Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Have You Brought the Goods?
"COO COO." A bird called out.
Little John stopped rustling through the grass and took out his map.
"This should be the place," he muttered, comparing it carefully.
There were no skull markings in this area, which made him uncertain if he had truly reached the designated spot.
Little John tucked the parchment map back into his coat and took a swig from his waterskin.
’I wonder what time it is,’ he thought, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and tightening the cap.
The last meeting was set for the morning four days from then, but with no specific time given, so he could only wait quietly for the other party to arrive.
RUSTLE... The grass in front of him swayed, and Little John was instantly on alert. ’Are they here?’
The grass parted, and three grayish-black beasts leaped out.
’Forest Grey Wolves?’ he thought. Perhaps the smoked meat in his pack had attracted them. Little John drew his Longsword and went on full alert.
As a Hunter, he was well aware of the lethality of a Forest Grey Wolf. The beast stood about a meter tall at the shoulder, could reach 1.8 meters in length including its tail, and weighed up to 90 kilograms. It could easily shatter the bones of its prey.
When facing Forest Grey Wolves, running was useless. They were incredibly fast and had excellent stamina, capable of chasing prey for over ten kilometers. He had absolutely no chance of escaping.
There was only one way: kill the alpha first.
The alpha in front of him was the largest, its fur a grayish black. Its eyes were fixed on Little John as it let out a low "GRRRR."
The other two wolves fanned out to his sides, preparing to encircle him.
’I need to get my back to a big tree for cover,’ he thought.
Longsword in hand, Little John quickly moved toward a tree so thick a single person couldn’t wrap their arms around it.
The alpha seemed to understand what its "prey" was trying to do. It kept growling, while the other two wolves edged closer, feigning attacks.
The cunning predator wanted its underlings to attack first, waiting for Little John to reveal an opening before delivering the fatal bite.
After a standoff that lasted a little over ten seconds, there was a sudden TWANG of a bowstring, and the alpha yelped and fled.
WHOOSH! A dozen ropes were thrown down from the surrounding trees. A horde of goblins grabbed the ropes and slid down rapidly, then charged toward the Forest Grey Wolves with a chorus of wild cries.
Little John stared in astonishment as the goblins "fast-roped" down, momentarily frozen in place.
"We meet again." A goblin walked up to him. It was Shire.
"What... are you all doing?" Little John was at a loss for words.
"Nothing much. Just hunting," Shire said nonchalantly. He certainly wasn’t going to tell the human how much time he’d spent training these idiots.
"Chief." A few minutes later, Red Eyes and another goblin carried the dead alpha wolf over to them.
Little John stared at the Crossbow Arrow lodged in the alpha’s side, remaining silent.
The Forest Grey Wolf was covered in wounds, but the fatal blow was the Crossbow Arrow in its side, buried almost to the fletching.
He could have won against the three wolves, but it would have come at a great cost. A single bite, and they would have thrashed their heads wildly, tearing at his flesh. The pain and blood loss might have made it impossible for him to leave the forest.
He glanced at the goblins around him. There were fourteen in total.
Little John couldn’t help but feel relieved that he hadn’t tried to snatch the Longsword during their first meeting. There must have been a dozen armed goblins lying in ambush inside the cave back then. At a single command from Shire, he would have been minced into a meat paste.
Such a tactic was something you only heard about in the historical tales told by Minstrels.
’Mr. Shire is unfathomable,’ he thought.
"No one will be disturbing us now. Let’s get this trade over with," Shire said, slinging the Hand Crossbow over his back. "Where are the goods?"
Little John paused for a moment, then immediately understood. He set down his pack. "It’s all in here."
Shire crouched down and opened the pack.
There was shelled rice, dark smoked jerky, and fine, translucent salt.
He even dipped a finger into the salt, dabbed some into his mouth, and savored it for a moment before saying, "Authentic."
Little John watched as Shire shook his head slightly, a look of sheer bliss on his face, and was a bit unsure what to make of it.
Then, Shire let out a shout. With a THUD, several packages dropped from a distant tree.
Little John’s expression didn’t change, but he felt that a Hand Crossbow was likely hidden behind the leaves, aimed right at him.
Red Eyes dragged the packages over. Shire pulled a piece of paper from one of them and said, "This is the new procurement list."
Little John took the list and quickly scanned its contents.
"There were 46 Silver Coins left over from last time," he said. Of course, he’d given 4 Silver Coins to the tavern owner.
"That’s your commission," Shire said, wagging a finger. "I’m looking forward to our next meeting."
"In four days again?"
"In three days, 9 AM. You were a little late today."
"Er, I can’t tell the time," Little John said. He had no way of telling time in the forest.
"My apologies. That was my oversight," Shire said, slapping his forehead.
Then, to Little John’s utter shock, he pulled out a Pocket Watch.
The surface was mottled with rust, but the hands were still moving.
"You’ll need to set it when you get back; it might not be accurate," Shire said, handing the Pocket Watch over. "Do you need me to show you how to use it?"
"N-no, I don’t." Little John numbly accepted the Pocket Watch.
He could have imagined the goblin pulling out a Short Sword, some wild fruit, or even a dead rat, but he never would have expected him to pull out a Pocket Watch.
A Pocket Watch—a product of the civilized world, worth several tens of Gold Coins. Little John had only ever seen the tax collector use one when he came to collect taxes.
This was like seeing a rat on the side of the road when you were starving, only for it to drag a stove and a frying pan out of its hole, throw a steak on it, and ask you how you’d like it cooked.
’This is insane,’ Little John wanted to say. ’Shire, you should quit this goblin gig. You belong in a bank’s VIP lounge, asking clients, "Sir, do you have a significant capital shortfall?"’
"And this," Shire said, pointing to another package. "These are young branches of Red Thorn. It’s from a gathering request someone else left with me. Help me deliver it. The bounty’s purpose is listed on the procurement list."
’Someone else’s gathering request?’ Little John was puzzled. ’Are other Adventurers cooperating with Mr. Shire? Am I not the only one?’
"Alright, Mr. Shire. This is the gathering quest I received." He took a slip of paper from his coat and presented it with both hands.
"Let’s see. Gathering Quest: Blue Thorn Grass leaves, 10 silver coins per kilogram. The client is also Virdini, the owner of the ’Drink Undying’ apothecary." Shire put the paper away. "No problem. I’ll have it for you at 9 AM in three days."
Little John nodded.
"Any news for me?" Shire asked with a smile.
"Mr. Shire, the Adventurers are discussing the disappearance of an entire adventuring party. Some think a Magical Beast did it, others think goblins were responsible," Little John said, staring at Shire.
Little John had originally thought a Magical Beast was responsible, but after seeing the goblins fast-rope and snipe with a Hand Crossbow today, he felt that goblins were more than capable of it too.
"You don’t have to call me Mr. Shire. If you’d like, you can call me Boss."
"Boss..." Little John repeated hesitantly.
"Any other news?"
"Yes, Boss. An organization called the Storm Brotherhood will be coming here after winter sets in."
"The Storm Brotherhood?"
"It’s a mutual aid society formed by Adventurers. The requirement to join is to be a Black Iron Level Adventurer. They also have a few Bronze Level Adventurers. They’re coming to recruit new members."
"Oh, that’s good information," Shire said with a nod and a smile. "Anything else?"
"That’s all for now."
"Alright, that’ll be all for today. You’ll probably get a commission of no less than 1 Gold Coin this time. Also, I suggest you rent a mule next time."
"Okay, Boss." Little John’s voice was trembling slightly.
"By the way, have you ever heard of the Heaven-Reaching Tower?"
"No." Little John thought for a few seconds before answering.
...
Shire watched Little John depart, the smile on his face gradually fading.
’Two pieces of important intelligence,’ he thought. This trip was quite fruitful.
He was ninety-nine percent sure the Fearsome Claw Bear was responsible for the death of the entire Adventurer party. The ghastly wounds on the Bear Goblins’ chests were shocking, and this Magical Beast must have some kind of Ability that allowed it to Control an entire team. Otherwise, someone would have surely escaped.
However, when the Fearsome Claw Bear had attacked the previous chief, he and his subordinates had managed to escape. Why was that?
Although Shire was puzzled, it didn’t stop him from deciding to increase his defensive measures.
The second piece of intelligence was even more important: the Storm Brotherhood was coming.
Shire had never heard of the Storm Brotherhood, but he knew that Adventurers formed these kinds of mutual aid societies to explore together.
By joining such an organization, Adventurers could improve their combat abilities more easily and earn more money.
These organizations also had many dealings with the nobility. Shire had memories of nobles commissioning them for tasks.
And getting into such an organization required competition.
’No wonder these Adventurers keep coming in and out of the forest despite the presence of the Fearsome Claw Bear. So that’s the reason,’ he mused.
These Adventurers needed to save up money for better equipment in hopes of increasing their strength and joining the Brotherhood.
Moreover, after joining, they were only Apprentice Members. To become official members, they still needed to obtain a Black Iron Adventurer Badge.
That was a credential issued by the Adventurer Association to Adventurers. The requirement to obtain one was for a party to successfully hunt an Intermediate Magical Beast. The party could not have more than four members, and there could be no deaths.
There was some room to maneuver here. If you had enough money, you could hire twenty Healing Personnel to help your party defeat the Magical Beast.
It sounded ridiculous, but people actually did it. There were even some Bronze Level Adventurers who accepted such commissions to "carry" others through a Magical Beast hunt.
Black Iron Level Adventurers could take on more High Level quests and accept high-paying commissions from merchant guilds or nobles, which was why low-level Adventurers flocked to it.
Now that the Storm Brotherhood was coming to recruit, it was like giving these Adventurers a shot of adrenaline.
Not to mention, the Brotherhood itself would likely come and sweep through the forest.
’There won’t be any peace after winter sets in,’ Shire thought. He ordered his subordinates to carry the packs and the dead wolf and then depart.
’Still, what I have to do next is more important.’
