Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 45 (Patreon)

"I think I have an idea," Merrick said, turning to Joseph and switching back to the human language. "Kelly, the bartender, knows some of our language, can we ask her if she'll let Sellie stick around, maybe do some work?"

"I don't see why not," Joseph replied, scratching his chin. "It's worth asking, at least."

With a basic plan in place, the three of them went to bed, rising the next morning as the sun came up. There weren't nearly as many people on the streets, but Kelly was already up, organizing the bowls behind her counter when they walked in.

"You're up early, Joseph," she said with a smile.

"Morning, Kelly," he replied, nodding to a couple of the other patrons who were sitting at the bar. "Butch, Jensen, nice to see you two old fogies are still around."

"I can’t say the same thing about you," Butch replied, giving Joseph a mock glare. "You cost me six coins."

Laughing, Joseph leaned on the bar next to the heavyset old man.

"That's what you get for betting against the best."

Seeing that Merrick and Sellie were standing in the middle of the room, Kelly waved them forward.

"Come eat," she said, in the language of the people, her accent passable.

Walking forward, Merrick bowed his head. "Thank you."

"A polite one, huh?"

Kelly said in common as she put two bowls of porridge on the bar.

"So what's the story behind these two?" she asked Joseph.

"Big one's Merrick. He saved my life," Joseph said simply. "Small one's Sellie, his girlfriend or something.”

“They're from the mountain tribes, right?" Kelly asked, her gaze flickering over them.

"I think so. Never asked," Joseph said with a shrug. "They mentioned something about Sky Mountain tribe or something like that."

"Whoa, you picked up some fancy savages," Jameson said, his eyebrows rising. "Last I heard, they don't much like humans like us."

Shrugging, Joseph began to spoon the porridge into his mouth.

"I can confirm that," he said between bites. "Big guy nearly killed me a couple of times before saving me."

"That sounds like a fun story," Butch interjected, leaning over and looking at Merrick. "I mean, he has the arms for it. Probably snap you in half like a twig."

As he finished his porridge, Merrick slid the bowl across the bar and bowed his head towards Kelly again.

"Thank you."

This time he spoke in common, causing everyone at the bar to look at him in astonishment.

"You speak common? Did he just say something in common?" Kelly asked, her voice incredulous.

Merrick, pretending not to understand, looked at Joseph and then back at Kelly, shrugging.

"Wow, for a moment, I thought we might have ourselves a genuine genius," she said, shaking her head. "It's not too often that locals learn common."

"It's true," Joseph said, nodding and pushing his bowl back. "He knows at least a couple of phrases, though, so watch what you say around him. But that brings something up. Kelly, we're going to be in town for a little while, and I was wondering if you mind if Sellie here hangs out with you. You're the only person I know who speaks their language. So I figured you might be able to help her get her bearings. Even better if you have a job for her."

"As long as she doesn't mind working," Kelly replied with a shrug, "I can even pay her. Two coins a week."

Smiling, Joseph quickly agreed, "That's great."

Turning to Merrick and Sellie, he tried to explain in their language.

"You stay. Two," he paused, turning to Kelly. "They don't have a word for coin, do they?"

Kelly shook her head. "No, and it's really irritating. I honestly don't know how they get by without it."

Speaking to Sellie, she gave her a smile and spoke in the people's language.

"You stay here. Work with me. I give food, clothes, bed, other things."

When Sellie looked at him, Merrick nodded. "She wants you to stay and work for her. She'll even pay you."

Sellie nodded.

"That's fine," she said, "as long as she teaches me their language."

"I can help with that too," Merrick said.

With Sellie's situation settled, it was time for Merrick and Joseph to head into town. Their goal was twofold. First, establish a Prospector Firm and register a mining claim, and second, to inform the warden's office that they had discovered a significant number of scaled beasts in the wilds. On the journey to Coldwater, Joseph had come up with an interesting idea that intrigued Merrick. The prospector had suggested that if Merrick wanted to get access to Gorgon, the best way was by becoming a prospector. From what Merrick understood, "prospector" was a catch-all term for anyone who did freelance work for the companies or the military.

A prospector's license was required to move between worlds, and Merrick had the distinct feeling that Vale had long since left. He wasn't sure where the feeling came from, but he had grown to trust his instincts over the last nine months, and so the solution Joseph proposed made sense to him. They weren't sure if Merrick would be allowed a license on his own, and so Joseph had come up with another proposition. They would start what was known as a firm, a collection of independent prospectors who worked together to complete jobs. Though Joseph had never heard of a firm that included natives of a world, he didn't remember anything in the rules that prohibited it, and so they thought it worth a shot.

Joining the line leading to the gate, Merrick quickly drew attention. He was the only one of his size lined up, as everyone else in line was human. The line progressed swiftly, and after a twenty-minute wait, it was their turn. The gates of Coldwater were massive blocks of metal that rose and fell with a hiss, powered by manastones set in the walls. There were four guards, all armed with curious, short-barreled rifles that they wore on straps around their chests. With cold eyes, they examined Merrick and Joseph.

What's your business in town?" the head guard asked, accepting Joseph's identification card.

"Have property to register with the guild," Joseph said, "and business with the warden."

The guard's gaze flicked to Merrick, and then back to Joseph.

"And him?"

"He's a member of my firm," Joseph said, ignoring the guard's raised eyebrows. "W’re here to get him identification."

"Is that right? I didn't know savages could join firms," the guard said.

Joseph just shrugged.

"What's the value of the property that you're declaring?" the guard asked.

"Higher than the quota. You can check the records tomorrow to see if I'm lying."

This time, despite Joseph's non-answer, the guard actually smiled.

"You must have hit a jackpot. Congratulations," he said, jerking his thumb at the gate. "Go on through, but if your savage here causes any trouble, your head's going to be on the line."

"Thank you," Joseph replied, taking his card back and leading Merrick through the gate.

The inside of the town was only slightly less muddy than the tent camp outside. The warm summer rain had been falling steadily here in the plains for the last couple of weeks, and everything was a mess of sticky brown mud and trampled plants. Picking their way across the heavily rutted street, Joseph led Merrick to a two-story building with a heavy door and bars on the window. There were a few people in prospector’s clothing outside of the building who looked long and hard at Merrick when he walked up, but Joseph ignored them.

"This is the prospector's exchange," he said. "It's where we do business and where we store our valuables. Come on, I'll take you inside."

Wiping their boots on the mat, Merrick and Joseph found themselves in a hall with two doors leading off to either side. Knocking on the first door, it was opened by a harassed clerk who looked like he hadn’t slept the day before.

"What do you want?" he snapped, glaring at Joseph.

"Here to register some property, stake a claim, and make a report," Joseph said, ignoring the clerk's bad temper.

"All that in one go? Fine."

The clerk let them into the room, shutting the door tightly behind them and locking it.

"Put the property you want to register on the desk. It’ll be one coin," he said, getting out a scale.

Shaking his head, Joseph pulled the wrapped manastone from his pouch and placed it on the table. Seeing the size of it, the clerk's eyes widened.

"Is that a manastone?"

As big as an egg, the manastone glimmered in the light from the window as Joseph unwrapped it. The sight of it seemed to take the clerk's breath away, and he looked up at Joseph with clear nervousness.

"I need to get the guild master," he said, stumbling over his words.

"Not until you record it," Joseph said calmly, his hand resting on the pistol at his hip.

"Oh, yes, right."

The clerk hurried to get out a binder, opening it up, putting on a pair of gloves that he took from a drawer. He got out a few different instruments and began to measure the manastone, recording its size and purity in the binder. Once he was done, he carefully signed it and had Joseph sign as well, taking a stamp that he pressed on the page next to Joseph's signature. There was a small flash of light as the stamp created a seal next to the signature.

"It's recorded," he said. "Now can I get the guild master?"

"Almost," Joseph replied with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

The clerk glanced at Merrick, who was standing in front of the door, his arms crossed, and gulped.

"What else do you need?"

"I told you, we're here to stake a claim. We're starting a firm as well. So if you want to do the paperwork together, that's fine with me."

Joseph appeared calm on the surface, but Merrick could sense the tension in the prospector's voice and the clerk could as well. Not wanting to anger Joseph and risk getting shot, the clerk hurried to get the paperwork out, working feverishly as he filled everything out. He asked Joseph a number of questions that Merrick didn't quite understand, and when it finally came time for them to choose their members, Merrick stepped forward to sign. The clerk, caught off guard, didn't know what to say, but after being pressed, finally relented, allowing Merrick to sign his name on the articles of incorporation, right under Joseph's. Merrick had been listening carefully, and from what he understood, he and Joseph were to be partners, splitting everything the firm owned evenly between them. Merrick had little care for wealth, and that suited him just fine.

When it came time to stake their claim, the clerk brought out a large slate that looked like a larger version of the one Merrick had in his pack. Activating it, the clerk skillfully manipulated it until it showed the canyon that Joseph described to him. Frowning, the clerk checked the records and shook his head.

"Looks like there's already a first rights claim on that end of the canyon."

Leaning forward, Joseph's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who's the claim registered to? And where is it?"

"One second, let me check." Flipping through his records, the clerk traced his finger down the page, stopping and tapping on a name. "Vale Gorgon, third son of Tremor Gorgon, head of the Gorgon Company. It looks like it runs from the slope here to this gorge. It was registered six months ago, and has not yet been proven. Looks like there is an active mission to establish the claim. You can still contest it if you want to, you just need to prove you’ve been there already."

Letting out a low whistle, Joseph nodded and looked at Merrick who was listening with an intent expression. Sensing what Joseph wanted to know, Merrick shook his head slightly, causing Joseph to relax.

"No need to fight over it with them," Joseph said to the clerk as he leaned back. "We'll pick a different spot."

This time he waited for Merrick who was staring at the map. From what Merrick could see, the area marked in the claim ran from the entrance to the canyon over to the gorge. It covered the entrance to the cave, but that was just about it, and his finger stretched out, tapping on the area next to the claim.

"Here to here," he said, drawing a line with his finger along the canyon wall.

"We'll take that then," Joseph said to the clerk. “Where his finger indicated.”

"Okay."

The clerk quickly recorded the area that they had outlined. The spot Merrick had chosen included the hidden entrance to the cave system and the long passage that led back to the underground river. That was where the real treasure lay. The blast at the entrance of the cave had completely sealed the manastone mine shut, but from what he had seen, it hadn't impacted the smaller opening that he had hidden. There was a good chance that the shifting rock had crushed the passage and they would have to dig to clear it out again which was fine. The important thing was that the underground river lay in their claim. With all of their business completed, the clerk was finally allowed to go and fetch the guild master, which he did, returning a few moments later with a portly man with a large handlebar mustache.

"Joseph, right?"

The guild master said as he walked through the door, his eyes immediately going to the gleaming manastone on the desk.

"Ferris here tells me you've brought in a beauty of a stone and made claim filing. I don't expect you're looking for partners for your firm, are you?" As he spoke, he chuckled, indicating that he was joking.

Joseph shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Guild Master Roberts. We're all full up on partners."

"Eh, worth a try," the guild master said, shooting Merrick a curious glance. "But you can call me Jerry. That really is a beautiful stone. Though you might have some trouble with the Gorgon Guild. I hear they've made a claim right next to yours. You know, when that Gorgon kid showed up and staked a claim out in the wilderness, I thought he was crazy. Another one of his schemes. But then you show up and drop the biggest manastone we've seen since coming to this world on my desk. Well, not my desk, but Ferris's desk. You know what I mean. Makes me think he might have been on to something."

Ignoring the hard look the guild master was giving him, Joseph shrugged.

"Won't matter to anybody, really," he said. "Not unless the World Guard shows up."

A frown flashed across the guild master's face.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The wilds are closed off," Joseph said, spreading his hands helplessly. "We were chased out by at least a platoon of scalies. Of the team that went in there, we're the only two who made it out alive."

"That's a dangerous assertion," the guild master replied, his expression turning hard. "Can you back it up?"

"I'll bet my life on it," Joseph said. "I already did once. I’ve already told the guard at the gate that once we're done here, we're going to see the warden to let him know what's going on. He should be expecting us by now."

Merrick didn't understand why they were explaining all of this to the guild master, but he trusted that Joseph knew what he was doing. The prospector had shown himself to be quite cunning, so Merrick didn't say anything. Leaning back in his chair, the guild master looked over Joseph, and then gave Merrick an equally long look.

"That's good information," he said. "Worth something, too. Tell you what, if you let me deliver it to the warden, with your blessing of course, I'll open up a priority sales channel for your firm."

A wide smile sprang to Joseph's face, and he nodded. "That sounds right fine. I don't care to get the credit for the alert, and Merrick here doesn't care either. We just care that the World Guard shows up and puts those beasts in their place, hopefully opening up a path to our new mine in the process."

Rubbing his hands together, the guild master returned Joseph's wide smile.

"Good to hear, good to hear. Come on, if things are as bad as you say, there's no time to waste."

As soon as the guild master finished speaking, Merrick felt his heart tremble as the song of the world changed. That thin theme that had begun to weave its way through grew stronger, and he felt as if a brand new world of adventure was suddenly opening up before him.

[Ding! Congratulations, you have completed your quest.]

[Ding! You have gained one minor blessing.]

Following Joseph and the guild master out of the prospector's exchange, Merrick felt as if he was stepping into a new world. Something fundamental had changed, though he didn't know exactly what it was. It felt like he had unlocked a new path forward, and the thought kindled excitement in his heart. Head high, he took a deep breath, relishing the air in his lungs. He didn't know what the future held, but he was excited to find out.

END (To Be Continued…)