Chương 18: 16. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

"Porters! To arms!" Adam exclaimed as the mass of black fur charged at him, snarling at the half elf. Battle Order D20 + 1 = 16 (15) The half elf had no time to don his shield, grabbing his sword with both hands in a tight grip, forgoing his magic. He could have pulled away from the charging bear, but the last time he and Jurot fought against a bear, Jurot had taken many heavy blows in his stead.

"Not this time, you rat bastard!" Adam exclaimed, the heat of his rage pushing the cold of his fear which had set in for a moment. Attack D20 + 5 = 14 (9) Hit! 1D6 + 1D3 + 5 = 7 (1)(1) 7 damage! Adam swung wildly at the large bear with his blade, cutting across its bare chest. He stepped between it and Jurot, facing down the snarling beast as it readied to snap its jaw against his neck. [Finally.] Adam narrowed his eyes, not in the mood for Bell's quips.

Jurot grabbed his axe and leapt into action, hacking into the side of the bear as it tried to bite Adam, instead bring its attention to him. It snarled as Jurot's axe struck its side, with Jurot roaring at it, his face and body quickly turning red in rage. The bear swiped a claw towards Jurot, also enraged by this new being, but seeing as he wasn't wearing a full sheet of metal, its focus was completely on Jurot.

Its stomach growled for flesh, and as Jurot grunted in pain as he was cut by the knife like claws, he growled louder as the bear sank its teeth against his side, cutting into his flesh.

"Jurot!" Adam wailed, clutching his blade tighter. Jurot grit his teeth, ready to brawl with the bear. Three javelins whistled through the air, one which struck off Adam's shoulder, and another which pierced the bear's side, causing it to roar in pain. It shuddered in pain as another struck the back of its knee, causing it to drop to the side, letting Jurot go. Attack (Flanking) D20 + 6 = 25 (19) Hit! 1D6 + 1D3 + 5 = 12 (4)(3) 12 damage! Adam stared down into the bear's eyes as it tried to pull away.

"You shouldn't have come here," Adam said, gripping the hilt of his sword above his head, the sword tip right against the bear's skull. He forced the blade into the bear slowly, never leaving the bear's gaze as he pierced through its thick skull, into its brain, and then through to the ground behind its skull. Victory! Black Bear +40XP XP 380 -> 420 The sword remained within the ground, Adam pushing it down. He shook slightly, unable to control his anger.

He remained staring down at the black bear, his eyes glued to its dead form.

"Adam," Jurot said, resting a hand on the half elf's shoulder. Adam inhaled deeply. He pulled out his sword, exhaling as he did so.

"You don't like bears?" Jurot asked. Adam turned his head to look at Jurot.

"No," he said, his voice quiet.

"I don't." Jurot nodded his head slowly, as though he understood. Of course, he didn't. No one did. Adam stepped away for a moment. Nobby stared at the half elf's back, twiddling his thumbs. He approached cautiously, one step every few seconds.

"Um, mister?" Nobby called out, feeling his thoughts eat out his chest. His father always told him that a man had to be honest, and to live with integrity.

"Yeah?" Adam asked, turned back to look at Nobby quickly. Nobby flinched.

"A-about the fight before…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"I threw the javelin… and it hit you."

"Oh, that?" Adam looked at the whimpering titan.

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes it happens when you're in a fight. Nothing bad happened because of it, so don't think too much about it." Adam walked over and pat the boy's shoulder.

"You did a great job acting so quickly as you did." Nobby continued to frown, still ashamed of what he did.

"Look," Adam said.

"This is your first time. You were really stressed out. You did amazing when it came to slaying the Giant Boar, and not so amazing when it came to the bear. That's just how life is sometimes. Next time, we'll do better. Right?"

"Okay, yes," Nobby said, nodding his head slowly. Adam looked to Jurot and the other porters.

"I'm glad we brought you all along. How much does a black bear go for anyway?" Jurot stared at it.

"Thirty gold."

"Nice," Adam said, thinking about how much gold he'd be able to make.

"We'll split that properly with everyone too. Let's start heading back soon, before another bear comes clambering towards us." Jurot had mostly finished with the Great Boar, so the porters went about fitting it in their various storage.

"You alright?" Adam asked Jurot, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," the Iyrman replied back. Adam was sure that Jurot would have said the same thing if he was on death's door.

"I'm sure you are, but let's not hurry into death, shall we?" Mana 2 -> 1 Spell Healing Word 1D3 + 3 = 6 (3) Jurot felt a warmth suddenly invade his body. The claw wound against his torso, and the bite wound against his side began to heal. He looked at Adam with a raised brow.

"You can heal?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"One of my few spells," Adam said.

"Come on." Adam lifted the bear up, grunting slightly as he did.

'Damn, it's pretty heavy.' Jurot grabbed the bear, helping Adam carry it.

"If something comes, we will drop it and run," he said.

"Right," Adam said, smiling. The journey back was fraught with danger, the danger of absolute safety. Adam remained on guard, his eyes snapping this way and that way. The porters' eyes were also scanning across the forest, though Nobby's eyes were barely focused on finding danger, but following an imaginary line along the branches above. When they finally reached the road, they sighed in relief, all but Jurot.

"Almost there now, lad," Remy said, staring back at Nobby.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," Nobby said. He was sweating profusely as he carried his box, his feet aching too, but this was a normal feeling for a hard day's work. It was the gold which fuelled his steps every forward.

"By the gods," a guard said.

"Isn't that the Iyrman again?"

"It is!" One of the guards left his station, quickly approaching the party of five.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," Adam said, huffing out as he marched forward with the bear over his back.

"You've been working hard, haven't you?" The guard helped Adam by lifting the bear from his other side.

"Yeah," Adam said.

"We've been working quite hard." Jurot nodded his head.

"We ate a lot of bread." The guard had heard about how they had fed the beautiful red haired sisters earlier in the day.

"Is that right?" The guard chuckled.

"Let's take a quick breather," Adam said once they had approached the gates. They dropped the bear on the floor before the gates, and Adam dropped down onto his back. He panted for air, feeling the ache in his entire body. It was a dull ache, one from being in the same position for too long.

"Is that a Great Boar?" a guard asked.

"I think it is," the other said.

"It is," Jurot said.

"And a black bear."

"In one day." The guards whistled, nodding their heads.

"And you're just Copper Ranks?"

"It is an Iyrman."

"With another adventurer, and three porters." The guards looked at Nobby, who had placed down the boxes so that he could rest his back.

"Damn, you're a big boy."

"Have you thought about joining the guard?" Nobby looked at the guards.

"Yes," he said.

"You should, with a build like that." Adam stared up at the guards.

"We claimed him first," he said.

"Jurot and I."

"Oh, come on now. You Iyrmen have plenty of powerful warriors, save some for us."

"You think guarding is easy business?"

"We have to stand around at the gate, making sure there's nothing untoward coming."

"When the Beast Wave and the undead come, we're there fighting on the front lines." Jurot blinked at them.

"We fight as well," he said simply.

"Well, that's true, but…"

"Yeah, but…" The guards looked between one another. It was true that being a guard was quite dangerous, but it was also true that adventuring was far more dangerous.

"Well…"

"But…" They fumbled to try and find an argument.

"Either way, we still need capable men like that youngster."

"Anyway," Adam said.

"We've got the gate fee."

"I will pay too," Jurot said, referring to the payment for the porters.

"It's fine." Adam stretched out his back.

"I'll need to split some silver for some copper at the guild."

"Save us some boar meat and we'll waive the gate fee," the guard said.

"If you won't give us the boy, give us a little meat then."

"Yeah, the slop at the mess hall is…" The guard shuddered.

"Alright, alright. We'll tell the guild to save you some meat, and you guys can pick it up."

"Nice," the guards said, elbowing one another.

"You guys do have the authority to do that, don't you?" Adam asked, making sure so he wouldn't get into trouble.

"Paying with meat is fine, though we can't do it too much."

"Huh. Good to know." The five were on the move again. Adam was dragging his feet as they approached the Adventurer's Guild. The adventurers looked their way when they entered. There were easily seven different parties here, each of them glued to the Iyrman and the heavily armoured man, as well as the porters carrying in a Great Boar in pieces.

"Whoa, ain't that a Great Boar?"

"Seems like we'll be having some good meat tonight!"

"Don't get too excited," a younger man said.

"The half elf might've poisoned it." Adam chuckled.

"Do you hear that, Jurot? He thinks your senses are so dull that you wouldn't notice me poisoning something right beside you." The adventurer's face flushed with heat.

"No! That isn't what I said at all." Jurot turned to face the adventurer, narrowing his eyes.

"This Great Boar was butchered by me. I did not put in any poison." The adventurer pulled back into his chair, with the woman beside him slapping the top of his head.

"What did I tell you about causing trouble?" she whispered. Emma cleared her throat.

"Shall I?" she asked, heading towards the back. Adam and Jurot dropped the bear, and Adam almost dropped himself.

"That was rough," Adam said.

"I can't imagine carrying such heavy things daily." He looked to the porters.

"You really are worth every copper."

"It becomes easier the more you do it," Remy said.

"Only a little," Jeremy added. Once Emma had assessed the creatures, she smiled at them.

"I'm glad to see you both working hard, though you should be careful. A black bear and a Great Boar in a single day is quite the achievement. You should slow down, though, otherwise some of the adventurers might think oddly of you."

"I might take a rest tomorrow, I'm not sure." Adam shrugged his shoulders. Quests Complete Great Boar Hunting Black Bear Hunting XP Gained +180XP 420 -> 600 Stamps Gained +2 5 -> 7 Currency Gained +40GP +5SP 24GP, 11SP -> 64GP, 16SP"Right," Adam said.

"Could I get some copper pieces? Also, we promised the guards some meat from the boar, if you can sort that out."

"Understood," Emma said, making a note. Currency 16SP, 4CP -> 15SP, 14CP Adam looked at Jurot.

"How much should we pay the porters?"

"I'll agree with whatever you choose." Adam nodded his head.

"Due to the fact that we're flush with gold coins, let's pay the cousins five gold coins, the youngster four gold coins. I think they deserve that much." He didn't want the cousins to feel slighted that they were paid the same as their nephew. Jurot nodded. Currency 64GP -> 57GP The porters stared at the gold coins.

"Are you sure?" Remy asked.

"This is more than we expected."

"How much did you expect?" Adam asked, chuckling.

"Two gold coins each," they said. Adam laughed.

"I think you'll find that we might be feeling too elated today. We might not pay you such a large bonus next time. It's partly because you introduced us to a star porter." Adam patted the boy's shoulder.

"I hope your father feels better soon."

"Thank you." Nobby nodded.

"Will you be working again tomorrow?" Remy asked.

"Probably not. I think we finally deserve a break." He looked to Jurot.

"Right?" Jurot nodded.

"I would like to buy a battleaxe."

"Handaxe not cutting it?"

"Yes. I would like a meatier weapon. Handaxe is also good for throwing." Adam thought about what he needed to do. He had panicked when he saw Jurot take a beating from the black bear.

"I have something I need to buy too." He smiled.

"We'll call for your services another time then," Adam said.

"However, it is time for jam buns." Adam followed Jurot to pay for the jam buns. Pam was there, checking on the various bread they had left. When she spotted the adventurers, she blushed slightly.

"Welcome back. How did it go today?"

"It went great," Adam said, wrapping his arm around Jurot's shoulders.

"We slew a black bear and a Great Boar today."

"Wow! Really?" She looked to Jurot. Jurot nodded.

"Jurot was hit pretty bad, but since he's an Iyrman, he's alright."

"That's right!" Jurot declared, nodding his head.

"I'm glad to hear that," Pam said, seeing the marks on Jurot's side.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," he said. Adam placed down a few silver coins.

"Give us whatever red tiger bread, jam buns, and tarts you can give us for this much." Currency 16 SP -> 11 SP"Coming right up!" Pam also grabbed some more buns and tarts than she should have. Her eyes sometimes fell to Jurot's side and chest, where the obvious traces of his meeting with the bear were.

"Oh? Very generous today," Adam said.

"It's because you're our valued customers," Pam said.

"We feel valued!" Adam bit into a jam bun, holding out some for Jurot.

"Please do come again!"

"We'll come by during the next quest. Probably in a few days, since we'll be taking a break."

"I'll be waiting patiently." Pam smiled. The porters all shared in the jam buns and tarts. Adam made sure that they had some to take back home too, giving them the bread too. He ate a single jam bun with Jurot, before bathing and retiring to his bed in the Adventurer's Guild. He yawned, laying atop his bed.

"Bell, you owe me two proficiencies, right? I know what I want."