"We are only taking Collin, Joe, Jerry, Alan, Jimmy, Herbert, and Brett. All the others are to remain in town." Cless shouted over the increasing blurb of unhappy teenagers.

The promise of gear and payment and loose lips made a veritable crowd of people, even those in the eighteen years of age, to show up. Dissatisfied, they started to cause some trouble until Balthus stepped in.

"All of you back off or I'll send you to the healer myself. Go home, we can't afford this many people!" His voice carried over the others and made even Cless tremble with fear.

She wondered what level Balthus would be. To have renown such as his, the "Armsmaster Balthus" as Zoe put should be of a high level. She watched as Balthus singled out the seven deserters and split them from the crowd. Even their girlfriends went aside. After the crowd dispersed, Cless came and gave them their terms of employment:

"The going rate for level ten mercenaries is three ducats per day. You are receiving one set of brigandine armor and a steel-tipped spear. The term of your employment is ten days. You cannot desert or refuse to follow the guild master's orders unless they are clearly suicidal. You are to follow the rest of the guild and cooperate in fights to the best of your abilities. Use your Skills, watch out for danger, and give information or advice when it is adequate. If a proficiency you have could help, say so. Food and water will be shared equally among every member. Loot will belong to the guild except if loot valued above a hundred crowns is found. Such loot will be split equally into sixteen parts."

They agreed and the binding contract was reinforced by Cless' Skill.

"Is this the place that owes you money?" Balthus pointed at the sawmill.

"Yes, master."

"Well, let's go inside and collect."

They went inside and found several pieces of fancy furniture made of hardwood in varying degrees of finish. It didn't take long to find Mr. Anders.

"Guild master, to what I owe 'such pleasure'?" He spoke with a rancid tone.

"We are here to collect our payment as agreed, Mr. Anders."

He shrugged and presented himself as very impatient as he pointed to several projects he was working on.

"I'm afraid we don't have the money, guild master. Could you postpone?"

"No. I cannot. I am going on a mission and I need the gold to equip my guild."

Cless was getting irked at the man. Not only he spread false rumors regarding her but he also wanted to default on the payment. Well, she could do without coin but not without compensation. She triggered her Skill.

"Sir, if you do not pay now, I'll have to charge interest on the money owed. A hefty interest, compounded every day."

Contract amended.

Cless could get away with that hefty interest because the contract was on default punishment: death. The weasel of a woodworker started to glance at Balthus and he was getting worried as the alleged Armsmaster added his intimidation to the mix.

"Guild master, is there any other way to settle the matter?"

"There is, but you'll like it less than paying the money. No, don't worry it doesn't involve any kind of bodily harm. Wanna discuss it? You can say no after you hear it."

After pondering for a while, Mr. Anders decided that he wanted to hear it. They went to the office, just him and Cless and sat down. Balthus guarded the door.

"Good," Cless opened up the conversation. "For me to offer you the alternative payment, you must agree to forget about what we talk about here in this office after I leave."

"Of course. I agree to forget it." He said, sarcastically. Cless fought to not roll her eyes. She heard the notification warning her that her Skill was enforcing the agreement to forget and continued.

"First thing you'll do is to be compelled to go and dismiss all bad rumors about me, especially those you started yourself but any others you hear about. You will agree to always present and think of me and my guild in a good light as your best customers and suppliers. Second, you'll hand over, if you can, forty-nine thousand Experience Points and two points of each Stat point over to me. Furthermore, you will also be compelled to overlook those missing Exp or stat points. If ever confronted, you'll agree to imagine that you remembered something about punishment regarding breaking a deal but not which."

Cless was pushing the boundaries of what her Skill could do but her comprehension of the Skill and how it operates told her that it would work. She used terms like 'compelled' and 'agree to imagine' as ways to guide his behavior to accept what would happen. It was a dangerous and borderline questionable method but she was not forcing him to accept. For some reason, she felt giddy at imagining the wording for such an elaborate deal.

Anders laughed. "There is no way we can transfer Exp and Stat points. Dumb girl."

She sucked the insult and forced her business smile. "That is why I added the 'if you can' in the statement, sir. Look, I am not forcing you to agree to anything, Mr. Anders. You only enter any agreements with me on your own free will. There might be consequences of not agreeing, but those are for you to weigh the choices present. Things won't ever escalate into bodily harm beside what was already presented." Subtracting from his Health stat would be considered bodily harm.

"So you basically want me to stop the rumors in exchange for the gold, is that it?"

"The terms are as I presented them. I want all that, inside what is possible."

He leaned forward, "I'll humor you, silly girl. I agree to your terms."

Payment received. 49,000 Experience Points received. Two points of each stat received. Mr. Anders will be compelled as agreed. Cless' professions leveled up.

Cless stood up before a flustered and suddenly weaker Mr. Anders and made a beeline for the door. The man started to shout at her but she didn't stop. Before he could get around his desk to get her, she left the office and he forgot everything, left with only a sense of loss. She replayed her notification and noticed one thing. She forgot to state "class experience" so her Cleric class didn't earn any Experience.

"Is everything okay, Cless?" Balthus asked. He seemed to be about to barge in the office to help her.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Look!" She popped her head inside and smiled at the owner of the Sawmill. "Mr. Anders, it is a pleasure to do business with you. We are going on an expedition, but we surely will harvest more wood for your sawmill. Same rates as before? Excellent! Have a nice day!"

"You too, guild master!" He replied with a smile. "I'll eagerly await good news about your expedition. Godspeed."

"Let's go, master Balthus."

They left. Cless was trembling both in fear and excitement. Her Skill could even change people's behavior. Probably that is why Silverfang became so docile. She vowed to avoid doing that or only doing that to people that really deserved. The One God preaches free will for everyone, she shouldn't meddle too much. Unless such free will was already exercised when her Skill triggered. No. That was a slope too slippery to go on.

They took the re-hired deserters to the shops where they received their brigandine and their steel-tipped spears. The brigandines were thirty ducats as always, but the spears were twenty-five ducats. Why didn't Cless think of buying them spears earlier? Because she didn't know and didn't ask for advice.

Cless purchased some extra rations and some meat jerky and vegetables to make stew at least for the first few days. After getting packs with a basic adventuring gear containing rope, tinderbox, ten travel rations, blanket, three torches, chalk stick, metal mug, a small cooking pot and some rags that could be used as bandages for everyone, they were ready to depart.

They went out through the east gate, going on the opposite direction from Witch Hill and Glauchester. The farms there were sparser because there wasn't as much sun coverage. The terrain was a gentle slope going down and the afternoon came earlier in this part. Soon they were at the forest, the trees sparser than in the north woods. At least until the other side of this valley. A river ran down there in the middle.

After some ten minutes into the treeline, Balthus called for a halt. "Good. Now I will explain to you the mission. There are orc patrols roaming the woods on the other side of the river. Some might even have crossed over already. You are to go and hunt as many patrols as you can. Each dead orc is one less orc to raid our town. Don't go too far on the other side of the river because there are stronger orcs beyond the valley. The scouts are usually the weaker orcs. We'll meet at that rock formation over there in ten days. If you are too injured beyond what Cless can heal, return. There is no point in dying. Good luck."

"Thank you, master. We'll try to get as many orcs as we can."

They went into the woods, trying to find somewhere to cross the river. The boys knew where to cross and where the best swimming spots were, having visited the river several times during the warm summer months. Cless never came this way. She almost never left the church, much less the town's palisade. They moved and followed the river upstream. After a couple hours without finding anything, the small game scared by their noisy movement, the boys were basically ignoring Cless and chatting about girls. Especially the pretty and sexy girls. Some of them even bragged having sexual relations at the bonfire party.

Cless stood at the back of the group, just listening. To her and her sheltered upbringing, that was a subject she had zero knowledge of. This opportunity to get firsthand observations of the male behavior was priceless. She walked with Silverfang next to her absentmindedly listening until they reached the river crossing. It was a section where the river was wide but shallow. They could cross over the pebbles with water up to their knees. It would involve going barefoot unless you wanted soggy boots and all the nasties that would grow on them.

Since they were going to cross the river, Cless strapped her bow and readied her quiver on her back, adjusting the straps. She didn't keep an arrow nocked as she could need her hands to stabilize herself in case she lost her footing during the crossing. Everyone but Arnold removed their boots and Cless looked at Silverfang. She undid the knot that held the strap binding his saddlebags and pulled, releasing the bindings in a few moments.

"Please, shift to hybrid form. We can use an extra warrior." She asked her Lycan. Silverfang shifted and she tied the saddlebags across his back and neck.

They started to cross the river and when they were halfway across, two arrows flew from the treeline on the other side. One hit Jimmy on the shoulder, the other missed Shane. Since no attacks were directed at Cless, her Danger Sense Skill didn't trigger.

"Seven orcs hiding in the threes!" Lance warned.

"Forward!" Arnold, you take the lead, everyone behind him!" Cless shouted as she readied an arrow.

Arnold lifted his shield and started to move forward. He shouted and the orcs shot four arrows at him. They bounced on his shield and armor harmlessly.

Cless shot an arrow where she saw an orc shooting but the arrow hit a trunk. They kept moving and the arrows flying over. Collin and Herbert also got shot before Arnold could reach the other side. Cless fired four times and hit two orc archers.

The group broke as they reached the shore and ran left and right to find the orcs. Arnold bashed his mace on his shield to taunt the orcs into attacking him. Silverfang howled and jumped into the undergrowth, blood splashing around him as he dove into an orc archer. Cless was the last to get on the other side, she kept shooting at the orcs that were now showing themselves.

As the melee started, she stowed her bow in the quiver and reached for the wounded. She pulled the crude orcish arrow out, noticing the irregular stone tip and chanted her Mending prayer. The sound of metal clashing and shouts rang in the forest while she healed the three wounded boys.

"Let's go and fight!" She shouted at the three to lift their spirits as she drew her sword.

Running into the woods, she found pockets of fight everywhere. Arnold was being pummeled by two large orcs while the boys fought two or three orcs in clusters left and right. Cless decided to relief Arnold as he could then go and tank the orcs for the others to finish them. She raised a hand and aimed a Holy Bolt at the biggest orc, wielding a rusty greatsword. She prayed on the run and the ball of light shot just as she shifted into a two-hand stance and swung down her sword.

Distracted by the flash of light and the pain of the holy burn, the orc left a gap in his defense that Cless exploited. Her long blades proficiency was low but her professions granted her ten points of bonus. She stabbed the orc in the gut, twisting and pulling the sword out with a squelch and a spray of blood and gore. The monster backhanded her and Cless was grazed. The strength of the orc was greater than hers and she was forced to take a step back. It released the pressure on Arnold and the big boy bashed the shoulder of the orc Cless wounded, dislocating the limb if not breaking the bone. Cless was back on her feet and lunged, opening another hole in the orc's belly. She ducked under a swing of his greatsword and slashed the back of its arm, right above the elbow. She cut the tendon and the orc's other arm was incapacitated. Defenseless, he got his skull cracked by a well-placed blow by Arnold.

Cless and the defender harried the other big orc and he soon fell on a heap on the ground. "Go left and help the others, I'm going right!" She shouted at him.

They split and Cless reached another fight, between Lyle, Lawrence, and Jimmy against two orcs. Lawrence was bleeding from a leg wound but was standing so she focused on the same strategy as before. She blinded the biggest orc, one with a spear made of a monster's horn and attacked its groin. Cless' upward swing was vicious and dug up until it hit the pelvic bone. She scraped it as she drew her sword back and wasted no time to drive it through the orc's chest. The males paused momentarily to wince at the emasculating blow and Cless struck the flank of another orc as the fight resumed. Once more, as the balance of forces tipped in their favor the orc scouts were quickly dispatched.

"Go and help Shane! I'll heal Lawrence!" She prayed over the wounded boy. One casting wasn't enough to heal the wound entirely but was enough to put him out of danger. Cless felt her remaining magic energy and she had enough for only one more Mending.

She grasped her sword and surveyed the woods around her. Shane and Kevin were outnumbered but Lyle and Jimmy were reaching them now. Going to the other side was a waste of time as both Arnold and Silverfang were that way. She charged the orcs with Lawrence despite her wish to keep the boy back. The fight was four on two and only Shane's agility and Skill with two daggers kept the orcs at bay but it was a losing fight. Until it became six on four. Cless recklessly tackled an orc, using her sword like a lance and burying the weapon to the hilt on the monster. She felt the weapon was stuck and decided to go unarmed.

The boys were impressed at the roaring girl punching an orc's kidneys. The orc elbowed Cless and it connected on her shoulder, sending her sprawling on the ground. She rose fast and saw Shane slit the throat of the orc that hit her at the same time Lyle drove his sword on the orc's belly. A minute later, the orcs on this side were all defeated.

"Anyone wounded or bleeding?" Kevin raised his hand but shook his head when Cless approached.

"Save your magic, Cless. Let's run and help the other side."

They ran but when they reached the corpses of the two bigger orcs the fight on the other side had ended. Silverfang was helping Brett walk, the boy was limping from one leg. Cless ran and used her last Mending on him.

They gathered. Brett, Lawrence, Kevin, Collin, Herbert, Joe and Andre had wounds but apparently no broken bones. She was hurting where the orc hit her but her Health was high enough for her to ignore it to heal the others first.

"You seven lie down here and rest. Silverfang, drop your pack and go scout around to see if any orcs are coming because of the noise we made. Don't engage, come back to warn us. The rest of you, loot the orcs. Get herbs, roots, and anything that looks like an amulet too. Don't shout or make noise. We don't want another orc patrol."

For defeating 22 orcs, you earned 1,187 Class Experience Points. Your Exp contracts earned you 47,022 Class Experience Points. You reached Cleric level 10. +2 Magic, +1 Health. Your professions reached level 8.

Andre, Lance and Kevin cheered as they leveled up.

For using your Class proficiencies, you earned 4,750 Class Experience Points.

While the healthy boys looted the orcs, Cless sat to recover her power faster and read her prayer book. She had two new spells to learn.

Name: Cless (no surname)

Race: Human.

Level: 22 ( 730 / 253,000 Exp)

Class: Cleric 10 (+3) (65,533 / 66,000 Exp)

Profession — Warmaster 8 (+2) (30,834 / 36,000 Exp) — Weaponmaster 8 (+2) (30,834 / 36,000 Exp)

Base Stats — Strength: 16 (+2) — Agility: 16 (+2) [21] — Health: 24 (+3) — Intellect: 24 (+2) — Magic: 35 (+2)

Available Status Points: 3

Skills: [ Absolute Contract (S) ], [ Giant's Stamina (E) ], [ Trick Shot (D) ], [ Dangersense ⦅C⦆ ], [ Nimble Step (D) ]

Proficiencies:

Appraisal — Status: 22

Crafting — Crude Weapons: 5 — Arrows: 1

Magic, Cleric — Mending: 22 (+3) — Detoxify: 16 — Light: 18 — Turn Undead: 4 — Blessing: 8 — Holy Bolt: 12 (+3)

General — Prayer: 13 (+2) — Scribe: 2 — Houseworking: 6 — Math: 3 — Reading: 6 — Forestry: 9 — Skinning: 7 — Herbalism: 3

Social, general — Negotiation: 15 — Persuasion: 3 — Bluff: 3

Social, martial — Leadership: 18 (+2) — Intimidation: 17 — Tactics: 13 (+1)

Movement — Tumbling: 3

Weapon — Long Blades: 13 (+9) — Short Blades: 2 — Unarmed: 11 (+4) — Archery: 17 (+5) — Spears: 3 — Maces: 22 — Staves: 4 — Axes: 9