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A Soldier's Life - 272 - Caravan Guard Duty
🕑 Added 2024-10-05 00:39:24 +0000 UTCChapter 272: Caravan Duty
I absent-mindedly poured myself a drink, taking an empty but probably used mug. Benito was excited at the mention of food. âSo, what is for dinner? I bet the elves have some amazing cooks! These sandwiches were pretty good. I bet they spent thousands of years learning how to cook well, right?â
Maveith rumbled a laugh, âElves can live to a thousand, yes. But few ever complete a second millennium.â Our conversation caught the unwanted looks of the elven adventurers seated around us. I thought it best to steer the conversation away from discussing elves.
I looked over my happy companions and dampened their mood a bit. âYou canât wear your armor or weapons to the dinner. We are dining with an Elven Regent,â I announced. Maybe I should not have told them about the dinner and shown up only with Maveith and made excuses about their abscence.
âElven Regent? Whatâs that?â Mateo asked, snacking on breadsticks with a noticeable crunch.
âThe elves elect regents to their cities and large towns. They rule for a period of time before another vote is cast. All the regents gather here in the capital in the Assembly to discuss policy and enact laws,â Maveith explained to Benito. Hopefully, he had simplified it enough.
Benito was thinking really hard and his response wasnât surprising, âSo, the food should be really good then?â
Blaze was more thoughtful and curious. âHow do they cast votes? Does everyone get a vote, even the children? How do you know who to vote for?â
An elven adventurer with jet-black hair had been listening in. She leaned her chair back dangerously close to tipping and craned her neck to look at our table before speaking. Her Telhian was decent, but slightly accented. âThe towns hold a festival. Those wishing to be regent give a speech and everyone over twenty summers votes. The top two vote recipients then debate in front of the crowd. At the conclusion, another vote is cast to determine the winner. It takes an entire day, but only happens once every eight years. Larger cities are divided into districts and elect a proxy to cast their vote in the cityâs court or petition for regent.â She leaned back to her table to resume a game of Go.
Mateo, noticing an elven beauty interested in our table, stood up awkwardly and introduced himself to our amusement, âIâm Mateo, and I find what you said extremelyâfascinating. Could I buy you a drink, and you explain your ?â The elf turned slowly back,
The elf turned slowly back, her sharp features studying a grinning Mateo intently. âNo,â she said flatly and turned back to her game. Mateo looked a little hurt, and we held in our laughter at being shot down.
âDonât worry, Mateo. There are a lot of fish in the sea,â I said to cheer him up. The elven woman turned and briefly arched her eyebrow at me, but her two male companions had sour looks as they locked threatening gazes at me. I happily returned a challenging stare until they looked away. The elf woman took my measure and turned away last.
Maveith's face was scrunched in thought as he puzzled over my analogy about fish. Blaze thankfully whispered to him to explain it. I looked at my rough-looking group; they couldnât go to the Regentâs residence in their armor underclothes. The problem was that clothing was expensive, and my group was poor. I leaned over and tapped the raven-haired elf on the shoulder. She looked over at me questioningly. âCan you escort my companions somewhere they can get some decent clothes?â
âWhich regent are you looking to impress?â She was clearly interested and posed her question with a grin. Her interest in my offer had her male companions staring again with disapproval.
I didnât know if Regent Maeralya want it spred she was associating with Telhians, so I didnât mention her name. âI am not looking to impress her, just have my companions in clean clothes that wonât embarrass us. A large silver for an hour of your time to take them?â I offered her a large silver, seemingly making it appear with a soft snap of my fingers. The trick didnât impress her, and she probably thought it was sleight of hand.
âEnyara, donât help the Telhians,â her companion said testily. He was the one opposite her, playing the board game.
âI can make my own decisions,â she barked back, annoyed. She surprised me, snagging the silver coin like a viper. She nodded at me, âA large silver for being a tour guide for an hour, no longer.â
Mateo was both happy and pale when he realized he didnât have any coins for the shopping trip. As the emotions played on his face, I saved him again. âMaveith, go with them and pay for their clothes. See what you can get for yourself as well.â His massive hand encompassed mine in unspoken understanding, and I palmed Maveith eight gold coins from my dimensional space. Maveith had additional coin, and I hoped the gold would buy each of them something presentable. Being the leader was getting very expensive.
With my team headed out into the city, I had a chance to look at the jobs on the wall. I got some stares as I walked the length of the postings on the board. What I needed was something that would take us into the Caliphate.
The nearest thing I could find was a merchant escort from Artira to Khoura. Khoura was an orc city on the border with the Esenhem, and by fortuitous coincidence, one of the places I was told we could register as adventurers in the Caliphate. I needed to work on my written Elvish, as it took time to puzzle out the posting to the amused glances of the elves watching me.
Wanted: Mounted Guards for Three Wagons. Minimum six, maximum eight. Two silver pieces per day, per guard. Food and feed included.
The distance was five hundred miles in my estimate, but I was not certain what the merchantâs pace would be. I pulled the tack out of the heavy paper and brought it to the desk. The elven attendant took it and held out his hand patiently. I quickly figured it was for my adventurerâs medallion.
He was a little surprised that mine was silver when he recorded the information. âI actually wanted to ask the merchant a few questions before accepting,â I said before he proceeded further.
The elf appeared moody and went into some files in the back. When he returned, he stated flatly, âThe Stumble Inn, down the street to the left. Rolf Sheadings, room six.â I wasnât sure if my treatment was due to the Guildmaster or just that humans were generally not likedâor maybe it was my Telhian accent.
The inn was easy to find. A quick inquiry and I found Rolf was drinking at a table and reviewing stacks of paper while an elf bard crooned a melody by the hearth. Rolf had a manicured beard halfway to his waist and a thick head of rusty brown to match it. I moved to stand across from the dwarf, my adventurerâs medallion displayed outside my armor. âRolf? I am Eryk Marco, and I am interested in your posting in the guild hall.â
The dwarf looked up, studying me. He nodded slowly coming to an opinion of my capable by my appearance alone. âHuman and silver adventurer to boot. Donât care about the color of your medallion, the rate is still two silver per guard per day,â he stated firmly.
âHow long will the trip take, and will you be traveling further into the Caliphate?â I asked, helping myself to a seat opposite him. His large crystal blue eyes studied me more intently, and he put down his fountain pen. Most of the documents appeared to be ledgers.
His beard swayed as his jaw worked. âWe make thirty miles a day and have planned stays in towns every night. Your party will all need to be mounted, with no exceptions. Had too many a guard who said they could walk thirty a day, and their feet always failed them. The wagons and horses will be stabled in a barn in town, and I expect at least half your men to sleep in the loft there to watch the wagons. The trip takes twenty days; sometimes bad weather adds a day or three.â Rolf finished and waited for my response.
âWhat dangers are typically on the road that you need guards? You also didnât say if you would venture further into the Caliphate.â I said in consideration.
He clasped his hands. âMost trips, I have had no trouble. But along this road in the last twenty years, the most serious confrontations we have had to defend the wagons from were a forest drake, giant spiders, meddlesome sprites, and a banshee.â He watched me as he listed off the dangers, and I didnât flinch. He nodded approvingly. âI will not venture into orc lands. I will spend a month selling and buying from the orcs in Khoura and then return to Artiria. Usually, we have a train of two other merchants, but this time, it is just me.â
âNo bandits? Do you usually have more guards?â I asked, thinking this job was a possibility.
The dwarf laughed at me, âBandits in Esenhem? Maybe close to one of their borders, but elves donât tolerate thieves and cutthroats.â He finished his chuckle, âAye, you are right. We normally have a dozen adventurers guarding the train, but eight is the most I can afford without denting my profits too much. My regulars took off with a caravan to the south,â he added, some bitterness to his words.
âThere are five of us, but I am looking for a sixth at the moment. A goliath and four men.â I informed him.
His eyes widened. âHeard there was a goliath walking about. So that is him, and he is an adventurer. I canât wait to see the beast he rides,â he said, slapping the table in amusement.
âYeah, me too,â I added, thinking it might be hard to find a horse big enough for Maveith. And Maveith didnât even know how to ride yet. Thinking back on my own riding lessons, he would be in for a rough time of it.
âI think we can accept. If I donât find a sixth, will five be good enough? And when would we depart?â I asked. There was always the possibility of just riding out on our own, but I wanted the appearance we were true adventurers, especially before we headed into the Caliphate.
âFive? Are you the only silver?â I nodded. âWith a silver and goliath I could agree to that. Should charge you extra for how much I hear a goliath can eat,â his smile showed through his beard. I think he was going to be surprised if Maveith could keep his ring on. âThree mornings from now. You can meet me here, Eryk.â
We shook wrists on it, and he completed a letter to the Adventurerâs Guild for acceptance to the job. I returned to the Hall and spent nearly an hour filing the paperwork for accepting the posting. The funds for payment would be held by the guild and paid in the Khoura Adventurerâs Hall when we delivered the merchant safely. When I asked what would happen to the funds if we didnât arrive or failed, the elf scoffed a little and said they would revert to the Guild after a year if either party did not claim them.
The others had not returned, so I left to purchase mounts. After asking around, I was finally directed outside the city. A good mile walk brought me to a stable. I had only seen a few horses in Esenhem, so this was either going to be cheap or very expensive. A half dozen corrals had a few horses each, and the stalls in a large building were also full. A tall, lean elf woman in tight leather saw me watching the horses and approached. She had a strong scent of horse about her and was almost as tall as me.
âDo you need help?â she asked in a deep, resonant voice with a businesslike tone.
âDo you have a horse big enough for a goliath?â Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at my unusual question.
âA plow horse?â She hedged.
âNo, a riding horse for the road.â I returned, and her brow furrowed.
âHow big of a goliath?â She tested.
âSeven and a half feet and maybe three hundred and fifty poundsâbut could be as high as four hundred with gear.â She slowly nodded as she thought about it.
âI only have two that might work for him. A black from the Caliphate. Spirited but listens well. Or a painted-brown from the south. A bit old but still serviceable. If you are not in a rush, I have a few that I can finish breaking over the next two months.â
âWe are departing in three days. I will look at the black,â I said, and I followed her into the stables. The black was huge, standing taller than Maveith.
âHe has been studded a few times, but none of his progeny have matched his size and temperament,â the woman said unhappily. I walked into the stall, and he was spirited and could be dangerous to the untrained rider. But after an apple, he cooperated with my inspection, and I spent a good fifteen minutes checking him out and was impressed. I was surprised the elf was parting with him.
âHe is not battle-trained, but would do. How much?â I finally asked, satisfied.
âSeventy-five,â she said, causing me to cough. That was the price of a prized warhorse in the Empire. I could see horses were not as common in Esenhem, but that was ridiculous. I was also told this was the only horse dealer in Artiria. Seeing my consternation, she explained, âHe is a good stud when the mare can hold him, and I hate to lose him.â
âHow much for a good riding horse for me?â I asked after regaining my composure at the exorbitant cost.
âBetween ten and twenty-five,â she said, undeterred at my shock. Damn, I hated being the leader.
I sighed. âShow me your stock, I need three.â Her face beamed with dimples. She called in two other stable hands to help as I went through their stock.
I spent three hours looking at over thirty horses, and their scent rubbed off on me as I worked. I was looking primarily for temperament and fitness. I was not able to afford warhorsesânot that I saw any in the stables. At least I learned why horses were so costly in Esenhem. The elves did not maintain a cavalry, and horses were considered a foolish investment due to their short life spans of about 30 years.
The three I selected for Benito, Mateo, and Blaze were large and well-fitted, but didnât come close to the black in size and strength. I almost thought about getting Benito a pony as a joke, but then I would have to buy him another horse later, so I shelved the idea.
Haggling was not part of Esenhem culture, so I wouldn't be able to lower the cost. Still, I tried to get a little more. âCan I at least get saddles and tack thrown in?â
The horsewoman looked amused, her dimples showing again, but looking to close a sale. âUsed and refurbished. We even have something that should suit the goliath.â Relieved, I produced the one hundred and forty-two gold. It was painful and took a massive bite out of my coin reserves.
It was really late in the day and close to sunset, so I needed to get back. I arranged for the mounts to be brought to the Adventurerâs Hall stables before returning. I found my companions in the common room drinking with the raven-haired elf. Benito was telling the tale of how he became a legionnaire, and she was laughing hysterically. I didnât know elves did have a sense of humor. I scanned the room but didnât see her original companions.
My men were dressed in suitable simple dark green and brown outfits, and their wet hair indicated they had bathed. Maveith handed me the leftover coins, two gold, and a dozen silver. Blaze looked at me questioningly as I still wore my adventurerâs armor.
âI will go change,â I announced to the table. Back in my room, I changed into my best clothes, donning my manticore cloak. My outfit was mostly black, and looking in the mirror, I appeared more sinister than my companions. Maybe I should have joined them on their shopping trip. It was too late now, as the sun was already on the horizon.
I returned to the common room to find two city guards in their pressed mustard uniforms standing at my companionâs table. A brief pit of worry rose in me, but it turned out they were our escort and not here to arrest my companions. It was time to meet the regent, and I just hoped the men hadnât drunk too much beforehand.
Comments
Erick Thiemke
too true
Steve
The money is inconsequential, it's just cover
Karnnie
This is a good chapter. I am curious though, Every member is carrying an artifact weapon, why did Eryk not try to negotiate for a higher price in return. He could also have leveraged the fact that they were legionaries. I figured it was probably due to the fact that this is their first assignment. Does Eryk need to register as a company leader? Will he be collecting the fee and then giving out say 1 silver per day per person? otherwise he will be broke very quickly.
Ben Waschuk
Big tip
Jordan
I produced the two-hundred and fifty gold. The math for the horses adds up to 150, not 250. 75+25+25+25 = 150
Deadmoo53
I imagine their resume as a party would look pretty impressive if they were to disclose all their accomplishments: - Ex-legionnaires, meaning good training - Ex-Hound - Discovered and reported Telhian dungeon - Discovered, survived, and reported 1,000 year old elven dungeon in Telhia - Discovered ancient giant city - Literally the people that killed the Telhian Emperor
Enk
oh, thanks - i'll remember, as it crops up a lot.
Erick Thiemke
he didn't need to pay for the inn. Castile had 12 more bottles of wine to sell. Instead, they (Castile and Lirkin) sold some personal effects as part of their investment
Mason W
Those prices seem better to me, 5-10 for a farm animal, 10-30 for a riding horse, fully trained war horse is like a Ferrari - 100-300 depending on breeding
Silver Beard
The big issue is the gold in my mind. The Inn purchase was short 290g and as the author put it Eryk was 'lassey faire' about money... surely if he was sitting on 500+ he would have paid the difference in a heartbeat; but he didn't. So where did the mount money come from?
Erick Thiemke
My bad, I had in my mind he would make the mistake and call her consort the regent on meeting. I will edit. Next chapter is 60% done and expect to finish tonight. It is not flowing well in getting to the end point of Raelia joining
Silver Beard
Wondering if Baldo has some empathic attachment to Eryk. Could be why he's named as such...constantly looking for 'his' father figure who carried his Egg for so long!
Silver Beard
Regent was named. Regent Maeralya Glavienâs house. Why did Eryk lie?
Erick Thiemke
pricing was reflected for the commoner in the first few books, a few coppers for a meal. Maybe half a silver for a cheap room. They have increased their living and ventured into foreign lands. I have adjusted the mounts pricing, but still see cost of living be much higher among the long-lived elves. In Gramney he stayed in one of the best inns in the city so prices should have been 10x what a commoner would pay
Quintox Talos
Would be cheaper to buy a wagon and put Goliath in back
Lemes
I've been noticing some discrepancies regarding money. In the first book, prices were much cheaper. A bath cost no more than a few silvers in a city at war with Macha, while in the elven kingdom a bath costs gold. A horse used to cost between 6 and 10 golds, but now it costs up to ten times as much. Stays at inns in this book always cost at least one gold, and food is always priced in silver coins, while in Macha, a city under siege and at war, it costs a few coppers. I think the author should review the monetary system in his story.
Ivan Kanewske
Bitch bath, not batch bath,
Ivan Kanewske
You mentioned Eryk smells like a horse, or has their stink on him, His crew is now bathed and in new clothes, Eryk needs to shave and at least take a batch bath in the room to present himself to the elves
Roberto Dias
The price in the empire was too overpriced. Ginger went for 6 gold (first asking was 12) and 5 for another riding horse (an overpriced nag) And the comment "a battle-trained horse would go for forty gold" chptr 100 That was already too much. This price should be 20 max Now is unrealistically overpriced. 200 for a percheron ??? 75 for a riding horse??? No way horses traders/Smugglers will resolve this diference in no time
Jordan
I had a similar thought on the cost of the horses. Seemed very overpriced even if horses are rare in that country. If I remember correctly a war horse in the empire was around 40-50 gold so quite the bump in price.
Eriach
Millenia vs millennium is acceptable is English. The dictation of the word group is generally what guides either use of the word, basically whichever sounds better off the tongue.
Eriach
He could be doing macros to stay fit lol. That legionaire exercise routine lol
Eriach
Soldier for Hire vs Conscripted/Voluntold Soldier for the Empire
Erick Thiemke
I was going by the dnd price guide. Maybe i will adjust it an edit since this is roughly three times the cost of horses in the Empire but they are extremely common there
Mason W
Are these the most expensive horses in the history of the multiverse? Since when would a quality draft animal cost equivalent of dungeon artifacts? I think your prices are off by 10-20x. They are getting paid 2 silver per day, the return on investment would be in **math in head** âŠNever. No one could afford a horse so no one would ask for Jobs with a horse.
Erick Thiemke
damn autocorrect - fixed
Erick Thiemke
corrected
Erick Thiemke
mercenary/adventurer is still in the vein of a soldier
Erick Thiemke
not really - coin is different from merchandise like the wine. but he is running low. less than a hundred gold remaining assorted coin in my estimation.
Alias
It almost feels like we are entering a totally knew era in this world in Erykâs story. Adventureâs Life new title?
Chachi
thanks for the chapter
Jordan
I spent three hours looking at over thirty horses, and their scent rubbed off me as I worked. Their scent rubbed off âonâ me as I worked.
Jordan
âRolf? I am Eryk Macro, and I am interested in your posting in the guild hall.â Macro -> Marco
Zurko
Eryk slowly becoming the leader of an adventuring party has been really fun to read. I hope those horses live for a while, it would suck if they died at the first monster fight. or ran away out of fear and they wouldn't be able to find it again. I know the priority is maviths sister but it would be cool if they did some odd jobs on the way. like passing by a nest of harpies or a den of wolf's or something.
Enk
/a second millennia./ should be /a second millenium./ (or, you know, something like 'few reach or exceed their hundredth decade' or whatever :P )
Ivan Kanewske
I like how the MC makes sure his companions have what they need to be successful. Health potions, food, essences, artifacts. He doesn't hog everything, it shows that he realizes that he will go farther, live longer, do more with his companions outfitted strong and well trained
Erick Thiemke
The excel spreadsheet isnât that old in author notes
saber
Do you plan to give stock of eryks space again soon? I've lost track of everything he has now.
Andrew
Thank you!
Eriach
Let it develop organically, best way the story goes and is better for it. I liked this chapter as it showcased Eryk evolving into the leader of his little band. With some luck he will come out ahead if not even. While his coin expenditure has grossed about 427G this time he has spent almost 1500 in total in the last 3 days "in-story" the BoE (Bank of Eryk" is almost tapped out. But his investments will bear fruit eventually.
Erick Thiemke
Itâs amorphous. He has had some big scores and lots of little ones. His wealth is mostly in his artifact collection though. Letâs just say his collection of gold is fairly well depleted after the chapter. He had tons of silver coins but they make up less than 100 gold. He is not thrifty and the cost to search for Maveith s sister is what it is in his opinion
Kyle Cunnane
Might have been mentioned recently, but what does eryks savings look like? A thousand gold totalish?
Erick Thiemke
1st of 4 for cycle. Book 5 is developing slower than I had hoped. I am not going to rush it, and it may be longer than the target of 60 chapters. Book 2, 3 and 4 I got to around chapter 50 and was like time to wrap it up...not this time. Letting it finish organically. Working on the "Dinner Party" chapter now. Also wanted to note the last few days I have been helping my dad split firewood so have not started writing till after dinner--apologize about that. Winter Is Coming - dont think that is copyrighted at all
