"Good morning Clair." Sir Allister said, putting down the cup of tea he was sipping.
"Good Morning Sir Allister, I'll start off by thanking you for taking such good care of me." Clair said, slowly taking a seat across from him.
"Say nothing of it, it was the least I could do for such a dear friend." Sir Allister said lacing his fingers together, he had a slimy smile on his face.
Clair thought she could taste her breakfast come up into her mouth, she couldn't stand to be around the man in front of her. Not only was he a snake of a man, she also suspected him of having her husband killed, just the sight of him was enough to make her sick to her stomach. Now she had to not only stay under the same roof as him, but talk to him as well, it was a nightmare.
"Yes, friends. Well, now that I am back on my feet, I think that I should take my leave, with my store lost I have much I need to figure out." Clair said in the vain hope of being able to leave.
"I must protest. You are still in need of healing, you shouldn't have to worry about recovering from this most unfortunate disaster in the state you're in. You should stay here as long as you need to make a full recovery, in fact, I insist." He said passionately, sounding concerned for her wellbeing.
"You've already done so much for me, how can I trouble you any further?"
"It's no trouble at all, really. Now, enough of that. Have the staff been treating you well? Are you in need of anything that hasn't been provided?" Sir Allister asked.
"Everyone has been wonderful, I couldn't ask for better treatment. I don't believe I'm lacking anything, but should I, I'll make sure to let you know." Clair reported back to him.
"That's good to hear. It pleases me that you're getting along so well. Speaking of the staff, they tell me that the…. creature that was with you is no longer around, what happened to it?" He asked inquisitively.
"Oh Sif? Seeing that I was well enough to move around, she decided to leave."
"And where would she go? Is she going to return?"
"I'm not sure, but I doubt it. I don't know where she went, she didn't say." Clair said with a smile, of course she didn't say, Sif can't talk.
Clair was uncomfortable with all of the questions Sir Allister was asking about Sif. Sif was a dragon, although no one knew but Marcus and her, it still didn't bode well that he was so curious about her. Sif was supposed to come back after delivering her letter, when she did she would have to tell her not to stay for her own safety.
"Right, well, if she happens to return, please do let us know." He said with a stiff face, not finding Clair's joke humorous at all.
"Why are you so curious about Sif?"
"She's a rare creature I'm sure, it would be odd for me not to be curious." He said, waving his hand in the air.
"That's enough small talk though. I'll let you get back to your own dealings."
Clair didn't say anything, just gave him a plastic smile and stood to leave. The faster she could get out the better. She unsteadily walked towards the door, grasping the knob, she went to turn it when Sir Allister added exactly what she didn't want to hear.
"Diner is at the seventh bell, we can talk some more then. I hear that the chef is making a roast, it should be quite delicious."
Clair turned her head, trying her best to hide her grimace. "I'll see you then."
............…..
"What are we going to do today Marcus?" A bright eyed Sylvia asked as she sat down to enjoy her breakfast.
"Well, I was going to go to the local Mercenary Association to submit a request." He said, emphasizing the I in his sentence.
"You're going to leave me here?" Sylvia asked, shocked.
"Yes I am. I'll be only a few minutes there, it'll go much faster by myself." Marcus said firmly.
"I can't believe you'll leave me here! What if something happens!" She interjected loudly.
"I'll be right back, and you're safer here than out in the middle of the street with just me at your side. And maybe you could see if Nathan will teach you to use your new sword while I'm gone."
"I wanted you to teach me." She mumbled under her breath as she slouched in her chair, crossing her arms.
Marcus let out a sigh, Sylvia gave him a headache sometimes.
"I told you before that I don't know how to use a sword, Nathan is a much better choice than I am." Marcus said, rubbing his temples.
"I know, I know, fine, I'll stay here." Sylvia relented.
"What request do you need to submit anyway?" She added.
Marcus held up a finger as he finished chewing the food that was in his mouth. They were having eggs with some kind of pink fruit he didn't know the name of. The eggs were run of the mill chicken eggs, from what he could tell most farm animals were the same as on Earth. The pink fruit tasted like a mixture of grapes and kiwi, he wasn't sure if he liked it or not, he could go either way.
"Since we'll be going out into the wilderness this weekend, I figured it would be best to have a guide. I'm going to hire one." He said after swallowing.
"That's a good idea, I didn't even think of that." Sylvia said, pushing around her eggs.
"What's wrong?" Marcus asked.
"I just remembered that Riley sent a message earlier, before breakfast."
"Oh really? What'd it say?"
"Haaaaaa, He wants to take me around the city, to go sightseeing. He wants to go later tonight, around sunset." She said, letting out a monstrous sigh.
"Oh wow. That sounds... romantic." Marcus said, barely keeping his composure.
A high pitched noise came from Sylvia's fork and plate, Marcus looked over to see that the fork had bent a little as she pressed it into the fine china. Sylvia looked as if she wanted to gut Marcus right then and there. If the looked she gave him in the carriage the other day was sensual, this look was one of pure animosity.
"You!" She screamed, a small vein bulging on her forehead.
Marcus held his hands up, a smile on his face. "I'm just joking! Don't look at me like that."
"You won't get out of it either, you'll have to come along as well."
"I know I have to tag along. I'll keep him from doing anything stupid."
"Just make sure you're back in time, I don't want to be left alone with him any longer than necessary." She said, inspecting her bent fork before using it to scoop some eggs into her mouth.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said, giving her a small smile.
This seemed to put her back into a good mood, she returned his smile two fold with her own. She then started to hum a tune Marcus didn't recognize, and bop her head around as she finished her breakfast. Marcus finished his as well, then after they were finished, parted ways until the evening when Riley would come.
Marcus declined the offer of taking the carriage to the Association, he felt like a little exercise. The seasons were still trying to decide if they wanted to be summer or fall. The mornings were cool, you could even see your breath, but after the sun came out the temperature became almost too warm. Right now it was almost ten in the morning, so the air was still cool and the sun still had yet to reach its zenith. He left the gated community that the villas hid behind, and came into the area where the nobles who couldn't afford one resided.
It was still a beautiful area, just couldn't boast the view of the villas on the mountainside. The houses were all pleasing to the eye, the landscaping of each one meticulously trimmed. He could already see servants coming and going from the houses, either going to the market or returning.
Guards would patrol much more often in this area, every time Marcus passed a pair they would eye him with caution. Knowing that he drew attention to himself, Sylvia had given him their family crest to wear around his neck when out by himself so that he could go unmolested. After seeing the crest, the guards would always go about their business.
After an hour of walking, the noble's area was quite large, he finally made it to the commoners district. Although it was called the commoners district, it was still a wealthy area, it would make more sense to call it the upper class district. The people that lived here didn't have a noble lineage in their family, but could still boast considerable wealth.
The houses were much closer together than either area he was in before. Some were single family houses, but there were many multifamily dwellings as well. Marcus took the crest off from around his neck and continued to the Merchant's district. All the roads he'd seen had been paved with cobblestone, making the walk very clean. In Jakarta, although some roads were paved, the majority were only dirt, making travel either dusty or very muddy. Marcus figured that when they were building Jakarta, they had more pressing matters than paving all the roads.
He took a left turn at the end of the road, this was the road leading to his destination. It was a more narrow road, not much carriage traffic came down this way. He looked up into the sky, seeing a flock of birds fluttering about. His mind then wandered to Sif, hoping that she was alright. It had been almost a month since his dream, he hadn't heard a word since then, it was gnawing at his stomach.
That was another reason he wanted to go to the Mercenaries Association, he had a letter he wanted to send back to Jakarta. Without Sif here, he had no other way but to have someone hand deliver the letter. That would require someone to trek over four-hundred miles, he was sure it wasn't going to be cheap.
There wasn't anything like the postal service in this world, anyone who wanted to send a letter either had to find someone willing to do it, or post a mission. Nobles always had someone dedicated for their letters, but the common people had no such resource.
Marcus soon found himself in front of his destination. Although it wasn't the main branch, it was much larger than the one in Jakarta. It took up almost one whole block by itself, and was three stories high. He thought being so close to such a resource rich area that they would need all that space for staff, and the number of mercenaries coming and going each day. Many armored men, and a few women, were going up and down the stairs that led to the double doors that were wide open. There were many sets of double doors every fifty feet or so, but no signs, so Marcus wasn't quite sure which doors led where.
Shrugging his shoulders, Marcus chose a random set of doors and walked through the threshold. Inside was a massive room, much like an old fashioned railway station. Counters were set up in the middle of the wide open area, with several dozen staff members helping mercenaries that made up several long lines. There were no signs indicating which line was for what, so Marcus just got into the shortest one and waited for his turn.
All the mercenaries around him gave him side glances as he waited in line. He could hear people talking about him as he waited. Being the only person his size, it wasn't hard to associate him with what happened the day before. News travels fast, so just about everyone had heard of the man who ripped a metal door off of a wrecked carriage.
Ignoring the intense stares and whispered conversations about him, Marcus quietly waited in line. After a long thirty minutes of waiting, it was finally his turn, he crossed his fingers, praying that he chose the right line. He stepped up and a young man was sitting behind the counter. He looked like he was only sixteen or so, just stepping into adulthood.
"Hello and welcome. How may I assist you today?" The young man said in a very chipper tone.
"Hi, I just want to submit two requests. The first is to just send this letter to Jakarta, the second is to post a mission for a wilderness guide." Marcus stated his business.
"Sure thing. You said Jakarta, correct?"
"Yep."
"Ok, one moment." The young man said as he reached under the counter in front of him.
He pulled out a small book, it didn't have but a dozen pages, and was wrapped in leather. The young man used his index finger to skim down a page, eventually landing on the line that he wanted. He then closed the book and put it back under the counter.
"The minimum rate for sending anything to Jakarta is two gold coins. Of course if you want faster delivery, the rate will go up. Right now you're looking at a month or so for it to get there." The young man said with a look of pity in his eyes, two gold coins were a small fortune for someone like him.
"Alright, here's five gold coins. I want the letter to get there as soon as possible." Marcus said, not batting an eye as he slid the letter over to the young man with the gold coins on top of it.
The young man looked very surprised to see that many gold coins in one place. He quickly put them into a little lockbox that was sitting behind him. He then inspected the letter, writing down that it was sealed and the name of the recipient. He then put a wax seal of his own on it, it had the mark of the Association, this would keep it from being tampered with while in transit.
"That's all taken care of, now on to your second request." The young man said, storing the letter under the counter as well.
"Right, we just need someone who knows the area around Rosevalley. We'll be heading into the wilderness a few days every week for the next two months. The goal is just to observe the local plants and wildlife, maybe a few magical beasts if it's safe to do so." Marcus told the young staff member.
"Just going out to look at the wildlife?" The young man asked, looking confused.
Marcus just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, that's it. It'll be me, and about eight other people. We won't need any combat experience, we have that covered, just someone that knows the area."
"Alright, and how much is the remuneration?" The young man said, giving up on trying to understand why anyone would go out into the wilderness just to birdwatch.
"It'll be fifty silver coins a day, food will be provided. They will need to bring their own camping gear." Marcus listed out the requirements.
The young man wrote everything down, along with the contact information and the time and place they would meet up to head out. Marcus wanted to meet whoever took on the mission before he accepted them, so the young man wrote that down as well. He told Marcus that when someone accepted the mission they would contact him. After everything was said and done it was nearing noon.
Marcus could feel his stomach rumbling out in protest, he decided to grab something to eat before heading back to the villa. He thought about checking out the mission board before he left, but decided not to. He wasn't going to take on any missions while here, so there was no point. On his way out he still received many stares, people went out of their way to get a good look at him, he thought it was very strange.
Once Marcus disappeared out of the large wooden double doors, there was a clamor inside of the Association. Many people ran back up to the mission board to double check something, after staring for a moment, they took off running towards the noble district. If Marcus would have looked at the mission board, he would have seen a handsome reward of two gold coins for any information on the man that saved the family involved in yesterday's accident. Although most people only saw what he looked like, a few had overheard his conversation at the counter, so they knew quite a bit more information.
Marcus was oblivious to the headache that was coming his way, he just made his way down the street thinking about what he wanted for lunch. He still had six hours before Riley would show up at the villa to ruin everyone's day. He thought he would eat, then window shop a little before heading back.