Unintelligible whispers fill the street as a battle-torn man drags himself along the cobbled path. His ragged breathing produced clouds in the cold autumn night. He heard the drumming of his heart in his ears and felt his legs shaking from exhaustion.
“What should we do, call the guards?” A young woman dressed in a frilly white dress with black trims said to a man beside her. She looked no more than twenty and some years of age. Discern clearly shown on her plump face.
“It’d be better not to get involved, lets head on back home. He’ll probably die out here in that condition,” the man replied, and waved off the suggestion. They both took their leave, taking a few glances back.
Eustus Hemmins was the name of this stranger. He was used to this kind of treatment. He’d go out on guild requests— complete them— and head back to the closest town on his map. This time, he had chosen to take on an escort mission.
The request seemed simple to Eustus when he had looked at the original posting in the guild’s request books. A simple three-day journey to help a merchant and his daughter travel between two towns. The pay was a little bit above the average, considering the route they would have to take. They chose the scenic route, which was also a forest range of monsters and home to some legendary beasts.
So why did Eustus end up in this state? Eustus would have probably claimed that the injuries were due to either bandits or the sudden emergence of monsters. However, that was not true even in the slightest. Eustus thought it was a wise idea to head off into the middle of the night with the merchant’s daughter. As unprofessional as this was to his client, Eustus still went ahead and performed the deed out in the woods, on the sandy shores of a river.
A bludgeoned face— and an ass filled with sand— is what the adventurer Eustus had earned. At least from the perspective of the merchant it was. The merchant scolded his daughter harshly and left without Eustes, leaving him naked and unconscious; his body splayed out wide for the world to take in.
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Eustus continued walking down the cobbled path of the residential district of Anfell. Anfel was a small town just outside the outskirts of the national capital Nur’Anfell; it was known for its generosity towards strangers, regardless of their origin. It had prospered under the rule of the House of Regis. A fair and noble house that saw it’s people as their own, a family. The noble House of Regis was loved by their people, far and wide, with not even a mention of an opposing faction.
It wasn’t long until Eustus found a cheap inn, further into the upper slums. The Feral Inn was the name posted on a rusted hanging sign just above the entranceway. Embellished on the rusted piece of metal appeared to be a perched cat standing over a crescent moon.
“If I keep failing requests, the guild will demote me again. It’ll be impossible to rank up at this rate. That bastard could of at least let me finish, since he didn’t pay me,” Eustus mumbled as he opened the door.
“Welcome to the Feral…” a petite, red-headed woman began to say but stopped,
“What’d ya do this time, Eusty?” She scoffed, placing her hands on her hips.
Eustus groaned, “Just give me a room for the next few nights, Nel. I don’t have the energy for this tonight.” He threw a couple of copper coins from his coin purse onto the reception counter, near the door. Nel, otherwise known as Ms. Corenlia Rampart, sighed with disappointment at a chance to harass Eustus.
“Would you want some company for tonight? I’m sure I could get Geraldo to cover the desk for a little,” Nel shifted.
“I’ve already had that sort of company tonight. Kind of the reason I look like this.” Eustus pointed to his swollen face, slightly annoyed.
“Did you get caught with Drake’s wife again?” Nel sighed, once again disappointed.
“No, a merchant’s daughter. It doesn’t matter, can I have a room or not?” Eustus dismissed Nel.
“Yes, yes, yes. Give me a moment.” Nel turned the pages of her guest book, looking for an available slot, “The third floor has a room, number 315 as usual. Do you want some dinner as well? I’m sure we have some Shurba leftover from earlier should still be good.”
“I am a bit hungry. Sure, why not. Could you bring it up in a little? I really could use a bath first.” Eustus rubbed the side of his face to soothe a bit of the pain. As he walked away, he could have sworn he saw a mischievous smirk from Nel’s face. However, he decided to write it off as imagination. There is no doubt that a temptress— in the guise of an innkeeper— would be ready for a toss in the hay.