The Unbidden: A New World (1) (Short Parts)

Part 11

Since we made a fair bit of money, I didn't need to worry too much about it – at least for the short term. I made a few trips to the marketplace to get food even though the inn we stayed at was willing to serve rye bread.

Most of the food was bitter or tasted stale, and I wasn't really sure if it was possible to use magic to make it better. I never really bothered trying though.

All-in-all, we had fifty-five silver left as I also had to extend our residence in the inn. Twenty coins gave us forty days and nights, so I was a little relieved. I did spend most of the days practicing, which made time go by rather fast.

For a couple weeks or so, I travelled to and from the destroyed goblin camp. It had been almost entirely burnt down, and I threw all of the bodies in a pile near the tree line so that wild animals weren't cropping up in the middle of the camp.

I figured that place would be secluded well enough to practice, and I wasn't wrong. As the days passed, I finally understood the basics of manipulating earth. It was hard not to be excited about it. I used my newfound ability to create a bunch of small rock castles, which I mostly ended up using as target practice.

I found that trying to launch a rock didn't work the same as fire or water. After some experimenting, I figured out that I had to create a tight circular motion of air over and under a rock in order to create spin.

For a while I fiddled around with the different speeds until I found the right settings that let me launch it at the same rate as my other motes. A little innovation allowed me to come up with some other neat little tricks as well, but I hadn't made any new spells because I was so focused on the earth manipulation.

Most of the time Thea opted not to join me, so she stayed in the room. Even when I was out most of the day, she was still there when I returned.

I doubt sitting around all day is good, even for God, I mused.

I decided it was time to go on another quest. We needed more money, and I wanted to purchase a closed-top wagon so we could go travelling to the next town or city. I stopped at the door before leaving the room.

"Did you want to come on another quest? I want to try and get some more money so we can travel."

"Mnah," she roused in her bed and yawned.

"No, I do not believe I shall. This bed has been calling my name," she nuzzled her face against the pillow.

Her tousled hair covered most of her face, but I was able to picture her being content.

"The bed's called your name every day the past while," I chuckled, a little exasperated.

"'Tis nothing wrong with it beckoning some more," she moved enough hair that I could see one of her eyes.

"Unless ... you are jealous?"

I furrowed my brows at the accusation.

"I merely jest," she smiled contentedly, turning her face into the pillow.

I sighed and left the room.

Man, God sure is lazy, I thought.

I headed to the guild hall and was greeted once more by whooping and hollering from the same groups of people.

Do these guys do anything but drink? I wondered.

I approached the open quest board and glazed it over. There wasn't really anything worthwhile in copper, and everything above silver-four were high profile escort missions. I didn't want to leave the area yet, though.

I spent a couple minutes before finding another silver ranked kill-quest. A large part of me wasn't fond of having to kill things, but if it was a choice between me and them ... needless to say, I ended up taking that quest.

"Good morning. I see you have another quest," the receptionist greeted me as I approached.

"Morning. I do in fact have another job I'd like to take," I placed the parchment on the counter.

"By the way, I never did get your name."

"Faye," she smiled – differently from her usual professional one.

"Faye ... that's a nice name. I'll be certain to remember that," I beamed her a smile in return.

"So, what is the quest you have today?"

"A quest to kill some kobolds, about two hours east."

"Your companion not joining you on this?" Faye asked as she stamped the paper and placed it on the active board.

"Unfortunately not. She has personal things to take care of. I plan on handling this myself," I said, jokingly.

Her face filled with concern.

"I do not know where you come from, but it is common knowledge that kobold are smarter than goblins. Some of them can even speak our language. If you plan on taking this quest, you should bring backup."

"I appreciate the concern, but I believe I'm more than capable of handling the situation. By the way, how are those women the guards brought back from the goblin camp?"

Her eyes showed a hint of surprise, then remembrance at my question.

"They are fine for the most part. A couple were apparently in the camp for months, so they are still recovering from the events. As it turns out, one of them was actually a mercenary with our guild. Someone related to them left us a note to give to you, as well as this coin pouch," She slid a pouch and folded envelope across the counter.

I emptied the contents of the pouch and counted the coin – fifteen gold in total. My surprise was apparent at the amount on display. I turned my attention to the envelope, which had a wax seal on it, the center depicted a large keg.

'To Xavier of Final Bastion – On behalf of the Kegger family, we would like to extend our gratitude for saving our daughter's life. Attached with this note is a pouch of fifteen Peri gold coins. We understand this appears to be a lot, however, our daughter is priceless. We hope your journeys are well and filled with wealth, The Keggers'.

I folded the note and placed it into my other spare pocket.

"Wow that is quite a lot of money!" Faye exclaimed in a low tone.

I realized there were several people staring at the bright golden coins from the various tables in the room. Without much thought, I scooped up the coins into the pouch and put it into my "money pocket".

I wondered which of the women was from such a wealthy family, but only for a moment. I slid the quest papers toward Faye and gave her a look that said 'I'll be fine'.

"You know, with the amount of money you received, you have no reason to depart on a dangerous job alone."

She had a point, but I still needed more experience with combat and the world at large.

"I know, but I still think it good to nip a problem in the bud, so it doesn't provide others trouble."

She resigned with a smile and sigh, stamped the papers and pinned it onto the active board.

It's nice that someone cares about my wellbeing, I thought.

It was a far cry from when I was in the old world.