On the road out of the Valley of the Abyss, they travelled without any trouble. Demons, wild animals... they didn’t meet anything. Even Benjamin was a little suspicious, so much so that he even called the System and activated the state of nothingness once more - just to confirm that the world before him was indeed the real one.
They started their journey in the morning so Benjamin and his group managed to exit the dense and mysterious Valley of the Abyss by the time it came to the afternoon.
Everyone was thoroughly relieved.
It must have shocked the mercenaries, to faint without any reason. Because of this, they were ready to forsake their task, and let the Association know that they had failed to complete the job.
Benjamin, of course, made the City of Rayleigh their first stop.
Even though it was not the capital of Ferelden, but it was just as developed. Benjamin should be able to find the things that he wanted there. Moreover, there were a lot of mercenaries there, it would be convenient for him to send messages or to look for someone.
Ah of course. Over all the commotion that morning, Benjamin had nearly forgotten he had decided to look for Michelle the teacher.
Even though he knew nothing of Michelle, he still needed to cook up an excuse for when he does meet her teacher. Perhaps he would say that he and Michelle are partners in going against the church - the teacher will hopefully believe it and decide to help them.
Whatever it is, Michelle already saved him once, she would not end up rejecting his approach.
The city of Rayleigh was situated centrally, quite a distance away from the Valley of the Abyss - it was a ten-day journey on foot. Because of this, Benjamin hired a few carriages from a nearby town, so they could reach their destination faster. Using the carriages would also allow them to practice meditation.
And so, after five to six days, they reached their destination; the city of Rayleigh, also known as the "most open city".
Passing through the busy streets, Benjamin’s first impression was that this city was huge. Compared to Havenwright and Regina, the city of Rayleigh was more impressive. The street was double the size, the designs of the buildings were bold, with plenty of unused land. Though they weren’t many people in the city, the size of the city was shocking.
Benjamin could not help but think that with the area so spread out, the prices of the houses here must likewise be much cheaper.
Of course, the management of with such a huge city must be difficult. Strangely enough, from what Benjamin could see, it was actually pretty well organized, and did not feel at all like a mafia city.
"Samuel Street can be considered the best road in the city." The mercenary with the crossbow explained to him, "The layout of the city of Rayleigh is quite complicated. Some areas are flourishing, while others are so quiet and isolated it feels like it is haunted, and still others are filled with thieves and robbers. Since it is your first time here, you should be careful."
Over the past few days, Benjamin had gotten to know the mercenaries. The man with the crossbow’s name was Ricky, and he was the leader of the mercenaries.
He claimed to be naturally skilled with the iron sights and had progressed very quickly on ranged weaponry; he joked that might one day even be Ferelden’s next generation sharpshooter. To that, Benjamin could only laugh.
On the other hand, Benjamin introduced himself by saying that they were roaming mages from Icor, and they were excluded from the Mages Guild. That was why they had crossed the border, to find a new life in Ferelden.
This kind of thing did happen, and news on what happens in Icor usually does not spread very far, so the mercenaries did not suspect anything.
"Do you have a map that has information on the roads of the city of Rayleigh? We just arrived, and want to understand it a bit more." After listening to Ricky explanation, Benjamin immediately asked.
"I only have a rough impression in my mind, I don’t think I can draw out a map." Ricky gave it some more thought, "But, if you really want, I can introduce you to a friend. He remembers much more than me, perhaps he can help you."
Benjamin nodded his head and smiled, "That would be great."
On the way, he allowed the other mages to rent a few rooms in a hotel and unpack their stuff there. As for himself, he followed Ricky’s lead to the city center where the Mercenary’s Association was located.
Despite being the headquarters of a huge association, it did not look very grand. Other than being slightly larger than the other branches, the large round building did not have anything special about it.
The originally white walls were turning gray, in some places, there was shoeprints or bloodstains that could not be washed away. Around the Association, there was all kinds of spineless mercenaries. Some were squatting down in the corner looking at passers-by while others were lying down in the corners, snoring like thunder.
Of course, despite how run down it looked, there was still a subtle hint of danger here. All sorts of calm gazes darted around, even from the ones that were lying down in the corner sleeping. Everyone maintained an unreadable poker face.
While feeling the countless eyes pass over him, Benjamin’s usual stern face took center stage.
Ricky and the other mercenaries waved Benjamin goodbye, ready to cancel their failed task. After Benjamin said his goodbyes, he marched forward to the counter.
"Hello, I am looking for someone." Now with experience in requesting tasks, Benjamin immediately spoke to the clerk.
The old man at the counter heard this and took out a small booklet, "Who exactly are you looking for?"
"His name is Morris; he is a mage."
The man wrote as he asked, "And?"
"That is it." Benjamin shrugged.
"That’s it?" the old man lifted his head and frowned, "If there is not enough information, it won’t be easy to look for people. You should have prepared yourself better."
Hearing this, Benjamin was a little annoyed, but he understood.
Yet, he had no other option. Before Michelle pushed him out of the horse carriage, the last thing she said to him was, "Go to Ferelden, find a man named Morris. He was my teacher." He literally had no other information.
And so, it was like Benjamin was looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Alright, how much are you willing to pay?" the old man asked.
Benjamin pulled out a small bag of coins and placed it on the counter, "Thirty gold pieces."
It’s not that he was selfish, it was just that there were a lot of places where he needed to spend his money. This was just to find the teacher that might not even bring any results. He felt that thirty gold pieces would be a fair price.
In reality, for a headhunting job, thirty gold pieces was already very generous. With this price, he was sure there would be plenty of mercenaries who would be interested. It was just to lure the rabbit out of its hole.
"Alright, we will receive your request. We will find a way to inform you if we get any news."
Benjamin nodded his head.
With that, he kept the contract, turned around, and left the Mercenary’s Association. He didn’t wander around but instead decided to follow the original road back to the hotel.
At the hotel, the mages had already settled everything. So, he swiftly called all the mages together, took a deep breath and prepared to start a very important meeting.
On the road out of the Valley of the Abyss, they travelled without any trouble. Demons, wild animals... they didn’t meet anything. Even Benjamin was a little suspicious, so much so that he even called the System and activated the state of nothingness once more - just to confirm that the world before him was indeed the real one.
They started their journey in the morning so Benjamin and his group managed to exit the dense and mysterious Valley of the Abyss by the time it came to the afternoon.
Everyone was thoroughly relieved.
It must have shocked the mercenaries, to faint without any reason. Because of this, they were ready to forsake their task, and let the Association know that they had failed to complete the job.
Benjamin, of course, made the City of Rayleigh their first stop.
Even though it was not the capital of Ferelden, but it was just as developed. Benjamin should be able to find the things that he wanted there. Moreover, there were a lot of mercenaries there, it would be convenient for him to send messages or to look for someone.
Ah of course. Over all the commotion that morning, Benjamin had nearly forgotten he had decided to look for Michelle the teacher.
Even though he knew nothing of Michelle, he still needed to cook up an excuse for when he does meet her teacher. Perhaps he would say that he and Michelle are partners in going against the church - the teacher will hopefully believe it and decide to help them.
Whatever it is, Michelle already saved him once, she would not end up rejecting his approach.
The city of Rayleigh was situated centrally, quite a distance away from the Valley of the Abyss - it was a ten-day journey on foot. Because of this, Benjamin hired a few carriages from a nearby town, so they could reach their destination faster. Using the carriages would also allow them to practice meditation.
And so, after five to six days, they reached their destination; the city of Rayleigh, also known as the "most open city".
Passing through the busy streets, Benjamin’s first impression was that this city was huge. Compared to Havenwright and Regina, the city of Rayleigh was more impressive. The street was double the size, the designs of the buildings were bold, with plenty of unused land. Though they weren’t many people in the city, the size of the city was shocking.
Benjamin could not help but think that with the area so spread out, the prices of the houses here must likewise be much cheaper.
Of course, the management of with such a huge city must be difficult. Strangely enough, from what Benjamin could see, it was actually pretty well organized, and did not feel at all like a mafia city.
"Samuel Street can be considered the best road in the city." The mercenary with the crossbow explained to him, "The layout of the city of Rayleigh is quite complicated. Some areas are flourishing, while others are so quiet and isolated it feels like it is haunted, and still others are filled with thieves and robbers. Since it is your first time here, you should be careful."
Over the past few days, Benjamin had gotten to know the mercenaries. The man with the crossbow’s name was Ricky, and he was the leader of the mercenaries.
He claimed to be naturally skilled with the iron sights and had progressed very quickly on ranged weaponry; he joked that might one day even be Ferelden’s next generation sharpshooter. To that, Benjamin could only laugh.
On the other hand, Benjamin introduced himself by saying that they were roaming mages from Icor, and they were excluded from the Mages Guild. That was why they had crossed the border, to find a new life in Ferelden.
This kind of thing did happen, and news on what happens in Icor usually does not spread very far, so the mercenaries did not suspect anything.
"Do you have a map that has information on the roads of the city of Rayleigh? We just arrived, and want to understand it a bit more." After listening to Ricky explanation, Benjamin immediately asked.
"I only have a rough impression in my mind, I don’t think I can draw out a map." Ricky gave it some more thought, "But, if you really want, I can introduce you to a friend. He remembers much more than me, perhaps he can help you."
Benjamin nodded his head and smiled, "That would be great."
On the way, he allowed the other mages to rent a few rooms in a hotel and unpack their stuff there. As for himself, he followed Ricky’s lead to the city center where the Mercenary’s Association was located.
Despite being the headquarters of a huge association, it did not look very grand. Other than being slightly larger than the other branches, the large round building did not have anything special about it.
The originally white walls were turning gray, in some places, there was shoeprints or bloodstains that could not be washed away. Around the Association, there was all kinds of spineless mercenaries. Some were squatting down in the corner looking at passers-by while others were lying down in the corners, snoring like thunder.
Of course, despite how run down it looked, there was still a subtle hint of danger here. All sorts of calm gazes darted around, even from the ones that were lying down in the corner sleeping. Everyone maintained an unreadable poker face.
While feeling the countless eyes pass over him, Benjamin’s usual stern face took center stage.
Ricky and the other mercenaries waved Benjamin goodbye, ready to cancel their failed task. After Benjamin said his goodbyes, he marched forward to the counter.
"Hello, I am looking for someone." Now with experience in requesting tasks, Benjamin immediately spoke to the clerk.
The old man at the counter heard this and took out a small booklet, "Who exactly are you looking for?"
"His name is Morris; he is a mage."
The man wrote as he asked, "And?"
"That is it." Benjamin shrugged.
"That’s it?" the old man lifted his head and frowned, "If there is not enough information, it won’t be easy to look for people. You should have prepared yourself better."
Hearing this, Benjamin was a little annoyed, but he understood.
Yet, he had no other option. Before Michelle pushed him out of the horse carriage, the last thing she said to him was, "Go to Ferelden, find a man named Morris. He was my teacher." He literally had no other information.
And so, it was like Benjamin was looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Alright, how much are you willing to pay?" the old man asked.
Benjamin pulled out a small bag of coins and placed it on the counter, "Thirty gold pieces."
It’s not that he was selfish, it was just that there were a lot of places where he needed to spend his money. This was just to find the teacher that might not even bring any results. He felt that thirty gold pieces would be a fair price.
In reality, for a headhunting job, thirty gold pieces was already very generous. With this price, he was sure there would be plenty of mercenaries who would be interested. It was just to lure the rabbit out of its hole.
"Alright, we will receive your request. We will find a way to inform you if we get any news."
Benjamin nodded his head.
With that, he kept the contract, turned around, and left the Mercenary’s Association. He didn’t wander around but instead decided to follow the original road back to the hotel.
At the hotel, the mages had already settled everything. So, he swiftly called all the mages together, took a deep breath and prepared to start a very important meeting.
