Cless yawned in front of her guild members. Her early morning went just as usual. Wake up before sunrise, wash the bathing room, clean the common room, check on Lyle's health, gossip with Josefine, eat breakfast, leave to meet everyone at the front gate. Balthus did not return that night. Karen told Cless not to worry as he was known to disappear for weeks and as a freebie the afternoon training session was self-study.
Cless studied her prayer book to learn the two Cleric spells she had access. One, Turn Undead, at level two and another, Blessing, at level four. Turn undead was an attack spell that dealt holy damage to undead and Blessing used a bit of oil to improve the combat proficiencies of the ones anointed by the spell. She grabbed a small bottle of oil and left.
Arnold, Shane, Martin showed up in their brand new leather armor. Seven others also showed up, clearly interested in their fellow guildmates' gear upgrade. Joe, Edward, Andre, both Alans, Herbert, and Brett.
"Welcome. Today we are going to work in the woods. We need to harvest medicinal herbs and mushrooms. The woods are getting dangerous so we are not going out of our way to pick a fight today."
Of the extra seven that showed up today, only Joe and Andre remained behind. The other five went away.
"Deduct six thousand Exp from the amount owed to Collin." She spoke to her Skill.
> The amount of Experience Points owed to Collin York adjusted by six thousand due to missing guild functions two times. The remaining amount of Exp: 14,625
And since it was part of the servitude release, it was broadcast to all the nineteen survivors of the contract. Cless hung her head when she remembered that her Skill was the reason for eight deaths already. She prayed for the One God's guidance and moved on.
"But we can't go into the woods to pick up the herbs on our own. We are going shopping for gear," She explained the day's activities. Joe and Andre cheered but she held up a hand. "Gear for gathering herbs, blockheads. If you want armor or weapons, either sweat, bleed enough to earn, or craft them."
The six of them plus a big wolf went to the market. Cless used her own coin to buy six basket backpacks, six bone sickles and twelve bags for herbs. The sickles would help harvest without damaging, and some herbs could not be crushed or hurt at all, their delicate properties held intact for the apothecary. These would be carefully placed in the baskets. She spent around three ducats on the whole setup. Remembering what Balthus told her, she also bought them waterskins and belts where several items could be attached to. Two ducats for six sets. The saddlebags for Silverfang were not ready, some rivets missing. It would be ready by tomorrow morning.
They filled the waterskins at the well, drank a lot of water to get hydrated and marched north. Cless went straight past farmer Olson's place. They would stop to collect their coin on the way back.
"Silverfang, I want you to scout around us for danger. If there is any, howl to let us know. I have here drawings of the herbs we are supposed to collect. Let me explain them."
They sat and Cless did the run-down of the herbs. There were six types they were supposed to gather. Sorrow Fennel, Wild Basil, Keroyenne, Autumn Orchids, Bloodthorn Buds, and Yellow Arnica. The Orchids, Basil and Arnica were supposed to go into the basket, Fennel and Bloodthorn in the bag. In fact, if the bloodthorns were placed in the bags they would ruin the other plants just by moving around.
"Remember, don't pick up the whole plant. Leave a branch or a stalk behind so it can grow back." Cless warned before they went on their way.
They split into three groups of two people. Cless with Joe, Arnold, and Andre, and Shane paired with Martin. Cless hoped this setup would keep the two irregulars in check. They roamed around the area where they cut the trees, noticing several branches they cut and irresponsibly left lying around were already drying. In some places, it even blocked the way. They would gather the herbs and place in their peer's basket or into their own bag.
There was not much opportunity for conversation and every time Cless tried to strike a subject Joe would just mumble, shrug or ignore her. It was grating Cless but she didn't want to pressure him into small talk just because she was his boss.
Noon arrived and they gathered to eat. They made a firepit and with the somehow still green branches they gathered around plus some dry kindling, they made a fire. Shane caught two rabbits and together with whatever they brought would be shared among them for lunch. They talked about stuff while the rabbit roasted.
"You are good with these daggers, aren't you, Shane?" Cless pointed at the rabbits and at the daggers sheathed at his sides.
Shane hesitated as if he didn't want to answer. Cless wondered if she had touched some sensitive subject but he answered. "My Skills are with the dagger."
Cless re-evaluated Shane's usefulness. A weapon Skill would grant automatic proficiency and some even special effects. She had no idea of his Skill's rank but she wouldn't pry. "I'm sorry to force you to use the club on the bear. I didn't know."
"No worries. It helped get a better price on the pelt. Killing a bear that big with daggers would make the pelt into a useless patchwork of scraps."
"But it is not worth it if someone gets hurt."
The boys nodded. They ate bread, jerky, and rabbit, washing it down with well water. They spent two more hours gathering herbs before they reconvened at their firepit.
"My basket is full," Arnold reported. The others nodded. Their baskets were also almost full.
"Did anyone find the Sorrow Fennel?" Martin asked. Everyone shook their heads.
"Does it even grow in this part of the woods?" Joe wondered.
"No use wasting more time searching," Cless decided. "Let's go back to town and sell these herbs. We can ask the apothecary where we can find Sorrow Fennel."
They picked up their stuff, double checked that the firepit wouldn't start a forest fire and went back to town. On the way back Cless visited Olson and collected part of the money. She was still owed one crown and twenty-five ducats. Olson had forty-five ducats, eighty to go. Cless would return tomorrow. She replaced her own five ducats, leaving the guild with forty silver ducats for funds.
They went back to town and crossed most of it. The apothecary was in the western ward. Cless handed her basket to Arnold and entered the shop.
It smelled of a mix of fresh and mashed herbs. Some herb bundles hung from the ceiling to dry and jars of crushed herbs rested on shelves. It was a place where clumsy or big people had no place. Cless herself wouldn't dare enter the shop if she hadn't spent a lot of stat points in Agility. Nobody was in the storefront so Cless called for the apothecary.
"Mrs. Johanson? It is Cless from the Blind Eye guild. We got the herbs you requested."
The old apothecary came from the back. "Ah, young lady. Welcome, welcome. You got the herbs, right? Well, bring them in. I'll sort and appraise them."
Did she have a Skill that can appraise herbs or just a proficiency? Was there other appraisal proficiencies? Cless would have to ask Balthus.
They brought the bags and the baskets in. She went through them carefully, separating the herbs in bundles according to some criteria. One thing struck Cless. She knew they had screwed up some of the herbs, but the old woman never clicked her tongue, frowned or threw away any herb. She soon understood that the bundles more to her right were the worst and the ones at the right the best.
"Good, good. Not bad for a first time but then again what difficulty lies in just plucking weeds from the ground, eh?" Ms. Johanson raised a questioning eye. Cless felt there was something there, hidden meaning to her question.
"And even then we didn't do it right."
The older woman eyed Cless. For once she didn't sense disgust in her face, "You think so, huh?" She smiled, "Strive to improve then! Talk to the herbs as you gather them. Tell them why are you gathering them. Whisper to them of the great good they'll do and the herb will be way happier to be picked for such a noble cause."
She had a fit of laughter that resembled cackling. Cless was left without knowing if she was being serious or not. Maybe the apothecary could talk to plants.
"Thank you for your advice, Mrs. Johanson. We really don't want to take too much of your time. How much do you think these herbs are worth?"
"I am willing to pay you thirty-five ducats. Is that acceptable?"
"The woods are getting more and more dangerous, Mrs. Johanson. We fought a level thirty grizzly matriarch just the other day. Couldn't you raise a bit the payment?"
"Is that so? A grizzly matriarch? That is odd. Well, forty-five is the best I can get. Do we have a deal?"
Cless offered her hand. "Yes." They shook and she continued, "Where can we find the Sorrow Fern?"
"Sorrow Fennel, my dear. Fennel, not Fern. I don't think a Sorrow Fern exists, and I hope it continues so. That plant only grows in places where a great tragedy happened. You will find it at Witch Hill."
Witch Hill. A hill with the ruins of a house at its summit where more than a decade ago a demon-worshipping witch was purged. It was a tragic story of a lady that lived there, corrupted by a demon and turned into a wicked witch. The church clamored for her extermination and eventually the whole place was destroyed. A thicket grew around the place and hid the ruins from the eyes of passersby. But the dark energies of the demon still linger there. The place was avoided by everyone and sometimes stupid boys went there on a dare.
"Witch Hill..." Cless hesitates. It is not a place people go willingly.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Don't worry. There is nothing there but some wrecked old building. Whatever evil happened there, it is long gone. But the fact stands that place is the site for a tragedy and where you'll find the Sorrow Fennel. It pays well because none of those blasted harvesters dare go near that place. But you kids are brave delvers, that will be nothing for the likes of you. So, off you go!"
She returned their baskets and bags and ushered them outside. Cless exchanged a silent discussion with her guild members but they steeled themselves. Especially Joe and Andre.
"We are going. That will be a piece of cake. Let's make some money, guild!" She tried to encourage them, but she herself was afraid.
So they departed out of the west gate, out of the road after a kilometer, and into the overgrown trail leading to Witch Hill. Here and there, signs of cobblestone. The path was paved a long time ago. It went around the hill as it climbed and soon the thicket was ahead. The undergrowth was thick and it would be hard to cross. Shane took his daggers and started cutting the tall grass.
"Don't make too much noise, man!" Andre quivered. "Some say the witch returned after ten years."
"Shut your trap, Andre," Shane fought back. "We won't be able to walk through this vegetation. And I see no way for you to cut it."
After that, they progressed in silence. But soon they heard sounds. Voices. People? They crept nearby and found a clearing in the middle of the thicket. Three men were there, probably bandits. They had the rugged outlook, poorly-maintained weapons, disregard for hygiene, and dirty vocabulary of bandits. They were around some embers with wineskins, keeping themselves warm and drunk. After listening to their conversation and retelling of what they did to some merchant's daughter, Cless was convinced that it would be their last day plaguing the land.
"We are attacking them. There are two of us for each one of them. Let me use my magic." She cast a blessing on the six of them. "We are going to take them down with the first assault. Silverfang, you stay behind and ambush anyone that seems like a trouble for us. Ready your weapons."
With a mighty war cry, the six teens jumped out of the undergrowth and charged the bandits. Those two near them fell to a flurry of clubs and daggers on their backs. The last one shouted.
"Boss, help! It is an attack!"
The fastest ones among them were Cless and Shane. The dagger-wielding boy went first and slashed the wrist of the bandit before he could draw his sword. Cless went after Shane and slammed her club at the bandit's face. He dodged but she grazed his shoulder, dislodging the joint with an audible pop. Arnold and Andre hit the bandits they downed again, crushing their skulls.
Cless was worried about this boss they called out. She scanned around and from behind a stone wall of the ruins, a big man came. He had a greasy and tangled mess of facial hair. Boss bandit smiled as he saw Cless.
"There's their boss! Keep alert!" Cless pointed with a disgusted face. The boss bandit was scratching his crotch, clearly excited to see a woman. The six of them circled around. The last bandit was stronger and bigger, none of them wanted to go in first.
"Nice girl, suck me and I'll let your boy toys live," The boss bandit nonchalantly stated. Whatever that man wanted Cless to suck, she would decline.
"I'll fight you, bandit. I'm Cless, guild master of the Blind Eye guild. Boys, watch for any surprises. There can be bandits hidden around us."
"Oww! Scary guild master girl. Playing delver with your friends? Cute!" He blew a kiss.
"Watch me! I'm going to drive this club on your forehead before the sun sets!"
"Please try. I love a feisty woman. They squirm the best!"
"The one squirming here is you, bandit. Surrender and we'll take you to the constable!"
"Six kids smelling like milk against me? Bite me, girl!" He drew his sword. It was a polished steel sword that probably belonged to some knight. There was a faded coat of arms on the cross guard.
"Here I come!" Cless shouted. Behind her, the boys just mumbled unintelligibly among themselves. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Cless screamed her war cry but stood her ground. After getting air back on her lungs, she finally moved.
As the bandit boss readied his sword to swat away that overgrown toothpick Cless was wielding, his years of experience in combat told him something was wrong and he turned to glance behind him. He saw a huge Lycan, as tall as him while still hunched over drawing both claws at his back. he turned to defend and was able to parry one of the clawed hands. The other dug into his upper arm near the shoulder, almost crippling the limb. The bandit boss turned to fight the real threat.
Cless jumped and drove the club down on the bandit's crown. The ironwood club smacked hard the unprotected head and Cless tackled the bigger man. He just stumbled forward and it gave Silverfang the edge he needed. The Lycan grabbed the sword's blade and bit the man's face. The boys cheered and hooted for the monster.
The bandit boss screamed and pulled his sword, cutting Silverfang but failing to yank the blade free. Cless took a step back and brought the club sideways on the back of the rear leg's knee. He took a step forward and the club only grazed the man but he lost his footing as Silverfang was almost over him. The Lycan bit the man's face again, blinding him enough that the werewolf could dig his claws at the man's neck.
Cless clubbed the man's nape at the same time Silverfang ripped his throat. She skipped back to avoid getting blood on her. She had moderate success. Silverfang spat the human meat, mindful of Cless orders.
And it was over.
> For defeating 4 humans, you earned 714 Experience Points. You earned 4,285 Class Experience Points. Cless has reached level 22. Cless has reached Cleric level 5 +1 Magic.
The boys cheered on their victory. That probably was because each one of them earned 2,250 Exp and for once none of them got hurt. Silverfang did, but the sword was steel. He quickly healed and shifted to remove the blood from himself.
"Search the bodies for valuables. The boss' sword stays with me. I think it has an owner. Does anyone know whose crest is this?"
Cless showed the sword to the boys, but none of them recognized the crest. It was faded but Cless was decided in trying to find the owner of the sword. It was a knight weapon and it would be unfitting to not return it to their family.
They searched the bandits and found a small amount of coin, just a few ducats and a lot of solidii. They had crude weapons and some knick-knacks like a tinderbox, cigar leaves, a wood carving of a naked woman, weighed game dice and other useless stuff. The boss had a brass compass with a long chain, those that would be loosely hung to the neck and be used when necessary.
"Cless, let's take their heads to the constable," Shane suggested. "There might be a bounty on these bandits. We cut them now and let the heads drain before taking them with us."
"Please do it then, Shane. I'll give you one extra share of whatever bounty we earn for these bandits."
After looting the bodies came the split of the bandit's equipment. The knight sword would be handed over to constable George to see if the owner was known. If not, the weapon would be returned to them. The bandits had some knives, throwing daggers, a shortsword, and a longsword. Plus two suits of relatively well-conserved and smelly leather armor. The boss had a chain mail shirt.
"The throwing daggers are Shane's," Cless declared and the roguish boy pumped his fist. "The chain shirt will go to Arnold, pass your brigandine along to someone that can use it. Martin gets your pick of a sword. Joe and Andre throw the dice to see who gets first pick of the sword Martin leaves behind. We have four knives, are these any good, Shane?"
"There is some rust but if we polish and oil them they can surely cut some monster meat."
"Then it is decided. Whoever gets the last pick can choose two knives out of these. The other two I'll keep to hand out one to Lyle and another to Lawrence. Each of you two also gets a leather armor. I don't think Arnold's brigandine will fit anyone here." She decided. After a pause, she asked, "Does anyone object to this?"
They didn't. The gear was split as Cless said. Silverfang got the provisions the bandits had. Jerky and some badly smoked game. The wolf cared not, his motto was 'meat is meat'.
She showed them how the Sorrow Fennel looked like and Andre immediately spotted a specimen. Cless was standing up to pick it when she wobbled. Arnold supported her.
"We can gather some weeds, guild master. Sit here and rest. Nice job distracting the bandit for Silverfang's ambush by the way."
She felt strange. It was as if the aura of the place was weighing on her. After drinking the rest of her water, Cless took Silverfang with her and went on an exploration of the ruins.
It was once a large house, maybe even a manor. The sturdy stone foundations were still in place, as were few stone walls that supported a second floor. The hill was tall and whoever lived here probably had a great view of the town down there. Cless couldn't see it because of the thicket. It was obvious that the place had been picked clean by looters and served as a hiding spot for several social outcasts during all these years. In some places, there were marks of blows to the stones as if someone tried to cut the stone. The stairs to the basement collapsed along with part of the floor. Cless could hear and smell stagnant water underneath. She watched her footing carefully. Cless found some broken clay thatching on the ground. she picked one piece and scraped the grime. It was dyed red.
A rich house. A purge commanded by the church. An evil witch vanquished. A cursed hilltop. Cless saw the long shadows the thicket was casting over the ruins and knew it was time to go. The boys had enough Sorrow Fennel gathered.
They went back the way they came. Dusk was creeping over the town when they crossed the gates. After delivering the herbs for one crown and thirty-seven ducats, they went after constable George. He was at the guard barracks. They waited for half an hour until the man came to see them at the lobby.
"Miss Cless, or should I say, guild master Cless. To what I owe the visit?"
"We went to witch hill," Cless started and George furrowed his brows immediately. Cless found it outraging but she continued. "On Mrs. Johanson's errand for some herbs that grown only there."
George harrumphed and his face changed, "I see. go on."
"We found four men hiding in there. From their conversation we inferred, they were bandits and we attacked."
She said that because she knew that the guard's authority didn't extend out of the palisade. There was little chance the fight would be investigated even if they weren't bandits.
"We defeated them. We brought the heads to see if there was any outstanding bounties on them and also one article that might have a previous owner."
Cless tapped the knight sword at her waist and George raised an eyebrow. She knew he had a Skill to detect lies.
"Let me call a guard," George popped his head inside the barracks and shouted, "Toby, haul your sorry ass here. I have a job for you!"
She rolled her eyes. Senior guardsmen Toby? Really? Before she could summon the courage to speak about it, the man was there.
"Finally causing enough trouble to get yourself arrested, abomination? I'll enjoy it!"
That kind of vicious disavowal that she never got used to. How fresh and unnecessary. George drove a fist on Toby's head.
"That is why you were demoted, dumbass. If it were not for my friendship for your father, you'd be jobless. Show guardsmen Toby the heads. He'll check carefully to see if they had any bounties. And after he's done, I'll recheck it myself."
Shane took the sack with heads and Toby made for the whole bag. The boy was faster and moved away. He unceremoniously dumped the heads on a countertop.
"That is Mad Wolf McKinley," George declared when the bandit boss' head came out of the sack. "Yes, there are bounties on all of them. It is late, I am going to process them and your bounty will be available tomorrow. Is that okay, guild master?"
"Absolutely, constable. Regarding that article, this sword belongs to a knight. I'd like to see it returned to their rightful owner or to their family for proper burial."
A knight was always buried with their sword. In case one perished on the field and a body was not retrieved, it was usual to send the swords back to the families and the weapons would be buried without the body. 'The sword is a Knight's soul' goes the saying. That is why she also said 'belongs' instead of 'belonged'. Ownership of these weapons didn't change upon death. And bearing one in civilized areas would bring attention at best and trouble with a noble family at worst. Smart commoners avoided nobles. They were usually trouble.
"If there is some finder's fee, I'd like to know."
"The crest is faded, scratched even. Probably to avoid detection." George unsheathed the blade partially. "The blade is perfect. Yes, you did the right thing, guild master. I'm proud. I'll make sure to get this back to where it belongs and send your way any kind of reward or as you put it, 'finder's fee'."
"Doing our job, constable. We are working hard to stop being seen as a bunch of kid horsing around playing at being a guild. It is hard but we will persevere."
To Cless' surprise, George saluted them. "What is your guild's name, guild master Cless?"
"We are The Blind Eye."
> Name: Cless (no surname)
>
> Race: Human.
>
> Level: 22 ( 234,135 / 253,000 Exp)
>
> Class: Cleric 5 (+1) (11,211 / 15,000 Exp)
>
> Profession: Warmaster 6 (18,066 / 21,000 Exp), Weaponmaster 6 (18,066 / 21,000 Exp)
>
> Base Stats: Strength: 12 — Agility: 14 — Health: 21 — Intellect: 21 — Magic: 32 (+1)
>
> Available Status Points: 0
>
> Skills: [ Absolute Contract (S) ]
>
> Proficiencies:
>
> Appraisal — Status: 20
>
> Crafting — Crude Weapons: 5
>
> Magic, Cleric — Mending: 11 — Detoxify: 6 — Light: 2 — Turn Undead: 1 (+1) — Blessing: 4 (+4)
>
> General — Prayer: 10 — Scribe: 2 — Houseworking: 3 — Math: 2 — Reading: 6 — Forestry: 7 — Skinning: 7 — Herbalism: 3 (+3)
>
> Social, general — Negotiation: 10
>
> Social, martial — Leadership: 16 (+3) — Intimidation: 13 — Tactics: 12 (+3)
>
> Movement — Tumbling: 3
>
> Weapon — Long Blades: 4 — Short Blades: 2 — Unarmed: 7 — Archery: 12 — Spears: 3 — Maces: 17 (+6) — Staves: 4 — Axes: 5