There once was a fellow named Ivan,

Whose luck was just downright connivin'.

He'd fall in a pit,

Or get stuck in some grit—

And rescuing him? Well, that's strivin'!

Goldie Honorhide.

I didn't have long to debate as the speaker came around the corner with a sword in his hand. I couldn't hear or sense the one with the wounded leg or the archer. I assume they went for medical assistance.

The Speaker looked around at the bodies, and I had no doubt he also catalogued my injuries. "That is unfortunate," he said. "I don't suppose you are looking for a job?" Then he answered his own question, "No, of course not. You will die here."

He stalked forward and moved like an accomplished swordsman. He was out of my league to fight, but then so was the Orc. Makara was right; an affinity really did mean you could fight and win against those you would normally have no chance against.

I was low on Spiritual energy, but not out. He looked like a dualist but not like a man of the wilderness. I am betting his Cold Resistance was lower than the Orcs. I am betting my life that it is.

Then behind him came a growl.

"I wondered where that fucking dog went." He turned to throw something at Felix when his body jerked. Then it jerked again. I was already moving forward when he sank to his knees and saw two arrows embedded in his chest. I slammed my knife in his back with Death Strike, and he was never getting up again.

That was enough to push Death Strike to the Apprentice level, and it levelled my Kill Thief class.

I heard Goldie trotting up behind me. "You got me out of my bloody spar for nothing?" she said incredulously.

Makara was behind her. "At least we can loot the bodies."

I turned to Goldie and handed her the vial. "I have been poisoned. Is this the antidote?"

She grumbled. "Get down here where I can reach, boy!" I knelt, and she examined my arm, sniffing the wound. Then she opened the vial, sniffed it, dipped a finger in it, and tasted it. She handed it back to me. "Probably," she said. She looked me up and down. "It will probably also wear off in an hour or so. You won't have a large enough dose to affect you longer. Your risk."

I realised Olfactory and Tasty were prime senses for a herbalist or alchemist. "I think I will wait."

Goldie nodded. "Never take potions from strangers." She tossed me a general Health potion. "That will get you started healing." I took that one.

Yoboc was approaching. He was on the roof. "I smell someone who was up here, a human female. Shall we track her down?"

"I doubt she will bother us, and I doubt the trail will lead far," I said.

"These will be nice backup daggers," Makara said, testing the weight of the orc's daggers. "While on land, anyway," she added.

"That one is Ivan's solo kill. The loot belongs to him, less the party cut, of course," Yoboc said as he dropped to the ground.

Nobody has explained the loot distribution to me. I think I will have to stop being passive and actively seek my own answers.

Makara looked at me. "I will take them for now and see if they work for me," I said. "They are big knives from a large orc, so I probably need them." Makara was big, too, so I could see why she was interested. She handed them over without further comment.

The speaker-person had a reasonable bag of coins and a distinctive ring on him. That was a shared kill, so Yoboc and I split it, with 20% going to the group fund, which Goldie looked after. We would sell the sword and the ring unless it turned out to be a recognisable family heirloom, which might require melting down.

The other human I had killed had a basic knife and trucheon on him. I donated them to the group for sale.

"I have the ID for the fancy guy," Makara said. "Should we see if there is a reward?"

"That will be with the magistrate's office, seeing as there is no Mercenary Guild here," Yoboc said. "I'll take it, and we will make discreet enquiries first. You and Ivan are on a good behaviour bond, so we don't want to risk that."

"Do we just leave the bodies?" I asked.

"For now," Yoboc said. "If there is a reward, the guard will be notified and deal with it; if there isn't, we can let the word out quietly, and the guards will deal with it."

"Great profession you chose there, Ivan. I am glad I am not a Guard," Makara said.

I shrugged. The town does not employ me. Besides, the rats will eat well for a while. I looked down at my blood-stained clothes.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Makara chuckled, "And you couldn't see the point in buying a second set of clothes. Do you get it now?"

"Better to just not wear any," I grumbled.

"But we are in a civilisation where clothes are important," Yoboc said. "We will fit in."

Instruction from the boss.

"Smother some dirt on the stains to cover them. The Inn will wash them," Goldie said.

"Let's get out of here," Yoboc said.

We got back to the Inn without incident, and I got cleaned up and changed.

The poison was mostly gone by then, and I could move my arm with only a little throbbing. I also noticed I had level 1 Poison Resistance on my status now. I looked at the vial of "antidote." Would that give me level 2 resistance? It is not worth it.

I tested the weight of the orc's knives. Then I tested it against the bone knife of the Mer. I prefer the weightier knives. This bone knife and the companion that Makara is carrying might be good, but I prefer heavier metal knives. Maybe I will sell the bone knives to Makara. She says they are priceless heirlooms, but to me, they are not. They were, of course, very, very expensive. I wonder how much I can get out of her.

I am still figuring out how much things are worth and, of course, what I can buy with coins. I have realised that any armour I need will have to be purposely made, and I am sure that will cost.

There was a knock on my door.

"Yes?"

"The inn is chock full," Makara said. "Yoboc has arranged for our food to be delivered to his room, where we can talk privately."

"Coming."

Yoboc's room was as small as mine, so it was a squeeze. Yoboc and Goldie were sitting on the bed. Two wooden crates were opposite the bed, and Makara sat on them. Felix and I had to sit on the floor. There was a tray with bowls of stew and mugs of ale. It was the horrible dwarven ale.

"Help yourself," Yoboc said, indicating the stew.

We ate for a bit then he said, "It turns out our fancy dead guy was known around town. He was suspected of many things, but there was never any proof. The orc was wanted for assault and intimidation of witnesses, and the other dead was a known associate of the orc's. There was a small reward for those two."

"So, where is the coin?" I asked.

Yoboc's beard twitched. "You are not usually interested in coins," he said. "Goldie is keeping yours and keeping track of what is yours and the group's."

"It is in my pack," Goldie said, "But if you want to lug it around, it is all yours."

"She never offered to carry mine," Makara said.

Goldie grinned a huge fake smile, "I would be delighted to carry your coin, lass. You can trust me."

Makara scowled at her.

"I suggest Goldie looks after it until Becov, where there will be a Coin Treasury where you can keep most of it and withdraw some as needed at associated Treasuries," Yoboc said.

"Sounds reasonable, but I will grab some now. What does the group coin pay for?" I asked.

"At this point, it is paying for the Inn and the caravan to Becov. Eventually, we will keep a stock of potions, but your equipment is your own cost."

I nodded. That sounded reasonable. "Would it help if I worked as a guard for the caravan? It could help my class."

"They wouldn't hire you," Yoboc said. "You have no citizen ID or Mercenary Guild ID to back your claims. For all they know, you could be a spy for a bandit group."

"Right, makes sense," I said.

"We might be able to get you a job after the ID is sorted in Becov. You could work your way to Jern." He looked at Makara. "We could sign on as a group. Even without the class, all our fighting skills would be enough to qualify if they had vacancies."

"They always do," Goldie muttered. I raised my eyebrow at that. There is always a core group of regulars," she explained, and they hire mercenaries to complete the rest. It is often cheaper. It is not the most exciting or high-paying job."

"It would probably be a good starting job to build your reputation with the Mercenary Guild, but we can decide when we get to Becov and your ID sorted," Yoboc said.

"About that," I said. "I am never going to pass as human, plus I am bringing back decent claws and teeth."

Yoboc nodded, not arguing.

"There are black bears further south," Goldie said. "He could stick to bear kin, but if he leaves off the fur, his black skin could be from a black bear-kin."

"It is not much of a change, but this doesn't have to hold up long," Yoboc said. "We could have trouble in Becov, depending on the quality of the magistrate we meet. Up to you, Ivan."

"That's fine by me. There are advantages to being here amongst people, although I am still undecided if they outweigh the hassle. Becov is a city, right? It will have a Lore Society, won't it?" I asked.

Yoboc grimmiced, "It is more like a large town. Yes, it will have a Lore Society, but not a large one. Even Jern is only a small city."

I would investigate once I got there. I was going to be more proactive in finding information. Even a small Lore Society will have basic information about this Kingdom and the area that I am missing.

"Will Becov have someone who can fix my eye?" I asked.

"Probably not," Yoboc said. "Jern probably does, depending on the damage. Hrothgar definitely does, but we don't want to go there if we can help it."

"What about the monster cores? Where are they and how much are they worth?" I asked.

"They are in a crate, with the safe and the ore," he pointed to the crates Makara was sitting on, "along with the special weapons we want to sell. We will get a better price for everything in Jern."

"What about the gate inspections?" I asked, having just watched one.

"They won't have inspections going out, only when entering Becov, but we will have them classified under Makara's Mercenary contract. None of it is illegal. The safe might be a problem, but the truth sensors will accept Makara's word."

"Are there a lot of people who can sense the truth?"

"The Guards in town try to hire them, and you can train for it. I don't know how. I assume by someone with a Journeyman Level Skill in it," Yoboc said. "Remember, just because they might be able to sense whether you are telling the truth, does not mean they have to."

"You can also counter it with deception-type skills," Makara said.

"Do you have such skills?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I am a Mer. A bit of smuggling adds to the profit. Only Apprentice level, though."

Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door. I recognised a fast heartbeat and stood and drew my knife. Everybody tensed at my actions.

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