Chapter 16 I Intended to be Good

I was the Enemy of Apes! You would think that would work in my favor in some way. In my opinion, it didn't help at all. In video games titles like that usually caused the monsters to run in fear. Not so in my case. It seemed like the opposite was true.

Crue and I had gone about a mile West. There was a field with some sort of grain that had a few Green Apes. I couldn't tell my wheat from my barley but whatever it was the Apes had taken a liking to it. We had run into the farmer as he was heading into his field with two dogs.

Crue had talked the farmer into letting us handle it. He was more than happy to let the Surveyor and the Surveyor's apprentice take charge. It was better then him risking his dogs chasing the nuisances away. He offered to pay a few coppers for the job, but Crue explained they we were already being paid by the Guild. It was training and we were being paid for the training.

So my first job as a Surveyor was to kill the Green Apes in the farmer's field. Seemed simple enough. After all, I had been running around the woods killing them just a few days before. I was getting really good at the ambush and attack method before I got into town.

I had a real sword now, surely it would be even easier than before.

My arrogance had Crue sitting on the sidelines laughing his butt off.

Taking on a small group of Apes in a field was different than stalking them and bashing them on the head. Every time I'd get close to one to attack, I was ganged up on from behind by the others. I had some literally nasty shit thrown at me.

I'd get close to one Ape and from behind, I'd feel a 'splat' on my back. I'd turn and find the offending Ape running off to hide for another sneak attack.

When I finally managed to kill one of them, Crue lost it. He was full on his back tears running down his face laughing. I was getting rather annoyed with him. I had tried to get him to help cover my back, but he blew off my suggestion because I obviously wasn't in any real danger.

Killing the one Ape triggered the others into a real full blown attack. No more shit, they were going for blood, and to do that they had to get close to me. As they attacked I was able to cut them down without having to chase after them. The more I killed the more enraged the rest became.

I had taken down ten of them when I started to notice a problem. When we started there were only nine in the field. Where had the tenth one come from? It wasn't the last one either, I was facing off against two more.

Those two attacked together one from the left one from the right. That was a new strategy with this group. Some of the other Apes I had killed before had worked together, so it wasn't entirely surprising. Still, I became worried as the two attacked and I realized I had a third one coming at me from behind.

I dodged the two attacking from my sides and spun to cut down the third. The wound was fatal, but honestly, it had been lucky that I managed to hit the monster at all. Doing a fancy spin in the middle of trying to fight off monsters wasn't something I could make graceful or cool. I just managed to lop off a small portion of the Ape's head.

I didn't have time to be critiquing my own lack of skills the original two Apes were coming in for a second pass. This time they were both coming from my left. I focused on them judging their speed and distance. When the bigger Ape picked up the smaller Ape and threw him at me I wasn't in a good position for a counter. I had judged that I would have more time to take a stance.

Instead, I was pulling off a one-handed baseball swing completely off balance. I did manage to hit the flying Ape with the flat of my sword sending it a few feet in the other direction, but I ended up falling on my butt from the momentum of hitting an object while off balance.

The bigger Ape took advantage of this and came running. I just managed to get to my knees when the monster launched himself at my face. Large canine teeth were snapping at me from a foot away. Then he just dropped, sort of skidded and hit my thighs. I tried bringing my sword up, but it was too late. It had to be going for my junk. Shit, I knew I should have gotten that stupid looking codpiece.

Nothing happened. No pain, no movement. I cautiously looked around. The Ape just laid there with a hunting knife sticking out of it's back. So Crue had been paying attention and was willing to act when it looked like I was going to have my face eaten off. Good to know that he had my front if he didn't necessarily have my shit splattered back.

More importantly was this one the last of them? I checked the Gamer Glass and confirmed that with the exception of the small Ape that was under the status of KO, there weren't any more Apes close by. It was like Crue said there weren't many monsters showing up in groups nearer the human habitations and farms.

I lopped off the head of the KOed Ape. Then I went through and placed all the dead Apes in my inventory. The hunting knife and the sword got wiped off in the dirt then rubbed down quickly with a rag before I placed them in their sheaths.

Next, I stripped out of my clothes. Using the water in my inventory I took a quick hand shower. I paid careful attention to my hair. Even using soap right there in the middle of the field to get all the excrement off me. Still naked I rinsed off the soiled clothes the best I could and placed them in a produce bag, minus the produce, and put them in my inventory. I was not putting them back on, but since I didn't have any of my new clothes yet. I was stuck wearing my old torn up pants and a shirt I hadn't sent to the cleaners. I considered it a big improvement, bloodstains and all.

“That looks like a really handy skill,” Crue commented walking up.

“What is?”

“Being able to dump water on yourself from your inventory. The more I see you use that bracelet of yours the more impressed I am. Though I worry someone will get ideas and try and take it from you by force.”

“It won't work for them if it's stolen it will just return back to me.”

“They won't know that, and I wasn't talking just about it being stolen. Something as unique as it is, some people would consider it worth trying to kill you over it.

“I know it's a bit too late to keep it hidden, but maybe start spreading the information that it's person specific magic. Let people know that no one else can use it or access it. Try and make yourself less of a target for the more homicidally inclined members of society.”

“I do see your point. I don't really want to stand out.”

“I think it's a bit too late for that as well. Everyone will be talking about you and asking questions after seeing you with the Gods. I'm sure the temple has been inundated with all sorts of people asking for information about you.”

“ Great,” I just wanted to live a nice quiet life and make enough money to earn a decent and comfortable living then hopefully retire early in the countryside with a nice loyal dog. I still sort of hoped it would be possible. Even after the blow about my genetic lottery loss, I still had hope that I could somehow make the country life work. Yellow Springs had a red light district and it was considered rural. I could live out here just past the farming area. Maybe make the trip into town once a week or so.

Still, I also wanted to explore this new land. I wanted to travel a bit. So while the homebody in me just wanted to settle in and start building a cottage in the woods, the transient nature I had never been able to indulge before was pushing me to exploration.

“Most people will just assume you are a priest,” Crue interrupted my musings. “Most people, even the ones with a criminal inclination, don't want to target priests. Not only do we heal people, but there is the possibility that harming one of the Gods' priests could literally send divine retribution down upon you. Not many people are willing to risk it. So, it's lucky that most people will consider you a priest.”

“It's a win-lose situation.”

“I would say it's more of a win. You were seen being social with Edomael. A death god is not someone anyone wants to mess with. Being THE Death God, I would say that no one is going to target you.

“Then you have to factor in Aequitas. She's mostly a law and order deity, but she's no pushover in military and marital matters. She's one of the divine warrior 'maidens'.” He made finger quotes around maiden. Was maiden a term used loosely here? “So even if you being attacked was ignored by Edomael, a Goddess of Justice wouldn't let it slide.”

“You failed to mention the Goddess who actually made me her Oracle,” I said a little sardonically.

“Amoris doesn't have the 'I'm going to bring death and vengeance upon you' vibe that Aequitas and Edomael have. She might kill you by accident but rarely runs around smiting people to death. To be honest, most people don't take her too seriously as a Goddess of power. We have one of the better healing temples, so we don't get messed with because no one wants to screw over the person who might be the only person in the city able to heal your raging case of crotch rot.”

“So I am a target because I stand out, but I'm not a target because people are too afraid of being zapped with not so metaphorical lightning to mess with me. So why even bring the issue up?”

“Well, most sane people wouldn't dare to incur possible godly wrath. However, not all people are sane. Not everyone is walking around with a full sack of dice. Unfortunately, many ex-adventurers end up this way.”

“Adventurers? Why?” I could understand the risk to life and limb, but to your mind?

“Not all monsters are straightforward. Some of them can use mental magic. They can induce panic, fear, hallucinations, nightmares, and other really nasty shit. Thankfully, those types aren't really found in abundance and hardly ever in this area.

“No what cause, the mental breakdown is usually witnessing death. Death of friends, comrades, random citizens at the hands of the monsters. You see enough people being eaten, disemboweled, or dismembered and it will stick with you.

“You see similar symptoms in soldiers after a war. They don't come back home quite the same. Some of them become unpredictably violent and kill without actually meaning it.

“We try and spot these people, but we can't catch everyone. We can't force people to get help either. So we are left with a small part of the population, who are skilled fighters and out of their minds. It's a dangerous mix, but we don't really have a solution to it.”

“Sounds like PTSD,” I commented.

“PTSD?” Crue asked.

“It's basically what you just described, but add in any sort of traumatic experience.”

“The majority of the cases are soldiers and adventurers, but we've seen it in other cases as well,” he nodded confirmation. He looked at me as if trying to assess if I would be the type to lose it after a traumatic event.

It was a good question since I didn't really know myself. This dying violently and being reborn experience was fairly traumatic. Add on the uncertainty of my new sex-driven genetics I wasn't certain if I would be able to stay sane. If you were crazy would you be able to know you were crazy?

“Anyway, we have a lot of work to do. I thought you said your sword skill was at level 2? And you had other martial arts skills at level 2 as well?”

“Um, yes Basic Sword at level 2 with Skull Bashing at level 2. I have Martial Arts and Staff at level 2 as well. Spear at level 1.”

Crue looked at me, a deep V forming in his forehead.

“You did manage to pull off a few decent moves that I wouldn't expect from a complete beginner, but then you would follow it up with leaving yourself wide open and doing something completely dumb even a novice would not do. A level 2 swordsman and martial artist should never have lost their balance like that and fallen on their ass. I don't get it.” He rubbed at his V with the heel of his hand.

“You mean to say that I'm all over the place skillswise?”

“Basically, yes. I don't know why this is. I've never seen such an oddball gaping in skill.” He crossed his arms and sighed looking up at the sky. “To be honest I think the only way to fill in those gaps would be to start you from scratch. That way I can be sure the gaps are getting filled in and I know you won't get yourself killed doing something even a child wouldn't try and pull off.”

“Sounds fine,” and it did to me. It made sense. There were moments when it felt like I was just swinging around a pointy stick other times I had this instinct kick in and I sort of just knew how to move. Even to me, it felt sort of inconsistent.

“I was worried you'd disagree. Making someone with a level 2 skill go back to basics is considered a punishment in the guard.”

“No, I think the gap is because I gained the skill so quickly. It's not like I actually sat down and learned to fight from scratch. I just ran around killing Apes.”

“That does seem likely. If that's the case though, you need to be careful with your other skills as well. You should keep in mind that there might be some practical knowledge gaps. I'm going to try and cover what I can, but I don't have all the skill sets you do.”

“I'll keep it in mind that even though my levels might be high, I really don't know what I'm doing.”

“Well, it's enough to keep you alive against minor monsters like these Apes. Let's go tell the farmer his problem is taken care of. Then maybe we should go to the Guild. They have a practice area set up out back.”

“Actually, I need a bath. I still don't feel clean. Do you think we can go by the temple then grab dinner and start the training tomorrow?”

“I'm free in the early morning, but I have the afternoon shift at the clinic. I can meet you at the Guild at six the sun will just be coming up so we should have light.”

We started walking back heading towards the farmer's house.

“I will warn you that I am not a morning person.” Then I thought of something I hadn't considered before. “How do you keep time here. I haven't seen any clocks except for the big one in that tower near the square. I've been keeping track of time from its hourly chiming, but I think it stays silent at night. At least I don't remember it chiming at night.”

“It doesn't, the last chime is at ten at night and it starts again at seven the next morning. A lot of people keep track of the time by that clock. It's not just you. However, there are more personal timepieces you can buy. The temple supplies us with clocks in our rooms. When we bathe I can have one of the children get one of our extras for you. Depending on what kind you get they can vary in price. The ones we have are in the moderate range. They can be set, and they will go off at the time you want it too. More expensive ones can be set up with a magic core lamp and lights can go on along with your alarm. Some can even be made to play simple tunes.”

“A simple one will be fine. I don't need anything fancy, so thank you for letting me borrow one.”

“Dickson would have my hide if I made you return it. So please just take it. Small things like that aren't a big loss for the temple and considering the possible gains we will be having because of you, it's really the very least we can do in gratitude. Besides, you've proven yourself in contact with Our Lady so the temple is sort of obligated to see to your needs.

“You really could move in and all your expenses would be seen too, you know? While you're not a priest, since you're an oracle it would be fine.”

“No, I think I'd rather stay at the Inn. Not that your hospitality isn't great,” I hurried to reassure him, “but living in a temple seems sort of odd to me.”

“It might be for the best anyway,” he nodded. I briefly wondered what he meant, but we had made it to the farmer's house and by the time we had refused payment several times I had forgotten to ask.

As we were nearing the gates I spotted something that alarmed me greatly. I grabbed Crue by the arm and halted him. I pointed at the creature.

“Is that what I think it is?” I was also bringing up a description in my Gamer Glass as Crue followed my pointing finger.

*Death Bee. A rare omnivorous honey bee. The stinger holds a powerful neurotoxin. Unlike normal honey bees, a Death Bee can repeatedly sting a person without dying or losing its stinger. Death to an average size male human will occur within ten minutes if an antidote is not given. Healing magic is not very effective against the neurotoxin but can slow down the deadly effects long enough to administer the antidote.

You may find Death Bee antidote at any temple, guard post, Adventurers Guild, or mail post. The average cost of the antidote is 2 gold coins. If you do not have the funds for the antidote, you will be put on a payment plan. It is against the law in the majority of the nations to withhold treatment for lack of funds. After receiving the antidote, the mortality rate for a Death Bee sting is 15%.

Death Bees live in hives where the strongest female is called the queen. However, a queen female and a Queen Death Bee are not the same.

Any strong female bee can run a hive and produce offspring. True Queen Bees have wind or light magic and have an even higher toxicity than normal Death Bees. Being stung by a Queen Death Bee will result in death within two minutes. If given the antidote of a normal Death Bee within the two minutes the mortality rate is reduced to 80%. It is recommended that you avoid being stung by a Queen Death Bee as the antidote for a Queen Death Bee is very rare and usually can only be found within private collections.

Honey produced by a hive with a true Queen Death Bee is considered some of the best and rarest honey.

If you manage to kill a Death Bee, it is recommended that you leave the location immediately as the death of one can summon the swarm.

The intact venom sack, stinger, and wings are collectible material.~

“Oh, that's a Death Bee,” Crue answered as the bee the size of a large potato floated past. “They are fairly harmless most of the time. You leave them alone, they will leave you alone. Don't kill or piss one off, ever. That stinger is poisonous and will kill you in about ten minutes. Avoid them, and run like mad if you ever stumble upon a hive,” he paused looking at me.

“There are some idiots in the Guild that hunt the Bees. They do yield high rewards for a dismantled bee, so I see the appeal. However, killing one might trigger a swarm and bring the entire hive chasing you, but there are ways to avoid that. Jumping into water is one of them.

“At least a few times a year some down on his luck adventurer gets it into his head that he can make some easy money off the Bees, either by harvesting the honey or by killing the Bees. A few times a year down on their luck adventurers corpses are found littered around the Death Bee hive.

“Good thing is they are hard to piss off. Only a direct attack on them will aggravate them or stealing their honey. So if you are fighting and a Death Bee wonders in you don't have to worry about pissing it off with all the sudden movements. Just don't accidentally hit the Bee.

“There is some debate about their intelligence in the Guild. Members who've pissed off the Bees and lived swear that the Bees are more aggressive towards them. While some farmers who leave out gifts for the Bees and swear they've actually been protected by the Bees when another monster attacks.”

“What do you think?”

“I think they might be smart enough to recognize a person who's harmed them and know if another person who feeds them is being harmed. I don't think they are as smart as a dog, but maybe close to it. I've seen them do some odd things myself.

“One time I spotted a Bee toss its kill into a grass fire. As the mice in the field ran for it, the Death Bee scooped them up, killed them, then tossed them into the fire. Later, once we got the fire under control I noticed a few of the Bees eating the mice. The skin and fur had been charred off and the meat was cooked. So they are smart enough to know that tossing their kill into a grass fire will cook it and clean the fur off for them.”

“Sounds like they might actually be smarter than a dog. I've never heard of a dog cleaning and cooking its own food.”

“You wouldn't say that if you had also witnessed them run head first into the same tree over and over,” he laughed a bit.

“Maybe it was a queen Bee you saw?”

“You looked them up on your Gamer Glass?” He asked.

“Yes, it basically said the honey is valuable, their sting will kill you, and there is a difference between a queen bee and a Queen Bee,” I put some emphasis on it for him.

“Regular queen bees, little q, are a bit larger than the rest of them, but other than that you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a little queen and a worker at a distance. So it's possible that it was a little queen I saw,” he nodded and held his hands apart to show how much bigger the little queen Death Bee would be. About the size of one and a half potatoes then.

“What about big Queens? Would you be able to tell the difference between those and worker Bees?”

“I've never actually seen one personally, but there have been a few spotted in the area over the last few decades. They are rare as it is, but they don't often leave their hives, so it makes spotting them difficult. They are about twice the size as a normal Death Bee and they have a longer set of wings that shimmer with a green-blue color in the sun.

There are two hives in this area. One to the north and one to the west. Whenever there is a big Queen Bee the two hives unite for the lifespan of that Queen. Then they split again. So we usually know when there is a big Queen not because people have seen her necessarily, but because the hives have combined.”

“How long do they live?”

“Don't know really. The combined hives can last anywhere from two years to 10 years, but since we don't know how the Queens die we can't estimate their natural lifespans. Usually, some idiot adventurer takes it upon himself to strike it rich by bringing in the honey and the venom sack of a Queen. They end up killing each other more often than not.”

“Rich? You can get rich off one Queen?”

He shook his head, “It's not worth it, believe me. Even the most prepared adventurer ends up dead. The big Queen Bees are classified as a class B monster, even though they don't cause much harm. They are deadly. Their stingers are sharper than most blades and can pierce through most metal armors. They are not to be messed with, and the Guild never puts a bounty on them because their deadliness ratio vs their impact on human lives is solely based on someone trying to attack them first.

“However, for those lucky enough to find a Queen outside her hive and kill her without being attacked or swarmed have been able to earn nearly 125 gold. Provided that all parts are left intact.”

“125 gold!” I could see how that would be tempting for someone. Then a thought hit me.

“What stops someone from shooting them down from a distance either with an arrow or magic?”

“People have tried.” he nodded his head. “I've even been successful at shooting a worker down at a distance, but it's very hard to do because they are fast and somehow know when an arrow is coming their way. As for magic, they are resistant. You could lob fireballs at them all day and if you managed to hit one, they'd be fine. It would just piss them off. No, most people who've managed to take one down do it with a sword or some other long bladed weapon. They are fast but if you can manage to cut their wings they will fall.

“Still not worth the risk of provoking a swarm though. Some idiot kid in a village a weeks ride from here managed to bring an entire swarm down on his village. Killed nearly everyone, including the boy. We have walls, but Bees can fly over walls. Even if you survived the swarm, if you brought one down into the town you would be hung after all the dead were counted.”

“You would be hung for bringing a swarm into the town? Even if it was by accident?”

“It's the law. If by your actions, accidentally or not, you bring monsters into an inhabited area then you are responsible for the damage. If that damage includes the death of innocent townspeople, it's like you murdered them. If it's just destruction of property then you'd have to pay for it.

“My brother and I once thought we had killed a goblin when we were younger. We brought it back to be dismantled and it woke up and rampaged through the Guild. We had to pay for all the damages even though we were only just kids.” He smiled at the memory.

“So if a child lead a monster in and it killed someone?”

“A child wouldn't be put to death, but they would probably have to spend the rest of their adolescence serving in one of the temples. Most of the time that is. Around thirteen is when you are considered competent enough to know right from wrong. If you are over thirteen and you kill someone you are held accountable for that crime like any other adult. If it was an accident then you could be sent to the temples or be killed like an adult. If you are under thirteen you are sent to the temples... normally.

“It all really depends on circumstances with children. All sorts of factors have to be considered.” He sighed a heavy sigh.

“Thankfully, there aren't many cases of children committing murder and most of those are kids who are just hitting puberty. I guess it's lucky that luring a monster into a town and it killing a citizen is rare. I only brought up that boy because he brought a swarm of Death Bees into his town because he screwed up in harvesting the honey. It's not common, and it's even less common with children.”

“So if you are under thirteen you can avoid the death penalty if you kill someone?”

He shook his head, “It's not so simple as that. There are three cases I heard about that come to mind. Each case involves someone younger than thirteen, but in each case they were given the death penalty.”

“Were the crimes similar?”

“No, not really, people were killed, but other than that the circumstances for each were different.”

“Can you tell me about them?”

“Well, the first one involves an eleven-year-old boy. He was the youngest in a gang of orphaned children run by an older man. The man had raised these kids to survive on crime. They stole from people mostly.

“As the older kids grew up they would sign up for the Guild and would use their talents for the Guild. The man who raised them would get angry when this happened but would let them go. That was until one of the older boys told the magistrate of the area what was happening with the children. The older boy had begun to realize that being forced into that sort of life as a child was abusive. So he was trying to get help for the kids that were left.

“The magistrate understood the circumstances and gave the older boy and any other children that would leave the evil man a full pardon. He also set up positions at the temples so that the children could be raised properly.

“The man hated the magistrate and the older boy for this. Many of his thieving children were leaving. He was angry, but he felt like he could do nothing to stop them.” Crue paused for breath.

“Does the eleven-year-old boy kill the man?” I asked.

“No, and if he did he probably wouldn't have gotten the death penalty for it.

“No, what he did was worse. He saw that the man was angry and he saw that his friends were leaving him. So he decided to do something about it if the man wouldn't.

“It started with the first older boy. He showed up dead stabbed in the sternum and left in an alley. Then it was the children that had taken up positions in the temples. One by one they were killed, and fearing that they would be next, the children that left came back.”

“So he killed all his friends!” I was a bit shocked.

“Yes, and he probably would have gotten away with it too if he had just stopped when the other children returned. He decided to go after the magistrate though and was caught.

“He confessed to all the murders. He had stalked his victims, planned the perfect time to kill them, then when through with it. Even though he was only eleven he was given the death penalty for killing all those other children.”

“Damn, was he crazy or something?”

“No, they had him checked. Having the Mental Corruption skill isn't a defense against murder though.”

“Wait, what? Mental Corruption skill?”

“Right you probably wouldn't have heard of it. It's how we can tell if someone is truly insane. It manifests as a skill.”

“Mental Corruption,” I repeated.

“Yes, not all skills are beneficial. Mental Corruption happens when a person goes insane. Some people will lose themselves temporarily, like the conversation we had earlier about the people who witness tragedy having difficulties?” Crue glanced at me to see if I remembered. I nodded that I did.

“Right, people who only lose it for short amounts of time, but are otherwise normal don't get the Mental Corruption skill. It's only people who have been insane for a long time who gain it and the longer they live with the skill the higher the skill increases. The higher the skill the more volatile the person becomes.”

“So someone with a level 1 could appear like a normal person, but someone with a level 4 would be going around killing the neighbor's cats?”

“More like the level 1 would be killing the cats and the level 4 would be a serial killer.”

“I think I get it. So that's how you could tell that this kid wasn't insane.”

“Yes, but the second case involves a girl with Mental Corruption so it's a good thing you asked for me to explain it.”

“So even though this next kid was crazy she was still executed?”

“Yes, being insane isn't an excuse for committing a crime and once you have the skill there is really no going back to being a sane human being. Some non-violent ones are helpers at temples. They can live their lives peacefully enough, but like I said as they continue to live with the skill and it levels up they become more volatile and more often than not they have to be killed.

“The healing temples do our best to try and help these people. Sometimes the insanity manifests in other ways even as the skill increases. There are a few, not many, but a few with the skill who manage to live out their natural lifespans without committing any major crimes.

“We have a woman who steals spoons at one of our temples. She's nearly eighty now and has a level 8 Mental Corruption, but she has lived her life sneaking out of the temple and breaking into peoples houses to steal their spoons. Once she has them she hides them in the potted plants around the temple. That's it. It's a non-violent crime and most people in that town know that if they show up to our temple they can get their spoons back.

“It's because we have people like her that we just can't execute people with the skill as soon as they are discovered.”

“Was it like that with the kid? Did she start off non-violent then attack someone?”

“No. Well, we don't know. At least I don't think we know. When she was found she was twelve years old and already had a Mental Corruption of level 6.

“When she was found it couldn't be determined if she gained all her levels in one go over the week she was killing or if she started out as a level 1 and worked her way up to murder.

“So wait, killing people levels up the skill too?”

“Just being crazy levels up this skill slowly over time, but doing violent insane acts levels it up faster.”

“Ok, I guess that makes sense in a way.”

“Anyway, this kid was guilty of killing forty-two people before they found her. When the bodies started showing up the guards had no idea they were looking for a kid. It was only at the fourth house where one of the children of the house hid and witnessed...”

“Wait, go back. The fourth house, what happened at the rest? Start from the beginning.”

“Well, the investigation didn't really start at the beginning if I remember. It sort of started in the middle. Then worked backwards and forwards at the same time.”

“Alright, I'm sorry for interrupting, tell the story how you want,” I waved my hand at him.

“Well, I can back up a bit. So the guard had a report of an entire family that had been slaughtered in their sleep. Cut up like an animal. All of them had their throats slit then had their bodies mutilated. The bodies were at least two days old when they arrived.

“As soon as they finished with one house a report of two more families being found came in. One family was dead at least three days and the other was fresh as if it had been done just that morning.

“The guard knew they had a serial killer on the loose because all the bodies were the same. Throat slit, bodies cut up. They put out alerts and word was spread to have people check on their neighbors.

“Because of this alert the fourth house was found within the next day. The fourth house was another fresh scene and as they were clearing out the bodies one of the guards found a little boy hiding in a pickle barrel in the pantry.

“The little boy told them that it was a girl who killed his family. He had gotten up to pee when he heard a noise in his sister's room. He peeked in and saw the girl carving up his sister. Without making a sound the boy ran to his parent's room and discovered them dead as well.

“Then he heard her open the door down the hall. He flew down the stairs and noticed the front door was open. Instead of running outside he ran to the pantry and hid in the nearly empty pickle barrel.

“He had told the guard that his parents told him he was never allowed to go outside at dark for any reason. So I guess that's why he hid instead of going to get help.

“Probably saved him though. She probably thought he had run outside to get help and chased after him. We don't really know. We just know that she didn't find him and moved on to the next family.”

“So she's only killing families?”

“Families with children around her age, yes.”

“Why?”

“She's insane so there doesn't really have to be a reason, but in this case, there is some speculation later.

“So, now the guards know they are looking for a young girl with dark hair. However, that could be just about any girl in the town. So they start by going to the houses where they know there are young girls. That's how they found the fifth house and eventually the sixth house. That's how they eventually found out who she was.

“At the sixth house, they discovered a family that had been dead several days. It was the oldest scene they'd been to and as they searched the house they found that the middle daughter was missing. She fit the rough description that the little boy had given, but they didn't want to flat out say that this girl was killing people. What if later on, they found her body somewhere else after all?

“They did put out an alert for a missing child. They gave her name and description and because of all the hysteria about a serial killer on the loose, citizens went out of their way to help look for the missing girl who most people thought was a victim. Most of them thought they were looking for a body, but it was one little old lady who liked to look out her upstairs window at night to spy on the neighbors that spotted her first.

“This little old lady hated the neighbors across the street and went out of her way to make their lives hell. However, on this one night, she saved their children's lives. This woman spotted a young girl out alone in the streets. She opened this neighbor's gate and let herself in. Then she just stood there hiding in the shadow of a tree.

“Well, the little old lady knew something was up and quickly gathered herself and went out her back door to the path to the local guard station. As luck would have it she ran into a guard doing his rounds on the way there. She told him her story and made him come back with her.”

“She made him come back with her?” I asked. I had a mental image of an old hunched back woman with white hair leading a guard by the ear all the way back to her house.

“She'd been to call the guard on her neighbors before and most of the guard knew her as a busybody old crone and ignored her. I guess this night she refused to be ignored and the guard did follow her.

“When they arrived, the guard noticed that the neighbor's door was open. He sent the old lady back to the guard house to get more guards and he went into the house.

“He walked in on the girl just as she was finishing up with the mother. She attacked him with her knife and he got a long cut on his arm before he was able to wrestle the knife away from her. He then used the knife’s heavy wooden handle to knock the girl out. To be careful he used a pair of leggings he found in the bedroom to bind her legs and arms.

“He went to check on the children and found them safe and asleep. He woke them both up and told them they had to go wait at their old lady neighbor's house.

“So the girl was arrested and placed in jail. Over the course of the next few days, more houses with dead families were found. There were nine houses altogether with forty-two victims. All killed within about a weeks time.

“They tried to question the girl, but she was non-communicative at this point. So they had to piece together what they could.

“They don't know what caused her initial insanity, they don't know if she had the skill before or after she killed her family. They do know that her own family were her first victims. She killed them and proceeded to kill families at one to two houses a night until she was caught.

“They don't know where she was staying during this time, or if how she managed to go unseen and unreported covered in blood for over a week. She mostly worked at night, but for at least two of the houses, they were done in the early morning.

“Anyway, she was tried, convicted, and executed quickly. They did have three eyewitnesses that gave testimony.”

“So you don't know why she killed her family? Not even speculation?”

“No clue, to everyone else they seemed like a normal family. There were no signs of abuse on any of the children, They were even talking about having a fourth child. His business was steady and they lived a normal lower-middle-class life.”

“It seems so odd not knowing why. Just hearing it as a story you feel sort of unfulfilled as if there has to be more to it.”

“It's not just a story though, in real life shitty things happen and sometimes you never do find out why.”

“And the next story, do we find out why?”

“Yes, but it in a way it's just as bad as not knowing.”

“I'm not sure if I want to know about it then,” I answered. To be honest listening about children committing murder was setting my nerves on edge.

“Well, you should probably know this one, since it's the most famous case of the three. Everyone knows about it and if you are the one person who doesn't then people will know you aren't from this kingdom. While it's not brought up in conversation most parents use the story as a cautionary tale for their young kids.”

“So I avoid children, problem solved.” If I was around a child at this point, a small part of me would be half expecting them to pull out a knife and stab me. Not logical I know, but still, these crimes had a ghost story effect on me.

“Did I mention that the crime happened in Yellow Springs about thirty years ago? It's still fresh in the local memories and you could run into people who actually witnessed the event.”

“It happened in Yellow Springs? Really?” There went the goosebumps, until this point everything had a 'this happened in a far-off place' feeling. You could remove yourself from the story. Know this next one happened in the town I was living in gave me the heebie-jeebies all over and I hadn't even heard the story yet.

“Two boys ages nine and ten. The younger one was a local boy born and raised here. The older one was from a family that moved here from the capital for the mother's health. They were neighbor's and became friends right away. Nothing seemed off to anyone, and if you ask people will tell you to this day they were both normal boys.

“About a year after the older boy moved here is when it happened. A three-year-old boy went missing from the marketplace. He had been with his mother one minute and gone the next. The entire town was looking for him for about two days. After the third day, another child told his parents about a hole in the wall. A hole that all the children knew about and would sneak through to go steal apples out of the orchards.

“Thinking that maybe the boy had gone through this hole the orchards were searched. Nothing was found. Some people would speculate that maybe a Red Wolf found him and took off with him.”

“ A Red Wolf? Do they come close to the wall like that?”

“Back then they did. We didn't have an established Guild here then. So the monster population was more unregulated. They don't come close now. They typically stay at least a few miles out.

“Anyway, after about a week the search died down. Without any clues or ideas, no one could really do anything. Some people still went out searching the fields, for a body this time, but still found nothing.

“After the second week past a woman who had been out early found him, or rather his body. He had been placed under a rose bush alongside the main road. The guards were called and the priests of Edomael.

“No one was surprised to find the body of the missing boy, but what they were surprised about was that he had only died within the last day or so. His body other than a head wound seemed fine. He didn't have any clothes on, and they suspected sexual assault, but that turned out to not be the case.

“They didn't have any clue as to what happened, or why someone would just keep him alive for two weeks then kill him. The case went unsolved.

“Three months after the first child disappeared a two-year-old who had been playing in his yard while his mother hung the laundry disappeared. After the first boy even more effort was placed into finding the child. This time no one gave up after a few days suspecting he was dead. By this point, everyone knew that the first child had been kept alive up until he was killed so even after three days had passed it was still possible to find the boy alive.

“However, after six days his body was found too. This time under a tree near the marketplace. Once again he was naked and had his head bashed in.

“When the body was found a lady who sold apples told the guard she remembered seeing two young boys pushing a gardening barrel down the road.

“The guard didn't even bother to write down the woman's statement since at this point they thought they might have some weird sort of pedophile on the lose and those were almost always men.

“Still the boys didn't show any signs of sexual assault. It was just guesswork that had the guard looking for a pedophile.

“The third boy was a bit older. He was five and when he was taken it wasn't from his mother like the other two. He had gone out to play with the other children. His mother had been very adamant about him staying with other kids. She didn't want him kidnapped like the other boys and thought that if the children were together her son would be fine.

“When asked the children of the area told the guards that he had been out playing with them. He even left with some older boys to go climb trees. When the guard questioned the boys one of them said that yes they had played with him, but then he left to go home when he couldn't climb as high as they could. The other boy said that they hadn't seen him at all that day. They didn't climb trees they were digging for worms in the garden to use for fishing bait.

“The guard knew this boy was lying to him, but why? He didn't have any reason to lie. Unable to get a straight answer the guard left the boy.

“The next day the body of the five-year-old was found. Head bashed in, naked, and found in the middle of some bushes. This time though the body looked to have been in a fight. He had bruises and cuts on his hands and knees.

“The woman who owned the house and the bushes told the guard that her dog started barking early that morning and as she got up to let him out she saw two boys pushing a garden barrel down the street. One of them was that new child that had moved here last year. Maybe those boys saw something?

“So the guard went back to talk to the boys. What he found were two children with scrapes and one had a swollen nose the other the beginnings of a nasty black eye. The guard asked if they had gotten into a fight. The younger one said no and the older one said yes. The guard told the boys they had been seen pushing the garden barrel that morning.

“Before the guard could continue the younger boy took off at a run. The older boy stood there a moment then started to cry. The guard who had four younger brothers knew immediately that they were fake tears and was about to tell the child off when the boy gave the craziest story he had heard.

“The younger boy killed all the children. He kept them in the garden shed in between the two houses. He kept them alive for a while telling them that they would be able to go home to their mothers soon and that they just had to wait a bit. Once he felt like he had tormented them enough he killed them by bashing their heads in with a large decorative garden stone. He then forced the older boy to help get rid of the bodies by threatening to kill him. He didn't want to die like the other boys.

“The guard asked him questions and midway through the boy forgot that he was supposed to be upset and began telling his story in a very matter of fact manner. He showed the guard the shed and even the stone, both showing recent signs of being splashed down with water. He was arrested, but up until this point, the crimes he had committed weren't executable. At most he'd be sent to live in the temples.

“When the guards found the younger child, he told a vastly different story. One in which the older boy had killed them. The younger boy didn't have anything to do with it. He wasn't there, he didn't know anything. He just knew the older boy killed them.

“So the younger boy was arrested and they were both taken to the Aequitas Temple to tell their stories in front of the Goddess statue. They had already had their status' checked and they both had the murderer status anomaly so they were both guilty, they just needed to figure out who was guilty of what. The head priest at the time asked her for a sign. For help in getting justice for three innocent boys and to figure out which of the two guilty children were lying. Her statue glowed and two pieces of red paper were there.”

“Is that something her statue does often? Make paper appear?”

“No, and it's not just regular paper. It's paper that is used only once per person and can detect when someone is lying. It's not often that she sends things like this to her followers, but it's not uncommon for her to do it either. She is the Goddess of Justice and if someone is lying in her temple she will know it.

“Anyway, the priest made the boys hold the paper and since they were still young and never learned about Aequitas' truth papers, they began to both tell the lies they had given the guard. The papers flashed blue.

“That's when the priest told them about what the papers were and how they worked. The boys tried to toss the papers away, but they stuck to their hands. They tried to rip them up, but the papers couldn't be torn.

“They sat there for three days telling lie after lie. Finally, the younger one broke down and told the truth. He did torment the children he told them they could go back to their mother's and laughed at them when they cried. Then when it was gardening day and his mother needed to used the shed, the older boy would kill the child. They would then dump the body in a place where everyone could see it.

“When asked how they got the children to go with them. The younger boy said the older boy would use his mother's sleeping medicine in some honey treats. The boys would lure the kids away with the promise of honey treats and when the child passed out from the drugged treats they would load the child up in the garden barrel and take him to the shed.

“They would strip the child and then tie him up with soft silk scarves. He'd be gagged and bound and when he woke up the child was told that he had been taken by the bad man and that if he wanted to see his mother again he had to listen to the older children. Only if he was silent was he allowed to eat. He defecated into a bucket that the boys would spread out on the gardens in the neighborhood.

“Once they were done playing with their victim the older boy would drug the child again and bash his head in with a rock.

“When asked what happened to the five-year-old. The younger boy said that the five-year-old fought them. He refused to cooperate and he at one point managed to get his hands free and tried to escape. That's when the older boy had to hold him down as the young one hit him over the head with the rock.”

“So they both participated in the kidnappings, they both tormented the children, they both committed murder, and they both acted to cover it up, but why did they do it?” I asked.

“The answer they gave when asked that question was because they had gotten bored and wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.”

“Budding psychopaths,” I shuddered a bit and tried to play it off as the cooling night air giving me chills.

“Probably, if it would have continued both of them probably would have gotten the Mental Corruption skill.”

“Considering they killed three kids I'm sort of surprised they didn't. Is the skill random like that?”

“All skills have a high degree of randomness. Mental Corruption has to deal with a state of mind though. You can be a serial killer and still be completely sane or you can be a lady who steals spoons and be completely insane. So yes, it is random.”

We both had our cards checked at the gate, even though it was obvious that the guard was familiar with Crue. Diligence at its finest I guess. Though I noticed that the other guard stood at attention after spotting Crue. Made me wonder if the guards were more 'on duty' when the Captain's brother was nearby.

The streets were filled with people leaving work and going home. There was some congestion due to the number of pushcarts and vendors stalls being packed away. There seemed to be a slight urgency in the air, everyone ready to be done with the day and get home to relax. You could hear mothers calling their children in for dinner. I was a pleasant scene, peaceful.

A pessimistic part of me was just waiting for the peace to be shattered. A drunken brawl, an argument over someone cheating on them, or maybe even the body of a dead child discovered. Even though the town was idyllic now, I had a feeling I'd end up with nightmares. There was a reason why I could never watch horror movies back home.

With some resignation, I accepted the fact that I would need the sleep aids tonight. Too much was happening all at once and on top of that giant killer bees and knife-wielding children? No, there was no way I would be sleeping tonight without help.

We turned the corner and since I had my head down and was contemplating my boots for traces of Ape dung, I ran right into someone coming the other way.

“Sorry,” I mumbled automatically as I glanced up hand flying up to steady myself against the wall of the building. “I wasn't paying attention.”

“No, no, it's fine. I wasn't either. Oh, Eri! Hello!” A short girl with curly brown hair and a blue dress apologized. It took me a second to recognize Illia. Her most distinctive feature was hidden by being flattened down by a bandanna and with her hair poofed up in a cloud of brown curls, it was hard to spot them. Even with her ears hidden she looked soft and fluffy.

“Oh, and Crue, how are you?” She asked before I could get out my greeting.

“I'm fine. You know Eri?” Crue responded back.

“We met at the library,” I finally responded.

“That's right and he even promised to take me out like you do when he gets more acquainted with being a Surveyor.” Illia beamed a smile at me. It took more willpower than I thought not to pat at her curly mane.

“Well, he's not there yet,” Crue smiled as well, but he had this odd look that made me think he was more than a little bit happy with the situation. “We just went out and while he does have the skills, he also has some gaps in his training that needs to be addressed. So I think we will start from the beginning and work our way from there.”

“The beginning? Will you have time to train someone who's at novice level?” She looked worried and when she frowned her nose crinkled up a bit.

“Dickson has given me some extra time for myself,” he frowned and sighed. “After what happened yesterday, all the stress and worry that had been building up for months...” He paused and left his thought unfinished. “Training the new Surveyor is a good excuse for me to take a partial break from the stresses of the temple.”

“Oh!” She seemed rather alarmed and she grabbed his arm in what looked more like fear than concern. “You're not going to be...healing anymore?” She paused in the middle of her question as if she had trouble finding the correct words.

“I'm still going to be taking my time out of my clinic hours. I'll still be able to see my regular clients with proper scheduling. Dickson should be sending out notices sometime tomorrow with the new arrangements.” He smiled at her. Wait, was she one of his patients?

“If there is an emergency Darcy will be able to handle it,” he continued reaching out his hand and stroking the top of her head. He only really touched the bandanna, but I was still feeling a niggling of jealousy. I had to keep reminding myself that we didn't have any sort of relationship. She was her own person and my feelings of wanting to monopolize her were my own issues.

I wasn't even sure what sort of relationship I was wanting with her yet. I didn't even really know her. I thought she was cute and had ambition. She could hate dogs or something equally horrible. I didn't know and needed to keep that in mind.

“I see that you have it under control. I'll try not to worry so much,” she patted his arm in a friendly way. “Where are you headed now? I was just going to grab dinner at Killigan's, would the two of you like to join me? I'd end up eating alone if you don't.” She smiled showing teeth.

“I know you have a book in that bag and you like to spend your dinners eating alone,” Crue teased her.

She laughed and nodded, “True, but that doesn't mean I don't like company sometimes. You want to come?”

“We were on our way to the temple so Eri can get cleaned up. He might smell fine out in the open like this, but once we get indoors you'll start to notice it,” he chuckled at Illia's puzzled look.

“Um, I didn't know that the Apes like to throw their...um,” I paused not wanting to say shit in front of her.

“Shit,” she threw back her head and laughed. “You got into deep shit!” I was a bit embarrassed, but at least she thought it was funny. She had a free laugh straight from the belly. Not one of those tee hee girls that thought dainty little squeaky laughs were cute.

Crue joined in when it seemed like one of them was going to stop they looked at each other and started to crack up again.

“You should have seen him,” Crue said between laughter. “Dancing around trying to avoid getting hit, but as he tried to dodge one, he was hit by two from behind. It was hard trying to stay focused on watching him when he was...” he broke down into a belly laugh.

I let it happen and took the embarrassment like a man. My Gran had told me that sometimes when people are laughing at you it's not because they are trying to make fun of you, but that they need an excuse to release tension. If they were laughing at me behind my back it would be another issue.

They found a comedic situation funny and weren't trying to be catty about it or make me feel bad. They were just releasing tension. So while it was a bit embarrassing for me, I could look at it and see that yes, my dancing around covered in shit was funny. I even managed to crack a slight smile. Heck, in a few years I'd probably find it just as hilarious as they did.

“The point is,” I interjected, “I need a bath.”

“Would you like to join us?” Crue asked her, “We can grab dinner after that.” Wait, was it normal to ask a lady to take a bath? The sections were separated, but still.

“That actually sounds nice. It's been a while since I've been to the Amoris baths. They have some of the best soaps. I should stock up while I'm there. Killigan's after that?”

“What is Killigan's?” I asked as we started to move in the direction of the temple as a group. We stayed mostly in a single file line because of the foot traffic and the carts, but when the street cleared a bit we were able to talk.

“It's a bar mostly, nothing noteworthy to speak of drink wise. Cheap ale and beer without any real merit to either. However, Killigan's wife and daughter are gems in the kitchen. They make an amazing beer bear stew,” Crue answered partially in front of me.

“I love the fried cheese. They dip it in batter and fry it. Perfect food to go with an ale,” Illia sort of half shouted over her shoulder in front of Crue.

“Fried cheese shouldn't even be counted as food,” Crue scolded, “Eat too much of that stuff and you'll start getting fat.”

“Says the guy who sneaks off every Friday morning to stand in line at the Square Baker just to get one of their giant cinnamon buns,” She countered.

They bickered about fatty foods the rest of the way to the temple. It was friendly like they had made the same points before and at this point they were just poking fun at each other.

We circumvented the line at the front door by going in a side entrance. Not that Crue would have had to stand in line, but it was nice not having to be hustled around those people thinking that you were line cutting.

Crue let me borrow more of his clothes since I hadn't thought to stop by the inn to see if my new ones had arrived yet. He offered clean clothes to Illia too, but she declined, saying her clothing wasn't as soiled as mine and she'd be fine changing back into them. I didn't fail to notice that she said this while trying to hold back another wave of laughter.

Crue corralled one of the children, a young boy that I'd seen working around the baths before. His name was Hoop and he smiled a toothy grin. His teeth had been stained red with presumably strawberries. Still, I think I had found the child that would appear in my nightmares tonight. With a promise of 7 coppers, he took my boots away to be wiped down, oiled, and polished.

We made plans to meet back at the desk in a half hour. It would give me enough time to thoroughly scrub and have time for a short soak. It was also just enough time for Hoop to finish my boots.

I certainly felt better after being able to really scrub my hair. I ended up washing it twice. I thought a third time might be excessive, but I still had the urge to do it. I compromised with myself by holding my breath and submerging my entire head in the bath. I scrubbed at the clean hair with both my hands while underwater, really working at rubbing my scalp. I knew my hair was clean, but I still did this a few more times until I noticed Crue trying not to crack up.

He did a good job holding it in. We weren't alone in the baths and him falling into another laughing fit would have made him look silly rather than me. It was mostly older men in the baths with us and they probably wouldn't appreciate their nice relaxing soak being interrupted by a priest having the giggles.

We toweled off and got dressed. We only had to wait for a few minutes before Illia came out. Her hair was still wet and she had it, and her ears, wrapped up in one of those towel turbans that girls seemed to know how to do from infancy. It was a special kind of female voodoo.

Interestingly, I finally noticed that she also had human ears under all that hair. They were small and delicate, smaller than a human women's ears. I wasn't an expert on women's ears. It's not something I would normally take notice of. It did seem that her ears were slightly smaller though.

So she technically had four ears. It didn't look odd like you might think. It looked normal. If one set was used for hearing like a human then did the other set also hear as well? Did they have better hearing? Did she process sounds with both sets of ears simultaneously? The biology behind it was sort of fascinating.

Her face was flushed from the heat and there was a slight sheen of moisture beading up on her face. She rubbed at her hair a bit, then undid the turban. A waterfall of ringlets and ears came tumbling out. The fur on her ears stood up in little spikes. She took the towel and ran it across each ear flattening the fur. She finger combed her curls a bit then left them alone to air dry.

Then using the towel she patted at the moisture on her face. When she was done she tossed the towel in a basket with a few other towels. I guess more than one patron had wandered out of the changing rooms still in need of their towels.

Just as she was finishing up Hoop came back with my boots. I praised him a great deal since they came back looking great. They even smelled like cedar for some reason. I paid him the promised amount and gave him a chocolate bar as a tip.

Illia was still finger-combing her hair while talking with Crue about the nice weather we had been having. She let Crue lead the way towards Killigan's. It was in a new area of town I hadn't been too yet.

Mostly residential, but the houses weren't nearly as nice as the ones in the center of town. These were more plain affairs with simple wooden beams, no glass windows, and fading whitewash. The yards were small, if they existed at all, with what space there was being used for vegetable gardens.

We passed an area with a large tree stump along the side of the road. Two men and a boy were gathered around it using the stump as a makeshift table to butcher a doe. The blood ran freely down the street and we had to go around the drainage to avoid stepping it. The two men were walking the boy through the fine art of butchering and skinning the doe. The kid was trying to cut through the skin, but needed a steadying hand from the man who I assumed was his father.

I could see the wall to the left as we passed by alleyways. We were only about three blocks away from it and from glancing down the allies the closer the houses got to the wall the more distressed they appeared. One house actually had a vagrant sleeping on their step. He or she, I couldn't really tell, was the first homeless person I'd seen since coming to this world.

We passed by that alley and turned a corner to the right so we were moving away from the wall. The distressed houses were replaced with two to three-story buildings. They were obviously rooms to rent. These had small windows but instead of glass, they had a thin transparent sheet of a light brown waxy looking material over each window. It wasn't wax paper, too thick for that, but I had no idea what it was.

There were grubby looking men going in and out of these buildings. Some of them looked like adventurers, the crude homemade looking armor made that obvious. Some of the men looked like they had been rolling around in water and dust. I couldn't guess what kind of occupation they had. Oddly, I didn't see any women near these buildings. Were these single men housing units? I guess working bachelors had to live somewhere.

A part of me was glad that I had rooms near the center of town. I was probably paying a lot more than these men, but at least I was in an area that had windows, lighting, and didn't have men of questionable hygiene as my neighbors. The ladies living at the Inn were always presented nicely and smelled pleasant. It was amazing what regular bathing did to a person's overall likability.

Crue paused in front of a nondescript wooden building that had a patch of sunflowers growing in the tiny patch of dirt it had by the door. There was a small window above the door that looked like it had been pushed out on its hinge and propped up with a stick. Then there were larger windows, but they were mostly just holes in the side of the building that had been covered up with green shutters. The shutters were currently open letting in what light and air they could into the building.

Crue opened the door and I followed him in. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust. It was still fairly light outside with the setting sun and walking into the dimly lit room made me blind for a second.

I could smell right away though. The unmistakable smell of beer was there, along with the slight smell of body odor. With the shutters open, neither scent was very overwhelming. I wouldn't want to be in here during the winter when they were closed though.

My eyes finally adjusted I noticed a large fireplace in the corner. It wasn't currently lit, but it was probably the primary source of heat in the winter. The interior was decorated in what I would call hunting lodge chic, dead animal heads on the walls, rough wooden tables and chairs, a stuffed bear in the corner. The bar was beautiful though. Hand carved ivy motif along the sides and lovingly polished to a shiny gloss. It was some sort of dark wood that really stood out among the rough boards of the rest of the furniture.

There was a bit of a crowd. Nothing like what I had seen at Marge's, but still decent. We found a table in the corner, next to the bear, and sat down. Crue waved at a large brunette girl who was about fifteen. She noticed and waved back that she'd be with us in a second.

She dropped off the six pints of whatever the table across the room was having and then made her way to us. Her hair was twisted up in some sort of knot, her nose was pinched, her face was slim and she was the first person I'd seen wearing a pair of large wooden framed glasses. Other people I had seen with glasses all had variations of metal frames. Her hair being up didn't soften her features any, but in a crowd like this perhaps downplaying her beauty was a calculated thing.

Because she really was lovely. She hid it well under large clothes and unflattering style. The glasses hid a lot. Her eyes were a honey brown. Her hair must have been long to have it pinned up in such a large knot, but even with the knot, I could tell that her hair was shiny and smooth. She had a natural blush to her cheeks that and a smattering of light freckles.

She was tall, very tall, and she was built like she'd been doing farming all her life. Sturdy, solid, but with curves just starting to form. She might have been the tallest person in the room, and the room was entirely made up of men, excepting Illia. She probably would even be taller than the ladies at Marge's Inn. She was at least a solid foot taller than me.

“Hello Illia,” the girl greeted her, “you've brought Crue and a new person today.” She smiled at me and leaned over the table to shake my hand. “My name is Holly, lovely to meet you.”

“My name is Eri. Nice to meet you too. I'm new in town and Illia and Crue decided to teach me where all the locals go. They praised this food highly,” I gripped her work-rough hand. Lord did she have a grip. I was thanking poker face at that moment since it prevented me from actually wincing.

“Oh, I hope you brought a big appetite, Momma found a nest of Ring Rabbits today. She's roasted the haunches and she made a stew out of the rest.”

I didn't know what a Ring Rabbit was. So while Crue told her about my being the new Surveyor and how he was training me, I looked it up.

*Ring Rabbit, a monster rabbit weighing at around 25 pounds. A Ring Rabbit is named for the banded rings that circle its fur. Fairly common in wooded areas. They are fast and can burrow underground. Their sharp incisors are dangerous if bitten.

The incisors and fur are collectible materials.~

“It will be nice having a full-time Surveyor,” Holly commented as Crue finished up his short introduction of me.

“I'm looking forward to learning from Crue,” I answered politely.

“You won't be when you hear about the training regimen I'm thinking up for you,” Crue smiled sickly sweet at me. Well, Shit.

“Is it beer stew, Holly?” Crue asked.

“Yes, Momma put some of Papa's Spring Ale into it. It's not as strong a flavor as you would get with a fall ale, but Ring Rabbit has a milder less gamy taste. I do recommend it. I made some barley and millet flatbread this afternoon that is served with it.”

“I had stew last night,” Crue muttered, “What is served with the legs?”

“The legs are roasted and so are the green beans and garlic. The garlic is used to make roasted garlic mashed potatoes which are served with the green beans and one rabbit haunch. Summer Ale seems to be preferred for the roasted haunch.”

“That sounds fine,” he nodded. “Summer Ale, please.”

“Um, Holly can I just get some fried cheese. Are the garlic and beans cooked separately from the rabbit?”

“Yes, the beans and garlic are cooked separately. We also have some leftover sweet potatoes and squash from yesterday that mom can fry up. Would you like that?”

“Yes, I'll have the cheese, beans, mashed potatoes, squash, and sweet potatoes with Spring Ale.”

Was Illia vegetarian? I guess it made sense that she wouldn't want to eat the rabbit. What she was getting sounded good, but I decided to try the rabbit. If Crue could eat it without offending her, so could I.

I too had been eating my share of stews and curries lately, so I debated. I wanted to try both of them. I finally decided on the stew. For no other reason than to irritate Crue when I stole bites of his food.

“Which season would you recommend for the stew?” I asked Holly.

“Spring is very mild, it has a slightly green taste,” she explained. How did something taste green? “Summer is sweeter and uses just a bit of honey and a hint of orange. It's more of a blend of mead and ale, but Papa insists that it be called Summer Ale. Fall is a mix of cider and ale. It is earthy and uses a lot of apples. Winter ale is cool. Papa uses a mix of different herbs to get the ale to have the taste of a slightly frozen stream.”

It didn't seem like any of the ales were simple ales. I thought Crue had said the beer and ales were simple. They didn't sound simple. It sounded like something Marge would come up with.

“Is it possible to try small glasses of each?”

“Papa loves is when people want to sample. He went out and had some cups made so that all four cups added up would equal a normal pint. He loves to pull them out and show them off. He'll be happy to hear you want to try them all.” With that Holly bustled away and told a man who just came back from the kitchen something. Behind his bushy beard, I could see a huge smile. Glad I was able to make someone happy today.

He was a mid-sized man, neither big nor small, not muscled, or lanky, just average in every way. Without the beard, he'd probably be very unremarkable. Holly definitely didn't get her looks from him. Well maybe the nose, but other than that she must take after her mother. It was sort of odd seeing her stand beside him. His own teenage daughter over a foot taller. Was Holly's mother some sort of giantess?

As she went back to the kitchen the man started pouring our drinks. He took great care with lining up four small cups on a wooden platter. Then he filled each one with one of the four large kegs he had behind the bar. Illia's and Crue's drinks got far less care. They were just filled and plopped down on the counter. Then he looked up and we made eye contact. His smile became even bigger as he picked up the wooden platter with one hand and brought it to me. With the other hand, he grabbed both Illia's and Crue's drinks, holding them by the handles and impressively not spilling a drop.

He placed the platter down in front of me and then placed the other two drinks.

“I'm Killigan!” The man boomed. For such an average man he had a huge voice. “You're new! I'm always happy when new people want to do a sample!” He placed his hand on the table and leaned in. “Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter!” He pointed to each cup from left to right.

“I had these cups custom made, special! They add up to one pint, exactly!” Wow, this guy was enthusiastic.

“Yes, Holly told me about the different seasons and I wanted to try them all. Don't want to get sloshed off four pints though.”

“YES!” He all but screamed and he thumped his hand lightly on the table. I did jump a little in my chair, but he didn't seem to notice. “That's what I told Hester! Man wants to try all the ale, but doesn't want an achy head in the morning! She thinks the cups are silly and a waste! A WASTE, she said!” He shook his head in amazed dejection at his wife's lack of understanding.

“I'm really looking forward to it.”

“Drink!” He smiled beamingly, “Let me know how you like it! I'll be back when you're done with your meal! I want to hear all about what you think! I'm also going to tell my wife she was wrong! HA! A WASTE indeed!” With that, he practically ran back into the kitchen. Probably to tell his wife he told her so.

“Well, he was certainly happy,” I commented. Picking up Spring and taking a sip. It tasted like a normal ale to me. I didn't catch any hints of green or anything. I sipped at it again thinking maybe I missed it, but nope no green.

“Killigan's enthusiasm is his charm point,” Illia chuckled. She reached into her bag that was by her feet under the table and pulled out her black metal glasses. Then she paused reaching into her bag again. “Silly me, habits.” She said as she replaced the book she had been about to pull out.

“You really spend too much time by yourself, Illia.” Crue chided her teasingly.

“I just prefer to be alone, but there are times when even I want to be around people. That doesn't mean I want to interact with them though. Books are a good excuse to be in a busy place, but not have to talk to anyone. I like reading so that's a bonus.”

“Have you tried working on your book in public?” She was an introvert type. I understood that since I was mostly an introvert as well. I didn't take books into public places to avoid talking to anyone, but I had been known to flee to other aisles in the grocery store to avoid making small talk with distant acquaintances.

“No,” she shook her head, “people are always coming up to me and asking me what I am working on, what it's about, if they can read it. I can't get anything done or get into the flow of things with people interrupting me.”

“So you don't like people?” I asked.

“Oh, I like people. I love when people come into the library and want to read in peace. I think a peaceful calming place is rather underrated by most people. So it bothers me when people break up that calm atmosphere.

“Despite this, I realize I can't hide away like a hermit. So I try and get out at least a few times a week and lightly socialize and read my books”

“You should be getting more exercise. Last time we went out hunting you got winded and tired far too quickly,” Crue commented. Sipping at his drink. “In fact...” He trailed off a bit thinking.

“What?” I asked when he wasn't quick enough with a continuation.

“I'm going to be putting you into a training regimen. It will involve getting up early doing some running and strength exercises. Followed by combat-related practice at the Guild.

“You also promised to help Illia gain more experience. I was thinking, if it's alright with both of you, that maybe Illia should join in on the training.”

“Really! That would be great. I have a hard time keeping to a strengthening workout by myself. It would be a great help if I had a buddy to work with. I'm still so weak when it comes to physical combat.”

“If you run every day you might get the Dedicated Runner title. We don't really have any proof, but Sturgis thinks the title might cause a slight bonus when it comes to agility distribution points. You'll find that with the title your agility will rise faster than if you just gained points dodging attacks. For this reason, both of us run at least four times a week in the morning.

“In order for you to get the title, you will have to start running every day. Once you get it we can go down to four times a week. That will give us more time to focus on combat, survival, and scout training.”

“So you want us to focus on our agility first? Me and Illia training together?” I asked. I was a bit worried. I didn't really want to be training with her if I was honest. I knew I wasn't in shape and no one actually looks good exercising. If you're doing it right you look like a hot mess. I didn't want her to see me like that.

“I think it's a great plan,” Illia seemed really pleased. “I really do need some help and since you are starting from the basics as well this will be a good chance for me to benefit from Crue taking some time off to train you. I wouldn't normally have this opportunity, so I'm going to take it.”

I'd never done any workout training before. The most physical activity I got was when I played ball in the park. My physical activity had dropped significantly since I started grad school. I was lucky if I made it out once a week. I had a feeling this was going to be bad, embarrassing, and painful, but it's not like I could be whiny about it in front of a girl who was so gung-ho to start.

I took a sip of Summer thinking about all the ways I could make a fool of myself. Summer tasted normal. It didn't really taste any different from Spring. Maybe a slightly sweeter taste? It was hard to tell. I switched back to Spring to be certain. Yup, it was just slightly sweeter. With a bad feeling, I tasted Fall.

Fall was more of the same, but after tasting Summer it felt like it was more bitter. Holly said it was made with apples. How did you get bitter out of apples? Was he using sour apples? Still, the change in flavor was so slight it was hard to tell the change.

Winter was different. The other three all seemed to be made with the same ale. Winter, there was something wrong with winter. Maybe he boiled pine needles in it? It reminded me of floor cleaner back home. I decided that Winter Ale was not going to be something I enjoyed. Still, I held my breath and downed it. Better to get it over with and I didn't want to hurt Killigan's feelings by leaving ale behind.

“Did you actually like Winter?” Crue asked in amazement as I downed it.

“God, no,” I exhaled trying to catch my breath. “I just wanted it over with.”

“Some people like Winter,” Illia pointed out.

“I don't think I've ever met anyone who did,” Crue said.

“I'm sure they exist or Killigan wouldn't keep making it.”

“He's stubborn,” Crue pointed out.

“The other three aren't so bad, but there isn't much of a difference between them,” I said.

“You can actually taste a difference? To most people, they are exactly the same.” Crue looked at me with a smile.

“Well, Spring doesn't taste very green or anything. It just tastes like a normal ale. Summer has a hint of sweet and Fall has a slight bitterness.” I picked up Summer and decided it was my favorite of the lot.

“He's right you know,” Illia said sipping at her own pint. “Most people wouldn't even notice a difference. We normally just ask what Holly recommends and as long as it's not Winter we go with that.”

“Winter is really bad, but oddly enough it's what Hester makes bear beer stew from. That is really good stuff. So I guess everything has its uses. Even ale that tastes like pine trees.” Crue started sipping on his pint.

“Now about your training, I think we should start as soon as possible. Sturgis and I used to get up early before all the vendors were out with their carts. Meet me at the temple at six. We will warm up and run for an hour. As you get used to it we can run longer. Then we will take it outside and we will do some cross country around the fields.”

Hell, I knew it was going to be bad. Running for an hour just to start? I was going to be a wreck.

“Then we will end up at the Guild where we will start basic hand to hand combat practice.”

“Not the sword?” I asked.

“No, you need to learn how to stand and move your body before you start swinging around a sharp pointy thing.”

Ok, that had some logic behind it. Learn to crawl before you could walk.

“Even I'm not as proficient at Martial Arts as I'd like to be. I can teach you the basics, but once you get to a certain point I might have to ask for help from someone in the Guild that specializes in it.”

“Are you thinking of asking Gunter? I think your stats should be better than his.” Illia questioned.

“He has a better understanding of hand to hand fighting than I do.”

“But your stats are better?” I asked.

“He's dedicated a vast majority of his training focusing on martial arts. So while he has a Martial Arts level high enough to be called an expert, most would consider his overall status underachieving,” Illia tried to explain.

“He's a fist fighting nut. Most adventurers try to be more even with their skills. Some might specialize in one thing like a certain type of magic...”

“That's me!” Illia piped up.

“Right,” Crue continued. “While some focus on a certain weapon or skill, most people, even if they specialize in magic, try to at least have some physical attributes to help them out in a bind.”

“Also me!”

“Yes, most adventurers have more than one skill they can use as a sort of a backup if their main skill just happened not to work against a monster, it helps them escape or fight.

“Gunter isn't like that. He's poured all his time into focusing purely on martial arts. To the detriment of the rest of his stats. He's a great martial artist, but he struggles in the Guild because he has very few other skills.

“He gets by in the Guild by teaching younger adventurers the basics of martial arts. He gets paid decently for it too. Once someone learns the skill they can usually level it up on their own and they stop paying Gunter to be taught.”

“But he has a small following of students who are trying to learn from him the secondary skills in martial arts,” Illia explained.

“So once I teach you the basics, I was going to ask Dunbar to cover Gunter's student costs for you. I might as well learn something too. I might be able to pick up something new. So I think I will join you in being a student. However, Illia, you might have to pay on your own. The Guild will cover me and Eri, but not you.”

“I think we should see how far I can get with the basic training before we talk about getting into the more complicated stuff. Gunter isn't my favorite person and if I can avoid him I will.”

“Why what's wrong with him?” Illia seemed so nice it was hard to picture her disliking anyone.

“He thinks he's Amoris' gift to the ladies. He's really cocky and thinks every girl in the Guild secretly is in love with him.”

“Really? I had noticed that his students were almost always male, but I hadn't heard why that was. Does he cause problems?” Crue asked her with concern.

“He's mostly harmless, keeps his hands to himself, never gets overly pushy, but it is rather annoying.”

“Well, I guess we will see how well you do. You should have some close range fighting training. However, I think you will do better with mid to long range attacks. How are you with a bow?”

“I haven't gained the skill yet and my bow is for a child. Back when I was a kid all the children practiced hunting rabbits.”

“So you are ok with hunting rabbits?” I asked curiously.

“Well, not really. Rabbits are different from rabbit monsters. There is a reason why I didn't do enough hunting to get the skill.”

“Can you explain that to me. I noticed you didn't order the rabbit. Are you vegetarian?”

“Well, I wouldn't consider myself vegetarian. I eat meat when I have too, but if I have a choice I prefer not to. There have been times when all I had to eat was what I was able to hunt. I'm more pragmatic to my approach to food.

“Rabbits, I've eaten them in the past, but I don't feel good about it. It's not considered cannibalistic among the rabbit Zyanthorpes. It still bothers me though, so I avoid it and would rather go hungry for short periods of time before eating one.

We are human in nearly every way. Our eating habits are the same as most humans. I guess you could say I am pickier than most in some ways, but I also know that you have to eat to survive. I'm just lucky to be currently living a lifestyle where I can afford to be so picky.”

“So other rabbit Zyanthorpes are fine with eating rabbits?”

“For the most part, at least within my tribe. I've heard that other tribes consider it taboo, but I've never actually met anyone from one of those tribes.”

“So when you go out fighting monsters you are ok with killing Ring Rabbits, but won't kill regular rabbits?”

“Monsters are monsters they have to be killed or we will be overrun. Normal rabbits aren't any danger to anything, save maybe a farmer's field. I prefer not to hunt them or any other normal animal.”

“I think I get it. Sorry for asking so many questions.”

“It's not a problem. I'd rather you ask. I sometimes get the 'look' like she's a rabbit of course she doesn't eat meat. However, that's not how most rabbit Zyanthorpes are. It feels like I'm spreading false information when people give me that look.”

“She's just an oddball bunny,” Crue teased her.

“Better than being a degenerate priest,” she quipped back.

“Ouch, you wound me, lady.” He clutched at his chest being as campy as he could be.

“Only because we both know you love being a degenerate.”

“True,” he laughed a bit then smiled. “Look here's Holly.”

Holly was leading her father out of the kitchen. They both were carrying plates of food on trays. Holly placed a few plates in front of Illia then in front of Crue. Killigan had my food. A large bowl of stew and a plate of flat brown looking bread. As Holly chatted with Crue and Illia, Killigan asked me the question I could just tell he'd been dying to ask.

“So! Have you tried them all! Which one do you like best! What do you think!”

“I really like Summer. It's sweeter than the others and I have a fondness for sweet things.”

“That would be the honey! It makes it sweeter.”

“Winter tastes sort of like winter greenery,” I wanted to get Winter out of the way next since I planned to follow up with compliments.

“Spring has a fresher taste,” It really didn't but it never hurt to lie in these situations.

“Fall was odd,” I frowned as if contemplating it thoroughly. “Did you use green apples? When Holly said you used apple I assumed they would be sweet red apples, but Fall has a slight bite to it that makes me think you used green.”

“Why, YES!” He almost seemed to bounce in place. “You can really taste the difference then! Some of my customers say they don't differ at all!”

Oh, so he was aware of the problem.

“I wouldn't say there was no difference just that it is subtle. I'm glad I was able to try all of them at once so I could really taste the difference.”

“That's WONDERFUL!” He banged his hand down on the table and looked about to continue the conversation when Holly stopped him.

“The butcher boys need refills, Papa. Let our new friend eat his dinner before it goes cold.”

“YES! Yes, dear, you are right of course!” With a wave, he practically hopped back to the bar.

Crue and Illia had already begun to eat their food. Crue was cutting pieces off a leg almost the same size as his plate. The green beans and mashed potatoes had to be put on a separate smaller plate. The leg was roasted golden and crispy, but as he cut I could see juices flowing out. It looked amazing.

Illia was pulling apart melted cheese and dipping it into something that looked like green mayonnaise. I wondered what it was. She seemed to be enjoying it and was alternating dipping the vegetables and the cheese.

My stew looked like a brown mess but smelled amazing. There were potatoes, carrots, onions, and tomatoes in it that I could see. The sauce was thick and glossy. There was probably a lot of fat from the rabbit in the stew. I took a piece of flatbread. It looked something like naan but had more whole grains in it.

I dipped a corner of the bread into the stew scooping up some of the sauce. After blowing on it, I took a bite. The beer flavor was there, but instead of being overpowering it actually highlighted the flavor. There was a tang to it that was really remarkable. This was food that rivaled Marge's.

I now knew why Crue and Illia liked this place. The clientele was rough, the ale was only slightly better than average, but the food was great. If I kept eating good food like this all the time I would get spoiled.

I scooped up a bite of the meat. I'd only had rabbit once as a kid. A friend of mine had a dad who hunted. It had been so long ago I'd forgotten the taste. I did recall that it had been greasy though.

The Ring Rabbit meat wasn't anything like chicken. I would say it was closer to pork roast. Not like bacon, but like the pork you would find in pork chops. It might have something to do with the cuts of meat used in the stew. Did rabbits have dark and light meat?

I probably could have looked it up, but decided that it didn't really matter. I was enjoying the food.

I stole a bite of Crue's while he was distracted spearing green beans. He put up a mild protest but allowed me to pilfer some.

His was just as good as mine, roasted with something that gave it a smokey flavor. While I was contemplating this, he scooped up a piece of meat out of my stew. I didn't protest, fair was fair.

“You both have terrible manners,” Illia laughed at our antics.

“That cheese looks good,” I commented.

“Nooo,” she said and guarded her cheese with a bent arm. I playfully poked at her but didn't take any of it. We were all laughing by the end of the meal.

We enjoyed our dinner and promised to meet at the temple bright and early.

Name- Eri Veritas

HP 2500/2500

MP 64/64

Level- 11

Age- 18

Race/Species- (Human) Unknown

Gender- (Male) Unknown

Occupation- Surveyor of Adventurers Guild

Exp- 3360

Physical Power- 220

Stamina- 278

Defense- 348

Agility- 489

Intelligence- 92

Magic Power- 8

Metal Rain Lv 1

Healing Hands Lv 1

Paralysis Resistance Lv 3

Mind Magic Resistance Lv 1

Skills

Staff Fighting Lv 2

Basic Sword Lv 2

Skull Bashing Lv 2

Martial Arts Lv 2

Spear Lv 1

Stalking Lv 1

Jumping Lv 1

Running Lv 2

Cooking Lv 1

Pain Tolerance Lv 3

Deception Lv 2

Poker Face Lv 1

Etiquette Lv 3

Leather Work Lv 1

Metal Work Lv 1

Rock Throwing

Dancing

Singing

Harvesting

Empathy

Telekinesis

Small Talk

Discretion

Party Tricks

Restraint

Alcohol Tolerance

Monster Biology

Entomology

Zoology

Dismantling

Appraisal

Special Skills

Abyss Walker

Racial Ability-

Hidden Among the Masses- 20

Stealth- 95

Party- 10

Items Equip

Inventory Bracelet

Succuba Star

Gold- 0g 7s 95c (795c)

Blessing 1- All Map Exploration

Blessing 2- Exp Points Required by Level Up / Current Level

Blessing 3-Exp Increase X Current Level

Blessing 4- Item- Gamer Glasses

Titles- Emissary of Amoris

Devotee of Amoris

Oracle of Amoris

Prince of Dreams

Grateful Petitioner

Lover of Leaves

Enemy of Apes