Of Arms and Arcane-Chapter 218

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Santon set aside my gift, and rather than presenting me with a selection of jobs to choose from, he only took out one folder and pushed it over to me. "To make up for the time you have not been active, this is a challenging yet lucrative job that just came in and is somewhat urgent."

I took the folder and was hooked by the reward stated at the top of the page, a thousand gold. That was the kind of money a normal commor family could live comfortably on for two or three generations if they were frugal.

As I read the rest of the page, I could understand the reason for such a reward.

My client, Marquess Victor Langston, seems to be having some problems with his heir, turned wayward son. For months, his son, Ambrose Langston, has been stealing money from the family's coffers and sending it off somewhere. When confronted about this, Ambrose ran away from home and has not been seen in over two weeks despite the Marquess' discreet searching.

The Marquess could have ordered his men to initiate a thorough search of his territory, but doing so would undoubtedly cause scandal and speculation regarding his noble house's decline due to his heir's actions. To avoid turning this into a high-profile case, the Marquess has sought the services of the Steward's Guild and paid a hefty sum for their services and their discretion.

I wonder how much of a cut the guild is getting if my reward is a thousand gold.

My instructions are to find and bring the Marquess' son home alive and in one piece. There will be a bonus reward upon reporting any significant information regarding his son's disappearance.

I wonder how much of a bonus I will get if I do well on this job. The last bonus I got was three times the reward. My previous client was extremely happy with the recording.

After I was done reading, I looked at Santon and asked, "Am I allowed to search the Marquess' home for clues?"

Santon nodded and slid over a sealed envelope. "This is a letter of introduction addressed to the Marquess' head butler. When you reach the city, pass this letter to the reception of any of our associated establishments, and they will arrange with the head butler to discreetly let you into the estate."

I nodded and asked, "When would I be expected to make contact with the client?"

"As soon as possible," Santon said as he rolled out a map of the region. "When you are ready, there is a fast carriage waiting at the town's entrance. Show them your membership card, and they will know where to take you. It will be an estimated four-day journey."

Getting all the information I needed, I stood up and started brainstorming what excuse I would give my parents for leaving town for a few days.

***

By late afternoon, I was speeding down the dirt road in a carriage pulled by four horses that looked like they were on steroids.

As for the excuse I gave my parent, it was the same spiel, 'Dragon business', but this time, with an actual dragon involved, so they could not force escorts on me and risk exposing our connections with dragons.

Regarding my luggage, I packed light and ensured that nothing in my belongings might expose my noble status; thus, I avoided anything too fancy. However, I did acquire some comfortable clothes from the local tailor, who has become quite friendly with me since I began purchasing materials from them in bulk. In fact, most of the local craftsmen and women have been establishing better relations with me since I started pumping out my pieces. I suppose stimulating the local economy does wonders for my reputation.

As for how I armed and armored myself in case shit went sideways, the short answer was as inconspicuous as possible. I was just your everyday sword-toting mercenary who just so happens to wear a hooded cloak and an eyeless facemask that I can see through somehow, thanks to some enchantment work I have not been able to decipher yet. Totally normal, nothing to see here.

My weapons and armor were all practice pieces that I forged from mana steel, and despite their plain look, were perfectly servicable and enchanted.

Over the next few days of blitzing down the road fast enough that we outran a pack of monsters and ram straight through what I am pretty sure was a bandit blockade, the carriage driver stopped at each town or city long enough for the horses to be swapped out like they were tires at a F1 pitstop and we were off.

Despite its speed, suspension technology has not advanced significantly, as my backside aches from all the bumps on the road, and the cushioned seats did little to help. Regarding food, there was only breakfast, dinner, and any dried rations I had on hand. If I can help it, I will never take this fast carriage again.

By the time I reached the city of Malbrook, where Marquess Victor Langston resided, I exited the carriage as stiff as a scarecrow, while the driver hopped off his seat as if it were nothing. I bet that with all the driving he has done, he has buns of steel to withstand the constant bumps.

After casting a healing spell to ease the body aches, I asked around for directions to a chain inn associated with the Steward's Guild. After I flashed my membership card and checked in, I handed over an introduction letter to the inn's reception lady and went to my room to freshen up.

***

Two hours later, there was a knock on my door. It was show time. I donned my outfit and mask before going down to the lobby and was directed to a butler too young to be a head butler.

The young butler gave me a short bow, "Greetings, the head butler instructed me to guide you. Please follow me, Mister..." the young butler said, ending his sentence with a questioning intonation as to my name.

I was obviously not going to give him my real name, but this caught me off guard because I haven't come up with an alias. As I was wrecking my brain to come up with a cool-sounding alias, the seconds dragged between us, making the situation more awkward.

That was when it hit me, why think of some made-up name when I had another name I was familiar with? "You can call me Liam."