Chapter 8: preparing and going back

As the battle came to an end, the others came back out. some of men had taken a few arrows and needed to be bandaged. one pikemen had died, an arrow planted in his heart.

I had received an arrow in my leg, chipping away a part of my health. i bandaged it and started directing my men.

I stationed my unit in the open ceiling room, placed another at the top of the wall and sent the two last further into the forest, to check if there was any more guards and sentinels.

One man came back a few minutes later, announcing that the entry was hidden by an arch of trees, stones and vines. there had also been two footed bandits and three sentinel platforms.

All of those had been taken care of.

The units were now waiting to see if there was any patrols left.

I didn't worry for them as patrolling bandits would be paying attention to people coming from the exterior of the ruins not from within.

we gathered the dead bandits weapons and equipment and waited for the messengers to relay our success and come back with more orders.

I was examining the platform lift when Beok entered the external room. his mages robes were covered in dirt and blood but the smile on his face told me that the mission had been a success.

"Ah, here you are! I am pleased to announce you that the operation was a total success. the totality of the thieves were taken care of, the stolen treasure has been recovered and the many loots will please the Lord!"

"Happy to hear it."

"In fact there is so much things to bring back that we will have to do several travels!"

"What? that's not a good idea! the minute we will be back in Djaden swarms of people will come hear and loot the place!"

"Do you think so?"

"Of course! we cannot leave anything behind! not as long as it can be useful to the Lord or the Guards!"

"I understand what you mean but we simply do not have the transporting capacity to do so."

"What about the chariots in the stables? do you think we could use them?"

I was so not leaving anything for other players. We still had five days before the first ones arrived at the Ruins.

" We could but it would take time..."

"So let us take it!"

Beok took the time to think about it then agreed.

"I will find a way to arrange it with Serena."

"Who?"

"Captain Miller."

"Ho! so that's her name."

The next days were spent inventorying everything we found in the ruins and the bandit fortified camp and putting the ten trailers back in usable shapes.

As soon as one of them was repaired it was loaded with treasures.

Three wagons were filled with the many art pieces and precious equipment’s, another with the hundreds of weapons. the last one was left empty, to be used by the wounded during the trip back.

Two trailers were filled with all the food supplies they had found, there was more than enough for the trip back. the second was packed full of wine and water barrels. It turned out the outlaws had a sweet tooth for good alcohol.

The remaining three chariots were filled with chickens and pigs in cages. I had decided that they were part of the food supplies.

It took us three days to prepare everything. Then we spent the whole evening lifting the wagons to ground level. By the fourth morning we left the ruins to join back with the rest of the Expedition.

Because our caravan was so much longer, it took the whole day to travel what we would have done in half a morning before. I was driving the wagon of food supplies, followed by those filled with the farm animals. since i had never driven before the

First ten minutes were difficult then

a message popped.

"Through repetitive actions you have learned the following skill: Driver, Beginner 1 (0%)

You can now drive a small wagon pulled by a bull or caw."

As the day went by my stat rapidly rose. when it reached Beginner 6 the skill description changed.

"You can drive a small wagon or trailer pulled by a bull, caw or donkey."

I calculated that at this rate it would take us at least ten days to go back to Djaden and that was if we took the largest paths and quickest way back.

When we arrived, the Captain was waiting for us. She looked at the caravan, the animals and then at me.

"Tell this was not your idea too."

"It was not my idea."

"That's a lie, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

She turned back, accompanied by Beok who was starting to report on everything they still had to discuss and that he couldn't tell her through a simple written massage.

I was left behind and decided to check on the food rations gathered at the clearing camps.

As i went through the tents soldiers would come to talk to me wanting to know how things went at the ruins. To avoid them i started faking a limp with my wounded leg and told them i would be back after a quick medical treatment.

I went to see the old driver, he was proudly standing, showing me he had kept his words.

We discussed a little bit then i started preparing food for the 83 remaining men of the Expedition.

The next day we left camp at down. we rode all day, stopping briefly for lunch. I fed the animals with the help of the old driver.

In mid-afternoon the captain sat net to me next to the wagon driver's bench.

"I heard that you have been of great help during the infiltration."

"How so?"

"Your quick thinking and disposition made it easier to take the place over and avoid useless deaths.

There is also the tactics you suggested for the camps battles."

"Ah."

"You went over and beyond your Cook duties."

"Maybe."

"Beok told me you are Kaden's student?"

"Teacher taught me weapons Mastery and gave me the bases for my hand to hand combat. i would be honoured if he did consider me his student."

" I see... well, when you see him again give him this from me."

The red headed women handed me a wax sealed paper scroll.

"You have received the object Captain Miller's letter to Kaden.

Captain miller asked you to deliver it to the Training Hall Master on her behalf.

Do you accept this errand?"

"I will do it"

"You have accepted the quest Serena's letter to Kaden.

If you open the letter the quest will automatically fail.

No substantial rewards provided."

i wordlessly placed the letter in my backpack. As i opened it i revelled a series of leather bound books.

"What are those?"

"They are the previous bandit Chiefs journals. I found them in the bandit chiefs chambers, Beok told me i could keep them. I hope it is alright."

"No problem. are they interesting?"

"Very. did you know that the Ruins are right at the middle of the woods, making them ideal to attack the town on both sides of the forest?"

"No, i didn't"

"It,s not all. i read about how they built the lifting platform. i am sure that by giving the notes to a competent group of architects, smiths and engineers we could reproduce it at will!"

"I can see the advantage of such mechanisms, yes..."

"Imagine if the ruins were to be rebuilt, you could transform them into a small stop for travelling merchants. reopening the forest road would cut their journey by half!"

"There seems to be a lot of value behind those ruins..."

"Not just money but history too! i believe that it used to be a Druids conclave! this place is at least a hundred years old! i wouldn't be surprised if there was more tunnels under the forest!"

"From what you are telling me, those ruins should not simply be left alone but be developed into a historical site and a small traveller town?"

"That would be ideal yes!"

She stayed silent for a while so i grabbed one of the journals and concentrated my sight on it. after a minute of staring at the pages an information window indicating me that i had fully read the book and that my journal had been updated appeared. i passed to the next journal, updating them one at a time.

When i finally had done the whole collection a series of windows appeared.

"You have read the complete series of The Forest Ruins Bandit Chiefs journals.

Your Intelligence, Leadership and Respect Stats rises by 5 points each.

As they all are a Unique category items, you have earned 10 Fame points."

"Through your reading and study of specialised diagrams you have developed the following abilities:

-Trading: Beginner 1 (0%) you can now sell and buy more than 100 of the same object at once.

-Market Value evaluation: Beginner 1 (0%) you now know the current market Value of objects. The more data you have on a city, the more accurate your Market Evaluation will be.

-Contracting: Beginner 1 (0%) you can now form contracts with particulars. the contracts only include goods and the contract monetary Value is limited to 1 silver or 200 bronzes."

The next few days were similar. we would get up early and travel through the forest, stopping for a light lunch and go back on the road.

Every now and then one of my men would come talk to me, it was about many kind of things, their lives back home, a relative's story or a moment during the camps attacks.

That’s how i learned that Vrenn had a younger brother that worked in a small restaurant in Djaden, that Carl's cousin was an architect desperately looking for work and that Jamy was planning on leaving the City Guards at the end of his soldiers contract. He had received a higher position in another city and needed the money to pay his fiancée’s Dot.

Every time i would have one of those conversation my journal and NPC friend list would be updated.

Once a day the Captain would come see me, asking me about how i would transform the Ruins into a profitable town and historical site.

I didn't take long for me to realise that something was going on. I made a few researches online during the time my avatar slept and provided her with a list of buildings to construct outside the ruins and adjustments to make inside. i supported every point of my project with a diagram or written explanations. by the end of the journey i had created a thick paper document called 'Forest Ruins Renovation Project' containing plans of the ruins as they were now, as they would look throughout the renovations and at the end of the project.

Mid morning of the eleventh day, they left the cover of the trees for the last time. crossing the River took much more time as their procession was much bigger and they needed to push an extra 10 wagons.

As they passed between the fields and farms surrounding the City Walls they attracted the attention of the players and citizens.

Compared to when we left we were now covered in dirt and had lost men, yet coming back victorious made us stand tall and proud.

People started to follow us and cheer all the way to the Gates. A group of stable boys were waiting outside ready to take the wagons in, a military officer went to Captain Miller and they left for the Lords Mansion. Beok took over as the commanding officer, he sent the soldiers back to their barracks, talked to every players one after another. when my turn came

I knew the quest completion window was gonna show at some point of the conversation.

I could not have been more wrong.

"Ben, i am sorry but you will have to wait before being paid. Since you did more than your regular job we have to evaluate your Bonus... it could take some time."

"I understand. i still have a lot of things to do anyway."

"Alright. i will see you later then."

I was left near the wagons, wondering what to do now.

I still had to finish the quest about the Forest Ruins Mystery and the Ancient Runes and receive my Cook's position reward.

After doing a last check of the supplies, i left the Gates, intending to go see Kaden and maybe pass by some of the soldiers family/friends places.