As I am thinking about things I move on to the next siege engine, another ballista. Now that I know what I am doing it is a much faster process to sabotage it. Even with that I am in a race against time, I need to finish all the siege engines before sunrise.

If I am not done by the time the sun comes up I am sure to be spotted by the soldiers. In fact, the soldiers will probably have a shift change before dawn, so I need to keep an eye out. A group of soldiers going from the fort to the wall is much more likely to spot me.

Then again if they just got woken up they might not be paying attention. However, that is not something I can count on, better to be safe than sorry. While I could possibly handle all the humans on my own, I couldn't save the elves at the same time.

If it comes down to it, I consider saving the elves as the most important thing. Otherwise I wouldn't be going through all this effort, as fun as it may be. I manage to dodge the soldiers during shift change and just barely finish the sabotage before dawn.

With the job done I move as quickly as I can to get back inside the fort before it gets too bright. Luckily, dawn creates a lot of shadows that I can use to move back to the fort. My speed allows me to cover a lot of ground quickly, which saves me this time.

A few soldiers manage to spot me, but all they see is a blur making them think they are seeing things. A blurred shadow moving through the shadows, who could blame them for doubting their eyes. I manage to get back to the fort and into my room at the inn without anyone else spotting me.

Once I am safely back in my room I lay down and get another two hours of sleep. Then I head down to get some breakfast, just as if I slept through the night. There are no suspicious looks or anything out of the ordinary as I eat.

The food isn't as good as what I can pull out of the pouch, but it is at least edible. There are only a few other patrons eating and they all look to be officers. The prices here are probably too high for the common soldiers except for special occasions.

The problem now is that I need to keep from raising suspicions until the orcs attack. Since I don't know how long it could be until they attack I need to keep acting like a mercenary. That is where the problem comes in, I don't really know how mercenaries act.

Well, I don't know how they act here, if I go from movies then I should spend all my money on booze and women. However, that is something I have no intention of doing, so I need to think of something else. What I need the most is information, but I need to collect it in a way that won't be suspicious.

Innkeeper says "Anything else I can get you?"

"No. Thanks. Oh, is there somewhere that sells armor? I'm feeling kind of naked."

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Innkeeper says "The fort's smithy is the only place."

"Thanks, I'll head over there."

As the innkeeper goes to check on the other patrons I get up and head to the fort. It takes a bit of wandering around but eventually I hear the ring of hammer on metal. Following it leads me to a courtyard and from the smell the stables are here too.

The smithy is off to the side and when I enter I find an old white haired human. He is currently making a horseshoe, but with one look I can tell that it is shoddy work. He either doesn't have any skill or he just doesn't care about his work.

Smith says "What do you need?"

"I'm looking for some armor. Chainmail if you have it."

Smith says "You aren't a soldier are you?"

"Nope. I'm a mercenary."

Smith says "If you open that cabinet there, that's all I have."

When I open the cabinet that he points to I find a beautiful set of plate and chain. It is a full suit, the helm, breastplate, bracers, and leg guards are ornate and engraved. The rest is finely made chainmail, the whole thing is very well made.

"Did you make this?"

Smith says "Not a chance! I don't even make armor, I am just here to make horseshoes and do minor repairs. All the armor is ordered from the mainland. This suit was ordered by Sir Keith, but since he is dead, I can sell it at a decent price."

"This is a little ostentatious for me. Especially as a mercenary. Do you really not have anything else?"

Smith says "Nope. That is all I have!"

"Alright. How much?"

Smith says "Twenty gold."

"So little? What's the catch?"

Smith says "Sir Keith paid for the armor when he ordered it. So you only need to pay for shipping and storage."

"Alright, I'll take it. Any chance you can blacken the armor?"

Smith takes my coins and says "Nope!"

With a shake of my head I take the armor down from the cabinet and put it on. As expected it is very shiny, on a battlefield it would just make the wearer a target. If it wasn't for the fact that this is temporary I would never wear armor like this.

Although, right now sticking out and looking like a fool could be useful. If I look like a fool then people are less likely to suspect me when things start going wrong. As I walk back through the fort everyone I see stops to stare at me.

This continues all the way back to the inn and when I walk in the patrons all turn to stare at me. It is a different group than when I left, these look more like sailors than soldiers. They all stare at me for a few seconds before busting up laughing at me.

Ignoring them I head up to my room and take the armor off then leave again. I try to waste some time by wandering around the fort, but there really isn't anything to see. So I decide to make my way back to the bounty office and talk to the clerk again.

Clerk says "Don't tell me you are already back with more ears?!"

"No! Actually, I wanted to check if there are any other bounties available. I'm kind of sick of orcs!"

Clerk says "Well, the best paying bounty is a capture bounty for elves, but good luck finding any!"

"Nah, I'm looking for a good fight!"

Clerk says "Hmm, are you any good in the mountains?"

"Sure! I've fought in every type of environment this world has to offer!"

Clerk says "Well, there is a bounty for a beast in the mountains. But so far no one who has tried it has returned."

"Oh? Sounds interesting! What is the beast?"