“So what do you think of the kids now?” Clain purposely asked his former mentor.

“They may be the best group yet. Each one has a good handle of their own abilities and are open to learning. All they need is more experience and a bit of luck, and before long, they might make a name for themselves.” Geren gave his former party mate and apprentice his honest opinion.

“Well I was a bit lucky with this group as my classes had risen in demand and it had oddly turned into a kind of contest for the best or the worst to want to be under my care. Tiring it all was, truth be told. But the pay steady pay did make up for that.” Clain thought of his older parents now living with a close relative back in Rothram. They were hands helping in managing the servants under a lesser noble which was a minor administrator of the royal city. Not a difficult job and was quite free of the usual pressures of working with the nobility.

“Now why the change of heart in living the safe and boring life? Are they still on about wanting to see grandkids?” He hit the point on the head as Clain responded in a defeated sigh. “Oh! None of the throngs of ladies caught your fancy back home? Hmm..? ”

“You act like you don't even know. Things haven't really panned out with the girls I managed to get close to and I don't want to settle for one that is plainly submissive or overly dominant, and you know that.” Clain responded as Geren remembered his young friend's history with women.

There was one that was a fellow adventurer that also became an instructor, she and Clain were quite close but had married some time after Clain was sent on a long quest due to becoming pregnant. Another was also a year-younger adventure that he loved more than a sister and Clain treated her dearly but he was simply an ‘older brother’ in her eyes. She continued the adventuring lifestyle though focusing mainly in scouting the boarders and collecting materials from the wilderness as being directly employed by the state-apothecary. The most recent hopeful prospect was a nice lady just his age and part of the instructorship. She was nice and proper and worked quite well and she and Clain saw eye to eye in many things though Clain had to give her up as he respected her drive to advance up in administration which made it hard for him to pull her from her ambitions while giving up his. Sure he could work like a guard or continue as an instructor or even as a fellow administrator but that was never the life for him, Clain had always preferred and excelled working hand in hand with people rather than from a desk or by proxy.

“Fine. Fine. That's enough of that. I wish you the best my friend in your personal quest.” Geren half encouragingly half chidingly retorted before following up with a question. “So where do you plan on finding such a lady love?”

The young man straightened upon hearing the question. “I recieved a letter from a friend of an opening in the Academy in Trask and i would just see how it goes from there.”

“Oh. Sly dog you. I know that friend was a past lady friend of yours isn't she? So would that be her you wish to follow up on then?” Geren illiciting a vigorous disapproving shake of the head before a receiving a response.

“It isn't like that!” Clain realizing the volume of his reply before repeating. “It isn't like that. Yes I do still love her but it is now as a brother does a younger sister. I want to work with her and have a change of pace and maybe find some luck with ladies of a different ethnicity, maybe.” He was lightly blushing from his honest declaration.

“I see. I see.” Geren wiping a tear from his stiffled laughter. “That is fine my friend. What better place to have a fated encounter of the multi-racial kind than in the Free City of Trask? There's no shame in that.”

The remark referring to the equal treatment of all races and creeds in the Free City which was a strength and characteristic it was known for in the continent. The Rothram Kingdom was also considerably open to the other races, especially in the capital but the overwhelming majority of the nobility and the a large minority of the Faiths followed by the people were in favor of human-centric perspectives. As part of its past was about the bitter struggle of fending off the monsters and the wild by their own hands as the country was founding itself half a millenia ago and now freed from the shackles of bondage that was inflicted unto humans by the Uruk, Naga and even Elven races of the continent to the Far East.

The pair just sat in silence after that until it was time to wake the next ones for the watch. This series of nightly watches they did several more times in the following couple of weeks as they finally reached the edge of the Deep Green.

Their caravan was welcomed by one of Trask’s forward watchposts/foraging camps. The camp itself was a simple thing with a wooden palisade encircling its three main structures, a barracks with an armory, a long hall, kicthen and larder building, and a stable with a smithy attached to it. All three structures’ free space was temporarily filled with any kind of materials they gathered before being taken to the city with the rotation of guards. Three sturdy watch towers overviewing the perimeter had a clear line of sight on the road to their front which had been cleared up to 300 meters from the walls beneath the towers.

The approach was nice and flat compared to the varyingly leveled, but fairly travesibly, roads within the Deep Green. The entry gate was on the southern side of the circular wooden fortifaction breaking the practically straight east to west road. The turn functioned as a way to slow traffic and force any would be attackers as a dried, Rocky deep riverbed, which occasionally filled whenever heavy rains came, cut through the road facing side of fort.

The fort also served as a preliminary inspection point as it held half the seal needed for entry to the city as other half was at Trask’s city gates. The seal was kind of runic circuit which was a kind of easily placed mark unto any surface but usually placed on back of a person's hand and or on a chest or mount. It would last for barely half day before fading away. But once it was connected to its other half it would produce a miniscule light mote barely bright enough to be seen in daylight.

Once all of them had been inspected and marked, they exited the western gate and Trask could be seen at a distance, though barely. The fields between the were made in a step like pattern and the bottom most point of the city walls were in line with the top most of the watchtowers as Trask itself had been built on a raised area of ground. This eventual incline served as an advantageous defensive measure many times before, though not of times of war, as every so often deranged mana-twisted beasts would flood out from the green in search of prey or for reasons of migration. The later was an annual affair that is revered and respected by the people of the city, while the former was spread every few years and treated as serious matter of safety and security.

Simply put, Trask has never experienced war before but is as well defended, if not better than all other Capitals there are, or so the story goes. Also, it helps to be deep within the Deep Green which constricts the movements of large forces and serves as a good fence which keeps malicious neighbors out and a fierce neutrality and more than willing giver of aide to those lost in the depths of the forests which maintains friendly relations all around.

“Grindstone!” Clain called to attention his party which was already lined up waiting for entrance into the city. “Once we all enter the city we will receive our pay from the Merchants. After that we shall report to the city's Freelancers Guild. Any questions?”

“Are we free after that Sir Clain?” Lainey asked the question all the fresh graduates had on their faces.

“Not yet. It's already getting dark and though I trust all of you, but finding lodgings come first and secondly, you need to know more about the cities rules and customs before going out exploring.” the students were slightly disappointed but accepted the reasoning. “Norman I leave this to you.” Clain handed the strapping lad a piece of paper with a map with arrows, a mark, a name and a doodle of a pig with a pointy hat.

“Yes sir.” Norman replied and turned to face his comrades and proceeded to guide them using the directions on the paper. They made their way through the city center and towards the southeastern quarter of the city and halfway down the south road they found the “Boar Magus” or sometimes referred to as “Pork Mystics, Bacon Sorcerers, Pork Magic, Magical Piggies and the like.”

The playful and comedic names were given to the best pork cook in the city. It had a long-standing reputation which already passed a decade in the beginning of the year and was frequented by poor and wealthy alike. A fairly large structure which can seat a hundred on its ground floor and a little over half that in bunk type rooms on the floor above, each room able to hold up to 8 people. One such room was promptly taken by the members of Grindstone.

The room was fairly simple with solid walls and four bunks, a bed on top of another, which where two on either side and two bunks deep. It had a just enough space for an aisle in the middle just as much as the with of a bunk bunk. Each bed was also long and wide enough that one of average human stature could comfortably lay upon or two more slender beings or a larger troll or orc could cram into. The door opened inward without hitting any of the bunks and one closed had a generous number of pegs in the wall to hang things from and a writing desk with a candle holder in one corner.

The six took their own places, Orna was above Lainey, Cedric over Norman and Elharin over Brent. They unfurled their bed rolls over thin layer of straw-filled cushions and place their packs on the foot of each bunk by the aisle. Their weapons set to hang from strap on pegs but each had a dagger or knife tucked below their pillow as they feet were closer to the door. The bunk on othe left, when one entered the room was the first one visible, was left vacant for their leader and former instructor.

Clain entered shortly after they group had settled into the room“Let's get something to eat. I have a statement to make afterwards.” he then led them back down towards a vacant table he had reserved before coming up.

Two servers came and went in quick succession, placing a heap of three different dishes. One dish was a generous chop of pork from the hip to knuckles that had strange texture to its skin and covered in a dark brown, almost black colored sauce. Another dish was a whole side of ribs covered in an orange-brown sauce and had a helping of cubed, potatoes and carrots. The last one was a large bowl of piping hot soup with almost translucent bits of meat a few slices of peppers and finely sliced leaves of cabbage.

“I know none of you are against a good dish of pork and these are some we don't have back home in Rothram, so eat up.” Clain told his young charges as a server let down a single serving of rice and a small bowl of meat bits cooked on skewers and covered in a light brown sauce. His former students looked at his dish before turning back to the large servings before of them. “Mind your own food, this is just their own recipe on skewers and you'll get to have them once you finish the ones already in front of you.” Then another server placed a heaping mound of rice for the six others.

Clain had been to Trask three times already and this was the fourth and on all those occasions, he stayed at “Boar Magus ” he was already considered a regular and familiar to a few of the patrons and all of the staff. The cook was especially friendly with him as Clain had taught her the rune writing which she had inspired him to name “Rune Charges”. They developed the use of the technique both for food preparation and general maintianance by using heat, wind, water type spells.

The experience allowed Clain to push the casting technique to more practical uses in both combat and non-combat roles. Just a few examples to their applications, aside from the obvious fire starting and light giving, were keeping a pot of food or water warm even bringing it to a boil, heating a plated dish, pulling water from wet laundry, drying it with a combination of wind and heat, even cleaning by holding an orb of water to a surcafe giving it a wipe or scrub and pulling the moisture and dirt back into an orb. The cook and landlady was one of three that were taught the technique, another was her husband which serves as assistant cook and room maitainance, and the last was their eldest daughter, the head server.

The six had looks of surprise and satisfaction at the experience of consuming the dishes. Rice was a rarer thing in Rothram as wheat was more dominant in their area. The meat itself was refreshing as compared to the usual salted, smoked, stewed, roasted and the like. The whole leg gave them a pleasant shock with the a light crisp and crunch of the sauce-soaked skin. The thick, almost black liquid was a mixture of faint sour, light sweetness, and a savory flavor. The ribs were more on the savory side with some measure of heat to it which was balanced by some earthy spice. The soup had a salty and sour tinge to it which was infused with the essence of the meat which was almost like a soft jelly. All the flavors were quite strong compared to most dishes they were used to but the rice balanced it out and made it a filling meal as they all cleaned their plates including those which held the large servings.

“It's good to see you all found it to your liking. ” Clain said as he gazed on the content and full expressions.

The blonde fencer managing to give a reply, “This is the first time I have experienced these kinds flavors Sir.” and then letting out a small burp which got the group to let out a few chuckles at Lainey’s expense.

After the short round of laughter, “Which food shall we try next Sir?” The clean-shaven and well-built young man asked iliciting another round of laughter.

“Cedric. Lad. Don't worry there is time for that tomorrow.” Clain replied before saying, “Now we move on to a more proper topic.” The merry expressions straightened. “In the morning, we all report to the guild and for the rest of the day see more of the city. The caravan will return to the Kingdom's Capital in a week's time starting tomorrow and all of you are to follow Grant's directions on the way back and you will have a former student of mine to join you and round the group out.”

Thoughts of confusion broke their disciplined expressions, as each silently asked the question, “Why?” though holding back seeing as it would be answered shortly.

“Seems like you all want to hear my reasons, very well. As all of you remember, you are the last batch I had under the novice program for the guild before my return to active questing.” Clain measured their subdued reactions before adding. “It will be for a while, but I will be staying here in Trask for the foreseeable future, both as an adventurer and as an apprentice in the Academy here. So if any of you are in the area after this, then simply post for me at the guild.

They haven't been together for too long but his former students shared a ‘thankful farewell’ with them as they set of back to Rothram by the end of the week.