THIS CHAPTER IS TRANSLATED FROM MY WORLDS LANGUAGE INTO OURS. THIS WILL NOT REMAIN CONSTANT, AND WILL ONLY BE FOR IMPORTANT SCENES IF DONE FROM A PERSPECTIVE OTHER THAN THE MAIN CHARACTERS
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One hour before David enters the world.
POV: Aran Goldfield (Elf)
“Fucking bugs!” I shouted as I stabbed another in the head. There were spiders everywhere around the town, just because it was starting to get warmer, and I was the sap they managed to rope into the removal process. Just because I wanted a quest!
Sure, I wasn’t legally an adventurer, but they’d looked past that before, for that tall guy with the black hair, and he was weaker than me! I should get a chance at the sort of crap he did and I’d do it better too! Better yet, work so his accomplishments are insignificant and then shove his blessings right up his-
“Oi,” a voice behind me rumbled, “stop thinking about Garret an’ pick up the pace. Mister Rannan gave us two hours to finish up and he won’t pay us if you go too far over the limit.”
Damn it. “I wasn’t thinking about him, Graman.” I turned to the orc and he smiled.
“Yes you were. You got that look in your face, the squintin’ eyes an’ all that.” He picked up the spider I just killed and tossed it into a bag, still grinning. “Hey, what do you think he wants with all these spiders?”
“My guess?” I responded as I shanked another one. “He just doesn’t want to deal with the bugs for too long, unless you can think of any other uses for them.”
Graman smiled again. “Number of things, actually. The carcass could be used for food, fertilizer, or dried and skinned to make a sort of container with the body, the venom glands could be used in alchemy or pharmaceuticals to make poisons or antidotes, and the…web glands, I think? Those could be used for fabric. Lot of things.”
I sighed. “Right. Keep forgetting you’re a healer and a weaver and whatever other jobs you’ve taken.” I looked around, searching for more spiders and listening for the chittering sound they make, but nothing came. “Think that’s all of them,” I muttered as I sheathed the knife.
“Let's turn these in then!” Graman said as he shook the bag, a rattling sound coming from it.
———
It was a long walk back to the guild hall, and the people staring at us didn’t make it any better. The staring probably had something to do with the green blood on us, but that didn’t matter.
“Did we do something?” Graman muttered, and I looked at his face, which was difficult due to him being a few heads taller than I was. He wore his confusion openly, looking at the hall with the discomfort of someone who was told they had to sleep next to a bed wetter. “Look,” he said, pointing in the direction we were heading, and I saw what he meant.
Usually, after a quest is finished, there’s a clerk or something at a podium by the door. Unless you have business inside or you need to meet someone, you usually turn the stuff in at the front and collect the payout later. This time, instead of a clerk, Hale Rannan, the guild master and the one who hired us, stood at the door, frowning. When he spotted us, he shifted to a neutral expression and beckoned us to follow him.
We entered the building right after him, ignoring the ruckus of celebrating adventurers as we walked far behind him, barely noticing him entering his office.
I caught the door before it closed and Graman followed closely as we walked in.
The guildmaster sat down and gestured to the chairs in front of him. “Go on and have a seat. Least I can offer after you took the…spiders. Oh, speaking of which, did you bring a few of the bodies like I had requested?”
Graman chuckled as he shook the bag again. “Try all of them,” he grunted as he held it open, the bodies visible and as creepy as they were when they were alive, and Hale smiled.
“Wonderful! We’ve needed a number of things lately, like antivenom, cloth, jugs, whatever. Thank you for gathering all of these,” he said as he took the bag and placed it on the side. Graman looked somewhat satisfied as the things the guildmaster listed were more or less what he guessed.
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“What’d you need, sir? I imagine there was a reason you called us,” I said as I adjusted my seating position.
“Right.” He sighed, as if this was a frustrating process. “I apologize, but I have one more odd job for you before the day ends.” He reached to his left, grabbing at something that had been moved, and he frowned at his hand. “Would you give me a moment to find the report, please?”
He got up without waiting for a response, and when he left the room, I turned to my friend. “What do you think he needs?”
Graman shrugged. “He’s eccentric. Could be anything from monster control to checking out rumors about a necromancer.” We heard the door handle move and that was when Hale re-entered the room.
“Sorry, there were…”
———
“Get it down from there, or bring a broom!
“AH, IT'S IN MY HAIR!”
“Brother, don’t move.”
“Ah, fuck! My nose!”
“It’s down there, I see it!”
———
“…problems, finding the form. Pests and all that.” He coughed like he was trying to clear his throat. “Now! It would be better if you would read the form yourself. It would undeniably be faster than explaining it myself.”
I nodded, remembering how long winded his speech became if he was invested in a topic.
Graman had started reading the moment that we were given the paper. “The lot behind the Goldfield’s place?” I looked up in surprise, because the “Goldfield’s Place” was my family’s home, and we all still lived there with how massive the house actually was.
Hale nodded, before turning to me. “Your parents, while you were handling the spiders, heard a crashing sound from out back, and no one wanted to go out there to check. We believe it could’ve been a monster or adventurer, but you have three goals relating to what you find. Corpse retrieval, regardless of what it is, elimination if it’s a monster or is being swarmed by some, and what I deem least likely, rescue if it happens to be a highly injured person. If you encounter any slime type, make sure to-.” He stopped. “Apologies for my rambling. Will you take the job?”
“What are we getting paid?” Graman grunted.
“Six coins and two bits each. Both silver.”
I looked to my left and the orc nodded. “We’ll take it.”
“Excellent! Ah, but…please wait until tomorrow to inform me of your findings. We shall be very busy with handling some issues for the rest of the day.”
With that, we nodded and walked out of the office. “Weird,” muttered Graman. He frowned as we stepped outside. “You don’t think it’s anything serious like what Garret had to deal with? The Lich?”
…
“Let’s hope not.”
———
POV: Hale Rannan (Human)
I slumped in my chair as the pair left the office with the report, rubbing my eyes.
“So much work today, and not a moment of respite.” I arose from my chair, stretching my legs before walking to the door and shoving it open, startling an adventurer, who relaxed as he saw my expression.
“Tough day, sir?” His face seemed to match mine, the same world-weary eyes and the smile of a man who wanted nothing more than a simple rest, and his features and armor brought a few fragmented memories to the front of my mind.
I lightly smiled at him. “Yes, but there’s not much I can do about it. As the guildmaster for this branch here, I have an obligation to the people of this town, whether they are adventurers, old legends, or simply just normal.” I sighed deeply and looked the man in the eyes.
“Pardon me for saying so, but you look familiar. Did you live here at one point?”
The man chuckled. “Right, I guess you wouldn’t remember me considering it’s been about ten years. I’m Garret Albrook.” He held out his hand and I shook it, finding that it was a bit easier without the leather glove he wore. “It’s nice to meet you again.”
I laughed. “I’m afraid my memory has degraded over the years, so I apologize that I don’t remember you. I’ll, uh, remember you soon, hopefully. Oh, what business do you have here? I might be able to help a bit before I head home for the day.”
He shook his head. “No, I can wait until tomorrow. I’ll see you then, I guess.”
With that, he stepped out of the guild hall, walking towards the inn.
Garret. Where have I…
A memory, fully formed, floated up to the surface. One of a young man with dark hair who wielded a monstrous amount of power, but was too tired and placid to use most of it. He was recruited by the church one day, and I had to approve of his mission, along with his parents.
“Ah.”
…
That was more work, and I could handle it tomorrow.