“Wait, 1000XP? You mean 1000 big ones?” Adam said as he woke up, sitting up in his small guild room. The light of dawn was already peeking in through the small window above.

[That’s right.]

“That’s crazy…” Adam shook his head. “With that much XP, shouldn’t I be closer to Level 3?

[You were warned earlier.]

“I guess, but still…” Adam rubbed the side of his neck. “Damn. That’s a lot of XP…” He had thought to take it fairly easy, but if it really did require double the amount of experience to level up, he might have to work a little harder. “Isn’t my third life meant to be full of fun and hot babes?”

He decided to wash away his depression, taking an extra bath early on. He made it even hotter than typical, and he lay there, like a chicken being cooked in the foamy water. The soap at the Adventurer’s Guild was extremely basic, so he couldn’t enjoy the nice smells of the soap he used to use in his first life. ‘I should make a soap business…’ He thought about how difficult it would be to make soap. ‘No, wait. Couldn’t I use Tricks?’ He put the thought into the back of his mind.

Adam made his way down, wearing his chain mail and his helmet. He didn’t want to bring too much attention to the fact he was an elf right away in the morning, though it would give him a different type of attention.

In the corner he saw Jurot, who was currently tearing into some boar meat. The Iyrman saw Adam and nodded his head. He continued to chew on the boar meat.

“Good morning,” Adam said, taking a seat opposite the meat devouring Iyrman. “Are you healed up?”

“Yes,” Jurot replied after finishing the bit of meat in his mouth, before returning to devouring more meat.

“Ready to hunt some boar?” Adam asked, glancing over to see some bread and soup on offer. He didn’t see Margh anywhere, and realised he hadn’t seen her since he had been reborn.

“Yes,” Jurot replied after Adam had returned with some food. It was rude to reply when one was eating meat after all.

Adam removed his helmet, noticing the various looks once he did, but tried to ignore them. He dipped the bread into the stew before eating it. There was the boar meat, as expected, but also a few hard vegetables which had softened slightly.

Once they had finished breakfast, Tom walked over to them. “I had heard you were looking for some assistance with your quest?” He looked at Jurot and Adam curiously. He had sword they had finished a quest the day before, but they were apparently going on another quest?

“That’s right,” Adam replied, nodding his head at the receptionist.

“We’ve hired two porters for you, so they should be here soon. The fee for setting it up is two silver coins, to be paid before you leave.”

“Might as well do that now,” Adam said, reaching into his pouch.

Currency

6SP -> 4SP

“I will pay half,” Jurot said, reaching into his own pouch to pay a single silver piece. He was a man with his own pride.

Currency

4SP -> 5SP

Adam put on his helmet once he was done eating, and went out to stretch his legs after eating. Jurot followed him, though they found two well built men approaching the guild, carrying a palanquin made of thick wood, not red oak, though it appeared to be quite sturdy and could easily carry a few boars.

The two men were near identical, both tall and strongly built, like a labourer rather than a fighter, with dark eyes. They wore labourer’s clothes, but carried with them several javelins strapped to their sides, a dagger near their belt, a staff on their back, a helmet and a small shield.

When they saw Jurot, they dropped down the palanquin. “Are you Jurot?” one asked removing his helmet to reveal his dark hair, which was partly brown and partly red like a conker.

“I am Jurot son of Surot!” Jurot exclaimed loudly, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest in pride.

“Jeremiah,” the man said, extending a hand.

“Jeremy,” the other man said. “My friends call me Remy.”

“My friends call me Jeremy,” Jeremiah said.

Jurot shook their hands. “This is Adam son of Fate,” he said, motioning to Adam.

Adam shook their hands as well, feeling their strong grip. “Your nicknames are a little awkward,” he said, chuckling.

“We get that a lot,” Jeremiah admitted.

“Even though we look like, we’re actually not twins.” Jeremy smiled.

“Really?” Adam said, looking between the pair.

Perception Check

D20 + 2 = 5 (3)

“You both look the same to me. If you told me you were twins, I’d believe it.”

Jurot reached up and pointed towards their faces. “They’re different,” he said, confidently.

Adam looked at where Jurot had pointed and then to the Iyrman. “… I don’t really see a difference.”

Jurot raised his brow at Adam. ‘Aren’t half elves meant to have good vision?’

“Well, it’s nice to meet you anyhow.”

“You as well,” Jeremiah said.

“We’ll be your porters this time around,” Jeremy said, nodding his head.

“We are to be paid eight silvers each for the day’s work.”

“Usually it’s five, but this is classed as dangerous.”

“Don’t expect us to fight, though we can assist from afar with our javelins.”

“If the going gets tough, we will get going.”

“That’s right, we won’t hesitate to abandon you behind if it’s too dangerous.” Jeremy smiled wide, giving them a thumbs up as though it was something to be proud about.

“Also, if we die, you must pay a month of our wages to our wives.”

“That sounds like a fair deal to me,” Adam said, turning to Jurot. “What do you think.”

Jurot nodded. “It is fair,” he said. “Porters are not warriors.” It was an obvious statement, but one which needed to be said.

“Considering we can carry back three boars with their help, it should be alright."

Jeremy motioned to his javelins. "We can also toss a javelin or two to assist, but don't expect us to get into the thick of things."

“Honestly, that’s more than good enough.” Adam nodded his head. “Alright, let’s head out to the bakery.”

“Right, let’s-“ Jeremiah had begun to say, nodding his head, before stopping.

“The bakery?”

Adam turned, not explaining anything further. The pair glanced between one another before they grabbed their palanquin and lifted it up, following Adam and Jurot as they made their way to the bakery.

As they entered the bakery, Pam saw Jurot and Adam again. “Welcome again,” she said with a pretty smile on her face.

Jurot nodded, glancing at her for a long moment. Pam noticed his gaze, wondering what he was thinking. He was an Iyrman, a figure of some importance in this region. Her cheeks slowly turned red under his gaze.

Adam placed a hand on Jurot’s shoulder. "You get to pick what we eat today since it's your turn to pay."

Jurot nodded, glancing around. His nose was good at picking out things he liked, so he looked around to find some buns he liked. He liked soft buns, hard buns, and every time of bun in between. However, there were days when he felt like a soft bun full of jam, rather than a hard bun buttered.

“Jeremy, Remy, you too can go ahead and pick some bread too,” Adam said, placing down a silver coin. He couldn’t let Jurot pay for the pair too, that would be unfair, especially since he was coming out to work with Adam though he wanted to relax.

Currency

5SP -> 4SP

“Us too?” The definitely not twins stared at the chain mailed warrior who they hadn’t seen properly yet.

“If you’d like,” Adam replied back.

The pair exchanged looks between one another. “Can we pick some tarts?” They were on the same wave length, like twins.

‘Are they really not twins?’

“You’ve got a silver to spend, so you can buy whatever you like with it.”

“Tarts are five coppers each,” Pam said, smiling at them.

“Then a tart for me,” Remy said.

“And for me as well,” Jeremy said.

“No jam buns?” Pam asked as she tied up a package for Jurot, who had bought some fatty filled bread.

“After we’re done hunting,” Jurot said. “We will be back tonight.” It was a promise, though coming from an Iyrman, it could be a threat.

“Okay! I’ll be waiting.” Pam smiled at the Iyrman. If it meant earning more coin, she was happy to see him again, oblivious to his infatuation.

Adam could only help but smile as he watched Jurot leave. ‘My boy is growing up so fast.’ They stepped out and Jurot opened up the package, grabbing a bun for himself before offering Adam some bread. He checked how the bread tasted, which was quite plain, but it was soft and buttery. He could have used Tricks to make it taste different, but he decided against it.

He and Jurot would both eat the same bread as the tread the same path.

“Should we only do hunting and slaying quests for the first few months?” Adam asked as they ate the bread and the cousins ate their tarts.

‘First few months?’ Jurot finished his bread before answering. “I like to fight. Do you wish to slay boars daily?”

“Until we gain more experience, then we can slay bears and other creatures too.”

“Daily?”

Adam shrugged. “Maybe. It depends on how you’re feeling. If we get bored, we can switch it up to something else. I don’t have many skills which can assist in hunting down creatures, but I can fight.“ He could also Identify, but that would leave Jurot lonely.

‘What is this guy talking about?’ Remy looked to his cousin, Jeremy.

‘Did he say he wanted to slay creatures daily?’

‘He’s a psychopath!’

‘We should be careful around him.’

‘Does he want to adventure every day too?’

‘Seems like it.’

‘Without a break?’

‘Seems like it.’

‘Does he wish to visit Lord Sozain?’

‘Seems like it.’

‘Wow.’

‘Those tarts were nice thought.’

‘That was really nice of him’

‘Well, maybe he’s a nice guy after all?’

‘Seems like it.’

“We’ll be slaying a few boars today,” Adam said, turning back to look at the cousins, who were still formulating their opinions about the half elf. “We’ll be trusting in you to carry them back. If we manage to kill a few hundred, we’ll carry a few too,” Adam said, chuckling lightly.

“Understood!” the pair replied back, exchanging another glance.

‘Do you think he’ll really try to kill that many boars?’

‘I believe it.’

Jurot led the way forward as he had done so the previous day. As they approached the forest, the cousins showed how in sync they were. Whenever there was a small drop or climb, the two of them would move, stop at the perfect distance to allow the other person to catch up or push ahead, and then continued along.

Jeremy, who took the front of the palanquin, kept his eyes on the trail. Remy, who was at the back, looked around every so often to make sure nothing was creeping up on them. Their priorities were their life first, their job second.

“Boar tracks,” Jurot said not long after they had entered the forest. “Smaller than the one we faced yesterday. They’re fresh.”

“The more the merrier, I say.” Adam didn’t even bother looking at the tracks, instead looking back to the cousins. “Ready to work?”

“Yes!”

Adam donned his shield to his arm, grabbing his die in the same hand. The cousins held the palanquin still, ready to place it down if they were in danger. A palanquin was expensive, but their lives weren’t so cheap.

As they crept onward, Jurot motioned a hand for them to stop. He pointed to an area ahead of them, and through the trees, they could see a brown and grey shape moving.

“Let’s do it,” Adam whispered.

Jurot kept his hand up, shaking his head. “There’s more than one.”