Parallel: Residential Issues

Wealth by Getting Stabbed

Of all of the people Mitrhe knew, only 2 could use weapons effectively, a pair of Caravan Guards that frequented the tavern for a couple of nights every 2-3 weeks after their trips. And he figured they could hook him up with a teacher if he paid well enough.

"Somun t'teach ya t'fight wit axes?" The burly man glanced at him, "D'ya know how t'use em normal?"

"Yeah, I've used axes for wood cutting, animal slaughter, and such for years." The reply was easy and natural, this was fairly normal though, an axe was an essential tool in everyone's lives.

"One'r are Lutes can teach'ya." The burly man turned to his slightly slimmer companion. Who glanced over and sighed, almost sounding resigned.

"Officer Zacks can teach you, but I don't think he'd have the time. He goes on every trip, if you had some decent armor we could haul you along for no pay, you do the job, consider the 2 weeks of teaching payment enough. If you are good enough, Captain might even hire you on. It's not that unusual. Got any other skills?" The slender man looked bored, if a little curious, a bizarre dichotomy Mitrhe didn't think he would ever figure out.

"Good with a bow, some tracking, digging, a bit of woodcraft. Not much else." Honesty would clearly be the best policy when it came to this, puffing himself up would make him look like a moron later.

"I'll suggest'ya. Might b'good fur'ya, s'more teachin'all." The burly man, while nearly incomprehensible at times, was smart, and stable, Mitrhe had seen him win in chess 4 times out if 5 against the wiry one, who was clearly high-born by the way he talked. "Jus tell'em Jasp n'Baker sent'ya. Ought'a getch'ya through."

"We are currently staying just outside the city. With the new mayor being a Summoned, the Captain thought it would be best to avoid any potential conflict. Head out the west gate, about 200 meters north of the road, big red pavilion, you can't miss it." Jasp relayed the directions crisply, before downing his drink and winking at Tracey, who blushed and waved back. Mitrhe was pretty sure she was the reason he kept returning, and Baker probably came for the cheap, but decent booze and to cover Jasp's back.

Thankfully, the night was uneventful, a slight brawl on a nearby street was quickly contained, and Mitrhe enjoyed a easy night.

---

Jasp was right. You literally could be blind, deaf, and dumb and still not miss the red Pavilion. It wasn't really all that big, you could carry it on a single pack-horse. What was unmissable was the shade of the cloth. It was the most blindingly red shade of red that red had ever been applied to as a word. It was so red, if you distilled the idea of red into its purest possible form, anyone comparing the two would insist the pavilion was the more red of the two.

"Wow. That is a RED pavilion." You may think he was simply stating the obvious, but you don't just glance at an erupting volcano, you go "WOW, an Erupting Volcano!" Like the RED pavilion. Approaching the pavilion, Mitrhe was greeted by the view of a camp that was quickly being broken down. Tents were being collapsed amd stowed as the cook fires released heavenly smells. Catching the attention of one of the men, Mitrhe relayed what he was told by Jasp and Baker, and was directed to the RED Pavilion. The flaps were tied open, and a few people were standing inside and talking over breakfast.

"Excuse me, I'm Mitrhe, I was directed here by Jasp and Baker as somewhere I could work for fighting lessons, and perhaps get a job." Doing his best to avoid slang and accents, Mitrhe was surprised when one of the men handed him a bowl of stew and shushed him.

They were talking about paprika. The entire conversation was about whether paprika could actually work as an aphrodisiac. These men looked like hardened veterans. And they were talking about something so very... mundane. And then they turned to him, clearly expecting his opinion in the matter.

"I've had paprika in dishes several times, and I've never noticed any aphrodisiac effect... Maybe it only works in large amounts?" He figured this was important to them, and so offered his opinion, if in a slightly confused tone.

"Yeah, he'll do." One of the three, the tallest and broadest of them nodded as he spoke, his voice changing to be clearly more serious than before.

"He sniffed his food and checked for poison when he thought we weren't looking, kid's got brains if nothing else." The second man, only slightly shorter than the first, and with quite a few more scars added his thoughts.

"Eye for axes, functional if low-end armor, good fitting boots, and 3 knives in different locations. I don't know about smart, but at least he's not an idiot and came prepared." The third man snorted as little as he spoke, almost but not quite derisive.

"He didn't notice me at all, so I guess a scout is out of the question." The voice came from all around him, but changed its tune when he saw Mitrhe pointing straight at his still concealed body wrapped in a nearly invisible fold in the tent. "Huh, I stand corrected. He's passable, if a little slow on the uptake." The voice shifted to become clearly feminine. As the fold shifted to reveal a tightly muscled woman in metal-scaled leathers.

"Are you the Captain?" Mitrhe could see the deference the 3 men gave the lone woman.

She grinned and replied, "Most assume it's Able." As she pointed to the largest man, he could see why, he held his head with confidence and pride, but he nodded to her when she appeared, giving himself away ever so slightly. "I tell you what kid, Zacks here will teach you to use axes on this last Caravan run we do, if by the end of 2 weeks you can impress me with your learning ability we'll hire you on as a member of the Scarlet Swords. Sound good?"

"What do you expect me to learn in 2 weeks exactly?" Caution was best when dealing with people who could probably kill you before you blink.

"How to not die instantly." The reply was almost instant, no thought put into it, as if it was obvious to her and should be to all.

"Deal." This was the reason he had come to this city in the first place. And he was unlikely to be able to get an opportunity like this again.

---

Unexpected things are frustrating, uncomfortable, and often less than fun, and that's often because they are inherently unforeseeable, otherwise they would be, as should be, obvious and expected. So when his 'training' started with an unexpected dagger sliding into his back, he was understandably upset.

"AHHHRHGG!!" And screaming in agony seemed like a good way to express this particular brand of upset.

"You need to learn to not die instantly, for that, you need a couple of things," Zacks was calmly speaking, almost lecturing as Mitrhe lay on the ground, blood pumping steadily from his wound. "You need to understand pain, what is and isn't a fatal blow, how much blood you can lose before fainting, and of course, how to predict attacks." He paused momentarily to glance at the writhing man on the ground in front of him. "You may need some practice with that last one."