Getting up, Jess stood by the side of the bed, staring up at me with her adorable little face. I gave her a pat on the head as I took a breath to gather myself from the sudden wake up alarm.
"Go eat sweetie. I will come out in a moment." I told her
"Okay Gabriel!" She smiles, and waddles out the room, arms spread out to the side. Turning around, she reached up to close the door after her.
Jess is an orphaned girl we took in soon after her parent got murdered by some freak cultists. She's a sweet child. When we found her, she was crying, kneeling before the bodies of her dead parents. That was 2 years ago. I can tell she is still bothered, yet there is not much more I can do, other than to be the father figure for her. No matter what, I promise to protect that girl at all cost.
Looking around the wood cabin, I felt a sense of ease. The delicious aeronautics of the food filled the room ever since Jess opened the door to come in. I hurriedly put on some clothes and went out the door.
"Morning Gabriel" said Julia while she scoops up food from the table to serve the others.
"Morning Jul." I said tiredly
"Come on Gab, sound more lively. Sweet Julie here made the food just for you. She put a lot of love into it ya know." Said Gilbert.
"Oh shut up, no I did not!" Said Julia as she threw a sodden spoon at Gilbert.
He caught the spoon in a panic, laughing as he did so, only to be hit with yet another flying spoon to the face, leaving a red imprint on his face. I couldn't hold my laughter at the sight, and neither could Jess.
"Thank you for making food Julia. It smells great." I said
"Oh, of course. I'm a good cook after all." Said Julia while chuckling, clearly proud of herself.
"Awe, look at that, she's blushing." Said Gilbert teasingly
"Shut up!!!" Yelled Julia, covering her face.
"Alright alright, no more teasing Julia." I said
"You got it boss." Affirmed Gabriel.
As we ate, I brought up an upcoming commission the guild requested of us.
"After we finish eating, we need to head out as soon as possible. Apparently the village west of the capital is going through some trouble."
"What sort of trouble" questioned Gabriel.
"Murder trouble. They don't know who the murderer is" I explained.
"And since when did they use us for murder mysteries? Where's the beasts? Where's the danger? Where's the fun!!" Said Gabriel
"Well, they suspect that it wasn't human. That's the fun. Plus, it's weird how the body looks mangled after each attack. Not eaten, yet not killed in malice either. It would be safe to assume it's the work of a serial murderer, but the bodies are too brutalized to be such a case. Guild members who investigated the place noted how the amount of blood that stain the ground is oddly minimal. Usually the blood on the ground would take up the entirety of the frame of the body, yet in these cases, the blood stain is noticeably small, almost absent from the scene." I explained further
"And I'm guessing they think it's some ghoul or something?" Asked Julia
"They said they aren't sure. Ghouls eat the body, vampires don't ever mutilate the body in such a way, and curses don't ever just kill randomly like that. Of course unless it is a powerful curse on the entire town, but the town is known for charity and their good will. Why waste such a powerful spell on a village such as that?" I retorted.
"So do they have any suspicion at all?" Asked Gabriel
"Yeah. Apparently they suspect the cult of Hestia is responsible for it. Their collection of the blood and minimal waste, the way they cut the victim to get more blood, and the way they simply leave the body out in the open like that is all signs of their doing." I said, concerned.
Everyone looked at Jess, who was still eating happily, swinging her leg back and forth while bobbing side to side. Her eyes move from one person to another with her cheeks full of food. Julia then got up and picked up everyone's empty bowls.
"We can talk about this later. Okay?" Julia said sternly.
Me and Gabriel nod in agreement while Jess looked at us with confusion. Her hair swinging from side to side.
After we cleaned up the dining table, we donned our armor and proceeded to take Jess to town. The people give us praises for our protection of the capital and the lower city. Some would offer us fruits for our trips, and others would greet us and introduce their kids to us. Quite a lively town. Jess ran around as the villagers were awed by her cuteness. Her smile seems to brighten the day up for many of the older folks, especially those without grandchildren.
"Why can't you give me a grandchild like her" one of the villagers told their son.
"Oh don't worry dear, it's free of charge " said a nice lady as she gave Jess an apple. We bowed out head in appreciation as she bowed back
"Well if it isn't the mighty heroes of Astral!" Shouted the town's blacksmith. "I owe you all a huge favor. One of my relatives was there when the disaster hit, and one of them said a brave warrior in black saved them from the hoard. I'm assuming that is you! Thanks to your interventions, she manage to get out with only a minor cut. I honestly don't know what would have happened if you didn't arrive." The blacksmith spoke fast and firm, not letting anyone cut him off.
We stared at him with wide eyes as he quickly grabbed my hand and shook it, Julia after, and Gilbert last.
"As thanks, if you need to infuse any Soul gems or Power gems into your equipment, I will do so for a discount… of 2 percent." He said with the biggest smile I have ever seen.
We looked at eachother, slightly disappointed at only 2 percent, but we knew better than to ask for a higher discount out of someone's good will. Though, from the look of Gilbert's face, he is no doubt holding back the request the hardest.
"We will surely keep that in mind, good sir." Julia said with a friendly tone.
"Oh, yes, you may just call me Benny, Benny the blacksmith." He said
"Alright mister Benny, we will keep that in mind should the chance arise". Repeated Julia
I shrugged at her as she stared at me.
"I apologize, mister Benny, but I'm afraid we have business to attend to at the guild. We will consider your offer once our current objective is completed." I said.
We then moved on from the blacksmith as he waved goodbye.
We proceeded to walk to the guild headquarter for more details about the request. Gilbert stayed silent for a few moments before speaking.
"He's a fun fellow.." he blurted out.
"Agreed" said Julia.
"Yeah." I added.
After a bit of walking and more people giving Jess free stuff, we arrived at the Guild of Gold City. I opened the door as the receptionist looked at us with an inviting smile. We slowly walked to her, as she came out of her booth to lead us to the meeting lounge.
"Good morning Rosey." I said, greeting her.
"Mornin you three. The guild master is already awaiting your presence." Rosey said.
Jess ran to Rosey's side as Rosey looked down at the little child eating her apple. Jess stared at Rosey as Rosey picked Jess up. Jess now sits comfortably in Rosey's arm while eating her apple, holding it with both hands. She smiled at Rosey, and turned to look towards the top of the staircase where the room of the guild master stands tall and strong.
"How are you today Jess" asked Rosey.
"I'm good!" Said Jess excitedly. "How are you Ms. Guild?"
"I'm good as well, Jess, thank you for asking" answered Rosey, smiling.
"Can we play later Ms. Guild?!" Jess said loudly as she looked up at Rosey
"Sure sweetie, we can play. How about some cards? It's a game played by some of the guild members. Maybe you would like to learn how to play it?" Suggested Rosey.
"Yeah! I want to play cards with Ms. Guild!" Exclaimed Jess.
We all giggled as we made our way closer and closer to the guild master's room.
"Alright Jess, you be a good girl alright? We will be back later tonight, two nights maxed, okay? Can you stay two days without us?" Asked Julia.
"Yes! I'm an adult now! I can stay two days away without crying mom!" Jess said, proud of herself.
"Alright sweetie. Promise to not give Rosey too much trouble alright?" Julia reminded Jess.
"Alright mom." Answered Jess.
"Don't worry Ms. Julia, Jess has been a very good girl. I'm sure she won't make trouble for the others." Assured Rosey.
"Alright Rosey, I'm really sorry to have you do baby sitting along with your job." Said julia.
"It is not a problem at all. I quite enjoy Jess's presence in my boring job. Isn't that right Jess?" Said Rosey.
"Yeah! I'm good!" Said Jess as she squish Julia's cheeks together.
We giggle some more at the scene, and said bye to Jess and Rosey before heading into the room. Rosey and Jess waving bye at us as the door slowly slid shut.
Before us say the guild leader, a masculine man with scars all over. I bowed at him with great respect, and so did the others. The man stood up, his face twisted as he glared at me. He lunges at me with blinding speed. His face frowning as his eye gain a red glow. I stood there frozen.