Dragon in Disguise

The first thing Viren would need if he was going to try his hand at being a mercenary would be a sword. He decided to start with a lesser quality, and thus cheaper, weapon. If this thing worked out for him and he started making some coin he would buy a better one, but until then it was better to be safe than sorry.

As he strolled among the stalls, he kept his eye out for one selling weapons. He also took in the city. This was his first time in one after all. (The few times he snuck out to buy books he picked them up from a smaller town across the mountains.) Although there was plenty of noise no merchants were yelling for people to buy their wares, and they only haggled a minimal amount.

After wandering for half an hour and nearing the edge of the market circle Viren finally found what he was looking for. Once he spotted the weapons stall, he headed straight there. After a quick stop at the pastry stand across the street, of course. ‘I didn’t know it was possible for food to be that delicious’ he thought while licking the flaky bits of crust off his fingers. ‘Anyway, enough distractions, lets get me a sword!’

He walked up to the salesman behind the counter, who was lounging on a stool. Viren didn’t even know it was possible to lounge on a stool. The swords displayed were obviously of lower quality, with some of them even having chips or cracks in the metal. Viren picked out one that appeared to be in good shape, though it was a bit dull, and pulled out his money. The man nodded to the sword.

“That’ll be 40 Coin.” Viren looked down at the meager 47 coins in his hand.

“How abooouuutttt… cheaper.” The merchant raised his eyebrows and sat up and raised his eyebrows.

“You don’t like my price?”

“No, not really.” He snorted.

“Alright then, what do you think its worth?” Viren narrowed his eyes. He knew what was happening here. ‘Alright, I don’t have a lot of experience haggling, but I think you’re supposed to go lower than what you want to actually pay. Sounds easy enough.’

“How about… one.”

“One… coin? Really?”

“Yes.” The man peered at him, as if trying to make sense of a ridiculous situation.

“No.”

“Very well then, what do you suggest?”

…

Viren ended up paying the original price.

…

With his new sword in hand and a nearly empty coin purse Viren made his way back to the center of the city. Due to the fact that he had spent all but seven coins he needed to find a job today. Luckily, the job boards made that easy for him.

After examining the available jobs, he decided to pick one that sounded relatively easy. This would be his first one, after all. He picked out one that seemed interesting.

“Guard/escort wanted. Pay starting at 50 Coin. Enquire at Forest Rise Tavern for more information.”

That was the extent of the information on the paper, but 50 Coin was a lot, and it wouldn’t hurt to check.

After asking around, Viren learned that Forest Rise was a popular place, so at least the job wouldn’t be super shady. Then again, most of the jobs up on the boards would likely be more on the legal side.

Because the tavern was so popular it was easy to find. All Viren had to do was go the ‘fancy’ side of town and walk up and down a few streets. Soon enough he found a building with a large, stylized sign reading ‘Forest Rise Tavern’. The door was propped open with a paper on it that advertised ‘First Drink Free Friday.’ Inside he could hear shouting and clanging. He casually strolled inside and walked over to the crowded counter. Five frazzled bartenders were expertly taking orders and serving drinks, able to hear even the most slurred order among the ruckus.

Viren approached the bar, and one of the bartenders stopped and looked him up and down.

“You here for a drink?” It was obvious that he didn’t think so.

“No, I’m-” The young barkeeper interrupted him abruptly.

“Sorry, if you’re not buying a drink we don’t have time.” With that he whirled away to get another order. ‘…maybe I’ll have more luck with a bouncer.’

He weaved his way through the intoxicated guests, emerging behind a stoic bouncer standing with his arms crossed. Viren stood there for a few seconds before clearing his throat. The bouncer turned quickly, surprised. Recovering quickly, his attitude turned professional. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m here for a guard job advertised on the job boards.”

“Yes, I know what you’re talking about.” He pointed through the tavern to a table right in the middle of the tavern. Viren had to stand on tiptoes to see over the heads of the crowd. Sitting at the table were a man and a hooded figure who were both noticeably not drunk. ‘Couldn’t they have chosen some lonely booth in the corner?’ He thanked the bouncer, who nodded at him, and started making his way through the crowd to the table. After deftly sidestepping several stray elbows and a few spilt drinks he arrived.

He plopped down into an empty chair and the two already sitting at the table looked at him with interest. The man, who sported a full brown beard, pushed a copy of the job posted on the board over to Viren.

“I assume you’re here about the job?” Viren nodded.

“Yup.”

“Good. It’s relatively simple, all we’re doing is guarding some noble kid while he hunts, got it?” Before Viren could respond Mr. Beard started talking again. “Don’t know why he decided to hire mercs instead of bringing some of the guards those types always have lying around, but it pays well enough so I’m not complaining.”

“You’ll hear no complaints from me, that pay’s all I care about.” The man nodded in approval. The hooded figure leaned forward, revealing the face of a woman. A few tufts of flamingo pink hair fell into her face.

“You new in this business?” She spoke in a low voice, obviously trying to avoid attention. Was she wanted or something? Viren didn’t want to reveal too much, but also didn’t want to come off as an easy target.

“New in this line of work specifically, but I do have some experience.” She raised her eyebrow, but didn’t ask any more questions, leaning back in her chair. The man cleared his throat, wanting to get back on topic most likely.

“We’ll meet outside the gate, on the outskirts of the forest near the path, nine in the morning sharp. Will you be able to find your way?” Viren nodded and the man stood up. The woman took her cue and followed.

“Good. See you tomorrow.” They left, briskly pushing their way through the intoxicated crowd. ‘Great, tomorrow I’ll be able to finally earn some money. Just gotta make it through the night.’ There was just one problem with that. He didn’t have nearly enough coin for even one night at an inn. The only ones he would be able to afford would be the really seedy ones, and those just wouldn’t be worth the hassle.

‘Eh, no matter, it’s not like I have no experience sleeping in the forest. Too bad I’ll have to miss out on a warm bed again though.’

With a destination in mind Viren got up from the table and dodged his way out of the rambunctious tavern into the quiet night.

…

It didn’t take a lot of time for Viren to leave the city, and a tension he didn’t even know he had left him as he exited the gates. ‘I guess I’m more in my element out here. Literally!’ It was a clear night, and the field separating the city from the forest was lit brightly by the moonlight. Viren jogged across it, thinking as he did. ‘Its not like the city affects me negatively… but I do feel much more at ease outside of it. Maybe because it’s a new environment?’

He was coming up on the forest. Viren paused, enjoying the feeling of being enveloped by shadow, and set out to find a good place to sleep. He walked away from the road a little, but from there it was easy to find a good tree for sleeping. After searching for a few minutes, he found a thick tree with a large leafy crown. He climbed the branches nimbly and hefted himself into a little indent right where the branches started growing out of the trunk.

Leaning back, Viren stared at the night through the foliage, losing himself to the stars. ‘This would have been the perfect night for flying.’ With a content sigh he curled up, and the sound of the wind rustling leaves lulled him to sleep.

…

The mercenaries were standing at the edge of the forest, staring at the city gates, and three horses stood quietly grazing next to them. Viren silently joined them, standing to pink hair’s left. A few minutes later a figure on a horse left the city. Though he was a distance away, Viren could see an orange cloak flowing from his shoulders. Then beard spoke.

“There’s our client Lars. You think sir shady bailed?” A grin spread across Viren’s face even as he leaned forward to get a better view of his face.

“Ouch, rude.” The man jumped back with a cry as Pink Hair whirled around. ‘hehehe’

“Don’t do that!” He shouted, “I could’ve killed you!” sure enough, his hand was on his sword. But some opportunities were just too good to give up.

“Why do you think I stood over here?” The lady smirked.

“Don’t think I’m any less deadly than him.”

“I don’t see your hand on your pommel.” She had been petting the horses. The man scowled and muttered something under his breath, then sighed.

“Whatever. Since you were so ‘kind’ as to inform us to your presence,” He rolled his eyes at this part, “We have plenty of time to go over things.” The woman leaned in and whispered,

“He’s being sarcastic, in case you couldn’t tell.” The man scoffed and continued.

“Anyway, my name is Bart, hers is Larissa. The guy we’re working for is the heir of a smaller noble. We’re just here to fix anything that goes wrong, he’ll handle all the actual hunting. Got it? Good.”

Viren wasn’t able to respond as the noble rode into earshot just then. He had brown hair and laugh lines around his eyes. He looked to be in his early twenties and gave off an air of competence. All in all, a pretty average heir, though perhaps not dressed as well as one might expect. His striking orange cloak was the only thing uncommon about his clothing.

“Hello there. Thank you for accompanying me on my hunt, it is greatly appreciated.” Bart bowed his head a little.

“It is my pleasure, sir.” The noble simply nodded, and road off into the forest. Bart and Larissa each mounted a horse and followed, and Viren mounted the last horse and followed them.

…

It had been quiet so far, peaceful. ‘Don’t get me wrong I would definitely be thrilled if I got an easy 50 coin without doing anything.’ but still, better safe than sorry, right? He road up next to Larissa and matched pace with her. She gave him a side eye.

“Nice try, but I heard you this time.”

“Haha.” A moment passed. “So… what are we protecting this guy from anyway?” She shrugged.

“Eh, we’re more just here for safety. Bandits, wolves, things like that are unlikely to happen but still a possibility.”

“But don’t nobles have guards to do things like this? Like, thanks for the money, but it seems like a waste on their part.” She nodded.

“That’s right, and although good pay is common amongst the rich, it still seems like a lot for a job as easy as this. Me and Bart think that there might be some corruption among the guards, perhaps even an enemy trying to take out the heir. They might be a small house, but the Suzetsonz’s is the biggest one out here.”

“Hmm.” But why go out hunting when someone was trying to get rid of you? To Viren, the answer was obvious. A trap.