Day 6
I just returned to my room from eating breakfast. I was partly dressed in my armour, and I was focused on the gauntlets before me on the table. I triggered my
I winced slightly at the number indicating the item's durability—the last few days had become a repetitive routine for me. I went to the Adventurer's Guild, collected one or two quests from Low Town residents, and set out to complete them. I have completed nine in total, and seven of them involved fighting large black rats. I've been bitten several times while trying to eradicate the vermin. Three times they had bitten through my gauntlets, and each time I lost durability from them.
After completing the daily quests, I chose those involving black rats and dropped the bodies off with the Sealochs. That was the name of the old couple who ran the shop that sold rat hides. It turns out they also sold rat meat skewers. They had offered me a sample of the wares, but I had politely declined.
Mandolin often visited me around dinner time, even joining me for meals on occasion over the last few days. She had tried to hide the true reason she was there, but I quickly realised that her superior in the temple had instructed her to keep in contact with me. I found it ironic that she thought she was being a decent covert agent, but I had figured her out. I did not have the heart to tell her.
I had asked her about the Sealochs on the off chance she knew anything about them. Well, it turns out she did. They were pretty well known in Low Town, as they supplied the community with not the best food, but a cheap way to fill the stomach. The poor used their hides for clothing, and many even made blankets if they could afford enough. The slums had many who were on the streets or one bad day from joining them. The Sealochs supplied them with a desperately needed service, and they were well known and respected for it.
I was not expecting that.
I had also asked her about the situation with the city's rat catchers. Again, Mandolin was able to supply me with the information I needed. It turns out that many of the city's rat catchers have suffered injuries while battling the large black rats that were now infesting Low Town. The local brown rats were no problem, and the rat catchers will usually deal with them, but the black ones were far bigger and nastier. This had led the city's rat catchers to avoid hunting them; hence, the work was shifted to the Adventurer's Guild.
I did not enjoy the work, but it was paid work. Thanks to that, I had built up a healthy financial reserve. The additional funds I had raised from selling the rats' bodies to the Sealochs, I donated to the Temple of the Mother here in Low Town. I stopped counting it, as it seemed like a waste of time from my perspective. It was an act of charity, and that was good enough.
I finished dressing, marvelling at another discovery. My avatar's sweat didn't smell. Sure, I needed to clean the body I now possess, but the sweat I had was scentless. This meant that maintaining my armour was far easier. I put my gauntlets into my backpack, as I didn't want to wear them right now. It was far when the Watch stopped me to show them my System tattoo. Also, it was getting warmer as we were heading towards summer, and I was still sweating on my armour constantly.
I left my room, locking the door behind me. I headed down the stairs into the common room below. I noticed Tavernkeeper Isabel watching me from across the room next to the bar. I did a polite nod as I walked past and left the building. I had learnt that her second name was Lodestone.
I walked out into the street and started walking along it, heading towards the merchant section. I was getting familiar with the Watch now, with many just nodding their heads as I passed. There were so few that stopped me, but they quickly allowed me through.
The streets were more crowded today. I had arrived on the first day of the week which in this world was called Labourday. The week was a seven-day week, like Earth's, but the days were Labourday, Merchantday, Sisterday, Sonday, Fatherday, Motherday, and Worshipday. Today was Motherday and was a day of rest for most. Tomorrow was Whorship day and was when most of the city's population attended the temples. Motherday and Worshipday were this world's weekend.
I had planned to use today as a training day, but I was not satisfied with my earnings this week, so I decided to work. Tomorrow I will rest and decompress.
I was attracting a few more glances and open stares as I made my way through the merchant section. I was still using my internal map to find my way to the Adventurer's Guild. I'm more confident about the journey now, but I still like having the safety net of the map.
The weather was pleasant, but smoke was still present in the air. I hated to think what it was doing to the locals' lungs.
I entered the Adventurer's Guild, looking around after closing the door. There were a few people in the Guild. The large single room was never busy or crowded during my multiple visits over the last few days. At most, I had seen half a dozen people present at the same time. Today, there were four: three who looked like they were adventurers and the receptionist behind the desk. I've learned that three receptionists rotate the position according to the shift pattern. One of the adventurers was looking at the job boards. The other two, a man and a woman, were talking across each other on one of the couches. They all turned their attention to me as I entered. They were dressed in more casual clothing, but I was armed and ready to go.
I walked up to the job board and looked through it. The other man was further up, looking at the silver grey jobs. I remained in the bronze category and focused on finding work that aligned with my interests. I could sense their eyes on me.
I did my best to ignore them and began looking through the job descriptions. I focused on those from Low Town, ignoring the rest of the city. I would leave the other adventurers to deal with them.
I quickly identified half a dozen, and most of them I chose to ignore. One promptly stood out as a possibility. It was for a warehouse clearance close to the merchant section. According to the request, the merchant who owned the warehouse wanted an adventurer to come in and deal with the black rat infestation. It was a priority request, and the merchant was offering 30 silver coins for eliminating 10 rats.
That was an excellent return. I was only looking to do one job today, and I took down the description. I turned and walked down the room towards the receptionist.
"Good day, adventurer." She greeted me as I approached.
"Good day, Madam. I would like to accept this request." I handed her the job description as I spoke. She took it from me and typed into the keyboard attached to the system device on the desk. The orb turned white, and I placed my right hand upon it. It quickly turned blue, registering that I had accepted the quest.
"Your registration of the request has been accepted. Good luck to you, Adventurer Hector." I wondered if she remembered my name or had read it from a display before her that I couldn't see.
"Thank you." With that, I turned and left the Guild. I still felt the eyes of the other three upon me as I walked away and left the building. During the last near-full week, none of the other local adventurers had come to speak to me, but I had been sized up by most of them.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Walking back onto the street, I called up my HUD and opened the map. I linked it to the new quest, and a new marker appeared on my map directing me to the location's rough area. It was located in a part of Low Town I had not been to yet, but the city map I bought gave me a good idea of where it was.
I began walking following the glowing trail that only I could see. I started later today, and the streets were far more crowded. It took me longer than usual to exit the merchant section because the area was getting crowded, with more shoppers flocking there. Eventually, I made it to the outskirts of Low Town, where several large warehouses were located. As I walked along the street, I began reading the building names and quickly identified the one I was looking for.
Outside the building, several workers were moving barrels onto a cart. I approached what looked to be the foreman of the group, who was holding a clipboard and reading from a piece of paper attached to it.
"Excuse me." The man turned and looked at me, at first angry, but then his features changed to surprise as he looked me up and down. "I am looking for Merchant Drayton."
"Merchant Drayton, aye. You'll find him through those doors over there." He turned and pointed to a large open warehouse door, where the men were rolling the barrels out of.
"Thank you." I walked past him into a small courtyard surrounded by a wall before the warehouse. I was attracting a lot of stares from the men in the work crews around me. It seemed that seeing an adventurer was not a common thing for them.
I walked through the doors carefully, not to interrupt the men as they were working. Inside was a much larger space full of more barrels and boxes. Lanterns lighted the room, and I counted even more men inside.
"Oi, who are you!" I heard an angry voice shout out, turning more heads in my direction. I turned in the direction the voice had come from and found a shorter, more portly man storming towards me. I had a pretty good idea who this was.
"Merchant Drayton?" I asked.
"That's me. Who are you?" Here slowed slightly as he got a better look at me and the fact that I was heavily armed. His tone was far less aggressive now. He was approaching from my left side, so we could not see my right hand or the badge upon my armour.
"Greetings. I am Adventurer Hector from the Guild. I am here to see about your rat problem." I turned to him, allowing him to get a good look at my right hand as I lifted to display my System tattoo.
"An adventurer. Oh my, I did not expect my request to be answered so quickly. Excellent timing, as we are about to close for the end of the shift." Both his tone and his body language shifted suddenly from annoyance to almost happiness. "Come, come. Let me show you where the rats were last seen."
He walked into the ample space, navigating through the boxes and barrels.
"We noticed them two days ago. Those big black rats had gotten in somewhere. None of the local catchers is willing to get rid of them." He spoke as we walked.
"You wish me to eliminate ten rats," I asked as we walked. A lot was happening around us, and I had to stay alert for workmen.
"Yes. Ten should convince the others to go elsewhere." He seemed sure of that.
"Do you wish me to remove the rat bodies?" I asked him. That was becoming a standard question I asked.
"Will you? I would be most thankful." He was genuinely happy with my offer.
"I can." I would sell the bodies to the Sealochs. I had found out they kept the hides but destroyed the bodies as they were inedible.
He guided me to the back corner of the warehouse to a stack of battered boxes.
"We have been seeing them around here." He stopped and waved in the direction of the boxes. "Once you have finished, let the guard at the doors know when you are done."
He left me there. Watching the merchant retreat, I knew they were trying to finish the short shift and end their workday. I turned back to the boxes. I walked closer, inspected them, and noted the damage from rats. I had grown accustomed to seeing the signs of rat activity. I wondered if that was a bad sign about what I was doing with my life.
I pulled out my club. I did not need the lantern here. I placed it on a box, then pulled out my gauntlets and the sack with holes. I pulled the gauntlets on and picked up the club. I took a deep breath and began searching for rats.
Over the next two hours, I hunted rats. I was sweating, tired, and nursing several minor bite wounds. Nine were down with one left to kill.
"Come on, where are you?" I spoke out loud as I looked around for the last rat.
I was deep into the boxes, looking for signs or hints of the rat I was seeking.
"Just one more. Hector, stay on target." I was tired. My back and arms were aching. I wanted this job over so I could get out of this armour. Sweat was running down my face, stinging my eyes, which was annoying me.
The sack was sitting on a nearby box, containing nine rat bodies.
I heard the sounds of scuttling from somewhere nearby.
The last one was close. But where?
The scuttling was louder; the rat was close. I started prodding with my club around the shadowed areas or at hanging canvas sheets.
Leaned over, placing my free hand on top of a stack of boxes. I leaned in, searching for the rat in the dark. Maybe I should be using my lantern.
Suddenly, there was pain in my hand, fast and sharp.
"What the…" I yelled, jerking up my arm heavier than it should be. Looking at my hand, I found a giant black rat attached to it. "Shit!"
I slammed my arm down on the box. This caused the rat to squeal in pain and let go of my hand. I quickly lashed out with my club, catching it before it could scuttle away. It squealed in pain again, but I didn't relent, hitting it again and again. The third blow was met with a sickly snapping sound, and the cries of pain got worse. I brought the club down again this time catching its head, and I got the System message I was hoping for.
I pause at this. Now that the fight was over and the adrenaline surge had passed, I felt the pain from the injury sustained from the bite. I was experiencing a hot, throbbing sensation in my hand, unlike any other bite I had had before.
I watched as the countdown started, and I felt a sudden wave of nausea and weakness pass through my body. My world suddenly spun. I was forced to lean against the box as my knees went weak.
"Whao!" I exclaimed as I tried to steady myself. If this were a lesser disease, I hated to see what a full one was like. I felt a burning sensation in the back of my throat, and my body just felt off.
Over the next 10 minutes, I eventually collected the rat's body and drank from a canteen. Then drank again. Before I knew it, I had emptied half of it down my throat and felt no better.
Collecting the rat's body and placing it with the rest should have only taken a minute or two, but everything was painful and slow. There was a dull ache in my joints now.
Eventually, I grew accustomed to the sensations I was experiencing and was able to move more effectively. But I felt like crap.
I eventually crossed the warehouse and found my way to the exit, where a guard was sitting next to the door. It was not the main doors I had passed through, but the side door designed for pedestrian traffic. The rest of the workers and the merchant were gone.
As I approached the guard, I changed the map location to the Sealoch's storefront. With a nod, he let me out, and I set off into the city. I slowly made my way through the throngs, moving about on my own business. As time passed, I grew more accustomed to the debuffs affecting me, but they were still very unpleasant.
I turned onto the street I knew I would find them, and noticed Mrs Sealoch selling some hides to a young woman. She quickly moved away once the purchase was finished, and the older woman saw my approach.
"Adventurer Hector! Back to sell…" Her voice dropped off when she worked looked at my face. "My, you do not look well!"
"I am afraid you are right, Mrs Sealoch. I am not feeling too good right now, but I have 10 large rats to sell to you." I wanted this business to be over so I could get out of here and onto my bed.
"Excellent, let me see them." She seemed to understand that I needed to be away. I handed the sack over to her, and she quickly dropped the bodies onto the table. "Oh! These are big ones. I will give you eleven copper for them all."
"Done." I think I was getting a bit delirious as I was envisioning my bed.
"There you go." She handed me the coins, and I nodded my thanks to her.
"I must be away now."
"Of course. Get a good night's sleep, you might feel better in the morning." She said as I walked away, and I nodded to her my thanks for the words. I plan to spend at least the next day in bed, if I can get away with it.
I changed the map director to take me back to The Poor Man's Dream. The route would take me past the temple to the Mother, where I would drop the coins into the donation box.
Each step was hard, and I was still sweating profusely. It seemed like an hour's journey just to reach the temple, but I eventually got there and deposited the coins quickly.
Then I went on to the tavern. It felt like another epic journey to get there, but I eventually arrived at the doors.
The tavern keeper, Isabel Lodestone, took one look at me when I passed through the doors and ordered me straight to bed.
"No arguments, I want you straight into bed. I will send someone up with the broth to help your recovery."
"Thank you." I croaked out as my throat was again parched and very itchy.
The stairs up to the next floor were an epic battle against gravity, which I almost lost, but I eventually won by reaching the top. Looking down the corridor, I was forced to lean against one of the walls as I figured out how far it was to the door of my room.
With a deep breath, I committed to the final part of the journey. The world was swaying as I moved forward, but I eventually reached the door, and after a couple more minutes of attempting to get the key into the lock, I opened the door.
Before me was the goal of my great quest. My bed.
I lurched forward, closing the door behind me, and with one final push in an epic crash, I fell upon the bed, still fully dressed in my armour and not caring one iota.
Therein, in the blissful softness of my sheets, I fell into an uneasy sleep.