{"sf1_id":921437,"sf2_id":null,"title":"A Tale of Ashen Wings - Chapter 5: Grail of Mercenaries","author":"Andre Valias","words":1845,"posted_at":"2015-10-13T22:50:00.000Z","tags":["Dark","Dragon","Elf","Male","Market","Mercenary","Sellsword","Smithy","blacksmith","bounty","guard","jobs"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/921437-a-tale-of-ashen-wings-chapter-5-grail-of-mercenaries","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/921437","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=921437\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\"The price of ashplums has gone up again!\"\"Yes, apparently the farmers have refused to work--\"\"Maybe I'll move to the Imperial City instead.\"\"Oh? Their Saint Valentine festivals are amazing I hear...\"\"Rats! It's always rats!\"\nThe marketplace was full of voices that\nwere gossiping through contented smiles and looks. Citizens and travellers\nalike populated the area as they perused the wares that common peddlers and\nmerchants shouted from their stalls. All the while, city guards watched from\nomniscient corners of the marketplace, whilst thieves surreptitiously prowled\ndrifting through the crowd and between the stalls. Akalgan took in the\nmarketplace as he leaned against the statue in the centre. Warily he watched\nall that happened and he overheard all manners of different conversations, from\ndisgruntled customers complaining and bitching about prices, to rumours or\nsmall-chat from happy shoppers.\nAkalgan wanted to take the time, as he\nusually did on his travels, to find if things were done or said differently in\nplaces. The marketplace was one such place he always made observations at, as\naside from eavesdropping in on people, there was always at least a few things\nthat were being peddled that might catch his eye. He would never buy any\ntrinkets or keepsakes, but that did not stop him from being curious or\ninterested. As for his observations of people and social dynamic, Akalgan felt\nthat this marketplace had little difference to many others he had seen, only\nthat the general demographic was comprised of mostly Dark Elves and then their\nfew servant beastmen. \nThere was little more information\nAkalgan felt he would gain from standing around any longer. He pushed off the\nstatue, but not before he spared it one more look. It was a sculpture of a Dark\nElven maiden with flowing hair that cascaded over her fallen hood, she did not\nseem to wear gear that was at all similar to that of city guards or Ordinators.\nHer expression was noble, and her sword arm was raised holding a very detailed\nsword. Akalgan finally cast his eyes upon the epitaph of the statue.\nIn honour of Miralin Sendalas, blessed by the Three,\nWho stood her ground at the Battle of Ashenhelm 2E1115.\nAkalgan noted the name and date\nmentioned, and started to walk away with his arms folded behind his head as\nusual. He shifted his wings slightly in discomfort at the image of the Dark\nElven maiden standing against what would have been a seemingly endless horde of\nSheogh's children. On the other hand, he felt nothing but respect for a heroine\nlike that, but otherwise felt rather disappointed that he has not had the\npleasure of knowing more people who provoke such admiration from himself. \nPerhaps Akalgan was wrong. He thought\nabout it for a moment, and realised that a lot of heroes do not find their\nheroism and courage that people will applaud long after their death until the\nday truly comes. And there were people he had met at certain points that made\nhim genuinely believe that they were capable of great things. He then supposed\nthat despite not being able to live to see the Ending of this era, as insane as\nit was to even hope to witness it, Akalgan would still see some extraordinary\nthings done by ordinary people.\nThe Dragonian thought no more of it as\nhe mixed amongst the crowd. He dropped his arms to up his guard, as he was not\nintent on wasting any more time chasing thieves. Akalgan held onto his purse\nonly tight enough that no thief would really dare to test him. That aside, he\nwas now focused on his destination. If ever he might want to paint his\nshort-term wanderings in an epic form, Akalgan could tell himself he was on a\nsworn quest to find the \"Grail of Mercenaries\". He smiled once his eyes were\nlaid upon it: The Noticeboard.\nEvery mercenary, sellsword or vagabond\nworth his salt knew that this was the only place, beside the closest tavern or\ninn, they had to be visiting at all times. Akalgan was free of the crowd once\nhe was close enough to the noticeboard to read the pleas of help from\nBlackhold's citizens. He smiled half-heartedly at the reality that most, if not\nall the jobs on this board would be mundane tasks that any halfwit could\npossibly accomplish. \n\"Let's\nsee how I can earn my living today...\" He muttered as he\nlooked it all over.\nFrom there the day went by in flashes\nand moments for Akalgan. In one instant, he was returning a lost dog to its\nowners. In another moment, he was delivering a love potion from an alchemist to\na client. This went on and on, and the only satisfaction Akalgan gained was\nwhen money was paid for his 'help'. Some jobs at least actually utilized\ncertain talents he had. On one job, he helped a blacksmith get his forge up and\nrunning with his fiery breath. Akalgan even stayed for a while and practiced\nhis smithing skills that Dragonians were well known for. It was perhaps one of\nonly a few jobs he actually enjoyed. \nThe strong Dragonian hammered away at\nall kinds of weapons of war, and worked quickly to help the blacksmith with his\norders. He constantly made sure that the forge was fed with fires that were\nlike Arkath's own. Akalgan managed to finish a few items every now and then,\nand clients were more than pleased with the results. The humble blacksmith\nalways accredited the work towards the Dragonian, however, and simply handled\nthe transactions. Once it all quieted down, he thanked Akalgan for his time.\n\"I\nam so glad you came today, and even helped out with the orders I had!\" The\nblacksmith said to Akalgan. He simply smiled. \n\"I\nwas happy to help out a brother of the forge.\" He\nresponded. The blacksmith appeared joyful at the politeness of the Dragonian,\nand he subsequently handed over more than the originally agreed upon payment. \n\"For\nthe extra help, and even still I owe you a debt.\" He\ntold Akalgan. The Dragonian felt only slightly uneasy taking more than he was\noriginally owed, especially upon hearing the immense gratitude of the\nblacksmith, but he accepted it graciously. \n\"It\nwas my pleasure, truly.\" He replied honestly. The blacksmith\nnodded and smiled.\n\"Would\nyou... Consider a place here in Blackhold? I would wish for you to be in charge\nof this smithy...\" The blacksmith proposed, but Akalgan\nhad no wish to entertain the thought, however kind it was.\n\"My\nplace is not in one for too long.\" He replied without a\nhint of uncertainty. \"There were times\nwhen some have asked me the same thing you are now, but I am sworn to a certain\noath.\" He explained as he picked up his things. The blacksmith appeared\nsaddened, but curious. \n\"I\nsee. Then, if I may ask, why do you travel?\" He asked. \"Is it not to find a place to settle?\" Akalgan\nsmirked at the question.\n\"If\nmy homeland is no longer my home, then no other land will be. And I want to see\nall things that anyone can only dream of.\" He answered. Akalgan\nthen stepped towards the door and spared the blacksmith a final look. \"But I know I will never see even part of\nit before I die.\" He added. Akalgan smiled once more and then waved upon\ndeparting. The blacksmith simply returned the courtesy, before heading back to\nwork. \nAkalgan stepped out of the smithy and\nheld his hand aloft to block the rays of the afternoon sun. It brightly shone a\nfierce fiery hue down the dark street towards Akalgan as it dipped towards the\nhorizon. He figured to himself that he had time for one more job before\nretiring back to the inn. As he started walking down the streets with his arms folded\nbehind his head, Akalgan thought again about the Dark Elven pickpocket that he\nwas going to deal with later. He smiled at the images that came to mind, but\nthought nothing more. He instead made his way to his next job and put the\nfantastical wonderings to the back of his mind. \n\"Come\nnow, there has to be something quick but challenging here...\" Akalgan\nmuttered to himself as he scanned the noticeboard. Many of the notices were\nones he already completed, some already taken down. There were still a few menial\ntasks that might not have been taken already, but Akalgan had no interest in\ntaking them. His sword arm was aching for a fight and he wanted to satisfy that\nneed somehow, preferably in a way that gets him plentifully paid for his skills\nin combat. After a short while of looking, Akalgan concluded that there were no\nreal jobs for his needs. He glanced around the marketplace. It was bathed in\nthe afternoon light and still filled with people doing their light browsing and\nshopping. He then sighed and stepped out to ask around, even though interacting\nwith people was his last resort.\n\"Excuse\nme--\" Akalgan began toward one citizen, and\nthe citizen gave him an attentive but nervous glance. \"Do you know where I could find bounties?\" Akalgan simply asked.\nThe citizen pointed him towards a guard and shuffled away, and Akalgan bowed\nhis head in minor gratitude. He proceeded to visit the nearest guard. \"Excuse me, sir--\" He began towards the\nguard, and the guard gave him an acknowledging yet wary look. \"I've been told you can point me towards\nany bounties that might be available.\" The guard nodded.\n\"Bounties\nfor people like you are posted on guard sanctioned bounty boards in most\npublican establishments, and are turned in at any of the City Guard barracks.\" The\nguard clearly explained. Akalgan nodded once more in gratitude and made his way\nto the closes tavern. Of course I chose to stay in possibly the\nonly the inn without a bounty board. He thought in annoyance. \nIf Akalgan has learned anything about\nDark Elven publican places, it was that they were all extra dimly lit and quite\nsuspicious in appearance. Or perhaps it was just Akalgan's generalization of\nDark Elves, or perhaps even both. Putting the scene to the back of his mind,\nAkalgan stood before the bounty board, the 'actual' Grail of Mercenaries, as\nopposed to the collection of mediocre tasks he just braved in a slight waste of\ntime. There were plenty of bounties but very minimal in return for the effort\nin capturing them. Too many were thieves and common criminals that would yield\nno real fight, and the bounties who would were possibly too far for Akalgan to\neven consider doing. He almost sighed with disappointment, but something caught\nhis eyes. Amongst all the wanted posters for the deaths or captures of people,\nwas the death of a creature. It piqued Akalgan's interest enough that he took\nthe bounty poster and made his way to the nearest sewer grate. How\nthis feels worth it, I will never know. Akalgan muttered in his head.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/921436-a-tale-of-ashen-wings-chapter-4-get-back-here.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/921440-a-tale-of-ashen-wings-chapter-6-the-doom-viper.json"}