Mercenary With A Heart Of Gold: For Hire

Rita fell silent. In her mind’s eye, she could picture Alvin’s map – Zora, the reservoir, the mountain … but there wasn’t anything on the other side.

She looked across the reservoir. The rain got in the way, but it looked like there was another dam, on the far side. That meant that they’d needed to block off another exit … a river, perhaps?

“And here I was hoping to be dry a little longer.”

She turned to Alvin and Sidon.

“There’s another dam over there.” She pointed.

“We’re going to need to go over and take a look.”

A look was one thing, but where Rita thought she'd get an entire construction crew for whatever she was dreaming up --

-- Actually, Alvin had an idea about where to get that construction crew.

"Sure, let's go take a look. Can't imagine it's going to be a fast job, but maybe not an impossible one."

Sidon looked between them, at once both baffled and elated that they seemed to have a plan that didn't involve shock arrows. "This way," he said, bowing gallantly and leading onward.

Zora waterworks were pretty good, Alvin would give them that. While the ramp over the spillway was slicker than a polwigle's hide, it was plenty broad enough for them to cross, even with the constant rush of water. He slowed as they got to the rim of the pent-up lake.

"Looks like we could reroute it further east from down there," he pointed, "if the ground's stable enough to take some work with all this rain."

“Beach Blanket Sunscreen Rangers season 14 binge at my place. Who’s in?”

"Me!"

"Err... I mean, me," Hubert answered. He shouldn't have been so quick to answer. Though he tried not to look too embarrassed, he felt his cheeks flushing.

“Excellent. I’m putting you in charge of the popcorn while I get the drinks ready. Anyone else? — hey, what’d you think of that cliffhanger they left us on last season?”

"Huh?" Had he? Oh... oh, yeah, he pretty much had. "Oh, right. Sorry about that." Jude's cheeks flushed a bit. And chocolate croissants, too? He felt like he was getting a bit more than was necessary, but was no less appreciative of what Alvin was doing.

He let Alvin lead the way, nodding in approval of the selected booth before settling down. He didn't get long to settle, though. It took a moment longer than Jude would have liked for the seriousness to really register. When it did, though, he understood why Alvin had asked. It made sense. After all, he did just get into a scuffle with some people who just didn't like him. It wouldn't have been surprising if they'd decided to take advantage of an opportunity.

Fortunately, they hadn't.

"No, no. They didn't mug me," Jude answered. "Even if they had, there wasn't much for them to take to start with. I just thought I had a little more spending gald set aside than this. But basically everything I have has been going into the spyrite research, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Sixteen years old and broke as a joke. For most sixteen year olds, that wouldn't have been too surprising. Most teenagers didn't have the weight of the world on their shoulders, though.

"You don't have to say it. I know it's pretty pathetic when I can't even keep track of my own gald." Maybe that wasn't the right word for it. He wasn't sure how else to put it. "And then getting into a fight on top of that. One I didn't even want to happen." He'd admit it. He tried talking sense, but of course the pacifist option hadn't won out in the end.

"Hey. Knock it off."

"A certain someone I know wouldn't even badmouth a shady mercenary when he deserved it. He sure shouldn't be badmouthing himself for working hard enough to save the world that he's lost track of what's in his pockets, or for getting into a fight he didn't start."

If Jude looked up, he'd be met with Alvin's most straightforward look, softened with a hint of a smile. "I'm pretty sure that certain someone deserves better than that, even if he is his own toughest critic."

Alvin made a mental note; there would be extra produce on the next order he filled, and some of it would wind up in Jude's apartment. Better yet if it was already cooked up -- maybe he could talk Ludger into helping him put something together. And if Jude asked, or protested -- well, he'd figure it out on the fly.

broadswordandpistol​:

“Oh! Okay! I think I get it now! Then you just skim it to see if anything pops out at you, right?”

“Wow…” Leia listened attentively as he listed them off. It made her want to try them all!

“Eating at a place that’s like home sounds way more comfortable and friendly than the other two. But also… being able to pick something up while you’re running around and doing errands sounds pretty nice too. That’s hard to pick which one’s better… But I know it’s always fun to experiment with market stalls! Especially if you’re going from one to the other, testing out all the food!”

It sounded like the first one was better for at night while the other one was better for during the day.

“But the fancy places… Yeah, I guess since Elympios doesn’t have much food, all the good stuff goes to the more expensive places, huh… I hope now that it’s connected to Rieze Maxia, the good food starts getting cheaper so poorer people can eat it too… It does sound like it’s a great place to take somebody you’re trying to impress though!”

Alvin rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm hoping that happens. Yurgen's got some ideas about using spirit artes to keep things cold between here and there, which as far as I can tell, should work. So we can bring over just about anything, as long as it'll last the travel time. It should help alleviate the hunger, and some of the growing issues, at least until Elympios has enough mana for the environment to start recovering."

If Hamil and Nia Khera weren't neck-deep in their own recovery, he might think about shipping in some farmers -- if they'd come. That was a problem for the future, though.

He crooked her a more cheerful smile. "Y'know, you could come visit for a while and check out those places. Maybe bring back some ideas and recipes for the Lodge to offer on special while you're figuring out what you wanna do. Might even be able to drag Jude out of the laboratory for a meal or three, if we try."

Yup.

@broadswordandpistol replied to your post “shadow of a doubt / @talesofourworlds When Jude...”:

Does it take one to know one,

Alvin?

I'm pretty sure you know you're asking a rhetorical question, Mister Honors Student.

Jude, too, felt the Fennmont familiarity on stepping up to the Daily Grind with Alvin. A little piece of something that reminded him of home never hurt. He studied the chalkboard menu, already feeling a little better than he had before, until he was nudged forward by Alvin and given a light bit of teasing.

After the day he'd had, he couldn't be annoyed by the teasing. In fact, he welcomed it. A small laugh and a shake of his head followed.

"Not this time," Jude answered. Maybe if he'd come when it was much later at night they'd have a different answer. Late nights meant just whatever coffee was around the lab, which usually was the more caffeinated stuff.

"Could I just get a caffé latte, please?" Yep. Jude really was back in full force, even if he was still a little bit shaken. He was doing his best not to show that much, though. It helped that he wasn't being jumped by people who disliked his mere existence.

"Let me just..." He dug around his lab coat pocket, but as he started counting out the gald he had on hand he realized he might not have enough to cover his own coffee. That just was what happened when all his funds went into spyrite research.

"Thought I had a little more than that," he murmured. Somehow it didn't occur to him that Alvin might be willing to cover the cost for both of them.

They really did rattle his cage, huh? Though as Jude fished for his gald, a different interpretation of the events crossed Alvin's mind.

"Put that away," he chuckled. "I said I was buying, remember?" His gald clinked onto the counter, more than enough for the drinks. "A couple of those chocolate croissants too, all right? Thanks."

He pointed out a booth next to one of the windows; snug, with a nice view of the outside. Pretty and practical. "How about over there?"

When they were settled, he stretched out, sprawling loosely in his seat. "Did they mug you?" he asked, nodding at the pocket Jude had procured his gald from. Alvin's seriousness put the lie to his physical ease. If they had, there would be an extra round of hell to pay if he ran across them.

alvin please be more gentle with the children

"Oh one of those families." How do people end up with families where everyone is identical? Hm...maybe best not to think too hard on that...

Isaac gently kicked a piece of crumbling stone wall that was on the floor. "Somehow I feel lasers won't be on today's menu. But arrow traps will be." The entrance looked well maintained, but the interior screamed 'abandoned ruins'. "If my primary teacher caught me in a place like this she'd probably kill me."

"If she killed you, wouldn't that negate the lesson that these places are supposed to be dangerous?" Alvin chuckled.

"But yeah, you're probably right about arrow traps. Falling blades, too. We'll need to keep an eye out for trigger points." Given the state of the floor, he gave them even odds that they'd set one off before they even got out of the foyer. Well, he'd faced worse odds.

"So what was it that Aeon wanted you to get out of this place, anyway? Guessing it's gotta be reasonably important."

In his head, Jude understood what Alvin was saying. People reacted badly to things they were afraid of or didn't understand. Sometimes a combination of both. Jude just happened to take the brunt of that since he was a big name representative of Rieze Maxia those days. But in his heart, he still wished it didn't have to happen at all. He wished people would be more willing to accept that he was trying to help.

"Not your fault," Jude said, still doing his best to put on a smile despite it all. "Still... I appreciate you coming to check on me, Alvin. I'm just sorry you had to come check at all." Then again, what were friends for if not checking up on their friends when they were worried?

The offer, fortunately, was enough to bring Jude out of his thoughts.

"That sounds like a great idea, Alvin. Thanks," he said. Truthfully, he did need something to help keep him a bit more steady after all that had just happened. He finished tying off the last of his bandages, casting one more Healer for good measure, before nodding his head.

"I'm ready to go whenever you are. And... thanks again. I really could use the company right now."

Alvin knew it wasn't much comfort. Just because peoples' motivations were understandable didn't make them any more enjoyable to deal with. He'd have demolished those bullies with pleasure had he been in the neighborhood.

The place around the corner was called the Daily Grind, and truth be told, Alvin frequented it more often than he probably should. It was warm and comforting; deep faux-woods and brass rails that reminded him of Fennmont, with an extensive chalkboard-written menu that had seen enough erasures to leave a thin yellow film over the whole of it. The barista greeted him with a smile, and he nudged Jude to the forefront.

"A double for me, and whatever he wants." He flicked Jude a crooked grin. "Do we need to ask 'em for a whole pot?"

(reblogging so I have the ask on my blog -- feel free to pull it out into a new thread!)

Alvin made a small play of counting on his fingers. "I think this is the third? fourth? shipwreck I've been in. They start to blur together after a while." When Eizen had warned him about the Reaper's Curse, he'd taken him seriously, but it didn't seem much worse than what Alvin was used to.

He shrugged out of his coat and scraped wet sand off of it, hanging it to dry on a nearby boulder. "That's good, because I'm thinking we're going to need shelter, clean water, and food, probably in that order, before we even get to plan on getting back." A hard drink would be welcome, but given their luck, unless something washed ashore, it'd be awhile.

Alvin toed over the remains of the jollyboat they'd shared. Too wet to light, but maybe it wasn't so broken they couldn't fix it, depending on what the island coughed up in terms of supplies. "Do you know where we are? General vicinity, I mean."