Chapter 9: The Long Way Back

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The battle came to an end. Some of the men had taken a few arrows to the knee, but one pikeman had died with an arrow through his heart. I had received an arrow in leg myself. I had bandaged it and took command again. I ordered my unit to occupy the atrium while two men stood watch on the top of the wall and a group went into the forest, checking for any more sentinels.

One of the men sent out came back after about half an hour. He told me that the entry to the elevator was hidden by several trees and vine-covered stones. There had been two bandits guarding the entry and three sentinel platforms. They have been care of and the soldiers are now waiting to see if there were any patrols left.

We gathered the items looted from the bandits' corpses as we waiting for messengers to relay our success to the other groups. I was examining the elevator when John entered. His robes were covered in blood and mud and contrasted with his white teeth as he smiled.

"Ah, there you are!" He spoke. "I am pleased to tell you that the mission was a total success. All the bandits had been taken care of and the stolen goods were recovered."

I smiled. "I am happy to hear that, John." He nodded enthusiastically. "In fact, there is so much loot that we will have to do several trips here to collect it all." He began to talk to more but I held up my hand to stop him. "What do you mean take several trips?"

He frowned. "There's too much treasure to take on the wagon so we will have to make several trips." I shook my head. "You do not know about adventures. They are greedy. When we get back to Djaden, word would get around and they would head here as quickly as possible. We must not leave anything behind or they will come and loot this place."

John scratched the back of his head. "I understand what you are saying, but how will be able to transport everything? We don't have enough room in the wagon to fit everything in there." I pointed out the door. "There are wagons in the stables. Do you think we could use them?"

John thought about it for a moment. "We could... but it would take time." I nodded. "We have about five days before the first players come, let's use it wisely." My companion smiled. "I will arrange it with Serena?"

I looked at him. "Who?" He laughed. "Captain Miller." He responded, chuckling.

The next two days were spent taking inventory of all the loot we had found in the ruins. We had repaired the ten wagons and they were all loaded with items. Three of the wagons were filled with as many pieces of art as we could fit. One of them carried hundreds of weapons. Two other wagons were filled food supplies. We had found that the bandits had a sweet tooth for good quality alcohol so the second wagon was filled with kegs of wine as well as our water barrels. Three wagons were filled with the chickens and pigs. I had decided to bring them along to help the city and save them from the fate they would have had if other players had come along. The last wagon was reserved for the wounded that we would bring with us.

It took us three days to fill up the wagons. We spent the last evening lifting the wagons to ground level. By the sun had risen, we were on the road heading back to Djaden City. Because our caravan had a lot more cargo than on the trip here, it took a whole day to travel what we could have done by midday. I was driving the wagon filled with food supplies. Since I had never driven a wagon before, the first ten minutes were difficult. I then got a notification window.

Through repetitive actions, you have learned the following skill:
      Driving: You can now drive a small wagon pulled by a bull or horse
            Level: Beginner 1

As the day went on, my level rose. At Beginner level 6, I got notified of the change in the skill.

You can now drive a small wagon or trailer pulled by a bull, cow, or donkey.

As we rode, I calculated that, at the rate at which we were going, it would take us at least ten days to arrive back to Djaden. This was, of course, only if we took the largest and quickest paths.

We caught up to the main expedition as they began to set up camp for the night. Captain Miller was waiting and approached us. She stopped in her tracks. Looking at the caravan, she saw the animals and then saw the chariots of gold and paintings. Her eyes finally rested on me as I pulled up beside her.

"Tell me this was not your idea too." She said, peering up at me.

"It was not my idea." I looked down at her.

"That's a lie, isn't it."

I grinned. "Yes it is."

She shook her head. She started walking back to her tene, accompanied by Beok, who started to brief her on what happened at the ruins. I was left behind and decided to check on the food rations that had been gathered at the other camps.

As I made my way through the tents, soldiers would come to talk with me, wanting to know how things went at the ruins. Wanting to avoid them, I feinted a limp with my wounded leg and told them I would be back after a quick medical treatment. After successfully avoiding them, I went to see the old driver. Seeing me, he stood up, showing me that he drank the medicine I had left him. We talked for a bit, but I had to start preparing food for the remaining men.

The next day, we left camp at dawn. We rode hard all day, only stopping briefly for lunch. As we stopped to set up camp, the captain sat next to me on the wagon driver's bench.

"I hard that you were a great help during the infiltration." She stated.

"How so?"

"Your quick thinking and disposition made it easier to take the place over and avoid useless deaths. You also suggested the tactics for the clearing the three camps. You went over and beyond your duties as a cook."

"Maybe." I said curtly.

"John also me that you are a student of Kaden's."

"He just taught me weapons mastery and gave me the basics of understanding hand-to-hand combat. I would be honored if he did consider me as his student."

She nodded. "I see. Well, when you see him again, can you give him this from me." Miller handed me a letter with a wax seal.

You have received Captain Miller's Letter to Kaden

      -Captain Miller has asked you to deliver the letter to Kaden on her behalf

(Yes/No)

"I will give it to him."

You have accepted the quest

      - Opening the letter will result in automatic failure

      - No substantial reward

I wordlessly placed in my pack. As I opened, I revealed several leather bound books. They caught the eye of Captain Miller.

"What are those?"

I looked up. "They're the journals from the previous bandit chiefs. I found them in the ruins. John told me I could keep them. I hope that's alright with you."

"I have no problem." She said. "Is there anything interesting in them?"

"Yes. I read about how they had built the lift platform. I'm sure that they could be replicated by engineers at Djaden. Also, think if the ruin were to be rebuilt. They could be transformed into a rest stop for merchants and travelers."

"I see." She said. "There seems to be a lot of value of behind those ruins-"

"Not just money, but it's seeped in history." I said, cutting her off. "I believe that the ruins used to a druid conclave. It must be at least a hundred years old."

She nodded. "From what you are telling me, those ruins should not simply be left alone but be developed into a historical site and a rest stop." 

I nodded. "That would be ideal, yes."

She said farewell and went off to supervise her men so I grabbed one of the journals. I began reading it. There was so much boring information written that I thought I would fall asleep. After turning the last page, I received a notification.

You have read the complete series of The Forest Ruins Bandit Chiefs journals.
      Intelligence has risen by 5 points
      Leadership has risen by 5 points
      Respect has risen by 5 points

Through your reading, you have learned the following skills:

      Trading: You can now sell and buy more than 100 of the same object at once
            Level: Beginner 1

      Value Evaluation: You now know the current value of objects
            Level: Beginner 1

      Contracting:  You can now form contracts with people. Currently, your contracts can only include an exchange of up to 1 silver
            Level: Beginner 1

The next few days were similar. We would get up early and travel all day, only stopping for a quick bite to eat.

Every now and then, one of my men would come and talk with me during our stops. It was about any number of things, their lives back home, a relative's story, or their account of the battle of the camps. Every time I would have one of those conversations, my journal and NPC friend list would update. Each day, when we would stop for camp, the Captain would come up to me and start asking about how I would transform the ruins into a rest stop.

I didn't take long for me to realize that something was going on. I did some research during the time that my avatar slept and provided her with a list of buildings to construct outside the ruins and other adjustments I would make inside. I drew up a series of diagrams and written explanations. By the time we had reached the gates of Djaden City, I had a document called Forest Ruins Renovations Project, containing plans of what has to be done as well as before and after diagrams.

We had left the forest at the beginning of the 11th day. As we passed by the farms surrounding the city, we attracted the attention of both players and citizens. People started to follow us and cheer all the way to the gates. A group of stable hands were waiting just outside, ready to take the wagons. When Captain Miller departed, heading to the Lord's Manor, John stepped up and took command. He sent the city's soldiers to their barracks. Afterwards, he went to each player, until he came up to me. I knew the quest completion notification was going appear at some point in the conversation.

I could not have been more wrong.

"Ben," John said, "I am sorry, but you will have to wait before getting paid. Since you did more than what your job asked you to do, we will have to evaluate your bonus. It could take some time."

I nodded. "I understand. I still have a lot of things to do anyway."

I was left near the wagons, wondering what to do now. I still had to finish the Forest Ruins Mystery quest and receive my pay. I left, intending to go see Kaden.

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