After such a friendly invitation, how could I refuse? There was some murmuring from the crowd, as Deggan motioned for me to get up, but he shut that down with a quick look around the mess hall.

  Before we left he had one of his trusted men bring over a keg of the good beer, after all there was cause for celebration! A gesture that brought some of the excitement back. The excitement turned downright festive as he then told a few of his men to bring out their instruments and join the party.

  We left to the sounds of laughter and music from the mess hall. Stalker and I were shown over to Deggans’s barrack. This barrack was separated in two parts by a cozy hallway, with coat hangers, holders for boots and little carpets, almost a cozy sort of posh aesthetic. On the left was a door into the crew section of the barrack and on the right into Deggans private section.

  I was led through the door to the left into a lounge area. There were doors leading into other areas, but for now I was told to wait here with two of Deggan's lieutenants as ”company”. Deggan left to freshen up and to tell his private chef (because of course he had one of those) that there would be a guest for dinner.

  The two lieutenants didn’t really say much, but Luka, an orc looking male with a truly awe inspiring physique asked me if I had really defeated the woodwraiths. I tried to explain that Frino had defeated them and I had merely been along for the ride. He looked at my relatively scrawny figure and nodded, this made sense in his world. I was clearly not hero material.

  Celine, the other lieutenant, was an athletic wolf beastkin. Besides giving her name, she didn’t really say anything, but her eyes never left us. Stalker was oddly taken by her and emoted Strong predator beautiful danger I coughed to hide my surprise at his assessment, and although I couldn’t disagree, I did wonder what he meant by beautiful danger.

  Luckily a little bell rang, before I could get too lost in thoughts about Stalkers beauty standards. Celine stood up and motioned for me and Stalker to follow as she led me into Deggan’s side of the barracks.

  The difference was instantly noticeable, the quality in the interior went up several notches, from actual art on the walls, to exquisitely detailed woodwork on cabinets and furniture and some of the rugs here looked soft enough to sleep on. It was hard to believe we were in a barrack in the middle of a lumber camp.

  Celine left us, as I was seated in a small intimate dining room with Deggan on the other side of the table and a truly lavish dinner between us. He waited till I was seated and then said:

  ”Welcome Mike, I hope you will forgive my manners, but I have been hard at work all day and I am famished” he smiled apologetically and continued ”Do try the stuffed drillmouse, they are delicious.”

  The next minutes were filled with Deggan demonstrating the polite version of stuffing your face, while I tasted some of the foreign looking dishes, it tasted fantastic! And as I complimented the chef, Deggan urged me to eat more, while continuing to stuff his face, but elegantly...

  I was already full from the feast Torle had served earlier and I could see that they had not served Stalker anything. I emoted to Stalker hungry? He poked his nose up above the table, took a look at some of the dishes and emoted back to me exciting smells! new taste?

  I began assembling a small selection of foods on my plate and as discreetly as possible, when you are the only two people at the table I slid the plate down to Stalker, so he could get a taste of the good life.

  Deggan was watching this exchange first with curiosity, then with outrage, as he saw what I was doing with the plate and just as quickly his face expression turned unreadable, but I noticed his eyes going from Stalker to me and back again. ”Oh shit”, I thought, ”maybe I should not draw attention to my friend here.”

  Deggan slowed down long enough to comment on the situation, ”Apologies for not having something ready for your pet” he took a long look at Stalker ”I have never seen its like, where did you get it?”

  ”Long story, but let's just say we found each other in the forest,” I said, trying not to look too uncomfortable.

  Deggan followed up, ”ahh yes, the forest… I remember hearing you were lost there, that had to be absolutely dreadful! It looks so tame though, do you have a class or the beast tamer profession?” Stalker growled softly and lay down under my chair, out of sight. My heart skipped a beat, as Deggan said, ”It doesn’t seem to like me very much, does it?”

  Thinking fast I replied, ”nono, no sir! My guess is that he reacted to the word forest, but who can really know with these animals” Silently I emoted to Stalker Sorry danger and the growling stopped and was replaced with a soft yawning sound, as Stalker faked going to sleep. He emoted back attack? And I quickly responded with no attack, big danger, trust me.

  I continued, ”but I wish I had a class or profession that could help me understand him better, but unfortunately I have neither class nor profession…”

  Deggan studied me, and said, ”ahh that is right, I asked you that already, didn’t I? Silly of me, but with all the trouble hitting the camp after your arrival… I seem to have forgotten, along with what level you said you were?”

  I hesitated, and took that second to switch echo skill to negotiation (novice), feeling the memories of a seasoned traveling merchant settling within me. hoping that it would help me navigate this conversation safely.

  ”I leveled twice during this adventure!” I said this with some pride in my voice, figuring that it would be unbelievable not to level at all doing stuff like escaping an archive, and would be something to proudly announce in a society where levels were a thing. ”I am now level five… I know it is not that impressive compared to someone like you…” I quickly let some admiration and flattery enter my demeanor.

  Deggan responded with an almost deadpan expression, ”No, one such as you should not try to compare to your betters… ” He softened his expression and a smile lit up his face, ”still two levels are cause for celebration and a fitting reward for such a heroic act…”

  Judging from Deggan's reaction, the flattery had not gone over well. Guess there is a difference in knowing about negotiation and being practiced at it.

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  Deggan continued, ”Right now we only have your word that the danger from the forest is over, naturally you being here lends credence to your tale… and I’m inclined to believe you!” At this he smiled what he probably believed was a comforting smile.

  ”In fact when confirmation is secured, in let's say a week's time, I’m willing to consider your debt to the camp paid off!” He studied my reaction to this, and I tried to show my appreciation to this ”good” news.

  He seemed to buy it and continued, ”You show great promise, have you thought about what you want in the future?”

  How much could I reveal? I decided to keep it relatively simple, and as true as possible, when I answered.

  ”It would be nice being able to live in comfort, and be able to explore!” I nibbled a bit of the drillmouse and indicated the table and the world outside, I added, ”The world is large and with so many things I haven’t seen yet, and with such a rich history!”

  Deggan grimaced a bit at the word history, then said, ”ahh yes, the past is indeed filled with wonders, some marvelous and some dangerous, some even both” he chuckled a bit at that, and said in a lower voice, as if confiding in me, ”exploring the past can be very dangerous, if you do not have friends with the right connections…” he was looking at my chest again…

  ”I sense that we might become such friends Mike!” Deggan boomed joyously and then asked, ”will you let me be that friend for you?”

  The answer to that question was obvious… I could not hope to best him and his men in a physical confrontation, and the odds of escaping were also rather slim. At least until I got my class and hopefully could even the playing field a bit… But that was still around two weeks away.

  ”Yes! I would like that very much sir!” I said in a hopeful tone, then added, ”But what would I bring to this friendship that could match your resources, connections and protections?” I was curious, because danger or not, he at the very least had access to resources, like knowledge and coin that I had not, and he was probably also well connected.

  Deggan, now smiling like a cat that had caught a mouse, said, ”I come from the Bragona family… yes, that family” he added, as if I should know who that was… To be fair I probably would, had I been from here.

  ”Through some machinations of relatives and some bad luck I ended up here in this backwater shithole… That is until I can prove it to the old man that I am too valuable an asset to rot away here.” He emptied his wineglass and looked me in the eyes as he said, ”until you got here the only chance for that was to keep my quota and hope my allies in the family could sway the old… man”

  ”However with you here… I have options! The old man is almost obsessed with gate worshippers…” He paused for effect, looking at my chest again, then up again, as he continued, ”But where would I find one of these here in the woods? No, a far better bet would be to find something worthwhile in an archive or one of the lost holdings around here… ”

  Rubbing my chest absentmindedly, making sure to show as much as my neck as possible, so he could see I wasn’t wearing any necklaces, I said, ”Gate worshippers would be hard to come by and I didn’t get anything from the archive, but maybe I could help explore some more?”

  Deggan did a good job of hiding his disappointment, but I could tell by the little facial movements and tonal shifts, those mental stats were really coming through for me here!

  He said, ”a shame, it would have been a good start to our friendship if you had something to share with me from the archive” shrugging, he continued, ”well, ending the raids on the camp would be a nice enough start I suppose… ” He suddenly smiled widely, as he said, ”Another idea, I have a relative, a cousin that is working some mines not far from here… I would hate to see anything happen to him or his operation”

  Alarmed I sat up straight, I had to lock that line of thinking down fast. I said, ”I’m sure that he will be okay, after all he is a relative of yours, but just to be sure I better stay clear of him and the mines to avoid any confusion…”

  Deggan gently tucked his beard in frustration, ”Well, if we do not have any trinkets from the archive here, the best bet would be a trip to sweetwater, where the family had a mansion before the town went under” warming up to this idea, he continued, ”Yes, Sweetwater is a good start, it is plagued by a few undeads, nothing next to a woodwraith! And there should be a vault in the mansion containing some valuable items that could be enough to speed up my return to civilization!”

  He added, almost as an after thought, ”When I go back to the city, I would take my friends with me, and together we could explore some of the many opportunities such a shift in circumstances would bring.”

  ”But where are my manners! I feel like I have talked and talked and I’m sure you wish for nothing more than to return to your bed for some deserved rest, afterall tomorrow is another workday… And until we have verified that the woods are safe again, you still owe us some work” He smiled and added, ”as my friend, I’m sure you understand”

  ”While we wait on confirmation, I will have my men prepare some gear and information on Sweetwater. No point in wasting time after all”

  It had been a long day, and I was exhausted from the trip back, from navigating the dangers of this talk and everything that had happened, so it was true, when I said, ”Thank you, sir for this opportunity! And yes I am rather tired, if I’m being honest” I looked down at Stalker, he was more than ready to leave this place, and then up. ”Thank you for a wonderful meal and a good night to you sir”

  He summoned Celine with a little bell, and soon I left what felt like a snippet of civilization and entered the raw fresh air of the camp. With a yawn I went over to the sleeping barracks, the courtyard was silent, with only the guards at their braziers making any noise.The celebration had died down, after all tomorrow was a work day…

  I stopped at the outhouse, and spent a few minutes thinking about my situation. It was clear that Deggan had seen the necklaces and the threat of being turned over was there, but luckily he thought that I might be more worth as a treasurehunter? Well, I did survive an archive and I suppose that taking a bet that it was not a fluke, was a low risk, high reward scenario for Deggan.

  I just needed to survive a few more weeks and then hopefully my class would open some options up for me. If I could explore, find clues and possibly upgrade my skills at the same time? On Deggan's dime? Then it might be worth considering. I would talk it through with Stalker after some sleep.

  Yawning I entered the sleeping barrack and entered an unexpected ambush… I should have seen it coming, but the entire crew, minus Moll, were waiting for me!

  I was too tired for this right now, but I owed it to Nelly and Barlo, I owed it to Frino, so I forced a tired smile upon my face and said, ”It is late, but if we can find a quiet place I will tell you about Frino’s last words”