Capítulo 12: The Job
The Inquisitor stood silently watching the closed doors of the temple, after Kaleb and Ameri left. A look of contemplation painted across her face. There was a small pool of purple blood off to the side, from the dissection of the Dune Trap. The guard stood behind the Inquisitor, a bloody orb the size of a fist held in his hand. He remained silent, not daring to interrupt the Inquisitor's thoughts.
"I think we will keep an eye on this Kaleb from now on." She said, slowly coming out of her stupor.
"Was he one of the Accursed, Inquisitor?"
"No, but there is something off about him. For now we will watch."
***************
Ameri and Kaleb left the temple with the remains of the Dune Trap and a flat fist sized plaque with some symbols on it that Kaleb didn't recognize. According to Ameri it said the town and occupation that Kaleb was bound to as a serf. Kaleb was intrigued by this new form of writing, but he didn't plan on being here long enough to learn it. Although it would be inconvenient, because Rachshar couldn't change what he was seeing to automatically translate the writing.
Kaleb felt immense relief as he walked out with his freedom. Although they had lost the earth core, which was worth more than the rest of the Dune Trap combined, it still worked out best for him. Ameri was in an even better mood, he seemed to think that what the Inquisitor had done was some great act of mercy and leniency. The whole situation had only strengthened his faith in the Omnipotent Church, who's ideology was still a mystery to Kaleb.
"Don't worry. With the two of us we should be able to figure out how to lure in Dune Traps. Then we can catch enough to make you a Worthy and outfit us to start our journey as adventurers!" Ameri said with confidence and Kaleb felt a little guilty.
Ameri had done so much for him and obviously wanted them to rise to the top together. Kaleb on the other hand only planned to be in this world for as little time as possible. He wanted to get some strength and gather some supplies, just enough to reach the Dragon Spring. Then he would go back to Stephanie and his previous life. He only hoped that he could help Ameri before he left.
They headed west from the temple, going away from the bazaar. Ameri said that he had a merchant that he normally dealt with, who would buy the whole Dune Trap. It may not be as much money but they would save a lot of time and effort compared to trying to sell it themselves. This was the best option after they had traded away the beast core for Kaleb's freedom.
After making their way through several alleyways they arrived in front of an adobe shop, on the ground floor of the hive like adobe maze. The shop had a sign showing a wheel overlapping a crate, with some writing underneath. They dragged the Dune Trap inside, just like when they had entered the temple. Kaleb was beginning to wonder if there was anyone who didn't want dead beasts brought into their building.
The inside of the shop was very basic. There were many boards on the walls with postings on them that Kaleb couldn't read. The room was divided in half by a counter, separating them from a dwarf who made Kaleb feel comfortable just by how stereotypical a dwarf he was. He had a burley build with tanned skin, wearing a simple brown tunic. As a dwarf he was predictably short, at 120 cm, with a bald head and a thick brown beard that went down to his waist.
Behind the counter had piles of packages and crates of all sizes, one of which the dwarf was standing on to reach the counter. He was staring down at a thick ledger when Ameri and Kaleb walked in.
"Numen! I finally did it! I finally did it!" Ameri exclaimed running up to the counter.
"And what would you have done, young Ameri?" The dwarf named Numen said in an even voice, but with a smile on his face.
"I killed my first magical beast! I told you my weird tinkering would come in handy." Ameri said with pride shinning in his eyes.
"Ah! One of your traps finally worked did it? So, what did you bag?" Numen's voice was full of amusement by this point, obviously this topic was an old one between the friends.
"I caught one of the baby Dune Traps from the recent litter."
"Oh? That's quite a catch. Comes with a beast core and everything." Numen showing real interest for the first time in their conversation. "I can give you a hefty sum for the whole thing." A crafty smile forming on face.
"Well..." Ameri's excitement visibly faded. "We gave the core to the church to let Kaleb stay here. So, we only have the Dune Trap carcass to sell."
Numen looked at Kaleb who had stayed near the door with the Dune Trap during his exchange with Ameri.
"You must be this Kaleb I've heard so much about. He doesn't look like he is worth a grade 2 beast core." Numen said, turning back to Ameri, without giving Kaleb time to respond.
"He helped me kill the Dune Trap and he's my friend!" Ameri explained again.
"I thought you said your trap killed the Dune Trap." Numen pointed out.
"It did but Kaleb was the one who led it into the trap."
Numen paused for a moment before bursting out in boisterous laughter.
"Yo... you used him as... BAIT!" He managed to get out, as he struggled to compose himself. He pounded the table with his fist, running out of breath from laughing so hard.
"Hehe, No wonder, hahehe, you felt the need to pay for him."
"I didn't mean to! It just turned out like that!" Ameri said with a pouting face. "So what can you offer us for the Dune Trap?!" he raised his voice, trying to change the subject over the dwarf's laughter.
"Well, hehe, it, ahem, it's more valuable than your normal batch of Mumbi fruit, but not by much." Numen pulled a pouch out from under the counter and handed it to Ameri.
"Thanks Numen."Ameri sincerely said, putting the pouch in his pack without even checking it. "We still have the trap so we can always hunt more."
Ameri and Kaleb dragged the Dune Trap behind the counter, before turning to leave. Numen suddenly slapped the counter catching the attention of the departing duo.
"Oh, Ameri! Before I forget, I might have a job for you that will pay you more than even a whole Dune Trap. There may even be a spot for your friend as well." Numen told them.
"Really? What could we do that would pay more than a whole Dune Trap? Ameri asked skeptically.
"A group of hunters need a guide to the Mountain Tomb. They may have a spot for a porter as well."
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder