B1 Chapter 9 - First Day of Work

I was sweeping outside with Nancy today. Most of the other girls were asleep, and I would have to leave for work soon. Newbies like me started early, but I hoped Jackson would bring over the meat before I left.

“The world seems just a little brighter today,” Nancy said. “We will be in autumn before we know it. Do you like the autumn?”

“I guess?” I said. Never really thought about which seasons I liked more.

“I take it you never did anything special?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Harvest means farmers are busier, but that is about it. Let me guess, Drachenlict does something beautiful?”

She nodded. “The church of each town is the tallest building. And our ancestors planted specific trees over some of the flats. When their leaves fall, they seem to paint the ground. From high up, it is quite a beautiful sight, and because the winds blow them, every day it is like a new portrait.”

“Really seems like Rumora is dog shit by comparison,” I said. Though autumn paint leaves, maybe one day I could see that for myself.

Nancy chuckled. “Rumora has its own set of charms. Just they tend to be more private than public from what I see. Like, I am sure your family did something interesting during the winter months when you had little to do in the fields.”

“Hmm,” I paused, thinking about it. “When it got really cold, we would roast potatoes over a fire and tuck them in our blankets to wait for them to cool off as they warmed up our blankets. We would also try different toppings for them.”

“See,” she said. “Sounds nice. Anything else?”

“We also played a game. Rock, rain, and wind,” I said. “We would count to three and then make a gesture with our hands. Rock was unmoved by wind, but eroded by water. While wind blew water away. So we would see who could win the first three games.”

Nancy stopped sweeping for a moment. “We had a similar game when I was a kid. Except we had a sword that cut a spear’s handle. A spear that pierced a shield and a shield that blocked a sword.”

“Interesting,” I said.

“So what was your favorite topping for baked potatoes?” Nancy asked.

“Butter, chives, and a pinch of salt,” I said. “The salt really brought out the flavor.”

She smiled. “I bet. One difference in Rumora’s favor is that salt is way cheaper. Drachenlict is mostly flat lands, and we import things like salt, so using them willy-nilly on a potato would be something only a noble would do.”

“Huh, guess we got one over you. No salt mines in Drachenlict?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not a one. No shore either. Rumora’s hills are little treasure troves of resources. Unlike my home.”

“You ever plan to go back home?” I asked.

“Maybe one day, but not anytime soon. After all, you all need me, right?” she asked.

“Uh, that just seems self-sabotaging,” I said, looking away.

“Like skipping meals?” she said, pointing at me.

“That’s… different,” I said.

“We both live a harder life because we want to help people, right? So why should you think my situation is bad? You wouldn’t want me to think your situation is bad, would you?”

“Okay, point.”

Nancy noticed someone walking up. I glanced to see Jackson.

“Hey! You made it!” I said.

“I did!”

“Hmm? Someone to walk you to work?” Nancy asked.

“Huh? Nah. I don’t need that,” I said.

Jackson set down his pack. “I come bringing a donation. Meat. A full dire wolf. Bones, meat, and fat.”

“Oh my,” Nancy said with a curtsy. “Thank you. This will be quite useful.”

“You should thank Alexis, she is the one who made me go through the work,” he said.

Nancy raised a hand to cover her mouth as she giggled.

“So, last time you will be at the shelter?” he asked.

“Everyone seems to think that, but no. I plan to live here a while longer,” I said.

“Huh?” he asked.

“I think you are missing the opportunity here, my boy. She is saying she plans to walk to the guild a lot, and I am sure she wouldn’t be opposed to a big, strong man walking with her,” Nancy added.

I blushed. “You don’t need to make it sound like I’m helpless!”

“She makes a point, we haven’t found the men that attacked you,” he added. “I’ll see if I can get the right shifts at the guardhouse so I can walk you each morning.”

I pouted a bit, but before I could say anything, he grabbed my hand and we started walking. We were a couple now? Is that what was happening? I had never dated anyone before! I didn’t know the rules! Though, to be honest, his hand felt warm and I liked it.

“Scared?” he asked. “First day, right?”

“I’m not scared,” I said. Maybe a bit nervous, but that was about it.

At the guild, we sort of stared at each other awkwardly before he waved and went on his way. Presumably to his own job.

I entered the guild, and the lady at the desk waved. “Welcome, Alexis! We have been expecting you!”

I didn’t recognize the girl, but I gave a curtsy, which she returned. “I heard my uniform is here.”

“It is! Cecilia is already getting changed. By the way, I am Gwen by the way,” she said. She led me to a room to change. I was wearing my yellow dress, which took less effort to change, but stuffing it into my bag was annoying. I guess from now on, I will just wear my uniform.

Coming outside, she looked at me with a wide grin. “Looks great, right?”

The uniform was composed of a white blouse with no covers above the top of my bust, but it had sleeves. A vest went up around my neck, leaving really just my shoulders bare. It came with a long skirt as well. It was pretty and I was proud to be wearing it, and that was before we even got to the significance of how it meant I had done a good job on my mission.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Oh, can I sell this?” I asked, holding up the dire wolf crystal from yesterday.

“Hmm, of course, but how did you get it?” she asked.

“A boy gave it to me yesterday,” I said.

She froze as she looked at it. “He gave you such a nice core, and you wanna sell it? What’s wrong with him?”

“Huh?” I asked.

“Like, you don’t wanna date him, I assume,” she added.

“Well, I hadn’t given it much thought,” I said.

“Then you can’t sell it yet!” she turned and called out. “Dawn! Cecilia! Alexis got a core from a boy!”

“What?” Dawn said, rushing out. “What kind?”

Gwen looked at me.

“Dire wolf,” I said.

“Was it from the boy who walked you here? He was handsome,” Gwen added.

I blushed even harder. I was at risk of turning into a tomato.

“Why do you wanna sell it?” Dawn asked.

“I mean, it is worth something, right? Plus, I don’t know how to do anything else with it,” I said.

“No way, girl. Imagine if you get married to the guy, it would be heartbreaking if you had to tell him you sold the first core he gave you. Wait until you are sure you aren’t marrying him to sell it,” Dawn added.

Celicia nodded. “A dire wolf core is practically an engagement stone!”

“What! I wouldn’t have accepted it if I knew that!” I said.

They all giggled. “How did you not know this?” Gwen added.

“I grew up in a farming village; my father would have married me off if I stayed, so it isn’t like I was planning my own future,” I said.

Cecilia hugged me. “Poor farm girl. City girls often fantasize about the day a man gives them a good-quality crystal. I thought a succubus core would be the most romantic. Like a gift of fertility, a blessing to our children.”

“I thought the most romantic would be something like a dragon or a leviathan,” Gwen said.

“Oh my gosh,” Cecilia said. “Top-tier monsters.”

“Well, I dreamed big,” Gwen added.

“What about you, Dawn?” Cecilia asked.

“I… uhm, well,” she pulled a necklace out from under her shirt, with a nice pretty yellow stone carved into it. “My husband got me a horned rabbit core. The fur was used to make a me bag for warm smooth rocks for when I get cramps too.”

“Horned rabbit, anyone can nab one of those,” Gwen said.

“Yeah, but I always thought horned rabbits were the cutest. So it was what I wanted. The fact that he knew I wanted a horned rabbit made it feel more romantic to me too. Like some girls would be insulted to get a horned rabbit. But not me.”

“So what was the name of the guy?” Gwen asked.

“Jackson,” I said.

“Oh! He is a farm boy too! So perfect. Maybe he doesn’t know about the significance of what he gave you! How cute!” Gwen said.

“Should I give it back?” I asked.

“No!” they all said in unison.

“Even if you reject him, returning it would be like an insult,” Dawn said. “It is like pity. He can’t do anything with it but sell it. Gifting it to another girl or keeping it would be out of the question.”

“Yeah,” Cecilia said. “If I found out a man had a rejected crystal of another woman. I would be so upset!”

Huh. I guess I really had a lot to learn. Before I could think of asking anything else, I noticed a man coming down the stairs.

The girls stood next to me in a line. “That’s Zach, the guild master. Oh, he is good at shaping crystals and could probably turn that into something useful for you.”

“Good morning, girls. How are the uniforms? A good fit?” he asked.

“Yes sir,” I said with a curtsy.

He smiled. “Good. Today, we will have you working in the back. Just to get used to things a bit.”

“Sir,” Dawn said. “Alexis has a dire wolf core. Would you be willing to work on it for her?”

“Dawn!” I shouted.

“Sorry, but Cecilia mentioned that you weren’t moving in. You shouldn’t be walking to the shelter with something that expensive,” she added.

“You aren’t moving in?” Zach asked me.

I shook my head. “No sir.”

“Can I ask why?” he asked.

“I wanna save up my geld for when my sister comes to live with me. I’d also rather donate my spare geld to the shelter,” I said.

“Huh, quite noble. Okay, I’ll work on the core. I was going to ask you two girls a favor for me anyhow,” he said.

“Oh?” Cecilia and I asked.

“Yes, you live at the shelter. I was hoping you could write me a detailed report of the women there. The recent disappearance of a mother and child is a concern of mine.”

“Oh, Bethany! And her son Brandon,” Cecilia added.

He nodded. “A slavery organization hunts in this town, but they had never taken a sick child before. If their pattern is changing, I wanna get ahead of it.”

Well, fuck. The last thing I wanted was to be investigating my own actions. I supposed it was good to know he was investigating, if nothing else. I knew slavers were nearby. I mean, most towns that would be a true statement, but I knew this town lost a few women a year to slavers. I was really hoping Bethany would be assumed to be just another slaver kidnapping and not draw attention. I guess I wasn’t that lucky.

Yeah, this shouldn’t be a thing for the guild without a quest. This was a guard thing, and from Nancy’s attitude, it appeared they did a lot of nothing. So I guess it really was bad luck. Well, rolling with the punches is all I can do.

“Of course, sir. I only ask that I be given some ink and boards to record my findings for you,” I said.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll have them ready for you by the end of the day.” He held his hand out, and I handed him the dire wolf core.

Dawn took me and Cecilia to a backroom with a lot of crystals. They were sorted by size and color. The baskets they were in also had labels. Horned rabbits. Poor bunnies. Digger rats and even vampire bats all had large piles. Poor guys, though I shuddered at the slime bucket, which was nearly overfilled. All four of these monsters were among the weakest types of monsters, as I understood it.

She took out some thick leather gloves. “You’ll need these.”

I doubted that, but I didn’t mind putting them on. She grabbed a pot. “Today, we will be boiling digger rat cores, then sanding them.”

We had to begin by fetching water from a well. Cecilia wasn’t quite as strong as I was, so I asked her to start the fire, and I brought bucket after bucket of water for the giant pot. Dawn then grabbed what looked like a boat paddle wrapped in cloth.

“Stirring can be a two-woman job. Be careful not to damage the cores. We expect a few bad ones and a few to break, but we don’t wanna lose most of them, okay?”

I nodded.

“How long do we boil them for?” Cecilia asked.

“Honestly, it varies, once they look pretty with color. Boiling really brings out the color in them. But no more than two hours. Okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” I said.

Cecilia was managing the fire well, and since I had already gotten all the water in, I began tossing in digger rat cores. They were all a mildly pale blue with hints of other colors in the center.

“I thought it was going to be more like paperwork,” I said.

“Same,” Cecilia added.

“It is,” Dawn said. “But the guild shifts from super quiet to super busy times. So we only do this when it is slow. We show you this stuff first to get you a bit more used to the atmosphere here. Rather than throwing ya in with the wolves or are clients day one. I am gonna head to the front. Shout if you need help.”

We waved goodbye to Dawn, and Cecilia then tried to stir the cores. She found lifting the paddle to be easy enough when it was dry, but she could barely move it once it was in water. I came over to her to help. Wow, it was heavy. Definitely glad to have Cecilia with me.

“You sure you aren’t tired?” Cecilia asked me. “You carried the water after all.”

“Nah, you started the fire. Plus, she said this is a two-woman job.”

“It feels like I am more a fourth of the job here and you are the other three-fourths,” she added.

“Even if that was true, so what?” I said with a smile.

The pay was good, and the coworkers were friendly; it would have been even better if I didn’t have to touch dead monster parts, but I suppose two out of three wasn’t bad.