NB: Last chapter before 2022 rolls in. Happy holidays.
Lost in Realm
17
Did people offer a job like this?
Nhilva had to blink several times before her brain finally registered what was happening. Instead of putting a post on the billboard like everybody else, this individual just walked up to a random stranger and asked if they wanted a job. It was rather unusual. Imagine if you were browsing for freelance online, suddenly there was a pop up window offering you a job. The pop up blocker was created for a reason. She would personally consider the person a scammer, the physical embodiment of a pop up ad. But that was in the modern day and this … think-of-me-bob didn't look like a scammer to her at all. Yes, scammers don't put a sign on their forehead that read "scammer." She wasn't that naïve. Still, she really didn't think he was one. Chiseled cheekbones, blond hair, cornflower blue eyes, sparkling clean armor with a symbol of some deity she did not quite recognised on his chest. No, she did not believe this was a scammer at all. This one was a paladin. A paladin can't surely be a scammer.
Unless he cast a disguise-self spell on himself?
She highly doubted that.
"Usually, you put a piece of paper on that board over there," she couldn't help but point out. "And wait for people to get back to you."
The male's grin deepened. "I have tried that. Yes, people turned up. Alas..."
"Not what you were after?"
"Not where they are after, more like."
Nhilva frowned. She had this gut feeling it wasn't as simple as extracting personnel from somewhere in Luskan. "Where are we talking about, exactly?"
"To the Frozen Waste, the Icewind Dale borders."
Icewind Dale was the arctic tundra located north of Luskan. It was a harsh, near-uninhabitable region. A permanent ice box, in her opinion.
"Are we going to Ten Towns?" she asked. Ten Towns were the key settlements scattered around Three Lakes. A hint of pride rose in her chest. It seemed her knowledge of table top roleplaying games from the other life was still pretty good.
"Not quite," said the paladin honestly. "We will be at this side of the Spine of the World. At Klauthen Vale area, east of Hundlestone."
"That place is protected by a dragon," Nhilva said. "No wonder people declined. Don't tell me you are going to hunt that dragon? "
Klauthen Vale was known hereabouts to be the home of Klauth, a red dragon.
"You are pretty knowledgeable for your age." The blond seemed amused. "And no, we will not be hunting Klauth. We are going there for something else."
"What else is there, apart from snow, snow, and more snow?" The drow female quirked a silvery brow. "Sheep? Goats? Wait, don't tell me you are after Rothe. They aren't exactly that rare and interesting to get. Not worth the coin, let me assure you."
The paladin gave an even wider grin that almost categorized as a dazzling smirk. And for a moment, she was indeed dazzled, and starting to wonder if he was actually a scammer in disguise.
"No, we are not going there to hunt the Rothe," he said. "We are going there to hunt the white bear."
"The White Bear?" The drow's crimson eyes blinked again. She wasn't expecting that. "I suppose I must say they are about as rare as dragons. Though you might consider looking a little further northeast. I heard hunters encountered one or two there."
"Again, you are pretty knowledgeable for your origin and age." The man inclined his head. His eyes twinkled with deeper amusement.
"Careful there, you are in Luskan, a city practically crawling with drow."
"I mean no disrespect, ma'am. It is a compliment."
Nhilva suddenly concluded inwardly this paladin had the full potential to be a scammer and a rogue. Wait, maybe they were the same thing?
The creature inside her shoulder strapped sack moved. Seconds later, Bishop poked his head out, looking at the paladin curiously.
"Cute kitty," remarked the man after seeing the fur ball. "He appears to be injured."
"Magical wounds." The drow rubbed Bishop's head lovingly. "Been scratching every corner for coins to heal him."
"Specially brewed potions don't come cheap."
"You know that, too, huh?"
"Then more reason for you to join us. The pay is really good, more than your day-to-day commission here." The paladin cocked his head at the billboard.
"Look, sir .. what's your name again?" Nhilva chewed her lips.
"Bastian."
"Bastian." She looked at him. "I am sure you are fully capable and the others you have found so far are fantastic, but I can see why you ended up coming here, looking for someone to join your expedition. No one is their sensible mind will want to risk their hide to hunt for a legendary beast only a handful of people heard of."
Bastian interrupted her grand speech of declining the job. "What if I tell you there is an insurance on each one of us who join?"
Wait, a what now?
Seeing her blinking at him once more in confusion, the paladin chuckled. "Yes, our employer has gone to the Mercenary Guild and put insurance on all of us. Should we successfully finish the job, there is an extra bonus on whatever we are paid. And if we are injured or maybe killed, the bonus will be even higher and goes to surviving member."