Entering the inn, which also served as a tavern and Granny Brin’s house, I saw the group of adventurers again, discussing something at a table. This time there was one more person among them: a man about forty, with heavy stubble and a dull, glazed look in his eyes. I’m not even sure if he noticed me or not. His voice turned out to be just as tired as his eyes, which peered through barely open eyelids.

  — “Captain, we’ve scouted the area and found nothing except a bunch of rinki,” said the guy with his feet propped up on the table. “Now we’ll go on to the farthest village before the forest. There should be some clue there. If there’s nothing there either, like I warned, we’ve just wasted a lot of time.”

  — “Skot,” began the man with stubble, “it might not be that simple. The head of the department himself assigned this task, so, well… phew… It means we have to be ready for surprises.”

  — “Surprises?” Bery said in surprise. “But aren’t we just checking? Come, look, and leave.”

  — “When was anything ever like that?” the big guy spoke up after the girl. “We can only dream that everything would go smoothly.”

  — “But it’s boring! We can’t even attack the rinki, because, you see, they always protect their own. Just the two of us could wipe out everyone within a kilometer,” the twin boy complained.

  — “Yes, we could do that,” the man said again in a tired voice, “but then the local village would suffer. The rinki act as a deterrent against goblins from the southern wastes and wolves from the western forest edge. Only thanks to the unity of these gelatinous balls does this village still stand here. Do you think the locals would really praise you when a horde of goblins shows up at their doorstep?”

  Everyone fell silent after those words. I didn’t expect things to be more complicated than they seemed either. Approaching the counter, I greeted Brin again, took a portion of food, and went upstairs to my room. The group downstairs continued their conversation, but I couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying anymore.

  And now came the most unpleasant moment of the day. I had to get rid of the food. I poured a bit of hidden soil into the plate and started mixing this mess with a wooden spoon. A piece of bread and some water from the cup went in as well. It’s a real shame to waste food like this, but I have no other choice. I can’t refuse it, and if I throw it out whole, unpleasant questions might arise. Alas, my body can’t digest food. In fact, I can’t even taste it.

  When everything was ready, I slowly headed to the toilet. There I dumped this mass, thereby covering the traces of my prolonged fasting. And come to think of it, am I not the perfect worker? I don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t get tired, and don’t cause much trouble either. Any employer’s dream. After doing my business in the toilet, I went back to the house. The group had thinned out; now there were only three: Bery with her horn-like braids, the tired leader, and the cocky guy.

  — “So tomorrow we’re heading to the far village? Got a plan?”

  — “Yes. Drodul and the twins will cover the rear and flanks, Bery and I will be at the front, and you, Skot, will carry the gear in the center.”

  — “Hey! Wait, Sam!” Skot almost shouted, but immediately lowered his voice. “Captain. I could be far more useful with you at the front of the group, or at the very least help from the rear. Let Drodul carry the gear? He’ll handle it perfectly, you can trust me…”

  — “You forgot that you yourself drove the last porter into hysteria—first you stuffed a cockroach in his ear, and then you replaced his nose drops with Trottle Worm glue. He couldn’t breathe through his nose for two weeks. Two!”, the captain looked at him with his sleepy eyes. “Now not a single porter who knows about us will agree to work even for seven coppers a day. And that, mind you, is twice the usual rate. You were lucky that I got delayed and carried the load and the rest of the gear instead of you. So. Tomorrow you carry the gear. And get your feet off the table—you’re eating at it.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  At these words, the girl sitting between them couldn’t hide the smile on her face. It was clear this situation amused her greatly. She looked at the cocky guy, and her gaze clearly said, “Well? Got what you deserved? You brought it on yourself.”

  — “Wait, Sam—uh, Captain. But this doesn’t match my skills at all. I’m a Silver-rank warrior. Silver! Let’s find someone else? What do you think?” His voice became panicked. “Even that guy over there with the stupid scarf on his head. Hey, you! Need money?”

  “He called me. How did I get caught up in this?” I shook my head, firmly rejecting his offer to work.

  — “Oh, come on,” Skot in one sharp movement was beside me and grabbed me with both hands. “How could you not need money? Look how thin and scrawny you are, and your clothes are as old as an old man’s underwear. Don’t you live right here in this tavern? You’ll be paid a full three coppers a day. I’ll tell you, that’s not little at all, considering you’ll only need to carry a couple of bags. Well, what do you say? Agree?”

  His grip is terrible. I can’t even move. He didn’t seem that dangerous while sitting at the table. I need to be careful and absolutely not agree. I started gently shaking my head from side to side, rejecting his offer.

  — “What? You’re against it? How about four coppers then? That’s already more than the usual pay for such a task. And don’t forget, we’ll give you food too. We always have dried meat and some bread. Well, do we have a deal?”

  I stubbornly shook my head, afraid he might break me in half with just his hands.

  — “Too little? Well then, I’ll personally add another copper a day from my own funds and guard you myself on the journey. This guy’s worth it. It’s not often a warrior of my strength level offers his protection services. Well, what do you say?”

  I don’t know what kind of “warrior” he is, but staying in the village would be much safer than being near him. I shook my head again, since the rest of my body was completely in his grip.

  — “Skot, let the man go. Can’t you see he’s against it? Besides, investigating a necromancer’s case is very dangerous,” the girl spoke up. “You yourself can easily carry all the gear. You just don’t want to carry it because of your laziness.”

  “What? So they’re investigating the incident with my already deceased bald leader. With them, I’ll have a chance to learn more information. But if they’re all as strong as this guy, they could easily tear me apart even without weapons. What should I choose?”

  — “Buddy, pal, friend… Let’s say you’ll get ten coins a day. I need you. I can’t stoop so low as to carry Drodul’s stuff… His pot and his underwear… and maybe something else too… Help me out.”

  — “Well, Skot, you can see this isn’t working,” Sam started to say, but stopped when he noticed my reaction. I froze, and after a couple of moments slowly nodded my head.

  — “What?! You agree! Great! Captain, did you see? He agreed! Phew. Yes, I won’t have to carry Drodul’s underwear, Praise the Sun. I almost thought about making Bery do it, heh-heh,” the guy’s mood became cheerful again, and his expression turned careless. “Ten coins—so what? For this, I’d pay even more. But of course, ten it is.”

  After that, he sat back down on the chair and propped both feet up on the nearby table. It seemed he was ready to start singing. The others looked at him with pity and some disgust. After a minute of awkward silence, the captain turned to me:

  — “What’s your name? Have you been here long?”

  But I never heard an answer to his question. I just spread my hands and then indicated my throat with the edge of my hand.

  — “You can’t speak?” Bery asked.

  I nodded my head in agreement.

  — “Skot. Skot, don’t sleep. Where’s that medallion you managed to buy at the city market? Hand it over here.”

  — “But, Captain, we specifically looked for it to be able to uncover secrets. Is it really a good idea to give it to a stranger?” The girl was worried, something I noticed in her for the first time.

  — “Well, now we’ll find out whether he’s dangerous or not,” a faint smile appeared on Sam’s face. He looked at Skot and held out his hand expectantly. Skot very reluctantly took something off his neck on a golden chain. While it was in his hand, I managed to examine it: it was a small square plaque with a red stone in the center, protruding with two concentric rings on the sides. The captain of the adventurer group held out the medallion to me and said:

  — “Take the stone with two fingers. There’ll be a little show.”

  I very carefully extended two fingers and gently lifted it from Sam’s palm. No surprises or lightning strikes happened because I’m a dead undead. It was calm and quiet. Even too quiet.

  — “And that’s it?” — I heard my own voice. But this time it wasn’t in my head; it came from the stone in my fingers.

  — “Does this thing read thoughts?!”