349. Days In Red Oak II

349. Days In Red Oak II

Omen: 10, 15

“So,” Adam called, glancing to the rest of his party members, “what do we do?”

“There are many requests which are appropriate for us,” Jurot said, getting up to check the quests at the wall.

“Anything hugely dangerous in Cherry Wood?” Adam asked, looking to the left side of the quest board, which represented the much nicer Cherry Wood, as opposed to the more dangerous Red Wood. “We could train Brittany and Nobby inside it.”

“It would take some time to train them if there are so many of us,” Jurot replied.

“That’s fine by me. Slow and steady, remember?” Adam pat Jurot’s back, feeling a solid wall of muscle. ‘God. Damn.’ “We need to do everything safely until they become Experts.”

“We should travel through the land,” Jurot said. “Noonval’s heat will bother us, but it will not affect us much.”

“Right... the heat...” Adam groaned quietly, wincing at the thought of how hot it would become soon. ‘I should take the Rage Dancer’s ability that increases my Defence without wearing armour.’

Vonda walked over towards the quest wall. “If I can voice my concerns, I hope that we do not kill.”

Adam peeked down towards her. ‘Right. She’s a Priest of Life.’ “That’s going to be a little awkward. Unless...”

“We form two groups?” Vonda asked.

“Will you return back to your Order with the artefact?” Adam asked.

“No.” Vonda shook her head slowly. “The Adventurer’s Guild will return the artefact back. It would be dangerous for me to take it with me.” Vonda wasn’t naive about the world. Even though this was an artefact of Mother Soza, there were plenty of people who would try to possess the artefact.

“You trust them that much?”

“Yes.”

“What if they don’t?” Adam asked, lowering his voice to a near whisper.

“If they lose the artefact,” Vonda began, trying to give Adam the benefit of the doubt, “it shall be a serious matter, one not even the Guild can ignore. They will place the artefact in good hands, I’m certain. I assume they will place the artefact in the hands of Iyrmen, to be escorted to the Order safely.”

“Ah.” Adam nodded, smiling down at her. “Then it’s in good hands.”

“Two groups?” Jurot asked.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“I’ll be in the killing party,” Lucy said. She wasn’t going to let go of all the fun she wanted to have.

“Adam, Sir Vonda, Kitool, and I should form a party,” Jurot said.

Adam glanced at the remaining group. Jaygak, Brittany, Jonn, Nobby, Dunes, Lucy, and Fred. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” It would be a large second group, but that was best in order to make sure Brittany and Nobby would be safe.

“Here,” Adam said, handing Vonda and Dunes a diamond each. “Keep Revivify on you at all times, please.”

Adam walked around the market, trying to find someone who sold nightval bear hides, one which he could fashion into a top to wear. Even if it only made him slightly cooler, it would be worth the money.

“Adam, the tannery may sell the leather,” Jurot offered, motioning his head to a tannery nearby.

There was a sharp smell in the air as they approached, and as he stepped inside, he saw a young woman currently working on a piece, scraping off the hair from some skin which had been pulled taut. She looked back, past her dark pony tail, noting that the pair were an Iyrman and another adventurer who wore a scarf around his head, both Bronze Rank.

“What can I help you with?” the tanner asked. She was adorned in a short sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts which ended a little beyond her knees.

“Do you have any nightval bear hide?” Adam asked. “I want something to keep me cool during noonval.”

“I sure do,” the woman said. “Do you want me to fashion you a top?”

“Yes,” Adam said.

The woman brought out a long piece of string, which was marked about a finger width wide all across it. “Please, if you don’t mind, take off your armour and shirt.”

Adam did as she asked, slipping out of his armour and his shirt, revealing his lean body. ‘Damn! I forgot how jacked I was.’

The young woman took a moment to admire his body, before she started to measure him using her string. “Nightval bear hide made into a top. That’ll be fifty gold, and it should be completed within a week.” She didn’t mention anything about the fact he kept his scarf on, wondering if he had some kind of gruesome scar around his head, or if, equally as terrible, the young man was bald.

“Perfect,” Adam said, pulling up his shirt, feeling a little awkward under the gaze of the tanner and his brother. ‘I should have brought...’ Adam wondered who he could have brought with him. ‘Vonda?’ His cheeks and ears turned red. ‘No, no, don’t be silly. I should have brought Lanarot, obviously.’

Adam paid the gold, using five gems, before he left, heading back to the Guild. ‘I should have tried on the hide first to see if it really did cool me down. No, no. Kitool was the one to tell me, and Iyrmen don’t lie.’

“Did you guys figure anything out?” Adam asked.

“There is an escort quest for a wealthy merchant who deals with herbs,” Vonda said, looking to Adam with a knowing gaze.

“Sounds like we’ll be paid quite well.”

“We will meet him in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” Adam dropped down, glancing at Kitool and the others. “Oh! Since we’ve formed a second group, I’ll split the party funds in half. That way, in case we’re gone for too long, you aren’t left out to dry.”

Adam had forgotten just how much money was in the party fund. “Uh...” Just nine gems were already worth nearly a thousand gold. ‘Why the hell am I carrying these around willy nilly?’

Kitool looked to Adam. “You can place the money in the Adventurer’s Guild, and can allow those you trust within the party to withdraw from it.”

“Let’s do that,” Adam said, splitting the party fund in half, though placing a little more in the funds he was dolling out, since the other party was bigger. ‘Seriously, I shouldn’t carry so much around!’

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