Chapter 5: No Smiling Allowed

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I logged onto New Roads about an hour early. I prepared for the expedition by filling my canteen, mending my clothes and sharpening my weapons before I presented myself to the captain of the expedition.

I had imagined him to be tall and muscular, but when I asked one of the soldiers for him, I was directed towards a slender redheaded woman clad in  dark brown leather armor. She looked powerful and authoritative. A iron buckler and a large one-handed sword were strapped to her back, but looked as if she could equip them in a blink of an eye. She must have felt my gaze on her because she looked up from her paperwork and turned her attention to me. Under her scrutinizing eyes, I hastily presented myself.

"Greetings. I was told you are the captain of the expedition. I am the cook recommended by Master Kaden."

"Ah, yes. I remember her saying something of the sort." She spoke. "He said you know how to defend yourself. I hope that it is true because neither my men nor I will have time to babysit you."

I gulped. "I understand Captain. If you permit me, I will go check the rations so I will know what I will be working with."

"Yes, you go do that." And with that, her attention was back to the paperwork in front of her.

I took the time to count the troops that were gathered. I counted a total of a hundred and ten men. There were thirty pikemen, thirty archers, twenty swordsmen, and ten mages. Among them were players. I had counted three pikemen, eight archers, six swordsmen, and one mage who were players. In addition to those troops, there was the support, which consisted of ten priests. There were also the Captain Miller, two donkey boys, whose names were Landell and Owen, the caravan driver, and me.

We set out on the expedition an hour after dawn. The men formed ranks five men long. The captain was in the front, followed by the pikemen and archers. After them, there was the wagon carrying the rations. I sat up at the front with the driver while the two boys sat in the wagon. Following the donkeys, the priests, mages, and swordsmen marched along.

The procession began to attract the attention of farmers and villagers. People lined up along the road, wishing us good luck. Among the crowd of townspeople, a couple of players looked upon the procession with envy. 

"What's going on?" One asked.

"It's a punitive expedition. They're going out to clear a dungeon with the city's troops."

"Cool... How do you join?"

"I don't know. Maybe only the top players can get in."

"That means people from the wall of fame are in it?"

"Probably."

The wall of fame... THanks to the one fame I had gotten by building the well, my rank had risen from rank seventy four to fifty three. Maybe I should celebrate it.

On a whim, I opened the menu window and chose options. I turned on the recording setting . At the upper right corner of my vision, a blinking red "REC" appeared. From now on, I would be filming the expedition.

We left the farms behind and followed the dirt road for four hours before leaving it. We crossed a small ford by foot. The donkey boys helped me push the wagon through. By midday, we could see the tree line.  Once we were under the canopy, Captain Miller told us to set up for lunch.

That was my queue.

As soon as the order was given, I jumped off the wagon and immediately got to work, setting up a fire. After I got a fire going, I went back to the wagon and pulled the water barrel out, along with many loaves of bread, apples, and slices of rabbit meat.

I stood next to the fire and skewered the meat and set it to roast over the fire. When the first soldier came by, she gave me her wooden plate and goblet. I served her half a loaf of bread, an apple, and a sliced of rabbit meat. I filled her cup with water, to which I added a squished Elabore seed to reduce the effect of fatigue. Once the skewer was empty of meat, I would put on more meat and placed it back over the fire.

At first, the other players hesitated before taking their share. It was certainly their first time eating something made by another player. I had to assure them that I had no benefit in tricking them. But if they did not eat, I could save some rations. One of them gathered enough courage and walked over to get some food and Elabore water. After sampling it, he started eating with gusto, finishing off his plate in minutes. This convinced the others that it was safe. 

The last one to take their share was Captain Miller. She took her plate in silence and left to eat with her men. As soon as she was served, I killed the fire, put the water barrel back on the wagon, and readied myself for washing dishes. Using soft sand and a wet cloth, I scrubbed and wiped all one hundred and ten plates, giving the plate to the owner as soon as I was done. While I cleaned the dishes, I chatted with the soldiers.

Now certain I had fulfilled my obligations as cook, I sat down next to the driver and Landell and ate my lunch while talking with my wagon-bound companions.

The break lasted less than thirty minutes, just long enough to take care of everyone's thirst and fatigue. It took a couple minutes for the company to reform as we entered the forest through a narrow path. As soon as we crossed the tree line, my passive herbal identification skill activated, showing a myriad of small name tags that indicated the presence of various leaves, seeds, fruits, and roots. The reason why so many herbal ingredients appeared was because of my extensive reading back at the old wizard's tower. I had slowly learned their names, appearances, and properties. I had read about their usages in rituals, brewing and potions. I knew over two hundred different herbs, roots, seeds and fruits. 

Unable to resist myself, I leapt from my seat on the wagon and went alongside the path, picking the vegetation. The players and soldiers marching behind the wagon stared at me, wondering what I was doing. Seeing me place a handful of herbs in my backpack, they soon understood that I was looting. Since they were all characters built for fighting, none of them understood that we were passing by so many valuable items. I briefly wondered if the herbs would be identified in the video and decided that it did not matter. 

This continued for several hours as we advanced through the forest. When we approached a small clearing just before sundown, Captain Miller gave the order to set up camp. With those words, the company disbanded, the soldiers started organizing the guard watch, a few archers went into the woods to hunt game, the wagon was parked and tents were laid out in a circle around a large fire pit in the middle of the clearing. Man of the players had never camped before and hesitated before being told to help out here and there.

As for me, I pulled out several sacks of vegetables and a large cooking pot from the wagon. After a second, I decided to take out some salt, more loaves of bread and meat. Following a recipe I had read in a book, I peeled then diced potatoes, carrots, and onions while the water in the pot was coming to a boil. When steam started to escape from the pot, I added a handful of aromatic herbs and roots I had gathered throughout the day to the boiling water and covered the top with a lid. After a couple minutes, I added the potatoes, carrots, and onions to the water. As they boiled, I grinded various seeds into an oily paste that I rubbed onto meat, which I skewered like during lunch. I put them to cook under the pot as the vegetables were nearly ready.

The scent of the meat and vegetables drew the soldiers to me like a moth. They formed a line with their bowls and goblets in hand. Seeing that I needed help, the two donkey boys came to assist me. Owen filled the soldiers' goblets and handed them half a bread while Landell put the meat. I finished by filling their bowl with vegetables. When the returning hunters saw how tasty the meat was, they happily gave me the game that they had hunted. In return, I gave them extra vegetables in their bowls.

When it was time to clean, I scrubbed and washed the plates, placing them by the wagon. The soldiers would pack them in the morning before heading off. I let the fire cool to keep the leftovers in the pot warm without burning them. After storing the rest of the ingredients back in the wagon, I did a quick inventory. As I feared, the amount of loaves of bread was dangerously low. I decided to make some now since I did not know if I would be able to bake some tomorrow.

Using another large pot as a mixing bowl, I emptied several bags of flour and added some water, yeast and various seeds and nuts. I spent the next ten minutes mixing it together. I made three smaller fires to the side, placing them in a circle. I made little balls of the mixture and let them bake in the ashes/ Thanks to the game settings, it only took five minutes to cook one. However, I need several hundred for the next several days. Throughout the night, the rotating watch had returned to eat. We chatted for a while before they went to sleep. The pot of vegetable broth gradually emptied. By sunrise, the pot was empty and the bread had finished baking.

I cleaned the pot and extinguished the fires before preparing for breakfast. Every time a soldier would come to get some breakfast, I would hand them half a loaf of still-warm bread and a slice of cheese. The first water barrel became empty and we had to open another.

It took a little longer for clear camp for the new players had no experience in taking down their tents or packing. When we did start marching, I got settled in the back of the wagon and fell asleep. When I woke up from my much-needed rest, I collected ingredients growing alongside the road and started preparing lunch, which would consist of bread, meat, an apple, and fatigue-reducing water.

After lunch, I checked my map. I noticed that we were going to pass near to the area where the ruins were supposed to be. I wondered if I would be able to make a stop there along the way.

By the end of the afternoon, we met our first bandits.

A groups of archers that were hidden in the trees started shooting at our priests and mages while heavily-armed warriors flanked our archers on our right and swordsmen attacked the ends of the procession.

After the ensuing of chaos, the captain attempted to regain order and direct her troops. Seeing that her voice could not carry over the noise of battle, I leaped up on top of the wagon and started directing nearby soldiers.

"Priests and mages, gather. Swordsmen, protect them." I yelled simple commands to allow for the soldiers to form a more formidable formation. The soldiers obeyed my commands. The more heavily-armed swordsmen protected the priests and mages from attacks while the priests healed them. The mages brought hell upon archers and other threats using a variety of spells. In less than ten minutes, the battle was over.

I had personally defeated five bandits who had tried to attack the wagon. One which killed an archer by me throwing my kitchen knife. Before a headcount was taken, priests went around the remaining troops, healing them. After counting, it seemed that a mage, two priests, six archers, and two pikemen were killed, among them were two players. We were lucky to have such few loses.

Captain Miller came towards me, her cheek had a little splash of blood on it, but other than that, there was no trace that she had been in battle. She stopped in front of me.

"I was told you saw your share of action. It is good to know that Kaden's opinion of you was true." She stated firmly.

I bowed. "Thank you, Captain."

"Hm. Keep up the good work, cook."

With that, she left, leaving me the impression that I was getting on her good side. A window appeared.

Your contribution to the battle has been noticed. A bonus will be waiting you at the end of the expedition.

Your familiarity with the expedition force has increased by 15%.

Your familiarity with Captain Miller has increased by 4%.

I also did a check my inventory to see what loot I had gathered from the bandits.

Traveling Boots

      Durability: 8/11

      Toughness: 2

      Speed: 1
      Ability: Resistance to the cold

      Description: A pair of comfortable and sturdy skin boots. Ideal for long travels, but not for doing                    cardio.
      Aesthetic Type: Boots
      Type: Aesthetic Equipment

Tough Skin Belt

      Durability: 7/9

      Description: A belt made of intertwined skin strips. Made to last but lacks any aesthetic taste.
      Aesthetic Type: Belt

      Type: Aesthetic Equipment

Smelly Yellowed Tunic
      Durability: 4/5
      Toughness: 1
      Ability: Resistance to the cold
      Description: An old tunic that smells of sweat. No matter how much you clean it, it will never be                     white again.
       Aesthetic Type: Clothes
      Type: Aesthetic Equipment

Rusty Iron Sword

      Durability: 21/30
      Attack: 4

      Paring: 2

      Blocking: 2

      Description: An old and rusty sword. You'll more likely to get tetanus than wound your enemy.                      Maybe if you try sharpening it, you'll actually hurt them.
      Weapon Type: Short Sword

      Type: Common Equipment

Common Wooden Bow
      Durability: 24/30
      Precision: 64%
      Description: A regular wooden bow. You should take classes first though, don't want you to shoot                 yourself.

      Weapon Type: Bow

      Type: Common Equipment

Looking at the wagon, I saw one of the boys tucking a large knife into his belt. Following his example, I casually selected a few of the items for my own use.

Hunting Knife

      Durability: 24/30
      Attack: 2
      Ability: Increased looting of foliage

      Description: An 8 inch hunting knife with a sharp blade. A dagger on steroids.

      Type: Common Equipment

Small Skin Quiver
      Durability: 7/11
      Capacity: 50 Arrows

      Description: A complementary equipment to bows. A small shaggy quiver, maybe that's where Fido            went.

      Type: Aesthetic Equipment

Handmade Wooden Arrows (x50)

      Durability: 1/3
      Attack: 2

      Precision: 34%
      Description: A handmade wood arrow with a sharp stone arrowhead, complemented with a few                  chicken feathers. Your grandmother can make better ones in her sleep.
      Type: Common Weapon

I immediately changed into the new gear. I still wore my brown tunic and trouser, but gone were the smelly excuses for shoes and the rope belt that itched. In their place were the boots and the skin belt. I hung my sword on my left hip and the hunting knife on the right. The quiver went over my head and diagonally across my back with its arrows in it and the bow attached.

Now I feel like a true adventurer.

Captain Miller was busy reorganizing the formation. It was now divided into three units, with an equal number of priests, mages, archers, swordsmen, and pikemen in each. The swordsmen and pikemen were on the sides, surrounding the rest of the army. The wagon was smack dab in the middle of the new formation. With this new arrangement, it would make it harder for the bandits to attack us, especially their advantage of surprise was gone.

We set our camp in a small clearing. The number of guards on watch duty was doubled and soldiers slept in their armors, their weapons laying next to them. The next three days of the expedition were similar: trekking through the forest, being attacked throughout the day and night, killing several bandits. Each minute, we were watching the trees that surrounded us, expecting bandits to rush out of them at any moment.

On the fifth day, I pulled out my map, wanting to know how far from the ruins we were. We had passed by them by a large margin. However, what actually got my attention was that our travel route had been inconsistent.

I understood that the bandit camp location was unknown to our superiors and they were trying to ferret out the outlaw by searching the forest. I knew that this was not the best way to be searching for them. The bandits would need a large yet defendable area near to a source of water. I studied my map once more and found three possible regions that fit the criteria. I wondered why the Captain had not thought of it sooner and decided to talk to her about it. I also needed to convince them to go back towards the ruins.

When we set up camp on the sixth night, I went to the officers' tent looking for Captain Miller. She was leaning over a map with her second-in-command, a dark-skinned mage, and discussing tomorrow's course of action. When I entered the tent, Captain Miller looked up and nodded while the mage smiled brightly at me.

"What can we do for you, Ben Varrant?" He spoke in a deep accent.

"I have come to inform you that our good ration is half gone. If we do not find a way to re-stock on supplies, we will have to go back to Djaden empty handed."

"I see. Anything else?" This time it was Captain Miller who spoke.

"Yes, I need to impose a detour in our traveling plans." With those words, I got the captain's full attention.

"A detour? Right when you have just notified us that we will soon lack food? Why?"

"We need to replenish our water supply. We are down to our last two barrels." I calmly replied.

"How did it get low so fast?"

"Well, Captain, we used a considerable amount cleaning and bandaging wounds."

"I see," the captain nodded. "What do you have in mind exactly?"

I snuck a peek at their map. I noticed it only composed of the bigger clearings and rivers. That explained why their search was so unorganized. I pulled mine out and rolled it out over their map. It showed landmarks such as easily remembered trees and rocks with clearings, big and small, rivers and trails left by wild game and trading caravans. All of these landmarks were a result of either my reading on the area or the many conversations that I had with the local huntsmen before heading out with the expedition.

I showed the two officers an old merchant path that went back west, towards Djaden. To reach it, we would have to walk uphill for an hour.

"If you follow this trail going northwest, you will arrive at a large river. It would be perfect to refill the barrels. It will take one day at the very least, not including any possible bandit attacks."

"Too risky." Stated Captain Miller.

"I agree, but we should not run the chance of running out of supplies." I countered.

Up to now, the two of them had reacted exactly the way I wanted them to. Now, I just had to convince them to adopt my plan and stop at the ruins.

"In that case, my suggestion is to pass there." I pointed at trail indicated on map. "It's a large trail used regularly by merchant caravans so there should be no problem transporting the wagon. We can lunch here." I indicated a large clearing. "We then continue to the river. The banks are large enough to set up camp for the night."

The mage stroked his beard. "That would not be a bad idea. We could fill

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