Chapter 069 The One-Armed Hero and the Wolf with Funny Eyes

Day 7. Wednesday 12:55pm.

Jack, Toma, Nessa, and Ella headed towards the main Guild hall in good spirits, chatting about their archery session in Training Room 13. Toma was a ball of energy, the others more restrained as they caught their breath after a hard training session.

“Same time tomorrow?” Nessa asked Jack.

Jack thought for a moment. “Not sure yet. I’ve got something on this weekend and need to be rested.” He glanced at Toma, whose shoulders had slumped at the news. “Depends on how I feel in the morning.”

Nessa and Ella both nodded in understanding.

Toma looked as though his best friend had told him he was moving across the Kingdom, never to return.

Jack couldn’t help but smile beneath his mask.

“Well, we’ll both be here, same time tomorrow,” Ella said, patting Jack on the arm. “Wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Jack nodded.

“We should head home,” Nessa said to Ella. See you soon, Toma. You’re improving fast.”

Toma flushed at the compliment. “Thanks. See ya.”

With that, the pair of young women headed towards the Guild exit.

“Toma, follow me,” Jack said as he walked to one of the wall-mounted display consoles.

Toma trailed behind like a lost puppy, still looking gloomy.

“Have you joined the Guild yet?” Jack asked.

Although the Adventurers Guild primarily served adventurers, anyone over the age of fourteen could join for a nominal fee. To encourage membership, the Guild was subsidised by the crown; fourteen-year-olds could join for 50 coppers a year. The price increased to 1 silver at sixteen.

Toma shook his head. “Can’t. Got no coin.”

Jack entered Toma’s basic details into the Guild system while the boy watched with a puzzled expression. “Put your palm here,” he said, pointing at the hand-shaped section of the display, which shimmered with heavy rune enchantments. He noticed Toma’s hesitation. “Trust me.”

Toma placed his hand on the display. The runes beneath his palm glowed blue. To the side, a message appeared, ‘Registration in process. Please insert 50 coppers to proceed.’ The boy looked at Jack as if to say, ‘I told ya so’.

Jack dipped into his coin purse and began inserting coins, one after another. The Guild system had a credit facility, so adventurers could pay in advance.

Toma’s eyes widened as he watched his registration complete and his balance tick upwards. He was now a member of the Guild, with credit.

“I-I can’t take all your coin,” Toma stammered. “I can’t. My dad says a man…”

Jack chuckled. “Trust me. It’s not that hard to earn coin as a scribe.” He kept feeding in silvers until Toma had a balance of 9 silvers and 50 coppers. “If you’ve got a problem with it being a gift, consider it a loan from a friend.” He knew how proud people could be. “You can pay me back in a few years when you’re an archer.”

The speechless boy nodded.

Jack could earn more than that in under two hours crafting chronos sphere spell scrolls. More importantly, this made him feel good, and he needed that more than the coin. “There you go,” he said. “That’ll keep you going for a while, so long as you’re careful.”

Toma stood open-mouthed, staring at the display screen which showed his Guild details, tears welling in his eyes.

“No spending it on spa sessions,” Jack joked.

“No, I won’t. I promise,” Toma said. “It’ll all go on archery.”

If the boy stuck to group training sessions costing 10 coppers or fewer, the credit would last him over three months.

Jack patted Toma on the shoulder and was rewarded with a sweaty hug from the grateful teen.

“Thanks, Jack,” Toma sniffed. “You don’t know what this means to me.” He clung to Jack like a lifeline.

He had a fair idea. As a farmer’s son, Toma wouldn’t have had much spare coin. Access to the Guild’s training rooms would all but guarantee him an archery class. And even if his bow broke, he’d be able to use the Guild’s.

A few of Jack’s own tears slipped down his cheeks. “I’ve got to head home, or my mom’ll get worried.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Toma said again. “Thanks.”

“See you later, Toma,” Jack said as they exited the Guild, heading off in opposite directions.

***

After returning home via the back alleys and cleaning up, Jack sat in the kitchen, sharing a meal with his mom and Zia. Afterwards, he lounged in the kitchen as his mom prepared a batch of food for a Lundun restaurant. Zia, taking a break from baking biscuits, was drawing.

“Who’s that?” Jack asked the little girl as he peered at the picture she was focused on. It captured a huge one-armed monster beside a small girl with blue streaks in her white hair. They were surrounded by green-coloured children, some with blue eyes. At least, that’s what he thought he was looking at.

Zia’s eyes widened. “Cain… h-he’s a hero. A real one.”

Jack searched his memory for heroes named Cain, but only came up with a story about a man who wasn’t heroic. “Is it Cain from the Cain and Abel story?”

Zia looked confused and shook her head. “It’s Cain… from the caravan… and…” She stopped and looked at Anna.

Their mom smiled. “It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.” She gave Zia a hug.

“Cain was in the caravan,” Zia said. “H-he was scary, but he saved me from the un… monsters.”

Jack sat in silence, unsure of what to say. He still didn’t know what had happened to the orphan girl he’d brought home. His mom had told him goblins attacked a caravan, and Zia was alone in Lundun until he found her. Anna had decided to wait until Zia was ready to talk rather than risk upsetting her further.

Zia continued, “The monsters chased us, and Cain lost his hand and… and got ill with… with new-mony-rrr.” She was crying. “I fed him apples, but he went to sleep on-on the floor and wouldn’t wake up.”

“It’s all right. I know,” Anna said, hugging her again. “I know. You’re safe now.”

Pneumonia, Jack realised. Cain must have passed out. “What happened to Cain? Did he see a healer?”

Zia sniffled and wiped her tears. “Y-yes. They locked him in the Guild place.” She looked annoyed. “A smelly man tried to steal my sword and chased me away, and… and someone stealed my bag and sword. I-I was looking after Cain’s cloak for him. Someone stoled it! Then a dog chased me, and a nice old man gave me some hard bread. Then I met you.”

Jack felt more confused than ever and didn’t know where to start. He looked at his mother, who appeared equally bewildered. “You had a sword?” he asked.

Zia nodded. “Cain gave it me, ‘cos I was brave when I hit a bad blue-eyed goblin with a b-branch.”

Jack nodded, still trying to piece it all together. “What happened to Cain?”

“He’s in the big red scary Guild place,” Zia said with a frown. “I don’t know where it is. I got lost.”

Anna rubbed her back. “There’s no rush. Are you okay, sweetie?”

Zia nodded.

“The big scary red Guild place,” Jack repeated. “Do you mean the Adventurers Guild? The big red building?”

Zia nodded and sat up straighter. “Yeah, the Guild place. It’s smelly and noisy. They locked him in there. The smelly man wanted my sword, so-so I ran away.”

Jack chuckled. “Yep, sounds like the Guild. They locked Cain up? What did he do wrong?”

Zia looked confused. “Cain didn’t do nothing wrong. He was sleeping. I ran away. Cain’s a hero, like the wolf with funny eyes.”

Jack sat bolt upright. “You saw a wolf with funny eyes? Were they different colours?”

Zia nodded. “The wolf was a good wolf. It stopped the goblins from eating Cain all night. It watched us with its funny eyes.”

“What colour were its eyes?” he asked, though he already suspected the answer.

“One orange. One green,” Zia said. “They were shiny. It was a good wolf, the kind that looks after lost children… like me.” She pointed at her chest.

“I’ve seen that wolf. It followed me home from the woods…” Jack hesitated. He couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “It seemed friendly.”

Zia nodded. “It’s a good wolf.”

“So, Cain was left at the Adventurers Guild?” Jack scratched the back of his neck. “When was this?”

Zia counted on her fingers. “Three days, I think.”

“The day before we met,” Jack muttered. “He might still be there.” He recalled the one-armed bartender serving another one-armed man. It had stuck in his memory. “Was it his right hand he lost?” He pointed to the location where the huge man had his arm severed. “Cut about here?”

“Yes.” Zia’s eyes lit up. “That’s Cain. You know him? Is he all right? Did they feed him? He likes mint ice cream.”

“If it’s the same man… he’s huge, about this tall.” Jack raised his hand to match Cain’s height. Zia nodded. “I saw him two days ago at the Guild, ordering a drink. He looked well.”

Zia bounced in place. “Can we go see him?” She looked from Jack to Anna.

Anna looked conflicted.

“He might not be there now,” Jack explained, checking the time. “It’s still early. I’ll go see if I can find him, and if he wants to meet you. If he’s not there, I’ll ask around. Someone’ll know him. He’s huge… hard to miss an adventurer that’s close to seven feet tall.”