Kelton woke with the sun the next morning, and for the first time in too long, he felt free. Now, he reasoned, it was time to get stable, then to rebuild his footholds so that he could climb his way back up. Kelton had learned a hard lesson about shoring up his vulnerabilities and about the perils of being too greedy. No matter how long it took, he was going to do it right this time, so that his power and his freedom would never be taken away again. Although the clearing was large, and the forest seemed to sprawl off forever in virtually every direction that wasn't towards the coast, Kelton was able to see signs of chimney smoke in the distance, and that was enough to give him a sense of where to head next - just as soon as he took care of some more immediate needs.
He realized that the long, panicked flight through the evening, preceded by hours of swimming and followed by hours of exhausted sleep, had left Kelton irritatingly hungry and dangerously dehydrated. He was pretty sure that if anyone had planned to be out in this clearing long enough to need a shelter, that they would have needed a water source too; it had to be nearby. Kelton slowly rose his aching body and began to look around. Sure enough, there was a small well no more than a hundred yards away from the shelter - just far enough way that he stood no chance of finding it in the pitch black of the night when he arrived - and near it were the signs of a fire pit. Clearly this was a place well-frequented.
Kelton took his liberty with as much water as he could drink without making himself sick, and then drew even more up and poured it over himself in attempt to clear some of the sand, dirt, and sweat off of his body and clothes. He would dry in the rising morning sun, he figured, as it was already getting pleasantly warm. After that, and a quick moment to relieve himself, Kelton felt human enough to continue towards the signs of life in the distance.
The town was a short walk away, and it took him no more than forty minutes even at his slower-than-normal pace. As he approached, Kelton could see that it was a small town indeed, like those he had seen when approaching from the sea. He doubted that it contained more than a few thousand people. Hopefully he could create a reasonable story to explain his sudden appearance, and find a good next step here. Although he had long believed himself to be a consummate liar and reader of people, the last few weeks had shaken that belief, and Kelton found himself growing increasingly nervous.
The sounds of men working near the edge of the city (as it were) rose to meet him as he approached, and Kelton headed towards the din. He saw a large group of fellows working on constructing a stone wall. Some were hauling the boulders, others were breaking them and shaping them into the right sizes, others hoisting them into place, and a few more were joining them with a kind of mortar.
It seemed like a perfect opportunity; this motley crew was likely a collection of day laborers, which was exactly what Kelton needed to get settled in. As he drew near to the workers, one man from off on his side called out "You there! If you're looking for work, go see Franz. He's the guy by the boulder, looks like he's doing nothing! You can't miss him!" There was a loud guffaw of laughter from the men at this barb, and Kelton offered a smile and a gesture of acknowledgement in return. Sure enough, Franz was exactly as promised, and stood out like a sore thumb. After they introduced themselves to each other, Franz eyed Kelton and said "I reckon you're wanting a job. Aye, I can use another pair of reliable hands. Reliable." He paused. "You're not from around here, and we don't just get visitors. What's your story?"
Kelton mentally cursed - his very first conversation here and already the topic he was trying to avoid had been raised. He decided to go with something that was true enough, but with a spin that avoided any meaningful details. "Bad breakup - I lose everything. Off to start a new life, I guess. Just headed out and kept moving; not sure where I'm going to stop, but this is good enough for now. I want to eat and to sleep, so that means I want to work. I don't cause trouble." Franz snorted at this last statement. "So you say...we'll see. I'll give you work, but if you do start to be a problem, you'll be gone quick. I've got no patience for idiots, and no room for troublemakers."
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"Start with the mortar crew," Franz continued. "It's a messy job, and you have to be fast; nobody really likes it, so that's where you go. We're a contracted, temporary force, but this is a long job, so as long as you can keep up, you'll have a way to earn your keep." Franz started at him for a moment, and Kelton was certain that he was going to ask him another probing question.
"If you're really some kind of itinerant, well, welcome to the circuit. Most of these men travel in small groups, but we find our way to each other often enough; these small towns just don't have enough work to keep a crew like us full-time, and they're too small to use their own people, so when major work needs done, we all sort of end up coming together. Anyway...you probably don't have a place to stay yet, do you?"
Kelton shrugged slightly and shook his head. Franz nodded at the expected answer and continued "Stick with the mortar crew tonight, assuming you last the day, and they'll head over to the local inn. Call on Millie; she'll give you a few night's credit - in a crappy room, probably - with my note. Work supplies come out of your pay the first week, so you'll be at one-third pay, but after that I pay one and a half gold a week."
That sounded good enough for Kelton, and he was eager to get started, in a fashion. Not that he necessarily wanted to do hard labor - not at all, in fact - but he was still excited to have passed this initial test so easily, and he saw a path towards a small stable little life. With his basic needs met, Kelton would be able to concentrate on his next move. Franz directed him to some surprisingly well-fitting gloves, as well as a kind of loose apron, trowels, and other necessary supplies. With that, Kelton made his way back over to the working men and introduced himself.
Kelton was pleased to find that the men were friendly, and shared an easy camaraderie. It wasn't the quiet obedience of his short life as a "free man" at sea - the site was alive with sound. All the men seemed to be happy enough with their work, and were clearly good at it; Kelton had to work quickly to keep up with them, and they appreciated his efforts, even though he was, as they said "about as likely to stick himself to the wall as another brick with his sloppy mortaring." It really wasn't that bad, and he knew that they were just giving him a hard time as the new guy.
Apart from a short break for lunch, the whole team seemed to be content to work from sunup to sundown. This might be harder than I imagined, Kelton thought - but hey, at least nobody is trying to throw me in jail or sell me off as a slave, so how bad could it be? Despite the hard work, the time passed quickly enough, and before too long it was time to stop for the evening. Just like Franz had told them they would, his immediate coworkers were quick to invite Kelton to join them for dinner and drinks.
In his previous life, as Vance, Kelton would have dreaded such an invitation. Social interactions were something that he had always tried to minimize unless he could directly benefit from them. However, he was well-aware now that he would need to rely on others, and if nothing else, endearing himself to them now would only serve to increase his security (and maybe set the stage for favors) later. At least Kelton knew that he was consistent; this was the same thought pattern that had guided so many of his interpersonal dealings in Juldania, as well. He was self-aware enough to know that this was potentially dangerous ground for him; he'd have to act differently this time around to avoid the same danger and same bad end. Kelton was lucky enough to have escaped what was coming to him once - now he had to be smart enough not to need the luck of fools.
No sense in fretting about it now, though, Kelton reasoned. One step at a time. Tonight he would enjoy freedom and his new start; for one night, he could put off making a grand scheme. Even the most driven people need a mental break, lest they snap, and Kelton had been pushing himself for far too long. Yes...he deserved a drink; besides, he was a working man now. With a slight chuckle at his own seriousness, Kelton rejoined the group and proceeded off to dinner.