Traditionally, there were two paths to get to Riverend Town. The first was going by road, following the main road from the province capital, then taking the river road at the first crossroads. The other was taking the river, either from the province capital or from a fisher town down the way. While going by the river avoided the danger of being robbed, it was also more expensive.
One of the reasons why Riverend Town was growing to become the most prosperous town in the central borderland of Clow Nation was its easy riverbank access. The merchandise could easily go down and up the river saving days or even weeks of travel. To add to its enormous potential for trading, the forbidden forest area closest to the town was a lowland forest crossed by a river, which better supported expeditions into the forest.
It had been a month since the golden trio left Mountainend to travel to Riverend. The road was familiar and they still were as poor as before, but their confidence improved dramatically. Each one of them had grown in a different way. Cyrus had experienced successful hunts against multiple foes, Iris had improved her cast and was only a step from advancing, and Hakon could treat an open wound two times faster.
When they passed the road before, outlaws had refrained from attacking because they looked too poor, but now they were chasing away the bandits with fierce glares. Fortunately, the other side failed to notice that the trio was only copper tier, or else…
Usually, following the road would save people from having to deal with beasts. Even so, the trio travel in formation and watched for any hidden dangers, they knew better than counting on statistics. Differently from Mountainend, the other border towns wound face some attacks from weaker beasts. The roaming creatures would serve as training for the lowest-tiered adventurers while rarely causing troubles for the town.
Actually, the party was craving an attack. They finally felt confident enough to face the weak copper beasts, they only lacked a proper target. Thankfully, their preparations hadn’t been wasted, the Gods had heeded their pleas. Less than a kilometer from the road, lurking amongst bushes and grass, Iris noticed a beast waiting for a chance to attack.
The creature would probably pass on the attack of a group, but they didn’t plan to ignore it. After discussing, the group quickly devised a simple plan to bait the beast into attacking. Cyrus didn’t mind separating from the party to lure the beast, quite the opposite. However, before he could do so, they moved together out of the road in the direction of the beast.
Once they got far enough from the road, Iris took some withered flammable grass from her satchel and discretely placed it on the ground in a half-circle form. After experiencing the benefits of the grass they vowed to always carry some, which had come in handy now. Then, the mage and the healer walked away from Cyrus and returned to the road.
The warrior gripped his sword tightly, waiting for an upcoming attack. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait for long, the hungry beast jumped from the green cover sure that it would hit the prey before anyone could come to rescue. Iris and Hakon also reacted quickly running toward their friend. The wild dog howled as if mocking the running pair right before it lunged at Cyrus. The warrior kicked the dog back, earning a bloody scratch, but stood his ground. The beast grinned and prepared for another attack, but then the grass behind it suddenly ignited. Its instinct screamed for it to run away from the fire.
Abandoning the attack, the beast tried to run past Cyrus but then another line of fire appeared ahead on its escape route. Before the frightened dog could do anything else, the warrior’s might attack landed on its back. And then it was no more.
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The proud warrior didn’t even wait for the fire to die down before crossing it while dragging the dead dog. And so, the golden trio marched into Riverend, not the same as they once left, but a confident and competent party carrying their hunt. Of course, the prideful effect ended shortly as they realized that no one cared.
They walked through the familiar streets towards the guild noticing a few new stores opened here and there. It was amazing how the town seemed to grow infinitely and at a pace that defied one’s memory. Sadly, the place brought the same depressing feelings to the party, though a little less intimidating.
As usual, the group ignored countless disdainful glares as they walked into the guild. With three stories and an area of 300 sqm, the guild was the most important building in town, and definitely the best place for registered adventurers to sell their loot.
The golden trio had hoped to come back and directly take the bronze advancement test, but fate seemed to have decided that they should once more experience waiting in the almost unending copper queue. Well, at least they were here to exchange the loot for some coins instead of scraping for some worthless job.
After waiting for two hours, the looked more like a whole day, the party finally got to the bored attendant.
“Oh, look what you got there! You guys beat down this baddie good… Dorothy!” The half-elf girl said excitedly before calling for the dwarf appraiser.
“Humph, amateurs! You could have earned two more coins if the fur was intact. Such a weak beast and you still had to…” The grumpy middle-aged dwarf complained while analyzing the dead beast.
“Dorothy, take easy on them! I bet this was their first time, it’s already fairly good to slay something…” The girl tried to appease the appraiser while boosting the confidence of the party. However, somehow she made them feel worse.
“Humph, still amateurs. Eight silver is more than they deserve for this sloppy job. Next time you should pay attention to…” The dwarf continued complaining, but the party was more than satisfied with the payment and the guidance hidden amongst the insults.
Getting eight silver for an unexpected kill, a weak one at that, was already fortunate. And having someone who actually knew about adventuring and was willing to give tips was a unique opportunity. Only those on a similar level would usually engage in mockery and humiliation, the higher tiers would mostly ignore the weak, so any opportunity for guidance would be priceless.
The trio left the guild in higher spirits and a little richer, which was a new experience for them. Next, they spend the afternoon buying the essence materials for Anne and some things for Rick. To respect the bookmancer’s coins, they had tried to haggle on prices, but the adventurers were no match for the savvy merchants.
Although they were short of a few things from the list, the group decided to call it the day and look for an Inn. Not so long ago, they had been limited to a rented space in the stables due to financial constraints, but with Anne’s patronage, they could afford two rooms on an average Inn. Hopefully, they should finish the list and the additional task by the next day.
Instead of looking for a new Inn, the adventurers decided to go with one that they already knew. Even though it was located in the poorest and most dangerous part of the town, the owner was kind and the food was hearty. Ignoring several hungry stares, the trio increased their pace and came closer to each other, from then on, their safety would rely solely on their ability to get to the Inn fast while avoiding drawing too much attention.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the Gods had a different plan for them. Only a few hundred meters from the Inn, the trio was shocked by a scene that was difficult to ignore. In a dark alley, someone who looked pretty much the same as the nice half-elf attendant of the guild was being kicked by a group of three. Then, they were faced with a conundrum, get out of their way and risk their safety and the task, or ignore the suffering of one of the few people in town who had been nice to them. Strangely, without communicating with each other, a similar question appeared in their minds. What would the bookstore owner advise them to do?