The next morning, Astrid went to an introduction meeting for those who had signed up as security guards during the harvest festival. As she walked down the streets towards the meeting spot, it was fascinating to watch how everyone worked together to transform the city. The normally dusty and dirty streets had already been cleaned up, and garlands of leaves and flowers had been hung across the street secured to the building on either side. Wreaths hung on a couple of doors, but Astrid was sure that by the end of the day every door in the city would have one. The scent of roasted meat and sweet desserts permeated the air, which made Astrid’s mouth water.
A couple of children were played on hay bales while the two men beside them argued about who had the right to set up a stand in that spot. Those who didn’t have a store in one of the buildings often used the marketplace during the harvest festival and other holidays to sell homemade goods, hoping to make a few extra coppers.
The meeting would take place outside a large building where the mayor and the other governing people worked. It was at the center of the city, just beyond the temple square. The decoration party hadn’t made it here yet, but the square was as clean as it could be, like it always was. No one dared to litter here, this close to the gods sacred places.
Astrid spotted a group of people standing outside a door to the building, and she recognized some of them as students from her class. There were also many she didn’t recognize—mostly amongst the adults—but she assumed they were either former students of her class or someone with experience doing whatever a security guard was supposed to do during the harvest festival. She still wasn’t sure what exactly she had signed up for.
She stood with the others, waiting as more people gathered. Exactly at the agreed time, a man stepped out of the office. Astrid recognized him as Walter, the leader of the only monster-slayer team in Largon. Astrid was surprised to see him, as he had already worked as a harvest lookout and likely also a sponsor like the rest of his family. It appeared that he would also be in charge of the security guards. Apparently, Astrid wasn’t the only one working multiple job for the harvest festival.
“Good morning, everyone, and thank you for offering your service in keeping our city and citizens safe during the harvest festival,” Walter said. “My name is Walter, and I’ll be in charge of security for the next few days. Our primary objective as security guards is to make sure everyone is safe, which can involve anything from breaking up fights to helping lost children find their families. We’ll take turns patrolling the streets in small teams for the duration of the festival. In a moment you will be given a badge, and it is used to identify you as security and to communicate with each other, but only about things relevant to your work. I’ll provide a weapon to aid in your work before your shifts begin. Are there any questions?”
No one said anything.
“Good. As I call your name, please step up here to receive your shifts and badge.”
For the next few minutes, Walter called out names from a scroll he held in his hands and gave each person the badge.
As her own name was called, she stepped forward and got her badge before returning to the group. She received a notification telling her that she had new tasks for her occupation as a student, but before she could go over them, Water began talking again.
“Be sure to show up to your shifts on time. Trading shifts is not allowed.”
“Why not?” someone in the group asked annoyed.
“The teams are carefully selected to ensure that there always are enough experienced adults with varying abilities on duty in case something happens and that everyone gets proper rest between their shifts. Now if there are no more questions, you’ll report back here when your shift starts.”
The group began to disperse after that, and Astrid followed, unsure what she should spend her day doing. First things first. She had to check which shifts she had been assigned.
New task
Work as a security guard during the harvest festival.
meet with leader at the mayor’s office in: twenty-three hours
Patrol the streets for eight hours.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Deal with any situation you encounter
Reward: ten grade tokens
New task
Work as a security guard during the harvest festival.
meet with leader at the mayor’s office in: fifty-five hours
Patrol the streets for eight hours.
Deal with any situation you encounter
Reward: ten grade tokens
She did some quick math in her head and found that her first shift would start tomorrow morning. The other was during the evening on the second day.
*
When the next morning arrived, Astrid went back to the mayor’s office for her first shift. She made sure to be there ten minutes early. Two other people were already present, and she recognized A thin black-haired boy as Filip—one of her classmates. He was the boy who had falsely admitted to attacking her the day Ruben had tried to kill her.
“Hi Filip,” she said as she walked up to him.
“Hi Sigrid,” he answered. They hadn’t spoken since they left the principal’s office, and Astrid didn’t know what to say to him. He had mostly kept to himself since that day. Before the silence could become too awkward, Walter came over to them.
“I assume you are both trained to handle these,” he said, handing each of them a quarter staff. “You are only to use these in emergency situations, understand?”
"Yes, sir,” they both said simultaneously.
“Good, you’ll stay together, and don’t hesitate to call for help if needed. Time to go.”
Astrid and Filip walked through the marketplace. The stands were still being set up, so there weren’t many people yet, but she knew that it would happen soon. She still disliked being on a crowded street, but hopefully her staff and badge would ensure that others gave her a wide berth.
She looked at the boy beside her. They had been walking for half an hour without saying a word to each other, which was starting to become awkward. If they were going to be stuck together most of the day, it would be better if they communicated.
“So, why did you sign up to be a security guard?” She asked.
“My father didn’t want to pay for a sponsorship in my name after what happened in school the other day, so I had to pick this. He said it would help build my character.”
Astrid wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. She saw how Filip winched as a group of people walked into the marketplace laughing and talking.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” he said, looking around. He was shaking now, and his skin was pale and sweaty. Maybe he was sick? Astrid had to control herself to not step away from him. Sickness tended to spread and could often be fatal as it drained away health faster than it could recover.
“Are you sure you're fine? If you’re not feeling well, we should get you out of here.”
“I have to stay. My father won't like it if I leave.
“I’m sure he’ll understand it if you are ill.”
“I’m not ill.”
“You look like you are.”
“I’m not. I just don’t like this.”
“Like what?” was he unconfutable in crowds too. No, that couldn’t be it. The crowds hadn’t formed yet.
“This whole situation. Being the one responsible for all these people. What if something goes wrong?”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong.” Astrid reassured. “We’ll just walk around, and help lost children find their parents and deter people from stealing.”
“He said we would have to break up fights. He even gave us staffs to use in emergencies. Something bad is going to happen, and I can’t remember a single spell.” His blue eyes were with and watery.
Astrid wondered how this kid intended to be a combat magician if he was this bad at dealing with pressure of responsibility and potential danger.
“If we need to break up fights, I can deal with it, but I doubt anyone would start one.
“There are fights every year. People get drunk and then decide to beat someone up.”
“Alcohol won’t be sold until after dinner, and our shift ends well before that.” Her words didn’t seem to do much to reassure the boy of their safety. He was getting paler by the minute as the marketplace filled with more people than Astrid had ever seen gathered in one place at once. Great, now she was getting uncomfortable too. Would she really be able to handle it if there was a fight? She shook her head. It wouldn’t do to allow herself to think like that now. She just had to focus and do her best. Turning her head from side to side, she scanned the growing crowds for any sign of trouble but found none. So far, so good.
“Come on. Let’s keep moving.”
They spent the next few hours walking around the city area where the harvest festival took place. From the marketplace, they went to a park where a lot of children were involved in various games. The boy seemed to calm down a bit once they were away from the worst of the crowds, but Astrid feared it wouldn’t last once they returned to a place where people clustered together.
From the park, they went on to the academy. Brigitta was in the middle of showing a few children how to hold a quarterstaff. On the training ground, the mock duels had just started and were quickly gathering an audience. There was no trouble with the people here, so Astrid and Filip had no reason to stay.
They made it back to their starting point just beside the temple square. This place too was filled with people, most of them praying to the gods and giving them offerings in the form of food and coins.
Even though the harvest festival was dedicated to the goddess of nature, the other deities also received their fair share of offerings. All except for the god of Deception. No one openly worshiped that god if they wanted to be in good standing with the rest of the community, so it made sense. However, Sham had once mentioned that he had a lot of followers in all kinds of places. Astrid had yet to meet a single one of them, but she was fine with that.