The next day Aiden opted for a simple stroll to the adventurer hall. From what he’d been told, it wasn’t very far off. Naranoff’s territory had two branches for some reason, one built closer to the Lord’s manor while the other stood easily wherever it was in the city.
Negotiations and conversations over the years had brought the branch head of the Naranoff territory’s adventurer society to sit in the one closer to the Lord’s house.
The guards gave Aiden odd looks at the gate. In the time since he’d woken up, he’d discovered that he’d inadvertently made a name for himself. Not for the instructions he’d dished out on the training ground in the name of receiving challenges, but in the mild panic of absconding with the princess for more than a day.
By foot, the branch was a little over half an hour away. Aiden took in the simple sights as he walked. The potters shop. The apothecary. The smithy where the blacksmiths pounded away at iron and turned it into tools for killing or cooking or defending. He also passed at least two enchanter shops.
The residential buildings were simpler things. Tall and easy, they employed a concept very familiar with what earth had, growing up not wide. They were made from bricks and stones, and painted in colors Aiden believed most likely suited the occupants. After all, he couldn’t find any justifiable reason for a ground floor to be brown just to have the floor above it be blue or pink or forest green.
Through out his entire journey to the hall Vanisi followed quietly beside him. She pointed often, guiding him. Sometimes she allowed her movements lead, taking turns she knew he would follow.
Covered in a simple garb of a fine flowing gown that was a simple red, she looked less like a maid or servant and more like a lady of simple birth and decent employ. She wore her hair down, allowing it flow and settle over her shoulders. Whatever she’d applied to it, made streaks of it glow under the light of the sun.
Aiden caught these details at simple glances during their strolls. He would not lie and say he paid her no attention. But the attention he paid her was of the simple kind. The kind you paid to a walking companion. It would be foolish not to.
The adventure hall was large, almost as large as its fellow branch at the capital city of Bandiv. Aiden stood within its walls, staring up at the actual building.
The Lord’s manor is almost as big as the palace. The second branch is almost as big as the one in the capital.
“The adventure society takes a cut of all purchases made by adventurers,” Vanisi explained beside him, clearly noticing his expression.
Aiden knew that. “And that helped them build something this grand?”
The building wasn’t necessarily grand, but it was grand for a branch building instead of a main building.
“Oh no.” Vanisi gestured forward so that Aiden would lead. “Lord Naranoff contributed generously to building this branch. The initial branch was a little farther into the city. From what Lady Nella told me, it was a hassle to be going there from the manor.”
So he chose to build something grand enough to rival the capital. Aiden was beginning to wonder if the man himself had an ego on him.
That reminded him of Naranoff’s son, Derendoff. Being in his level thirties Aiden was catching up to Valdan, so much so that while the knight didn’t know his specific level, he had commented on Aiden’s growth during their spar. Aiden wondered just how strong Derendoff was. Could he take the knight in a fight now?
They walked up to the building, following a single pathway. It was a path of cobble stones flanked on both sides by well groomed fields that led from the gate to the building. It curved here and there so that it was a winding path and not a straight line.
The fields on both sides of them were littered with a few simple trees here and there. Park benches were occupied by adventurers who were engaged in conversation. Some sat in twos some in more. Aiden’s guess was that they were strategizing, possibly talking about an adventure they had concluded or were about to go on.
Other adventurers walked in the opposite direction, leaving just as Aiden and Vanisi were arriving. Vanisi, to Aiden’s surprise, got a few greetings. A few head nods were thrown her way, so were a few waves. But that was not all. There were adventurers who actually stopped to have a conversation with her.
“You’re popular,” Aiden said casually when Vanisi managed to extricate herself from another adventurer.
He was a man on the larger side, tall enough to tower over most of the people around them. He’d met her at the door to the building, coming out just as they were about to head in. Aiden hoped he would be the last delay.
Vanisi wasn’t to be blamed for the delays from what he could tell. Each time an adventurer tried to stop her for her time, she always did her best to try and move them along. The few adventurers were the ones unwilling to move on quickly.
“Lady Nella is popular,” Vanisi corrected. “But I’m often of the opinion that adventurers know I am close to her and they simply wish to curry favor.”
Aiden didn’t need to think about it as they walked further into the building’s wide hall. They made a straight line for the reception desk.
“It would be useful for certain types of people to have the daughter of the Lord on their team,” he mused.
Vanisi nodded. “That is correct.”
There had also been two adventurers who had been a little flirtatious in their conversation with Vanisi. It hadn’t been anything on the creepy side. Mostly it had been in the tone of voice, low and gentle, going for husky. The way they spoke, hooded eyes making eye contact.
Aiden wasn’t much of an expert on flirting, but he knew two things. They had been flirting and Vanisi had been ignoring them.
When they came to a stop at the receptionist, the man behind the counter looked down at Aiden’s soldier belt. He was an aging man with a balding head. The little hair he had peppering the sides of his head were grey. As a lithe man, he stood with a straight back and an adventurer’s posture.
Aiden guessed the man was retired.
“Good day, sir. It’s been a while since I last saw someone with so many soldier’s belts,” the man said. To Vanisi, he added: “A lovely afternoon to you. How’s the lady?”
Vanisi smiled kindly. “The lady’s fine. And a fine afternoon to you too, Delbert.”
The man, Delbert, looked from her to Aiden. “Will it be safe to assume that the both of you are together?”
Vanisi nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Fair.” Delbert turned to Aiden. “How can I help you this fine afternoon, sir?”
“Just here to claim the reward of a system quest I got a while ago.” Aiden reached into the pockets of his soldier’s belt and pulled out a handful of tags hanging from their ropes.
He placed them on top of the receptionist’s desk gently. Delbert’s eyes flickered down to them. Then back up to him.
“How many?” Delbert asked, voice solemn, eyes sad, almost mournful.
Off the top of his head Aiden couldn’t remember. “A few.”
He pulled up the quest notification he’d gotten and showed it to the receptionist. Delbert’s lips pressed into a controlled thin line. He looked like a child fighting back his tears.
[Optional Quest: Kind Adventurer.]
You have found an unfortunate adventurer, dead in his quest for greater heights. Identify dead adventurer’s and inform the adventure society of their passing so that their families may have closure.
[Objective complete: Collect adventure tags 19/???]
[Reward: Adventure society designated.]
[Quest Complete]
When he was done reading it, Delbert looked to Aiden. “If I may ask, where did you find them?”
“The cave,” Aiden answered simply.
Since waking up he’d learnt that the adventure society was still having trouble keeping adventurers out of the cave. However, since the wall was now perpetually open—how? He didn’t know—adventurers had started venturing into it in search of unique skills.
From what he’d learnt from Valdan, at least ten teams had gone in since Aiden had come out. But only three people had gotten a unique skill so far.
“Ah, I see,” Delbert mused. “May I have your name, sir.”
“Lord La—”
“Aiden,” Aiden interrupted Vanisi. “Call me Aiden.”
Delbert looked from him to Vanisi but chose to ignore what had happened. “Well, Aiden, what would you consider a befitting reward?”
“I’ll take an item that will help keep me alive during my adventuring days.” Aiden had been thinking about it for a while and this was what he’d come to as a conclusion.
Delbert counted the tags slowly. He separated each one along with its rope from the tangled mess. He counted gently but not slowly, almost reverently, as if in respect of the dead who had once owned them.
It wasn’t that he doubted the notification—Aiden was yet to meet a person that doubted a quest notification—the man was simply meticulous.
Aiden gave Delbert his time. He watched the man count each tag, eyes perusing the names and every other piece of information on the tag. Then he wrapped up each tag with their rope and set them aside.
When he was done, Delbert looked up at him. “My apologies for the delay, Aiden.”
Aiden waved the apology aside. “It’s no problem, Delbert. You’re just doing your job, and I’m not in a hurry.”
“Thank you.” Delbert gathered the tags and disappeared them into a compartment under his desk. “So, an item…” he scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “Do you by any chance have one in mind?”
Aiden did. It was a simple item that could be commissioned for a significant fee. To an adventurer worth their weight in gold, it was a good item to have. At least for an adventurer like him.
“Do you by any chance have [Enchanted Gloves]?” he asked.
Delbert nodded. “We have a lot of them. Do you have any specifics? We have enchanted by flames, water, ice. We have enchanted with mind. Just the other day we acquired one with an enchantment of gills that would allow the wearer breathe underwater.”
“Are any of those enchantments permanent?”
Delbert paused. Then he shook his head. “Unfortunately not. Most enchanted items have a use limit. I believe the one enchanted by flames has a limit of fifteen uses.”
Aiden nodded appreciatively. At his level, that would be a good enchanted item to own. It would let him cast the equivalent of fire magic and would probably grant him a level of resistance to fire damage. And fifteen uses was on the high end.
“So no permanent enchantments?” he asked.
“Unfortunately not.” Delbert gave him an apologetic look. “But if you would like one commissioned for you, the society would be willing to shave off thirty percent of the cost for you as a reward for your completion of the quest.”
“And what if I choose to get a third party artificer, and not one sanctioned by the society?”
“Then you will need a system sanctioned invoice.”
Aiden couldn’t argue with that. “Endorsed by a [Scribe].”
“Or a [Scholar] or a [Polymath],” Delbert added. “Any would suffice.”
Aiden tapped a thoughtful finger on the surface of Delbert’s desk. Did he really want to go through the hassle right now? If he was being honest, he had the money but not the time.
“How long would it take to get one with an enchantment of strength?” he asked.
Delbert’s eyes turned up as the old man did the math with considered variables. “Nine days.”
Nine days was too long. “And what if I wanted to pick it up at the branch in the capital?”
“That’s an extra four days. At an extra charge you can get it in one.”
Aiden smiled. “So that’s express shipping.”
Delbert’s brows furrowed. “My apologies but I do not know what that is. And we only employ ships when delivering to outside countries.”
“Don’t mind me.” Aiden stopped his tapping finger. “It was just an inside joke.”
Delbert gave Vanisi a questioning look and Aiden caught the maid give a simple shrug.
Aiden said nothing on the matter. “What if I want to collect my reward at another date?”
“Then we can set the reward to pending collection, sir. It will allow you claim it at any date of your choosing at any branch of your choosing. However, it does not extend to branches outside of the kingdom in this case.”
“I understand.” Aiden stepped away from the desk. “Please set it to pending.”
“Alright, sir.”
Delbert bent and rummaged behind his desk once more. As he did so, Vanisi leaned towards Aiden as a person would when intending to whisper. He was taller than her so she had to push upwards, going up on her tip toes.
Aiden lowered his head to meet her.
“What’s express shipping?” she asked in a whisper.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Aiden looked down at her. “It’s just shipping. The express part is an inside joke.”
Vanisi nodded, but Aiden watched the suspicion cloud her eyes for a moment. She suspected that he was lying.
“Alright.” Delbert’s attention came back. In his hand he held a small piece of brown paper. “This is for you, sir.”
Aiden took it, already aware of what it was.
“You’ll take that and head to the reward center,” Delbert continued. “There your quest reward will be updated. Please note that you don’t have to turn this in. If you change your mind along the way and decide on a reward, they can conclude the process there.”
Aiden folded the paper once without looking inside, gaining him an odd look from the old man.
“Thanks,” he told Delbert. “If I may ask, where’s the reward room?”
Delbert pointed. “Down that hallway, third path on your right.”
Aiden and Vanisi turned and made their way for the hallway. Vanisi exchanged a smile and two quick words with the man before they left him. Her popularity within the hall continued to stand strong. It was surprising for a maid, but Aiden assumed it had to do with the fact that she was the maid to the daughter of the Lord who also happened to be an adventurer.
“You won’t check what it says?” Vanisi said when they got to the hallway.
Aiden looked down at the piece of paper. There was really no point in checking what it said. It was simply an instruction to update his reward. So he shook his head.
“I heard you were new to the territory,” Vanisi said at his response. “And new to adventuring. Most adventurers check what is written on the piece of paper.”
Aiden wasn’t sure how he felt about Vanisi having information on him that he didn’t share with her. It felt like walking down the road and hearing your friend’s personal assistant gossiping about you.
“Is what’s on the paper ever different from what the man at the counter says is on it?” he asked as they got to the first turn down the right.
Vanisi shook her head. “No.”
She positioned herself between Aiden and the first turn on the right subtly. If he’d tried to take the turn, he would’ve run into her. It was an interesting guiding method if he was asked.
“Then I’ll be fine.” He proceeded forward without hesitation, moving past the first turn on the left.
The path remained busy. But this part of the building was far less busy than the main hall. The adventurers that past them by had less maintained gear. Aiden chucked it up to probably just returning from whatever adventure they had gone on.
A man had a still healing injury on his face, evident from the bloodstained bandage that covered his left cheek.
He’d finished his battle and come straight for his reward. Aiden had known a few people like that.
When they got to their destination, Aiden was glad to find that there was no long line he would have to wait at. There were eight sections, basically holes in the wall, that had lines in front of them. Adventurer’s waiting to claim some reward or the other. Each line was no more than four people long.
“This branch is always the busier branch of the two,” Vanisi explained as they approached the fifth line to their right. “Lady Nella believes that it is because of the beauty of the branch. Some of the adventurers say the branch is very efficient.”
Aiden nodded, coming to stand behind an adventurer. “And what do you say?”
“I like how spacious it is.”
The adventurer in front of Aiden was a woman. She wore her hair short and there was a knife slash at the back of her shirt. The skin beneath the shirt was fresh and a little pink. Recently healed.
Vanisi continued to offer him pieces of information as they waited and the line moved. She told him of how Nella had spent a significantly long amount of time between teams after her first two teams had only liked her for her position of daughter of the Lord. She spoke of the sadness she’d watched Nella go through as a solo adventurer before finding Ventel and creating a team.
Aiden wondered if this was information Nella didn’t mind people having but said nothing against it. He’d learned long ago that no information was bad information. Even information that got you in trouble with a [Sage] was good information as long as you knew how to use information and how to shut up.
The man in front of the lady Aiden stood behind delayed a little. It turned out that he had a grievance or two with the person in charge of the reward. He was beginning to get loud about it when the woman stepped in.
“This makes no sense!” he argued. “How can eight goblin corpses be such a small amount?”
“Like I said, sir,” the man on the other side said amiably, “the request for goblin corpses isn’t high here.”
“Well it sure as hell was high in the capital!” the man growled. “It’s over seventy percent less here. Explain that?!”
Aiden could’ve sworn he knew the voice.
The lady stepped up to them and placed a gentle hand on the man’s forearm. “What have I said about your temper?”
“How do you expect me to be calm when this is so outrageous,” the man said, then grumbled under his breath. His large broad sword hung at his waist, from a loose sword strap. “They are practically stiffing us. Each goblin is a level 21. Level 21.”
A week ago that had been a high level when compared to Aiden’s.
“And they’ve explained that the request for goblin corpses is low here. That is not their fault.”
The argument didn’t last long. In time, the woman diffused the chaos, calmed the man, and they were on their way.
They turned, walked a few steps past Aiden and Vanisi who stepped forward for their turn when the two adventurers stopped.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the man laughed.
Vanisi paused and gave him an odd look. She probably assumed the man had something to say to her.
“My apologies,” she began with a polite smile as she had been doing since they’d entered the hall. “I’m here with someone.”
The response rarely ever did anything to deter the male adventurers, regardless of why they were stopping her. Flirtatious reasons or otherwise.
Aiden caught sight of the adventurers faces and already knew who they were.
The adventurer gave Vanisi a strange look. “Sorry, wasn’t talking to you.”
Aiden was impressed at how easily the man made an apology sound so rude. It didn’t even sound like he was trying to. He just did.
The woman beside him smacked him on the arm. “Don’t be rude.”
The person at the reward desk gave Aiden an encouraging look. He stepped forward and the man followed him.
“Lord Lacheart,” the man greeted with a mocking tone. It carried a healthy air of banter behind it that surprised Vanisi.
Aiden’s lip twitched in a smile as he dropped the paper on the counter in front of the person in charge of the rewards. “Otid.”
Aiden placed the paper face up so that he could see what was written on it. All it said was ‘set status to reward pending.’ Under that was a signature and a purple stamp.
Otid leaned forward and read the piece of paper, then whispered very quietly. “Is this your father’s territory?”
As for Taliner, she stood back slightly, probably to keep Vanisi company.
The man behind the counter wore glasses. Aiden doubted they were due to bad eyesight. He retrieved the piece of paper, looked at it once and placed it aside. “Quest status.”
Aiden pulled up the quest with a shrug of his will. The man read it once, then nodded. After that, his eyes went to the empty space in front of him. Aiden knew he was accessing the quests the adventure society had under their purview.
“It’s a system quest,” Aiden offered, hoping to reduce the man’s work.
The man nodded. It was the only acknowledgement he got.
“Ooh,” Otid cooed. “System quests. You’re moving up in the world.” He looked back at Vanisi, gauging her distance, before returning his attention to Aiden. “You’re really not going to answer the question I asked?”
He sounded like an offended friend.
“The answer is no.” Aiden didn’t take his eye of the man behind the counter as he took the piece of paper and placed it out of view. “I just happen to be here for certain reasons.”
Otid nodded sagely. “Your companion of choice is a bit more interesting than the last one.”
Aiden cocked a brow at him. “What’s an adventurer from the capital doing this far south?”
“Sir.”
Aiden and Otid raised their heads, moved their attention to the man behind the counter. He had a name tag that claimed his name was Cest. Aiden’s mind couldn’t help putting an apostrophe between the first two letters.
Certain that he had Aiden’s attention, Cest continued, “Would you like a card at the end of this interaction?”
Aiden raised a brow. “A card?”
Otid groaned. “Yea. It’s this marketing bullshit you get in every adventure hall or any designated commercial institution. It all comes down to the banking system. Some new piece of banking scheme. I’d say no, if I were you. It’s just another bullshit system manipulation. I say it’s just an excuse to take more money from you.”
Cest frowned as Otid spoke, but did his best not to look at him.
Aiden realized what the man was talking about. Not long after he’d arrived on Nastild, the kingdoms had started the concept of banking cards. They were, in summary, a version of debit cards from his world.
The palace had given it to them just before their trip to the cannibal town. You placed your gold in the bank or any financial institution and got a card that was linked to your account with the institution. It allowed you move your money to other people by tapping cards or to claim your money from another financial institution.
Back then he’d thought one of the summoned had pitched the idea, advancing a new world as some people had no doubt considered. It had turned out that no such thing had happened. Someone on Nastild, from Nastild, had simply come out with the idea organically.
“And I can get one of those here?” Aiden asked the man, to Otid’s dismay.
“Aiden, it’s a terrible idea,” Otid insisted. “Trust me. Ask them the price.”
Cest grimaced at his words.
Aiden knew the price. It was steep. It would reduce in price after a few years and become accessible to everyone. For now, only those with money would be able to access it in the beginning.
Aiden waved Cest down discreetly, hoping the man understood it meant that he wasn’t holding anything Otid was saying against the man.
“He isn’t wrong,” Taliner offered from behind. “It’s quite the amount.”
Aiden looked back at her. His eyes settled on her haircut.
Taliner tapped it gently with a friendly smile. “I let my intrusive thoughts win. Do you like it?”
Aiden smiled.
The last time he’d heard someone use the term ‘I let my intrusive thoughts win,’ it had been from the lips of a man who’d slaughtered an entire village because they had been unkind to him as a child.
“It’s nice,” he told her. “Suits you.” He turned back to Cest. “Can I get it here?”
Cest nodded. “Yes.”
Aiden thought about it. The entire new banking process was a part of his plan. But opening his own account wasn’t really a good idea since Brandis was already going to open accounts for all of them with their own cards.
What he needed was to subvert his own account. But he already had plans in mind for that.
“You know what?” he said. “Never mind. I know where I’ll get it handled.”
Otid gave him a questioning look. “What does that mean? You have a connection in the bank?”
Aiden shrugged.
“Would you still like your reward to be set to pending?” Cest asked. “I can see here that you wanted an enchanted glove?”
Taliner hurried up to join them, shocked. “An enchanted glove? What did you do to be deserving of one of those?”
“A thing or two.”
“Those things are expensive.” Taliner looked between Aiden and Cest. “What is he pending for?”
Cest looked to Aiden, keeping the confidentiality.
“I’m not feeling for an enchanted glove yet,” he said simply. “I’m holding out for a different reason.”
“What reason?”
“No idea.”
Cest looked between all three of them. He raised a stamp over the piece of paper and made eye contact with Aiden. The moment Aiden nodded, he stamped down on the paper and it went up in blue flames.
[You have received a reward update]
[Optional Quest Kind Adventurer has been update]
[Reward has been updated to Pending]
Aiden tapped the counter once. “Thanks.”
Cest nodded.
Then he turned away. Before he could take two steps, Otid threw an arm over his shoulder. The man grinned at him.
“How about we go grab a drink?” he asked.
Aiden looked at Vanisi and the woman shrugged. Considering he still had time on his hands, Aiden didn’t see a problem with it.
“Why not.”
…
The sun was still up when they left the society hall. They did not take a carriage or hire jepats. They walked. They took in the sights of the city, Taliner more than anyone else. Their destination—led there by Otid—wasn’t far so they didn’t walk long.
He brought them to an inn. It was a building with three floors and a placard hung, dangling from the door, with its name. Young Blood.
Aiden had no inkling of an idea why that had been chosen as the name. He’d half been expecting a name that better suited Nastild as a fantasy world. Something more... interesting.
The inn was surprisingly quiet. There were patrons within, chucking away at the midday weather, drowning themselves at the bottom of some jug or the other. They were getting their head start on the drunken vomiting of the evenings. Some ate some easy meal or the other.
As they navigated their way through the sea of tables and customers, Vanisi once more got her fair share of greetings and flirtations. Surprisingly, everyone was respectful about it. Those who were surprisingly already too drunk to control themselves, reserved naught but a nod for her.
Vanisi responded equally.
“You have quite the famous friend,” Otid remarked as they took their place at a corner table. “It’s like she’s famous.”
Taliner nodded, adjusting in her place beside Otid. “Even people on the street kept glancing at her. Who is she?”
They were placed so that they sat opposite each other. Aiden and Vanisi on one side while Taliner and Otid sat on the other.
“She’s right here,” Aiden said. “You might as well ask her.”
Otid and Taliner turned to Vanisi.
She gave them the shyest smile Aiden had seen on any body. “Simply a lady trying to court Lord Lacheart.”
All the eyes moved back to Aiden.
Aiden dismissed their confusion with a wave of the hand. “She jests. I’m guessing it’s a new skill she’s picked up.”
Otid’s eyes shifted to the side and he raised a hand, flagging down one of the wandering waitresses.
He turned back to Aiden as the lady approached. “So you’re not being courted?”
“I am not.”
“But she is famous around here?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Aiden paused, thinking about it. “I guess it is fair to say that she’s famous by association.”
“Association to you?” Taliner asked with an odd look.
Again, Aiden made a dismissive gesture. “Gods no. Not to me. Someone else.”
The waitress arrived a moment later, a small note pad in hand.
“What can I get the group?” she asked nicely.
“Ale for me,” Otid said easily. “That new one from the south. I’ve always liked the taste of it.”
The waitress paused. “Palm’s nectar?”
Otid snapped a finger. “That’s the one. You have it, correct?”
“We do.” She looked at the others expectantly.
“I’ll have a regular ale. Nothing fancy,” Taliner ordered.
“Water,” Vanisi said.
Aiden ordered the same as Vanisi.
“And to eat?”
Otid waved her off. It was a simple gesture but a rather rude one. Aiden wasn’t sure he even noticed it. “We’re good. Just drinks.”
Taliner must’ve noticed it because she frowned. The waitress simply moved on.
“So,” Taliner said when they were free once more, “what brings you this far south, away from the capital.”
“Adventuring,” Aiden answered easily.
Otid turned to Vanisi. “And you, my lady? I take it you are a resident. And how did you meet this scallywag?”
Vanisi looked confused for a moment but schooled her expression quickly. “Ran into him at the cave, actually.”
Aiden turned to her, surprised. She was quick on that lie.
“You’ve been to the cave?” Otid asked, surprised. “That’s one of the things we plan on trying out. It was one of the adventurer attraction we learnt of when we were coming here.”
“We heard there was a bit of controversy about it on our way here,” Taliner said.
Aiden looked between the both of them. “So it’s not what brought you here?”
“Not at all.” Otid shook his head and leaned back on his chair. “We came for other reasons.”
Aiden held his silence, said nothing.
As if on cue, Taliner leaned forward as if she was trying to reach across the table. “Remember that expedition we did together?”
“The one with the Shaman king and the Hobgoblins,” Aiden said. “How can I forget. It’s the only one we’ve done together. And it was a difficult one.”
“Wouldn’t have been difficult if not for the damned Shaman,” Taliner grumbled. “But, yes, that.”
“Well,” Otid said smugly, “it turns out that even though we completed the quest, it somehow evolved into something of a linked quest.”
Aiden tapped a finger against the table. “A linked quest.”
That wasn’t what he’d been expecting to hear. Linked quests weren’t rare but it was rare for a completed quest to evolve to a linked quest. Usually, it became a linked quest on completion.
“How did that happen?” he muttered, mostly to himself.
“Well, apparently, the branch head had a conversation with your friend, Ded. According to what we were told, he claimed to have seen something escape the Shaman after it’s dead. He just didn’t know what it was, and didn’t think it was important,” Taliner said.
Ded saw something?
Aiden’s finger stopped tapping. “A parasite?”
“Not sure,” Otid said. “But it was something, because two days later we got news of a string of necromancy issues between the capital and here.”
“Well the second place was a bust,” Taliner said, frowning.
Otid agreed with a nod. “Those guys just seemed to frown on necromancy. It was illogical.”
“So what’s happening with this linked quest?” Aiden asked.
“It led us here,” Otid said. “So we plan on going to sort that out as well. Wanna join? The latest information is that it’s taken a place in one of the forests around.”
Aiden thought about it and shook his head. “I think I’ve done more than enough goblin killing for a year.”
Otid grinned. “That’s the good thing. It’s not a goblin this time. Not from what we’ve discovered.”
Aiden’s brows furrowed. “Discovered?”
Vanisi was a quiet nonexistence beside him, listening to the conversation attentively. Everything she was doing was what was to be expected from a well trained maid or personal assistance. But Aiden wasn’t trained to see maids in certain behaviors. He was trained to pick out the behaviors of a spy, even if it overlapped with that of a maid.
Otid’s grin widened. “Mantises.”
It was a testament to Aiden’s time on Nastild that his mind did not go to the praying mantis of earth. On Nastild, mantises were a different kind of monster. Nothing like the praying mantis. Otid’s amusement, however, was in the demand for mantises. They were a budding [Crafter]’s greatest fantasy.
“We could make a lot of money,” Otid continued. “I know you probably don’t need it, but it’s always good to have something on the side just for yourself.”
Aiden caught the confused look Vanisi gave him but didn’t address it. “Do we have an estimate on their levels and numbers?”
Otid paused. “Good point,” he muttered to himself. “So far we’ve estimated their levels to be somewhere between fifteen and twenty.”
“But you know how these things are,” Taliner was quick to interject. “You can’t always trust the information completely.”
As long as they weren’t in the forties, Aiden was sure he would be fine. “And their numbers?”
“On that we have no idea,” Otid said. “That’s why we intend on investigating first. While we’re at it, we can just dwindle their numbers a little bit.”
Taliner looked at Aiden expectantly. “So what do you say?”
Five feet tall six legged spiders that don’t shoot webs but have a paralytic bite. It had been a very long time since Aiden last fought one. Did he really want to tangle with them again?
“When’s the soiree?” he asked Vanisi, instead.
“Two days from now.”
Aiden wasn’t pleased to hear that. He’d already missed the mock battle between the two teams of the summoned. If he wasn’t mistaken, the others would be leaving for the town of cannibals tomorrow. That would leave him with nothing to do tomorrow.
As the waitress came with a tray of drinks balanced carefully on her hand, Aiden gave his answer.
“Sure, why not.”
Otid smacked Taliner playfully on the arm in excitement. “As long as he can pull of that explosion thing he did last time, I think we’re a shoe in for this one.”
Taliner smirked. “Would you like to challenge him for leadership of this one, too?”
Otid laughed heartily at that. “There’s no need for that. He clearly doesn’t want to lead this.”
Aiden said nothing. Taliner didn’t laugh. Vanisi was adequately quiet.
Otid looked from Aiden to Taliner, then back. The laughter died.
“Right?”