“May the sun shine upon you, Sebastian. I am lissa, an apprentice priestess of Her Radiance.”
“Greetings, priestess lissa.”
Best I could do in response to her elaborate greeting was to respectfully bow in return - there was, presumably, a traditional way to address priests, but I didn't really look into it yet, so I had to make do with the generic show of respect.
“We were told of the misunderstanding that occurred. I have been asked to escort you back to the temple at once.”
“Thank you. Let's go.”
I stood up, passing by DM, whose eyes were adamantly glued to the floor.
It wasn't as if I was going to gloat or cause trouble for him, or any of the guards, for that matter. I was nowhere near petty enough to try to ruin a man's career over a legitimate misunderstanding, even if it did stem from sowhat slothful conduct. As long as it got resolved, I didn't mind letting this go.
“Up the stairs and to the left is the confiscation room. You will receive your equipnt there. You can collect the bounty for Zod at reception.”
I simply nodded, and followed the directions, with lissa behind .
“Greetings. You must be Sebastian? Yes, I was briefed about your arrival. Alright, one mont, please.”
The clerk behind the desk ducked into the back room, swiftly returning with my sword and the sack containing my possessions.
My waist cases and watch were there, but just in case, I decided to check their contents.
‘Potions – check. Although, it's just half a stamina potion now. I really have to restock at the Guild soon.’
I was also relieved to see both of the 100-gold currency cards safe and sound. Of course, I was certain they at least contained a serial number, and likely other anti-fraud and identification asures, so stealing the cards I only just received from the MIS yesterday would be a dumb idea. However, the guards who escorted here didn't seem like the sharpest tools in the shed.
Finally, beside so misc items which were all there, I weighed my two coin pouches.
The ‘secondary pouch’, containing roughly 7 gold's worth of silver and copper, seed to be untouched.
I proceeded to weigh the gold pouch…
‘Wait a second!..’
I ticulously counted the gold coins.
“Excuse . This pouch has 144 gold coins, but it clearly had 155 this morning.”
The clerk gave a strange look, furrowing her brows.
“Sir, nobody entered this room beside . The pouches were weighted at registration, and I can assure you, the weights remained the sa.”
“...so you're saying nobody touched it ever since it was turned in.”
“No, sir.”
“So it could have been pocketed beforehand? Or perhaps the guardsn who inspected it just so happened to carelessly spill so of the coins?”
At my obvious sarcasm, the clerk's face stiffened.
“Please watch your words, sir. Baseless accusations against the brave watchn protecting our city are a serious matter.”
“I just had a true interrogation done yesterday. I believe I could commission one more. lissa, this can be done, right?”
“You may commission a priest or paladin possessing the ability to cast [Aura Of Truth], provided a sufficient offering.”
“...how much?”
“The temple usually charges 30 gold coins for this service.”
It was my turn to furrow my brow.
It seed that the embezzling guards knew exactly how much to steal so that a true interrogation would not be profitable.
Even more so, one would have to be certain of the number of coins right before the arrest in order to make a concrete claim regarding the theft – between the morning, when I just happened to count my coins before departing, and the actual arrest, plenty of things could potentially happen.
I even opened the pouch more than once, at the inn and in the smithy, which ant the guardsn (or their legal representative) could claim the coins were lost back then.
“...I see. Perhaps I was mistaken, then.”
Despite my words, I decided that if I ever saw those two guards again, I'd find a way to repay them for this. Still, while 11 gold could be a month's salary even for a decent professional in the city, with the influx of rewards I’ve been reaping lately (following the dangerous, sotis deadly encounters) this money wasn't worth wasting much of my ti on right now.
Without arguing further, I signed off on the form provided by the clerk, and proceeded to reception.
After spending 10 minutes in the queue, and presenting my identification token, collecting the bounty was a matter of procedure - when I exited the Eastern Watch HQ, 15 minutes past noon, my coin pouch had regained 110 gold coins, far more than the stolen 11. The extra 10 were for the one gangster whose death by my sword has been confird, as well.
My total gold went up to around 460 gold coins.
‘I really have to deposit this in the bank.’
After today, I got a stark reminder of the significance of banking, and why going around with most of your net worth on your person was not the best idea in the world.
“This way.”
lissa led to yet another official carriage of the Solar Order. This ti, instead of a regular driver, the one sitting behind the reins looked to be a paladin.
The middle aged man, whose short gray hair matched the color of his eyes, wore a suit of actual, full plate armor, not a chain link in sight.
Before I entered the vehicle, I nodded his way, and he nodded back.
“May the sun shine on you, young man. My na is Uldric.”
“Greetings. I’m Sebastian.”
I hesitated for a mont.
Beside the higher quality equipnt, the man’s aura felt much more dangerous than Joshua’s.
‘He’s even stronger than Zod. Even stronger than Thomas, though the deputy was pretty good at stealth, so maybe he could conceal his presence to so extent.’
Regardless, and to my relief, this powerful Paladin was not an enemy, but rather, a new escort.
This tale has been pilfered from . If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“You must be one of Joshua's comrades, are you not?”
The man, who seed to be of middle age, nodded his head once more, his expression grim.
“I was told he managed to heal the most critical wounds, but his condition was still pretty bad. How is he?”
The paladin sighed.
“He’ll be fine – a week or two and he'll be back on his feet. But to think those-!”
Uldric stopped himself from uttering a curse.
“...those criminals are growing brazen as of late.”
Despite managing to retain his composure on the surface, the paladin was enraged.
“And if they are fearless enough to attack a mber of our order, how many innocent citizens must have fallen prey to those bloodthirsty fiends? How many businesses are being squeezed dry due to their extortion?”
His eyes burned with passionate fire.
“I truly hope Roderick does not stay our hand. This is not a matter of retribution, but of our duty to uproot those who continue sowing the seeds of darkness and despair within our city.”
I nodded. At this point, it felt like the paladin was rely venting his frustrations.
Actually, given both his concerns and the fact that he voiced them, it sounded like the order taking direct action against the Shadows was far from a foregone conclusion. However, while it would be good if it happened, this wasn't sothing I was counting on, anyway.
“Now, let us go. It's ti to return to the temple.”
***
The way back went smoothly – even the ride itself was smooth, courtesy of the shock absorbers installed on this high-end carriage.
The only interesting thing during this ride - beside the new streets I passed, including two plazas with statues that likely depicted so past heroes or monarchs - was the fact so of the streets had people decorating them in what appeared to be a common the. That the was dried tree branches, as well as red and yellow leaves.
“What’s going on there?”
After passing a large building that was being decorated that way, I couldn't contain my curiosity.
“The people are preparing for the Day Of Fallen Leaves.”
“Hmm?..”
Needless to say, I didn't exactly know the local holidays.
Sebastian lived a very isolated life with his father, and as for Pine Harbor, there apparently was a local celebration on the last day of the sumr, which I missed during one of my harvesting missions, but it wasn't a kingdom-wide occasion.
“The Day Of Fallen Leaves takes place on the first Perseverance of every Fall. We celebrate the upcoming rains, praying to the gods for a bountiful harvest and rciful weather, so that we could gather and reserve our strength to endure the harsh Winter.”
“I see. So, it takes place in three days?”
Today was Labour (Tuesday), and Perseverance (Friday) happened to be the sa day when the High Priest would perform his ritual.
“Indeed. The day after that is the day of Valor’s 2nd Rembrance.”
“I haven't heard of that one either.”
“I know. I heard you escaped from Luskar not too long ago.”
The apprentice priestess gave a considerate smile, and proceeded to explain.
“Have you heard of the War Of Valor?”
“The war against that kingdom to the east, three hundred years ago?”
“Yes. Exactly 299 years ago, in 735 AC, Malaknia invaded Valoria, opening the war by staging a terrible assault on what used to be the very heart of our kingdom, Valor's Edge, and completely decimating the city – even killing the old king.”
I nodded. This was more or less what I heard, as well.
“The attack took place on the eve of the Day Of Fallen Leaves, as most citizens, and even many of the guard and the military, were still engaged in festivities. We commorate those who fell in Malaknia's heinous attack, as well as the hundreds of thousands who died in the following war.”
I nodded my head in silence once again.
I wasn’t delusional enough to think of the people in this world as NPCs, nor was I as self-centered as to think of everyone as a side character.
Clearly, the deaths of hundreds of thousands were not sothing to be taken lightly, even if it took place centuries ago. Hell, even on Earth, those numbers would be considered massive.
“Does this an there is a victory day as well?”
“Yes. As the second biggest war in our kingdom's history, it has been nad the 2nd Day Of Valor. The war officially lasted over 10 months, with The Battle Of Geldoria signifying our final victory.”
She gave a polite smile.
“If you're here by the coming of sumr, you will witness a grand celebration. The ‘fireworks’ on that day.. um, those are alchemical contraptions that explode in the sky, creating a beautiful spectacle, second only to Her light.”
‘Oh. So that’s the word for “fireworks”. It feels strange.. Sebastian never heard it, but I actually know what it is.’
I was surprised to hear about fireworks existing in this world, but on second thought, it would appear that the technological - and, umm, ‘arcanological’ and alchemical - level of this kingdom was actually higher than then my first month in the small remote town would have believe.
Although it was also clear that most advanced technology and resources, at least those that could be felt in daily civilian life, were concentrated in the cities, and to a lesser extent in the towns close to them.
‘I rember soone saying sothing about factories being too valuable to build in insufficiently secure towns. I guess the sa applies to a lot of things – without the security of a big city, it makes no sense throwing resources into a small town that could get wiped out by dozens of different events, so even targeting the settlent specifically because it holds too much value.’
As I was thinking, the Plaza of Devotion ca into view, as the carriage stopped right beside it, near the sa stables where Stormcloud was staying.
‘Alright. I want to finish everything before going back to the temple. Guess I gotta make a trip to the Guild now. To think I only just repaired all my armor…’
I only hoped this small bounty was enough to cover the damage, considering the Darkness Sphere charge, as well as my consud potions, which were worth at least 70 gold by themselves.
‘Since I’ll be staying in the city for longer, I might as well check what kind of missions the MIS has to offer.’
***
Sowhere deep under the city…
plop!
“Agh! Dammit, I’m out of neutralizer. This damn acid stings like-”
“I got you! Stand still.”
A large man, bold and muscular, holding a two handed steel mace which was now covered in acid-green goo (with actual acidic properties), kneeled down.
A much shorter fellow - a blonde halfling with short curly hair, carrying two daggers on his waist and a crossbow on his back - quickly applied a colorless solution to the man's skin, or more specifically, to the exposed area right below his leather chestpiece but above his leg armor, on the upper part of his right thigh.
“Damn those slis! Why did we even take this job?..”
“Because you said hunting giant rats was too easy, and this request paid a little bit more.”
The one who replied was a blonde woman with a slim figure and slightly long and pointy ears. She was holding a short bow, and two quivers adorned her back.
“Those damn shit-slis are even worse for training! I feel like the only things I did for the last hour were walk, dodge and swing. Pray to the Smiling Lady, too, although with all this damn acid finding its way into every gap in my armor, I doubt she heard those prayers.”
“Hey now! Be more respectful! You don't know what horrible misfortune might have awaited us right behind the corner. Apologize!”
“I.. erm, I'm sorry.”
Faced with the halfling's stern scolding, and perhaps regaining a asure of sha in front of the goddess of luck, the man quickly apologized in an awkward tone.
anwhile, from the depth of a dark tunnel a hundred steps away, a pair of yellow eyes had been observing the group, faintly shining in the darkness.
Just as the big man kneeled, the eyes began to slowly advance, growing closer and closer to the group…
vhavhavhavhavha
Suddenly, a sphere violently vibrated on the dark figure's waist.
“Damn it! There is sothing there!”
In the span of three seconds, the group sprang up into a defensive formation, clearly experienced and familiar with similar situations.
The set of eyes - or rather, their owner - did not retreat upon being spotted. However, their gaze shifted to the vibrating sphere, completely disregarding the group of adventurers ahead.
“Tsk.”
From the depth of the dark tunnel, the group heard a sound that was very similar to a click of the tongue. A mont later, the yellow eyes were gone.
After standing in their formation for over a minute, they decided to cut the mission short, making do with two thirds of the quota (and thus less than half the reward).
At the sa ti, a vaguely humanoid figure, although far too large to be a regular human, was rushing through the underground tunnels, galloping on all fours.
At so point, had any intelligent creature capable of understanding human speech lingered near its path, it would hear vague mumbling, lanting the loss of prey, and cursing the damned urgent summons that were to bla.
Perhaps the Smiling Lady heard the adventurer's prayers after all.
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