15
They continued walking until after one in the afternoon, at which point they stopped to eat some delicious stew rations. Gordon had wandered off somewhere when the two of them had set up camp, and Sam was secretly glad for that. He felt bad not being able to talk to him and hoped that he wouldn’t take it personally. After all, he felt like they were finally starting to get along after his near panic attack back in the dungeon, and didn’t want them to go back to sniping at one another.
Milly was the real surprise, however. After he’d swiped away the notification for the new skill, she’d begun opening up about her life. She’d apparently grown up in a place called The Perilous Peaks - another horribly named place - and had set out for a life of adventure at the age of 45, despite her parent’s warnings. She’d soon discovered that a lone elf girl couldn’t do much against the monsters of the wild, and joined up with a caravan heading further East.
After traveling some distance, she began running out of money and that was when the caravan leader had made her an offer. Milly had become fidgety here, as though she’d never actually told anyone this story before, which made Sam wonder just what type of world this was, where someone would tell a complete stranger their entire life’s story.
It made no sense whatsoever.
She’d said that he’d made a few advances on her, and though she’d initially refused, her lack of funds soon had her doing whatever the man wanted. The money had been good, and soon, she’d found herself doing the same with other men. She’d switched caravans a few times, paying her way with her body and charm. Eventually, though, she’d had enough of traveling, and when they’d stopped in Farmer’s Rest, the innkeeper had made her a pretty good offer to stay. Three meals a day, a place to live and a steady income. She liked the town, and after a few day’s debate, decided to stay and that was where she’d been for the last 10 years.
Milly admitted that she’d made many friends, and one had even offered her a job in the city if she could make it, but she’d been too afraid to make the trip herself. She’d been looking for the last few months, but strangely enough, no one seemed to be traveling to, or from the city recently. She’d received a letter from her friend - another innkeeper - just a few days before Sam had come into town. He said that his staff was overworked, and he could use someone with her expertise in running an inn.
“I was actually beginning to debate going on my own when you just happened to show up and ask for work. I took it as a sign from our illustrious Overlord and jumped at the chance, and now here we are,” she finished, standing from her seated position on the ground and brushing off her pants.
“I see,” Sam said, rising as well and stretching out his cramped muscles. “Will you be doing the same type of work in the city?” he asked, careful to keep his tone casual.
He’d already built up some goodwill with the gorgeous elf and didn’t want to ruin a potential friendship. Even though he was attracted to her, he found that the more he spoke with her, the more his mind seemed to ease.
Maybe it was because she was the first person he’d had any sort of conversation with since coming to this place; or maybe it was just that they seemed to click, which he found very strange, seeing as she was so much older than him.
“No,” Milly said with a knowing smirk. “This job will pay way better than my last one, and I won’t need to debase myself for it in the slightest. Not unless… I so choose,” she said, her voice dropping in pitch, and taking on a very sultry air.
Damn, she was good!
Thankfully, Gordon chose that moment to return, emerging from the low bushes that dotted the side of the road.
“I believe that there may be bandits up ahead,” Gordon said, as he approached.
“How many?” Sam asked, instantly alert.
“I cannot be sure, but as I was walking through the trees and perusing the variety of new sticks, the wind suddenly shifted, and I caught the scent of a group of sapient creatures heading our way.”
“How do you know that they’re bandits?” Sam asked, holding a hand up to forestall Milly’s questioning gaze.
Gordon bunched up his muzzle in what Sam assumed was an expression of distaste.
“Their smell. Those who are about to plunder and kill all have a very distinct scent, and it is not one that I particularly enjoy.”
“Sam, what’s going on? And why are you talking to your dog as though you can understand him?”
Sam turned to Milly, a pained expression on his face as he tried to decide how best to explain it. Finally, he decided to just go with the truth, or a version of it anyway.
“Gordon is more than just a dog,” he said, scanning the nearby trees for any sign of movement. “He is my companion. I didn’t want to say more earlier, as I didn’t want to alarm you, but I’ll do my best to explain.”
By the time he was finished giving his explanation, Milly’s eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. It was an especially notable expression, as her eyes were so large.
“Yes, I know that it’s a lot to take in, but is it any less believable than being able to use magic, or gain skills just by performing certain actions?”
Sam inwardly groaned, imagining that his new Mental Manipulation skill was rapidly leveling as he spoke. He just really hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.
Milly’s eyes clouded over with doubt for a few moments, and she bit her bottom lip as she contemplated all he’d just said. At last, she looked up at him and nodded.
“Okay, I believe you. It would explain your lack of basic knowledge of Somerset, and why you seem so amiable and open-minded. Anyone else would have demanded I service them anytime they felt like it during the trip as additional payment for their protection. But you were nothing but a gentleman, and even though your gaze does tend to linger, you never act on your base desires.”
Sam’s cheeks reddened, even as Milly’s turned the same color, and she gave him a shy smile.
Oh, fuck me! Sam thought as he felt himself being drawn in by those sparkling green eyes.
“I believe that our attackers are near.”
Thank you, Gordon! Have to remember to get him something nice when we get to the city, maybe a new stick or something.
“Right. Milly, I want you to go hide in those bushes. Gordon and I will handle whoever is coming this way.”
Milly looked between him and Gordon, then nodded.
“Be careful,” she said, running to the indicated bushes and hiding.
Sam took a chance to look the hiding spot over carefully, before being satisfied that she was completely hidden from view, then he stepped away from the bushes and purposely made himself visible in the middle of the road.
He wasn’t sure what they were about to face, but he wasn’t going to let them get Milly; even if had only met her, he was already growing fond of her…
Was this place screwing with his brain too? Or maybe Milly had some kind of skill to manipulate men? She had been an escort for years, so she had to have picked up some skills along the way. He would have to find out more once this fight was over.
He shook himself, and pulled his wand from his bag, running a mental checklist over his abilities and skills.
Gordon padded up to him, nose twitching and ears flicking back and forth.
“They will be here momentarily. I believe they are four in number, and should not pose too great a threat, or at least, three of them shouldn’t,” he revised as four figures came into view.
Sam took a moment to inspect them, noting that three were human, and one was a dwarf.
No! It couldn’t be!
SCORE DWARF
Name: Aoife
Level: 8
HP: 210/210
Status: Aggressive
“Fuck you, Overlord!” Sam yelled as soon as the screen vanished.
What the hell! It was almost as though the Overlord had known he’d run into a female dwarf and had made it so he couldn’t kill her!
“What is the matter this time?” Gordon asked, giving him a sideways glance.
After Sam explained what his rule for the day was, Gordon nodded his understanding.
“Very well then; I shall kill the dwarf, so you need not worry about incurring a divine curse.”
He nodded his thanks and took a moment to use Inspect on the three men walking behind her. After confirming that they were all level 6, he closed his status, only to have a loud, trumpeting sound play in his head, followed by a new screen popping up in his view.
SKILL RANK UP!
Congratulations! Your Inspect skill has advanced from Novice to Beginner!
Inspect: If you stare at someone long enough, eventually, you’ll crack open their minds
Level: Beginner 11 (4%)
Effect: More in-depth information on people, monsters, and items
Finally! He’d been waiting to advance a skill forever!
Sam then snorted, admonishing himself for being so impatient.
This was only his third day here, after all. If anything, his progress was to be commended.
Focusing on the dwarf woman again, who he could now see more clearly, Sam used his upgraded Inspect skill.
SCORE DWARF
Name: Aoife
Gender: Female
Level: 8 - HP: 210/210 - MP: 20/20 - STA: 190/190
Status: Aggressive
Score dwarves are a sub-race of the dwarf race and receive bonuses to both Endurance and Constitution, with each new level. They also, however, receive penalties to Intelligence and Wisdom.
Now that was one hell of an upgrade! Not only did he receive a much more detailed view of her character status , but he had also received some information on her race !
He idly wondered if he’d be able to identify that strange vial of liquid he’d found in the dungeon, but decided to hold off on that, until the fight was over.
“Are you quite done perusing your skills?” Gordon asked conversationally, pulling Sam from his wandering thoughts.
Looking up, he saw that the group of bandits were now a mere 30 yards away, and all of them were staring at him with open suspicion, or contempt.
Yup. This was definitely going to be an interesting fight.