As Fena had left all of her rations with Tami, she was forced to stop and sleep to recover her energy. Even after all these years there were many mysteries to her body; one of which was how she never seemed to require both sleep and food, only either or. It made travelling convenient but it bothered Fena how unnatural it felt. As for the Crow, it came and went as it pleased, likely looking for something dead to eat. Because of the rest she took, they only reached the city of Aquitania by midday the next day. By this point the usual long line up of carts and wagons heading to market had long since dissipated, and the two of them were easily able to make their way through the city gates by waving Fena's mercenary badge at the guards.
Entering into the city’s southern district, Fena was greeted by wide and open streets. With a radiant sun shining down from above the southern district painted a picturesque view of brightly coloured shops and lush greenery. Families and couples laughed and pranced through the streets, bedazzled by the flashy advertising and tacky shops. Fena couldn’t help but sneer at the sight; to her the superficial view was nothing but a thin veneer. Sensing her displeasure, the Crow amused itself by making faces at the various happy families wandering past. Or at least as many faces as a crow could make.
Ignoring this, Fena ducked down an alleyway and followed it to the narrow side streets that were hidden behind the main streets of the southern district. Though not as dangerous as the Eastern district, here one could find plenty of businesses of the less charming variety. But for Fena even they held no interest; she charged ahead without sparing a glance, until she stopped in front of a large two story building that had been carefully decorated to give it an aged appearance. Standing outside stood a couple of groups of armed men and women, smoking and chatting amongst themselves. This was the Southern District branch of the Adventurers Guild.
The grizzled old man that served as the receptionist watched Fena enter the branch building with disinterest despite the clacking noise her many swords made as she walked. Some of the adventurers sitting at a sticky bar snickered at the sight; it was absurd to watch someone carry so many weapons without any armour. The receptionist didn't care either way; there were plenty of weirdos prancing about as adventurers these days anyways. Ignoring the attention, Fena made her way up to the desk and was greeted by a disinterested look.
"Adventurers report to the desk in the next room. Bugger off."
Fena slapped the badge that signified her as a Mercenary Guild member onto the counter. "I'm not an adventurer. I'm here to make a request."
Seeing the badge the man looked up and glared at Fena, judging her anew.
"What, finally found something you cocksuckers are too weak to handle?"
"Too busy," Fena answered. "Mercenaries get a discount anyways, right?"
The man huffed. "Yeah, for some reason. What do you want?"
"Priority request. I need someone to escort a little girl back from an abandoned village. Reward is 10 crowns."
The man paused, giving her another look.
"What, is she a bloody princess? Whatever. Guild charges forty percent, plus priority fee which is three crowns. 17 crowns total."
Fena frowned. "And my discount?"
He gave a nasty grin. "None if it’s a priority quest, sweetie. Our 'friendly' relationship with the mercenary guild stops there."
Hearing this, Fena sighed and counted out the money while Crow blew a raspberry at the cranky old man. It was an absurd price but Fena didn't want to start another fight with the adventurers. Officially they were all meant to get along, but in truth the adventurer and mercenary guilds despised each other. The main reason was that their fields of work were practically identical, and as such competed for work. However while adventurers chose their jobs from the general public via a request system, mercenaries were arranged contracts from clients via their guild. Fena didn’t care about the stupid rivalry either way but it did bother her how much personal information the Adventurers Guild always tried to collect.
“Have the kid sent to this address without a hair on her head touched; else I’ll forfeit the reward.”
“Yeah, yeah, calm your tits. Believe it or not, we know how to do our job,” answered the man sarcastically.
Having confirmed the details of the request, Fena quickly made her way out of the Adventurers Guild and only breathed a sigh of relief once it was out of sight. Another issue with the adventurers; just because you made a request, didn’t mean they’d take it. As such, she set the reward high in hopes the quest to rescue Tami would be taken as quickly as possible. Priority also meant her quest would be advertised at other locations.
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Making her way through the city once again, she headed for one of the wealthier districts near the city centre. Aquitania was quite an old city and most of it was not particularly well organized despite having a massive population. Many of its districts were a mish-mash of homes, shops and factories. However, what was known as the wealthy part of the city was far better off; a collection of newly constructed giant mansions, beautiful parks and high class restaurants. Thirty years ago the King of the City-State of Aquitania had ordered a massive reconstruction project for the nobles, bulldozing hundreds of old homes and converting the city centre into a far more modern district. Only extremely wealthy merchants and the nobility could afford to live here now. The area was also heavily patrolled to keep the commoners and riff-raff out; Fena was stopped a few times as she made her way to her destination, though a flash of her badge was enough to be let on her way.
Fena stopped in front of a modern looking townhouse. Compared to some of the oversized mansions in the area the building seemed rather modest, though quite well kept. Constructed from grey stone and white trim, the house exuded a neat but strict appearance. As such, Fena paused before the front door to straighten her clothes and slick back the hair that she had cut into a loose bob cut the night prior. She sniffed under her arms and her shirt, then took a moment to remove a small perfume bottle from her bag and spray a small amount across her body. Finally satisfied, she raised a fist and knocked on the bright red door.
It was immediately answered by a well dressed female butler, as if Fena was expected. Fena did not miss the butler’s slight wrinkled nose as she invited her into the parlor, and mentally cursed herself for not bringing a nicer change of clothes. Sitting down on a couch, Fena was offered a cup of tea before the butler sought out the master of the house. Fena sipped daintily on the tea as she glanced around the room; it gave her an uncomfortable feeling as the decor looked very expensive.
This place feels too familiar… but I suppose in the end all nobles are the same aren’t they?
“Miss Fena! So good to see you again!” A voice interrupted her thoughts as a well dressed but haggard looking young man entered the room. The man waved off her bow, inviting her to sit back down. “No need for formalities. I trust you have some results to share?”
Fena returned to her seat, her posture as straight and composed as a well trained princess.
“Yes, though I’m afraid it won’t be to your liking Sir Welsy. The village has been completely wiped out down to a single survivor.”
Despite his young appearance, Sir Welsy seemed to age by several years as she spoke. Rubbing his chin, he gestured for her to continue.
“As you well know, the terms of our contract stipulated that I was to investigate the disappearance of serfs from the village of Schatten, and to dispose of any threat to the villagers’ safety. However, by the time I arrived the village was already destroyed. A large undead creature had been preying on the village and likely razed it in an attack a few days before I arrived. Though I was able to destroy the creature, it had already killed all of the villagers except for a young girl. As offering her safe passage was not part of our contract, I was forced to leave her behind. However, foreseeing your desire to speak with her, I have hired some adventurers to return her to the city safely.”
From its position on her shoulder the Crow snorted. “Wasn’t in the contract. Ha, that’s a nice excuse.”
Ignoring the bird, Sir Welsy sighed and ran a hand through his wheat blond hair.
“This is worse than I thought… gods, to think we lost all of them. What type of undead was it?”
“Sir, as unlikely as it seems it appeared to me to be an undead Kermode.”
The man gave her a look of disappointment. “Kermodes are a myth. A white spirit bear? Ridiculous. A fantasy made up by peasants. What you saw was a regular undead bear.”
Fena bowed her head, unwilling to argue. “Yes sir.”
“Nonetheless, you have my thanks for solving this case and disposing of this… undead bear though I imagine your guild will charge me extra. Your foresight also has saved me some trouble; what do I owe you for arranging the girl’s escort?”
Fena answered without any hesitation. “Ten crowns sir. I set the reward high so she would be rescued quickly.”
The Crow gave her a glare and whispered into her ear. “Why? Charging him less isn’t going to make you feel any better about abandoning the kid.”
Meanwhile Sir Welsy gestured to his butler, who promptly paid Fena the amount. Once again ignoring a certain irritating bird Fena pocketed the money, then paused.
“If I may ask, what do you intend to do with her?”
Sir Welsy gave her a surprised look.
“I have yet to think about it… perhaps I can find a family in one of my other villages who could adopt her…”
Fena nodded, satisfied that Tami would not be abandoned so quickly.
“Additionally sir the undead bear’s corpse contained a foul toxin, so I’m afraid the village has been rendered uninhabitable. The groundwater was likely poisoned and it is highly unlikely anything will grow there again.”
Sir Welsy balled his hands into fists, the worsening news straining his composure.
“That is… unfortunate. Thank you again for what you have done; Jenny will see you out.”
Fena stood and followed the butler to the door. She could not help but feel a little bit sorry for the man; noblemen relied on their towns and villages as their source of income, and for a lower nobleman like Sir Welsy the loss of an entire village was devastating. However, his doings were no longer a concern for her. The contract was fulfilled and her job done; now she just needed to confirm it with her guild.