16 New Contract

--Gremory Point of View--

After some minutes of running, the crowd dispersed and we reached the wagon.

Everyone was panting and laughing at the same time.

"That was funny, I was thinking we would be swallowed by them" Claire spoke while catting her breath.

"Close call dude, you can't just walk there knowing the result and expect that nobody will take advantage of you" Rudolph said with a serious expression.

"I was not sure about the result" I replied.

"How could you not know? Even I knew from what I saw you doing!" Danton said.

"Yes, is just that last time... doesn't really matter anyway, and how are you, Rudolph?"

"I am fine now, from what I heard its thanks to you, since you already help me this much and are on the guild now, you can call me Rudo"

"Nice to meet you Rudo" I answered while shaking hands with him.

"Good to see you guys doing well, but we have work t....." Danton spoke.

Claire interrupted Danton and place her hand on my shoulder while talking.

"Yes yes, and we need some food, our rations are almost ended and with no coin left... we need to hunt something and you Gremory, I am glad that you wanted to join the guild but if you stay here in the city the marquis is probably going to take care of you since the city hasn't given life to a wizard in decades. It would be much better for you than coming with us..."

I remained in silence for a while.

"I know I know, the old man once told me about that, and it's not that I don't want it, it's just that I need to do something first. At least I should, to speak the truth I don't know what I want, I should be angry about everything that happened in these last days but I don't feel anything. This is just a normal day for me, but I know I have to do something about it"

"You helped us so we will return the favor, just point us in the direction"

"I don't know the direction, I need to kill the people who killed my family, yet they can be anywhere. But if I stick with you guys I may end up finding something, it's better than staying in the city"

'If I just stay in the city then I can't feed, if they are going to hunt monsters then I am going with them, hope we find something really strong this time'

"So young and yet so determined to do something like that. These people are the ones who gave you these scars?" Rudolph asked.

With most of my clothes torn apart, it was easy to see all the scars and marks on my body.

On impulse, I look back at my body and to my surprise, my birthmark on the left arm now was much bigger than the original size and now covered all my triceps and even part of the biceps, the word Gremory was clearer than ever now.

'It looks like I named myself after one of my spells...'

I approach a reflection in the water of a barrel that was close to analyze the rest.

The scar on my right hand was just a little smaller than the one in my left arm, it has grown a lot yet is eligible for me. The scar below my right eye and the ones on my chest had also grown a little, but now I had a problem. The scar left by that goblin didn't grow, but now analyzing it covers a good part of my face.

'I need to be more careful, my healing skills don't make everything new, in this rate I will be covered by scars soon. Maybe if I make some shield or something like that with the shadows'

While I was thinking I tried to manipulate a little bit of shadows to form a shield in front of me, but it wasn't consistent, and it wasn't visible either. But my hand scar grew a little, minimally, but I could see.

'Interesting..."

"You know, it is kinda strange to be ignored and the person starts to face the air without speaking a word" Rudolph spoke abruptly taking me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just... never mind, about your question. I have them since I can remember, with the exception of the bigger one on my face, that was work of a goblin" I answered quickly.

"So these people killed your family and left you alive?"

"Was not that easy and I really don't want to talk about it right now. If you guys allow me, I intend to remain in the guild for now at least"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. For me you can stay, it would be of great help"

Danton came up to us and quickly broke the strange atmosphere that was forming.

"It is decided then, Gremory is part of Hjmar until he decides to leave. Now about the work, a goblin settlement was identified about 28 km (17.3mi) west of Lathrium. The payment for this one is 500 silver so if we manage to do it, we get 250 silver" He spoke while feeding the horses.

"Hey guys, I am hungry. Let's leave the city already and hunt something!" Claire spoke.

We got into the wagon with the "Hjmar Guild" sign and headed towards the city exit.

These guys always take work related to goblins because they are easier to kill. The thing about goblins is that they remain together so when facing them, we need to be prepared to be outnumbered by a lot. Furthermore, the bigger the risk the bigger the reward.

'I am sure of one thing, the mark on my hand is reacting to my manipulation of the shadows, so I'll try to use that a lot more in the next fights.'

Carine's bow was still inside the wagon, I thought it would be nice to have a reminder but now that I look at it, it's just a weapon like any other.

"Hey Claire, do you want this bow?" I asked.

"Whaaaat? Are you sure about that?" She replied.

"Yes, my aim is pretty bad with this, so there is no use"

"Thanks very much, to be honest, I made my current bow myself, but I was afraid it would break anytime"

"Well, I think if you had met the previous owner of this bow she would give the bow to you anyways. It's better with a true hunter than with me"

"If you say so, thanks again!"

We keep going west and just a few hours later we could see already signs of a recent attack on the road.

"Looks like we are near the camp, get ready people!" Danton spoke while placing the wagon between some trees and releasing the horses for them to run if necessary.

Packhorses are usually trained for situations like this and do not run on their own unless there is danger.

I can already feel the dark energy asking for me again, I wonder how much energy will need to reach the next breaking point.

'This is much better than staying in the city and being used as a trophy!'