Chapter 88 - 87 - Gone Before Dawn.

In the morning, when Teclos woke up, he heard a loud commotion in front of his house.

Saldia was also talking to someone at the door.

He quickly got dressed and washed himself before leaving his room to see what was going on.

"Are you sure you haven’t seen anyone suspicious walking through the slums last night, ma’am?" a gruff-looking man asked.

"No, we were at home last night. What exactly happened, sir?" she asked.

"A terror attack on a noble’s estate, ma’am. They destroyed the estate, killed the guards, and murdered the baron. So if you see anyone suspicious, tell the nearest guard."

Teclos walked out and saw an inquisitor standing at the door. He recognized him by the church insignia on his chest, along with the typical white and silver armor they wore.

The inquisitor nodded toward him, and Teclos nodded back.

He asked Saldia what was going on, and she told him about the estate. Teclos kept a calm poker face and only shrugged, saying it had nothing to do with him. They had their own problems.

Saldia reprimanded him for that apathetic look, and the inquisitor grimaced as well.

"Don’t cross the line, boy. And by the way... where do you people work? You have an awfully well-built house for the slums."

Saldia wanted to answer, fearing Teclos would escalate the situation, but he beat her to it.

"I work at a mercenary company, not that it’s any of your business..." Teclos scowled.

The inquisitor looked shocked for a second before he smirked.

"Hah! A brave boy, I see. You shouldn’t talk to adults like that, much less officials of the church... unless you want to be tortured that is."

He said it with a sinister smirk.

’So much for the church of light and life being friendly,’ Teclos scoffed inwardly.

The man turned around and left, and as soon as he did, Saldia slapped Teclos on the back of his head.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" he said, rubbing his head.

"Because you could have gotten us in serious trouble! How could you mouth off to an inquisitor like that?" Saldia was fuming.

But Teclos just waved his hand and went back into his room.

"What am I going to do with you..."

She shook her head and then began preparing the merchandise to sell at the stall later.

While she was still preparing, Teclos headed out half an hour later after putting on his mercenary gear.

And once outside, he noticed a lot of comotion.

The whole city seemed to be in an uproar about the Morholt incident. People were talking everywhere, but he was relieved to hear that nobody was talking about their mercenary company.

The most prevalent rumor going around the streets was that a rival lord had hired professional assassins to kill Lord Morholt.

He just shook his head, but a smirk formed on his face unconciously.

They got away with it.

As he entered the pub in the morning, only their mercenaries were there for a change. The drunks had not arrived yet. It was still just as rowdy, with gambling and drinking, but he was already used to it.

"Oi, Marek! Can I get a cup of ale?" Teclos asked, and Marek nodded.

As Teclos walked through the rows of tables to get to the counter, he was being greeted by everyone in the pub, either by a nodd, a lifting of their cup or verbally.

When he took the cup from Marek, he sat down in the corner and waited for an assignment, leisurely drinking his cheap ale.

Falcon entered the pub just as Teclos took his second sip.

And when He saw teclos he walked closer and sat down at the same table.

"You look like a dead fish with those bags under your eyes," Falcon mocked.

Teclos was surprised that Falcon even knew how to joke around, then smirked.

"Likewise."

They chatted for a bit, and both mentioned that they had been visited by an inquisitor. Both agreed it had been highly unpleasant.

"I swear, those church assholes think they are so high above everyone else..." Teclos voiced his displeasure.

"Don’t say that opinion too loudly. Some of our guys here go to the church religiously. It could get you in trouble."

"Haha! What? You mean our guys are let in? They think of us as criminals. The whole city does, I mean."

"I was surprised too. Apparently, if you are a devout believer, they let you in..."

"No way. I was rejected from seeing Father Pella from my village. Those assholes don’t just let anyone in there, and even then, only with coin."

"True."

After fifteen minutes of throwing shade at the church, Derrick showed up.

Now, if Teclos and Falcon looked bad, Derrick was on a whole other level.

"Oi, look!" said one of Derrick’s friends at the counter. "Bahahaha, what happened to you?"

The whole pub started laughing once they saw him.

Derrick was slumped against the doorframe of the pub, entering like a corpse someone had forgotten to bury.

His hair was a mess, his shirt was half untucked and put on the wrong way, and he had massive bags under his eyes.

"Shut up..." he groaned toward them, then stumbled over a chair.

Naturally, everyone started laughing even louder.

Even Teclos and Falcon laughed loudly.

That continued until Derrick threw a chair at the guys sitting behind the counter and started beating people up.

Then everyone scrammed like cockroaches.

"Oi, kid... you laughed too, didn’t you?" he asked menacingly.

Teclos dodged his gaze and shook his head which didnt work, but just when he was about to become the next victim, Marek called out.

"Falcon, Teclos, and Derrick! Zamas wants to see you!"

Derrick looked at Teclos once more, then at Marek.

"Tch... you’re lucky, kid."

’Phew.’

Teclos wiped the cold sweat from his brow and stood up, following Derrick into the back room.

"Looks like you’ll live," Falcon said, smiling beside him.

This really was a change in attitude.

Had they fully accepted him during the last job?

He wondered what their reactions would be when they found out that Zaxx was missing.

As they entered into the room Zamas greeted them and they greeted bim back.

"I have a problem, boys," Zamas said. "We have a job to do. Strangely enough, it’s one of the few jobs we take that could actually pass for honest mercenary work."

’What? Already?’ Teclos was confused, they had just stirred the hornets nest and now he wanted more trouble?

Zamas smiled pleasantly.

"A friend of mine needs manpower. He wants us to escort his men and women into a dungeon and help clear the place out."

"So what’s the problem?" Falcon asked.

"That friend of mine plans to stab me in the back, take our share of the spoils, and kill my men once they are inside the dungeon."

That pleasant smile suddenly twisted into an angry frown.

"The bastard used my money to build himself up. We did dirty jobs for him that he was too ’clean’ to touch. And worst of all, I helped him wed a noble’s daughter..." Zamas’s voice darkened. "And this is how he repays me?"

His mana suddenly flared.

The veins on his forehead bulged, surprising Teclos. That fat blob was actually quite strong.

The handles of his chair exploded beneath his grip as he stood up.

"I was going to send others at first..." he said, his voice low now. "But after yesterday, I changed my mind."

They all looked at each other, wondering why he wanted to send them when they were still tired and bruised from the last job, instead of someone else.

Then Zamas sat back down and asked Kira to hand them a parchment he had prepared in advance.

"This is the list of his men for the job," Zamas said. "Their names and known abilities. He is fairly high-ranking now, so he has knights and even a mage under his payroll."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Here is what I want you to do. Derrick and Zaxx will go in as helping hands, along with maybe three others, as the front. Though I haven’t figured out who to send yet."

His eyes then shifted toward Teclos and Falcon.

"Anyway, Teclos, Falcon. Your job will be to tail them silently. And when the time is ripe... kill them all."

Then he looked at Derrick again and asked, "Where is Zaxx exactly? He hasn’t shown up today."

Derrick shrugged, as he did not exactly remember much of last night.

But then Falcon answered, "He left to go home yesterday... he was pretty drunk."

Zamas facepalmed and asked Kira to send someone to fetch him.

Teclos just remained calm, his face perfectly straight.

"Anyway, this job starts tomorrow at dawn. Gather at the gates and leave with them. Dismissed."

They headed out, and as soon as they entered the pub, Derrick turned around and asked the two if they were up for a round of ale.

"No. Go rest for tomorrow, man," Teclos said.

"Bah! One or two cups won’t hurt."

"He is right, Derrick," Falcon said.

With a grimace, Derrick ignored them and went to the counter anyway.

"Isn’t this a bit too fast to take on another big job?" Teclos asked, watching Derrick order another cup before shaking his head.

"Well, he doesn’t really have a choice but to send us," Falcon said. "We’re the most capable of this ragtag bunch he has."

Teclos looked around.

While the others looked intimidating on the outside, their shadows were anything but. Sure some of them had similar or a bit more mana than teclos but...they were atleast fourty to fifty years old.

It really was a stark fall in powere like he knew from Kolma, that village really was speciall.

So he had to agree with Falcon.

The only problem now was...

Zaxx was dead.

Which meant this job would be that much harder.

But what could he do?

Zaxx would have ratted them out, putting both him and Saldia in danger.

"Let’s meet up in the evening. We’ll go over the plan once Zaxx joins us, then gear up. Now go rest at home."

Teclos just nodded, and they separated.

Once he was home, he sat down and started gathering mana. It had a nice, strong, and smooth flow.

He gathered all the mana toward his heart, aiming for the final third circle to match the stages again.

It was refreshing to train again, and it cleared his mind.

—

Saldia returned home in the evening, sweaty and tired, but with a smile on her face. She went to change and wash herself in her room when she noticed Teclos meditating again.

"Teclos, it’s evening already," she said out of habit.

He stood up and quickly rushed out, grabbing a piece of bread on the way.

He had spaced out again, but seeing himself get stronger was a feeling he just could not resist.

It had been a very fruitful training session.

When he stepped through the door of the pub, the mood was suddenly solemn.

All of the mercenaries sat in neatly organized rows, listening to Zamas.

"Great timing, kid. We have a major problem. Zaxx is gone," Zamas said.

Teclos pretended to be shocked and asked, "What do you mean, gone?"

"He disappeared last night. Seeing as you were one of the last people to see him, do you remember anything?"

"No? We drank together and went our own ways. Well, Falcon helped Derrick get home."

Zamas grimaced and scratched his chin.

"This is a disaster. Just before the mission, we lose one of our best fighters."

"Maybe the noble kidnapped him?" Teclos deflected. "Knowing that you would likely send him on the job?"

"Hmmm, you think?" Zamas muttered. "It could be... It’s like he just disappeared."

That threw a solid wrench into his plan, and now he had to find a backup team.

Zamas stayed silent for a long moment, tapping one thick finger against the railing of the second floor.

Then he clicked his tongue.

"Fine. Since he’s gone for now, we will replace him."

Derrick’s jaw tightened, unsure about this. "With who?"

Zamas looked down toward the others.

"Wallace, Pete, Garren, Milo, and Vera."

Wallace was a quiet man with a longsword at his hip, a calm demeanor, and a water affinity.

Pete sat at the table, not fully registering what was happening, as he was already drunk and smelling faintly of ale even this early in the morning. Still, he was a master of the spear and had a fire attribute.

Garren was leaning against the wall in the corner, with a crossbow slung over one shoulder. He also wielded fire mana.

Milo was built broad, though his height was lacking. He carried a heavy shield and mace, and his earth mana was as steady as stone.

Last came Vera, silent and narrow-eyed, with twin daggers at her waist and a faint, bitter scent clinging to the blades.

Poison.

With the team selected, it was time to gear up and prepare for tomorrow.