Once healed up, Lan quickly visited his family before heading back to the inn, hoping that being in the city would allow him to get to the guild a little sooner.

To that end, Lan woke early, washed and dressed before heading down the stairs, where he had a less-than-stellar conversation with Willow, the other girl who worked at the inn. Whereas Leah’s father seemed to hate Lan, Willow seemed to have the same level of indifference for everyone most of the time.

So Lan left her alone and focused on his plate before heading to Cawl’s shop, where he picked up his old Shield Arm. With a sleep-deprived grin, Cali told him that she was working on something new, but in the meantime, she had fixed up his old one, only without the arm-shattering punch, which she said would have to do until she could finish his new, much better arm that would no doubt be far more Hazardous to his health.

Even with the detour, Lan made good time when he walked into a relatively quiet Guildhall with all the job boards full.

Still patting himself on the back for being early, Lan almost didn’t hear the noise from outside a moment before Tyr sent an alert as the doors gave way with little resistance to the wave of adventurers stampeding from the street.

Before Lan could react, the wave hit him, and he was lifted and carried to the board, accompanied by shouts to give way.

For a moment, Lan was afraid that he would be slammed into the wall before he found himself crashing into the smaller, faster adventuers that managed to get around the wave.

As the air got knocked out of him, Lan tried to turn before someone mashed their hand into his face, using him as leverage while also pushing him back.

‘I got one! Hey!… Wait, ahhh!’ someone shouted before crying as they were lost to the wave.

Shoving until he could turn around, Lan looked at how far he was from the board before catching an elbow to the chin.

‘Ugh!... forget this.’ Lan growled before Wisp Walking, appearing above the crowd and shooting towards the board. As he reached it, a few people tried to grab him, to which he twisted out of the way before kicking a last hand and landing on the wall out of reach, using the Silver Wind to make the wall his own floor. Before he had time to think or read over them, Lan snatched a job marked urgent before kicking off the wall and flying over the others to the protests of playing unfairly.

Lan didn’t listen, landing outside the reach of the melee, backing until he almost reached the desk.

‘Wow, Lan, I have never seen anyone get a job that quickly.’ Mari giggled.

‘Really? It’s like this every morning?’ Lan looked back before placing the job on the table.

‘Yeah…’ Mari sighed. ‘Although, I think they just do it for fun most of the time. Anyway, let’s see what I have for you today.’ she smiled and picked up the job order. ‘Oh, this one?’

‘Something wrong?’ Lan asked as he turned back.

‘No, this is a job that came in ten minutes ago. A mother and child are looking for an escort to the town of Grisham.’

‘Grisham, the link town?’ Lan asked. ‘Why not just take a Wagon Train?’ Lan added.

Because of the dangers that monsters pose to ordinary people, travel was almost always done through Wagon Trains. Long, sometimes multi-story armoured trains of wagons. Of course, something like that needed a lot of places to resupply, meaning there were many small towns along the most used routes.

Grisham was the first major stop east of the city, leaving the city eastward, meaning one could catch a train daily.

‘I know, we offered that option, but the woman declined, saying it was important to leave as soon as possible, but her daughter could not travel with a crowd.’ Mari explained.

Lan thought about it. Although the job seemed simple enough, even travelling along the main routes, there shouldn’t be any real threats if they were just going to Grisham. The problem was that Grisham was two days by Wagon Train and more than four on foot longer if they were taking a child with them.

‘If you want my advice, I would say at least speak with her. For escort jobs, both sides have to agree to the job.’ Mari added helpfully.

Lan tapped the desk with a finger, although he had been looking for chances to test out what he had learned, and heading out of the city would no doubt grant him that. Could he really spend nearly enough a week away from training?.

Lan looked back at the boards, finding them empty and sighed.

‘I might as well talk to her,’ he said before looking back at Mari. ‘So how should I play this? What will she be looking for from me?’

Mari smiled. ‘She will no doubt ask about your level and experience with such jobs. Also, if you have any defensive abilities and skills. Just expect any questions that will put their minds at ease.’

Lan nodded. From the sounds of it, there was probably little chance of him getting the job, even if it was on a rookie board.

[New Job Acquired: An Escort to Grisham]

Lan saw the runes appear in his tome as he touched his tag to the stone before heading to the waiting room where the clients were.

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Opening the door, Lan was greeted by a woman and little girl who looked about five or six. Both seemed to tense as he walked in, only calming a little when they saw his tag.

‘Are you the hunter?’ the woman asked, looking him over.

‘I am,’ Lan nodded, ‘My name is Landrin Cross, but you can call me Lan.’ he said, looking from one to the other.

The woman had sharp features, stern eyes, and long dark brown hair that was made into a large plait. She looked about ten years older than Lan and was dressed in riding clothes with an elegant and practical look.

A noble?... Lan thought. With her hair down and a formal dress, Lan was sure no one would look twice at her at a noble’s ball, if not only to admire her beauty.

The little girl, on the other hand, made Lan pause. She had long dark brown hair like the woman, but her eyes were large and the purest violet he had ever seen. At least, that was what he thought he had seen, as her eyes were grey a moment later.

Lan mused that apart from the hair, the pair didn’t seem to share any features, but then decided it was best to push further speculation to the back of his mind…for now.

‘I hear you are trying to get to Grisham.’ He started as he moved to sit. ‘If there is anything about me you wish to know, I am happy…’

‘You will do.’ The woman said, raising to her feet before Lan could sit. Then, she took the girl’s hand and walked to the door.

Standing straight, Lan looked as they passed him.

‘We will be taking horses. Can you ride?’ the woman turned as she rested her free hand on the door.’

‘Uh, no?’ Lan blinked.

‘Then you will have to learn on the way.’ She stated before opening the door, leaving Lan to rush after her.

Horses, at a good pace, would make the trip a day there and another back, which was much more reasonable, but that wasn’t what made Lan follow after her.

‘Wait a minute, that’s it? You don’t want to know anything else?’ Lan asked as he caught up.

‘You are a hunter of the… Wild Hunt Guild.’ She remarked, saying the guild name with the distaste of saying something silly. ‘That is all I need to know.’ She said in a way that made Lan think there was more to it. Just as important was a slight accent on the word guild where she put an “ah” sound at the end.

As they walked past the reception, the woman did not break her stride as she told Mari that Lan was acceptable.

Mari nodded and started the job before giving Lan a questioning look, to which he could only shrug as he followed.

At a brisk pace, the woman carved a path through the street, leading the girl and Lan to an inn, although he didn’t even get to see the sign as they went around the back to the stable. Where there were three horses saddled and ready to go.

‘That one is yours.’ The woman said, pointing to the weakest-looking of the three horses, which wasn’t saying much. All three horses were Crownbolts, one of the better breeds for those who could afford horses.

Lan nodded and walked over to the horse, which turned to look at him before pushing its head into his palm.

{Something bothering you?} the voice asked.

‘Someone who can afford three Crownbolts can afford more than one adventurer,’ Lan said, looking from the woman in her saddle to the girl riding in front of her.

{Do you think there is someone else?}

‘Hmm, no… riding double like that, I think she plans on switching as we go. It makes me wonder how hard she plans to push them?’ Lan wondered before the woman looked at him.

‘Are you ready? We can go slow at first, but I would like to make up the time for it as soon as possible.’

‘Right.’ Lan nodded before looking at his horse. He had seen people get on the back of horses before and so knew what could happen when you didn’t do it right.

Despite that, Lan placed his boot through the stirrup and climbed up. Somewhat anticlimactic, he sat there, the horse turning her head to look at him as if to say, “Well, what did you think would happen?”

He also learned that all three horses were tied together as the woman spurred the horses forward. Which helped Lan focus on not bruising anything as they set off. Soon enough, they were out of the eastern gate, and after taking the main road for about half an hour, they left it and started down a much smaller road.

Although the path was more direct, cutting the time of their trip meant they would eventually have to go through the plains and the eastern woods. Although said to be nothing as bad as the forest near the city, it was still known to have monsters.

{You think they are running from someone?}

‘Yep.’ Lan thought back,

{Should we be helping them?}

‘That I still don’t know. For a moment, I thought she may have kidnapped the girl, but she looks afraid of everything but the woman, and she keeps looking back at the city.’ Lan mused before focusing on learning to control the horse, which turned out to be easier than he had expected.

Soon enough, he could move his horse to the woman’s.

‘I have never seen a horse act like that around a new person.’ The woman noted. ‘Are you good with all animals?’

‘Looks that way.’ Lan laughed, making the woman raise an eyebrow, but before she looked away, Lan spoke. ‘I am sorry, I never asked your names.’ Lan said, smiling at both of them, only getting a flat look from the woman while the girl shrunk into herself.

‘Do you need to know our names to do your job?’ she countered.

‘Well, it would help if I need to get your attention.’ Lan said smoothly.

Frowning, the woman looked around before saying. ‘You can call me Leaf and her Bird.’

‘It’s nice to meet you, Bird and Leaf.’

{Those are just the first things she saw.} The voice sighed.

‘Any reason you are going to Grisham, visiting family or just the first leg in your journey?’

Leaf tensed before snapping her head around to him. ‘Do you need to know that to do your job?’

‘I guess not, but we will be together for a full day, so I thought some small talk couldn’t hurt.’

‘I would not be so sure about that, Landrin Cross. Feeling the need to fill every uncomfortable moment with needless noise has been the death of many.’ Leaf advised.

‘Is that something that I should be worried about.’ Lan asked, making Leaf click her tongue and look away. ‘If not small talk, if there is anything I should know, I would like to know it now.’ Lan insisted, but Leaf frowned and kicked the horses into speed instead of an answer, making Lan have to hold on.

As a result, they had to stop and rest the horses four miles in, and Lan promised not to open his mouth again as he shuffled around, trying to get feeling back into his legs and backside. He also promised himself not to push the woman too much. Doing so had led to her, in turn, pushing the horses too hard too soon, and now she seemed upset that they had to stop.

Deciding to focus on his job and not asking questions, Lan walked over to Leaf and Bird.

‘We are taking a break for the horses and Bird to rest. Please keep a look out.’

‘On it,’ Lan nodded and looked at Tyr, who took off.

Ignoring Lan, Leaf lifted Bird off the horse before wiping the little dust off her face and getting her some water.

Despite not looking alike, it was clear that the two were important to each other, allowing him to push aside the thought that he may be aiding someone with nefarious intentions.

Looking over their gear, they only had enough supplies for the day. A day’s worth of supplies, two horses and yet she still stopped to keep both fresh…

Reminding himself to just do his job, Lan started to train. However, before getting into it, Tyr picked up on something. Three shapes moving fast from the direction of the city and heading right for them.

Lan turned. ‘Leaf! we may have a problem!’ Lan rushed over as the woman’s head snapped around to him.

‘What?’ she asked as Bird whimpered. ‘what are they.’ She added, reaching into the leather satchel hanging off her hip.

‘I don’t know, but they are moving fast.’

Although Tyr was following them back, at their speed and with his own limits, it was hard to get a good image.

'Then we don’t have long.’ She said, putting whatever she had reached for back in her satchel. ‘Get ready to…’ Before she finished or Lan could reach them, the ground around Lan exploded in a pillar of fire, swallowing him.