Preparing to Set Out

P.S. The latest rounds of COVID tests have left me completely out of it, so updates may be irregular over the next couple of days. Thanks for understanding.

An Elite barbarian of the Path of the Ancestral Spirits.

Aaron accepted Eleanor's suggestion almost without thinking.

He trusted Eleanor, and he trusted his own judgment.

He knew Asha and what she could do. More importantly, he knew she was loyal and would never casually sell out a friend.

The main reason Aaron had no intention of looking for companions at the Adventurers Guild was that he did not want to trust teammates thrown together at the last minute.

The Adventurers Guild drew people from every walk of life, but it had little power to hold them to their commitments. It could find the teammates you needed, but it could not guarantee the party would stay together. The guild provided a platform, not a guarantee.

More troublesome still, the Adventurers Guild represented a band of unemployed people with considerable fighting power. If they gathered in one place, trouble could easily follow. That was why no ruler would allow a guild complete independence. Free city-states, trading ports, monarchies, republics, military dictatorships, theocracies, councils of mages—whatever the system, they all kept watch over the Adventurers Guild and exerted their influence on it.

In other words, recruiting teammates through the Adventurers Guild risked exposing Aaron.

"Then I'll go find Asha. She's probably drinking in some tavern in the Lower City, right?" Seeing Aaron agree to her suggestion without hesitation, Eleanor's eyes shone brighter. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow would be best." Aaron rubbed his chin. "You find her. I'll discuss her pay."

"All right." Eleanor was about to rise, but Aaron caught her hand. "No rush. Stay with me a little longer, will you?"

The young Cleric lowered her head, a lovely shimmer in her sea-blue eyes.

"Mm."

They sat in a corner of Selûne's temple for fifteen minutes. They did not talk about the adventure again. Instead, Aaron told the young Cleric about the gift he had "carefully chosen" for her.

It was not the first time Aaron had given her a gift. The shameless Viscount knew, of course, that the high-minded young Cleric would not casually accept things from others. But for Aaron, who wielded Slaanesh's power, getting around that was merely a matter of playing a little trick.

First, he twisted the meaning of the gift, presenting it as "a paltry repayment for saving my life" or "the price of losing a bet." It had started with that box of spices.

Through this little "desensitization therapy," Aaron had then begun giving her small trinkets, food, and useful things, such as scented bath oil, until she grew used to it.

Huh. Why does this feel like slowly dyeing a pure white silk scarf in my own colors of Chaos?

Most notably, over the past few weeks Aaron had occasionally brought a whole box of donuts to the Church of Selûne. The Clerics, Paladins, and worshippers, along with the children the Church had taken in, all got to taste "Sallyan Donuts."

Sallyan Donuts had become the Upper City's favorite snack. Sweet, soft, and delicious, they were coated in syrup and carried a distinctive fragrance.

That was also why the guard at the entrance had looked a little disappointed. Aaron did not bring donuts every time.

Strangely enough, many people had secretly paid a fortune for a donut to study and reproduce it. They could get the rest more or less right, but no matter how they experimented, they could not reproduce that peculiar fragrance.

A rumor even claimed that whenever Aaron took a donut out of the oven, he pressed it against his chest, rubbed it around once, and only then put it in the box.

Anyone with half a brain knew the joke could not possibly be true. Still, people were already offering a high price for Aaron's "secret donut recipe."

Eleanor's expression barely changed over those fifteen minutes, but Aaron could tell she was in a good mood from her relaxed posture, her legs stretched out in front of her, and her hands resting apart on either side.

"I'll go make my preparations, then, dear Eleanor. Bring Asha to my house this afternoon," Aaron said softly.

"Got it." Eleanor gave Aaron one last look, then took out her face covering and put it on.

They went their separate ways.

After leaving Selûne's temple, Aaron headed first to the Purple Dragons' fortress. He needed to give his knightly mentor, Lucian, a heads-up.

Small meetings for big matters, big meetings for small matters—that was something Aaron had learned from years of working his way up from the bottom in his previous life.

For an important request, you had to write it yourself, deliver it yourself, and personally speak to your superior.

It was strange, really. Lucian was a Banneret, a baronet, and a master-level fighter. He was also in his forties and still unmarried. Whenever he had nothing to do, he stayed at the Purple Dragons' fortress, claiming he took only a few days off each year.

Aaron could only scoff at that. His mentor's bedroom was right off his office, with a reception room outside and a wine cellar below. He could tell the kitchen what he wanted to eat at any time, and have the quartermasters buy anything else he needed.

Lucian plainly had not expected Aaron. When Aaron knocked on the open door, the Banneret, who had been engrossed in a book behind his desk, gave a start and hastily put it down. "Aaron? What brings you here at this hour?"

Aaron glanced at the book his mentor had set down. Its title was The Archfey Lady's Lover.

"Ahem!" Lucian coughed, his thick, bushy beard trembling. "Aaron?"

"Mentor, I need to make a trip..." Aaron pretended nothing had happened.

Lucian did the same and gestured for Aaron to sit down and explain.

Aaron told his knightly mentor about his plan to venture to Eveningstar Town and wipe out a Goblin outpost.

Lucian's expression gradually shifted from awkward to serious.

"If you know there's a Goblin camp near King's Forest, why not report it to us and let us deal with it? Why go yourself?" his mentor asked, just as Aaron had expected.

"Because I want to take my revenge with my own hands!" Aaron said coldly. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I'll personally repay the humiliation that Goblin put me through. Volk and Hicks were my brothers. They died for me. I can't do nothing."

"Personally? They have over a hundred Goblins. There are only three of you." Lucian shook his head.

"I have friends in Eveningstar Town, and I don't intend to fight a hundred Goblins. If necessary, I'll ask the town's troops for help," Aaron replied simply. "My target is their Hobgoblin leader."

"Hmm... Your plan is clear, and so is your objective. You've trained with the Purple Dragons for over two months now. I agree it's time you went out and dealt with a real problem. Nothing teaches you like actual combat." Lucian still hesitated. "But must you leave so soon? Why not let us assign a few people to go with you instead of forming your own party?"

There it is. I knew he'd ask!

Aaron's heart stirred. He had rehearsed their conversation beforehand, but this was the one question he could not properly explain.

With so many capable comrades among the Purple Dragons, why would Aaron look elsewhere?

"It was my father's wish," Aaron said quietly. "He once told me he hoped I would complete my first adventure alongside a Cleric of the Lady of Silver."

"...If that was Manuel's wish, I won't object. Aaron, remember to pray to Lady Tymora for her blessing before you leave." Lucian's gaze drifted for a moment before he finally nodded. "Prepare well, young man. An adventure isn't a drill."

"Yes." Aaron left.

Five minutes later, once he was certain Aaron was gone, Lucian called toward the door. "Hulk?"

"Here!" An older fortress guard came in.

"Go get Reynard and Disma."

"Yes."

A few minutes later, Reynard and Disma arrived.

"Mentor." "What do you want, old man?"

"Your junior is heading out on an adventure tomorrow." Lucian stroked his beard and explained Aaron's plans to them. "...That's the situation."

"I want you to follow him." Lucian sighed. "Leaving aside his previous failed venture, this will be Aaron's first adventure. Young people lack experience. They're too young, too innocent, and sometimes childish—especially your junior, who's a Sorcerer."

"Whatever the outcome, an adventure will teach him something. You're his seniors, so guide him well. If nothing goes wrong, don't intervene. But if he gets into real trouble, make sure the Salian family line doesn't end with him. Understood?"

"Yes!" "Got it, got it~"

"One more thing. The troops around Eveningstar Town might not answer Aaron's call." Lucian leaned back in his chair. "I'll write you an official letter to keep in reserve."

"Why?" Disma folded his arms, puzzled.

"Because the lord of Cragwatch Keep, Brenn Swordsong, had a feud with Manuel!"

That afternoon, Eleanor arrived at the Sallyan Residence with Asha, the barbarian woman, right on time.

Aunt Mellie warmly welcomed Eleanor, but frowned at Asha, her displeasure plain on her face.

The barbarian woman still wore her usual fur, iron bracers, and leather trousers, with that rugged face of hers. She stood over six feet tall and cut an intimidating figure. She had been drinking that morning, so she reeked of alcohol, and she had never cared much about her appearance to begin with.

Back when Aunt Mellie had lived in the Lower City, she might not have been so put off by Asha. But after spending so long in the Upper City, Mellie had unconsciously taken to its way of life. Asha naturally rubbed her the wrong way.

"Hey, Aaron, I hear you've got a job for me?" Asha carried a two-handed halberd on her back. It was forged from Steel and set with a small Rune.

It was a supernatural weapon of Alert, bound with two effects.

The first was the cantrip Shocking Grasp. Once a day, the weapon could cast Shocking Grasp, dealing a small amount of magical damage and stunning an enemy. It was particularly effective against foes in heavy armor.

The second effect was Alert. When its wielder made camp or faced a hostile ambush in the wild, the weapon would sound a warning so they would not be caught off guard.

Asha had paid 1,200 Golden Lions to have the weapon made, spending most of her savings on it.

The barbarian woman slapped Aaron's shoulder without ceremony, hitting him hard enough to make him sway.

"Yes. I need your strength." Aaron nodded and managed a smile. "Let's discuss the details."

"I only came because Eleanor asked me to. The pay had better be good!" Asha thumped her chest. Her muscles, tight and solid as loaves of dark bread, bulged beneath the blows with a series of thuds. "You're lucky I'm short on drinking money, or I wouldn't have come at all. You'd better have a detailed plan. Eleanor knows I never bother thinking that far ahead on an adventure."

Well, no kidding, Aaron thought. If an adventuring party needs its barbarian to devise the strategy, whoever put that party together has something wrong with their head.

Berserker was the simplest way to sum up a barbarian. "Rage for a blade, courage for a shield": standing unbroken against a vast army and mowing enemies down like wheat—that was a barbarian.

Intelligence was the least useful attribute for barbarians. A healthy disregard for thinking things through came naturally to them. They charged in and got it done.

Of course, there were rare exceptions. A barbarian chieftain might never have read a book but still possess a natural gift for leadership and a cunning grasp of tactics. Some barbarians also mastered specialized skills out of necessity. But they were few and far between.

A true barbarian just went in swinging!

"Rage, reckless, great weapon!

Rage, reckless, great weapon!

RAGE!!! RECKLESS!!! GREAT WEAPON!!!"

—A barbarian joke from the Realms

Barbarians also had an interesting growth curve: the famous "V." An ordinary barbarian was strong early on, then grew markedly weaker in the middle stages and became easy to counter. Upon reaching legendary status, however, they merged with Primordial Power, gained extraordinary strength and endurance, and became formidable once more.

"This adventure should take about seven days." Aaron led them into the dining room and spread a map across the table. "We're going to Eveningstar Town. According to my information, a Goblin camp is hidden in the forest to its south..."

Aaron went over his plan.

"According to word my cousin Robert got from the Adventurers Guild, there's also a Kobold camp near the Goblin camp. The lord of Eveningstar Town has offered a bounty of 200 Golden Lions to clear them both out."

"And according to what I found in the library, Kobolds always hold a bonfire gathering in midsummer to seek guidance from the Kobold God."

"Listen, Eleanor. Asha."

"I have a plan!"

As Aaron laid out his plan, Eleanor's and Asha's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Aaron also felt the power within him stir.

Tzeentch's power had responded!

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(The end of this chapter.)