Soon, the group emerged from the wild and came to the majestic city of Rongai. Njeru was shocked and full of surprise.
He had been content with a few humans, but now, everywhere he looked, he saw more and more humans. As they moved from the rural areas near the wilds to the densely populated urban areas, Njeru was beside himself with excitement and fear.
He felt like he had stepped into a new world. The clothes the people wore, the wares that were being sold on the streets, the language, songs, music. It was all too much.
Keshi was intrigued by her new teammate's reaction. He was like a kid in a candy store. Perhaps she better not introduce him to candy. Could he be just a nobody? She doubted.
Nevertheless, after much deliberation, the group had been willing to offer sanctuary to him at the time of need. When, or if he was to recover his memory, they would be assured of some payday. Till then, they could use a burly man around.
"Are we going to continue calling him Njeru?" Jamie asked. No one wanted to walk around being called a newb.
"Do you have any better ideas?" Ruitha asked.
"The name's stuck," Kelim emphasized, "besides, Njeru, you don't mind, do you?"
Njeru shrugged, he didn't mind at all.
"Ha! I guess that's decided!" Ruitha was very content with his naming skills.
The city grew majestic as they walked further in. The deeper they got in, the fancier the building became. This city had once been a ruin, built over a fallen city before the collapse.
Lord Rongai, the city lord whose family had reconstructed the city, was the client who had commissioned Chege's group.
When one was sufficiently powerful, they would release jobs to various groups which would compete against each other. Chege's group had been fortunate to find a clue that led them to the fissure on the mountain, but they had not been the first group.
The two beasts had made quick work of many of the adventurers from the city. Only the desperate or the hubris sort the mission. To have come away successful, this was something the group had only dreamed of.
Now that they were returning safely, joy-filled their hearts. Looks of appreciation were shot Njeru's way, and life was good again.
Soon, the group made their way to the city lord's mansion, where they delivered the orb they had collected. With great joy and relief, they received a small sack full of gold, proper payment for the risk they had put in.
The night was full of life. The men were holding nothing back as they celebrated their victory, the women not being left behind. It was a night of celebration and joy, one that saw many stories told and bonds formed.
That night, Njeru became officially one of the groups, a teammate, not some freeloader. The group even pledged to equip him with a full set of armor and weapons for when they next move out.
It was a night filled with joy, not one to be remembered.
However, no matter how much Njeru drank, he did not seem to have the same reaction as the others. No slurred speech, no staggering, no bursts of excitement. The drink did not have any effect on him.
As he was pondering on this, something caught his attention.
Somehow, the low humming that he'd heard from the orb had suddenly intensified. From where they were partying, Njeru could pick up the sound of the device coming from the city lord's mansion, which was quite a distance away.
Just as it did the last time, the low sound seemed to be calling unto him. It felt like some long-lost friend summoning him.
Soon, the low humming sound disappeared and the quiet came back. Technically, it was more like his attention came back to the noisy room. It did not seem like anyone else had noticed the humming sound, which made it all the more mysterious.
…
"Is this it?" The elderly man dressed in white robes asked.
"I should think so, it fits perfectly with the other pieces," The younger man answered. "However, we still have a lot of things to work on and to figure out. This will not be an easy task."
"You are not paid to do the easy tasks. What kind of timelines are we talking about? I need to inform the city lord when to expect."
"That's the thing, we cannot say for sure when we'll be ready. Remember a lot of what we are doing is educated guesses. We do not have the resources and materials to understand half of these gadgets …"
"Do you still believe?" The old man rudely undercut the younger man's string of complaints.
"... Ye-Yeah … Yes I believe …" Caught off-guard by the sudden question, the younger man stumbled to find the answer.
"Then say no more, all will be handled," Then as though an afterthought, the elder added, "Our ancestors did not leave us with nothing, it is up to us to reconstruct the world they left for us!"
"Yes, Master!" This time, he was more prepared. By now, his master had turned away from him, as though speaking to himself.
"There has been no one in our family's generation that was better placed to fulfill the legacy of our lineage until us. With the money and influence this lord can bring us, we have to achieve that task which our ancestors left for us, the real reason for the war!"
"So, for the time being, we will continue to shadow this Lord. In the meantime, we bide our time." The old man turned and looked at his student.
"Listen up, we have lounged for long enough," Chege said as he gathered the group. Two weeks had passed since they began the celebrations, and already, they were running low on funds.
The group was getting hungry again. Chege could sense it. His team was all adventurous and restless kind. They couldn't be held down for too long.
"We've been invited by the Skyline Guild as part of the support teams in a quest they are undertaking. I still don't have all the details, but according to preliminaries, they are offering 100 gold before we set off, and five hundred upon completion."
100 gold! This was the amount of gold they gained from their last mission.
Needless to say, everyone was gasping at the amount of wealth on offer. Well, almost everyone.
"What's the nature of the quest?" Ever the cautious one, Kilem had to ask. While others were only looking at the riches, he knew such great offers came hand in hand with extreme danger.
There were some things that no amount of money could get him to do.
"Who cares, it's a hundred G man!" before Chege could answer, Keshi, interjected.
"What is it with you and gold?" Ruitha asked.
As the bickering continued, Jamie and Njeru exchanged glances and smiled, thinking themselves above the others.
"That's enough!" Chege exclaimed, quietening all the others.
"I have not been given all the information yet, for confidentiality reasons. Until we sign the contract and set off, we will not receive the full information. This is what I know."
"Firstly, we are not the only ones taking part in this mission. The guild has recruited several other teams to take part. That tells you how dangerous it would be."
"Secondly, we will be allowed to use firearms. Now before you get excited, the firearms to be used are in short supply, therefore we will each be tested before being assigned any."
"All this is dependent on whether we accept the mission. Are you ready to accept it?" The leader asked as he eyed his people.
"Yes!" Keshi answered.
"Hold on, we need more information."
"What more do you want? If you are in the business of safety get out of our way!" Keshi retorted.
"I have to agree with her on this one boss," Ruitha piped in, "This is why I became an adventurer, for adventure! Guns and group battles, adrenaline, hot guild cheerleaders! What's not to love!"
"They are not cheerleaders they are there to fight like the rest of us!" Keshi hated the cheerleader mark, but she had to admit, some of those women in the group were brought along just to bring cheer. This greatly offended her.
"Alright, but we need to get a far better pay for our troubles," Exasperated, Kilem could sense he was losing this argument.
"Since we are all in agreement," Chege paused to look at the more quiet ones before proceeding, "I will go make negotiations."