The next day. Siderius flung a silver coin onto the bar counter.
The bartender widened his eyes but still took the silver coin.
"You know your room was less than a silver." The bartender said.
"I know. But you didn’t kick us out after that commotion. Consider this as a token of appreciation." Siderius said. Fresh chapters posted on novel·fire.net
The bartender nodded. "Not every patron is as understanding as you are. Dunn crossed the line but your group didn’t back down as well.
Consider me your friend as well. You will always be welcome at the Crossroads Inn."
The bartender reached out his hand. "Jayce of Scalize. I am the owner of this humble inn."
Siderius shook his hand. "Siderius. Wanderer. If we are friends, you can contact me if you’re in trouble. I’ll make your trouble disappear."
"You’re a sellsword?" Jayce said. Mercenary was a common profession in Everia so he had asked that for a reason.
"Not a sellsword. I only deal with the supernatural. You can think of me as a specialized hunter."
"What do you usually hunt?"
Siderius rubbed his chin, thinking carefully before answering. He obviously couldn’t say he was a witch hunter. That title alone would make him the enemy of the kingdom.
He did, however, hunt all kinds of monsters. Those that were similar to the Chaos Beast.
"Chaos Beast." Siderius muttered.
Jayce turned his head toward Siderius and stared at him. "For real?"
"For real." Siderius nodded.
"My inn is at the edge of civilization. It has been peaceful these last few months but we did encounter some Chaos Beasts in the past. Those animals weren’t good for business but no one handled them.
Can I contact you in case a Chaos Beast disturbs us?"
"Of course, Jayce of Scalize. If you need me, send a messenger to Mucktown and find Kraus. He’s my subordinate."
With that, Siderius left the Crossroads Inn. He fetched Red from the small stable that the Inn had provided and rode to Scalize.
Mucktown was a small town but even it had a defensive stone wall. Scalize was a busy town that laid in the central web of trading paths. Its defense was much more strict than Mucktown.
All of Scalize was surrounded by a stone wall with watch towers standing every half mile. Its entrances were two. The North gate and the South gate.
Commoners and traders were only allowed to use the South gate. Only officials and Noble used the North gate, which led directly to the Baron’s estate and his troops.
Siderius used the South gate as everyone else. Even in the early morning, the path leading into Scalize was crowded with people and carriages.
Some were people looking to finish their business in Scalize. Some were traders looking to make some coins.
Siderius stood out amongst the crowd like a sore thumb. His all black attire and the scarf covering his face was hard to forget.
As Siderius followed the line into the gate, he saw the guards standing at the entrance.
These guards were actual warriors. Each had their biceps bulged under the fabric and a spear in hand.
Spear was superior in war. It was easy to train, easy to mass produce and provided an undeniable edge against the sword, its superior range. Naturally, all guards should have a spear instead of a sword.
A merchant stepped forward and pulled down his hood. An old man with little hair on his head.
"State your business." The guard said.
"Trading." The old man carefully slipped a silver coin into the guard’s hand.
The guard nodded. "Come in."
The old man was filled with joy. He grabbed the mule behind him and dragged it inside.
Then it was Siderius. He hopped down from Red.
"State your business." The guard said.
"Buying." Siderius said.
"Weapon. I’m a hunter." Siderius pulled out a rabbit hide from his satchel and showed the guard.
"Remove your scarf." The guard said.
"Of course. Before that. Why don’t you take a look at the hide? It is very good leather." Siderius gave the guard a hide.
He nodded and took the rabbit hide. "You can come in. No horse riding in town though. Keep your horse in a stable."
Siderius pulled Red inside Scalize. The guard sneakily gave the hide to another guard and told him to stash it away.
The second guard looked inside the hide. Five dangling silver coins shimmered under the sunlight.
The guards did their job and made sure not everyone could enter Scalize. A suspicious person like Siderius shouldn’t be able to enter without showing his face. But Siderius paid well so the guards could ignore him.
They didn’t worry that he would cause trouble. There were a lot of guards in town. Their Baron was also a powerful witch. Only a fool would cause trouble in Scalize and get himself banned forever.
Siderius left Red in a public stable and tipped a silver coin to the horse carer. This silver coin was the fee to store Red and also for them to take care of its needs. One silver coin was enough for a week.
"Now. Where would George be?" Siderius stood on the street of Scalize and looked around.
For a man with George’s profession, he should have found a forge to work at. Blacksmith was welcome everywhere in the kingdom. George could easily secure a job and a place to stay at.
Siderius approached and asked one of the patrolling guards in town. There were all kinds of people from everywhere in Scalize. These patrolling guards helped to keep an eye on them and so guided the people. Siderius had seen people come to them for help so he copied.
"A blacksmith?" The guard tapped his chin, trying to remember. "Ah! There was a new blacksmith that came into town a few weeks ago. He is working under Master Finn.
You can find him near the Baron’s estate."
"Can I enter that area?"
"You should be fine. The workshop is located outside of the Baron’s estate, at the garrison. You shouldn’t enter the estate without a Baron’s invitation though."
"Thank you, kind sir."
The guard tipped his helmet and continued on his patrol.
"The guards here actually seem to be serious about their job." Siderius thought.
He continued down the street. Scalize was a medium size town. It was easy to find the garrison as the Baron’s estate was the tallest building in town.
Siderius kept aiming at the estate. There he should have no problem in locating the garrison.
The garrison was a collection of houses built closely together. They housed the Baron’s personal soldiers and town guards.
In front of the garrison was an open field where the soldiers seemed to be doing training. Siderius could see a small building right next to the garrison with a stone forge in the front.
A muscular middle-aged man was hammering a piece of hot steel on the anvil. Sparks were flying everywhere.
"How’s life, George?"
George looked up and saw a man in an all black attire with his face covered entirely by a scarf.