When I made my way up the stairs to the second floor of the guild, I saw the two same people that were manning the counter, one being a guy and another a girl. As I walked to the counter, I passed by several groups of adventurers that were discussing what’s to come on their quests. Once I was close to the counter, I started walking towards the bulletin board that was on the wall to the left of the counter.

While I stood in front of the bulletin board, I looked over all of the parchments that were pinned onto it. What I was looking for was an escort mission of sorts, one that could bring me to Nishilon. As I looked through them, I mainly saw some subjugation quests, hunting quests, and gathering quests. There were a couple of escort quests but one was to Trennent and another was to Border Town which I assumed was the place Rick mentioned that was near the border, north of here. I felt dejected that I unfortunately couldn’t find what I wanted posted up and decided to go to the counter and see if they have any unlisted quests.

As I approached the counter, I stopped to talk to the guy on the right as the girl on the left was talking with possibly someone that worked at the guild as they wore the same outfit.

“Hello Sir. It was Crim, yeah?” The man behind the counter asks and I give him a nod. “I just want to say the guild is grateful that you brought a whole head of that beast you fought, they are still studying it even now. One thing that they wanted me to ask the next time I saw you though is, why no blood spilled out of the cut and the whole head is as if blood was sucked out of it.” He asked me with curiosity brimming in his eyes.

I shrugged to him “When I cut its head off, no blood spilled so I can’t help you there, maybe it doesn’t have any blood in its head?” I answered him the best I could.

“Hmm… Alright so were you looking for a quest?” He asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah, I was looking for an escort mission or some sort that heads towards Nishilon.” I came out and asked.

“Nishilon you say?” The man started tapping on the counter, taking a moment to think. “Currently we don’t have any escort missions that head out that way but they do have a merchant festival that's coming up soon that's held every year there. I’d recommend coming back at a later day and there for sure would be an escort mission.” He let me know.

I didn’t really want to wait a few days and wanted to leave right away “Is there anything else that would lead out that way?”.

“Hmm well since you’re a rank B adventurer I can tell you that the guild was setting up a subjugation party to clear the way out there of any stray beasts lurking around the path there.” He then told me.

I took that into consideration but didn’t really want to join it if it’s a big party of people. “How big is the party? Also what would be the need of escorts down there then?” I questioned them.

He looked at me curiously “Not one for groups?”. I shook my head to him “Well that's okay then since the guild wants to make it a small one so it can move quickly.”. He then answered my second question “And for the need of escorts would be to prevent bandits since in a sort would be a hayday for them with a bunch of merchants going there for the festival.”.

Once I heard him say a smaller group to make it faster, I made up my mind “Okay, if possible I’d like to join that group.”.

“Alright, I’ll put a notice in for you to join, if you’d like to come back in a few hours then I can let you know if they accept you to join the subjugation party.” He then told me.

“Okay, that sounds good. On a side note though, what was your name? I don’t think you’ve told me.” I asked him to make it easier to talk with him if I were to talk to him again.

“My name?” He was taken back for a moment before fixing his face. “Not many adventurers don’t care about that, my name is Muran.” He answered.

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“Okay Muran, I’ll be back later for the answer then.” I tell him before turning around and walking towards the stairs.

While walking down the stairs into the first floor of the inn, I thought of what I should do for the next few hours. After reaching the first floor, I decided to go to an empty table in the tavern area. Once I found an empty table, it didn’t take long for a wench to approach me.

“Hello there, sir. Is there anything I can get for you right now?” The wench asked with a smile.

I thought for a moment before deciding “I’ll get the fish stew.”.

“Ah yes, the fish stew, a lovely choice sir. Would you like a pint of ale or anything else?” She responded.

I was taken back for a moment before remembering it was alcohol and shook my head “I’ll just have some water.”. Once she confirmed my order, the wench turned around and went back towards the kitchen.

Before I could get lost in thought, the wench brought out a cup of water for me before taking off again. Now that I finally had some time to think before the food was brought out, I took a sip of water while going over everything that’s currently happening.

It seems like a book that might have more information about the night the orphanage burnt down was bought by someone that only left a surname. More than that, if Rick couldn’t find any information on it, they most likely try to keep things on the low. The only info I have on the name is from Vaero but I have a feeling it’s not directly him but I can’t rule it out. I’ll be heading to Nishilon to find out more since both Chelsey and Vaero were raised there, maybe that way I can find more information.

What I was more worried about was the subjugation team, Muran told me they wanted to move quickly so I was curious how they would do so. The other thing was that I hope the party isn’t too big and that I won’t have to show off too much to the guild.

I then began thinking about the girl I met at The Forest of Tranquility, it was confusing a lot she said. Like the fact that she told me how the guardian worked or that the forest betrayed her or even why humans would freak out seeing her but for some reason not me. Everything about that girl just ended in questions so in the end I stopped thinking about it since if I saw her there, that might not be the last time I see her.

I was half way through my water just by sipping on it when the wench came over with a bowl that had the tail and head of a fish poking out of it. Once she placed it on the table, she told me to enjoy it before walking off again. I then just sat there for a moment, smelling the fragrant smell of the dish in front of me before finally digging into it.

While eating I didn’t think too much else and just enjoyed the food. After I finished it, a thought came into my mind wondering how good the food would be in Nishilon since Rick told me that there were some good cooks that come from there.

Once I was content with myself, I called over the wench and paid up the food which was just one Silver Coin. After I was free to leave the table, I started walking towards the stairs to get to the second floor to see if Muran had an answer for me.

When I arrived at the second floor, I started walking straight to the counter, towards Muran who looked free. “So did you get an answer, Muran?” I said the instant I arrived at the counter.

“Crim, you’re back a tad earlier than I thought but yes, I did get an answer.” He let me know. I then looked at him with a curious eye, waiting for an answer. “First I would like to say sorry since I didn’t know that the Subjugation party was already full. Fortunately for you though, the guild has an interest in you and when they heard it was you that wanted to join it, they approved of it and were willing to add one more to the roster.” He came out and gave me an answer that made me feel a bit weird but I put it to the side for now.

“So when are they leaving?” I asked, hoping sooner the better.

“Well luckily today was actually the last day of prep for them before setting out tomorrow. The reason I apologised was because I didn’t know that the recruitment for it was already done several days ago but it works in your favor since it seems like you want to go right away.” He explained to me while I nodded along.

I was happy with what I heard except for the fact that the guild had an interest in me. I thought to myself that I should keep a lot about me under the wraps and to definitely not show off magic. Happily though, my magic works in my favor since it really isn’t flashy or showy so no one could tell too well if I do use it. “So when should I be here tomorrow?” I then asked him.

“If you are to go to the main gates at first light, that's where they will be meeting up.” Muran said.

“Okay, that sounds good. Is there anything else I should know about? Like the size of the group.” I asked him.

“The size of the group was five until you joined in so it will be six now, the guild will be providing all rations and transportation for the party.” He told me. “Oh and one thing would be, I hope you know how to ride a horse.” Muran added on.

I nodded along as he talked but felt a tad nervous about the fact that he said that he hopes I can ride a horse. “Okay, is there anything else?” I asked curiously.

He then shook his head “Everything else should be quick self explanatory so you should be good.”. Muran then tapped the counter “Well one thing I guess I should tell you is that the reward given will be based on how many monsters or bandits you guys end up running into and dealing with. The base pay will be ten Silver Coins with an additional one per two bandits slain and one per monster slain.”. Murna then had a gentle smile “Other than that, are there any questions you have for me?”.

“Hmm… the only thing I have left to ask would be how long would the travel distance be?” I asked.

Murna continued to tap the counter “Hmm… normal travel time by carriage would be fourteen days but for the subjugation party all will be on fast horses so it would be more like nine days in good weather?”.

I was satisfied with the answer and let him know that I had no further questions. Once I was done speaking with Muran, I left the guild and left the town to find a place outside to train my swordsmanship to prepare for the possible upcoming fights.