1:38 P.M.
January 25
Wintermonth 24
Saint Shepherd Church, Limeroom, Veotera
Gary stood at the door of the church, holding it open for the elderly couple to exit into the slightly less cold air. He gave the married pair a respectful deep nod which earned him a smile from the woman with her thin graying hair poking out from under a hair covering scarf and a returned nod from the husband she was holding on to as they shuffled out the door. Once they were clear, Gary moved to stand in the open doorway and peer out across the street to a rooftop that had a perfect view of the church’s front exterior. Gray eyes locked with the figure that was laid down on the rooftop in question, the softest flutter of a blanket moving over top of their form as they clearly stared back at him from a prone position.
He held the gaze for enough time to make it clear he’d clocked the lookout before stepping back and closing the door softly. He heard Remmy at the end of the rows of pews and turned to face the old priest with a look on his face that was unreadable.
“Still there,” Remmy asked simply. Gary nodded. “I’m pretty sure they won’t do anything to me on holy ground, Gary. That would bring the Holy Order down on Limeroom, and I have a suspicion that’s something they don’t want.” Gary’s eyes narrowed as he contemplated that series of statements. Whoever these guys were, they were persistent but had clearly switched to long-term reconnaissance in favor of trying anything either while he was here or more likely when he was gone.
“I’m really tempted to use my Skills, slip out a side window, and go interrogate that guy. I probably shouldn’t because it’d disrupt this weird balance we’ve got going right now and provoke something.”
“Good to know you still value logic even after getting a taste of how your Class works. Rashness is a trap for the foolish.” Gary sighed but nodded. This stalemate was getting to be an annoyance. He wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable conflict but he’d settle for something. He needed to figure out how to get stronger so he could contact Earth. Playing Chicken with a group of thieves wasn’t going to get him there. “I can see your frustration, Gary. Patience is a virtue, but I’ve come to know that you are a man of action. Perhaps it’s time you branch out your activities from my humble little church.”
That caught Gary’s attention. A brow raised over a gray eye in response to the shift in topic.
“You should look into the local branch of the Delvers. It’ll let you burn off some of that restless vigor of yours.” It had been a thought Gary had entertained but now it seemed Remmy was deliberately pushing him this direction. The Delvers were Veotera’s answer to the trope of the Adventurer. They were mostly an international organization of hunters who tracked down the magical beasts and phenomena of a nature the average citizen couldn’t handle but wasn’t enough to justify raising an army for. They also went into dungeons; which sounded to Gary like exactly what he needed to at least research. The locals had discovered that certain places that once traversed spat them out into entirely unfamiliar locations filled with monsters and natural resources not found in the world proper.
He had hesitated to see about joining because he had lacked any resources to afford fees and equipment, and later because he felt Remmy needed to be protected from this lurking band of thieves. Remmy had clearly seen the struggle in Gary even as Gary had tried to ignore it. He sighed and raised his hands in defeat earning a chuckle from the old man.
“You got me. I’m just concerned about leaving you to their predations, but if you think you’ll be fine I guess I can go.” Remmy clapped his hands in response, the sound startling Gary for an instant before he leveled a look at the old man. Remmy laughed in amusement.
“Go and get changed into your other clothes. I left a letter of recommendation on your bed. No sense in going in your cassock if you’re not there as a priest or a healer.”
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Clad in his attire that he’d arrived to this world in and armed with the two knives and club, Gary found himself at the entrance to a big, wide three-story building. The building itself was a cream-hued whitewash with red clay tiles on the gently speed roof. Even through the closed door Gary could hear the sounds of laughter and muffled words of boasting. He flipped the hem of his crimson cloak back over his shoulders. It was the one thing he’d taken from his pseudo-priest form of dress, since he’d lacked a cloak when he came. With a deep calming breath he looked up at the wooden sign hanging above the door.
‘The Unusual Huntress’. It was a larger than he’d expected sign. A ranger - or Robin Hood-type of rogue - of the feminine variety was in silhouette with a half-drawn shortbow at the ready as she seemed to be in mid-step backwards from the words naming the place. Below the sign itself hung an icon that he had discovered was the emblem of the Delvers. The plaque of material was a thin sheet of limestone upon which was placed a wrought iron design of a circle with four points jutting out of it in cardinal directions, and inside the circle was a pair of crossed basketed cavalry sabers behind what he knew was supposedly a stylized arrow. It looked more like a weird-headed mace to him but to each their own.
Delver Symbol [https://i.imgur.com/UJCpal4.jpg]
“At least I’m in the right place.” Without further delay after he took a picture of the emblem and signage with his Virtual Network for adding to his growing report on Veotera that he hoped to one day send to Earth, Gary entered the tavern. The sound, the sight of a well-lit tavern; it was more of a pressure than he’d expected as the place was at least three-quarters filled with patrons. It seemed the spirits and beers flowed and somewhere out of immediate sight there seemed to be someone playing music. He closed the door behind himself and made his way through the tavern proper to the bar. The eyes he felt upon him were ignored. He was here on a mission and he was damned if he’d get caught up in a pissing contest with randos right after setting foot in the door.
The barkeep spotted the tall red-cloaked young man coming and nodded his head back in greeting as he stepped to the open section to meet up. Gary took the hint and bellied up to the bar. “Afternoon! What’ll I get you?”
“Looking for the place I could see about the Delvers at, good man. Would you point me that way, please?” The man - who was pretty burly as Gary noticed he was being looked up and down just as Gary was scoping him out - took a moment to mentally assess Gary then pointed towards a less-rowdy corner of the tavern that occupied a spot by the stairs up to the second floor. It was surprising how much real estate The Unusual Huntress occupied as Gary nodded his thanks to the barkeep before weaving his way through the patrons to the indicated section. A smaller version of the Delver emblem outside was hung to an overhead beam at what turned out to be a whole alcove under the stairs, occupying the whole wall under where the stairs led up and continuing up to the back wall. A few bored-looking attendants were talking and working on some plates of half-eaten but still delicious-looking food while the one at what Gary considered the ‘front counter’ was watching the tavern’s activity with a bored half-interest. His approach drew immediate attention and the woman sat up in her seat as he got to her.
“Good afternoon, young man. How can the Delvers help you?” She was a mousy, petite woman wearing a simple woolen frock that was covering up her modest bustline. Her dirty blond hair was swept into some updo that she probably considered professional as she blinked doe-like eyes at him as she waited for a response. Her lips were in the ghost of a smile until Gary pulled the letter from Remmy out from behind his cloak and held it out to her.
“I’d like to see about joining. I have a letter of recommendation that should help aid that.” Her smile grew a little bit, becoming sad but professional. Gary thought the woman probably doubted his ability and was already mourning another young fool throwing his life away in search of imagined glory. She reached out and Gary surrendered the letter. The words Gary had uttered drew the attention of one of the men who’d been eating and the woman handed him the letter. Upon unfurling the letter and giving it a quick read the man’s eyes instantly shot up to Gary’s face. The teenager met him with an innocent smile though he could guess roughly what the letter said. Remmy had more than enough time to evaluate his character and the word of the clergy carried weight in this world.
“Dina, see to the boy’s induction. Father Wikloss is sponsoring him, so don’t mind the fees.” So he finally had Remmy’s last name. It was funny how it had never come up in conversation, but there was never a need between them for such formality. Gary would have to decide later if he felt like poking fun at it or just let it off quietly. He updated the old man’s file as the woman took back the letter and started reading it for relevant information that she scribbled onto what Gary recognized instantly as a standardized-looking form. It was clearly hand-written in the end, but someone had clearly commissioned them en-mass. So perhaps the printing press wasn’t a thing here yet? Well, he could make a quick fistful of runees if he felt like breaking the isekai survival rule about spreading modern-day technology in fantasy worlds.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Gary settled in to wait until the woman was done writing the information the letter contained down before turning it around and sliding it so he could access the parchment. Gary took up the quill and double-made sure his 「Language: Common Veoteran」 passive Skill was active before starting to write out his name, age, and other little bits of information that Dina hadn’t filled out from Remmy’s letter. When he reached the Class entry he paused for a few moments, taking a deep breath, and writing Plunderer in the spot offered. He was half-tempted to put the strength beside it but if the form wasn’t asking for it he suppressed the urge to volunteer information. Let it be an ace in his sleeve. He finished up the rest of what he needed to do and relinquished the quill and form to Dina.
She scrutinized the entries he’d made, face scrunching up as he saw her take in his Class. He was sure he’d be getting a lot of looks like that if he didn’t mention it’s rank in the same breath. Gary mentally cursed at the System but kept a polite smile on his face as she decided it was all in order and sprinkled some drying sand on the wet ink to not let it smear as she set it aside. Her other hand reached under the counter and produced a small medallion from a container seemingly by her knee. Handing it over, Gary saw it was the same symbol of the Delvers; wrought iron symbols on a thin limestone circular plate, the medallion lacking the square background of the hanging larger ones. He dutifully put it on and let it hang where it was clearly visible.
“I have to tell you about some rules, so pay attention. First rule is that you’re bound to complete a task if you sign a contract through us. If you deliberately fail there will be escalating punishments from fines to suspensions, all the way up to expulsion.”
“Absolutely reasonable.”
“Glad you think so. Second is that rewards are split evenly between Delvers that sign onto a contract together, no questions. If you’re afield and need to have other Delvers join you or you join other Delvers, the ones joining are entitled to a half-share. Unusual things that are gathered during the contract that aren’t reasonable to split like pelts and the like must be brought to the local branch for appraisal and to be held until the involved Delvers agree who has ownership.”
So they had policies in place for reward distribution and when interesting things popped up during a contract or hunt. It was a simple and fair system, allowing even splits of money and the items going to who needed them the most. Gary nodded and added that to the file he was working on for this group. This device in his head was going to be so useful simply for keeping notes to track everything going on. He thanked his uncle and the United States government silently as she continued.
“Third is that emergency situations that come up such as coming across a rampaging monster or calls to arms by the local lord take priority over whatever you’re doing. You see it, you deal with it unless you know you can’t, then you send someone to report it and distract it until help arrives.” Gary nodded at this too. It was the standard Adventurer thing of solving problems as they came across them. Gary spoke up at one of the parts of what Dina had said.
“Can a local lord just say ‘You work for me now’ and you’re stuck, or does it need to be a clear case of ‘this is the problem help me handle it’ and we’re dismissed once it’s done?”
“The latter. A few lords over the years have tried to pressgang Delvers into their retinues and it ended poorly for everyone involved. Now, there’s nothing stopping you from signing a long-term contract with a noble but again it’s gotta go through us. Everything has to be legal so no one can weasel out of anything.”
Gary liked the way this was sounding. Clearly the Delvers had been around for a hot minute and someone had sat down to pound out the worst offenders of the problems. He spoke up again, feeling as if he knew the answer from the emblem’s persistent design but having to ask for posterity. “Any ranks among Delvers, or is it a ‘respect seniority’ thing?”
“Some Delvers form regular hunting groups and have internal ranks, but if you’re a Delver you’re officially a Delver and that’s that. Local branch personnel tend to be retired Delvers and for the workings of our group hold rank over the average Delver, but generally everyone’s the same rank.” Gary gleefully struck through the concept of ranks in an adventuring guild, loving the fact that he wouldn’t have to deal with anything more restrictive than ‘fuck the new guy’ until he displayed his Skills. The thought must have shown on his face that this made him happy because Dina smirked at him coyly and leaned forward to rest her chin in her hands as she regarded him.
“I know there’s monsters and odd wildlife, but I’ve come to wonder if any of them are edible?” Dina’s smirk grew a touch.
“Oh, yes. Most of the animals Delvers deal with regularly are basically magical variants of existing ones twisted by the influence of Dungeons or random bits of magic here and there. If you can eat it normally, the variants can be eaten as well. Fun part is you don’t get sick from eating carnivore meat if you pick one of those, either. My co-workers over there are eating sword wolf meat in their meals. Surprised you didn’t know that already.”
“Better to confirm with experts before I start doing things, right?” Dina nodded with her chin still braced in her hands. “So if I do start bringing in dressed kills is there anywhere in particular I should bring them to sell the goods? I doubt the barkeep would appreciate me dragging carcasses through his establishment.”
“Back of the building,” said the man who’d given Dina the go-ahead before. “It’ll be an obvious shed there. Try not to drown us in work?” Gary smiled at him.
“No promises,” Gary replied cheekily. Additional source of income acquired. Slow but steady, he told himself. He looked around the Delver’s area and saw a bulletin board-style posting for jobs available. A mark for the Adventurer’s Guild category of tropes he supposed. Dina saw his gaze flick across to the board and tilted her head towards it when he glanced back at her. Gary moved to it with a nod towards the two who’d helped him so far and began to peruse the board’s contents.
The format of each requested contract seemed to follow the theme of “overall objective, payment expected, requester, and details of varying length on where to look’. Simple, clean; they read more like wanted posters than contracts. Gary was thankful for the fact that the details gave decent directions to places nearby. He took pictures of all the parchments and their contents for future reference and decided that getting his hands on a map or three was in his future.
“I’ll likely need to get some basic camping supplies together,” he said to himself aloud so it didn’t look like he was just standing there dumbfounded. Arms crossed over his chest as he idly stared at the board’s contents once more and formulated a list in his head. Tent, sleeping blankets, fire starting tools, a bag or two for carrying confirming bits and bobs to show he was doing his job. These and a few more things filled his internal list as he pursed his mouth and nodded. If he took something close by to start off with he could use the first round or so of contracts to afford gear for longer missions. His Constitution rating would come in handy here since it helped with long bouts of activity; functioning like a rating of his stamina as well as general health and probably resistances to illness and poisoning.
“A short trip, something close by would be good to start with. Nice and short.”
“You’ll want that contract for Ripper Rabbits, then,” the man said as he spoke up once more. He’d clearly heard the statement Gary had made mostly to himself aloud. Gray eyes shifted to look at the man. “Been a problem in the surroundings up towards the foothills up northwest. Nasty little shits in a fight. Be careful when you go for them; they get their name from their hind claws that they like slashing people open with by jumping at them. You go into the woods up there and they’ll find you. Bring armor, especially for your throat.”
Gary looked among the contracts and found the one the man had mentioned. He unpinned it from the board and brought it to the waiting Dina. She already had another parchment out and ready for him to sign, this one stating that he was confirming he’d go for the rabbits up to the northwest of the city. The pay was six bronze runee per kill, and Gary could practically feel the itch in the back of his mind that he was going to get swarmed by the things. He put his signature on the contract and the deed was done. He committed to this action.
“Want me to bring back any, or just the confirmation bits?”
“They’re fantastic eating if you can kill them and get away with it. Bring what you can.”
“Fantastic. I’ll start out first thing tomorrow.”
“May you have a successful delve,” Dina said with a clear formality to the phrase. Gary nodded to her and turned to leave. It was time to hunt some rabbits. Deadly slasher rabbits.
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“You probably just killed that kid, Jack,” Dina said once the newcomer was out of the tavern. Jack waved her concerns aside.
“You read that letter from the priest. I feel sorry for the Ripper Rabbits. That boy’s gonna put such a dent in them.” Jack looked to the opened letter in front of him again, reading a certain paragraph again that made him shiver a little.
Gary needs an outlet for his energy, and money to pursue his objective that he has yet to reveal to me. His morals about the Class the System gave him are holding him back. I sense that despite this he’ll still be a good man once he grows comfortable in his own skin, and he’ll need that comfort if the Velvet Court really have their sights set on him. Make sure he aims for the hard assignments, even if you must deceive him.