Wandering Warrior: Judge - Chapter 27 (Patreon)

Chapter 27

I woke up with a splitting headache, which was stupid.  I knew from past experience that there wasn’t anything physically wrong with me, beyond the exhaustion that came from using too many spells in rapid succession.  Especially when I couldn’t properly control how much energy I was putting into them.

Cleaning up the few undead that had been going after the other group had only taken a few minutes with all of us working together, and returning with the survivors had produced a much different greeting from the people of the village the second time around.

The innkeeper had unfortunately not made it through their ordeal, but the mayor had been more than happy to let them use the empty rooms in the ownerless building as a place to get some rest.  The light coming in from the small window told me it was well past lunch, meaning I had gotten at least three hours of sleep.  Just like most things in life, it wasn’t as much as I wanted, but more than I probably deserved.

I sat up and quickly got dressed.  I didn’t want to spend the night in the village if I didn’t have to, so it was time to get moving.  While I packed everything up, I thought about how quickly Jess had taken to learning magic.  She was genetically predisposed to magic flowing through her body from being a shifter, and I knew from past experiences I was a good teacher, but I wasn’t that good.  For her to be casting spells so soon spoke to a natural talent, one that I wanted to explore as we traveled.

After loading all of my gear and double-checking my weapons–including making sure my shield bracelet was charged–I left my room and immediately started making a bunch of noise.  Slamming my door, banging pots and pans in the small kitchen, shattering an empty clay pot in the common room, the basics of a homemade alarm clock meant to wake everyone up.

“What’s going on out here?”  Leedy came stumbling out of his room first, his eyes bleary and hair a mess.  “Are we under attack?”

“Nope.”  I slowly pushed another empty pot off the edge of the counter, making sure to keep my face neutral as it shattered on the floor.  “Just redecorating.”

Leedy winced at the loud crash and looked at me with narrowed eyes.  “Sometimes, I really don’t like you.”

“Just sometimes?  I need to try harder.”  I glanced back into the kitchen, looking over what was still available to cook.  Murphy, Cross, and Jess finally came out of their rooms.  “Nice of you to join us!  One of you get started on cooking something while I go let the mayor know we’ll be leaving.”

“You want to go now?  Why not spend the night and get a fresh start tomorrow?”  Jess looked the most tired of everyone.  Heavily using magic for the first time could do that to you.  “It would make more sense than leaving with half the day gone.”

“Because we’ve been held up enough as it is, and I’m not waiting anymore.  There’s too much to do in too short a time remaining.”  My mental to-do list already included fixing the Wardens, the structure of the law regarding the Guilds, and figuring out their stupid ‘Oracle’ book.  That was on top of tracking down this Destitute character, including his vampire cohorts, and all the quests that the system had given me.

Name: James Holden (Earth v7.1)

Title: Chief Justice/Arbiter/Justicar/Executioner/etc…

Level: 100/MAX

Rank: 1/10

Age: 27 (Physical) 47 (Actual)

Class: Warrior/Soldier/Knight/Paladin/Mage (5/5)

Profession: Healer/Alchemist/Blacksmith/Runesmith/Judge (5/5)

Status:

Strength- 55

Flexibility- 55

Vigor- 55

Mind- 55

Mission:

Mythical Quest: Deliver Justice - World Count 20/Unknown

Legendary Quest: Return Home - Requirements not met

Epic Quest: Find out why - Requirements not met

Rare Quest: Track down Silver Star - Ongoing

Unique Upgrade Quest: Find ten places of power - 1/10

I had been on this world for less than a month, and I already felt overwhelmed by how much I had to do.  A year could pass by before I knew it, and wasting time made my skin itch.

“Fine by me.”  Murphy walked past me into the kitchen.  “I’ll get something going.”  He looked back at Jess.  “Mind helping me?”

Her cheeks blushed a light pink before she gave him a quick nod.  “Let me get cleaned and packed up and I’ll be right there.”

“That’s it?  You’re just going to go along with this madness?”  Cross leaned against the doorframe, awkwardly crossing his arms.  “I vote we should stay, instead of spending the night stuck in the forest.  With the waypoint destroyed, we’ll have to sleep in the forest, where anything could find us.”

I shouldered my pack and moved to the exit.  “I don’t care how you vote.  This isn’t a democracy, it’s a dictatorship that I rule with an iron fist.  Specifically, two fists to your one, so I automatically win even if there were votes.  Now pack your stuff and get ready to go.”

Leedy rushed over to stop the man from doing anything foolish while I walked out the door.  My head hurt, and I knew I was picking an unnecessary fight, but I didn’t care.  I stopped by the well out front and drank my fill before starting my search for the mayor.  While I knew it wasn’t a regular hangover I was suffering from, it still made sense to me to keep hydrated.

The small village was a ghost town as I walked around.  It wasn’t exactly hopping the last time I was here–besides the fighting, of course–but literally no one was out and about during what should have been the busiest time of the day.  The atmosphere didn’t feel very welcoming, and I could feel someone watching me.  If it was night, I would expect an ambush at any moment.

Eventually, I found what had to be the mayor’s house.  It was bigger than most other houses, and it had a big snarling bear carving on the front door that screamed ‘fuck-off’ louder than an actual person saying it.  I kinda liked it.

I knocked on the door with the butt of my staff and took two steps back, just in case the big guy was feeling feisty after our last interaction.  After a long wait and two more knocks, the door finally opened and the mayor’s wife poked her head out.

“Why aren’t you at the meeting with… oh, it’s you.”  She stepped out onto her porch, closing the door behind her.  “What do you want?”

“I came to let the mayor know we were leaving.”  I thumped my staff on the top of my foot, feeling out of place for some reason.  Her eyes were piercing enough they reminded me of my grandmother, who could almost boil water with a heavy glare.  “I’m sure you can pass on the message to your husband.  Have a nice life.”  I turned to go, but she stopped me.

“Wait.  I think you should go to the church.”  She motioned to the only building with a multi-colored slate roof near the wall.  The green, black, and brown colors made it look like a bad camouflage job.  “My husband… he might have something for you.”

“Him and I didn’t exactly get along the last time we met.  I think it would be better if we went our separate ways.”  I motioned back to the street, where we had clashed.  “I don’t feel like going for round two at the moment.”

She growled before shaking her head.  “It isn’t like that.”  Now it was her turn to feel out of sorts.  “Please.  Go there.  They weren’t expecting you to leave so soon, and I know they wanted to ask a favor of you.”

“Lady, I don’t owe you people anything.  I’ve already done more than any of you could reasonably ask.  Why should I do this crappy little village another favor?”  Once again, I knew I was being a bit of a jerk, but this time I didn’t feel bad.  I mean, they had attacked me.  Twice.  “You seem capable enough to take care of yourselves.”

“It isn’t like that.”  She moved into the yard to stop me from leaving.  “Look, we’re sorry.  I’m sorry.  We didn’t treat you right, and my husband’s temper got away from him.”  I ignored her and started to step around her.  “They might even pay you!”

“Do I look like a mercenary to you?”  She looked me up and down with a raised eyebrow.  “Okay, don’t answer that.”  I rubbed my aching eyeballs.  She had apologized, and seemed genuine about it.  My stupid Arbiter Title–which was a finicky thing most of the time–poked at me.  I had gained it when I picked up my Judge Class, and it hadn’t come with a description like most of my titles.  The only reason I knew it was the thing pricking my brain was a general sense of right and wrong that came from the place where it sat in my head.  “Fine.  I’ll go talk to your husband, but I’m not promising anything.”

“Thank you.”  She gave me a hint of a curtsey.  “And thank you once again for saving our people.”  She looked toward where the inn was located.  “Those that you could, anyway.”

“Sure.”  I stepped around her and started walking toward the second-rate camo building they called a church.  “Good luck.”

She was already most of the way back inside her house, the door slamming my only answer as I made my way up the hard-packed road edged in drying mud.  “Such fine people, and a great atmosphere to boot!  Why isn’t this the vacation destination for everyone?”  I looked up at the sky, seeing another low cloudbank was moving in.  More dreary rain for a dreary place.  It matched my mood, somehow making me feel better.

When I got to the church building, it became obvious where most of the people had gone.  The shouting from inside was audible from the street, and as I walked up the cobbled path to the oversized front doors I could hear what they were yelling about.

“–ing isn’t our job!  Do you know what would happen if the Guild found out?!”

“The Guild’s don’t give a damn about us!  They never have.  With how many there are roaming the forest right now, it’s pretty clear they aren’t jumping over themselves to come help!”

“Does it matter?  We’re Loggers and Farmers, not Hunters!  We should go to the Timber Guild, or even the Carpenter’s Guild for help!  They’ll be able to negotiate better than we can by ourselves!”

Huh.  There seemed to be a guild for everything in this place.

I pushed the doors open hard enough that they hit the walls with a bang.  Well, one did, while the other smacked some guy, sending him stumbling back.  I looked at him and shrugged.  “My bad.  You’re a victim of my flair for the dramatic.”

“What do you want?”  The mayor, who was standing behind this place’s version of a pulpit mixed with an altar–I didn’t want to call it a dais, because I hated the word dais–was red-faced and angry.  As per the usual.  “Can’t you see this is a private meeting?”

Looking around the crowded building, I saw mostly unwelcoming faces.  Whether that was because they didn’t like me, or they always looked like that, I had no idea.  It was packed deep enough that most of the aisles between narrow pews were standing-room only, making it impossible for me to approach the mayor privately.  Oh well, I didn’t want to be here in the first place.  “I just came to tell you we’re leaving.  I tried your house, but your wife asked me to come.  Since I’m clearly not welcome here, I’ll go.”

Silence was my only reply, so I turned and left, heading back down the path to the inn.  I half expected someone to come chasing after me, but it didn’t happen.  By the time I made it back to where the rest of my group was, the wind was starting to pick up.  Rain would be hitting soon, and I knew the trails would be wet, muddy, and miserable.  Seriously, this world sucked huge goat-balls.