Revenge of the king 25

Hey Guys! Ran into a few issues with RL so the chapter is shorter than I intended. If I get time I'll go back and add to it. 

Chapter 25 

Alessa

The mercenary guild smelled horrible. I always thought the rumors I heard about the various guilds were just that, rumors. Just because a random traveler said a certain place tended to attract trash didn’t mean it was true. In this case, it was very true. 

Inside the building, the first floor appeared to be a bar. Groups of people and loners were drinking their posion of choice as they chatted or sat in silence. The stench that my enhanced senses graciously allowed me to identify with pinpoint accuracy almost had me gagging in the corner. While the floor looked like it had been swept and mopped at least within the last week, I was able to tell that the water they used had to have come from the outhouse. 

Helena even had a cloth in her hand and was covering her nose. I grimaced for her, as I knew she was much higher level than I was so her senses must be even stronger. I was only level thirty, and the smell was killing me. That was just the surface layer of the building. 

A few people started to stand when they saw Helena walk in, but soon retook their seats when she gave them a glare that spoke volumes of her level of patience at the moment. I only saw it from the side and almost took a step back. It was an expression that you wouldn’t expect to see on a child. 

Oberon led the way up to the counter where an old man was leaning back in a chair with a book over his face. Being this late at night, well pass sunset, his main duties must be over for the day. As his face was covered, I couldn’t get a feel of the man. I would be letting Oberon do all the talking anyways. 

Oberon tapped on the counter to get the man’s attention. I felt like the next snore that came from under the book was even louder than the normal. I also heard snickering from around the bar, they most likely didn’t realize that at least two of us could hear them. I still wasn’t sure what Oberon’s senses were able to pick up. I knew he could smell when he wanted to. 

“Sir, if you don’t wake up in ten seconds, I will make sure this establishment is ash before the sun rises,” Oberon said in a tone that I knew meant he was very serious. 

“Just ash? You could do the town a favor and grow a nice garden in this lot,” Helena added. 

“You’re quite correct. How foolish of me,” Oberon said with another tap on the counter. 

The snickering died down, but I could tell quite a few people were starting to tense up as their hearts started beating faster. I looked between the two of them worrying about the next few moments. Thankfully, the snoring stopped, and the old man pulled the book off his face. 

“You youngsters can’t even let an old man sleep in peace,” he said with a surly tone.

“I agree that it is late, but if you didn’t want to be open for business, you should have closed,” Oberon said with a dark chuckle. 

“Aye,” said the old man scratching his beard. He turned and actually looked us over. He spent the most time on Oberon though, as if he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. He finally just shrugged. “What do you want?” 

“To register as mercenaries,” Oberon replied. 

“You lot look like you’d rather be adventurin,” the old man said then spit into the distance. I grimaced when I realized it was directly on the ground and not into a spittoon. I was actually feeling sorry for the floor. 

“Since when did you care why someone wanted to be a merc?” Helena said from behind her cloth. 

The old man burst out laughing. “Aye! That be true! Very well. Sign here.” He tossed some parchment onto the counter and Oberon grabbed one to read it over. I noticed him pause for a moment before a low chuckle, one that only someone with enhanced hearing would pick up. 

“Hey, geezer. Where do these get made?” Oberon asked tapping the parchment. 

“Huh? Ah, In the capital. Each kingdom has the means to make them,” the old man replied offhandedly. 

“Interesting,” Oberon murmured. 

“What do they say?” I asked peeking around him. 

“Hm~, the gist of it is get the job done. Through any means necessary,” Oberon answered handing the parchment to me. I looked at it and read over the details. I felt a shimmer of mana in the parchment and realized why Oberon was curious. Anything magical always grabbed his attention. 

“So… are we signing?” I asked. 

“Sure, we can earn some money and… other, items of interest.” 

“You two go ahead. I already have one,” Helena said pulling a card from her bag that I just realized she was wearing. I could have sworn it wasn’t there when we entered the town. I shook my head thinking she must have pulled it from the shadows like her shield. I focused on the card and saw it just had some basic information. 

Oberon and I quickly signed the paper. First names were the only information needed so our family name was hidden. I felt like this was too lacking for an organization like this. 

“Once had a man commit some… questionable requests. He nabbed someone else’s card and went clean. His fake name ended up being too famous and attracted his past. Moral to story, no one cares who does the job as long as its done.” 

“Is that worry in your voice, old man?” Oberon asked with a chuckle.

“I stopped worrying a long time ago,” the old man answered as he placed the filled-out parchment on a stone tablet. Runes lit up and a card similar to Helena’s popped out. He glanced at it before handing it to Oberon. “With a name like that I doubt I have to worry about you.” 

“Parents wanted me to take on the world,” Oberon said with a shrug. 

“At least the girl has a decent name,” the old man said handing me my card. 

“Thank you,” I said taking the card. 

“Now. Any good requests in the area? Those moving towards Frinz would be good as well,” Oberon said leaning on the counter. 

“Hold on,” the old man said as he yawned and walked to the back. He came back a few moments later holding a few sheaves of parchment. “Being E-rank mercenaries doesn’t affect you other than what we can expect from you, but guidelines and all. I have a few here that are ‘ranked’ in your level.”

Oberon took them and started to look through them. He picked out three and handed them to the old man. I was curious what he chose but knew it wasn’t a good idea to act like a curious child. The old man looked them over before turning a critical eye to Oberon. 

“Quite a dark set of requests you’ve chosen. You sure?”

Oberon laughed. “I think they’re right up our alley.” 

Oberon

We left the mercenary guild soon after that. The other two appeared to be suffocating while we were in there. I had turned my sense of smell off as soon as we neared the place. It made me glad to be an undead. I was checking our surroundings as we walked since I really didn’t want another shadow when we leave the town. At least this time I could turn them into a meal for the two vampires in the party if we did get one. 

We made it back to the wagon without issue. I let the others head into the inn to enjoy the town for a night. Not that there was much left. Midnight was fast approaching. I jumped into the wagon and waited for the sun to rise. It was a quiet night. 

The next morning came quickly, of course, I counted morning as an hour before there was even sunlight. I was sure the humans would be annoyed if they could still think like that. Alessa came out of the inn staring at Jack’s neck. I figured we would need to let her feed before the day was over. 

We were the only ones on the road. I thought there would be at least one or two other parties moving out early. I vaguely remembered doing this back in my adventurer days. I also vaguely remembered that we were always the only ones on the road back then too. 

The first request was a few hours from the town. It was named Undead Threat, so I thought we could recruit some undead on the trip. Either way it would be an easy job.