When they returned to town, it was late afternoon. The town square was packed. “What’s going on?” SJ whispered.
“Let’s find out.”
A very angry-looking mayor stood on one of the empty vending stands, the table creaking under the massive form. His voice began, and the crowd who had gathered fell silent.
“Thank you to those who have come to attend the town meeting,” Mayor Maxwell said. “I know that rumours have already been spread, and some of our members have panicked, thinking of leaving town, but I have some news.”
Whispers and comments began amongst those in the crowd.
“First point of note. There is no GoblinPox. I will say again the rumours about GoblinPox are unfounded. The poor goblin, suspected of breaking a curfew, has been released from jail and reunited with his family. Several of you are friends with him and will be happy to hear the news. Also, I hope it stops any more panicking and people thinking about leaving.”
A few in the crowd cheered at the comments.
“The second point is much more serious and has not happened in Killic for over a decade.”
The crowd fell silent again at the mayor’s sombre and serious tone.
“There has been a murder.”
Audible gasps and muttering erupted from those gathered, and general conversations broke out. Several in the crowd shouted, asking who.
“Quiet down, quiet down.” The mayor waited for silence before he continued. “A body was found this morning down by the mill near the mage academy. It is that of a human male. A human male Legionnaire.”
The mention of Legionnaire sent a new round of muttering and comments through the crowd, and a couple turned and looked at her. She felt her nerves tingling and could feel her ears burning; she was glad she had long hair as it helped hide the nervous expression she must have on her face.
“SILENCE,” Mayor Maxwell shouted, again waiting. “There has been an investigation ongoing since this morning, and as things stand, we still have no suspect. The wounds look like the claws of an animal caused them, but there are no animals that we know of in the town who could cause such damage. Before anyone asks, we have checked all of the Lycanthrope. As you can expect, they were our primary suspects and have been checked this morning against the wounds. The body, having been found where it was, is the area of confusion. The Legionnaire rented a house on Hutret Street on the other side of town, and it is known that he frequented establishments with a poor reputation. There was no reason for him to be by the mill.”
SJ noticed several in the crowd had suddenly looked down, making it obvious who had either visited there or visited often.
“Barney Jiilrew,” a female voice cried out, making everyone turn and look, “as my husband, you better haven’t been visiting that place, or I will have your guts for garters.”
SJ saw a large orc standing with his head down. “I only went once, love. I got dragged by the boys.” He replied.
His orc wife balled her fist and hit him square in his nose, making it explode before turning and storming off. Several in the crowd cheered for her while others laughed at the spectacle. The large orc, now highly embarrassed, holding his bleeding nose, hurried down the street after his wife pleading.
“Quiet down,” Mayor Maxwell said. Even his demeanour had changed slightly after the spectacle. “The suspected murder victim ran an alchemy shop, and there have been rumours today that he may have started the GoblinPox scare. We have no confirmation yet, but it is coincidental if that is the case. I am asking all town members to be extra wary over the next few days while we get to the bottom of this, and there will be an increased patrol until we resolve the issue.”
More muttering.
“If you know or have seen anything, please come forward and report to the barracks. Captain Broadaxe is overseeing the investigation. Rest assured, we will find the guilty party and deal with them. Thank you for your time.” The mayor ended up stepping down from the stall. As he did, he glanced across and noticed SJ standing to the side of the main crowd where she had entered the town square late.
Many turned and started to make their way into the Hogling Arms, and SJ turned to follow when she heard the mayor’s voice. “Excuse me,” he called.
SJ turned, glancing back, fear coursing through her veins as the huge man’s form walked over. Knowing he was a werebear did not help her nerves.
“Yes,” she replied, a little higher pitched than usual.
The mayor walked up to her, standing close, not in an intimidating way, but that didn’t help how SJ was feeling. “SJ, wasn’t it?” he asked.
“Yes. How can I help you, Mayor Maxwell.”
“Please call me Zigferd.”
“Zigferd. How can I help you?”
“I just wished to say thank you for this morning. Yesterday was a long day with the fear of GoblinPox, and I needed to apologise for my lack of thought. Thanks to you, it has been confirmed that it is not GoblinPox and is a rather rare case of this Torpu you mentioned. Which will hopefully end any more panic or issues.”
“It is all I can do to help,” SJ said, smiling as best she could. Her heart was still hammering in her chest.
“Setu mentioned you saw the alchemist last night. Can I ask where you saw him?”
“It was at his shop. Setu had shown me where he lived, and I saw him return with his half-orc friend. They had been to the Wandering Ogre, and both appeared rather drunk. I eventually got him to play me at cards after talking my way in and offering myself as a bet.”
Mayor Maxwell’s eyes opened wide at the comment.
“Thankfully, I won getting Setu’s deed back.”
“He was alive at what time?”
“I am unsure, but I returned to the inn before midnight. I ordered some food and went straight to bed until Gary told me about Setu this morning.”
“OK. Thank you for answering my questions.”
“It is a pleasure. If you need any other help, please let me know. I must go and get Setu his deed so I can return it to him now he is free.”
The mayor coloured slightly at the final comment and bid farewell, returning to the barracks area.
SJ went into the inn. It was heaving. Looking at the state of some of the patrons, several looked like mages and were slumped in chairs and across tables. It did not look like they had left since the call to aid at the docks. The town meeting had now added to the crowd. SJ went through and headed straight up the stairs to her room.
“Oh my god,” she said, sighing in relief as she sat on the sofa.
“That was a close one,” Dave said.
“Close. I thought I was going to be dragged off for murder.”
“You could have told him you killed him. I doubt anything would have been done. It may have affected your chances of earning a reputation in the town, but it is unlikely to have any other impact apart from being banned. Starter towns are always strange places. You would get dragged up on charges in larger towns and cities, but not here.”
“Doubt does not fill me with much confidence.” SJ sat there and began her wing exercises.
“Well, I can’t say for definite, but the chances would be slim. The worst they would have done anyway is ban you from the town. There is no way a starter town would do anything severe to a Legionnaire. They get paid bonuses for Legionnaires who successfully integrate into Amathera.”
“Why are there so few of us here then?” SJ grunted.
“If you consider the number of starter towns and the number of Legionnaires worldwide, there are probably only a few in each one at most.”
“Do you not know how many then?”
“Not exactly. There are new arrivals and departures often enough to keep ticking things over.”
“Will everyone always know that I am a Legionnaire?”
“No. Not once you start to level more. It is obvious when outsiders come to starter towns, and as I say, many initial rebirths occur in the towns themselves. It was unusual for you to start outside the way you did.”
“I don’t understand the way this all happens.”
“Nor do I, and I have been doing the job a long time,” Dave chuckled.
“Not very helpful,” SJ moaned, rolling her shoulders to ease her tightening muscles. “These exercises are torture. I have only done them twice today.”
“The sooner the better.”
SJ sighed again and did another round of exercises, resting her arms at her sides as best as possible. When she finished, she stretched off and walked to the wardrobe. She emptied her contents from her inventory but kept her waterskin, rations, and the box from Bob. She then picked up Darjey’s lockbox and set of keys.
Sitting back on the sofa, she tried the keys until one slipped in and opened it. Inside were three pouches. Picking them out, she heard the jangle of coins and opened the leather ties that held them closed. The first pouch only had 32 coppers in it. The second was better, holding 14 silvers. The third felt empty, and she was just about to drop it back in the lockbox when she picked it up and felt a coin in it. Opening the pouch, she gasped. Inside was a bright golden coin. Tipping it into her hand, she stared in awe at the gold coin.
“Holy snoozle burgers,” Dave said in amazement. “He must have been running a very successful scheme to have made enough to have a gold coin.”
The coin was beautifully detailed with the face of a dragon, and on the back, the large number one was printed.
“At least I can give Setu his money back now.”
“For someone who is supposed to be good with figures, your maths hasn’t worked this time, has it.”
“What do you mean? Setu needs forty silver.”
“No, he doesn’t. He needs 15 silver and the deed to cover the 25.”
“With the 12 I got from Darjey and the 13 here, I have more than enough then.”
“More than enough. You are seriously well off for your level. Just think you could buy an upgraded profession basket already.”
SJ remembered that a good was only ten silver and a rare was one gold. Not that she was planning on spending one gold on it straight away. She added the coins and lockbox to her inventory, as she would need to dispose of the lockbox and the keys.
“I still need to find this cottage at some point.”
“Yep.”
“Right, let’s go and see Setu and give him his money and deed back.”
When she arrived at the docks, they were still active, and as SJ walked across the bridge to the small island, she could hear the shouts and calls from the fishermen by the jetty. SJ headed straight over to Setu’s and was just reaching to knock on the door when it opened, and a large orc walked out, nearly walking into her.
He jumped in surprise at the chance to come face-to-face with SJ.
“Gary?”
“SJ. You scared me half to death. What are you doing here?”
“SJ,” Setu called and immediately ran out of the house, throwing his arms around her. His four-foot-high frame grabbed her in a hug.
“Thank you so much for your help. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be back home with my Margu and the sproglings.”
“It’s OK,” SJ replied as Setu stepped back, a huge grin on his face. “I brought you this back.”
She removed the deed from her inventory, handed it to him, and was just about to hand over the fifteen silver pieces when Dave spoke.
“How did you get the silver?” Dave said.
SJ hadn’t thought of that and stopped herself just before she retrieved it. She took out three silver coins instead and handed them to Setu. Setu’s eyes opened in amazement.
“What is the silver for?”
“To help you get sorted, I know you lost another fifteen with the alchemist conning you.”
Setu’s cheeks reddened slightly.
“Glad he is dead,” Gary said emphatically.
“I heard. I was in the town square when the mayor announced it.”
“I am not surprised after the number of people he conned. We found a journal in his house containing names and people who owed him money. It seems he and his half-orc friend had a decent scheme going.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and the half-orc has disappeared. No one has seen him since the body was found. We checked all the places we know he goes to, and there is no sign of him. Captain Broadaxe thinks he may have killed him and ran off with the money. It could have totalled a couple of gold at least.”
“The mayor said they didn’t have anyone as a suspect.” SJ queried.
“We don’t because we can’t find him. It doesn’t mean he isn’t the main suspect, though.”
“I see.”
“It is good that the half-orc has disappeared. You would have only ended up having to kill him otherwise,” Dave said.
“SJ. Can I get you anything while you are here?” Setu asked.
“I don’t suppose you have coffee, do you?”
“Coffee, I certainly do. Please come in, and I will make one.”
“Right, I need to head off to work. I have patrol duty tonight.” Gary said. “SJ, I mentioned martial arts to Lorna. She said she would be happy to train you. There is a small fee, donations to the guard’s retirement fund, nothing too expensive.”
“That sounds amazing. When can I start that?”
“Call in and see her. She is often at the sparring grounds if not the barracks.”
“Where are they?”
“Behind the barracks. There is the jail yard, and next to it are the sparring grounds.”
“That sounds great. Thanks, Gary,” SJ replied, smiling.
“No problem. See you tomorrow, Setu.”
“Bye, Gary.”
SJ followed Setu into the house. She could not see any of the sproglings looking in the front room, which was empty. “Where are the kids?”
Setu turned and frowned. “Kids?”
“Sproglings.”
“Oh. Their Aunt Suuqu has collected them for the day.”
SJ walked into the kitchen area on her last visit. It had been in a state, but it was now pristine. Everything was cleaned and put away where it should be. SJ smiled.
“Looks like you cleaned up then?”
Setu went red again. “Yes. When I got back.”
“It looks nice.”
Setu made a coffee, and they went to sit in the front room. They passed small talk for some time, and Setu explained the fishing quota rules and how he could provide fish for Margu to sell on top of the usual rates he had to fish for the town. SJ was impressed with the whole economy that operated, and it appeared that all services were covered through the town’s coffers and that it maintained a steady economy due to it. SJ thought the money must just end up being recycled rather than the actual profit being made by most. It was a strange concept to consider.
According to Setu, most people in the town were happy with their status and what they did daily, enjoying their work and their roles. Setu had asked SJ about herself, and she hadn’t divulged any details, being very vague with her comments until they reached a comfortable impasse and sat sipping their second coffee. Eventually, SJ said she must leave, and Setu thanked her again, giving her another hug and saying she must come and visit when Margu is better so he could introduce her. She promised that she would and left. As she walked down the path, leaving Setu, her display triggered.
Congratulations! Your reputation with Setu was raised to Liked.
Quest – Save a Soul – Part 2 Complete
You have returned Margu’s title deed, and Setu has been freed.
Rewards: 150xp +20% 180xp awarded
Reputation of the town.
Congratulations! Your reputation with the town of Killic was raised to Friendly after you prevented the departure of its members due to the fear of GoblinPox.
All future town interactions will offer a 20% experience bonus for quests completed.
“That’s good,” SJ said as she crossed back over the bridge.
“Good, that is great. It will speed up your levelling process.”
“How does reputation work fully?”
“It is one of the easier systems out of most in Amathera. There are six ranks: Unknown, Friendly, Liked, Popular, Honoured, and Revered. There are negative reputations as well. For each level gained up to Honoured, your earning potential and bonus experience increase by 20% per level. Once you reach Revered with a town or city, any quests can earn 100% bonuses. The problem is that many will never reach revered as the level cap for experience due to the territory the towns are in, which can make it a pointless exercise.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“Capitals, on the other hand, do not have restrictive territory caps, so they can continue to offer quests, which is why so many flock to them.”
SJ checked her experience.
Experience: 521 of 600
“Only another 79 experience needed to level 6,” SJ said happily.
Her increases and improvements were coming along well, and the fact that this one quest, which had taken her just under a day to complete, had earned her a combined total of 480 xp. If she kept going at her current rate, she would soon reach level 10.
“I am going to go and see Lythonian while I can.”
“What about your tailoring?”
“I will do that when we get back later. I said I would call to see him about his problem, so I better do.”
