Give and Take - Ch. 06 by man_as_dog

Give and Take

A young newcomer, dreaming of adventure and a better life, crosses paths with a veteran who has lost himself. Can they help each other find what they seek? Or does their partnership only end in tragedy?

* * *

Chapter 6

The goblin's sharp eyes scanned the horizon behind them. Nothing. At least, nothing so far.

"I...I don't think we're being followed." Alice said, glancing up at her mentor hesitantly.

"That's probably a reasonable assumption."

"Yeah, I'll bet." The goblin muttered, unable to keep the unease out of her voice, remembering the bodies Jay had left smoldering on the floor of the inn's hallway. A part of her was still upset about that. Or maybe upset wasn't the right word. Confused was more like it.

Alice was no stranger to conflict, having grown up in the slums. There was always some fight, some scuffle happening. More than once, someone had staggered into the tavern, clutching a rag to a stab wound. A few times, a regular had just vanished, never returning to the bar. No one said anything, but everyone knew what had happened.

Seeing people killed right before her eyes, though, that was something she hadn't been prepared for.

Even still, he had saved her life. Those men...she had no doubt they meant to slit her and Jay's throats if they could have.

Alice kicked a small stone, watching it bounce down the road.

She was still wrestling with the idea of kill or be killed. When it came to people at least.

In the Hollow, things had seemed so straightforward. Kill monsters, look for treasure, get stronger. Then the day before had flipped her whole world upside down once more. It all started with that demon. She scowled at the memory.

"That should be a good place to take a rest."

Jay's voice caused her to jump. She glanced up at him sheepishly, hoping he hadn't seen her frowning. The human's eyes were fixed on the horizon, and Alice followed his gaze. A small copse of trees stood in the distance, perhaps a couple hundred feet from the road.

"Yeah, alright." Despite herself, the goblin knew she sounded tired. Oh well, it was probably pointless to try and hide it from Jay, anyways.

Silence stretched between the two as they made their way closer to the small cluster of trees. As they drew closer, Alice noticed that these trees weren't like any she had seen before. Instead of leaves, the branches were covered in clusters of what looked like green needles. They were everywhere around the trees, covering the ground between them. A lovely aroma filled the air; an unfamiliar, refreshing scent.

The goblin picked up a few of the needles, letting them fall between her fingers back to the ground.

"Have you never seen evergreen trees before?" Jay asked, a clearly bemused look on his face.

"How in the nine hells could I have seen this kind of tree back in Alquetz?" Alice asked wryly.

The human stopped, thinking for a moment.

"Fair point." He relented, eliciting a chuckle from the goblin.

Jay busied himself with getting some supplies out of his little black disc, as Alice settled in. She sat between two roots, leaning back against one of the trees.

The goblin took the opportunity to look over her mentor, finally getting a calm moment to think, after watching for pursuers for most of the morning.

The past day had been wild, tossing her thoughts about like a ship in a storm. And at the center of that tempest was Jay. She had always known he was strong, of course, but to see justhowstrong was shocking. Not only that, but the two extremes he had shown; the feral joy he had shown fighting the demon, compared to the cold-blooded efficiency when he had dispatched the would-be assassins. It was enough to leave her feeling dazed, unbalanced.

And yet...he had told her about himself. Aboutwhyhe was this way. He had gone out of his way to try to let her understand him, even if he didn't have to.

A large part of the goblin also felt drawn to that strength, like someone seeking shelter during a raging storm. Just what did that say about her, that someone with such terrible strength was the one who made her feel safest?

"Here, you should eat something."

Jay's voice pulled her from her musings, his outstretched hand holding a sandwich.

The two hadn't stopped for breakfast that morning, simply leaving the inn and town as quickly as possible, and Alice's stomach growled at the sight of the food.

"Thanks," she said, taking the sandwich from him. It was a simple thing, just some cured ham and goat cheese between slices of bread, but it tasted incredible as she bit into it. Hunger was the best seasoning, as they say.

The two ate in comfortable silence, sating their hunger.

Maybe...maybe this was more about herself, rather than Jay. He hadn't changed, only her understanding of him. And possibly their relationship. She still trusted him, and he still treated her with respect. However, there was something else different between them now. Something she couldn't quite name.Thatwas the big change.

But change was good, right? It was thanks to change that she was no longer a barmaid in the slums, being run ragged by work and family. It was change that put the weapons on her belt, put the newfound strength in her arms. Change that brought her and Jay together.

All these thoughts whirled inside her head until she felt dizzy. Shaking her head slightly, she remembered one of the things her old boss used to say:In life, the truth is what you make of it.

She looked up and found Jay watching her, a flicker of concern in his eyes. She was still slowly learning to read him, but this one was obvious.

"You should get some rest." It wasn't an order, but a suggestion.

"What about you?" Alice asked, finishing the last bite of her sandwich.

"This is far from the first time I've gone without sleep." Jay chuckled dryly. "I'll wake you in an hour or so, and we can continue."

"Alright."

She gave him a grateful nod, and slumped down lower between the roots. The chirping of birds and soft buzzing of insects filled the air around the copse, lulling the goblin to sleep. Her eyelids were already heavy, and the cool breeze pulled at her hair gently. The last thing that went through her mind before sleep claimed her was a feeling of safety, knowing Jay was watching over her.

Maybe that was all that really mattered.

* * *

The pair took another few shuffling steps forward, as the line inched along. Alice gave an impatient huff at the human's side, and Jay couldn't really blame her. They'd been standing in the blazing sun for almost an hour now, and there were still more than a dozen people ahead of them.

Entering larger cities was always an ordeal, but the process seemed unusually slow that day. Word was, a trading caravan had caused trouble earlier and clogged things up at the gate. Something about smuggling, the people around them were saying.

"This is ridiculous." He heard Alice mutter, the goblin crossing her arms with another sigh.

"It seems like the queue has started to move again."

"Yeah, well, I wish it would hurry up." She rolled her eyes. "So, we're still in Alephys, right?" She asked, looking up at the human.

"Yes." He gestured at the walled city before them. "This is the city of Maldun, one of the biggest in the entire Duchy."

"I can see that." Alice ran her eyes over the walls that towered in front of them. "And I thought Alquetz was big..."

"Alquetzisbig, in its own way." Jay mused. "It is more sprawling, though. Alephys has a long history of warfare, and cities are generally well-planned and surrounded by walls."

"You certainly wouldn't have to wait in a line to get into Alquetz..." Alice grumbled, before falling silent.

The two had been lucky. After leaving Greenwood, they had stumbled upon a merchant's caravan heading in a similar direction. It had been easy to offer protection in exchange for seats on one of their wagons, the head merchant overjoyed to have an A rank adventurer along for essentially free. The pair had traveled far over the past two days, reaching one of the major cities in the Duchy. The caravan had continued heading north, but the pair had gotten off at a small outpost near Maldun.

It would be a good chance to visit one of the larger branches of the Adventurer's Guild. Jay wanted to increase Alice's rank when they had a chance. It would hopefully give her a bit of leverage against the casual racism constantly thrown her way. Not only that, but her skills were far beyond the "G" ranking she currently held.

The line slowly moved another few steps forward, and Jay had to hide a smile as he heard his companion mutter darkly under her breath.

A pair of guards nearby were chatting idly while watching the line. They kept their voices low, but as Jay and Alice got closer, he could catch snippets of their conversation. It seemed to just be idle gossip, until one of the guards drew his focus like a twig snapping in a quiet forest.

"...another disappearance..." The next few words were inaudible to the adventurer, but a moment later, he caught a few more. "...two people...commercial district..."

The line moved forward again, and Jay was able to get a little closer to the pair of guards. He kept his gaze ahead, not wanting to give away the fact that he was listening. He strained his ears, trying to catch more of the conversation.

"...even the Guild..." One of the guards was saying, and Jay saw, out of the corner of his eye, him glance darkly at the city walls. "...several adventurers even...no trace..."

The conversation was interrupted as another guard came jogging up, retrieving the pair and bringing them towards the front of the line. It seemed as if there was another disturbance.

Jay made a mental note of the information, storing it away for later. He wasn't overly concerned. There was always something going on in cities as large as this one. Even in a country as orderly as the Duchy of Alephys, there was always some kind of rot beneath the surface in the cities. The fact that some adventurers had disappeared as well wasn't even enough to worry him. It wasn't uncommon for over-confident adventurers to be taken down, inside or outside a Hollow.

Still, he'd keep an eye and ear out. Trouble had an annoying way of finding its way to him, regardless of how little he might be involved.

Finally, the queue seemed to be moving at its rightful pace. The pair made their way up the line, eventually reaching a group of guards and a few officiants responsible for checking all the incoming visitors. The guards seemed bored but attentive enough, while the officials scribbled furiously on parchment, likely recording information for some kind of census.

Jay felt Alice stiffen at his side, doubtlessly remembering the reception they got at Greenwood. However, the officiant who approached them didn't even glance twice at the pair's Guild plates, before waving them through, his attention immediately returning to the sheaf of parchment in his hands.

He heard Alice breathe a tiny sigh of relief as they walked past the checkpoint, moving into the massive entranceway of the city.

A moment later, they emerged into the city and it took a few seconds for Jay to realize his pupil was no longer next to him. Looking back, he saw her standing just outside of the inner gate, craning her neck to look upwards, a stunned expression on her face.

"Alice?" he asked, bemused, as he walked back to her.

"Holy crap..." she breathed. "Why is everythingso tall?"

Jay glanced up at the buildings that surrounded them. She had a point. There were almost no buildings under three stories tall within eyesight, and most were several stories or more taller. Compared to the white granite that the imposing walls were built from, most of the buildings inside the city were constructed of limestone, which gave the atmosphere a softer white glow as the sunlight hit them. Jay had been to Maldun before, but he couldn't deny the beauty of the place.

"As I mentioned before, Alephys has a long history of warfare. When the city ran out of space to build inside the walls, the only direction left to go was up." Jay explained, gently guiding his student out of the middle of the street before she got run over by a carriage or wagon entering the city.

"I guess thesewouldmake someone feel safer." She chuckled, gesturing to the massive wall. "Are they really needed?" She turned to him, a quizzical look on her face.

"In the modern day, one might say 'no', but..." Jay looked up at the huge portcullis and gate of the entrance. "In the most recent war against the Demon King, Alephys boasted the smallest loss of life. At least, among the countries that the war reached."

"The Demon King..." Alice said in a hushed voice, looking around warily like he might be peering at them from around a corner on this very street. "We only ever heard rumors about that back in Alquetz..."

"Yes, thankfully the war never made it that far south." Jay said, glancing at the walls again. "In large part, you have Alephys to thank for that. The demons spent far too long sieging the walled cities of this country."

"It sounds terrifying." She said, a small shudder running through her. "Did...did you fight in the war?" Alice asked, looking up at him.

"In a way, yes." Jay kept his answer vague. He didn't want to get into that part of his past at the moment. Too many buried painful memories.

She looked like she wanted to ask more, but after a second, she turned her gaze back to the buildings around her, taking in their sights once more.

"So, now that we've arrived, what's our first move?" Jay prompted, looking down at his student.

"Find a decent inn, right?"

"Correct." He gave her a small smile. "Let's head to the hospitality district. It shouldn't be too far from the gate. Then we can look for a satisfactory place to stay."

"Hopefully one without a racist old creep for an owner." He heard Alice mutter, as she followed him down the stone-laid street.

* * *

Alice followed Jay as they left the inn, heading back out into the streets. She had been pleasantly surprised; not a single dirty look had been thrown her way when they rented a room. The proprietor had even been willing to rent a room solely for the goblin. Well, with a deposit at least. However, she had asked Jay to rent a room with two beds again, which he agreed to after a moment's consideration. After what happened last time, she felt a bit more secure this way.

Now, their destination was the Adventurer's Guild, though Jay hadn't mentioned the reason they were headed there yet. Hopefully, this one would be a bit more welcoming than the one back in Greenwood. She had only gone with her mentor to that branch a single time, and that was more than enough for her. The goblin had never gotten so many suspicious, or even downright hateful, stares at once before. Apparently rural adventurers didn't take kindly to non-human members.

A clattering of hooves brought Alice back to reality, as she followed Jay, dodging away from a horse-driven carriage trotting down the road. Maldun was going to take some getting used to for her.

She was still a bit in awe at the city surrounding her. The streets were pristine, not a pile of refuse in sight. It almost felt wrong to her. There were no drunks passed out in the alleys, no shady merchants trying to ensnare passersby, no sounds of fights or squabbles coming from the open doorways of taverns. The city felt more like a painting than a place people lived and worked.

Alice tried her best not to look around wide-eyed at all the sights. She didn't want people, or mostly Jay, thinking she was a bumpkin or something. At least she had been able to change out of her travel-stained outfit back at the inn. Maybe she at least looked somewhat like she belonged there.

"We're getting close." Jay said shortly, stopping at a crossroad to let a wagon amble past.

"Right." Alice nodded. "Uh, so why are we going to the Guild?"

He looked down at her, his expression as hard to read as ever.

"We need to increase your rank." He said simply, as the pair started walking again.

"My rank?" Alice blurted, surprised. "You think so?"

"Do you still feel as though you're a G rank?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well...if you put it that way..." Alice mused. "Actually, I kind of wondered why we never tried back in Greenwood."

Jay just shook his head.

"Rural branches often do not have the proper people or equipment to do official rank increases," Jay started. "But, even assuming they did, those tests are left solely to the discretion of the staff and branch head. Do you really think they would have given you a fair chance?"

"...ah." The goblin's mouth twisted wryly. "I guess not."

Her mentor was silent for a few moments, as the pair wove through the increasingly crowded streets.

"You are ready for the exam. You deserve a higher rank. I'm sure of it." Jay said quietly.

Alice stared at him, eyes wide. She was so stunned that she almost bumped headfirst into a woman walking the opposite direction, the human giving her an amused look as Alice ducked out of her way.

It was probably the most straightforward praise Jay had ever given her. He always told her when she did something well, but it was basically always attached to her lessons, or with how she could further improve. But to hear him just openly say she should be ranked higher...

She looked down at the clean stones beneath her feet, hiding the smirk that had spread over her face.

Alice looked up again after getting her expression under control. They had entered into another district of the city, the buildings here even taller and more imposing than the ones before. It was actually a little unnerving to the goblin. To have countless tons of rock above her, leaning over her...

She shook her head, trying to refocus.

They seemed to be in some kind of commercial district, perhaps one that specifically catered to adventurers. Alice could see numerous storefronts on the street level, each one proudly displaying their wares. Weapon shops, apothecaries, outfitters, travel goods, and even other shops that she couldn't identify at a glance surrounded the pair.

"There it is." Jay said, pointing ahead.

Alice looked up, fighting the urge to swallow nervously, her mind going back to Greenwood once more. Even the Guild branch back in Alquetz had been more welcoming...

Still, she wanted to keep an open mind. This branch certainlylookedlike it was different from Greenwood's, that much was obvious.

Sitting at the next intersection was the city's branch of the Adventurer's Guild. It was a grand building, simple and built for function, but its simplicity alone gave it a certain stark elegance. The building was at least five stories tall, discounting any basement or attic. As with the surrounding buildings, it was constructed from limestone, and clearly meticulously cared for, the walls a pure, pale white. The right side of the building's ground story was dominated by a series of counters facing out into the street, each manned by a member of the Guild's staff. There was a queue of people, all of them waiting for a chance to approach one of the counters.

"What's with those?" Alice asked, indicating the line of people and the counters.

"Those are where civilians can submit requests to the Guild." Jay explained, weaving around a group of people chatting in the street. "In larger cities like this, they often have a place to queue outside of the Guild. Keeps the inside from getting too crowded."

Give and Take - Ch. 06

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