Path Of A King

Oakmere Nobility

We rode on the carriage that had flipped over, somehow we managed to track down the horse that had run away when the fight with Alvren began. We were about to reach Blackthorn in around thirty minutes. Emily and I rode in the front seats of the carriage while Syki and the rest rode behind. Thankfully we had collected more beel flowers to bring back to Erika Gunther the sword smith of Blackthorn. I didn't want to fail on my first request as an adventurer, Emily probably felt the same way as well.
Along the way, a group of thieves tried to steal from us but Syki and the rest handled it in less than fifteen minutes. One of the thieves had a bounty on his head so we tied him up to the back of the carriage to bring along. The thief was relatively quiet. Probably because he was tired from walking four hours without resting, If the man decided to stop walking he would be dragged forcefully by the power of the horses. The thief had red leather armor and a mid-range sword on his back. He had blond hair blue eyes and a common face. The man was a little on the heavyset side and according to the bounty, his name was Harold the Snake. Every morning the adventurers guild posts bounties on a separate board near the quest board. Meli just so happens to have a very good memory and she had memorized all eight bounties the last time she was in the adventurers guild. The band of thieves wasn't organized yet so they didn't have a hideout yet. Most of their stolen goods were placed inside several wooden chests in a tent at their campsite. The rest of the thieves were only knocked out and tied. We left them by the side of the road with a note that read "We are thieves. Please call the guards to arrest us." Since they looked to be small-time thieves we didn't kill them. According to Syki, there are many worst out there. It looked like Harold was trying to organize them but it seems like he came from a different band of thieves with the worst reputation. Syki said that he probably got kicked out for whatever reason. Harold's bounty was a nice sum of five shields. Five shields are what you'd normally make in a month of completing red-ranked quests.

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We finally arrived at Blackthorn's gates and the man by the horse stables ordered us to halt. Apparently, his name was Mel Stov he was well known to all of the residents of Blackthorn since everyone had to talk to him when entering Blackthorn or leaving it.
"Morning milord and milady, how was the trip to the north? By the looks of it, you've picked up some passengers."
Said Mel.
"Morning Mel. Hiroki and I met these adventurers along the way back so we gave them a lift on the carriage. The tied man is a thief with a bounty so we brought him to claim it."
"Aye! I remember you a lot! Youse said you were on a quest to investigate the disappearance of 'em soldiers. Alright just leave the horse and carriage to me."
Said Mel.
"Hey, Mel here's for your troubles."
I said.
"Your too kind milord!"
Said Mel.
I handed Mel a purse filled with a total of two hundred shells and it made him extremely happy. He walks into the stable with the horse in tow energetically. I don't know if I'll make any enemies in Blackthorn so it doesn't hurt having someone who'll be willing to help you escape the city when trouble arises. I guess you can call it a tip for a job well done at the stables. 

We all entered the city gates, the gates were made out of thick wood with reinforced steel and iron studs. Two armed guards with iron armor stood guard on each side of the entrance holding a spear in one hand and a shield with house Baylor's banner of the sword with black thorned vines wrapping around it on the hand. More guards patrol the top of the walls that surround Blackthorn giving a heavily guarded city look.

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We made our way to Erika's shop to drop off the beel flowers we had gathered, Syki and the rest waited outside the shop while Emily and I entered.
"Hello, Welco . . . Hiroki! Emily! How did it go? Did you get the flowers?"
"Yes . . . we did. We collected around eight hundred flowers, where do you want them?"
I asked.
"You can just leave them by the counter, I'll sort them out later. Thank you so much as promised here is the signed request completion form, the receptionist will give you the reward."
Said Ericka.
"We will do just that."
Said Emily.
"How was the trip up north? I heard a rumor going around about disappearances around small villages that are located near the Darkwood forest. I even heard that adventurers have gone missing as well."
Said Ericka.
"The trip was quite pleasant but we did run into some trouble."
Said Emily.
"Well it was nothing we couldn't handle and we met a party of adventurers that happened to be in the area. I do advise you not to travel near the forest any time soon.
Goblin scouts have recently been spotted near the traveling routes along the forest."
I added.