“Don’t worry about the church of Purity, Theo,” Martha said as I was leaving. “They have upset more than one guest, and they are always complaining about how dirty the Inn is, even though I always keep it spotless. We live in a desert. There is always going to be some dust. They are more trouble than they are worth. You are doing me a favour, standing up to them. Few do.”
“You run a fine establishment, and I will be recommending it,” I said.
“Thank you, dear. Now, you had better run along if you are going to catch that river barge.”
It was going to take most of the day to get to the town where the river barge docked. I would then ride the barge through the delta all the way to Greenstone City. It sounded like it would be a lovely trip. I might be able actually to spend some time remaking my armour. That will help a lot. All I have had up until now is bracers and greaves.
The hot, dry desert sun didn’t really worry me with my bronze rank recovery. It was a pleasant jog along a smooth dirt road, and the desert scenery wasn't something I had had time to contemplate before.
The walled town was obviously where the villagers congregated during a monster surge, which reminded me we were about due to having one. They came every ten years or so, and it was about time.
Monster surges were when the magic saturation in the world rose, and monsters appeared similar to the astral spaces I had been in. All the villagers would congregate behind walls, and the adventure society went into a frenzy, and all adventurers were summoned to act. It would be my first as an adventurer. I haven’t seen any signs of it starting yet, though.
I stopped for the night in the walled town and was going to leave early in the morning. As I was getting near the gate, I saw someone putting a notice on the adventure notice board about a monster sighting.
The notice board was just that. A plain notice board. There was nothing like we had back in the logging village about it connecting to the notice board back at the adventure society. I wasn’t expecting a Vitesse level of notices, but I was expecting something like what we had. Maybe the magic here is too low.
“Excuse me,” I called out to the girl, “How often do adventures come and clear this board?”
“About once a month.”
“What? This says your house has been occupied by an earth elemental.”
“Yes, sir. Can you help? We have to live with the neighbours until the adventurers come.”
“I can certainly help. Wait up; you can guide me.” I got out my Adventure Society badge and touched it to the paper, accepting the contract. Then, I looked at the other three notices on the board and accepted them, too. “Lead the way, young lady, and maybe you can tell me where these are as well.”
Iron-rank earth elemental was no trouble at all. I got out the Warhammer I bought in Obsidian Woods, and there was nothing it could really do against my bronze rank resistances. The family was really grateful and started repairing their home. I paid the girl to show me where the other contracts were, and they were just as easy. This iron-rank area was like a walk in the park.
I decided to skip the barge and make my way to Greenstone on foot, clearing off monster boards as I went. The closer I got to Greenstone, the more frequently adventurers came through and cleared the notices.
The only real trouble I had was with a large nest of trap weaver spiders. Their webs couldn’t hold me, but they were annoying. I kept their attention on me while Kai attacked them from behind. Bat Kai was getting the hang of diving on them, and I would lead them to where Ardisia sprung her own trap. It just took time, and the worst of it was that my fur got all sticky. That was a pain to wash out, and no resistance was gained from it either. I did get a good amount of Trap Weaver Silk, which I could sell in Greenstone. It was iron rank, and a good tailor could make someone some good armour from it. It was resistant to the webs. Shame it was only iron rank.
It felt nice to be helping people rather than running for my life. It took me twice as long to get to Greenstone than the barge took, but that was fine. I was feeling good and completed twenty-two contracts I could hand into the Adventure Society. This is what adventuring should be like.
There seemed to be two parts to Greenstone City. There is an Old City, and that is what it is called, apparently, then there is the flash new part built out on an island in the river. The new part has all the temples and the Adventure and Magic Society and all the rich people by the look of it.
I stepped up to the guard at the gate to the Island part of the city.
“ID and reason for visiting, please,” said the guard.
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I handed my Adventurer ID and said, “Theo Narelli, visiting the Adventure Society.”
“Very good, sir. You will need to be out of the city by nightfall unless you secure accommodation, at which point you will need to get this token back to us to notify us you are a resident.”
“OK,” I said, “In that case, I wish to be put down as a resident. I will be staying at the Temple of Death while in the city.” The Guard looked at me in surprise, but I just handed over my temple ID and smiled.
The guard looked at it and did something to verify it, then handed both back to me, “Very good, sir. You have been noted as a resident at the temple. Clerics are always welcome.”
Thank you very much,” and I walked into the city, smelling the new smells and listening to the sound of a busy city.
The Temple district was not hard to find. The Temple of Death was smaller than in Stillwater. The High Priest was silver-ranked, and there were only three priests working under him. They all lived in the Island city and came to the temple for work. There was only one full-time staff member who did all the admin work and another part-time gardener. The temple closed at night and reopened at dawn, which was different. I was used to the temple being always open.
“Death is not a highly regarded goddess here,” High Priest Dailyn said. He showed me to the accommodations, and we opened the windows to let some air in. They were not often used. “Don’t get me wrong, she is not neglected like she is up in Kekie, but other gods are more prominent here.”
Which gods are more prominent?” I asked.
“Healer is very influential, and the High Priest is very active politically, maybe a bit too much, but that is between him and his god. Purity is quite strong, and Hero. Dominion has a strong following as well. Knowledge is not far below that if we were ranking them.”
I nodded. “I might freshen up and wander over to the Adventure Society. Then I need some clothes. Who would you recommend?”
“Depends on what you are looking for. If you want leather belts, etc, then Filberts of Filberts Fine Leather Emporium is really the place to go. His brother Gilbert of Gilbert’s Resilient Attire For the Discerning Gentleman is also good. I think they both got good due to their sibling rivalry. There are no Leonid specialists here, though.”
“That’s fine, thanks. I will try Filbert first.”
I went out into the city. It wasn’t large. The Island plus the Old City were probably somewhere between Ironwood and Stillwater in size. I was wearing one of the few normal sets of clothes I had in my pack, and I was feeling quite refreshed. I had snacked on food from some street vendors on the way here, and the local flavours were interesting.
“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Adventure Society. I am Bert. How can I help you?”
“Good afternoon, Bert. I am Theo, and I am new to town. I completed some notice boards on the way in, and then I want to visit your Trade Hall.” I handed over my Adventure Society ID.
“I can handle the notice boards for you, sir. If you want to browse the trade hall while I do that, it is just through those doors there.”
“Thanks, Bert. It has been recommended that I visit Filbert’s. Is he in the hall or in town?”
“An excellent recommendation, sir. Filbert is my brother, and he has a fine stall in the trade hall. I think he is there today rather than in his shop.”
“He’s your brother? Are you Gilbert?”
“No, sir. I am Albert, but we are easily confused. We are octuplets. Just call us Bert, and you will be fine.”
“OK,” I said, quite unsure about this. This is weird. I went through the trade hall and found Filbert’s.
“Hello, Sir and Welcome to Filberts Fine Leather Emporium. This is to say, we are an emporium of leather goods and not an emporium made of leather. It's just a little joke we like to say around here. I am the proprietor, Filbert, but you can call me Bert.”
“Hello, Bert. I need several sets of belts and potion holders. I also have some goods to sell. Some of them are leather, some silk and some chitin. Most of it is bronze-rank, though the Trap Weaver Silk is iron.”
“I will happily look at the leather and give you a fair price. My brother Gilbert will want the silk, and he does make some fine cloth armour. We prefer leather, obviously, but some adventurers like to live dangerously.” He leaned in, “If you let me have the silk, I will sell it to my brother and get you a much better price than he would give you. I would enjoy that.” He grinned.
“Sounds good to me.” Filbert measured me for belts, and I indicated where I wanted pockets, knives, and other weapons positioned on them. I would come and collect them the next day.
I went to different stalls and sold a lot of the miscellaneous stuff I was carrying. I was pleased to get rid of all the ant chitin and most of the Liquid Fire. I only kept a small barrel. I am sure I would have gotten better prices if I had waited to get to Vitesse, but I have learned there is no guarantee I will get anywhere.
I was certainly now flush with coin. There is not much call for bronze materials here. Most of the adventurers are iron rank. There was no market for the silver-rank knives. Being bronze rank here means you are somebody. Being bronze-rank everywhere else was the lowest level of being able to call yourself an adventurer. It was a very different feeling for me.
We will browse the Awakening Stones tomorrow, and I also have a lead on an animal trainer who specialises in bonds and can look at the ant eggs for me.
I went back to Albert and collected the earnings from the notice boards. They paled in comparison to what I had just sold, but that was fine. I made sure to book a Water Chamber to talk to Vitesse tomorrow. I asked to speak to Arabelle Remore or, if she was not available, the High Priest at the Temple of Death. I also sent off some letters I had written while travelling the delta. At least basic information will get out there.
I exited and saw a dark bald head moving through the crowd.
“Rufus!” I called.