Dem’s stride took him toward the Adventurer’s Tower, the tallest building in the settlement. If someone told him it was more than twice as tall as the walls that surrounded it, he wouldn’t disagree. It was a wide building, many times wider than the church at its base, narrowing as it went up, until you reached top, which was just a flat platform. He had never been up there, but he assumed it was for landing flying transportation beasts and sending signals to other towers placed throughout the Wilds. The upper reaches of the tower were the living quarters of the most powerful Classed Adventures that came through the settlement. From what he understood, the truly powerful never touched the ground here in the settlement, and never had reason to. They left by beast or spell, and returned by beast or spell. The tower was a stark black color that always left Dem feeling inadequate and empty.

He made sure not to stare up at the tower, as he strode towards it, as that would make him look like a bumpkin from the hamlets. He was, of course, a bumpkin from the hamlets, but he was also Classed and freelancer for the Tower, which afforded him a small amount of dignity. Still the tower was impressive to him, even after all this time.

As he neared the tower, he had to watch where he was going. Adventurers were everywhere, and despite being Classed himself, he was a nobody, less than a nobody really. He had to be careful not to anger anyone, even accidentally. The law in settlements was a loose thing when it came to adventurers. Classed Guards, even Classed Guard Captains, generally did want to tangle with experienced Classed adventurers. At the very least, no guard would fight an adventure for Dem’s sake. Dem also needed the goodwill of as many adventurers as possible, as they would be, hopefully, his clients in the future. A local guide was useful to groups new to any settlement.

He found a small door in the back of the building, only accessible from an alley, and entered swiftly. This entrance was for freelancers, servants, and locals. He did not know if it existed simply to separate people based on their importance, or to prevent the underclass or unclassed from mixing with the powerful Classed, or because it kept people like him safe from possible confrontations with drunk Adventurers. The Tower was an all-in-one experience. It had an inn, a large common room bar, entertainment, a small more luxurious bar further up, places to buy and sell materials and gear, banking, storage, and places to inquire about work. It was also a hotspot for disputes. After moving through a few hallways, past a number of doors, he entered into a room with various desks, waiting areas, and lines. He quickly found the right desk to stand in front of, waiting for the woman filling out paperwork to acknowledge him.

Greer was younger than his mother, but still older than he was by five or ten sequences, with short black hair, and a perpetual look for disdain on her face. She wasn’t unattractive, but he had always pushed such thoughts out of his mind. Theirs was a business relationship. She had been the tower contact for his work, and also the person who he sold most of his goods to since he first ventured into the Wilds. Most importantly, she was the one that sold him his Tamer Class Grimoire, at a moderately discounted rate, of course. Not that many were interested in such a Class, but a Beast Tamer was still a mid-tier combat Class, and so was worth, at minimum, a few gold standards. She had sold it to him for a gold and half, something that taken him four sequences to save up. His most successful trips, as a hunter or as a guide, had never gotten him more than a handful of silver standards. The truth was that he was a total amateur, and most people who sought his services were amateurs as well. His customers sought practice living and hunting in the wilds, whereas most true adventurers would be seeking something specific . Greer’s mark-down, like her customer service, left something to be desired, but she fundamentally had him over a barrel, as most of the other Tower merchant-clerks would not deal with him. Commerce with people from the hamlets wasn’t seen as particularly profitable for someone with a desk in the Adventurer’s Tower, even one in the back offices.

Her writing stopped finally, after a long moment.

“What do you want boy?” her voice held its usual bored tone.

He was always ‘boy’ to her, even though he was technically an adult, a man in his own right, and even a Classed one at that. He supposed since her had seen him grow up, he would always be a ‘boy’ in her mind.

He responded quickly, “I am inquiring about work, ma’am.”

She grunted, sounding more like a barrel-chested carriage loader he had once met than a petite older woman.

“I suppose, with your Class and that overly large cat of yours, you could be of some use.”

“It is all thanks to you ma’am.” Being polite was his only option, she was notoriously prickly. He wanted to correct her comment about Ina, but he held his tongue.

“I have a group coming in fourteen work cycles, at the earliest, that want to explore to the south and east.” She paused for a moment to look him in the eye.

“They want to go at least five cycles out, and stay out for at least a rotation.” Her voice took a hard tone with these words, as if challenging him.

He audibly gulped, “A rotation? Can they handle that? Can I?” His words were a little too honest, but they had represented question that needed to be answered.

“Can you? They can, they are Full Adventurers, though they hail from a more urban environment. They haven’t said what they are looking for, but I assume the they are here to experience the Wilds. They usually work the cities, so this will their first time out here.”

His mind spun with this information, but eventually he realized what this meant. What he would need to do to prepare.

He asked, “You’re saying I should go scout that area before they arrive right?”

“Have you been that far out in that direction before? ” She asked, her question rhetorical, of course he hadn’t.

“You’re right, as always, ma’am. I’ve been four cycles in that direction, but no further. Did they offer anything up front?” He prayed this Party had offered something to make the extra trip worthwhile.

“Beyond my fee, thirty silver standards.” She stated firmly, leaving no room for negotiations.

“How much on completion?”

She smiled, “Two gold standards, beyond my fee of course.”

He sucked in a lung-full of air. This was a huge sum, enough to rent a place in the settlement for his parents for a whole sequence or more.

He looked at her, a question coming to his lips, but unspoken.

“Normally, I would send them with a Classed Ranger or a Classed Scout. They wouldn’t mind such easy gold, but they are all going north with parties. A significant number of parties are going in that direction, though I don’t yet know why. This party wants to go south instead.” She explained.

She continued, “Even without whatever is in the north, Rangers tend to be less interested in going south, as you know, there isn’t much in that direction. Lots of greater beasts, but the easiest access points to the True Wilds are to the north. Rangers, if willing to act as guides, also usually want good hunting along the way to wherever they are going. The South just doesn’t have that. Maybe this party is picking the easier direction as practice before they go north, I don’t know.”

“You’re the only one I know of who goes south much, and so you’re perfect. Plus, you’re cheap.” She smirked at this, and he knew that meant she was taking some of the fee allotted for him. He wondered how much they were actually paying. Either way, he could not pass this up.

“Fine, I’ll do it. I can definitely do it.” He stated as firmly as he was able.

“I haven’t told you the best part yet.” Her smirk turned into a predatory smile.

“It is a party of all women! You’ll be with them for an entire rotation plus travel! One of them might get a bit lonely and…” She began to laugh, as his face turned red.

“Ma’am, my mother is already asking me for grandchildren. Please don’t start on me too.” He pleaded with her. Greer was always professional about currency and profit, but she always eventually found excuses to tease him. Sometimes he wondered if she did business with him just torture him.

“These women won't be interested in having your children, boy. They are professionals. Though one of the members did request that their guide be handsome. I suppose you’ll have to do.” She said this while laughing. Her eyes looking him up and down.

His face must have revealed his internal struggle, because her tone changed.

She quickly spoke. “Oh, you’re not bad looking boy, you’re a bit tall, and the combination of dark hair and blues eyes is good, but your face is plain and you hardly ever smile. You wouldn’t make it far in the brothel upstairs.”

He sighed. This must be what the young women of the hamlets feel like when they enter the settlement. The guards eyed them a bit too much and usually made comments. Sadly, like those young women, there was no one he could complain to. He centered his mind, and thought of the money.

“Thank you ma’am for your compliments. I will gladly accept the job. Do you have something for me to sign?” He hanged the subject as best as he could. At least she hadn’t made any jokes about his Class.

“Hmm, yes I have the agreement right here. Its spell-enforced, so take it seriously. It will harm your Path if you break it.” She seemed to agree to change the subject, but was still smirking. She handed him a spelled-document.

He signed the document, channeling the unique imprint of his Path into the spelled paper. Greer then handed him the thirty silver standards, and a map of the area, with the portion the Party intended to explore marked with a circle. He made farewells as fast as he could, and left at a brisk pace. He could still feel her eyes on him as he left, though he didnt turn around. She probably still had that same smirk on her face.

***

Dem quickly bought some supplies from one of the perpetually open markets. He intended to set off as soon as possible so that he would make it back in time to meet the Party. He purchased a new spear for himself, his old one lost before the last rotation. He had chosen a weaponsmith outside the tower, who would be more in his price range, but have potentially less quality. The spear he picked was designed for hunting. It a had a elongated teardrop-shaped blade, longer than the span of his hand. It had groves to allow for faster bleed-out and a crossguard to keep the beast at distance. It wasn’t a full length spear, as the Wilds often gave you little room to work, but it was nearly as long as he was tall. It was even spelled for reinforcement, making the shaft much less likely to break. It was the best weapon he had ever owned, and cost him ten silver standards with some haggling. He hoped he wouldn’t need it, but Ina could not protect him from everything.