Omen: 3, 11

‘I feel like we’re going to be dealing with the Divine again this year,’ Adam thought, rubbing his obsidian amulet gently, feeling the ridges of the symbol of Baktu. ‘How did we not come across any beasts on the way to Red Oak?’

The morning in the Adventurer’s Guild was lively, though after breakfast, it was as though the guild was full of ghosts, with only two groups remaining behind to relax.

“Ah,” Adam called, noticing the new group entering the guild. He raised his hand towards the farmers, who approached Adam and his companions, who made up almost all the adventurers in the guild currently.

“Adam,” Rick greeted, shaking the half elf’s forearm, before greeting the others. Rick sat opposite Adam, taking off his helmet to reveal his heavily scarred face, his neatly trimmed hair and freshly shaven jaw. He wore heavy armour, chain mail, with a shield on his back, and an axe at his side. His four companions also greeted the rest of Fate’s Golden, before taking their place near the leader.

“Been well, I hope?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” Rick confirmed. He couldn’t say otherwise considering the half elf was responsible for making them each a mountain of gold, more gold than they ever would have thought possible.

Adam eyed up the rest of Rick’s companions. John, who carried a pair of daggers, and a bow. Ivy also carried a bow in hand, though Adam couldn’t spot anything else since she was wrapped up in her dark cloak, the woman hunched over as usual to hide much of herself. Adam had forgotten how heavily tattooed Greg was, though he had recalled how much Charley liked to keep her hair dyed red. The pair wore heavy chain armour, carrying larger glaves, while John and Ivy wore lighter armour.

The group made small talk before the trio of porters appeared, though to call Nobby a porter, considering his great strength, was rather silly. Nobby brought his uncles, Jeremiah and Jeremy, two identical men, both tall and strong, with dark hair, partly brown and partly red, like a conker. They also wore armour made of the kurabaras, lizard creatures whose backs were covered in scales as hard as stone, which they had slain a couple of years prior. Though the pair were almost identical, they were actually cousins, and more confusingly, they preferred to be called by their nicknames.

Adam pulled out his journal, writing a note within it, before slipping it back into his shirt. “Glad to see you’re all ready for a fight, but we’re probably going to take the day off today. I’ll pay you your gold for the day anyway, but I would like to talk about the business. The Iyr says the fort should be completed by duskval.”

Rick leaned in closer, the farmer turned Expert having already spoken to his companions about the matter. Jeremiah and Jeremy remained sitting upright, though their gazes were glued to the young half elf, who had his ears covered with a scarf in an Aswadian manner, like a turban. If not for the other Aswadians nearby, Dunes also covering his head in such a manner, he would have garnered far more attention.

“Is the deal the same?” Rick asked.

“Mostly. I forgot what I said for the pay, but all the other benefits? Housing, food, clothes, education, healthcare, trade apprenticeship, the ability to defend themselves, the chance to learn magic, the magical equipment, the gear, so on and so on? Yeah.”

Rick was almost certain Adam had added benefits, but he wasn’t going to complain about such a thing. “How many years?”

“Once they finish basic education, I want to lock them in for at least five years, once they turn… sixteen, I think? The end of their basic education. If they want more advanced education, then after that training, ten years at least, probably. As long as you work for me, the benefits of housing and clothing and all that will go to your family. Also, your spouses will be paid too, though they probably won’t be earning much more than the starting wage if they don’t want to progress up the ranks.”

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“You said it was the Iyr’s land?”

“Yep.”

Rick slowly nodded his head. He wasn’t sure of that aspect, but the offer, which was too good to be true, sounded so enticing. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have entertained the thought, but it was Adam. Rick thought back to how he had met one of the Lesser Divine, Ulaveil, his entire body tingling at the memory.

“Right, you’ll also get a month off for holidays, paid, and two weeks you can use for sickness, also paid. We’ll also deal with the taxes and religious contributions from the business budget, so all the coin you get is the coin you can spend on whatever luxuries you want.”

“…” Rick thought back to Adam telling him about the business previously, certain he hadn’t mentioned the fact he was going to pay the taxes too. “We’ll speak with our families and let them know.”

“Great. I think basic pay is ten gold a month and Expert pay is twenty gold each month.”

“Will the business offer magical weapons?”

“The business will lend you magical weapons, eventually, and then you can keep them, eventually. The Enchanter is currently making weapons to auction off. We actually brought one with us, but like I said, that was to auction off.”

“When the contract is ready, I will sign it,” Rick assured, the rest of the farmers agreeing with small grumbles and nods.

“We still owe you for armour,” Jeremiah said.

Adam waves his hand. “I’ve written it off, so don’t you worry it about it, Jeremy, Remy.”

Jeremy, who preferred to go by Remy, shared a glance with his cousin. “I’ll let the missus know.”

Jeremiah, who preferred to go by Jeremy, nodded, throwing a look to Nobby, the young man who had become the talk of the district. He sipped his drink, hiding his smile.

The group spent most of the day at the guild, some training in the fields nearby, though most spent the day chatting away in the guild. Adam sorted out additional payment for Nobby’s family, a bonus for the last month of the four seasons. Once he was back in his seat, he noted the opening doors, and the appearance of a new group he hadn’t seen before. The adventuring group was a half dozen strong, each wearing chain, though their leader wore plate, and they all wore dark red scarves.

Adam noted the surprise on Rick’s face. “Friends of yours?”

“They are the Red Scarves,” Rick whispered. “Led by Red Neck Stephen.”

Adam swallowed, stifling his chuckle. “Red Neck Stephen? What’s he like?”

“Kind hearted, very,” Rick stated firmly. “The group spends most of their coin helping out the small folk. They’ve paid for the treatment for many of us commoners and often help out even with menial work.”

“He does sound like a good guy,” Adam admitted. “I wonder what dark, twisted secrets he harbours.”

“He was a knight’s son,” Rick began.

‘Ah, that’s it.’

“His younger sister was taken away by bandits and after what happened to her, he killed them all, bandits and sister. They say his scarf was white, but was dyed red from the blood of them all. Say he wears it so he never forgets.”

“He killed his sister?” Adam asked, his brows raised in alarm.

“She did not wish to live.”

“…”

“He is not merciful to bandits,” Rick said. “Doesn’t care for their reasons, he kills them all.”

“He has tried to give up his knighthood,” Jurot continued. “Though he gave up his position as heir, he was advised to keep his knightly rank. He refuses to use the title of Sir, which annoys the nobles, but many respect his wishes.”

“He prefers to remain alone, even from his own companions,” Rick said. “They say that is why he does not have a wife.”

“Oh?”

Jurot stood and made his way to Red Neck Stephen. Jurot greeted him, shaking the man’s forearm, before chatting for a few moments and returning. Upon seeing Adam’s questioning gaze, Jurot bowed his head. “It is good to introduce ourselves.”

“Alright, fair.”

“I will speak to him too.”

‘I thought you said he doesn’t like to talk to people?’

Rick returned a few moments later. Upon seeing Adam’s questioning gaze, Rick bowed his head. “The Red Scarves assisted us when we first began adventuring. He was there when one of ours was killed. He made sure they were buried properly and even paid the funeral fees to the temple.”

“Oh. That is rather nice of him.” Adam glanced towards the man in his forties, taking in his sight for a moment. “He’s got rather nice armour, almost as good as mine.”

“A gift from a lord, like the rest of their gear,” Rick informed.

“Ah.” Adam slowly nodded his head, pulling out his journal, writing in it for a moment, before slipping it back into his shirt.

Rick wondered what he was writing within the journal, but decided against asking, going back to drinking his milk. His eyes fell to Nobby, the young man who had placed first. ‘Will he train my children too?’