The inside of the TTS Arkalis Office was decorated with maps of places Ashinaro didn’t recognize. A good chunk of it was taken up by a long counter of gemglass displaying sealed maps with price cards next to them.
Ashinaro couldn’t see the contents of these ones, but in addition to price, they were labeled with geography, and he recognized the names. These were maps of different parts of the wilds surrounding Arkalis, and other places farther afield. Their prices ranged from several copper to many gold; the largest—and presumably most detailed—being the most expensive.
There were two signs above this counter, right next to each other. The first and larger of the two read ttc arkalis office. The second read job hall.
“Oh hey look,” Zanas said, “a pair of trolls working at the Troll Trading Company. What a surprise. I wonder if everyone who works for them are trolls.”
Ashinaro hadn’t thought about it, but he wondered about it as well now. It would be like calling something the Drakken Trading Company. Though maybe it was a governmental thing like the council was.
Behind the counter was a man facing away from the entrance, having a conversation with a woman sitting in a chair next to a closed door reading a book.
“If they don’t like it they can go somewhere else,” the man said to her.
“But that’s the problem,” she replied without looking up from her book. “They can’t go anywhere else. Where are they going to go? To the drakken?”
“Why not? It’s not that far away.”
“That’s not the point. The point is we have to—” The woman looked up and spotted Ashinaro standing by the door.
“I’ll handle this,” Zanas said imperiously.
“Handle what?”
Zanas suddenly strode through the door behind Ashinaro, not in his skeletal form, but masked as a person Ashinaro didn’t recognize.
He was wearing fancy clothing and a large colorful hat that made him two-heads taller.
Both the man and woman were staring at him.
“Hail,” the man said cautiously. “What can we help you with?”
“Behold, you are in the presence of greatness!” Zanas declared in a booming voice. “Grand Prince Master Architect Venatonakaontis is before you. May his words be law.” He bowed deeply to Ashinaro, who did his best to keep his expression neutral.
“Ah,” the man said, looking between Zanas and Ashinaro, “I am Thi-Oric, Your… Highness, and this is my partner, Ru-Taris. How… may we assist you?”
“I’d like to buy passage on the Divide Crosser.”
“Of course. When are you looking to leave?”
“When’s it arriving next?”
“Tomorrow night. Departs for Fairwind the following morning.”
“That one.”
“Right then. Let’s see what we have left.” Thi-Oric flipped open a logbook sitting on the counter and turned a few pages until finding what he was looking for. “Steerage for four hundred fifty-seven, or economy for six hundred eighty-eight, and then two premier-class cabins, one for ten thousand nine-hundred, the second for fourteen thousand six-hundred. That one comes with meals, drinks, and personal attendant.” He looked up from the book, smiling.
Ashinaro’s hope died at hearing the prices. “Fourteen thousand copper?” he asked hopefully.
Thi-Oric laughed, as did Ru-Taris.
“This one’s funny. Fourteen thousand copper, that’s good. We only take gold or cores. I would say we take silver. We used to, but our bank’s source of conversion has been stingy lately about taking it and we don’t have enough crafters who need it, so now we only take gold. And cores, as I mentioned. Those are easier to carry around, but Beast cores are surprisingly hard to exchange here. I get the impression they’re more common for some reason.”
Well, that was something. At least they took Beast cores. Technically one coren—a single Beast core—was worth ten gold, but good luck getting most merchants to accept them in Argalis. Seemed to be different here, which meant Ashinaro was richer than he thought. Though not quite rich enough.
“So forty-five corens for the cheapest. Fourteen-hundred for the most expensive.”
“Oh, His Highness can do simple math.”
“Don’t be rude to customers,” Ru-Taris scolded.
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Thi-Oric chuckled. “He knows I’m just joking around.” He favored Ashinaro with a broad smile. “So, premier with an attendant, then, I take it?”
“I think you made him think I’m rich,” Ashinaro said mentally to Zanas.
“I’ve got this,” Zanas sent back while he smiled at the man and spoke. “My master is no shielded noble. He wishes to grace this fledgling settlement with his wonderous aid.”
Thi-Oric squinted, looked at Ashinaro, then back at Zanas. “He wants a job?”
“The merchant can parse simple meaning! The world rejoices!”
Ru-Taris laughed.
Thi-Oric frowned at Zanas, then forced a chuckle. “If you want to be able to complete it before the ship arrives, it will have to be a simple job.” He smiled at Ashinaro. “Just so happens I have a few of those. Don’t mean to be rude, but I need to know your renown to assign one.” He squinted. “Your veil is quite good. You a Sovereign? We could use another of those.”
Thi-Oric wasn’t veiled and was himself a Sovereign Champion.
Which confirmed even someone of higher renown couldn’t see through the mask’s illusion.
“Well obviously,” Zanas said. “It’s my mask. And I’m amazing.”
Ashinaro wasn’t sure what he meant by having a good veil, though. A veil was a veil.
He considered his response. From the sound of the notice outside, he’d get higher paying jobs if he said he was a Sovereign Champion. But he’d also likely not be able to complete them.
Before Zanas could speak for him and dig him in even deeper, he said, “Defender.” He glanced at Zanas. “Like he said, I’m not looking for special treatment, just some honest jobs.”
“Well, I certainly have plenty of those.” Thi-Oric pulled out a sheaf of papers from a shelf behind the counter. “How are you with tight spaces?”
Thi-Oric had a multitude of jobs to choose from, far more than Ashinaro expected.
None suitable for a Defender paid enough for a ticket on the Divide Crosser, so he’d have to do several of them. Even then, getting on the next ship didn’t seem likely unless he came across some valuable item or rare core on his job.
The job he ended up going with was a simple mapping job that paid one silver. He was to map an area less than a half-day’s run from Arkalis called the Briny Grove using a map seed.
It was a kind of item Ashinaro had never encountered before. All he had to do was bring it with him and activate it like a linked item once he was in the grove, and it would record the topology, as well as the monsters in the area.
And the job included a free map. Only one of the eleven copper ones, but free was free. It would be useful since Ashinaro was unfamiliar with the area around Arkalis.
He’d visited Briny Grove once before, but that was a long time ago.
The reason an area so close to Arkalis hadn’t been scouted yet was something Thi-Oric lamented as he went over the job with Ashinaro.
“All rich, aren’t they? No offense. You don’t seem like those pampered sort. We have all these godsworn about, but none of them willing to take jobs unless they pay several gold. Oftentimes not even then.”
Apparently while the TTC was great at building ships, they weren’t so good at planning what a new settlement would need. Namely, workers. There were several employees of the TTC who had come along, but not enough to do all the jobs they needed done.
“I’m sending a message we need more workers with the next ship. But they take their sweet time, so it’ll be another two or three rotations before I actually get sent new ones.”
“Don’t see you going out there yourself,” Ru-Taris said.
“Can’t, can I? Stuck here administrating things. Say I go out and get mauled by the mistfiend like Orn-Kalot. Who’s going to run things then?”
“Me.”
He scoffed, turning his attention back to Ashinaro. “Watch out for this one, she’ll slit you from behind if she thinks there’s gold in it.”
“Stop lying to royalty. Your jokes are not obvious jokes. Also, distasteful.”
“Distasteful is getting mauled by the mistfiend.”
“Orn-Kalot is fine, and you’re stronger than her.”
“I’m higher renown. There’s a difference. She’s got…”
Ashinaro was barely listening. He’d been distracted since Thi-Oric’s mention of Orn-Kalot.
He still remembered that quest from Excite he’d tried to purchase from Kakoris, the one that had mentioned Orn-Kalot.
Perhaps he could get two more relics if he completed it, or at least one for telling her Excite was interested in her. Since no one could remember anything but their judgement of a quest without the scroll, he didn’t know if you needed to have the scroll to be able to complete the quest, or if it was some kind of loophole. He still hadn’t figured out how he was able to remember it.
Ashinaro’s distraction cost him, as by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.
Zanas was proclaiming Ashinaro would finish the job better than anyone had ever finished a job. “Now, we must be going. Remember this day as the day you had the honor of being graced by the exalted prince master of quests! So many quests. And his loyal pet! Who’s the best pet ever!”
Zanas hurried to the door, pushed it open, then stood bowed before it, his ridiculous hat tipped precariously like it would fall off at any moment.
Ashinaro quickly left before they could ask any questions.
Thi-Oric and Ru-Taris stared at the door the prince and his flamboyantly dressed companion had just left through.
“What’s a pet?” Ru-Taris asked.
Thi-Oric shrugged. “Not a clue.”
“I don’t know why, but it makes it feel like he’s important.”
“Must be, to have someone introduce him. I’m a Champion, and no one knows of my deeds. Imagine how many people will know of his by the time he reaches Hero.”
“What was that about?” Ashinaro asked Zanas as they walked through the city looking for lodging.
He was making Zanas stay inside him after his display at the job hall.
“And what was that name you gave him?”
“I’m not sure. It just popped into my mind.”
“No, I mean what was it? I’m going to have to go by it now.”
“I don’t remember. Don’t worry, they won’t either.”
Ashinaro sighed. “You can’t just pop out like that. What if someone saw you appear from nowhere? I don’t need that kind of attention.”
“I don’t know what came over me. I just had the sudden urge to let them know of your greatness.”
“You need to learn to control your urges. I think getting your head knocked off might have damaged your brain.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have a brain.”
“That’s something I can bel—”
“I AM a brain.”
