Still thinking at the story the banker had told me, doing meanwhile a mental effort to ignore the update issues, I was looking for Alice on the way to the market as I met Spartacius running towards me with Noviel in tow:

“Cala, Cala, a raid group is preparing to kill the Red Boar!”

“OK? No Lynx now but the Red Boar?”

“It's a low-level raid; they know where the boar is. They just want to leave the town now; it will take less than 30 minutes or so!”

“You want me to help the raid?”

“No, no, if you come, they'll get less than half of the experience they'll get otherwise. You are too high level. The Red Boar is not in the same class as the Lynx; it is an easy kill, no need for you to come! Can you wait half an hour? Or should I tell them I do not go? It is the last spot in the raid, and they'll port somebody else if I do not go!”

OK. I am being gently told to fuck off and come back in half an hour. As I know how these raids work, it will probably take longer. As he was looking with round puppy eyes at me, I nodded. OK, why not? I'm sure I can find something to entertain me for half an hour!

“Look, no problem. I'll find something to do. Probably it will take you one hour; I know how these raids are. Can you please send me a whisper spell when you are ready?”

“One whisper spell would cost me one silver… Can we meet in about an hour at the Boar's Hunter tavern? The name is fitting!”

He'll probably get a couple of silver worth from the raid and some experience points. I chuckled.

“OK, no problem. We'll meet in an hour at the tavern!”

“Cool! Are you sure you are not angry with me? It is for the experience, but if you want, I'll tell them to look for somebody else!”

A purple-haired, horned girl screamed from a distance:

“Spartacius! Do you come or not!?”

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, paraphrasing Ayra:

“Go, brave Sir Spartacius, go; the adventure awaits you!”

He left with an annoyed grunt running towards the horned girl.

I watched her amused: she must be some kind of a druid heal, but I do not know exactly her race. Some kind of a beastkin. There are so many! Really cute the girl, even if those big horns must be very impractical in the woods or inside any building. Also, her hair colour was not a bright idea: as a healer, you don't want to be easily spotted, but that intensive purple was literally lighting in the dark; she sticks out like a sore thumb. Oh well, her problems; she shows at least a high level of resilience and stubbornness.

I chuckled.

OK, one hour to kill. I was not sorry, It feels good playing Cala, and there are plenty of things to do. First, I found Alice in the market, it's a small town after all, and informed her that she had the next hour free. Then I went to the small shack that is the hidden assassin's guild headquarters in this town.

The small shack is not small but huge if seen from the inside as it extends into a couple of nearby buildings and goes several levels down, reaching into the sewers. One of the tunnels leads outside the wall, where there is a secret entrance into the city: no need to use it now, but it is a good thing to know.

I went in to check for quests. Cala is neutral, neither good nor bad. Neutral from many points of view. This way, she can take quests from many, almost all parties. The risk is to be seen as a potential threat by all, this is a tight rope to walk, but so far, Cala has managed to keep appearances and be trusted by most. So let's see the quests!

Kill the banker!

What? That poor fat fellow to be killed? For ten gold? No. Who the hell put that quest there? Oh, some of his reports who want to become the new banker... Oh well...

Kill Frank the butcher. Reward two gold. Oh, come on! Quest put there by some Doni. Interesting, there is an adjacent quest – inform Frank that Doni wants to take his shop and wife and fight the thief's cartel led by Doni. Reward 50 silver, but a lot of plus points for your reputation.

Steal the holy book of the Benecosa church. Reward 25 gold. Some strange sect hast put this up.

OK, better, but nothing to be excited about. It is rather a job for a skilled rogue as it requires doing it without killing the guards or the priests.

I went through the description. No, not something I can do now in 1 hour unless I go full blast and kill all priests there, and with it, the quest would fail. I don't think I could make it appear as two different actions that just happened at the same time...

Protect priestess Sophia on the way to the monastery in the woods. Daily quest 50 silver, 2 hours. Much too cheap and too long.

Where are those saucy quests?

Oh!

Kidnap Thiara, daughter of the marquis 'de Hollybrun. Reward 500 gold.

Oh, uh. Interesting. Now, this is a quest for me. At least financially attractive. I went through the description. Fuck, it is feasible! Quest giver must remain unidentified but can be contacted to receive the transaction. So unknown quest giver. Do I care?

OK, OK, what do I do? Actually, I just wanted to have a look and read a fun list of quests. Now, if I am lucky, I can do it. Ah, what the hell! I'll do it!

As soon as I took the quest from the board, I went to have a chat with the logistic agent. There are groups of agents that spy and have information up to date, especially for high-profile quests. There were several pre-prepared plans we went through, and I accepted one.

Miss Thiara is now in the family residence, not far away. It is a small town, after all. There will be a carpet delivery in about 40 minutes directly to her from one admirer. I can use it as a diversion. That's all.