Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

Chapter 150 - 150 - Checking out jobs

I leave the guards at the gate and especially that moronic youngster behind without any further words, once I have my sword back. Not because I don't think that they aren't worthy of any words I might have to share with them. No, the reason is that what I might have to say could very well get my into trouble. No trouble I couldn't deal with, but trouble I might not want to deal with.

As a result I'm sulking on my way back to the guild hall of adventurers. Damn, and the day started so nice. Really, I was in such a good mood, but now it's all ruined. It's hard to look forward to checking out all the quests at the board in this state of mind and I really should be looking forward to that.

Sure a lot of the good or easy ones will be gone already by this time of the day, but the rest would still be quite informative, not just about this city but the rest of the frontier lands too. Knowing what people need to get done and more importantly what people can't get done on their own is quite telling. Sometimes reading the requests is plain fun too.

Thus, in the end, I'm all the more mad at that moron for ruining my mood. Even worse, although he rightly has earned a spot on my shit list, I can't make a move against him. Not directly and not out in the open anyway. Too many people saw that exchange. Most won't easily forget it either. For them it probably was the highlight of their day. If something were to happen to that greedy little rat now though, I certainly would be the first one to come to mind as a possibly culprit. There is no helping it now.

Of course that doesn't mean that the moron will get away unpunished. It'll just be a little longer. That's quite alright though. I don't mind playing the long game. And who knows, even though I have some serious doubts in that regard, he might just make up for that messed up first impression he left with me. Yeah, it's not likely, but it could happen.

I do my best to drive all thoughts of the damned quacker and what transpired at the gate from my mind as I step into the lobby of the guild hall. My mood still doesn't go unnoticed though, as I step up the board in question. The same young clerk who wrote down my report the other day is busy putting up some new quests which must have come in late. He pauses and raises an eyebrow.

"Something the matter? You don't usually look … troubled like this."

I snort in amusement, but stop from browsing the quests up on the board to focus on him for a moment instead.

"Less troubled and more bothered, if that makes sense to you. Ran into a particularly annoying guard at the gate just now. A youngster a bit too eager to line his pockets every chance he can get. Even when it should be really clear from the start that his petty schemes are doomed to fail from the very start. Tried to sucker me into handing my sword over to him for measuring so he could fine me for not carrying it, except I of course carry more than one blade that complies with that particular law."

The clerk blinks in surprise at first but nods in the end.

"You did wear your tag, right?"

I sigh and nod. It's no use getting upset about this again and especially not at the clerk who is only being helpful. And anyway, it's a reasonable question.

"Clearly visible too."

He frowns briefly before he returns most of his attention back to the board and the new quests he is putting up.

"So I guess there was a line at the gate too. People waiting to pass through. That certainly would explain why we got so many late requests today. I'll mention it to the guild master. He can bring it up on the next meeting of the city council. You didn't get into any actual trouble with the guard though, right?"

"Much appreciated and no, there was no actual legal trouble, if that is what you mean, even if the youngster probably is going to hate me since the old man on duty with him actually stepped in to make him get on with his actual duties. Some of the people waiting in line actually taking joy in seeing him talked to like that probably isn't going to help either."

The clerk snorts as he puts up the last of the quest papers.

"Hard feelings? That is in between him and you. Please, however you handle him, try to make sure it doesn't end with a picture of you up on the other board."

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He nods in the direction of the board with the wanted posters and the bounties they promise on display.

I can only grin. That certainly would be inconvenient. Although, I could life with being inconvenienced. That damn lad most certainly won't be able to life with being dead. I shake my head to shake the thought. Let's not go there. Not right now anyway. I return my attention to the quests, which in all their diversity are a much more pleasant topic.

It's as usual. I quickly rule out all the quests that would require me to travel to one of the other towns of the frontier. Sure, I probably should visit some of those places eventually, but right now I don't feel like it. Thus I focus on requests from people here in town instead. Those that would require a group to complete I quickly rule out too. I don't feel like becoming part of a fixed team right now. I'm much more comfortable with changing partners for different jobs, much like it is with the thieves guild.

This whittles down the options quite a bit. A few catch my eyes anyway.

Some livestock broke free at a nearby farm, getting too excited when the caravan came in, and now the farmer wants help rounding their cattle back up. Not bad in general, but I'm not quite sure if this is for me. Other adventurers are probably better suited to the task.

A storage shed that needs to be cleaned out, now that it was part of an inheritance, since the inheritor has no use for all the odds and ends their recently deceased relative collected and stored there. The pay isn't exactly stellar, but it sounds like it would be easy work by comparison. Still, I'm not too familiar with the system of trash collectors, beyond knowing of their existence. And knowledge like that probably would be very beneficial for this job.

A trinket fell down one of the town's wells and the owner wants help retrieving it. That one looks rather straightforward too. I'm not too excited about this job anyway. Sure I probably could do it alone. Yet it's one of the quests where a little backup wouldn't be too bad. Climbing back out of a well can be a little more tricky than it sounds. A rope and a trustworthy comrade would go a long way to make this easier.

I'm already about to let out a sigh when I behold the last set of papers pinned to the board. A tavern here in the inner district wants some help in the kitchen just for the day? Chopping vegetables and washing dishes don't exactly make for an exciting day and the pay is not that enticing either, but that's alright with me. The only real problem is, that I need to hurry up. I need to check out the quest and get to the inn in question before the actual lunch rush.

Without delay I grab the papers and hurry over to the clerk at the counter. Thankfully there is no line right now. And even as I head over I study the attached map. The clerk raises an eyebrow, but quickly takes care of my paperwork anyway. Thus, only moments later I'm off again, to find the Lamenting Lamb inn. In fact I take off at a run once I'm off the central market square, the general location and the picture of the inn's sign fresh in mind.

My run through the thankfully not too busy city streets earns me a little progress for my [Running] and my [Balance] skill, as I weave and dodge past other people, some of which follow me with their gaze. That's all though, since I don't bump into anyone. No, I don't come even close, which is a good thing too, as I really don't want to be held up for any reason right now.

The Lamenting Lamb is impossible to miss. The colorful sign is one giveaway. The other is the aromatic smell of roasting meat coming from the place. It's lamb, as the name of the place already suggests. The sound of soft cursing that reaches my ear as I approach the door seems a little out of place though. The reason quickly becomes apparent though, as I enter. The middle aged man busy in the kitchen seems to be a little out of his depth, trying to do everything on his own. He barely looks up as he takes note of me.

"Sorry, we aren't open yet. Damn, I'm not sure if I won't have to close for the day after all. I'm really not sure if I can do this on my own after all."

Instead of answering right away I take a moment, even if just a brief one, to take in the actual sight. The smell of slow roasted lamb is quite intense in here, coming from the great vertical spit turning behind the counter. It's not the only source of the aromatic smell tickling my nose though. There is the simmering sauce too. Thanks to the mesh full of hot coals next to it, it's quite hot too. The rest of the kitchen is orderly chaos, as the cook moves this way and that. Finally, before he can say anything else, I speak up.

"Well, never fear. Your help is here."

Now he looks at me for real. For a moment at least before he returns his attention to the vertical spit roast, with the countless thin slices of tender lamb tightly stacked above each other, that needs to be kept turning.

"Do you have experience … ah, never mind. My wife is getting down with something and without her I need all the help I can get. Get back here, hang your weapons and pack at the hook besides the door, those only get in the way here, and grab an apron instead. Then you can get started by keeping the spit turning. Slow and even if you could. That will already help a lot."

Well, those are clear instructions. I can work with that. I head around the counter and do as he told me, hanging my gear from the plain wooden hook by the door to the pantry, grabbing the apron instead.

Before I can actually move to the wheel that keeps the spit turning the cook stops me though, clearly still stressed out. He points to a bucket of still clean water to the side with some soap and fresh towels sitting on a shelf next to it.

"Wash your hands first."

No surprise there either. It's a reasonable enough request too, thus I follow it and wash my hands without delay. Once that is taken care off though I promptly take the place by the vertical spit and keep it turning at a nice, slow and steady pace, doing my best to match the pace demonstrated by the cook first. It's a good thing that I can stand on the far side from the basket with the coals. It's still plenty hot anyway.

With that part of the kitchen off the man's mind he promptly turns to the other chores that need doing. There certainly seem to be more than enough of those. No wonder that it's usually two people taking care of everything.

In the meantime I can feel my [Cooking] skill edging a little closer to the next level up. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get some easy skill levels out of my work here. The work in the kitchen calls for the use of skills I don't use that much after all.