Chương 8

Adventurer Ellen"Thanks for the ride!" Ellen's friendly farewell was returned with a tip of the broad hat from the merchant, and a cheery wave from his wife. They were nice enough people, but they hadn't let her ride for free. She'd gotten a pretty good rate of just one crest for the journey, which was a lot cheaper than she'd expected. Her mostly-true story of losing her pack during the goblin business had likely gotten her some sympathy.

She felt a little guilty about using that as her story, but she really was in a tight situation right now. Even a single crest was significant for her, but she didn't want the charity of a free ride either. She had a sneaking suspicion the merchant had figured that out and offered such a low rate. That was okay. She had her pride, but she also knew she couldn't be too picky.

"Okay let's see…" Ellen murmured, brushing away another'first time' notification about setting foot in a city. She hadn't realized that would be something anyone could get experience from. It just got in the way of her finishing up now, though. She'd picked her Fighter Class again on the way over, but her first Perk had taken some thought. SELECT PERK You may select a Perk at this time. Pain Tolerance Tireless Hardy Iron Stomach Always before, she'd selected Tireless since it was so generally useful.

Both of the Ellens that had picked that option had died, though. It had often been at or near the top of the list, too. Now Pain Tolerance was at the top, and that made it tempting. Pain Tolerance Prerequisite: Endurance 9+ Effect: Reduces Stamina and Skill penalties from minor or moderate wounds. Does not alter wound severity or secondary effects of wounds such as Bleed. She'd never gotten this option before.

As beneficial as the reduced Stamina from hiking was, this Perk was much more directly applicable in combat. The idea that she would be in fights a lot more often going forward was a fact she couldn't ignore. Tireless was still helpful but… didn't have a good track record of keeping her alive. Ellen picked Pain Tolerance this time, and stepped on through to the Guild Hall. It was just approaching noon, so the morning crowd of adventurers that were heading out was gone.

The only non-employees in the tavern-like space were tucked off in one corner looking over a map, deep in quiet discussion. Two of them looked up when Ellen entered, then returned to their discussion. Judging by their armor and weapons, they were an experienced group just hashing out some details for their next job. The clerk was the same sandy-haired young man that had been here when Ellen had taken the goblin job.

She remembered him, though the heat rose in her cheeks as she also remembered how she'd clumsily flirted with him before realizing he was already married.

"Oh, Ellen wasn't it? It's good to see you're okay, I was getting worried!" Unfortunately he remembered her before she could chicken out and flee the building until evening. Putting on her best smile, Ellen walked forward to the counter and fished out the crumpled note for the quest. She slid that forward, then the wrapped bundle of the two ears from the goblins. Good thing Village Ellen had gone in and gotten the second one.

"I had a little trouble and had to recover," she said truthfully. The bloodstain on her cloak wasn't visible from this angle, but a few people in the village had commented on it. She'd begged off any curiosity by saying it wasn't as bad as it looked, and she hadn't realized it would stain. Adventurers got bloodstains sometimes, she hadn't expected it would draw attention.

"We just reposted the job, but nobody has taken it yet." The young man pulled on a glove to examine the ears, holding each one up to the sunlight streaming through the nearby window. Ellen felt a moment of panic as she realized he might have a higher-ranked Appraisal -style Perk that might cause problems. Apparently some people could even tell who killed a corpse, under some conditions. She relaxed as he bundled the two ears for disposal.

"Two goblins? No wonder you ran into trouble. Handling both solo is pretty good." The man swept up the paper and stepped into the back, leaving Ellen with only the quiet murmuring of the nearby group to keep her company. A quiet, heaving breath left her lungs. She'd never considered that someone this far out might have the ability to check that sort of thing. It was a pretty specific Perk… just very useful for the Guild.

It had too many limitations to be useful in other situations like solving a murder, but for confirming kills it was great. It must have counted her as the one who did it despite it being a previous Ellen. The clerk returned a moment later, sliding a thin bronze-colored rectangle toward her. It was deeply scored in two places, dividing it into thirds. He set a small pin next to it, then explained the situation—though she already knew how this part worked, so Ellen barely listened.

"Just put a drop of blood into the corner there, and it will imprint your aura onto the plate. You'll take one of them as your identification, we'll keep one here, and the third we'll send to the archives at the capital." She was already poking her thumb with the pin, flinching despite the fact that it was a mere pinprick. Her new Pain Tolerance Perk made it hurt even less than expected. The ruby red droplet that welled up made her slightly queasy, but she fought it down.

How did this make her feel ill but the memory of cutting off a goblin's ear did not? Before she could dwell on it further, Ellen pressed her thumb onto the corner of the metal plate. It was actual bronze, in keeping with the Bronze Rank she'd just earned. This was the entry rank for adventurers, able to take Iron and Bronze requests through the Guild. As the adventurer went up the ranks, the coloration would shift to silver, gold, platinum, and finally all the way to adamantine.

The actual metal remained bronze, unless the adventurer paid for an upgrade. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The metal card already had the name she'd given embossed upon it—Ellen Tember. Belatedly, she felt the heat of embarrassment flush her cheeks once more. Even if the clerk had the advanced Appraisal Perk, it wouldn't have told anything since she wasn't registered in the Guild yet. She'd been worried for no reason.

The rest of her card's information formed, powered by the magic of the Guild. Level 6. Class: Fighter. Everything worked as it should, and Ellen let out a light breath she didn't know she'd been holding as the clerk efficiently snapped the bottom third off of the plate and passed it to her.

"Congratulations, Bronze-Tier adventurer Ellen Tember!" He grinned at her, but she was paying more attention to the gleaming card-sized sliver of metal that symbolized her entry into the world she'd been pursuing for so long. Finally.

"Thanks," she mumbled. The card was tucked away as she gave the man a weak smile.

"I um… don't suppose you have any jobs back the way I came? It does look like the board is kind of full, and I need to head back that way." The clerk laughed.

"Actually, I do, but it's a Guild job and it's only an Iron Tier. Should be less dangerous though." He dropped three marks on the counter.

"Here's three marks for the job you just did, plus one for the extra goblin, less the registration fee of one mark. And as for the job…" The man laid a piece of paper on the table.

"This is a discretionary job, so we're the client. If there were two goblins there, that's a lot more worrying than a lone one. Just sweep through and make sure there isn't a nest. You don't have to fight if you run into any, just report back to us, all right? Map out the cave and the surrounding area and we'll pay you another two marks. I'll keep an eye out for any jobs up that way that clients post."

"Thanks!" And Ellen meant that, even though two marks would barely be enough to travel back, pay for lodging, and then return to the city. It would keep her going while waiting for another job though… and with the other two working on things in their own way, maybe it would be more profitable than she thought. That did remind her, though…

"Do you have any more secondhand equipment for sale?" Ellen bit her bottom lip.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, but three marks won't really let me fully gear up the way I want to, and I'm trying to practice more than the spear and knife." He grinned.

"Sure, I'll bring some out. Don't spread yourself too thin, now!" Ellen smiled weakly.

"Oh… I'm not sure I have to worry about that." It wasn't everything she wanted, not even close, but Ellen felt marginally better with what she left the Guild carrying. A bow and a quiver of arrows for Hunter Ellen, plus a bedroll tucked at the bottom of her pack, made up a good and heavy load even if the purse was much lighter. Hunter Ellen had the original bedroll with her, but two together could make a decent place to sleep if the three of them weren't shy about getting close.

That shouldn't be a problem, given the tent was still tiny and they'd huddled up for warmth that first night that there'd been three of them. It wasn't ideal, but until they could get more income it would have to do. Unfortunately Ellen didn't have enough left to buy much more clothing, and they were all running lean on that. She settled on the bedroll instead, since it would be less suspicious to ask the tailor for lots of clothes for 'twins' than it would for a third bedroll later.

She still had enough to pick up a few secondhand sets of clothes, but they wouldn't be pretty. A few durable strips of oilcloth had been provided to her for drawing the map. She got the feeling the clerk felt sorry for her. She'd gotten a whopping 600 experience, total, once the Guild membership had been formalized, but now she was nearly out of the banked experience. It had been nice while it had lasted… but Ellen stared up at the afternoon sky in thought.

She hadn't really done much except tavern work in the village, and she'd probably go back to the lumber mill for a few days when she got back. That'd be more first time bonuses, plus whatever Hunter Ellen had discovered… She could probably get to Level 7 pretty fast, if she wanted.

"Hm…" Shaking her head, Ellen tightened her pack and trudged toward town. She still had things to do before she left. Merriweather wasn't a big city, but it was still a city. The street she walked upon was paved stone, although plenty of the alleys in the outskirts were simple packed earth. Gutters ran alongside the main thoroughfare, and she was far enough in the city that they had regular lamps stationed along the sides. Oil lamps, but lamps nonetheless. She could hear the bustle of the market not far away.

That was the whole point. She needed to find a merchant willing to let her help out in exchange for cheap passage on the way back. Maybe even free! With her Guild card she could probably pay her way as an escort. Banditry was surprisingly rare despite being out here in the frontier, but that didn't mean it never happened. Ellen's thoughts were cut off as the scent of dirt, sweat, and oil that she'd been enduring for the last few minutes was overwhelmed by the much more enticing scent of bread and meat.

Unbidden, her stomach growled and she was reminded that she'd had nothing but some trail mix and water in the morning, and nothing since. The stew that Lauren served was really good, but it had been ages since she'd had a good meat pie.

"I'll have two," she heard herself saying even as she was trying to debate if she should. They weren't expensive, at a mere one crest each, but they weren't exactly cheap either. Part of her kept reminding herself that the other Ellens were still dealing with a limited menu. Most of her said she wanted meat pie. Within moments she had two flaky, scorching hot meat-filled pockets of dough in her hands, puffing breath over them so she could hold them without juggling the two.

It was a good day now, as her mouth salivated at the thought of the crispy treat.

"New to the city?" A voice from beside her asked as she stepped away from the stall. She almost dropped her pies, but her vital need to taste them gave her inhuman reflexes and superb balance. She just juggled them again instead of losing both, and glanced aside at the man standing there, grinning.

"Um… not exactly," Ellen hedged as she looked him over.

"I've been here before, but I'm headed out again tomorrow, I think. I grew up pretty close to a city, just not this one." No point in pretending she was a local. The man had rich black hair and the shadow of a beard growing in. He was definitely older than Ellen… probably about thirty, if she guessed right. He had a nice chainmail vest, mostly covered by much more worn leathers and fabric that bore more than a few marks and scratches.

The sword at his hip looked pretty nice—not that Ellen could tell those things very well—but the scabbard was weathered and battered. He also smelled kind of bad, but Ellen realized she might be pretty ripe by now, as well. She hadn't taken a bath since her revival. Now she was even more embarrassed, thinking about her encounter with the clerk, and she fought to keep her blush from rising. Being pale made this kind of difficult. The warrior laughed.

"That's fine, I'm just making sure. My friends and I saw you leaving the Adventurer's Guild with a bow. Just wondered if you were going for it or already an adventurer. And maybe if you had a party yet?" He nodded to a couple across the street, where another man—tall and wearing rugged leather and a skull cap—stood next to a glaring, petite blonde whose gaze didn't seem friendly at all. She had to glance back at the swordsman with a worried flinch.

"Relax, Miriam looks at everyone that way. She's fine once she gets to know you." Another laugh, and the man lifted a silver-colored Guild card toward her. A Silver Tier adventurer. Way beyond her.

"We lost one of our members when he had to go back home. Not promising we'll work out with you, but if you're looking…?" He let the question hang in the air as Ellen read his card. Edmund Briar, Level 18 Swordsman. That was a Tier 2 Fighter Class, and a popular one at that. She shifted the meat pies—now cool enough to hold—into one hand to rummage for her own card.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure I could keep up. I just joined the Guild," Ellen mumbled shyly. She held her card up with her free hand. She saw him wince, but he recovered with a smile.

"Level 6 and already got in? I'm not sure if I should be worried or impressed." He rubbed his chin as he tucked his own card away.

"Well… that is a little low, but you could probably hang back for a job or two while we took easier ones. I just hit Silver myself, you know. We all have to start somewhere. If you're interested." Ellen hesitated at that.

"Um…" It was tempting. She had wanted to find a party, eventually, even if her long term goal was to go solo. She could just take everything and run off to adventure, while Hunter and Village Ellen settled in. But no, she didn't want to be the kind of person who started her career with breaking her word to herself. Herselves? Aloud, she answered, "Thanks, but I have some friends I was going to team up with up northeast. I appreciate it, though." Edmund's smile fell.

"Ah. Well, nothing to be done for it." He turned and shook his head to his companions, then looked back at Ellen.

"If you're in the area and change your mind, look up the Briar Thorns. Low Level or not, we could use a good Hunter, especially if you're going Ranger route!" He grinned again and stepped away, leaving Ellen blinking.

"Wait… I'm not-" She paused and flipped her card around. Level 6. Class: Hunter.