Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

My mad dash back to Riverrun earns me some more progress for my [Running] skill along the way, which of course really isn't a surprise. It's a very welcome change anyway even though it'll take another little while before that particular skill levels up. I'm grateful for every little bit of advancement. After this sobering encounter out in the woods I'm reminded that I still have a long way to go. There is no doubt about it. To face a creature like that, on my own or as part of a group, I still need to grow stronger by leaps and bounds.

I can tell that I'm getting close long before I see the town. Smoke and dust don't exactly hang over the town like an inevitable haze, but there certainly is a difference to the nearly untouched, or at least quickly recovering wilds out there. What I get to see as I leave the woods behind for good gives me pause anyway. I slow down and eventually stop and stare, hands at my hips.

It's almost like the town has doubled in size. No, actually, that might be overstating things a little, but the change is substantial and impossible to miss anyway.

The meadows and pastures nearest to town, just beyond the last houses, like the barn that recently saw a little too much action, are overflowing with activity. On one countless carts have been arranged into a virtual labyrinth of narrow passages mimicking the alleys of the actual town. On another an actual circus tent is being set up. Well tal east I think that it's a circus tent. I can't imagine another use of such a large tent right off the top of my head. On yet another meadow something that looks a lot like an open air theater is being set up.

Is this Sezemat's caravan? It's a little hard to believe. If it is though, I can begin to see why Beldragor with his little shop and attached training center is trying so hard to make a good impression. If this is the other dragon's retinue she has come a long way by comparison. It's quite impressive. It really is. Oh, could that big tent be her abode? That would be a goo explanation too. I'm still not quite sure though. Well, I guess I'm going to find out eventually.

A farmer working on the field just beyond the path I'm on looks over at me, as I stand there and stare.

"First time seeing it?"

I just nod dumbly at first, before I can muster enough presence of mind for an actual answer.

"Uh … yes. That's quite a lot of activity …"

My words trail off in uncertainty, but the hard working man taking a short break to exchange some words with me, doesn't take any offense. He just nods.

"It sure is. Shops, eateries with delicacies from far of lands. The circus and an actual theater! I'll probably take the grandchildren to see the former and my wife to a play at the latter. They have new ones every time they drop by. Haven't seen the same one yet in all those years. They put in a real lot of effort!"

He sounds pretty proud, and although neither circus nor theater are his achievements, having earned the money to take his family to see both certainly is something he can be proud of. I flash him a grin.

"Well I hope my last quest works out right. If so I should have the coin to taste some of the delicacies you mentioned and see a play too. But first I need to make my report at the guildhall."

He nods, even as I already wave my good byes.

"You do that young lady. Best of luck!"

And while he returns his attention to the weeds that need pulling in between the actual vegetables growing on that particular field, I'm off again too. There might just be a little extra bounce to my step now though. There is something new in town after all. Something I can look forward to. But it's like I said, my report comes first.

I actually speed up now that I'm in the open and on a half decent road again, even if it's still just a dirt road in between pastures and fields. I can make good time now though and considering how busy especially the outskirts of the city are now I just might need to, to make it through the gate and to the guildhall of adventurers on time.

The workout certainly doesn't hurt me. Quite the opposite is true in fact, as it earns me another partial increase for the [Running] skill. I'm half tempted to go for a rooftop run on top of everything else. To evade the overflowing streets on one hand and to maybe earn a level up notification and some more skill progress in general on the other hand. I decide against it in the end though.

Instead I start to mingle with the crowd a little as soon as I hit the busier streets on the town's outskirts. I want to hear what people have to say about Sezemat's caravan. Other than what I already learned from that farmer. And of course it might be good to learn if the trouble at the fighting ring is still a topic on peoples' minds.

It seems just about every bit of attention is on the newly arrived caravan of Sezemat though. That's good news as far as I'm concerned. I was a little afraid that I might have to get right back out of town, possibly by volunteering for a quest to deal with that new monster in the woods.

With decent backup that might not be too bad a quest, but still I'm not quite sure I feel ready for this kind of fight yet. I suspect that this fight will turn out more troublesome than the one against the fungal king. That flying lizard may not be as smart as a real dragon, but it certainly strikes me as smarter than the overgrown, humanoid mushroom. Fighting it will probably be a lot more dangerous as a result. Never mind that it's natural weapons looked quite fearsome. And the bones littered below the nest suggest that it must have some experience too.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Thankfully it's already late enough that the guards at the gate are more focused on the merchants leaving the inner city. My guild tag helps once more as well. In the end I get inside without much hassle and once I'm inside the walls the traffic on the streets lightens considerably too. I have no trouble reaching my destination with time to spare like this.

The lobby of the guildhall is only somewhat busy, surprisingly enough. Even better though I don't even have to wait in the not all that long line at the counter dealing with requests either. The clerk on duty there seems to recognize me right away, as I line up and sends a slightly younger man to approach me directly, while I'm still busy digging my quest papers out of my pack without spilling anything else.

"Welcome back, my senior informed me that you have a request that requires a detailed report. Would you please follow me to one of the rooms we have for such occasions. I'll take care of everything there."

He bows to me and turns to head upstairs without waiting for an actual answer.

Well, that doesn't leave me much of a choice. I simply follow him. Making my report in a quiet room sounds pretty good anyway. Who knows maybe they even have chairs there. I wouldn't mind a cup of tea either, but I don't dare get my hopes up to lofty heights like that. I'll take what I can get though.

The man leads the way to a door close to the far end of the first floor of the building. Inside it's actually pretty quite once he closes the door behind us. And of course there will be nod tea. There sadly are no chairs either. There is a writing desk for the scribe, behind which he has to stand, with papers, ink and quills already waiting. There is a number of lanterns he lights too. Other than that there is only a second, plain desk to the side. While the clerk places my quest papers on the writing table I place my pack on the other desk, to stand a little more at ease.

The clerk, after setting down my quest papers gets a new sheath of parchment and readies one of the quills.

"What news about the old quarry can you share with us? Its state? Dangers?"

I open my pack while he speaks and gets ready to write down my answers.

I pause briefly and sigh, then I compose my self and begin with the general state of the area.

"After the fight against the fungal infection and the following fires the are in general is recovering nicely. New green sprouting everywhere. No new trees yet of course. Those will take a while longer to grow. So, clearing a proper road shouldn't be too much trouble right now. The real trouble is the state of the quarry itself."

I pause to give him some time to finish writing. Once he is caught up I continue.

"The quarry itself is untouched by the fires. The first problem though is that the bottom most of its three levels is completely flooded. To get any stones out of there it either needs to be drained or bridged. Or maybe a new access could be cut into the rock at the second level."

I give the man some more time to catch up to me again. I wouldn't want to rush his writing after all. His penmanship, like that off all other clerks as far as I can tell, is immaculate after all. Rushing him would feel like a crime. As he finishes I continue once more.

"It's those upper level where the real trouble starts though. There are no predators or other threats worth mentioning in the area. The biggest creature I have come across in the valley and beyond it was a forest lynx and it took off as soon as it spotted me in turn. The reason though why there are no larger predators or creatures in general, well, that reason sits right there in the center of the third level and it has the bones off all those other large forest creatures that aren't around anymore littered all over the second."

The clerk's eyebrow rises a little, but he doesn't question my words. He just keeps writing them down dutifully.

"It sits there in its nest of burned wood and thorny brambles, curled up around a trio of eggs."

As I finish speaking this time, I pull the scales I gathered from my pack and place them on the table, so the clerk can get a good look at them.

This time it's not just his eyebrows that rise. His eyes actually widen in surprise and his breath catches for a moment. He doesn't remain silent this time.

"A wyvern? In a nest? With eggs you say?"

It seems I wasn't mistaken. This is a big deal. I hand the man one of the scales to study it, as he puts down his quill.

"Yes. Three eggs to be precise."

"Oh! This is big news! Very big!"

I'm tempted to snort at his response but refrain.

"Big barely begins to describe it. It stays hunkered down at the nest most of the day though, leaving only once to have a drink at the creek, just below the waterfall where the finale fight against the king boletus began."

He quickly puts the scale away again to add this detail to the report too. He looks quite excited as he does so.

"Well, we probably are somewhat lucky then. Dealing with one of those is by no means easy, but at least we won't have to deal with two. The female usually drives off the slightly smaller male after the eggs are laid. Anyway, judging by your observations, would you say that the wyvern looked well nourished or somewhat emaciated?"

"Ah, is that because they stick to the nest, not hunting anymore for themselves until the little ones hatch?"

The clerk nods and I give his question some more thought, doing my best to recall the appearance of the scaled terror.

"I'd say she looked still very much healthy and powerful. Not fat, like she just gobbled up every creature worth mentioning for miles around, but certainly not emaciated yet."

Once again the clerk writes everything down. Once he is done he finishes the rest of my paperwork too, putting the guild's seal on it before handing it back to me.

"Thank you for your work. You brought us important news. Please drop this off at the counter below to collect your reward. Oh, and we'll need those scales. I hope you don't mind."

I shake his hand and as I do I receive a notification.

[*Ding!* Your skill Etiquette has leveled up to level 4!]

This one counts towards the progress of my masked mediator class and overall it's enough to make my smile just a little warmer.

"It's no problem. That's what I brought them for."