Inside the courtyard were at least forty people not in knight’s armor. It was surrounded with grey stone walls and any grass that might have grown was stamped to death. Right up front was a nobleman in a bright red shirt and pants talking to some mage in a soft blue robe. I passed up on talking to them as I had no topics to discuss with a mage. Off to another corner were two commoners. A poor farmer with a pot on his head talked to some beautiful opera singer girl. The girl was wearing a dress that showed the top of her large bosom, making any attack on her heart not even need to go through cloth. The pot didn’t fit the boy’s head, but it was a step in the right direction. They weren’t people I would choose to talk to normally, but most higher-ups tended to make meetings at least a few hours long to a full day if they had to ride a carriage for a few hours. Training here would be a poor choice as well.
I walked past many others that I was mentally categorizing as possible talking partners or people to avoid. I didn’t have enough time to plan out an opening line to introduce myself so I went with the first thing that came to mind.
“Hello miss, you look lovely. Hello young man, that pot probably has better uses than as a helmet. I am Louis Baux, who might you two be.”
The two looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. My sudden appearance must have thrown them off. The girl, who I could swear I saw on some artwork somewhere, gave me a disarming smile.
“I am Dorothy, of the Frank Opera Company. I am sure you have heard of me many times over.” She waited for me to nod before continuing. “I have been told that there is a chance for any of us to get chosen as a hero candidate. I was just discussing what talents I am likely to uncover when choosing a path. I imagine I will be something of a magical songstress. Tales of me would be sung from every end of the country. Raining thunder down on my enemies. Everything will be mine after they give me a good path for my future.”
Mentally I was cringing. I don’t think it showed on my face as she didn’t react to me. Clearly, someone had to explain to her what she was mistaken about.
“I’m Donnie, a farmer. I guess I came here because they wanted someone from every walk of life. That’s fine with me. I can see myself wielding an awesome sword. I started wearing a pot on my head to help me get used to a helmet on my head for when I become a heavy knight.”
The two of them looked so proud of themselves. They seemed like they had their futures planned around misconceptions. “You guys never got told how combat paths work, have you?” I asked. I got two sets of confused eyes on me, which answered my question better than anything I could say.
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“Let me explain a few things.” I pointed at the provocatively dressed opera singer. “Only idiots think they would get a path for magic without having learned at least one spell. It’s like thinking you could become a great swordsman because you once touched a legendary sword and felt a connection or something. There are a few mages here you could probably get to teach you a simple spell in return for something else.” I put a hand up when I saw her open her mouth. “Don’t ask me what to offer, I don’t know. You might also get a dancer path that somehow helps you dodge, as well as having a very light sword preference you could see brought up given that sword props are likely a thing you would use.”
All in all, I hoped that I would help break her dream now if she wasn’t going to use this opportunity to gain some magic in the few hours before they opened up the temple for pathing. I didn’t even see any reason for her to hate me given that I was being helpful.
I turned toward the hopeful farmer boy. “Give up.” His face fell. “You’re a farmer. You haven’t been given many different opportunities to draw from. You might be strong as a laborer, but you have little to no experience with weapons. Honestly, that is intentional to keep hundreds of farmers from suddenly picking up a sword and swinging it like second nature. You might possibly get an option as an armored laborer or something, but that’s it. There are bare minimum requirements to being a swordsman, and nobody here is going to let you borrow a sword and swing it long enough until you get a combat path.”
The entire time I talked his expression switched between anger and defeat. The girl walked away already trying to find someone to talk to, likely about magic. I figured that he would process what I told him eventually, and I already said everything I wanted to. I walked away from him to a giant man with large, well-defined muscles and no shirt. I didn’t know the guy, but the tools on his side were impossible to mistake. I decided to include myself in his conversation with a mercenary of some kind.
The large man was called Andrew, a higher-ranking man in the blacksmithing guild. The mercenary next to him was Lidia, she seemed to complain quite a bit. My conversation with them was short, on account of them not considering me a conversation partner worth talking to. I had to walk away eventually as they stopped responding to me.
I found a new person to talk to fairly quickly, a courier with stories from all over. Before I had the chance to ask the wanderer his name, Something pressed against my neck and cut off my breathing.
Panic rose in me as the person in front of me shouted something. I couldn’t make it out. I tried grabbing my neck only to find arms pressed against it.
The grip against my neck tightened even more, threatening to crush my throat. I clawed at the arms for a second before thinking straight and reaching behind me. Somewhere behind me was a face and I was doing everything I could to gouge out the eyes. The head was whipping around trying to avoid my hands, then one of my thumbs touched something with a squish. I heard a cry from behind me and the grip loosened from my throat. Breathed as deep as I could while breaking out fully from the airlock.
Looking at my assailant, a young man with a pot on his head was being pinned under the courier. One of his eyes was firmly shut. Guards were running over as I caught my breath. I could only hope that things would get better from here on out.