Joey's Last Request

By the time he calmed down, the caravan's people had already begun clearing the battlefield. Kels ordered all the bodies thrown into the ravine. As for the wounded, most likely they would not survive. A scratch from that mutated venom spider was no laughing matter. The low-grade antidotes the mercenaries carried could do nothing against its poison. Perhaps a higher-grade antidote would work, or treatment from a priest who knew purification magic, if they could find one within half an hour-but that was impossible. The Mason Family seemed to have no intention of helping those mercenaries either. Looking at the mercenaries and adventurers, Allen could not help grieving for those who shared his plight. This was his first encounter with so many deaths, and it made him crave power all the more.

The Mason Family's indifference to the mercenaries thoroughly enraged the survivors. One of them shouted angrily, "Why won't you save them? We paid with our lives to protect your things! Why did you hide in the back? Why didn't you step in at the start? Then so many people wouldn't have died!" The mercenary's eyes were bloodshot, his face red with anger. His closest companions and friends had all died, succumbing painfully to the poison right before his eyes.

Seeing the mercenaries staring at them with anger and hatred, Kels wanted to step forward and say something. But the young female mage stepped out and stopped him. "Lady Salena, this..." Kels looked at her in confusion. The mage said expressionlessly, "They're nothing but a pack of useless fools. They need to be taught a lesson before they'll obey." With that, she walked up to the mercenaries.

"I think you scum have a few things wrong. First, I'm your employer. I paid to hire you, so you must obey my orders. Second, you cowards, protecting your employer is your responsibility in the first place. What right do you have to demand that your employer protect you instead? Finally, the Mason Family has no use for worthless fools." With that, she hurled a fireball at the mercenary who had spoken first. In an instant, he was reduced to ashes, without even a chance to scream.

Coming to their senses, the mercenaries finally realized that they were not facing an unarmed woman, but a powerful mage. Regardless of right or wrong, weakness was the original sin. The weak had to bow to the strong.

The mercenaries did not dare speak, afraid of becoming the next target, and lowered their heads. Seeing that they had all submitted, the mage went straight back to her carriage. Then Kels spoke. "All right, we don't have much time. Hurry up and pack. We must reach the way station today, or there'll be no rest."

Grieving, the mercenaries hastily disposed of the bodies, then looked at those already deeply poisoned and asked whether they had any final wishes. Knowing they were certain to die, those mercenaries entrusted their final affairs to people they could trust. Before long, they passed away.

Joey was among them. When they first surrounded and attacked the venom spider, he had been so frightened that it had scratched his arm before long. Since the wound was not very serious, the poison had yet to take effect. He weakly called out to Allen. "Allen, Allen, cough, cough, cough. Ah, I always knew I'd die someday, but I never thought it would be this soon."

Allen helped Joey sit on the grass with some effort and said, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. If there's anything else I can do for you, just say it." The situation then had truly been critical. He had barely been able to look after himself.

Joey did not blame him. He merely clutched the hem of Allen's clothes tightly. "I know, I know, Allen. I knew this day would come. I have no regrets. Allen, I've known you for less than a week, but I know you're a good person, right?"

Joey looked at Allen hopefully. Faced with that look, Allen simply could not refuse him. He nodded. "I suppose so. You know I can't promise too much."

Joey breathed a sigh of relief, as though he had used up what little life he had left. Releasing his tightly clenched hand, he said to Allen, "George, my son, he's only five. He's in Poplar Village in Darrowshire, being looked after by his aunt. Every year I go back to see him and bring him some money to live on. I can't give him much. This is all I have. Don't tell him I'm dead. Just say I went south. Please, Allen."

With that, he took a note out of his clothes. It was an internal payment note issued by Lordaeron's royal house, usable at any business owned by the royal house. It was much like a bank card from Allen's previous life. The only difference was that notes from different issuers were not interchangeable, unlike banks, which could transfer money between one another.

This was chiefly due to the long-standing conflict between the royal house and the local nobles. Both sides undermined and restricted each other. However, the royal house had the largest business holdings, and the notes it issued were the most widely accepted.

Joey's note bore the silver number 10,000, representing ten thousand silver coins, or ten gold coins. Allen sighed. "Ah." When he turned back, Joey had closed his eyes forever.

According to the unwritten rules among mercenaries, when a mercenary died, everything apart from the items entrusted for a specific purpose belonged to the person receiving that trust. Allen did not strip Joey's body of every possession. Having been educated in his previous life, he still could not bring himself to do that. In fact, he could not carry so much anyway. He only took Joey's pack, burying everything else in the ravine along with his body.

After dealing with everything, the mercenaries resumed their journey. Not one of them spoke, and the atmosphere was heavy and sorrowful. Everyone traveled in silence. The laughter and chatter of the beginning were gone.

Allen was no different, though he kept planning how to escape. The other party was a powerful mage. He could not defeat her no matter what, and even if he slipped away, it was not safe outside either. He had not forgotten the venom spiders. Whoever was behind them had to be secretly watching the caravan from some dark corner. As soon as an opportunity arose, they would surely strike the caravan again. If he ran away, those people would probably kill him without the mage having to do anything.

He was caught between wolves ahead and tigers behind, unable to advance or retreat. He thought all afternoon without coming up with a good solution. With no other choice, he could only stay with the caravan for now.

By evening, the caravan had still failed to reach the way station on time, but Kels did not make the mercenaries keep traveling. After all, they had just fought a major battle and needed rest. Once camp was set up, the mercenaries silently went about their own business. Allen also started a fire, preparing to toast some dry rations.

As he ate his dry rations, Allen could not help thinking of Joey's cooking. Sadly, he would never taste it again. That night, he went to sleep early. Kels took the watch; the mercenaries' exhaustion kept him from letting his guard down.

With a rustle, the carriage curtain was lifted. Hearing the sound, Kels immediately went on alert. When he realized it was the mage stepping out of the carriage, he hurried over. "Lady Salena, why have you come out?" Without looking at him, she walked straight to the campfire. Only after a while did she say, "Kels, our movements have been discovered. Word of that thing has probably leaked too."

Kels paused, then answered, "Lady Salena, no one apart from us and the family head should know about that thing. They shouldn't have discovered it..." Before he could finish, the mage interrupted him. "No secret stays hidden forever. There must be a traitor in the family. Do you think they went to such lengths to set a trap just for me?"

"Well... Lady Salena, then we must notify the family head..." The mage waved a hand. "I'm afraid anyone we send will never reach Father. Someone must be watching us nearby."

Kels hurriedly asked, "My lady, what should we do?" The mage remained expressionless, showing no sign of panic. "Relax. There's only one explanation for their using these methods against us: they're nobles too. They don't dare violate the rules of the nobility, so they can only resort to these underhanded methods. Once we reach Brill, we'll be safe. The Highlord there is an ally of our family. We'll send someone to notify Father then."

Kels lowered his head and answered, "Understood, Lady Salena. All for the glory of the Mason Family."

Early the next morning, the caravan began packing, as Kels had ordered them to pick up the pace. They had already lost too much time. The mercenaries looked much better that morning than they had the day before. At least they no longer looked so exhausted.

Allen had packed everything before Kels even gave the order. He still intended to escape, so he had not slept very long the previous night. After waking during the night, he had gone through Joey's belongings and discovered that, apart from some necessities for adventuring in the wilderness, Joey had little else. The only thing that looked worth much was probably that two-handed sword. Allen did not know what technique had been used to forge it. It was black all over, looking extremely ordinary, even shabby. But a closer look revealed that there were almost no marks on it. That meant it was either freshly forged or exceptionally durable.

It was clearly the latter. Allen had no idea how much Joey had paid for the two-handed sword, but its excellent upkeep showed how much Joey had valued it. Allen handled it for a moment, tested its sharpness and hardness, then put it away. To be honest, he was not used to a two-handed sword, since he normally practiced with Old Jack's one-handed sword. But his own one-handed sword had now been so badly corroded by venom that he could not even use it to club someone. He would have to make do for now.

He also found Joey's adventurer badge, one rank higher than Old Jack's. It was of no use to him, though, because Joey was dead, and the Adventurers' Association would surely add him to its list of the deceased.

Still, he had no intention of throwing it away. He would leave it for Joey's son, so the boy would at least have something to remember him by. Like the others, Allen left the large things he had no use for before Joey's grave, then followed the caravan away without looking back.