Touch of Fate

Unsurprisingly, the merchants from the caravan asked Mike to continue escorting them to Wyrport, their eventual destination. Initially, they offered a modest fee, but Morris was able to talk them into a substantially higher rate by leveraging both Mike's status as a magic-user and the fact that they had saved the caravan with a timely intervention.

After moving down the road a bit to avoid any predators attracted by the smell of blood, they merchants set about setting up camp. The battle had caused some damage to the wagons, so they wouldn't be able to leave until the following morning.

Mike watched the bustle of activity from his vantage point on Barley. While he was still quite tired and sore, he was in theory a hired guard. He could see a good deal more of his surroundings from horseback and didn't have to spend much energy to keep watch. Besides, he had grown fond of the unusually placid mare. She hadn't spooked even when he had unleashed his fire magic in the middle of combat, which confused him. Judging from his knowledge of horse from his previous life, even well trained ones would still react with fear to things like a massive gout of flame right next to their heads. Mentally shrugging, he chalked it up to another weird aspect of the new world he was living in.

He watched as a pair of young boys chased each other through the camp, play fighting with sticks. It seemed like the merchants were traveling with their extended families for whatever reason. Mike wasn't really interested enough to question the arrangement, but watching children play after a day of real fighting warmed his heart.

Morris walked up to him. "Sounds like we'll make it to the town of Mayde in about two days, once we get moving. They'll probably stop for a day or two to rest and resupply. From there it should only be a few more days of travel to Wyrport."

"Sounds like we'll be able to travel comfortably for the rest of the way, and even get paid for it. I might need to thank those orcs the next time I see them."

"Well if you thank them monetarily, I think they'll appreciate it. Compared to the Blood Tongues to the north and the Skull Takers to the northwest, the Ashborn are pretty amiable. They even have some treaties with the kingdom."

[Who names these orc tribes? They sound like a bunch of death metal bands.]

A thought suddenly occurred to Mike, "Do we need to report the situation with the orcs to.....I don't know, the authorities or something?"

"Mayde has a town mayor that reports to the local noble, a Baron Redmond if memory serves. We can report the incident to him. I think they also have an Adventurer's Guild outpost there, so we might be able to collect a finder's fee for the information depending on the branch officer."

Mike felt his pulse rise rapidly in excitement. "They have an Adventurer's Guild in this world?!" He had kind of been expecting it since his reincarnation, but this is the first he'd heard about it.

"Yeah, they have branches in most decent sized towns and cities. Wait, this world?"

Running roughshod over Morris puzzled inquiry, Mike launched an enthusiastic battery of questions. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Morris continued.

"Yeah, I didn't really get any of that, but I'll explain a bit about the guild, and hopefully that will answer your questions. The organization we call the Adventurer's Guild actually started as a knightly order about seven hundred years ago. It was called the Order of the Shield back then, and its main duty was to protect the people. They would travel from region to region, subjugating monsters and dangerous wildlife. However, the demand for their services quickly outstripped the resources allotted to them from the crown. With me so far?"

Mike nodded. He could see where this was going.

Morris continued, "So in order to keep doing their job, the Order's first Grandmaster started collecting payment. They expanded swiftly and soon became the most powerful order, which inevitably caused some conflict with the other orders and the King, Bartholomew I, if I recall. Anyway, to make a long story short, the Order of the Shield ended up being disbanded and reformed as an independent guild. Over time they expanded across the known world, and started accepting commissions from clients to do everything from the exploration of ancient ruins to manual labor. As it stands today, the Guild is a multi-national organization which has largely been integrated into most civilized societies."

"So they are basically a massive and complicated mercenary company?"

"Sort of, but they also offer a couple other services. They provide a place to store and access money and other goods, usually for little to no fees. Additionally, since one of the guild masters a few hundred years ago managed to develop a cheap, reliable means of instantaneous, long-distance message sending, the Guild serves as the primary means of communication between settlements. If you are a member, you can also use the guild as a place to buy and sell materials and equipment."

"Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Are you a member?"

Morris sighed, "I'm a member of the Order of the Wheel, remember? ...… Or at least I was." His expression darkened slightly before he continued. "No self-respecting order would accept an adventurer unless they were fairly accomplished. Besides, while they will accept almost anyone, it pretty hard to make a living as an adventurer. Only the highly ranked and dangerous jobs really pay well, and if they are talented enough to reach a high rank in the Guild, they'd usually be better off joining another organization."

"So they have ranks?" Mike asked eagerly.

"Yeah, as far as I'm aware it goes from Rank 1 to Rank 10 based on skills and experience. Most adventurers are below Rank 5, and there are only a handful of people in the world at Rank 8 and 9. I think they only appoint Rank 10s in times of emergency or something."

Mike decided that he would have to join the guild as soon as he was able. Even if it wasn't the best option, he felt that his nerdy soul would rebel if he didn't take this opportunity.

A wife or daughter of one of the merchants, Mike wasn't really sure which, called to let the pair know that dinner was ready. Mike found himself looking forward to the next couple days. Not only will he get to enjoy civilization after a week on the road, 'friendly' barmaids included, but he can live the dream of becoming a professional adventurer.

His future was looking bright.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cassandra ran through the rain, dragging her daughter, behind her. She dodged into a nearby ally and pushed Sera behind a barrel before pressing herself into a doorway. The sounds of fast moving footsteps echoed in the air as several hooded figures swept past the ally. The last stopped, peering into their direction.

A faint sniffing could be heard, and Cassandra felt her heart grow cold with fear. The hooded figure took a step towards them, but a muffled shout from the distance caused it to stop, glance quickly in the direction it came from, before swiftly vanishing after the rest.

Cassandra sighed with relief. She didn't know how they had found the two of them, but the quiet life they had been leading up to this point was now over.

She glanced over at her daughter, her eye's piercing the darkness easily. The young girl was obviously terrified, but Cassandra could see the determination burning fiercely in her gaze. She regretted that circumstances had forced the fourteen year old to mature so quickly.

Sera looked over at her mother, and whispered as quietly as she could, "Mother, we need to move. They could come back at any time."

Cassandra nodded, already dreading the next step she knew she had to take. She crossed the ally and kneeled down in front of the girl. "Listen to me, Seraphina, I am going to need you to be brave. They can track me when they are this close. The rain will make it more difficult, but it's just a matter of time."

"What are you saying?" Tears started forming in Sera's eyes.

"We need to move separately for now. I can lead them away. Give you time to escape…."

"No…Mom…" The young girl sobbed.

Cassandra wrapped her daughter in a tight hug. "It's alright, little one. I'll distract them for a while, give them the slip, and meet back up with you at our meeting spot. Do you remember the one?"

Tears streaming down her face, Sera nodded, "Yeah, that one shack by the ocean. The one where uncle Bergis goes on fishing trips to."

Cassandra smiled. "That's my girl. You should have enough money to get you there, if you are careful. Now, we don't have any more time. Run down to the docks. Find a good hiding place and wait till morning. They are less effective in the sunlight. Once dawn breaks, get out of town as quickly as you can."

Sera nodded again, the look of determination burning more fiercely. "I will. I'll get there safely." Her expression faltered, a pleading look taking its place. "But, you have to promise to meet me there."

"I will, little one. I promise." Cassandra did her best to keep face neutral as she lied to her daughter.

"Now, you really must go."

With one last long look at her mother, almost as if she could sense the finality of the parting, Sera left the ally. Cassandra watched her go, feeling her heart break.

She knew that this was her daughter's only chance at survival, but it tore her to pieces to have the last words they shared be lies.

Every second she spent here was another for her pursuers to catch up, so she turned and left the other end of the ally. She would make them work to catch her, but she knew that they would ultimately succeed.

Cassandra took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and started running.