Halsan watched as I paced around in front of him for an awkwardly long time, deciding to continue working through some of the paperwork that formed several small mountains on his desk, which collapsed as I slammed my hands onto the desk suddenly.
Startled, and more than a little annoyed by the chaos his desk had been subjected to, he yelled at me. "I'm glad you take their plight so seriously, but please contain yourself a smidgen." He leaned forward, placing his head in his hands and rubbing his face.
"Oh, sorry. I have an idea though. Can I assume that whilst the people are being taxed, the tradesmen and the town are not, in order to keep the town developing?" I asked, whilst briefly trying to return some of the papers to their piles. Stopping when he slapped my hands away from the documents.
"Yes, you can, now state your thoughts and leave me in peace. For the love of my sanity, leave me in peace." He sighed.
"Well, I remember being told that the adventurers guild is independent and not overseen by the state. So, make all the townsfolk subjected to the taxes adventurers, have them sell to the guild, then you can buy them from the guild and issue them as rations which are tax exempt. It won't work long term, but we don't need forever." I explained as my face stretched into a smug grin.
"You know that face of yours makes me less inclined to follow the advice it speaks, no matter how sage it might be. Providing Byurik agrees, that should buy us six months which should be plenty." Halsan sighed, before scratching his chin. "How should we handle the townsfolk employing the tradesmen without money though?"
"If I had to guess I'd say that should be covered by the town under a state of emergency order, the guild can then reimburse you from the individual's guild account." I shrugged before folding my arms.
Halsan threw his hands up in surrender and asked me to send Byurik his way, then asked me to speak to the townsfolk on his behalf and see how they would feel about it, stating he didn't want anyone to feel like they were being forced into adventuring life.
As he finished, Leeson and a very labored Doran entered. Leeson started laughing when he saw Halsan and I talking casually. "Sorry for the interruption, Doran here ran over in a panic, saying "He stormed off in a hurry! Who knows what he might do." So I came over all gallant like, ready to rescue our beleaguered lord." He adopted a tone of mockery, but it was clear he was concerned by the idea of me losing my temper. I had told him the consequences of being found undeserving of my help after all.
Halsan laughed as he clapped a single time, declaring it a stroke of luck that they had arrived and he wanted the two to accompany me in my chores. As 'happy' as he was to see them, he seemed far happier as he banished us all from his office.
Leeson joked about how much his lord had aged since my arrival, then asked what our first stop was going to be. As he began laughing at how I had managed to drag Byurik into things, I realised that he was far from the standard commander type. Most people in his position have a tendency to be hard headed, authoritarian types, a stark contrast to the hyper relaxed attitude of the man I was quickly becoming friends with.
As the three of us entered the guild building, we garnered about as much attention as one would expect, being free from national interference meant local military commanders should be a rare sight in their halls and yet now one was strolling in accompanied by a new arrival who had been granted a chaperone and proven himself noteworthy a mere day before.
Valo approached and cleared her throat, eye twitching from the unexpected appearance. "How might I help you three today? Teacher and Doran are one thing, but the local Commander should really know how to make appointments." Valo was clearly not a fan of the tidal wave of surprises that washed me through the door and continued to roll in each day since.
Feeling in a playful mood and concerned she might blow a blood vessel if her stress level wasn't brought back down quickly, I hugged her and turned her away from the others. "I'm very sorry for the interruption, you look stressed so I thought a hug might help." I gestured with subtle nodding and my eyes for the others to head for Byurik, whilst Valo grew ever redder as surrounding adventurers wolf-whistled.
As she reached her fill of embarrassment she pushed me away and turned to where Doran and Leeson had been standing, unaware that they were already standing in the open doorway of Byurik's office already, which I dashed to as well, as soon as she turned from me. Waving to her briefly as she jerked her head in my direction, stress returned, even bubbling into rage as the adventurers said they'd never seen a woman chase their man so quickly.
It was amusing, but I could feel that my grave grew deeper with every word.
As we closed the door to the master's office, Leeson placed a hand on each of my shoulders, looking sombre as he shook his head slowly. "I will miss you, don't worry, I'll visit where we bury whatever she leaves."
"Can you idiots please tell me what brings you here, then leave before my office becomes a horror story." Byurik joked, as Leeson and I laughed and Doran stood awkwardly trying to blend into the background.
"The dead man walking here apparently made a suggestion to Halsan and now the tired old man wants to meet with you to discuss the matter. We have to go speak to the people like some kind of missionaries and hopefully live long enough to do so." Leeson looked back at Doran, warning him to keep the next bit secret. "The girl also took a pint out of her Teacher, displaying a level of ability he couldn't match, we have no choice but to take his warnings seriously. Let Valo know her blood lust may be put to better uses soon enough."
Byurik sighed, looking longingly at the paperwork on his own desk, sensing that it would probably be less draining than whatever was waiting to be discussed. "I'll head out after you all leave, I might avoid becoming collateral."
With that settled, I was sent out ahead of the others, a chew toy to distract the guard dog so to speak. Of course as the door opened, Valo was waiting and quickly hugged her again and turned her away from the door. "I'm sorry, I just get embarrassed by public displays of affection." With the added touch of running my hand through hair, I repeated the same gesturing with my head and eyes and the others headed out. Leeson barely managed to keep himself composed as he passed, mouthing the words "you are so dead".
As they reached the ground floor, Valo pushed me off and turned to face the others again, who were signalling that they needed more time. With no other options I pushed her into Byurik's office and told them to run, holding the door closed as laughter filled the hall, then I heard an adventurer shout that the others were clear and I launched myself down the stairs and dashed after them.
All hell broke loose behind us, but we all decided that was a mess better ignored. We bid Byurik a brief farewell, then Doran, Leeson and I waltzed off to do our bit.
The people we spoke to were surprisingly loyal to Halsan, they told us they knew he had been trying to convince the central authorities to change. I found myself growing increasingly fond of everyone I had met, which was an encouraging development.
Leeson watched intently as I spoke to everyone, it took hours and was mentally draining on us all. Doran's popularity with everyone was helpful for me as a stranger, but I was good at talking and I didn't even need to employ any less savoury means of convincing. I kept talking, explaining, bowing in apology on Halsan's behalf. Insisting that he was still pushing forward to find the singular best outcome for everybody. "What do you think though?" A woman asked the final person I needed to speak to.
"I'm a stranger, I won't claim to know the business of this kingdom." I replied curtly, not wanting to dismiss the question, but wanting to avoid coming across as arrogant or condescending.
"I don't care who you are or where you're from, you have Halsan sending you on errands with Leeson and we all know you cleared the woods like a mad man thanks to the adventurers. I want to know what you think."
"I think if things don't change they are going to get very bad, very quickly. We need to break free from their rule, if we don't they'll use whatever is left of the people as the foundations of their new capital. I would rather it didn't come to that, it would mean a great many deaths." My words made Leeson flinch, understanding their meaning.
"Well no one wants that, sure I'll become an adventurer, a little old for such things, but better late than never I guess." The old woman cackled a while before abruptly slamming the door on us and I had no idea what to do in response. It was a brand new sensation, as we stared at the wooden door.
"Feel good to make a difference?" Leeson said, slamming me on the back and unwittingly souring my mood.
"Is that what this is, feeling good for making a difference, if it is then why am I only knowing it now? I should have felt it countless times before now, so why was I denied it?" Leeson grabbed the back of my neck firmly.
"I don't know what demons are running round up there, but I'd rather not have to smack them out of you, so could you save the breakdown for another time?" I couldn't help but glare at him reflexively, and it wasn't in a normal way, warriors like him had a unique empathetic talent and he found himself smothered in a thousand lifetimes of seemingly wasted effort. The weight of the look faded immediately but left him more nervous than his near miss with Sil, he hadn't even realised he had reached for his sword.
"What the hell was that?" He panted, confusing Doran who wasn't at that level. "It felt like I had an army bearing down on me." He asked with little hope of an answer, not that he would have understood if he got one, but relaxed with a deep exhale saying that for a moment he could have sworn my eyes turned black as pitch.
"The day you truly understand it, I promise I'll put you out of your misery." I spoke in my original language, before returning to theirs. "Sorry, I said I think your fear of Valo is getting to you." I then waved them off, saying that I was done for the day and heading back to face her wrath alone and they saluted their false hero.
The guild erupted into laughter as I crashed backwards into the door, Valo hopping on one foot as she raised the other to nurse it. "Kicking you feels like kicking concrete. Entirely unsatisfying." It was a very good hit, the hardest one I had taken in a very long time. (Not counting Sil, who had the advantage of being a judge.)
"Of course I'm sturdy, don't get to look this good at my age if you're on the flimsy side." I was goading her, hoping to push her into venting her frustration a bit more, but she was onto my plan and relented before that.
As she stormed off to return to her duties, the door nudged me slightly, then sent me flying as Byurik forced it open with all the might he could muster. "Somebody fix the damn door!" He yelled before he noticed me laying heaped a few meters away. "Let me guess, you broke it? Well now you get to fix it, that's the least you could do after landing me with this headache." He seemed annoyed by my smug face in the same way Halsan had been.
I snapped my fingers and restored the door and the floor which was scratched by his forceful use of it. "Well if that's all you want in exchange I call that a bargain, I was gonna pick up your tab for a month, but guess this'll do boss. You're way too nice for your own good." Byurik crushed the bundle of papers he was carrying in his large hand, then grimaced when he realised what he had done and headed to his office.
After things relaxed in the guild and I retired for the night, genuinely exhausted. Finding myself alone, I took the bed, my efforts were more deserving of the comfort than Sil's sulking. I struggled to sleep though, what my mind and body wanted proved to be of no consequence. I thought about using magic, but had to refrain, if I had someone able to wake me then maybe magical sleep shuts your senses off and leaves you vulnerable.
Irritated by the insomnia, I yawned and decided to lay there with my eyes closed regardless, which proved unexpectedly useful when paired with my childish silent treatment upon Sil's return.
Assuming I was asleep she approached and kneeled next to, floorboards creaking with her movements. "All I want is to be alone with you for a while, is that really too much to ask? Why do you have to treat me so poorly?" The sound of her pining only influenced my annoyance.
"Because you can't be trusted, I have no desire to be 'alone' with you or anyone. I only care about making this world as nice a place to live as possible, or burning it all down if I find it rotten at the core. This duty is important, not a chance to have an extended holiday. If you want alone time with someone I suggest finding someone interested, though you will need to work on your personality first."
"You're awake? Why… why would you pretend to be asleep?"
"Trying to get to sleep and pretending to be asleep are very different things, the fact you haven't even realised how to tell when someone is genuinely asleep yet is proof you haven't made any efforts." I sat up as she asked me how long it took me to learn. "I can tell on instinct, breathing, skin tone, weight, these things you just pick up when you sleep around others. So tell me, if you haven't learned to tell whether I'm asleep, why do you want alone time with me?"
She stammered briefly trying to form a response, angering me even more, so I mimicked her stammering before calling her an idiot and continuing. "It isn't love, if it were you wouldn't keep your eyes off me long, clearly it isn't because you want to learn from me, the truth is you seem to be avoiding me as much as possible. Only one sort of person keeps an eye on you from a distance while deceiving you."