Neko steps into the market glare with the silver purse heavy at his hip. Behind him, the mercenary slips through the crowd like a blade through cloth, never quite losing sight of the Guild.
A crier at a butcher’s awning bangs a cleaver against wood. “Beast bounties! Marsh and hill, pay in full on proof!” A chalk board beside him lists three fresh contracts, each stamped with the Baron’s seal.
Neko sees the pattern at once, coin to hunt, hunt to pay, pay to keep the estate alive. The crowd presses in, but the contracts sit plain as bait.
Bram
That seal’s been touched more than once. You looking to earn, or to ask questions?
The mercenary’s tone stays light, but his eyes cut to the bounty board, then back to Neko’s purse.
Neko
The contracts are the fastest way to the debt, but someone is watching them too closely.
The market noise swallows the moment as Neko stands between easy work and a deeper trap, with the Baron’s coin waiting on the other side of the hunt.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find out whether the nearby mercenary is a collector for the Baron’s debts
“I walk toward the bounty board to inspect the contracts while keeping an eye on him. I grab an contract and add it to my pack. I walk past him but stop, not making eye contact and ask him why he's following me.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Neko crosses to the board with the crowd parting around his sword belt. He plucks one contract free and slides it into his pack, the Baron’s stamp flashing once in the sun.
The mercenary drifts with him, close enough to shadow his shoulder. Neko keeps him in view without looking straight at him.
Neko
Why are you following me?
Bram
Because men who read Baron-stamped ink in a hurry usually miss the blood on it.
He shifts his cloak just enough to show a debt token tied at his wrist, then stills when a butcher glances over.
Bram
Name’s Bram. I collect what the Baron calls due, and I notice who keeps asking for work.
Neko’s grip tightens on the new contract as Bram’s words settle in the market noise. The board behind them rattles in the breeze, and the remaining slips flutter like bait.
Quest Complete
Find out whether the nearby mercenary is a collector for the Baron’s debts
+ New Item Acquired
Baron-stamped contract
“I tell bram that I have a deal with the baron already and that he's not to collect his dues til winter. I show him the reprieve parchment.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Neko draws the reprieve from his pack and holds it between them, the Baron’s seal catching the light. Bram’s eyes flick down, then narrow at the wax as the market noise thins around the two men.
Neko
The Baron already granted me winter. He is not collecting this debt yet.
Bram takes the parchment, reads the date, and the set of his shoulders changes by a fraction. Behind them, the board rattles in the breeze and one of the remaining slips flaps loose like a taunt.
Bram
Winter, is it? Then you have either luck or very good timing.
Bram
I collect for the Baron’s ledger, not his pride. If that seal is true, I leave your family be until the frost breaks.
He folds the parchment carefully and gives it back with two fingers, his gaze staying on Neko’s sword hilt for one long beat before he eases half a step away.
Bram
Bring me clean proof you can still hunt, and I may remember your name when work gets posted again.
Neko leaves Adventurers Guild behind and arrives at the tannery.
“I let Bram see my hunting proofs telling him that im more than capable. I leave for the tannery to sell the monster parts for extra money.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
The tannery breathes hot wet air, sour with lime and smoke. Hides hang in rows, and the yard is slick with runoff as Neko steps in with his packs and proofs.
He lays out the monster parts for the foreman to see, cleanly enough to make the case without words. The man’s eyes go to the shell tissue first, then the blade at Neko’s hip.
Bram
That is a hunter’s load, all right. More than a swaggering sell-sword carries by chance.
Bram shifts aside, opening the path to the weighing table instead of blocking it. A clerk pulls out a ledger and starts counting with quick, practiced hands.
Bram
You keep bringing proof like this, and I will remember you when the work is set out.
The clerk drops an extra handful of silver beside the tally, citing the better yield and the shell beast’s adjusted bounty. Bram’s wrist token flashes once as he turns away, his retreat cool but no longer doubtful.
Neko leaves the yard with coin in hand and the tannery gate behind him. Somewhere beyond the roofs, a fog horn moans over the marsh road.
“I leave after selling the items and head to out to find a alchemy shop.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)