Chapter 6

After Greg managed to rein in his amusement he patted me on the back in some sort of camaraderie. I honestly didn't know how to feel about the man’s attitude. Sure it was great that I was getting along with one of, basically, my new co-workers. On the other hand, the funny looks he was sending me were pissing me off.

Greg opened the door to the barracks. My sleeping quarters for the foreseeable future it seems. It was basically a huge room with rows of bunk beds covering all the sides. There were probably a hundred here, give or take.

Greg pointed at some of the beds by the corner. “Pick any of those you like. We have a lot of spare ones. Just lay some of your stuff near it so people know it’s occupied.”

Lay some of my stuff? I didn’t have any stuff...

“Right. Hey Greg I know the captain said to meet him at 6 A.M., but how would I do this?”

“...what do you mean how? You just go to him.” Greg looked at me as if I was an idiot. He had already taken off his armor and was laying on a nearby bed.

“No, I mean how do I wake up in time? How do I tell the time?”

“Oh that, don’t worry, the keep’s bell rings at exactly 6 A.M. Other than that, don’t you have a watch?”

“Of course there would be watches here… No, I don’t have one actually.”

“*yawn*Just ask for one tomorrow then.”

“Who do I- and he passed out, great.” Watching Greg snoring away in blissfulness, I decided I’ll figure something out tomorrow. For now, I took off my boots and my shirt. I let the sword rest near the bed. Even with the summer weather, it was still a bit chilly at night. Thankfully there was a blanket on the bed which I made use of to convert myself into a cocoon.

God, this day was wild. First I wake up with no memory of who I am in a forest with a note that tells me I’m now in another world. Then I met a bloody, boss-level dragon and stared death right in the face. After that, I ask someone to marry me out of the fricking blue. Then came the Gorillasaurus, and what an anxiety-inducing event that was.

Then there was the whole Jerry debacle. The less said about that the better…

Do I even qualify as a beginner adventure anymore? Heck, I bet none of them go in a year through half the stuff I did in a day.

Fortunately, I didn’t spend long rummaging through these thoughts before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness took me.

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“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

My eyes snapped open. “Greg...”

I heard a resigned sigh and the shuffling of sheets coming from a little distance away. “...yeah?

“What in the bloody hell is that?” I asked with the most monotone voice I ever heard myself speak.

“It’s the keep’s bell...”

““...””

“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

“Is the keep’s bell supposed to scream the actual words ‘Bing’ and ‘Bong’?”

““...””

“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

“...we like to keep things interesting here at Pinereach keep.”

“God damn it, Greg! What is that!?” I got up and looked at him.

Greg was standing straight as a plank with his arms by his sides and outside the blanket. His head was still on the pillow, but I saw enough of his face to make out an expression that was something between despair and acceptance.

“It really is the keep’s bell. Some months ago it broke and we didn’t have the budget to buy another one. So the captain hired a passing mage to fix it.”

I gave a sigh and started dressing. “Let me guess, he screwed up.”

“The sad thing is it works perfectly with the exception of… you know…”

“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

“Yeah, I know. Honestly, this was not how I expected this day would start.”

“Tell me about it. When we heard it the first time we thought it was an enemy attack.”

“Why didn’t that mage fix it? Or at least make it stop?”

“The guy was messing around with a sword when the bell rang. Long story short, he was startled and stabbed himself.”

“What? What was a mage doing with a sword in the first palace? And is he dead?”

Greg got up, apparently giving up on any chance of sleeping more, and began putting on his armor. I was ready to leave by this point, but I wanted to hear the rest of the story.

“He was inspired by the bell and wanted to see if he could make the sword tell time when swung.”

“...that’s so many degrees of stupid I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it.”

“Yep. He’s not dead though. The guy teleported himself to a hospital from what I heard. Never came back to fix the bell, unfortunately.”

“Bing!”

“BONG!!”

“Anyway, I have some stuff to do. I’ll be seeing you around Regi.”

With that he left and wandered down the corridor. I put the bell out of my mind, grabbed my sword, and left as well. Again I was thinking that I should really find a scabbard for this thing. I’m surprised no one said anything about me just carrying around an unsheathed sword all this time.

Well, most people here were knights with years of military service and training. I don’t think something as simple as me carrying around a sword is even a little threatening to them. Still, it was really uncomfortable having to carry it in my hand all the time.

Does Pinereach have a quartermaster? I feel like they should, maybe he was the one I’ll have to ask about the sheath and even the watch. Maybe I can get my hands on some chainmail too if I’m lucky.

The walk to the captain’s office was a peaceful one. The sun’s rays shone softly through the windows, the temperature was a pleasant cold and the sound of activity could be heard coming from everywhere.