As he rounded the corner to the square, two men, a human and an elf, strode towards him to intercept. They were both wearing what looked to be suits, and an elf in a suit was quite a striking sight, even if the elf himself had the look of a shark that had sensed blood. The human was short, relative to his companion, but more than made up for it in breadth. He identified them.
[Identify - Tubman : Level Unknown]
[Race - Elf]
[Affiliations – Eleos Guild.]
[Identify - Stack : Level Unknown]
[Race - Human]
[Affiliations – Eleos Guild.]
He was rewarded with very little information, probably due to their high levels. Morgan slowed to a halt as they drew up on him, the two men spreading apart as if to restrict his lines of escape. He tensed, as the pair regarded him coolly. He was suddenly acutely aware of his bruised face and bloodstained clothing. Finally, the elf spoke with a surprisingly high and nasal voice,
"Mr Jones, I presume? We're representatives for Eleos. I'm Tubman, and this is my associate, Stack" Morgan nodded slowly at them. "And just how, Mr Jones, have you managed to waste so much of our time? We've been waiting for you in Brogue."
Morgan looked at the elf steadily before replying. "I took a shortcut. What can I do for you, gentlemen?" The elf looked back, unimpressed.
"Well, Mr Jones, your first contractual obligation awaits." He smiled predatorially. "You're to report to Kanderlan outpost in four days. It's on the south coast to the west of Dilanar. You are to bring 5 gold to cover your fees."
Morgan stared at the pair, aghast. "Where am I going to get 5 gold! I've lost more than I've earned since I got here! And fees? What fees?"
"That, Mr Jones, is very much your problem. And the fees? Administration isn't cheap, you know." The elf laughed lightly at his own words as the two swaggered away.
Morgan was shocked by the exchange, and sat on the nearby bench feeling shaken as he watched the two unpleasant characters disappear out of sight. This was bad, he thought to himself. If those two greaseballs had power over him and his contract, he was in for a bad time. He'd go hand in the quest, and find somewhere quiet to call home. He peeled himself of the bench, and headed into the alchemist's shop.
Simmon wasn't in the main shop room, but he appeared from the back when Morgan knocked on the counter.
"Ah, Morgan, yes. Ragthistle?" The gaunt man looked at Morgan's battered face and the raised an eyebrow, then gestured for him to place the Ragthistle in a basket on the counter. "Excellent. Very good." Said Simmon, as he handed over the 30 silvers to Morgan. "I'd take more Ragthistle, but for subsequent batches I can only offer you 10 silvers. Up to you."
"Thank you for the opportunities, alchemist Simmon. I'll think on it, but there's a chance I'll be heading out of town."
Simmon smiled. "Wait a second," he said as he disappeared into the back. He came out with a small bright red liquid in a vial. "Drink this." Simmon passed the vial to Morgan, who took it and looked at it suspiciously, looking again at the tall alchemist. Simmon shrugged, and explained. "HP potion. For your face. Drink."
[Identify - HP Potion]
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
[Vial - +75HP]
Morgan knocked back the red liquid in the vial. It was a bit oversweet and tasted a little of pomegranate. He nodded appreciatively as his face immediately felt noticeably better. He handed back the now empty vial to Simmon.
"That's very kind of you. If I wanted to buy one of these, how much would it be?" He asked. Simmon replied, matter of factly, "A vial like this is 10 silver. A flask, for 150 points of health would be 25 silver. There are bigger sizes, but I don't stock any here. Just be warned. Generally, you can only drink one potion every five minutes, or you will get sick."
Morgan marvelled at Simmon's generosity for a moment, before thinking that 10 silver would have been far better, as he'd heal on his own in a few more hours, even if those were achy hours. The alchemist's intentions were good, so he thanked him warmly and left the shop.
He didn't know yet if he wanted to stay in the village tonight, so he didn't want to buy a room, instead wandered back to the field with the haybales, sitting down on one and pulling out the astral crystal. He took it in both hands, blue magic glowing within.
"By the grace of the gods, let me talk to the beyond."
The magic whirled for a few seconds before turning white. Claire's voice came out of the crystal.
"Morgan?"
He replied, the words tumbling out. "Claire, it's good to hear you. We’ve got to talk -"
Claire cut him off, a little forcefully. "Morgan, you're early, Mum and Dad are still at work. We got a letter today from Eleos today, reminding us that you're not allowed to tell us any game related stuff, so basically you can only really tell us how you're keeping. And you can bet your last quid that they're listening in. Hi guys!"
Morgan sat in shock for a moment. Of course, now he thought about it there was no surprise that Eleos was able to freely monitor his communication. They could also probably see him in the game world. Perhaps they could even read his thoughts through the capsule. He shuddered at the thought, and pushed it to the back of his mind. It was Eleos that he had a problem with right now, and apart from the representatives being slimy and a tight deadline to meet, he didn't really have anything to justly complain about. He couldn't really afford to break his contract, so he changed his tone to one that was robotic, and replied to Claire. "The overlords are treating me well." They shared a laugh, and he continued normally, "It's OK Sis, its super cool here. Still super energetic compared to before, so that's nice. I'll call you later then, I don't have a watch or clock handy so expect my call when the sun is just above the western hills."
"You've gone primitive," Claire joked, before her tone became serious. "We'll expect a call in the evening, OK? Take care of yourself."
He said his farewells, and she hung up the call.
He gazed upon the village for a moment. He had four days to raise... 4 gold, 37 silver, and 50 coppers. That wasn't counting for his daily food expenses. Perhaps he could get by on three loaves, thus one and a half silver a day? As he thought about it, he withdrew a loaf that was somehow still warm and full of butter and started eating. The inn fees worried him, as it seemed like he didn't really have an option if he both wanted to gain any XP and not have a terrible time. Perhaps it'd be cheaper somewhere else? He still had the scales and the staff to sell, and figured they'd get a better price in a bigger town. He'd ask Ma baker if there was anything else to do around here that may be worth his while, then head on south to Dilanar. His mind made up; he kicked his heels on the bale as he munched on his loaf.
Once he'd finished up, he strode purposefully to the inn. Ma Baker greeted him warmly as he came in and walked to the bar.
"Ma, I need some money quick. You know of any decent paying jobs around the town?" She chuckled at him before she saw he was serious. "You young ones always do. Look, doin' most of the jobs round here will take a while to get more than room and board for the night. There's one thing, maybe. There's a fella on the north of the village, lives in the house with the green door at the boundary. He's havin' a wasp problem. Betcha he'll pay you some if you can help."
Morgan grimaced as he replied, "Wasps? Maybe I'll go have a look. Thanks for the tip." He paused a second, before continuing, "Do you know how long it takes to get to the city to the south? " She eyed him a second before replying,
"Strapping young lad like you could do it in a few hours, four at most. If you're looking for a good job, talk to Umberto who runs the inn on the north side of the city, he might have something for you. Infact, come with me to the back here." She led him to a utility room at the side of the inn. "Put whatever clothes you want cleaned in that hamper there, add a ladle of that powder there and shut the lid. Give it a few seconds then open it up and get your clothes out. Can't have you dirty for Umberto, he's very sweet." She left him there and shut the door. Making good on the opportunity, he quickly undressed and tossed all his clothes in the large hamper and followed the innkeepers' instructions.
He walked out, feeling good in the clean clothes. Smiling, he thanked Ma Baker who was back behind the bar. "Thank you, Ma. You've been good to me. Just one more thing before I go. I'll buy 6 of your very fine loaves."
On his way out of the inn, he was relieved to find that the 9 loaves that Ma had ended up giving him would fit into his inventory all in the same newly designated bread slot. All his loaves floated up and shrunk into the grid before he blinked the absurdity away. He oriented himself and headed north towards the boundary.