"My back still hurts, but I'll heal it up before we go anywhere…" Finn replied. Nich considered for a few seconds and looked himself over.
"Eh… not great. I've got a lot of bites and other wounds. The magic and healing potion helped, though, so I should be alright. Just sore for a while." He shrugged.
"I wasn't particularly injured in the first place, so I'm alright." Delta looked back down at the papers with a contemplative hum.
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"I'm alright to go, I suppose," Castor said.
It wasn't entirely a lie, but it also wasn't entirely convincing.
"So, yeah," Aesir confirmed, "definitely something less intense. Anything looking good to you, Delta?"
Delta eyed Castor suspiciously, but didn't address him. "Mm… nothing in particular, really. This one says that there was a theft at a store near here. Do you think that would be too strenuous?" They asked, leaning their head on their hand. "It seems simple enough."
Aesir shifted uncomfortably.
"About that… it is highly likely the thief is someone I know," they said, "So I may have some conflict of interest. However, that also means it's more likely we can resolve this without violence, especially since I'm almost certain it's not connected to a thieves' guild. There's no established one in this town."
Castor glanced over. "Why do you know all that?"
"Petty thief, remember?" Aesir replied, "I have my ties here."
"Alright, are you comfortable doing it then if there might be a conflict of interest?" Delta asked. "We're not really looking to arrest a friend of yours or whatever, and there's plenty of other quests we could do. They just might be more likely to involve fighting."
"I'm fine to do pretty much anything…" Finn added, fidgeting with his hands. Nich nodded his agreement.
"Well… depending," Aesir sighed, "Because I might be able go get whoever it is to stop and make any necessary reparations. But I don't know if the quest giver would be alright with that. It's up to you guys. We can look into it more, but if things look troublesome, we can back out."
"You're intent on protecting them?" Castor asked, "I thought you'd kind of abandoned that life."
"There's an understanding," Aesir replied, "A kinship, of sorts. People steal for all sorts of different reasons, but for many- at least those independent of guilds- it's usually out of necessity."
Delta nodded a bit. "Alright. We'll look into it, and if you're uncomfortable with it, we can find another quest to do. There's lots of adventurers in this area, especially with this project, so I'm sure someone else can do it if we don't." They picked up their papers and stuck them in their bag.
"Works for me." Nich shrugged and stood, wincing a bit. "I'm not exactly picky what we do, anyway. Especially since you guys barely know me."
"Fair enough," Aesir replied, "Hopefully, it won't be a hassle, and we can get it done."
Castor tilted his head. "And if not? Got anything else in there?"
"Yeah, plenty. Feel free to take a look and see if there's anything that interests you." Delta passed the papers to Castor and finished off their coffee. "We've got plenty of time to finish the project, but this particular quest may not be available soon, Stu we may want to get going."
Castor skimmed the papers.
"I see. I'll look at the rest later, if things don't work out here," he said, "We should get on that, then."
Aesir agreed, emptying their mug.
"Yup. I'm ready whenever you lot are."
Delta nodded and put the papers back in their bag for the time being. Once everyone was up, they looked to Aesir. "Alright, Aesir. Do you know the way?" They asked. "I can guide us with a map if needed, or Finn can use a direction spell, but if it already know how to get there that would be quicker."
"I think we can manage between me and Nich here," Aesir replied, "Let me see that location once more?"
Castor stood up with a slight groan. He pressed a hand to his side and massaged around the wound gently.
(Thief perhaps new character? 👀👀👀 Just not a rogue archetype thief)
(Oooh)
Delta handed Aesir the paper with the location written on it, which Nich checked out as well. "Oh, I know where this is! It might take a while to get there, but not any longer than a day. Do you guys have to wait around to get a reward for dealing with the gnolls, or are we just going to get going now?" He asked, looking at the group.
(Yeah! I'll have to think a bit, but I'll probably have them figured out tomorrow. Probably some sort of magic user though)
"We need to get some stuff signed off, actually," Castor said, "While we're at it, we might as well pick up the reward."
Aesir finished looking over the paper as well. "Yeah, and this trip should be fine. Like he said, it's not too horribly far. It makes an almost perfect triangle between here and the school."
(Ooo)
"Sounds good." Nich nodded and shifted his stance, his prosthetics clunking on the floor. "I wonder how I'd do at a magic school. I never really had the money to go to school past high school." He laughed sheepishly, and Delta looked over at him sympathetically.
"They might be willing to let you in, even if it's a year or two late." Finn shrugged. "Especially if you've got the talent. They're always looking for fresh adventurers."
"Well, it's never really too late. We have people of all ages taking classes there, although it is mostly younger adventurers," Aesir explained, "You can always get someone to sponsor you, too. I didn't have the money, so that's what happened to me."
Castor nodded. "Same here. After working with some of the right people, they recommended the school to me and helped me pay my way."
"Yeah, I guess so…" Nich laughed nervously. "I just… thought it might be interesting, I dunno. That might not be a good enough reason to invest in adventuring school or whatever."
"As long as it's a good reason for you, it doesn't really matter!" Finn insisted with a bright while. "Even if you're only going for fun, that's a good enough reason in my book. It could be a good experience, who knows?"
"Speaking of which, why are you guys here?" Aesir asked, "What pushed you to make the decision? I came because I thought it could maybe help me do something with my life besides thieving for a living. And since I was able to get a sponsorship, money ended up working out. Actually… the person who gave me the sponsorship lives here."
Castor shrugged. "Well, I basically explained it already. I accepted the financial help because I wanted to grow stronger, so I can take on harder contracts when others can't. I want to be able to protect people."
"I've always wanted to be an adventurer." Finn replied with a bright smile. "Going to the school was just the next step for me, and my parents are helping me pay."
"I was already doing it more or less, so I figured I might as well get the proper schooling and certification." Delta shrugged. "How I got the money to do so is my business."
"Shady! I like it!" Nich hit Delta's arm playfully and they rolled their eyes.
"No one was gonna question how you got the money 'til you brought it up," Aesir laughed, "That said, I know better than to press on it."
Castor gave a halfhearted smile in response
Delta huffed and crossed their arms. "Well, um… now that that's out of the way!" Finn laughed nervously, looking around at the group. "We should probably get going, yeah? We can keep chatting on the way. Not about money though, I guess."
"Yeah, yeah," Aesir sighed, "Let's collect that pay, get our papers signed off-"
They got up and walked ahead of the others before giving a little wave to the barkeep.
"Thanks for everything!"
Castor got up from his spot, letting out a deep breath as a stitch of pain lanced up his side. He would be fine to travel, probably, but it sure kept him quiet.
The tavern keeper waved the group off, and soon they were gone. "I guess we'll have to find other accommodations now that this quest is done." Finn hummed thoughtfully. "This tavern isn't especially close to the new quest anyway, right?" He asked, to which Delta and Nich nodded.
"There's more taverns around that we could stay in. And I could charm my way into getting people to let us stay with them…" Nich replied. "A lot of people around here know me, after all."
"Right. We can always use some of the money from this quest to fund accommodations for the next one, too," Aesir suggested, "Free inn rooms are better, but we should have the means anyhow."
Castor let out a deep sigh. "Sure, but could we maybe… not room together this time? You and me?"
Aesir frowned and gave a little shrug. "If you have a problem, you can say that straight out, y'know."
"We can also get all separate rooms." Nich suggested. "It doesn't matter. Like Aesir said, we can use the money from this quest for accommodations." Finn nodded in agreement, wandering idly in the midst of the group.
"Or we can switch up the rooming. It doesn't matter. I know Finn can fall asleep regardless of what's happening around him, so." They ruffled Finn's hair teasingly and he huffed. "And I'm not particularly bothered by anything either."