The remaining bandits were now less eager to fight than they had been just a minute ago. With over half of their initial force taken out of action, the remaining bandits were now looking to escape rather than be cut down. It was too late however as their fate had been sealed.

As Garret used his crossbow to shoot the glowing bandit the light seemed to draw the bolts in as the thudded into the chest of the bandit. The bandit looked down in shock as he slowly slumped to the ground.

The 3 bandits on fire were writhing on the ground as I stomped over to them. I delivered a coup de grâce with quick stomp to each one to put them out of their misery. After the kills a blue box that floated in the corner of my vision again.

Kill(s)

Bandit (*3)

Experience

Deferred

“Still with the ‘Experience deferred’. I wonder if it is because of my class?” I mused as I studied my handiwork with a detached air. My first kills in this new world and I couldn’t feel anything, it was as if I was watching a movie play out in front of me.

The remaining 3 undamaged bandits had drawn together into some semblance of a formation; it didn’t do them much good as Galstaff shouted a different incantation. The remaining bandits were caught in the middle of a fireball and immolated almost immediately.

While Grognak was fighting the bandit leader the rest of us had finished off all of the other members of the bandit group. The lack of fighting noises momentarily distracted the bandit leader; it was the last distraction of his life. Grognak batted aside the bandit leader’s sword and swiftly ended his life.

Silence descended upon the forest as the last bandit slumped to the ground.

Wolfswift slowly brought his cart through the carnage we had wrought. Looking around he remarked, “Apparently you are slightly overqualified to deal with the simple bandits around these parts. Where did you say you all were from?”

“We didn’t.” Replied Garret as he walked over to the bodies. “We’re from Safeld and are headed back there to finish a quest from there.”

As Garret knelt down next to the corpse of a bandit the rest of the group spread out to the other bandits.

Watching them loot the corpses I had to ask, “What is the procedure when dealing with corpses?”

Galstaff explained, “With bandits, highwaymen, and the like the head or brain is destroyed and the remains burned or scattered to prevent resurrection by necromancy or anything like that. Most of the time criminals don’t get a proper burial on consecrated ground. Anything burred has the chance to rise again. Any money, equipment, and what have you is fair game for those who want to salvage it. Most of the time they will have very little on them but occasionally you could find a map to a hideout or something.”

While Galstaff had been explaining the rest of the group had finished searching the corpses and had piled them off to the side of the road. They rejoined us shaking their head. The report was nothing good. Some cheap swords, no armor to speak of, a few coppers, and two silver pieces taken off the leader.

As I returned to the wagon Galstaff went to the pile of corpses. When next to it the muttered a few words and threw something onto the pile. The pile burst into flame and the corpses started to break down.

As we waited for the bodies to finish breaking down I started to come back to myself. The realization that I had just killed some people started to hie me. Perhaps it was because I was so detached during the act it allowed me to rationalize what I had done. They were bandits, criminals of this world, and had been given a choice of surrendering or dying. They chose to die. Their deaths had been quick and relatively painless. The group had looked somewhat well off so it wasn’t a group who had turned to banditry as a last resort to feed themselves; this was a group that had chosen to do this.

Galstaff rejoined the group as the pyre died out. A quick breeze scattered the remains deeper into the forest. We all mounted up and continued on our way.

During the next few days of travel I quizzed The Brothers in Arms about the policies of the world I now found myself.

Humans were the most widely dispersed over the planet and had the most varied methods of governments. There were several Monarchies, some Aristocracies, and few Republics. There were some other small kingdoms that weren't worth mentioning. As a general rule of thumb don’t piss off any nobles unless you have the backing of another family or the power to protect yourself from any and all threats.

Stolen novel; please report.

The various elven and dwarven kingdoms were mostly all Monarchies with some of the current rulers having been on the throne for the past few hundred years.

Other races had their own kingdoms as well, but most inhabited lands controlled by others.

The current kingdom we were traveling through was one of the better off human kingdoms. The general population all had some education, the basics of reading, writing, and simple arithmetic, with more advanced schooling available for those who could pay or past tests. The idea behind the education system was to ensure that merchants couldn’t swindle farmers or customers out of their hard earned money, but with education it meant that no one could use the excuse of not knowing the correct amount to give to the tax collectors.

At last the forest was thinning out and the trees were getting smaller. Eventually there was more grassland than forest, then the grassland turned to fields. The gently rolling hills stretched off into the distance and on the horizon was a low haze was centered on two tall spires.

“Finally,” Mutters Wolfswift. He continued in a louder tone, “Glad to be out of the forest and have Porthaethwy in sight.”

Looking over at Galstaff I asked, “How much further and what are those two towers?”

“It should take us until tomorrow or the day after. Those towers are quite a bit bigger than you would think. They’re both semi-famous local icons. One is the clock tower and one is the observation tower for the local magic school. The city started building the clock tower first and when the magic school started to build their tower it sort of turned into a competition of who could build theirs the highest. As to keep the competition friendly neither building used magic in construction. Magic was used afterward for strengthening and durability, that’s why they survived the earthquakes. The clocktower ended up being only slightly taller because the builders put a really tall lightning rod on the roof. The clock tower's claim it that it is the tallest, but the magic tower lets more people up to the observation deck. The local garrison uses it to watch the surrounding countryside. You should use the observation deck at least once in your life.”

As we approached the town's fortifications the towers kept getting bigger and bigger. They were truly an impressive sight. Not to long afterward we rolled to a stop outside the gates of the city and joined the line of carts waiting outside the gates. The line advanced slowly, but it was eventually our turn.

I noticed a problem however. Elas, Galstaff, Garret, Janek, and Wolfswift were all prepared with some sort of card for the guards whereas I didn’t have any sort of card.

Nudging Galstaff I pointed at his card and asked, “Is it going to be a problem if I don’t have one of those?”

Galstaff looked nonplussed for a moment before recovering. “Of course you wouldn’t have a guild card yet. We haven’t been to a large enough town for you to register yet. Don’t worry we’ll vouch for you and pay the entrance fee. First thing we need to do once we get in, however, is head straight to the guild hall and get you registered.”

“What does getting yourself registered gain you?” I asked.

“Your guild fees allow you to enter almost every city without paying the entrance fee and having a license makes border crossings much smoother. Within the guild and you can accept quests and have access to guild facilities and resources.”

We had reached the gate by this point and the guards were sizing me up; trying to figure out how much of a threat I could be and if they could handle it. The odds weren’t in their favor and hands moved to grip weapons more securely.

Fortunately there were no problems and after Galstaff paid the entrance fee we entered the town proper. The town reminded me of a Bavarian-styled village with Alpine-style buildings facing wide cobbled streets. The main road we were on lead straight down to the waterfront and was lined with inns and shops. We agreed to meet Wolfswift at the ‘Wander on In Inn’ after I had registered with the Adventurers’ Guild.

The Adventurers’ Guild was located on the main road down near the docks. The crowds parted before our small group with people stopping to stare as we walked by.

Walking into the Guild elicited the same response from the inn the other night. Silence and stares. As we walked up to the counter I decided to let Galstaff handle the talking.

“Hello. What can I help you with today?” the human receptionist behind the counter asked.

“I’m here to report that the Black Tower is more dangerous than was estimated and to ask that the rank for it be raised. The earthquakes disturbed something deep.” Galstaff somberly replied. “We’re on our way back to Salfeld to give our full report and stopped here to give you a warning before you let more adventurers that way. On a lighter note I have a new member to add to the guild. He just needs to be registered as we will have the full examination at the main branch in Salfeld. I’ll be paying the registration for this one. Come up here Miles.”

As I stepped forward the receptionist eyed me warily. As I took off my helmet he seemed to relax upon seeing a human face.

“The registration is fairly simple. A drop of fresh blood on a guild card and it will be yours. Yearly guild fees are due within a year from today’s date. Your card has the date of issue on it. Don’t forget to pay, as the late fees are atrocious. Will that be all?”

“No. Let’s get this over with.” I replied.

A simple twist and off came one of my gauntlets and I was ready. The receptionist pulled a pin from somewhere, stuck me, and the deed was done. Well almost. The pin didn’t do anything. It went in with a bit of effort but when it was withdrawn nothing happened. It eventually escalated to the point where the receptionist slashed my finger with a knife to draw blood.

Guild card in hand we left to go find the Wander on In Inn. After walking back in the direction of the forest brought us to the doors of the Inn. The sign hanging above the door had the image of a traveler walking into an inn.

Dinner was a quiet affair with everyone happy not to be eating trail rations again. The fried fish was one of the inn’s specialties and was well worth the price. After dinner we headed to our sleeping quarters.

I went to sleep pondering what tomorrow would bring.