A emergency Quest

Excusing himself by stating it had gotten pretty late, Jay left the Jainrose's house and went back towards the inn.

The path there was illuminated by some lanterns that had probably gotten lighted together with the ones along the piers, so he didn't have to walk through the darkness. Even tough it hadn't gotten that late, the sun had long set and even the temperature had dropped considerably.

Though his time with the sisters had been quite a fun one, Jay had no obligation to stay over there. Somehow the Jainroses seemed like a very twisted family to him, even though it also might have been limited to Alma and Martie.

None the less he had gained something from them and checked on it while walking towards the town:

The first Skill Jay had integrated was of course [Herbalism LVL4] what didn't surprise him. It directly brought his own skill to the same level, giving him a way better understanding of plants and herbs.

The second skill he got surprised him a bit as it was one he hadn't seen until then. [Concocting LVL3] seemed somehow like a lower or more specialized version of Alchemy. From what Jay understood it rose the efficiency or quality of concocted drinks and potions. Not only for the recipes that came with the skill but all.

From the tasty meal he got made alone Jay had guessed that Alma had the [Cooking] skill, though it being on level 2 was quite welcomed, and even more so that it rose his own once as well.

For the last two skills he integrated from the bigger sister, Gossip LVL2 and Housekeeping LVL2, Jay had not much use. Latter got assimilated into Service as it seemingly was a lesser version of it.

Scrolling further down in his log, Jay found the first skill Martie granted him that was like from her sister, [Herbalism]. Though it was a level lower than Alma's, Jay still got his own another two up. Their skill seemingly wasn't that far apart.

Next in line was yet another skill that was new to Jay. Not sure when or if he ever would have use for [Gardening LVL2], he still read the description and got a bit pleased when he learned that it not only taught how to grow and tend to plants, herbs and so on.

It even enhanced their grows ans specs a little.

Quite surprised by how high the smaller sisters skills were, Jay scrolled down to the last skill he got from her. At that moment he was sure that Martie was far from the pure little girl he had initially expected. [Night-skills LVL1] More than explained how she could have acted with him and her sister like a pro. The corresponding ability (Flirt) was probably the reason for her experience.

Skipping the four additional Status Points, Jay closed his log and looked around.

He had already stopped once on his way because of his intuition as he was sure there was someone watching him. Just at that moment the feeling had suddenly vanished.

Walking a bit further until he arrived nearly in front of the Inn, Jay used (Night Vision) and looked into the darkness, trying to find the culprit. But it was already too bright where he stood, so he gave up and went in without spotting anybody.

For a split second the feeling he has had before came back, but then it directly subsided again, so Jay walked over to the bar and got greeted by Brianna. He declined her offer for a meal as he was still filled from before.

Her comment that he might want some rest alone only showed him that the female Innkeeper knew exactly what had happened. For a moment Jay even suspected her to have been watching him, but there was no way the animosity he felt could have come from the blonde.

Thanks to the Corporal's return and him ordering his men to report and then work, there were no fights this night and probably the next few as well. Jay sat down for a moment and emptied a mug Briana had placed in front of him.

Once done with it he got a key from her and excused himself.

On his way over to the narrow stairs, Jay let his eyes wander over the guests in the dining hall one last time and spotted a beautiful redhead sitting in a dim corner further back. Had she not looked over herself, he might have overlooked her. But in the split second their eyes met, a similar felling like before spread within Jay.

As it still was somehow different, Jay smiled over at her, even though the woman in question played looking elsewhere, and then ascended to the second floor.

The key he got was not to Brianna's room but a simple normal one. Either she had another partner what he doubted, or she simply offered him some rest.

As he laid down and closed his eyes, Jay thought back at the redhead once again. Even though he was sure he never met her before, Jay had the feeling she still might have been the one stalking him.

Deciding that only time would tell he closed his eyes and finally drifted off into a sound sleep.

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After a silent night he woke back up early like most of the times.

With only a shirt and towel Jay left the inn and walked down to the shore besides the piers and swam a round. Back at land he used a big boulder for some training and later practices martial arts stances.

By the time he went back to the inn, a small crowd had formed on the wooden path in front of the inn. Neither the two female guards, nor the mature women or even the granny that had stopped by to watch him did dare to react in the slightest as he passed them. Only the two young girls blushed fiercely at the close up sight of his bare upper body.

Back in the dining hall after changing, Jay asked Brianna for the option of some breakfast. He took a seat at a small table close by and waited for some minutes until the Innkeeper came back with the food.

As she placed a huge portion of baked eggs and bread in front of him together with some tea, she took the seat opposite to him.

"I decided to make the portion extra large as a thanks for the show…" B.

She had apparently also watched his training before, just like some few more people than Jay had thought what he learned during the breakfast. Brianna sat with him until about half of the food was gone but then had to get back to work.

Jay at that point had already picked up some turmoil outside and the moment Brianna had reached the bar did the door to the inn fly open. A guard out of breath entered the inn, looking around in a hurry until he stood straight and shouted:

"Every Soldier or Adventurer, listen: We have an emergency Quest! Hurry and follow me!!!"

There seemed to be only two other Adventurers present at that moment, what Jay knew from analyzing. They jumped up from their seats and abandoned their meals, so Jay had no choice but for him to do the same. Glad he had mostly finished up, he stuffed one portion of baked egg into his mouth and followed the soldier outside.

On their way over to the town hall, the soldier explained under short breaths that a convoy of peddlers got attacked nearby. That was all the helmet wearing man stated as he ran down along the piers towards the long bridge.

A bit dissatisfied by the missing explanation, Jay kept silent like the two other Adventurers didn't ask any further as well.

Arriving on the bridge, Jay saw Keeshan relax a bit and smile the moment he spotted him. The first words he uttered when he reached Jay were "Glad you are here as well. Like this we have a chance at least…", earning Jay some curious stares.

He then learned they needed to hurry and rush over to the site, close to Three Corners.

Not waiting even a second, Jay summoned his horse and rode next to the Corporal over the bridge. On their way he he learned that a message from the tower had reached Stillwater, stating that multiple carriages got attacked further south and were fleeing towards them. There had been not only a simple attack but a whole raid from multiple directions.

With that in mind, Jay stated he would take the vanguard and sped up his mount.

Either if riding at full speed, the trip took quite a while and even before he exited the valley which he had to pass through, did Jay meet some of the carriages fleeing towards Stillwater.

Though it was good to know at least some had made it out of there, the state the carriages were in was desperate: Ripped hoods, broken wheels and wounded drivers was one thing, but the total lack of guards meant they had most certainly died on their job.

By the time Jay finally got the tower into view he got a big surprise. He had anticipated to find not a single person left alive and everything broken down from what he had heard and how the carriages looked like. After all, it had taken quite long to reach Three Corners.

Somehow the guards in the tower as well as some peddlers had held out though. Latter had barricaded themselves behind broken wagons and what ever they found, even used a thrown over carriage to hold out, a bit away from the tower.

What had taken the tower under siege was a horde of Gnolls and though they had quite some losses, breaking the defense and gate was only a matter of time. Even the archers on the top of the tower couldn't fend off that many attacking at once. But then again there seemed to be some capable people defending on the ground in both places.

Pretty sure the archers on the tower could manage the situation for a short while longer he ignored them for the moment. Concentrating on the Peddlers as they were a good bit closer and had less Gnolls around, Jay spotted four people there moving.

He jumped from his horse once the closest Gnoll got within reach and took care of it in one slash. With both swords drawn and enhanced by lightning, Jay hacked through numerous Gnolls like they were toys as he closed in on the barricade.

Discharging his last lightning and with this clearing out the vicinity of the thrown over carriage, Jay jumped over it and nearly got shot the moment he landed.

At least had it been some ordinary hunter…

"J-Jay?..."

Whom he found there though was no one else than Sybill. Taking a second to process the situation, Jay saw the two men riddled with wounds and a woman that had deeper ones and passed out. Even Sybill had quite some cuts all over and her gear was anything but in shape.

Jumping back onto the carriage without even a single word, Sybill followed him suit. They nocked their arrows and discarded of the closest Gnolls. There still were some that didn't concentrate on the tower but rushed over to the barricade, but for the two together posed not much of a problem.

During their continuous shooting, Sybill explained in short words that she and her friend were escorting a merchant with his helper on their way back from hunting. Some miles in the south they heard turmoil behind them and the moment someone spotted the Gnolls, they hurried together with some other peddlers towards three corners.

Though they barely made it there, the raid caught them in the end and numerous people lost their lives. When the carriage got toppled over they were lucky the Gnolls didn't directly attack so they could barricade with some other merchants and their guards. What Jay had seen was the sole survivors of formerly nine people.

At about the time Sybill had finished talking, both of them had distanced a bit from the Carriage by then and restocked their arrows by plucking some out of dead Gnolls, Jay's bow suddenly snapped. It was one of the simple bows he had looted somewhere before, so he didn't really wonder.

With his strength and killing over a dozen Gnolls in mere moments, it was more of a miracle the bow held out this long.

Jay unsheathed his swords again while hinting Sybill to go back on higher ground and guard the others. Their onslaught had caught the attention of more Gnolls, so they came rushing in. With repeated dodges, parries and counters, as well as cover fire, did Jay mow down some more of the monsters until their attention shifted anew.

The soldiers from Stillwater had arrived on the plains and came rushing over. Thanks to this, the Gnolls let off the attacks on the peddlers and even pulled back from the tower to intercept the new arrivals.

Though this quite intelligent reaction astounded Jay, he used the moment to get back to the wounded. Not hiding his ability to heal before Sybill, Jay first of all took care of her friend. The wounds on the woman closed visibly, but that didn't mean she got her consciousness back. Jay checked on her and calmed Sybill down, then took care of the two merchants.

The ones attendant was better off and refused Jay's help so he could continue on the other two as they needed it more. Leaving them some potions to heal up further from his inventory, Jay asked Sybill to look after them while he reunited with the soldiers.

The noises of battle rang got closer so he jumped over the barricade without wait and rushed in as well. There was no way he would let those abundant amounts of XP get taken by someone else.

Within only fifteen to twenty minutes of battle, Jay had a feeling the Gnolls had gotten way less. Even Corporal Keeshan who had spotted and joined him mentioned it as they got really close to the tower. Instead of the over eighty Gnolls that previously attacked the tower and got steadily replenished, they were surrounded by not even thirty like Jay swiftly counted.

Just as he finished, they heard a horn from quite far away. In the next second, the Gnolls rushing in turned tail and fled towards the south.

Of course the soldiers didn't simply let them run!

Running after the monsters over the bridge to Hilder Forest and taking at least another twenty down, some of the soldiers and Jay followed them until slightly behind the southern border.

It wasn't like they feared complaints from the local government of the adjoining dukedom, but the Gnolls had ran into the woods in eastern direction. Not daring to follow them into their favored terrain, Jay and the soldiers gave up and went back.

They checked the two utterly destroyed wagons and the pull cart they had seen on their way, but found not a single survivor there. Numerous dead men lay all over, some quite intact while from others they only found parts.

What caught not only Jay's eyes but one of the female soldiers as well was the complete lack of women with the victims. Though most peddlers and merchants were men, there was not a single female victim until they reached Three Corners again.

At least the situation there had cleared up and the barricades all over, as well as in front of the tower were getting disassembled.

Keeshan who hadn't joined the hunt welcomed Jay back and explained to him what he had learned from some tower guards. It was the exact same thing Jay had already learned from Sybill, but he didn't mention it.

As they had put one of the wagons back up and loaded it with the wounded, Jay got asked to escort them back to Stillwater. The Corporal stated he had contributed more than enough, probably killing half of the Gnolls all by himself. There was nothing to do at the tower other than repair works and healing the wounded, so Jay took the small request.

The main reason was of course that Sybill was also going with her still unconscious friend. As the soldiers had come there on horseback, it got decided that the most severe wounded would get transported to Stillwater on horseback.

Jay offered Sybill a ride as well, but she declined and managed to get a horse herself. She still asked Jay to carry Mirta, her still unconscious friend, as his horse was way stronger.

Like this they could leave most of the soldiers riding with wounded behind.

Once they had passed the wide plains, the reinforcements on foot crossed their way. While they took this chance for the horses to rest, one of the soldiers relayed the orders. Half of the soldiers on foot returned behind the mounted while the rest proceeded to the tower.