In the commoner district of Reynes city, there’s a certain tavern located on an alley a little away from the main street. Usually taverns are set up on the main streets or near a commercial place such as the south market square or the west port of Reynes. This tavern however, is doing its business in the housing area where not many people pass through and no other shops are close by. Yet against all odds, today it’s bustling with people in the middle of the day as usual even though now is supposed to be the time when everyone are busy with their work. Taking a closer look one can notice that the guests belong to a rather peculiar troupe. Though there seems to be all kinds of people, the one common thing is that they all carry weapons. From the standard swords, shields, daggers, bows to more exotic kinds like flails, hammers and maces.
If one walked in unknowingly then by no doubt they’d have to wonder whether this was a hideout of bandits or not.
The Toothless Sparrows, a tavern that outsiders would hardly ever hear of due to its location but is well known amongst local adventurers. According to the owner, the rowdy adventurers that gather in here look like a flock of sparrows to him, and if you’re going into a tavern for adventurers then you should be prepared to lose at least a tooth or two because of the frequent brawls that happen in this kind of place. Apparently he thought that it was funny because sparrows don’t have teeth to begin with.
Though many would knit their eyebrows and question this man’s sense of humor, nobody said it out loud.
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“This place is as lively as ever” –Cara
“I’m amazed at how these people drink throughout the day, don’t they have work to do?”
“What are you saying after all this time? The jobs that come to adventurers are irregular so we don’t have anything like a work schedule to begin with. We work when there’s work to do, and drink when we’re free enough to drink” –Cara
“……………
Don’t drink too much okay?”
“Wa…What are you talking about? Don’t look at me like I’m some kind of alcoholic old man!” –Cara
Should I press on with this topic here? I mean, what’s the point of defending yourself when you’re clearly a heavy drinker. And a bad drunk at that. We’ve been together long enough that I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve gotten into a bar fight because of your drinking. Are you really an elf? Aren’t elves supposed to be all elegant and divine? It’s such a waste of a good face, you know? When the outer appearance and the inside are this different, it’s fraud. Fraud you hear?
“If it isn’t members of Triblades, welcome” -???
As we walked into the tavern while arguing, familiar voice greeted us from behind the bar.
“Bridget-san, please don’t call us by our party name if you can, it’s embarrassing”
“Ufufu, now that won’t do, you three became B ranked recently right? Be proud of your fame and achievements” –Bridget
“Even if you say it like that, we’re still just freshmen among the B ranks”
“It’s all because you chose such a name…” –Cara
“Don’t blame me! It’s not like you two had any better ideas didn’t you”
“Buuuttt~” –Cara
Cara stuck out her rosy lips and pouts cutely.
Damn it! Why are you acting so cute all of a sudden!? That’s foul play!
“A..Ahem! Is the boss in, Bridget-san?”
“Father is working in the kitchen, today’s special is boar stew, would you like to order it?” –Bridget
“Oooh? The boss’s boar stew? Then by all means, two servings please”
“Only two? Is Beck-san not with you?” –Bridget
“He said he had some matters that he needed to tend to first, he’ll order his share when he comes”
“Very well then, take a seat wherever you like” –Bridget
We helped ourselves to a table in the corner. As usual, there are many stares being sent toward us. Or to be precise, toward Cara. Even though this is why I usually choose a seat in the corner, some guys are going as far as stretching out his neck to get a better look.
Well, what do I expect? Adventurers are creatures that are honest to their desire. It’s quite unreasonable to demand manners from these rowdy hoodlums.
Not to mention, there’s a beautiful elven woman right in front of their eyes. To us adventurers, the beauty of elves are one of our greatest hopes and dreams. If you ask any adventurer what are the things he want to do at least once before he dies. By no doubt laying with an elven woman is on the list. The only reason why no one is starting any trouble is because we’re already quite well known in this city.
Cara on the other hand is splendidly ignoring the perverted gazes from the surrounding and stuffing her cheeks with stew and alcohol.
“It’s quite amazing how you are able to eat being bathed in unpleasant stares like that”
“Well, I used to cause a ruckus in the past but in the end I was driven out of every bar I go to. If I let myself be bothered by this kind of things every time I won’t even be able to eat properly. At the end of the day they’re just stares, a girl’s got to eat when she’s hungry.
You lose if you care.
So in other words, drink up! Drink up!” –Cara
“What do you mean by “in other words”? How does that even relate to dri…ahh forget it, I’m not one to refuse alcohol either, cheers”
“Now we’re talking, lad, nishishi” –Cara
Raising her cup against mine cheerfully, Cara let out a blossoming smile, one that would melt any man should he be fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it.
It’s really is foul play.
http%3a%2f%2fpre01.deviantart.net%2f5a9d%2fth%2fpre%2f...a0x50l.jpg [http://pre01.deviantart.net/5a9d/th/pre/i/2016/121/f/2/insectumchronica15_by_amano_m-da0x50l.jpg]
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We finished our lunch and engaged in pointless chatter for a while, then the familiar figure of a handsome man in his twenties approach our table.
“Yo, sorry for the wait.
Ah, Bridget-san, one serving of stew please” –Beck
“One boar stew, coming up” –Bridget
Beck sits down on our table, seemingly in a good mood. He has a look on his face that clearly wants us to ask him what’s going on.
“Stop that creep grin already, so what’s up?”
“Is it related to the matter you mentioned in the morning?” –Cara
“Kukuku, exactly, my lady.
Now you guys take a look at this” –Beck
Beck carefully takes out a scroll from under his cloak and spread it out on the table. At first glance it looks like some kind of maps. But on the side there’s a section written in some unknown letters. Is this some kind of treasure maps? To be honest, even you put one on my hand I wouldn’t believe it. Treasure maps are just something in fairy tales, there’s no way something convenient as that exist. If one were to exist people would be all over it and the treasure will become empty in no time already.
However, putting aside the true nature of this map, there’s one particular point of note that I can’t overlook.
“This mark… Is this the real thing?”
“Hmm? What is this, is there something about this crest?” –Cara
“Ahh, I guess Cara doesn’t know huh? But this crest is pretty famous among human you know. Even though it’s just the stuff of myth and legend” –Beck
A five petals flower within a five petals flower.
The mark of the High Priest of Dagda, commonly referred to nowadays as the Sage.
He was a legendary figure in the era of the Giants 700 years ago. Back when the giant clans were still roaming this continent. Legends told that the Sage formed an alliance with the giant Balor, they then led a human army together with Balor’s group of follower into war and ended the tyranny of Balor’s father, the chief of the iron blooded giants. Balor united the scattering clans afterward and became the first king of the giants, then he signed a treaty with the human as a gift of gratitude for aiding him in battle. Freed from threats, humans started to build a kingdom on this continent and that is how Brettania came to be. The Sage was hailed as a hero and was the only one in history to receive the title High Priest of Dagda, the all-knowing father and chief god of the faith of Tuath De Danaan. However the Sage soon became mad with his power and committed various atrocities on the human race. He was then to be secretly removed by the kingdom, but fled south and never to be heard of again. What’s left was a blank period in history and the giants also disappeared during that time.
Nowadays it’s hard to believe whether giants and dragons really exist or not. They are figures that only appear in story books.
“Well, I was going to call bullshit on this but I guess you aren’t the type to make this kind of boring joke.
Still, if you show me something that appears right out of a children’s bed time story, you don’t expect me to believe it right?”
“What are you saying, nii-san, aren’t we sworn brothers? Of course I believed that you would trust me!” –Beck
What the hell is this guy saying?
“Putting your family relations aside, Beck, if there exist a map like this then why did nobody go for it? You won’t say that it appeared out of nowhere at this time and then fell into your hands will you?” –Cara
“As expected of nee-san, you’re meticulous as always huh” –Beck
Beck put his two hands in the air, making an “I give up” gesture.
“I got it from my ‘special contacts’, this morning I went to receive it” –Beck
“Special contacts you say… don’t tell me you’re still keeping in touch with house Coleman’s network of acquaintances?”
“Bingo” –Beck
“Didn’t you resign your right to the inheritance?”
“That’s that, and this is this. In our line of work information is the most important thing next to our lives right? I’m not going to give up such a convenient source of information like the noble’s network. Thankfully my little brother is always eager to help, I gave him the inheritance rights after all” –Beck
Beck’s family, the Coleman baron household owns a big trading company in Reynes’ west port. There’s a saying that words travel the fastest among merchants. Compare to other nobles certainly his house has a much bigger network of information.
“Certainly, this leather scroll and this ink… both the material and the condition suggest that it’s age is no less than hundreds years old”
“Ooh, you get it don’t you nii-san? Not to mention the technique that was used to make this scroll is said to be a lost technology that dated back to the founding era of the kingdom” –Beck
“So, what’s the story?” –Cara
“Wait, Cara.
Beck, you sure it’s okay to talk about it in this kind of place?”
“No worries, I have already put up a sound isolation barrier around us the moment I sat down.
Nee-san already noticed it too, only you were oblivious” –Beck
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Well, it can’t be helped that I have no talent in anything magic related.
“Any way, back to the story, nee-san was pretty much spot-on with her observation. It is certainly strange that such a map appeared out of nowhere. However, there was a good reason why this map has not been sought after. Look at this part that’s like a written letter” –Beck
“Hmm…certainly this doesn’t look like any language I’ve seen. So because no one could decipher this that this map was useless?”
“Is it some kind of spell? I have never seen these insignia before… the letter strokes are pretty though” –Cara
“You’re half-wrong and half-correct. Apparently the map never looked like this before, originally only the writings were visible. So rather than the map being useless, there was no map in the first place. Just an empty scroll with writings no one understands. There have been stories that suggest it’s a special spell of the Sage, and only by understanding it you can make the rest of the map shows itself. But it’s been hundreds of years, see, and nobody could make head or tails of this letter, so it was thought of as a prank. Nowadays it became just a novelty item with historical and artistic value” –Beck
“Then you’re telling us someone managed to decipher it?”
“I confirmed it with my network of merchants, there’s no mistaking. This scroll was originally in the possession of a merchant affiliated with house Coleman. One month ago, a strange kid he took in for some reason managed to decipher it. That guy then sent his eldest son to the capital city in hopes of presenting the scroll to the king and receiving a peerage. However his son and the group accompanied him met with “accident” and the scroll went to the underground market. I went through great pain to acquire it before other hyenas got wind of this” –Beck
“What’s that, that’s quite an outrageous story you know”
“A strange kid deciphered it? Isn’t that too convenient? If someone were to make up something then he should’ve tried harder” –Cara
“I was quite doubtful about it too. To be honest, even if this turned out to be false, I can just sell it to some nobles and get my money back, so I spared no expenses. But guess what, after I received it, on the way here I was attacked by a group from “Ivory” “ –Beck
Both me and Cara widened our eyes in surprise, when you talk about “Ivory”, then there’s only one we can think of.
“You mean THAT Ivory?”
“There’s no other group with that name isn’t there. If there is then they weren’t worth mentioning” –Beck
Ivory is a large underground organization that has made quite a name for itself. They specialize in information collecting and trading. Words over the grapevine that Ivory has not only grasped the majority of the market in the underworld but they have connections on the surface market as well. If those guys started to move then this means that the authenticity of this map is high. Even adventurers and nobles sometimes rely on the information they sell.
“Ivory isn’t it… we knew nothing of them other than their fame but how was it, was they strong?” –Cara
“No, they were rather disappointing, they are definitely stronger than your usual group of thugs but aren’t that dangerous, at most each of them equal a mid-tier C rank adventurer. I guess their main occupation is that of cut throat merchants and shady businessmen after all, either that or they weren’t too serious about the map” –Beck
“How many were there?”
“Three, they probably thought that they could take a magician on easily so they didn’t have their guard up. Well, even if they did it’d only make the fight a bit longer” –Beck
When one think of magicians, they often appear to looks like a physically weak scholar or researcher whose only good point is to chant spell. But that only applies to beginner and third rate magicians. In a battle where there’s a thin line between life and death, unable to guard yourself and have to rely on your comrade’s protection will just make one a liability and endanger the party as a whole. In children’s picture books magicians always wear a big hat and baggy clothes but realistically speaking a hat isn’t going to be useful in a fight and neither will clothes that hinder your movements. That’s why magicians that carry their lives through the battle field always wear armors and knows how to use a weapon just like anyone else. Beck is one such magician. His skill with a sword though isn’t as good as me or Cara, but if we’re talking about bare handed combat then he might just be the strongest among us.
“So that’s why you were late. Isn’t this too dangerous? You shouldn’t underestimate the power of wealth, maybe this time you got off easily but what if they hire stronger assassin then? You do know that no amount of reward is worth your life right?”
“I know that more than anyone, being the former heir of house Coleman. That’s why I’m thinking we should hurry and get out of this city then take the treasure before it becomes too much to handle” –Beck
“I don’t like the sound of this much, Beck. Are you sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew? Even if we manage to obtain the treasure wouldn’t that just motivate them in attacking us?” –Cara
“I have already made arrangements for that. The moment we get the treasure, we will offer them to the kingdom and get only a portion of it as our share. Once they’re determined as state’s property even those guys from Ivory won’t be able to move freely” –Beck
“Well, that does sound like a plan. But I don’t want to make our party take unnecessary risks. Money has no meaning if we lose our life because of it”
The life of an adventurer is one that always has a step on the other side of the world. But by no means we entertain the thought of intentionally putting ourselves in the line of danger. In fact, due to the harsh nature of our lifestyle, we adventurers are more careful than anyone else. If you die, then you lose everything. But if you live, then there’s always tomorrow.
“Think about it, Leader. If we managed to get the treasure of the Sage, then we could reach A rank you know? It’s something that we won’t be able to get even if we continue on taking the usual jobs for another 10 years. More importantly, we could even receive a peerage from the kingdom, and with a good amount of cash to go with it. We won’t be adventurers for forever right? Don’t you want to have at least some insurance for your retirement? We can even leave behind some prestige and wealth for our kids”–Beck
Adventurers are ranked from F to B. The very first time you register as an adventurer your rank will be F, it’s for the snot nosed beginners. Then slowly as you complete your job and gain achievements, you will raise your ranks and fame. You’re considered a regular if you reach rank D, and a veteran if you reach rank B. It’s very important for adventurer as higher rank will net them more job offers. The ranking goes above B rank, however I only consider adventurer to be from F to B is because there’s a large difference between a B rank and an A rank. The A ranks are made of different stuffs, it’s hard to put them in the same lot with us. You may slowly climb your way in ranking normally but once you reach B then it’s impossible to raise your rank further unless your party is incredibly talented. They say if you don’t reach A rank in 10 years then you might as well give up. Even though it’s only one rank above, the A ranks are regarded to as masters and there’s an insurmountable wall between them and the ranks below. Which is why A ranks receive a lot of preferential treatments from both the guild and the kingdom. As for S rank… let’s just not talk about it.
Beck’s story makes sense. We won’t be adventurer forever, this is a job that require us to be in top conditions as we rely on our strength to keep our life. Most people retire after they’ve gone past their prime. To make a living in this world isn’t easy. Even if you’re B rank it doesn’t mean you will be able to save up enough for your retirement. After the retirement one would normally settle down as well, money will be required then. It might not be an exaggeration to say that retirement savings is one of adventurer’s ultimate goal, no matter how dreamless it may sound.
I took a glance at Cara…
Yea…I’d like to settle down when I retire after all. Marry a woman and create a family. If I have something to pass down to my kids then there’s nothing would make me more happy.
Cara too is having a serious expression on her face. She’s pondering about the risks and rewards of this endeavor. It’s rare to see her makes that kind of expression after she had something to drink. As expected, it wouldn’t be funny if we were to let someone else take away such a juicy opportunity from us.
As for Beck… I doubt he’s doing this for money and peerage. After all he gave them up for the free life of an adventurer. The reason he’s being so enthusiastic about it may just be the romance of discovering the legendary treasures. He has always been the type of man who chases after dreams and ideals.
“Beck, what if this turned out to be all nonsense?”
“In that case then it’s just our luck. It’s not as if this is our first time chasing goose. I’ll have you two keep quiet about the failure though so I can at least sell this map somewhere else” –Beck
“You have a nice personality as always” –Cara
“I’m grateful for your praise, nee-san” –Beck
Beck said so jokingly while making an exaggerated bow.
“Wouldn’t the place where the Sage supposedly hid his treasures a dangerous area?”
“Well, about that, take a closer look. Don’t you see this location is familiar?” –Beck
“Hmm…can’t really say…
Wait… this is the Sierra pass? Then that’s the wall of Balor isn’t it? Don’t tell me this is Reynes city?”
“The size looks different though, and there’s supposed to be Catona village in the east?” –Cara
“It’s a map from 700 years ago what do you expect? The city was different and there was no Catona village. But that’s definitely Reynes city” –Beck
“Then this big mark is in Ciallmhar Forest? The shape is a bit different from what I remember though, is this also because of the passage of time?”
“That’s also part of it. But another reason is that this map has drawn up the complete area of Ciallmhar Forest. Our current map only has part of it, the rest are unexplored” –Beck
“Ciallmhar is known for having no real resources or specialties to harvest from. Even the monsters there are so weak and worthless nobody bothered to explore it” –Cara
If the Sage took that into account when he chose a place to hide his treasures then he’s quite the cunning bastard.
“Well then, though undoubtedly if this operation is a success then we might have hit a golden jackpot that probably won’t happen a second time in our life. But I prioritize the safety of our party above all else. So keep that in mind, and as always we’ll vote to determine our course of action”
“Got it, I was expecting this anyway” –Beck
“Understood” –Cara
“Alright, the people who are against this time’s job, please raise your hand”
No one did.