The Smartphone Saga: A Distracted Journey of Spells and Signals

Chapter 10 - Part 1: Make Up

Despite Jasson's plan to return to the guild after lunch, he wasn't able to leave for hours. This was due to two reasons.

First, Elizabeth's husband was yet to come home with this week's pay. There had been a payment left at the guild of one silver and two coppers, but Elizabeth insisted that Jasson receive full compensation for his heroic actions. So they had to wait for the kids' father, Harry Harrison, to return.

Second, Jasson had a burning rage screaming from his muscles, like a crowd of pampered college kids being put through boot camp. Thankfully, the family was kind enough to let Jasson use their tub and soak in the hot water until Mr. Harrison returned. It was most unpleasant when Ethan came pounding on the bathroom door with news that Mr. Harrison was home.

So it was that after dinner, upon being briefed, Mr. Harrison immediately sat with Jasson to discuss a reasonable price. Mr. Harrison said things along the lines of 'Yes, the quest literally offered a copper piece per head. But it would take forever to get someone up there to start counting everything. And spiders of that size go for a lot less, so this whole situation could get sticky. How about two gold pieces and we call it a day?'

Jasson responded by telling him to go up the ladder and see for himself. The man returned shaken, being scolded by his wife for tracking more footprints across the floor she'd just cleaned.

"Twelve gold pieces?" Mr. Harrison had said, "I really can't afford more than that."

Jasson had paused, then said "Ten and you give me a ride there. I can't walk more than a dozen feet right now."

Jasson was regretting the deal as Cogswik Street disappeared behind them. Mr. Harrison was a muscular construction worker, and neither sweat nor sawdust had been washed away. Jasson was perched on Mr. Harrison's back, straddling his hips in a manly piggyback ride. Amazing how many baths you can want in a day.

"I can't say how thankful I am that you took care of that spider nest." Mr. Harrison said, "Since I work in construction, my family depends on me staying in good shape and not getting hurt. A healer costs too much these days, especially without a patron. Still...are you sure that you're okay with only getting ten gold for this? I saw how many you killed, and I did offer twelve."

Stop tempting me, Jasson thought, Your family isn't rich.

"It's fine," Jasson said, "Ten gold is already more than I thought I'd get from this. Just don't tell anyone you offered twelve. I don't want my miserly landlady to get wind of me turning down money."

Mr. Harrison chuckled and said "I get that. Thanks."

Jasson let the point of appreciation lapse and decided to use the time to ask Mr. Harrison questions about Stalt. Although Jasson was too tired to remember most of the answers, he still smiled. Maybe he could visit the Harrisons sometime and keep fostering this connection.

The evening breeze was sweeping the streets clear of the heat of the day as the sun faded into crimson remission. Jasson's hands were tacky from Mr. Harrison's shoulder sweat, which combined with the other sweaty contact to make Jasson eagerly search for his destination. This area looked familiar, but he was coming from a direction that-

"There!" Jasson said, pointing to the Adventurer's guild as they emerged from an alley, "Oh thank goodness."

Mr. Harrison grunted in agreement and sped up until they arrived at the door, probably eager to return home.

"All right," Mr. Harrison said, pushing the door open with his foot, "Let's- one second. It's jammed."

The door bounced back, meaning that Grog was on the other side. Jasson didn't feel like getting carried in like an invalid when all he had was sore muscles. Not even a single bite, for which he was grateful.