In the morning, I got up before everyone else. Cleto and Garlon were still asleep. I thought it was dangerous to go out into the yard because I had no way of knowing how the guarddogs would react to seeing me without the presence of the old man. I needed to ingratiate myself with the authorities in the residence, therefore, I picked up a rag and a broom, finished cleaning the living room, and then moved to the corridor and continued to work.

It was nine in the morning when the shuffling steps of the old man accompanying the thumpingsound of his cane rang out on the second floor.

"Oh, well done!" Cletosaid as he came down the stairs and sawhow hard I was rubbing one of the numerous walls. "Why didn't you change the water?" He glanced at the dirty liquid in the bucket.

"Because of the dogs. I don't want them to attack me," I honestly stated the reason. "I'm afraid of them."

"Eh, my memory is gettingworse and worse," the old man shook his head sadly, "I forgot to tell you yesterday that they pose nodanger toyou now. Unless, of course, you try to leave the territory of the manor. So, do what you want in the yard."

"Then I'll go for the water," Iput down the rag, and took the handle of the bucket.

"Yes, hurry up. We'reheadingto town soon. I'll need to give you your assignments for the time we're gone."

"Maybe you need my help on the road? I can carry your things and purchases." I decided to take achance and get into the town. "You won't be able to lift heavy things, and the master'sunlikely to do this. What if someone attacks you on the way? I am very handy withanax as I used to go hunting with my father in my native village." I lied shamelessly.

"I don't know…" the old man spoke thoughtfully. "I'll think it over at breakfast. Don't go to the second floor, continue to clean down here. The master's still sleeping." With those words, Cleto headed towards the kitchen.

An hour later, Garlon got up. Dressed in a bathrobe, he silently went down to the first floor, threw me a sidelong glance and went towards the kitchen, where the old man had already begun to cook something.

"Have you seen our new worker?" The voice of the old man rang out.

"Yeah. So-so, to be honest," the headman answered. "He's too thin as if he has come from a poor house. That means he eats too much."

As for food, listening to the quiet rumbling of mystomach, I really wouldn't refuse breakfast.

"Don't judge him by his appearance," Cleto replied. "He's better than many other workers we've had. He'sas hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve! And besides, he's not lazy!"

"Really?" Garlon asked briefly, then smacking sounds were heard, he apparently ate the meal the manager had cookedwith great pleasure. The headman continued, "If you are so sure of him, can we take him to town with us today? There's no guarantee we'll find suitable workers in the town first-time around, but we have a lot of things to carry."

"Why not?" Cleto spoke thoughtfully. "I think this is the smartest idea you've had for the last month."

"Not the only one," Garlo retorted with a fullmouth. "One more thing, put a collar on one of your dogs and on …"

"I know!" The old man interrupted the headman. "We'll take Cher and Mika with us, Liv and Nata will remain on guard. They aren't dogs, I have already told you a hundred times, they are called Huo-kaur. It's an orcishhybridof half-orchalf-dog."

Now I knew what those creatureswere,though it was quite useless information. I still couldn't figure out what they were capable of.

"Even if they're goblins'," the headman murmured. "Dogs are dogs."

"Have it your way," Cleto said. "I'll take the food to our employee,and then I'm going to Nyarken for the cart. Get a change of clothes after you finish breakfast."

"OK, OK. Come on."

Cleto came out of the kitchen, and I began to rub the floor with even greater diligence, pretending to work and not eavesdropping.

"So, Kraven, you can rest for a couple of minutes," he put a large plate of fresh hot soup and a big piece of bread on the nearest table. "I decided you're coming with us. After breakfast, choose an ax of a suitable size. By the way, do you know how to use a bow or a crossbow?"

"Nope," I shook my head.

"Oh, I was hopingyou did," the old man sighed in disappointment. "Then I'll take an extra crossbow and try to teach you how to shoot. It'snot toocomplicated. After all, sometimes a sharp bolt ismore important in a battle than a good blade and skill."

Iwasn'treally against it. Honestly, I didn't care much about crossbows or bows at all, butthe skill could turn out to be useful.Every now and again, I was surprised by how strange and interesting the old man was, first his strange dogs, nowcrossbows.

"When you hear noise in the yard, you'll know to get ready for the journey,"the manager warned me. "I'm going for the cart."

The old man returned pretty quickly. I only managed to eat the soup and find a small but strong and sharpax from the back room when the neighing of horses and the creak of wooden wheels sounded from the yard.

"What are you waiting for?" The headman complainedfrom behind me when I stopped at the doorstep before leaving the house, wondering if I had taken everything I needed.

Garlon lightly pushed me on the shoulder and I, cursing him mentally, walkedover to the covered cart or wagon, to be precise. The headman himself sat on the bench next to the old man who held the reins. I movedthe coarse clothto the sideand climbed onto the wagon. I almost tripped over one of the crossbows lying on the floor when I saw two cageswith the Huo-kaurinside. That name was difficult to pronounce. They didn't even bother to notice me. Their sad and disgruntled faces restedon their paws; their eyes were covered. I wasn't eager to travel near them.

"Be careful there!" Cleto shouted. "Don't break anything!"

The cart started moving slowlyand I, trying to stay away from the cages, sat down onthe side through which I climbed inside. I pulled the corner of the fabric open and looked at the street. It was more interesting than staring at those creatures or studying the wagonfrom the inside.

"Don't disturb the dogs," the old man spokeagain after a while.

That was doubtful.

"As we drive out on the road, I'll let them go for a walk." The headman informedme.

Delightful. I was overjoyed with the prospect. Absolutely wonderful.

As soon as our wagonleft the village and was about half a mile away, Cleto stopped and asked me to comeoutside, what I was happy to do.

The old man climbed inside the wagon, fiddled there for a while, talked to the dogs, and then, pleased, leaned out of the wagon and handed me one of the crossbows.

"Cher, Mika, forward!" Both dogs flewover the board and spun around us, as if they had been locked in the cages for all their lives.

A wide leather collar with short spikes was put on the neck of each of the dogs. When the old man, rather quickly for his age and limpness, jumped off the wagon, he was holding short leashes made of a thick chain. By the way, that very awkward canehe usedhad disappeared. I never saw it again.

"Let's get out of the road, I'll show you how to use a crossbow," the old man nodded towardsthe wood nearby.

Cleto offered to use a tall stump ofa broken tree as a targetthat reached to my chest.

"Look," the manager began to explain, taking thecrossbow from my hands. "Pull the string with this mechanism, then put a bolt here, aim and press the trigger."

I heard a twang and the bolt thrust into the stump.

"I'll show it to you one more time," Cleto repeated the steps again. "Got it? Try to hit the target."

It looked like it was nothing difficult. I aimed, pulled the trigger and... the bolt flew higher than the stump somewhere into the woods.

I hoped I didn't hurt anything. Neither abear nor awolf or any another animal would be very happy about it.

Cleto shook his head in amazement, marveling at my inability to handle what he believed to be a simple weapon.

He handed me a new bolt, "Load it. Just don't point it in my direction. Imight be old, but I still want to live."

that the whole time I was learning to shoot and load a crossbow, the headman was sitting on thebench in the front part of the cart.

I noticed a couple of times after abolt flew away in an unknown direction, that he was murmuring something to himself.Apparently,Garlon had deducted the loss of ammunition from my salary.

"In general, it's not bad," the old man smiled satisfied when I lost five out of ten bolts.Two didn't reach the target, plunging into the ground somewhere halfway through, and three hit the target. "We'll make one more stop and practice again."

We went back to the wagon and continued on our journey.

The dogs were leftto run alongside, moving away and approaching the cart periodically. The old man whistled some merry tune as I watchedour surroundings and the clouds of dust that rose after us.

Then another stop followed, and Cleto's lesson on handling a crossbow continued. I had improved my new skill. I actually managed to hit the target five times.

The system had offered me to learn the skill 'Crossbow'. Of course, I agreed without hesitating.

We encountered only a few other travelers on our way to the city. We saw somehorse guards and a caravan of three carts and numerous guards. As far as I could gather, they were heading to the monastery.

Tallwooden gates and part of astone wall appeared in the distance, beyond the forest. It was a city; the only city on the whole island.

Of course, it wasn't as big as the cities on the mainland, but thatwas understandable because far fewer people lived on Harith-Hodor. In addition, they weremostly human, mainly from the kingdom of Nazhar. I didn't know the situation with the players, but according to Master Zorkhan, there were few immortals. Although, considering how I looked at that moment, hardly anyof them would have paid attention to me.

Hefty strong guards were standing at the gate. They examined our appearance carefully once our wagonapproached.

"We cannot let you go inside with these…" one of the guards thought for a moment, "...dogs without a leash. Either put a leash on them or drive them in your wagon."

I was glad to see I was not the only one who was unsettled by their creepy appearance.

"Very well," Cleto nodded in agreement and, coming down from the cart, called Cher and Mika to fasten the leashes to their collars. "Kraven, come here!" The old man called me over. "Take the leashes!"

I could only imagine the expression on my face."Don't worry, I told you that they won't touch you now," the manager said, noting my displeasure. "Hold tight, they're certainly obedient, but you never know…" The last phrase made me cringe.

Garlon paid thefee for entering the city on a wagonand parked it ina special shed, then he gave a few coins to the groom. He had to unhitch the horses, feed and water them in our absence.

Aswe walked on, the headman and the manager went ahead, and I followed behind them, holding two wilddogs with red eyes on a leash.

Fadlas was different from all the cities I had been to. It was majestic and beautiful. It charmed with its elegance and style. The elongated arches, favored by dark elves, were in perfect harmony with the statues of mythical creatures, which were undoubtedly crafted by gnomes. Buildings with reliefs ofpeople and orcs perfectly complemented the general view, fitting into the overall architecture of the city surprisingly well.

I had afeeling that all the races inhabiting the world of Noriacontributed to buildingFadlas in the olden days!

"Keep up, Kraven," Cleto called out to me as I stopped to stare at another marvelous structure.

First, the old man led us to a large three-story house, a flag with crossed swords hoistedon its roof.Cleto went inside without knocking,leaving me and the headman waiting on the street. Dissatisfied with such a manifestation of disrespect for his person, Garlon left after a couple of minutes, informing me that he would be in the 'Three Boars' tavern. He asked me to tell Cleto that he would wait for him there.

I was left alone, with two beasts on a leash. They behaved surprisingly well, sitting quietly on their hindquartersand watching passers-by. They, in turn, looked at me and the dogs with caution and tried to vacatethe dangerous place quickly.

Then the door opened, and theold man appeared on the threshold.

"Everything's fine, I've made…" he stopped abruptly when he noticed that the headman wasn't on the street. "Where's Garlon?"

"He went to the 'Three Boars' tavern," I said.

"Clear. Let's go there too."