Days and then even weeks passed with no progress on the investigation regarding the Rusted Daggers bandit gang. While the mages combed the forest and surrounding countryside for any sign of their base of operations the priests of Solarius using the divine power granted to them interrogated those who had been taken prisoner by asking questions and determining if they were lying or not.
Unfortunately most of the bandits and criminals that were captured were low in rank, resulting in them not knowing much or even anything of value. The only useful piece of information that was uncovered was that the Rusted Daggers were still recruiting. The recruiters would find and approach small bandit gangs that already exist and offer them an invitation to join.
From there they would receive information about passing caravans and other travelers as well as some of the most basic provisions and equipment that amounted to roughly one ten per member and some old weapons that could not be sold for anything worth the hassle.
But the groups did not have any line of contact with the main groups of the Rusted Daggers, they would only receive information and in return they would take a portion and buy the rest for better provisions and equipment.
**********
“Thank you brother, you may return to your duties.” Captain Tasius said while he looked over a report of the finding given by a novice priest of Solarius. The novice gave a small bow and left the room.
With a loud sigh Captain Tasius turned to his lieutenant. “This is by far the worst case I have ever dealt with. Even with all this help we have no solid leads on the Rusted Daggers. While the priest found something interesting it likely won’t help us, and the mages haven't found anything in the forest or the countryside.”
“It has only been a week since we have received their help sir, perhaps we simply need to wait just a bit longer.”
“I know, but it feels like the whole world is going mad and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.” Suddenly just as the captain finished talking a knock was heard at the door of his office.
Knock knock knock. Three loud knocks filled the room. Captain Tasius knew exactly how his secretary knocked so he knew it wasn’t her. “Who is it?”
“Kavok. One of your recruiters gave me this card to show to your secretary, and she brought me here.” A deep and rough yet young voice came from the other side of the door. Captain Tasius gestured at his lieutenant to open the door.
Upon opening the door a human man wearing a dark cloak and a bow slung over his shoulder. While Captain Tasius could not clearly see the man's face he instinctively knew he was looking right at him, and it gave him a slight uneasy feeling.
“What can I do for you Mr. Kavok?” Was what the captain said instead of any of the other questions he had about the man's identity or strange appearance.
“I was given this card by one of your men.” Kavok handed Captain Tasius the card he was given around a month ago. “He said you had employment opportunities for people with a skill set like mine.”
Captain Tasius paused for a second and turned to his lieutenant, he had ordered him to organize some of the loyal and high ranking members of the district's guard to keep an eye out for skilled individuals who could be of use as either mercenaries or recruits. But he had since forgotten about it with the lack of results for quite some time.
“That is true, I am looking for highly skilled individuals who are interested in helping with an ongoing situation. But I must ask, are you here as a mercenary or a recruit?”
“Mercenary. I don’t have any plans to stay in this city for longer than a year, two years at most.”
“That is fine. I do have a job that might be within your expertise, I just need to know how good you are at tracking.”
“I'm a ranger, tracking is one of my specialties. What do you need me to track?”
“Do you recall the attack on the city just two weeks ago? It was orchestrated by a bandit group that calls themselves the Rusted Daggers. They have been a menace on this land and its people, and I was hoping that you could help us.”
“I will see what I can do, but I need a bit more specific directions than that.” By this time in the conversation Kavok had taken a seat in the chair opposite of Captain Tasius.
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“We suspect that they are hiding within the Pelcester Forest, but aren't certain of it just yet.”
“That's fine for me, we just need to discuss my payment and I can begin as soon as possible.”
************
Arthur stood ten meters away from the simple targets behind the Elder Nymph with several small objects in his left hand. Taking one that was no larger than a marble he threw it towards the target and with an explosion the target was covered in flames and Arthur jumped from excitement.
‘Yes! Finally! I managed to create a working batch of fire seeds!’ Arthur felt quite tempted to shout out of pure joy at his creation working but he stopped himself to respect the neighbors.
‘Master Calvus will be happy to hear of my success.’ Arthur immediately made his way back to the shop and up the stairs to Master Calvus’s workstation.
“Master Calvus! I did it! I made a working batch of fire seeds!” Arthur beamed at telling his teacher and mentor.
“That's wonderful Arthur! It took me almost twice as long as you to create my first working batch. You really are a talented alchemist.” Master Calvus said while he attempted to subtly hide a handful of papers, which he failed to do.
“Is that the next recipe for me to try out?” Arthur asked while reaching towards the papers.
“Oh no no no! This is just a personal project of mine. Nothing for you to worry about.” Master Calvus hastily placed the papers within a folder and tucked them away. “Oh yes, I should give you something else to try out. Just give me a moment.”
Master Calvus began looking through his shelf of papers, recipes, and documents under the suspicious eye of Arthur. Soon he found something and with an audible “ah” he pulled a few papers out and handed them to Arthur.
Quickly looking over them Arthur noticed them to be some more advanced alchemical recipes, they still required only tier one spells to complete but they required more rare and expensive ingredients that were not all native to the area. The last paper was a list of places to buy and order several different types of ingredients, several of which were needed for the recipes given.
“This should keep you occupied for now, and if you want to sell me some of those fire seeds I will buy them for four copper coins each.”
**********
Another three weeks passed and Arthur’s skill in alchemy only increased. Every recipe he was given was easily mastered in two or three days leaving Master Calvus with little left to let him practice and try out.
One of the more important recipes for his alchemical studies was for a simple healing potion, and to create one an alchemist needed to cast a basic healing spell and keep the magic within the potion until it is drunk and then applied to said drinker.
As a result Master Calvus gave Arthur the bare minimum basic training in restoration magic, just enough to create the most basic of healing potions.
/- - - - - -\
+ Alchemy Level 7
+ Restoration Level 0
\- - - - - -/
Arthur also was hired by Captain Tasius twice to help with clearing out some bandit camps alongside some of the city guard. He wasn’t the only mercenary or mage hired either as a few others had joined and taken part in the raids.
Most were just looking for a bit of money for their own personal reasons, but one in particular stood out. A human man by the name of Kavok, the very same man that won the archery tournament that he and Calavia went to nearly a month ago.
But something was different about him now that Arthur was able to get close, Kavok just felt off, like he wasn’t quite what he was presenting himself as. And clearly he wasn’t the only one who felt that way as the other mercenaries and guards were keeping their distance from him like he was sick.
During the actual raid on the camp Arthur, who was located with the archers due to his magic, was able to take note of Kavok’s skill with the bow. Every small movement served its purpose and every arrow would manage to hit its mark, it was almost like Kavok had been training for decades. But that wasn’t possible, he couldn’t be past his forties and nobody masters a skill like archery in only twenty or so years.
The camp itself was far larger than anything that Arthur had dealt with in the past, so teamwork was essential and everyone followed their role and looked out for each other. Even Kavok kept an eye on his allies for the fight, as when the simple wall that was constructed around the camp was breached the bandits took the opportunity to grab a guard they ambushed, disarmed and try to use him as a hostage.
“Stop where you are and back away or we will butcher this poor sod right in front of you lot!” The bandit who took the guard hostage shouted while he held a dagger to his throat. Just one small movement and his throat would have a deep bleeding wound.
Everyone stopped in their tracks, one wrong move and that young man would be bleeding out on the ground. Arthur did have a small handful of healing potions, but none of them were strong enough to heal such a deadly wound fast enough, and his skill in restoration was nothing notable.
Upon seeing his enemies all stopping the bandit grinned and his nearby allies took the moment to regroup and catch a breather. ‘Stupid morons, they always stop the moment we have one of theirs in our hands. Now we have the opportunity to kill them all and relocate to somewhere safer.’
But just as the bandit was about to tell his allies to attack, an arrow pierced him through the eye killing him as well as two other arrows also killing their targets. Arthur looked to his left where he heard the arrows start whizzing through the air, and standing there was Kavok reading another arrow without any hesitation.
The bandits were shocked by the three sudden deaths so much that the young guard taken hostage was able to escape and regroup with the main raiding force.