am-books Chapter 26: Firth’s Idea of Dessert
Chapter 26: Firth’s Idea of Dessert
Chapter 26: Firth’s Idea of Dessert
Chapter 26 Announcement Patreon will be 10 chapters ahead in the next day
The mid-afternoon sun was blocked by ranging clouds as we walked. The plan was to escape the humidity in the tavern, which was a massive stone cellar. Firth had heard of it from a local. Probably one of his women at the brothel. It was in the lower city. The streets were fairly lean of people as we walked. More and more fled west every day, squeezing the city of regular people.
Wylie asked, “Any news on the reward for reporting the new dungeon?”
The older Firth, always informed, “Nope. They probably hoped we would all die out here so they don’t have to pay out.”
Mateo interjected, “It is the Adventurer’s Guild that pays. It will take them a week to travel there. A week to explore it. A week to return. And then ten months to review their notes before they pay out.” That got a lot of chuckles, but I was unsure if it was directed at the Adventurer’s Guild or bureaucracy in general.
Felix sounded appalled, “So we are not going to see the gold for a year then?”
Firth told him directly, “Just worry about staying alive. When it gets paid out, Adrian said each man is looking at between 50 to 80 gold. It will happen, just be patient.”
Kolm, our company pseudo-blacksmith, said, “I am going to get some enchanted boots so my damn feet never hurt again.” This started everyone on their wish list for what they would buy. Surprisingly, Firth said he was going to send it all back to his family and not spend it in a brothel. It would set them up for life and get the kids a good education.
Wylie asked, “What about you, Eryk? What are you going to do with your peasant fortune?”
I hesitated, then said, “I think I will get on the road and head back to my own country after my term is done and spend it there.”
Firth smirked, “The Telhians are not so bad. A little more racist than most Kingdoms, but you are human.” He paused and pretended to look at me seriously, “You are human, Eryk? Did anyone check?” He said in mock seriousness.
Felix, “I don’t know. His cock looked a little large in showers last night. Maybe he is half-orc.”
Wylie joined in on the fun banter, defending me, “It only looked large because you compared it to your own, Felix. It was completely normal.”
The good-natured jarring went back and forth until we arrived and descended stone steps into a large basement under what appeared to be a lumbar warehouse. The large room was well-lit, with dozens of tables and many men sitting...not many women I could see. The servers were middle-aged women moving among the tables serving city guards, locals, and a few men of the army. Firth pointed at an empty table, and we headed over as he said, “I was told to order the house stew with goat’s milk bread. They have a soft ale and thick stout ale for options.”
As we sat, one of the servers took our order. The house stew was a massive bowl of vegetables and various meats. It was enough to feed a family of four. As I ate, I figured the stew was just whatever they had left over from the previous day’s meal in the kitchen. I got the pale ale and was not a fan. It was extremely bitter. The goat milk bread had a thick crust and dense texture, but it soaked up the stew juices and became amazing on the taste buds. I ordered a second serving with the stout, somehow finding a way to pack it all in. The stout was heavy but not as bitter. My two stews, two loaves, and two ales ran me 14 copper. I tipped four copper coins. Tipping was not a normal practice, but it was understood and appreciated by the middle-aged woman serving us. When we finished the meal, the cards came out.
There were two branches, the protection branch and the guardian branch. The protection spells focused on the self, while the guardian focused on others. I ignored the guardian side of the index. I quickly found the arcane armor spell. The spells were listed in the rank of difficulty, so all the spells above in the index should be available to me with a 30 affinity.
Protection from Scrying
Immunity to Non-magical flames
Faithful Spectral Hound
Ward of Concealment
Ward Against Undead
I went to the ward of concealment first, but it was not for a person. It concealed an object in an invisible field. The ward against undead was stationary too. Used to prevent the undead from entering doorways. Spectral hound sounded promising, but it was more of a guard dog while you slept and couldn’t attack. Protection from flames, I discounted immediately. The last one was a possibility. Protection from scrying would prevent people from tracking me. I could leave the legion before my five years, and they would not be able to find me. Two problems with the choice. I had no spell forms to guide me to imprint the spell, and it would probably take a long time to get the spell forms and learn them. I would probably be better off just finishing my five-year term.
I thanked the owner of the bookstore with a ten silver tip. I went to the same meat pie shop and got two pies again. When I picked up my clothes, I gave one of the pies to the old woman’s family. I also explained that I was relocating to the upper city and would not require her services again. She was disappointed and said I was a nice young man and hoped I lived a long and fulfilling life. I thanked her for her blessing and went to find Konstantin.
He was not in the room he was using on the second floor. As I came down the stairs, Olson, the other scout, entered, “Have you seen Konstantin?” he asked.
“No, I just checked his room. I do not know where he went,” I replied.
Olson grunted, “Well, pack up your gear. Konstantin and I are to track everyone down and get everyone up the estate. Dinner will be ready there in two hours. Castille wants to address everyone, then. The directions are simple. Just follow the main thoroughfare to the castle. Then keep the outer wall to your right. You will pass through a guard checkpoint into the inner courtyard orchards. The estate is on the far side of the trees. If you get lost, just ask for directions to the orchards from the city guard.”
“Head there now?” I asked.
“Yes, Eryk. If you get there first, you might be able to get one of the few private rooms,” he said, a little irritated he had not found the other scout.
I started packing as quickly as possible. I moved the still-hot meat pie into my storage when he left. Private room? Hell yeah. I could talk to Konstantin later.