Mastery Is Earned

Repairing Henk’s hand-and-a-half sword would cost one silver coin. The thicker arming coat and custom-made hardened leather bracers came to five silver in total. Henk paid a deposit of one silver and would settle the remainder when he collected them.

In the end, Raymond spent six silver coins on a brand-new arming sword. Repairs to his coat of plates should have cost another sixty copper, but the smithy owner waived the fee and even restored the edge of his shortsword without charging extra.

Raymond naturally wanted to count the sixty copper they had saved as a shared benefit, but Henk waved the matter aside and said there was no need to keep track of such things. Raymond did not insist.

The two returned to the Blackstone Inn for lunch and rested for a while. That afternoon, they went to the town guard’s headquarters together.

The place was in complete chaos. Identifying and counting the dead from Graypine Village was no small task, nor was calculating death benefits for the fallen mercenaries and soldiers. Even so, Raymond and Henk were immediately escorted into Marcus’s office.

After all, they were now officially heroes of Blackstone. The Mayor himself had said so. The title might carry no real rank or authority, but it still came with a certain degree of honor and privilege.

“What is it?” Marcus asked quietly from behind his desk, rubbing his head.

Raymond took out a large sack and set it down beside him. Its bottom was stained with blackened blood, and it reeked of blood and decay.

Marcus frowned. “What’s this?”

“Goblin ears, and...” Raymond opened the sack and lifted out the Dragonblood Goblin’s head. “The head of their leader.”

“This was the goblin leader?” Marcus rose from his chair in surprise and walked over. He took the head, turned it from side to side, and examined the scales covering it with fascination. “This is one ugly goblin. It could breathe fire?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, I don’t think it can give you a demonstration now.” Raymond smiled.

Marcus burst out laughing, then looked at the sack. “Very well. Let’s see how many trophies our heroes of Blackstone have brought back.”

Raymond grinned. He and Henk took out the goblin ears one by one and arranged them on the floor.

They had already divided the trophies between them before coming to headquarters.

Raymond had brought back eleven right ears: one from a Greater Goblin, two from big goblins, and eight from ordinary goblins. He also had the Dragonblood Goblin’s head.

Henk had considerably more. He had three right ears from Greater Goblins, six from big goblins, and seventeen from ordinary goblins.

From the goblin bounties alone, Raymond would receive six silver and forty copper, while Henk would receive eighteen silver and eighty-five copper. If the promised doubling still applied, they would earn even more.

That did not include the assignment’s base payment. The town guard had urgently recruited them for a high-risk mission, so every participating mercenary was already entitled to four silver. If that payment was doubled as well, each of them would receive eight silver.

Dario had also personally promised an additional twenty silver for killing the Dragonblood Goblin, though Raymond had no intention of asking him for it.

According to Marcus, the town guard had never established a standard bounty for a Dragonblood Goblin. But the creature had been responsible for the attack on Graypine Village and posed a danger in Blackpine Forest. The Town Council had therefore added a special bounty to reward Raymond and Henk for taking part in killing it.

The special bounty was a full gold coin.

Several clerks counted and verified the goblin ears, then confirmed that the head belonged to the Dragonblood Goblin. At last, they finished calculating the total payment.

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One gold, sixty-six silver, and fifty copper.

Because such a large sum was involved, including the special bounty for the Dragonblood Goblin, Marcus first signed a payment order. His young aide then took it to the Mayor and the other officials for their signatures. Only after that could the designated funds be released.

Once everyone else had left Marcus’s office, Raymond took five silver coins from his pocket and held them out to him.

Marcus’s eyes fixed on the gleaming coins. Five silver was no trivial sum, and even he did not dare accept it without knowing why. He gave Raymond a questioning look. “Raymond, what’s this?”

“The usual arrangement, Sheriff.” Raymond smiled faintly.

Marcus’s expression relaxed. He closed his fingers around the coins and slipped them into his purse, even as he said, “The usual arrangement doesn’t require this much silver, Raymond.”

“We owe much of this to you, Sheriff. And if our brothers in the town guard hadn’t held the front line, we might not have returned alive,” Raymond said. “Consider it money to buy the men a few drinks.”

“Five silver? That will buy a lot of drinks.” Marcus smiled.

With money lending fresh urgency to the matter, the town guard suddenly seemed much more efficient. Marcus left the office and returned only a short while later.

Soon afterward, his young aide came rushing in with a small purse full of coins and two stamped sheets of parchment.

“The Mayor had these issued especially for the two of you.” Marcus took the certificates of commendation and personally handed one to Raymond and the other to Henk with a smile.

Raymond and Henk exchanged a glance. In the end, Raymond admitted awkwardly, “Neither of us can read.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Marcus waved a hand. “You don’t need to read them. You only need to know—and let everyone else know—that the Town Council issued them to you. That is Blackstone’s seal.”

Raymond nodded. He and Henk carefully put the parchments away.

The two then began counting all the money they had received.

They had already agreed to split the one-gold-coin bounty for the Dragonblood Goblin seventy-thirty, with Raymond taking seventy percent and Henk thirty.

Henk had seen Raymond give Marcus five silver and believed he should bear part of that expense. Raymond initially refused, but Henk would not yield, so he eventually accepted two silver from him. Henk paid those two coins separately rather than deducting them from the current reward.

In the end, Raymond’s share came to ninety silver and eighty copper, while Henk’s came to seventy-five silver and seventy copper. Raymond took the gold coin, then gave Henk ten silver and twenty copper to make up the difference.

Raymond’s personal earnings from the expedition came to almost one gold coin, which genuinely surprised him. It was less than he had earned from destroying the bandit gang, but most of the profit that time had come from the captured spoils.

The truly valuable part of those spoils was the mysterious ore they still did not understand. The ore was connected not only to some unknown figure in Brightwater but also to the gnolls in the Blackstone Mountains.

“You worked hard dealing with these goblins, Raymond.” Marcus patted him on the shoulder with a relieved expression. “You’re the person I trust most in all of Blackstone.”

He glanced at Henk, who stood nearby with a stern expression, and extended a hand toward him. “And you too, of course, Henk.”

Henk grunted without replying.

Marcus did not appear embarrassed. He merely sighed. “As Sheriff of Blackstone, I have no shortage of people trying to curry favor with me. But I don’t trust them, Raymond. I trust only the two of you.”

“Of course, Sheriff. Whatever you need.” Raymond stood straight, his expression solemn.

Marcus nodded and spoke slowly. “Compared with the gnolls, the goblins are insignificant. Yet even those goblins inflicted terrible losses on us. I will remember that. It is precisely why we must be even more wary of the gnolls lurking in the Blackstone Mountains. I believe they will threaten Blackstone sooner or later.

“I’ve reported everything I know to the Town Council, but those self-important old men refuse to listen! They stubbornly insist that the gnolls cannot descend from the mountains in large numbers. They think I’m exaggerating the threat just to trick them into granting me more funds.”

Marcus could not help sighing again.

Raymond stole a glance at him.

It seemed their Sheriff had used that method to squeeze money from the Town Council more than once. Now that a genuine threat had appeared, the council members no longer believed him.

Marcus failed to notice Raymond’s change of expression and continued, “I’ll still have to entrust the trip to Brightwater to you. You’re the only person I trust, Raymond. I want you to uncover the truth about this ore and identify whoever is behind it. I must find out what those gnolls are planning. Why do they need so many weapons? What are they preparing to do?”

“Well... Sheriff...” Raymond grimaced.

This would be no easy task. Selling the ore would be simple, but discovering its purpose and identifying the mastermind behind everything was another matter entirely. Brightwater was a complicated place. He might even lose his life there.

“If you succeed, half of all the proceeds from the shipment are yours!” Marcus saw his hesitation and made the offer through gritted teeth. “But your information must be accurate.”

“Half? What about the three gold coins?”

“That offer is no longer valid. Complete the assignment properly, and money is no object. I believe the gnolls pose a far greater threat than these goblins ever did.”

“Yes, Sheriff! I’ll do everything in my power!” Raymond agreed.