Aison's torture, or training as he called it, was harsh indeed. He did not hold back at all, and as he changed weapons every odd five minutes, it was impossible to adapt to his new patterns right away.
When the circle of weapons, consisting of a spear, an ax, a halberd, a double-handed sword, a small dagger, and dual-wielded swords, was complete and restarted from the beginning, I was hoping that this time, I would show a better result. Something that should be possible by applying what I managed to understand before. But it seemed that my thoughts were easy to read, as, from that point, Aison changed weapons randomly, sometimes even after one attack.
And probably the worst part for me was that I could not hit him back, especially as this was all to help me stay alive in the future.
We had started just after meal-time, so there should be close to five hours of such training, maybe with a few breaks. {Temember that this is for your safety, and not only yours.} Repeating such words to myself, I managed to resist until the first break without even groaning once.
Not that I did not want to. Aison used wooden models of the weapons, but he wasn't weak at all, and I was using a simple cloth shirt. Thus, any attack I did not react to as he explained or showed meant a painful hit that left scrapes and bruises.
That first break took place two hours after the start, and I spent it laying on the warm sand, gathering strength enough to continue.
But before the break finished, the training was brought to a close, with Falko arriving and asking me to follow him on Zelindo's orders.
And while Aison wasn't the image of happiness to such, he did not say anything after hearing that it was Zelindo, the one calling for me.
"It may be the case that we will not meet in the following days, at least from what I recall hearing from you and Gris. But, when you are back, we will continue." With such words, Aison sent me off.
***
"Storage." Using the spell to summon some of the water that I carried all the time since the poisoned well, I quickly washed and followed after Falko, who started as soon as I was ready.
"Falko, do you know why the Maester called for me? And wasn't he supposed to be out, with the Viscount, for the entire day?" I asked as soon as I equaled his quick pace.
"Not really." He shook his head, only to add a moment later, "But if I was to guess, I think that today's visit to the Viscount's palace has to do with the sudden summon. Could it be that what you are supposed to do, has been moved forward?"
"Could be, although I have no idea about the task anyway. Do you, by chance?" Being in the know before the meeting would be for the best, but regretfully, Falko shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing. Or maybe that he could not say. Who could be sure?
"Hmm? Are we not going to meet in the office?" As we entered the main building, Falko started walking towards the stairs leading down to the basement, and I could not help but ask.
"No, orders were to bring you towards the Gold Room."
***
The Gold Room, the vault of the Guild's branch. During the incident before, Gris had circled around the basement for several minutes before we actually passed near the enormous, blackened steel door. But now, without any need to confirm the situation, or maybe with Falko using the direct route, it took us not more than three hundred steps to reach it.
Before the closed, 2x2 meters black door with an elaborate lock that looked like a barrel, Zelindo was indeed waiting. Sitting in a chair right next to the door, he slightly stood up and nodded in greeting in response to my half-bow. I have to note that I found such a manner of greeting proper and did not even think about it.
After this silent but cordial greeting, my gaze moved to the only other person in this small room, a short, heavyset, almost square man sitting with his back turned towards us, facing Zelindo. And as I examined him, using [Status Screen] as well, my eyes almost went wide.
NAME (AS SEEN BY ME) LEVEL (IF APPLIES) (ONLY ABOVE AVERAGE) Craftmaster, Sharagzian Kingdom. - Strenght 23 Body 21 Agility 16 Willpower 19 Negotiation 17 Labor 22 Smithing (Armor-, Weapon-, Metalworking, etc.) 15 Crafting 13 Quick 14
Stats aside, impressive they were, the man wasn't a man, but a male dwarf!
Either by following Zelindo's gaze or after feeling mine, the dwarf seemingly noticed someone's arrival. And then, with a nimbleness I could not expect from someone of his build, he jumped on his legs and turned around.
Measuring not more than 130-140 cm in height, he was also not less than the same in width. A belly was present, but other than that, it seemed that most of his body was a bundle of muscles, not visible only because of his garb.
About the latter, I never thought that I would see a dwarf in padded armor, assuming that they would only use metal (I blame fantasy lore for that). But the one in front was indeed dressed in a white padded gambeson. Above it was a beige-colored vest with extra padding on the shoulders, and while I could not see the legs because of the gambeson length, I did see the boots, which to my surprise, turned out to be not leather and not even boots, but some wrapping and shoes made from a dark brown cloth.
His short, spiky, reddish hair and a shortly trimmed beard were also a bit unexpected for me (again, blame fantasy for expecting meter-long beards), and so if not for the sizes (and [Status]), I would have never thought of him as an authentic dwarf.
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"Is this him?" His voice was low and deep, and he spoke slowly. But his quick movements and the glances he threw at me before asking this of Zelindo contrasted with such a grave voice and tone.
"Indeed. Let me introduce you, Lindar, one of the men that work with me and the one that will be responsible for the transport." Zelindo slowly nodded towards me after saying my name. Then, after taking a small pause, he continued, "Lindar, this is Craftmaster Weralgeal Earthgrip, from the Sharagzian Kingdom."
"It's an honor." Unsure what would be the best way to respond to such an introduction, I decided to go with something neutral. But before I could do a small bow as intended, I found that the target of it had moved forward and now faced me with his left fist forward. Intuitively, I also extended mine and discovered that dwarves use fist bumps! Sepyre's books only had a few details on customs (mainly humans as well), so this fact wasn't present.
"Maester Zelindo said to trust you as I trust him, and so, you can call me Weral." Craftmaster Weralgeal Earthgrip said, and as he did, his tone slightly altered, becoming less grave, more vivid. Faking seriousness, really?
"Falko, please seal the doors, and activate the enchantment." Having waited for enough for us to finish introductions, Zelindo motioned to Falko while instructing him, and the latter instantly complied. Thus, only a few seconds later, the two doors into the room were closed, and Falko stepped out before something intangible happened, and my [Mana Sense] immediately conveyed about a change in the surroundings. {It feels similar to the ones in the expensive tavern, but maybe more powerful?}
***
I left the Guild nearly an hour later, having received both instructions and a clear explanation of the job, which actually surprised me. The reason for my surprise was simple, as considering the delicacy of the task, I would have expected to be used in the dark, and in Zelindo's place, I would have probably avoided telling so much.
In any case, be it because of trust (which, while not misguided, had no basis for) or because he considered I should know, all of the details had been shared with me, with Weral's unspoken acceptance.
_______
In short, the task wasn't anything but a trade deal. Maybe on the borderline of regulations, but nothing too serious. Officially, the Neverc and Sharagzian kingdoms only traded via an official channel under the authority of the [Neverc's Royal Council] and the [Sharagzian's Chamber of Commerce], while my deal would be direct.
Still, merchants could come and go freely between the two countries, and they could buy what they wanted if it was meant to leave the respective country. Zelindo had also added that the Viscount was the requester, so there would be no trouble. In fact, o guarantee the deal, the Viscount had even obtained a letter of permission from his patron, the Count of Central.
My task would be to move from point A (Megvuroz) to point B (Chubu), acting as a magic mule (well, they said courier, but let's be honest), and then return in the same role.
Weral will be taking care of everything, so my only role would be to transport the Guild's goods, do the exchange, and move the dwarves' goods here.
Guild goods consisted of forty barrels of assorted spices and a few sealed crates that contained enchanted items.
As for the traded ones they would be thirty barrels of rare ingots, a hundred of special weapons called [Stonepiercer].
And the only reason for it to be me was basically the value of the items. Indeed, with no one knowing that a mage and Weral being just a guest that the Guild sent a guard to escort, the safety of the nearly FIFTY PLATINUM COINS worth merch should be assured.
And while even Zelindo was unsure of the reasons, the Viscount had asked to finalize this matter with haste. This latest translated into my summoning today, and we two leaving tomorrow, in place of the planned for the 5th day of the week departure.
_______
{Still, I would have never expected that Zelindo would entrust me to serve as a courier for such expensive goods!} With this thought, I decided to stop dwelling on the matter and concentrate on the next.
I did speak with Gris about the slavers and my meeting with the girls. To that, she recommended informing the Hounds. But because of the failed assassination attempt, and then neither of us trying to meet, I never asked her how or with whom to do it.
But now, I am to travel to Chubu, so maybe I should do the good deed, inform, and even try using the resulting mess. After all, she did say the Hounds tended to act outside the law. So probably, that will create some chaos in the city. And even better, it may increase, at least for a brief time, the amount of law enforcement and guards around.
***
But to my luck, when I arrived at Gris' place, I found the door locked shut and not a sign of anyone inside. {Should have asked in the Guild, hah.} But I had not done so, and there was no one to blame except me. I decided to leave her a note in the case of being unable to catch her before leaving town. {Oh, and do not forget to mention where I am going, so she knows why I visited her, yeah.}
Well, I could always say that I came to visit her because I wanted to do so, and it would be not a lie, but somehow I felt wrong to arrive without either invitation or reason.
***
Back home, I found that the girls had returned as well. Kierra was humming something while engrossed in cooking.
While Kierra being in the kitchen wasn't surprising, I actually went to ask if she wanted me to cook today or help her with something. After all, she had her first workday! But, having received a negative answer and a smile coupled with the words, "Nicely! And pretty fun!" to the question about how it went, I retreated to the reception room.
Angelique wasn't on the first floor, so I went upstairs and found her in my room, intently writing something using my desk.
Even if I did not carry nearly everything on myself, I had no qualms with any of the girls entering my room, but I was surprised to see her writing, as I surely did not leave any ink or quills around. Not that I wouldn't have if she had asked me.
"Welcome back, and sorry for barging in. I'll leave right away." Noticing my arrival, Angelique quickly jumped up and started to gather her writing implements.
"No need. Continue for how long you need to, and feel free to use the desk anytime." As I myself had tested out, the inclined small desk was far more comfortable for writing.
"Then I will do so for a bit longer, sorry. Kierra started working in the cloth shop near the gate, and when I went there today, the owner lady offered me to do so as well." Angelique smiled, nodded, and sat back down while she explained.
"I see. And what are you doing now?"
"Orders to be sent out of the city require a written inventory for the gate tolls. So, Arxibiela asked me to write the ones that she has currently. And also make a few adjustments, calculations, and shifts to the prices."
Angelique had attempted to enter the Scribe's Guild but was met with refusal because she was too young and a girl. But, it seemed that she somehow found at least something near that line of work, even if it was temporary and for a small shop. It is nice that it worked out somehow.
"Mmm, nice. And Kierra? What is her work?"
"Oh, it seems that Arxibiela has several other things to do for the first half of the day, so she contracted her to look after the shop. Most orders are paid via the Guild or to the owner directly, so it's mostly taking care of an odd visitor and maintaining everything clean and ordered." Angelique concentrated on her work. But she did give me a complete description, all while she did not turn around even once, her entire being following the strokes she made.
"Got it. I will leave you to your work then. And later, I will loan you one of the [Book Machine] prototypes if you need and want to use it."
"Mmm, writing by quill is more pleasing, but if Arxibiela's words about several of her friends requiring such help are true, I will ask you. Thanks!"
It seemed that she truly enjoyed writing and that it was her calling indeed. After all, even her manner and tone changed.
***
With both of the girls having what to do, I had far less to worry about during the two weeks I would be out of town. Still, it will be best to ask someone to keep an eye after them, whatever they say about the safety around here. Hmm, maybe Falko? Or ask Zelindo for the guards to check once in a while?
{And now that I think, judging from the sun, it's not so late yet, maybe I should go and check on that owner, Arxibiela.}