Prince of The Abyss

Twenty whole embers, that was how much money they had gotten from the lizards. Kade had been furious, after all, he had put his life on the line, and had to put up with a lot of pain, so he felt as if he deserved more.

And yet, Aether was against it, well, not that he wouldn’t have wanted more than twenty, but he knew they weren’t worth more than that.

If he had wanted, he could have killed triple or even more lizard then they had killed while training Kade. They weren’t hard to kill, even if you can see them, if you know how to fight, which, in the sense of it’s not your first time, and you have some power in your arms, you can kill one quickly.

But still, he understood Kade; he would also have thought that the many monsters he had fought and had shed sweet blood and tears to kill would be valued more than twenty coins, but he still had to say that the merchant was right.

Blood and tears mean nothing, and it wasn’t just a thing from this world.

And plus, even if it was a little less than if it should, he was used to a lot worse from his time in the Withered, when nobles bought actually valuable things with hardly any money, just because they were from the Blue Rose, and blessed by Praise.

He had gotten fifty embers for the daggers, and then he bought the wooden blade for thirty embers... which made him wonder just how the economy worked in this place, and then he got twenty more. So they had forty embers at hand... well, not actually, they had thirty ready to spend, they needed ten for a place to stay.

...

And actually, maybe even less than thirty... they were hungry after all.

’And water... let’s not forget about water...’

They really needed to find a way to get money, after all, he didn’t want to go back into the mountains and kill so many lizards that he got bored with it, but he also didn’t know if there was any other monster close, and he didn’t want to go far.

He could try to find the shard, get some resources, and then leave, killing the monsters they find along the way, and then sell them at the next city.

He sighed, walking through the many merchent stalls, with Kade behind him, following like his own shadow. He really had to train this boy, since if he got strong, he could also help with fighting monsters and getting money, but until then.

Aether stopped, turning around.

”What are you good at?” Kade had been taken off guard. And didn’t respond... but he didn’t think that was the true reason.

”You don’t know what you’re good at...” Aether exhaled heavily, covering his face with his hands, before looking to the boy through the cracks of his fingers.

”Alright then... I asked because were going to have to take jobs, to get money, we need more if he wants to do something, after all, I can’t keep training you with a wooden blade, and when you’re done with training, you will need a real blade either way.”

Not to mention food.

Water wasn’t that bad; they could find a river or something.

The boy tilted his head. ”A job... I could try working for the Inn.”

He just randomly decided that? Why did he choose the Inn exactly? He didn’t know. But it wasn’t a bad idea... just that it probably wouldn’t give them that much money, after all, outside the drinking and stuff, the Inn probably didn’t have a lot of customers sleeping there, after all, most had their own house.

This wasn’t the Great Harbor to have new people coming every day.

All they could wish is that, being close to the harbor, people would head to this city, and sleep.

...

What he was trying to say is that it wasn’t going to generate them that much money... but it was better than nothing.

”If you say so... very well, I’ll also look for one, and then.”

The boy smilled nodding his head, as he waved him goodbye, and headed towards the Inn.

’Hopefully he doesn’t get lost, or robbed, or arrested... who knows.’

He asked Kade this question earlier, what did he know to do... and now it was time to ask himself the same question... and really, he had the same answer as the boy, he had no idea what he was good at.

Maybe he could try to scam someone, but at the same time, he even with this wasn’t in the Harbor, and it was also not the Withered; scamming people wasn’t going to be easy with so many guards around.

Stealing was also out of the question; he had lost a bit of his talent with it after he started to rely on his earring. Even if he had been able to steal a map in Veyr, he wasn’t confident enough to steal money; after all, a map isn’t kept hidden, it’s sticking out of a backpack most of the time.

...

Speaking of it, they should also get a backpack, it would really help them if they kill a lot of monsters, so that they could take all of them.

Aether started walking again, while thinking of their problem.

When it came to jobs, the Inn was out of question, he didn’t have the patience, and plus, he didn’t think he was that good at it either way. So then what? Blacksmith, no, he didn’t know how to make even a knife.

A librarian?

’And to have no idea about the books I’m giving to people?’

Maybe a banker?... It was something he was willing to do... just who would hire him. After all, he wasn’t from this place, and they definitely wouldn’t give him the job without a history of some sort or education.

Suddenly, as he wasn’t paying attention, he bumped into someone, falling to the ground.

He rubbed his back, looking up to see a beast of a human; their muscles were giant, he was a little envious, but who wouldn’t be? The man had a long beard and a bald head, completely fitting his imagination.

He was wearing heavy armor, probably weighing more than he did.

”Watch where you’re going...kid.” The man said, leaning towards him, his voice was deep and serious; he wasn’t one to make jokes.

”I’m just joking, are you alright?” I guess I was wrong. Never judge a book by its cover, huh?

The man offered his hand, which Aether took and helped himself get up.

”I’m fine, and thanks... and also sorry, of course, I was deep in though, so I wasn’t looking.”

The man patted his head, which surprised him.

”That’s good, I was worried you hit your head hard and would need medical attention... It’s not the first time it happens... but may I ask why you were so deep in though?”

No the first time what the heck was that supposed to mean, that people bumped into him a lot... well he was massive, but at the same time, wouldn’t you learn to see when someone is about to bump into you, and plus, what was the thing about needing medical care, did that actually happen, someone needed to be treated after bumping into this machine?

”You know how it is, money and all. I have to get a job, and I’m not really that good at anything. I have focused on getting stronger most of my life, so now I don’t know what to do.”

...

”You can always take jobs if you think fighting is your strong suit. But they are dangerous, so you have to be careful, but they pay well, I mean, take a look at me, this armor wasn’t cheap?”

Jobs? What were those? He had never heard about something like that before.

Aether lifted one of his eyebrows.

”Jobs? Is that something specific to Stormfell? I’m not from here.”

The man laughed at his lack of knowledge, but also nodded his head, confirming it to him.

”Yes, indeed, jobs are specific to Stormfell. You see, there’s this sort of guild, it’s called the Will of humanity, people pay them to hang up their job posters on the board in every city, that way people can go to them for money.”

Aether put his hand on his chin... more out of excitement than anything... this was great, if there really was such a thing, then it could help them get the money they needed. After all, they could fight so Kade could improve, they could take the loot from the monsters, and the reward for the job. Plus, not all jobs had to make them fight something, so they could also make fast money.

It made them money and gave Kade experience. It was perfect.

”Thanks for the advice... I will definitely check it out.”

...

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