Lisette took him to one of the empty counters. She took the parchment and asked for his ID. She stamped his badge on the parchment, then handed the badge back to him.

“Your badge will now have Crusher's information on it. If you want to study more, we have a library upstairs.”

She pointed to the stairs. Jaeger took his badge and studied the new information. It contained his location, and the size of his tribe.

“It says he is an intermediate rank, is it just because of his clan or is there something else?”

“It's mostly him. He is an intermediary because the job comes directly from the Crown. He killed and ate some tax collectors, they are royal employees, so we had to raise the rank. All the bounties I picked were ones I thought would be good starter quests for you, having seen you practice. Unless you'd like to take one of the easier ones. I think we have an old man whose children want to bring him back.”

Lisette raised her eyebrows and smiled sardonically. Jaeger returned the smile and a shake of his head; she was beginning to grow on him.

“No. I'll stick with the orc; old people are always hiding something. You don't reach old age by luck.”

With that, he turned and left the guild hall. Someone informed him that his horse had been taken to the stables. He made his way there and found Ventress groomed and happy.

“How are you, Ventress? We have work to do, so I hope all this luxury hasn't made you lazy.”

Normally, Jaeger would have waited to leave, but between his various bouts of unconsciousness, he'd been out for about a day, and he felt strangely good. He thought it best to leave now.

“That's a fine steed you have, my son. She's got a feisty attitude about her. Welcome to my stables I’m Stablemaster Bastion.”

Turning, the Hunter found himself facing someone new, a Beastkin.

“Yes, she is. I doubt you'll find another like her in all of Ragaea. She's a Beserian warhorse, and even among them, Ventress was special.”

Bastion nodded at that and crossed his arms.

“She is certainly unique. I have an eye for these things, and I'm telling you, she's a little more than a horse now. It's rare, but sometimes you Outworlders bring animal companions, and those beasts always end up more than they started out.”

“What do you mean? What she's going to level up or something?”

“No, she's probably going to evolve into something else. Still a horse, I guess, but she'll be more than just a horse.”

“I guess we’ll deal with that when it comes up, I appreciate the heads up Bastion.” Jaeger knew he couldn’t change anything so he’d deal with it when it happened. “I need her kit and tack back, along with my bags. I’ve got a bounty that needs hunting.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The Stablemaster whistled for two stableboys and sent them to ready up Ventress.

“Lisette rang down to set you up with some rations so you are set there. The guild sets you up with basic rations when you take a job from the board, if you want better you gotta pay for them. Luck on your hunt, may your aim be true and your prey worthy...”

The beastkin paused and held out his hand. Jaeger grabbed it.

“Jaeger.”

With that, the boys led Ventress out and, after mounting, Jaeger trotted out of the stables. The orc Crusher had taken up position on the plains and Jaeger had a ride ahead of him.

----------------------------------------

As he left the city gate, he passed numerous merchants waiting to enter the city. From glowing fruit to floating crates escaping from a large cage, the items were eye-catching. The merchants themselves were also fantastic, such as the woman wrangling the crates. She was a giant, easily 17 feet tall, with blue skin and a pristine suit of furs and buttons that looked more like tusks. After tossing the last of the runaway crates, she turned and caught Jaeger's eye. She gave him a broad smile and a wink before she went back to pulling her wagon with one hand.

After that, Jaeger began to keep his eyes to himself. The ride from Patterson was uneventful, but that didn't mean it was boring. The surroundings were both mundane and fantastic to Jaeger. From then on, the trip began to move quickly, and slowly the day gave way to night. Riding along, Jaeger was deciding where to set up camp when he saw a sign with an arrow pointing to an inn. Jaeger decided to spend the night there.

The inn was a freestanding building with an attached stable. He tied Ventress outside and opened the doors. A warm breeze, delicious smells of food, and a bawdy song greeted him as he entered the inn.

“Hello there stranger. Is it just ya’self or are ya partied up?”

“Just me and my horse. I'm just passing through on guild business.”

The person who called out was a lanky man with a shock of red hair sticking out of his head. He nodded his head before tapping a sign hanging from the bar. It simply read, "Tag check required for guild members.”

“I take it you mean my guild badge?”

“Badge, plaque, pocket watch or whatever you have. New policy.”

Jaeger nodded, they probably charged more or less to certain guilds. He pulled out his badge and held it out, the man could check it well enough without taking it.

Leaning forward, the lanky man looked at it before digging under his counter. He quickly pulled out a thick onyx tablet and held it in front of Jaeger's badge. The side facing the man flashed white once.

“Adventurers' Guild, eh? And a bounty hunter at that. Rarely do I see one of you doing real work. Since you're an adventurer, your room is prepaid. Meals aren't included, though, so if you want them, it'll cost you five coppers.”

Jaeger pulled out five coppers, part of his reward for the horse thief.

“I'm staying the night, and I need my horse stabled too.”

“Well enough, you'll be in room five. Kirk! Get your scrawny self out here, stable the horse out front!”

Following his bellowing a small boy ran out of the building. The innkeeper pointed to a table.

“I'll get you a bowl of stew and some bread. The meal comes with a drink. We have dark and light beer.”

“Dark.”

Sitting at the table, I propped up my rifle and looked around. The music I had heard came from a small group of musicians. I could tell by their clothing that they were a group of traveling minstrels. The rest of the inn was filled with travelers. A few people in matching armor, a farmer and his son, and a hooded figure. A wave of nostalgia hit Jaeger, this reminded him of some of the inns he'd stayed in back in Beseria. The only difference was that no one looked at him suspiciously.

“Here ya are. Fresh stew, bread, and a dark beer.”

With that, the innkeeper dropped off a bowl with a piece of nice hot bread, a mug of frothy dark beer, and a key. Jaeger had never been a superstitious man, but after being brought into a magical world, he began to be. Which made him think that if he was off to such a good start with this bounty, he believed it was a sign of good things to come.