Chapter 54: Picking a Path

“Mercenary companies mean stability,” Aila explained, taking a sip from her mug of tea. “If you join up with one, you have an organization that supports and supplies you. Weapons, armor, lodging, and guaranteed pay. Even if you aren’t on duty for some assignment, the company still pays you, at least the good ones do. They invest in you and you put in the work to make coin for them. It’s a fair exchange.

“But, you have to follow orders. You sign a contract for a certain number of years of service, plus there’s usually mandatory training, drills, that sort of thing. Whatever the captains say, you do. If the company says they took a contract to sail to Weigrun and secure the land from demons, then you have to go. Unless you want to break your contract, which means paying a large fee. Or worse if you don’t have the funds.”

“So you signed up for that, joining Bernd’s Blades?” Syd interrupted. “You signed a contract with them, I mean?”

“Yes, but not the same kind my uncles did,” Aila said before taking another bite of her eggs. “I’m not technically a mercenary. I don’t have a combat class so I don’t qualify, at least not for Bernd’s standards. I’m a ‘camp follower’ by legal definitions. The contract isn’t as binding or lucrative, but it has its advantages. If I do get a combat class when I hit level twenty, I have a guaranteed spot in the company, should I choose to join.”

To Jadis, it sounded like the job Aila had taken was almost like a paid internship. She did the not so glorious work for now, banking on the idea she’d get a better, higher paying job in the company later.

The whole setup seemed far too similar to how Earth businesses operated to Jadis. She’d expected a little more fantastical adventure, less mundane business practices. Then again, she supposed people everywhere were just trying to operate in an efficient manner. Companies and contracts made sense when you were dealing with making money. Besides, the companies in question were still mercenary companies that were fighting demons, so it wasn’t all that bad.

“What about independent mercenaries?” Jay asked between mouthfuls of sausage.

“And guilds? Captain Renz mentioned guilds, but I don’t know how that differs from mercenary companies. Do you?” Dys asked, the latter part directed at Syd who performatively shook her head in the negative.

Aila took a few moments to chew before answering, head tilted a little to one side in thought.

“Guilds are just that. They are guilds. Groups of people who are organized, working together for mutual aid. They aren’t oriented towards combat like mercenary companies, though, at least not typically. Merchant guilds, explorer’s guilds, alchemist’s guilds, and so on. Practically any business you can think of, there’s a guild for it.”

“So if we wanted to, say, chop down trees instead of slaying demons, we could join a lumberjack guild?” Dys asked.

“Lumberjack?”

“Er, logging guild,” Dys hastily clarified. Add another word to the list of phrases not known or used by the people of Oros. Or at least not in the ‘Empire’.

“Right,” Aila nodded, brushing past the unfamiliar word. “If you wanted to join a guild, you’d have to pay dues, but you’ll also be protected and supported. It’s not exactly the same thing as a mercenary company, but it’s a lot easier to succeed in a business venture if you are part of an appropriate guild.”

“And independent mercenaries?” Jay asked again. Jadis wasn’t too interested in learning more about guilds, at least not for the moment. They didn’t sound at all like they would meet her needs.

“Independent mercenaries are those who have signed up with the local governmental body, usually the magistrate, to operate as mercenaries without a company backing them.”

“That all?” Syd prompted, a small frown creasing her brow. “I mean, what’s the point of signing up? Does it do anything?”

The redhead put her fork down to take a knife to the bread, slicing off a piece. As she buttered it, she explained further.

“If you sign up as an independent, you gain the legal right to come to restricted areas like Weigrun, places the empire has deemed too dangerous for ordinary citizens to live or travel. It’s not a free pass to go anywhere and everywhere you want, but you can go to more places than you’d be able to otherwise. It also gives you license to hunt magical beasts and claim bounties.”

“Wait, I—we can’t claim bounties without being a mercenary? What about the demon matriarch we killed? Renz sent people to verify,” Jay cut in, sitting up a little straighter.

Jadis had assumed Renz was being honest, everyone at the forward camp had treated her kindly. But had the captain sent his men to go take the proof of the demon mother’s death, so they could take the bounty for themselves? She hadn’t even thought about the possibility that they might be cheating her.

“Anyone can claim a bounty on demons,” Aila assured Jay, motioning with one hand towards the waitresses who were standing in an open doorway, whispering to each other. “Those girls there could claim a bounty on a demon, if they somehow managed to kill one. The Empire doesn’t care who slays them, just so long as the demons are destroyed.

“The bounties I’m referring to are for magical beasts or common outlaws. Not just anyone can go out into the wilds to hunt poison drakes or the like. You have to have a license for it or be in a hunter’s guild, for example. Being an independent mercenary is one way to get that license. Same for hunting bandits or outlaws. The empire doesn’t want just anyone to run around causing trouble trying to track down wanted criminals. At the least they want you registered and in their books so if you do cause damage or harm, they can hold you accountable.”

“So being an independent mercenary is kind of a catch-all, then. Opens a lot of doors, lets you potentially do a lot of different things,” Syd said, nodding her head in understanding.

“Yes, that’s a good way of looking at it,” Aila agreed. “I have a distant cousin on my mother’s side. Garlindt. He gathers silver caps in the forests around the base of Kalters Wall—”

“You mean the mountains where we’re from?” Dys interrupted. Jadis was a bit confused on the geography. Kalters Wall were the mountains she’d appeared at the base of, in the north part of Weigrun.

Aila blinked, thinking about the question for a second, before realization changed her expression and she clarified.

“No, not on this side of the wall, up north. If you go straight north, though the mountain range, you’d be on the southern side of the central continent. Kalters Wall divides Weigrun from the rest of the continent. It’s only possible to get here by ship since the mountains are so treacherous. My cousin lives north of the Wall, but in the southern reaches of the central continent.”

“Ah,” Dys nodded, understanding the layout better. “Sorry, please continue.”

“Right,” the redhead agreed, taking a moment to remember her point before resuming. “My cousin Garlindt is an independent mercenary. He gathers silver caps and hunts some magical beasts, like thornroot boars. He makes a good living, and has the freedom to set his own terms, be his own man. On the other hand, since he’s not a part of a company, he had to work his way up on his own. He spent many years, dangerous years, at low levels with inferior equipment and little funds, struggling to make his way. He got there, eventually, and now he and a few other independents work together and are secure, easily of a level to handle any of the normal dangers they face in those forests. But it was a gamble. Fighting alone or in small groups is risky. He could have easily joined the ranks of the many who thought they could find their fortune as independent mercenaries and only found their graves.”

Jadis understood the implicit warning. Being an independent mercenary meant she’d be mostly on her own, too. No structure to fall back on and pay her bills, heal her injuries, or protect her if she got too far in over her head.

The idea didn’t bother her. Jadis had been fighting on her own against demons for well more than a month. She’d proven she could handle herself. And, considering her odd classes, she had her own support structure built in. With three of her, she was never completely alone. Sort of.

“What about them,” Syd inclined her head towards the two waitress that were still talking in low tones in a doorway, no other customers around for them to wait on. “They don’t look like mercs. How come they get to stay here in Weigrun if the place has been ordered evacuated?”

“They’re part of a guild, I’m sure,” Aila said after a final bite of buttered bread. “Being in a guild that was hired to act as support is one way of getting here. Or some merchants actually pay the empire to come, since supplying mercenaries in safe zones like this can be extremely profitable.”

Guilds again, which didn’t sound like the right path to Jadis. Nor did official mercenary companies, for that matter. Jadis didn’t want to be a soldier taking orders, she wanted to be an adventurer, going where she wanted, seeing new lands, slaying monsters, ravishing the occasional fair maiden, and just generally doing as she pleased. Maybe that was an irresponsible plan, but it felt right to her. D had told her to ‘shake things up’ but had been vague on what methods she could use. She could probably become quite a force for any mercenary band she joined, make a real difference in the war efforts against the demons, she was sure. But she could do that as an independent as well, and thus also better please herself. She wanted the freedom to roam and do what she willed. Maybe not the smartest choice, she admitted, but if felt like the right one.

She just hoped turning in dead demons for bounties would earn her the money she needed to afford food, much less equip herself.

“Thank you Aila,” Jay said with a smile. “That was a lot of good, useful information. It made a big difference in our planning.”

“You are welcome,” the redhead acknowledged, returning a small smile to Jay.

Turning towards her other two selves, Jay raised an eyebrow and said, “Independent?”

“Independent,” both answered in unison.

Keeping up the show was important so far, so she kept up the act of communicating between her selves as though they really were sisters for now. But now came another decision, one that rested more on the other person at the table.

“So, we’re going to register as independents. Once we do and are out of danger of breaking any laws, do you want to come with us to hunt some demons? We’re happy to help you get the last two levels you need to be level twenty, at the least.”

Aila seemed to think over the offer, her purposefully neutral face not betraying much of what was going on in her head. With her back straight and hands folded in front of her, she looked like a poster girl for good posture. It irrationally made Jadis want to see the redhead flustered. Thinking back on the flush on her pretty face from earlier, Jadis found she much preferred that look to the icy visage she presented now.

“I do have a job with Bernd’s Blades,” she stated slowly. “I can’t run off on my own. I’m free today, but tomorrow morning I’ll be driving the wagon back to the forward camp, then making a circuit around the forest perimeter for the next ten days. And, if you are going to be an independent, then you won’t be allowed into the camps, not freely, and certainly not to work in joint venture with the company. You’d be competition.”

“Ah,” Jay murmured.

So the obstacle was duty to a job. However, what Aila had said wasn’t an explicit no. That meant she had to be at least a little interested, Jadis surmised. Well, bold action had served her well in the realm of combat. Why not here and now?

“How long does it take to sign up for mercenary work?” Jay asked, pushing away her plate, now clean of food.

Aila seemed slightly confused by the question. “I’m not sure. Not long, maybe an hour at most? It’s mostly just filling out a form.”

“Perfect,” Jay grinned. “We’ll go sign up now and, if you want, you can join us on a little hunt. Trust me, Blue, when I say we can move way faster when we aren’t following a cart. You come with us out into the hills and we’ll see how much experience we can earn for the rest of the day.”

“You can’t say we couldn’t potentially make a lot of progress in that time,” Dys pointed out. “We got you a whole level in just one fight. Give us a whole afternoon of hunting and who knows? Might get you there by nightfall.”

Aila’s lips thinned a little, eyes contemplating the three giants. Jadis could practically feel the redhead assessing her, weighing the risk versus the reward.

“And what do you get out of it?” Aila abruptly asked.

Jay quirked an eyebrow. “Who says we have to get anything out of it?”

“Kindness is one thing. Charity is another. What you are offering is something nobles pay high level mercenaries to do for their children for a lot of coin, and you are trying to give it to me for free. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to insult, but the gift shines too brightly. I won’t be blinded to the costs that hide behind it.”

Aila was cool in tone, not accusing, but certainly not friendly. Jadis had the feeling Aila must have been burned by a bad deal in the past to look at her offer with such icy scrutiny. Or maybe it was cultural? Either way, Jadis figured it was time to apply a bit of blunt honesty. The freckled, stern girl seemed the type to value bluntness.

“We aren’t asking for anything upfront or in payment afterwards,” Jay explained, leaning a little closer towards Aila and lowering her voice. “If you accept, we’ll take you hunting with us for the afternoon, with our promise to bring you back to Felsen by nightfall, safe and sound, no strings attached. If you don’t want to, no offense taken. All that being said, there is something we could use help with and we’d rather your help than anyone else.”

“Can’t imagine asking your uncles,” Syd said from Aila’s side, laughing a little.

“Remember we said we all take the same classes and skills?”

“Yes,” Aila nodded, face a little less neutral and a little more curious.

“Well,” Jay continued, “Our secondary classes give us access to ritual spells. The one we unlocked most recently requires a minimum number of participants. If you want to repay us for the leveling, you can help us perform the ritual.”

“Ritual spells?” Aila repeated, a dawning look of comprehension crossing her face. Sudden light filled her eyes as she leaned forward. “You have a class that focuses on ritual spells? A Ritualist archetype?”

“Yes,” Jay confirmed, Dys and Syd nodding along. By now, all four were leaning in towards each other around the table. Aila kept her voice hushed, but the excitement was palpable in her tone.

“You have a high number in the eldritch attribute, don’t you? All of you?” she asked, eyes darting between the three.

“It’s our highest stat, actually,” Dys admitted. She figured a little more honesty couldn’t hurt.

Aila laughed, cutting the sound off quickly. “Do you know much about Assignment Theory?”

At the three’s blank expressions, Aila shook her head and continued. “Never mind the details. The short of it is, scholars who study classes believe that a big part of what classes are offered to you have to do with what you do as well as what your attributes are. The class descriptions we get all but confirm that, but what I mean is, the more exposure I have to magic and spell casting the greater chance I have of unlocking a magic casting archetype class at level twenty.”

“Then it sounds like you’d be interested in participating in our ritual, huh?” Syd said, grinning mischievously. “Regardless of leveling with us.”

Aila drew herself back a bit, regaining a bit of composure. “Yes. I most certainly would. If what you want is an extra hand in a ritual, I’m willing to join you three. In fact, I do want that more than even the leveling, and it would be even better to perform that ritual before I level to twenty. Though, that just puts me back into a position of owing you even more.”

Jay sighed, shrugging. “You don’t owe us anything. It’s a fair exchange. We want to do a ritual, you want magic experience, it’s win-win. But if it’ll make you feel better, how about this. In exchange for an afternoon of leveling, you take us on a date.”

Jadis inwardly smiled at the way Aila’s eyes widened in surprise, her cheeks flushing a little. Clearly, she hadn’t expected Jay to just come out and ask her like that, and honestly, neither had Jadis until the moment had come. It was a risky plunge, but worth it in her assessment. Not everyone knew when they were being flirted with, and Jadis wanted to make it clear that while she really didn’t mean to make any demands of Aila, she was interested.

“All three of you?” Aila finally said, eyes drifting between Jadis’ selves.

Crap. Jadis hadn’t thought of how that might come across. Three sisters propositioning the same woman. That was probably weird. There was nothing for it.

Jadis nodded all three of her heads, not backing off from what she was presenting in the least.

“We do everything together,” Jay said with a lopsided grin, mirrored on the faces of her other selves.

“…Okay,” Aila agreed after a long pause, hiding her flush by tossing her hair back and resuming her perfect posture. “I, uh, I can agree to that.”

Wide grins spread across all three of Jadis’ pale faces.

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