Kal and the rest of the men sat around the fire with us and told us some about Dyster and how to find them when we got into town. Kal pointed to a man with an eye patch on the same side as Tim.
"This is Hershal, he will meet you at the edge of the city, but since we will be here for a couple hours still, Tim you should go for a walk with him to the beach. We already took care of the group that was set to jump you at night. Just to make sure no one else tries to have fun with you, we will hang around," Kal said.
"K? You alright here?" Tim asked.
"Of course, go ahead."
Tim got up and walked to the beach with Hershal.
"I am sure the boys will have a lot to talk about, I know Tim, and about the eye. Herschel did the same, but Hershal had a master who helped him kill the beast and then trained to hone the eye. Tim hasn't, and killed it all, so, when you get to the city, I hope you don't mind Hershal tagging along every once in and awhile."
"I don't think it would be that bad, but how will that work with my guild experience? Also, I won't commit to anything until I have spoken to Jester. From what you have told me he sounds like a good person working with what he has, but these are just words."
"Fair enough, but if things go well sounds like you won't mind. Be good for the boy to have a mentor, and it won't affect your experience," Kal said.
"Boy? Are you talking about Corbit?" I was confused.
"You haven't asked him, have you? Tim's only seventeen. Two years ago he killed the Celaphite and then joined the war. The eye can give you deadly power but like all power in this world, It comes with a price. You lose about fifteen to twenty years of your life."
"What would make someone want to do that?" Lesha asked with a worried look.
"That miss is none of my business, and only yours if he wants it to be. I can tell you as much as I did because I could have been talking about Hershal. Well, except for that age, that was just me putting my nose where it doesn't belong, haha, but you should know. I knew his parents, but that's another one of those not my stories to tell," Kal said, going quiet.
Lesha squeezed my hand, but I was still shocked. It didn't matter, he was a member, just like Corbit. On the plus side, Mei had grown up, kind of. The Red Legion was starting to look more like an orphanage with each new day.
Though, maybe that is what a guild was, or should be. Maybe not an orphanage, but a place that the adventuring outcast and even the ones that had homes could come. They could know that they had the support of their friends and peers.
The ribbons were a big part of the appeal now, but having people going in without experience wasn't good. The same thing was true of a party that has no concern for them will just end up getting them killed anyway. If they can't work for a week then the guild has to pay for that, and most would just kick them out.
"Thank you for letting me know, and yes, if everything goes well, I will have no problem with Hershal tagging along."
"That's good to hear," came a raspy voice from the shore.
I turn to see Tim and Hershal coming back from the water. I wonder just how old he was, he looked to be in his forties but sounded like he was nearly sixty. I turned back and the men were all getting up and going over to pick up their weapons.
"Pleasure meeting you K. Jester and I look forward to seeing you when you get back."
Kal smiled at me and then pulled a medallion out, identical to Dyster's. Healia had said something about it.
"What is that?" I asked Kal as his men were gathering around.
"As much as we don't like to admit it, we have sworn devotion to Dyster for this and this reason alone. The Waystone is one of the most useful tools for an adventure, but you have to be pledged to a god to use one. Once you're in the city I will help you get one if you have the cash. They aren't cheap, so you might have to dig up some Gem Hearts or go grind the dungeon to afford one."
"How much would it cost? I did bring some gold…" I was cut off with a number that made me choke on my words.
"Eighty-Five Platinum, haha. Now if you had eighty-five thousand gold pieces with you that would be pretty crazy. Plus, being in Healia your whole life, you have probably only heard of them."
Kal dug into his pocket and pulled out a coin that was a flat silver color and it didn't really shine. He flipped the coins to me, and I caught it easily, making him smile.
"Keep it. Consider it a pre partnership bonus or something. Nice catch by the way, when you get to the city I will show you some tricks about being a tank," Kal said with a smile.
"Wait, you're a tank? Where is your shield?" I asked as the last of the men gathered around Kal.
"Ha, girl! Not all tanks like shields!"
And with that, Kal whispered something and winked out of existence, along with the rest of the men. I turned to Lesha, she was starting to look sleepy, but the dawn was starting to lighten the sky. It would be time to go soon.
"What do you think?" I asked her.
"Just like you said, they seem good, but most people try to put on a show. Though, if it was a show, they are pretty good actors, but they are killers. Who knows until we talk with Jester. I am just glad that we don't have to be indebted to Dyster, and so will Gloria."
That was true and she would also be excited about the plan to kill Dyster. It was now time to get everyone up and back on the road.
Lesha and I curled up in the front seat inside the carriage and slept well into the afternoon, and only just got woken up as the wagons stopped.
I woke up with a bit of drool hanging out that I quickly cleaned up with the back of my hand. Lesha was stretching and turning to me with a sleepy smile.
I smiled and leaned in for a kiss, and she met me halfway. This was a nice way to wake up, but where were we?
I heard a knocking coming from above and then the boys hopped down on either side of the carriage. Then, I noticed a small farmhouse with a small red one-story building that must have doubled as a barn, but it led out and then down into the water, disappearing.
"Corbit, is this your parent's farm?" I asked as I helped Lesha get off me.
"Yup, but don't ask me what they are, it's just a waste of my breath, they will tell you all about it! I don't bring friends here, cause we lived in the middle of nowhere. I only met kids that traveled with the merchant parents. Then I left home three months ago for Healia, and then the magic happened, but my parents don't know yet," Corbit said, holding the door for the girls and me.
"Do you want me to keep quiet about it?" I asked.
"No, honestly, if you could tell them, that would be great. I just feel like it coming from you as the leader and all might sound better. I don't know, I just said I was going to make something better for myself than a lonely farmer, so you know…"
I did know, and I understood.
"Yes, I can explain it to them, but then it's your job to apologize as the idiot son that insulted the way of life that allowed you to live the way you did. I don't mind helping explain things, but it's your job to learn from your mistakes and correct them."
"Yes Ma'am, my mother is going to like you, you kind of remind me of her. Head to the house, I already waived and they saw me. They should be coming out by the time you get over there. I am just going to show the men where the wagon, and carriages go," Corbit said, running off.
"Wow, just throws you to his parents and runs away," Gloria said while laughing, and stepping out of the carriage.
"Welcome!" A cheery man's voice came from the direction of the house.
I looked from Gloria over in that direction and found a short man, but not out of shape. This Must be his father; the man seems nice enough.
The four of us walked over to the house where the man was standing with gray shorts on, and a bright blue vest and sandy brown hair. I reached out my hand to offer a handshake, But The short man opened his arms wide.
"Any friend of my sons is family, and we," the man was cut off as the door was opened and a woman darted out quickly and hit him in the head with a soup pot.
The man was knocked out cold and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Sorry about my husband, we don't see visitors often and well you all are quite the group of beautiful women. He's an idiot, but he will wake up and apologize for being a buffoon or take another pot-nap, before checking the Oysters. Come inside girls, Corbit will help his father inside when he is done. My name is Celia, and This is Norbert."
Celia waved us inside, and we stepped over Norbert, following her. It was a cute little house with wooden planked walls. There were many different paintings on the walls, but none of them went together. It was like they were all from different places and done in different styles of art.
"Traders come and bring Norbert all these God-awful paintings, so he insists to hang them all up. The traders always come in for tea, so now it is a game for them I think to see who can bring the weirdest art," Ceila said while rolling her eyes.
"I actually think this is really amazing," Gloria said walking around the room, looking at each picture. "They are from all over the world! Look, K! This one with the man, and all the paint blurring from the side? That is from Kren, in Westoff. The one over there, with the lady in the dark blue and the sunset? See the way the colors bleed together? I saw an artist in New Geth that did work like that!"
"Wow, I didn't know you liked art," I said, looking impressed.
"There is a lot you don't learn from not talking, hehe," Gloria said laughing.
"Fair enough," I said, and it was true.
We had mostly just talked about the trip, Dyster, and the combat things we were learning. Maybe I should try to get to know my friends better before we got to the city.
Mei was now asking Gloria about every painting on the wall. Gloria was doing her best to try and guess where they might have originated from, but Mei was like a non-stop stream of questions.
It got to the point where Gloria had to grab Mei by the face and smother her in a kiss to get her to shut up for two seconds. Lesha slipped her hand into mine and squeezed, making me turn and kissing her on the cheek.
"Oh? Really? Are you girls...couples?" Corbit's mother asked, sounding a bit confused.
The four of us turned and looked at her smiling, I think that we all had almost forgotten that she was even there.
"Yes, we are couples. My name is Kiada, Leader of the Red Legion Guild from Healia, and this is my life partner, Lesha. The art expert is Gloria and the one that won't stop talking is Mei, her partner."
"And here I thought I was going to have to keep my husband out cold the entire time you were here, but if you swing that way this will just be funny, hehe," Ceila said laughing.
"What will be funny? And why does it feel like I got hit by a wagon, but only in the head?" Norbert said walking into the room rubbing his head.
All five of us burst out laughing.
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GOT IT