the less fortunate.

As the door swung open, the conversations between the patrons seemed to stop. Only after seeing that it was Aaron who entered did they continue.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Aaron slowly made his way over to the bar on the other side of the room.

“You look like shit,” was the first thing he heard from one of the only people here that he would call a friend. He had a very raspy voice, probably from all the smoking.

“Sorry, Richy, they waited for me last night after I left the guild,” Aaron answered as he sat down.

“You want the same as always?” Richy—or Richard for long—inquired while already leaving the room to get a portion of his own stew.

It was the best food Aaron had ever tasted. Though his perception might have been a bit skewed as he hadn’t eaten anything for almost a full day.

Aaron was really grateful. “Thank you, Richy, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

The bartender gave him a flat look. “If I were you, I would have been long gone. On that note, I still recommend that you do that. One of my connections can get you out of the city with none the wiser. Even the Constable would not be able to find you if he were to search for you.”

Aaron gave the man a small smile. “I know, and I’m really thankful. But I can’t go back like this. Not when I still haven’t up yet.”

Richard sighed but didn’t continue trying to convince the dwarf. “Alright, but if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Aaron left after finally convincing the barkeeper to keep at least a few of his belecoin. It wasn’t nearly enough to cover his food, but he still felt good to pay at least something back.

Even though Aaron didn’t do much that day, he was still fast asleep.

----------------------------------------

After he woke up, Aaron looked down at his body to check his injuries. They seemed much better than yesterday, but the bruises would stay for a long time.

After he woke up, Aaron went to the adventurer guild to finally find someone he could team up with. His first idea was Lisa. She was a rather short human with long blonde hair. He had teamed up with her to hunt down two warped bears. It should have been a rather okay quest, but before they could get close enough, the bears had noticed them. Lisa had made him responsible as she was a scout and had been far quieter. Lisa said she was done working with him after he couldn’t explain what had happened. He hoped this might have changed since then.

“Lisa, hey, I was-,” Aaron started before he was interrupted.

“No, before you even finish that sentence, the answer is no. I already told you I wouldn’t work with you again,” Lisa sounded angry.

“But-,” he stammered.

Lisa seemed unimpressed as she started walking. Before she passed him, she stopped for a short moment and whispered, “In the alleyway behind the guild in ten minutes. Make sure no one follows you.”

For a few seconds, Aaron was left dumbfounded. Lisa was already gone when he turned around. Aaron quickly made his way to the door while trying to see if someone would follow him. After he went a few rounds around the block to see if he could notice anyone, Aaron headed to the mentioned alleyway. Before he could enter it, a hand reached out and pulled him in.

Before he could panic, he saw that it was Lisa. “You could have waited the few extra seconds it would have taken me to enter on my own.”

“Shut up. Look, I shouldn’t even tell you this. I only do this because I feel bad about the whole bear thing,” Lisa looked around uncomfortably as she said this.

Aaron couldn’t believe what he heard. “So you did know that I didn’t do anything!”

“Yes, again, I’m really sorry, but I really need your attention now. You’re getting targeted. I don’t know who it is or what their goal is, but I was approached before we had our briefing.” Lisa tensed as she said the next part, “She knew too much. The woman talked about our fight as if she had been there. She said that I needed to stop working with you.”

“What? Why? I didn’t do anything to anyone since I came here.”

“Look, I don’t know either and normally I wouldn’t have caved in so easily, but she knew of my sister. Even mentioned the street we lived on,” Lisa said while she had an expression of fear written all over her face.

She had already turned to the entry of the alleyway before Aaron stopped her.

“Wait! Then what should I do?”

She looked back at him and as she left she stated. “I don’t know, but don’t contact me. I don’t want my sister pulled into this.”

Aaron felt like he was about to suffocate. What should he do? Was there even something he could do?

After a few very deep breaths, Aaron was able to calm down enough to think the situation through.

He needed the money. That was the only thing he thought would help him. If John wasn’t on his ass the whole time, Aaron would then be able to build up his power. He might even buy a few books about magic usage.

With that in mind, all Aaron needed was a plan to get the 20 silecoin, and quickly.