After finishing his story, Owen and the Captain sat silently for a moment.
“Umm…Captain-” Owen attempted to ask a question before he was interrupted.
“Only my men call me Captain until such a time you will refer to me as Lady Bladethorn.”
“Ah, um yes Lady Bladethorn. Was there anything else you needed from me?”
“No, Owen, we will send a team to investigate the town and have them report its destruction. There have been dark rumors going about, and I suspect that’s why Gorden sent you here. Are you going to register to be a Mercenary Owen?”
“I was planning on it, as I have no job right now,” Owen responded; hearing his response, the Captain yelled out.
“Private Murphy!” There was a sound of running footsteps as the youth from earlier opened the door.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Take Owen here to get registered and wave his fees; make sure he has room and board.”
“Yes, Captain.” The youth responded before looking at Owen. “Let’s go, Owen. I don’t want to waste the Captain’s time.” Standing up, Owen made his way for the door before stopping short. Turning, he dipped his head slightly.
“Thank you, Lady Bladethorn, if you can thank Gorden for me whenever you next see him. I’ll be on my way now.” Exiting the doorway and closing the door behind him, Owen followed Pvt Murphy back down the steps to his counter.
“Okay, let’s get this started. Do you have a last name, Owen?”
“Yeah, Grest. I’m Owen Grest.” He responded confidently with his decision.
“Alright, Owen, can you read and write?” Murphy continued his questioning; when Owen shook his head, he carried on, “Alright, I’ll fill this out for you, but it’s important to learn. You can’t be promoted out of Private if you can’t read and write. Do you have a Class, and if so, what level are you?”
“I’m a Warrior and Level 2.”
“Alright, so current equipment is what I see?” Murphy asked; seeing Owen nod, he continued. “Alright, we will issue you a standard shield along with the basics; outside of that, your all set.” Finishing up writing something, Murphy hands Owen a sheet of paper. “This is for the Quartermaster; he’s in the building next to us.” Pointing with his hand, he continues, “Once you get your gear and sign for it, come back here, and I’ll have you’re Tag ready with a job for you.”
“Got it. I’ll be back soon, then.” Taking the paper, Owen left and headed next door to the Quartermasters. Upon entering, Owen recognized that the large man was wearing an identical outfit as Pvt Murphy. Heading to the counter, Owen stated, “Hello, Private Grest here to get the listed provisions.” Owen then placed the paper on the counter. Scanning over the form, the large man then replied.
“Aye, you be needed a pack, shield, travel kit, and 2 sets of cloth. Got anything to trade in for it? I’ll sell any of your unwanted gear for you.” Hearing that, Owen will unslung his sack and dumped out his mana-stone’s, dagger, and canteen.
“I’ll be, already got a few kills to ya name I see.” Picking up the F-grade stones, he continued. “These go for about 20 copper each. I can do the dagger for a silver. That canteen maybe bout 35 C. Sound good?”
“Sure.” Owen shrugged, “How much will I owe for the rest?”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Hmm, you’ll have a tab about 5 silvers long. No worries though; we got non of them fees so long as you doing work. If that sounds alright, sign here.” Presenting another piece of paper and a small black stick. Taking the stick, Owen signed his name. “HAHA, shouda told me you can’t write.” The man laughed in amusement, “It’s no worries. I’ll note down your name for you. I’ll be right back with your things.” As he left for the back room, Owen thought about everything.
“So I get gear, a uniform, I’m guessing, and even a place to crash. This job already sounds pretty good.” As Owen was mumbling to himself, the Quartermaster came back with a medium-sized backpack.
“Alright, Private, here’s your pack.” Owen saw it was a well-sized backpack, with a shovel on one side and a large canteen on the other. As he grabbed it, the clerk placed a rhombus-shaped shield down. “Standard Kite shield with company emblem. The rest of your items are in your pack. Also, here is 2 Silver and 15 Coppers for your exchange.” Owen grabbed the shield in his left hand as he used Inspect.
Kite Shield: Fine wooden shield with iron rimming. Proper use will block a massive amount of damage.
“Alright, Private, anything else before you’ll be off?” The man asked
“No Sir, this is it.”
“Bah,” the man replied, “I ai’nt no Lord. It’s Sergeant Boulder, your new best friend.” He replied with a hearty laugh.
“Thanks then, Sergeant.” Owen replied, “I’ll be seeing you around then.” With his new pack on his back and shield in place, Owen returned to the main hall. Heading back towards the counter with Murphy, Owen said, “Alright, Murphy I got my gear, so what’s that job you said you had.”
“Right, so first, there’s this,” Murphy said as he held a purple-looking coin on a string. As he took it, Owen noticed it seemed the same color as an F-Grade mana stone. On one side was some character’s, and the other held the same symbol as his shield, a sword that looked like a rose. “That’s your Tag. Currently, you are a Private, hence the purple color. As you get promoted, you must bring in a higher grade mana stone to get a new tag made.” Showing him the side with characters scribbled onto it, “This is your name, and this is our chapter emblem.” He said, flipping it over. “Keep this on you at all times, and from now on, only use the southern gate. It keeps your fee to a single copper per entry.”
After handing over the Tag, Murphy then pulled out a sheet of paper. “I went ahead and signed you up for safety duty. It’s a basic job: just bring back five F-Grade mana stones from any of the local Gobbo packs. If you see anything that doesn’t look like a regular Gobbo, or you are not confident you can handle it, return here and report it. Now, while you are a chapter member, you get a discount at the canteen.” He said, gesturing at the tables and counter on his right. “Then, once it’s time to rack out, just head to the second floor. There are rooms up there; just take any open door. The 3rd floor is completely off-limits without good reason. That’s the Captain’s quarters, and I’m not hauling your corpse down 2 sets of stairs.”
“That’s all great to know.” Owen sighed, “What time do they close the gates? I don’t want to get locked out.”
“The southern gate closes once the suns all the way down, but even then, you can always go to the guard station. If you do that, though, they tend to charge to let you in, so just don’t be out late.” Murphy joked, “Well, go get to making some money, Private.”
“Yea, Yea.” Owen replied sarcastically, “I’ll get out of your way so you can return to standing around.” The two laughed as they parted. Once Owen was back outside, he followed the street south as he looked around at the various artisans’ wares. He stopped when a glimmer caught his eye. Looking over at the object, Owen was dumbstruck. It was a silver helmet with dark blue aspects to it, with an open face. It has wolf accents on either side, with their tails curling into the nose guard. Curious Owen used Inspect on the piece.
Mythril Fenrir Helm: A masterwork helm crafted by Jade Silversmith. This intricate piece has a wind enchantment to keep the wearer cool. Provides significant protection.
“Dam, that’s nice.” Looking down at the price, Owen remembered, “Fuck, I need to learn to read. I’ll have to ask Murphy if there’s anyone who can teach me or something.” As Owen continued on, he kept looking at the various shops. He saw plenty of good-looking armor and weapons, but nothing struck him like that Fenrir helm. Once he made it to the gate, Owen promised himself, I’m gonna kill enough of those frog fucks for my own personal AC.