The Don's Camp (3)

The bridge continued, occasionally leading to a small area of land above the muddy water, before it continued onto another bridge. And just like that Connor was standing in front of the camp.

The first thing he saw was that the camp itself was stationed in a Ruin. Other than the entrance which was at the far end, and was what Doug said is the Don's place. Outside, there were wooden houses with giant stone pillars scattered around, standing with magnificence. They must have once held some form of ceiling, but now they were lonely, just standing there. Not too far away from the bridge was a wood cutter, just chopping away at some wood and setting them on the pile next to him, a campfire brightened the area with some people around it and in front of the bridge was a big man, standing guard. He had similar hair to Kam, ginger with a light beard. He wore thick leather armor with a giant Axe on his back.

"Hey" Connor greeted.

"Hey"

"Any.. trouble today?" Connor asked. Making himself familiar with the Camp was his priority, and small talk was his way.

"Nah"

"Expecting any?"

"Nah"

"Must be fun being a guard" Connor was feeling slightly awkward. This was a man of a few words and he did not seem to be getting anywhere.

"Not really"

"What exactly do you guard in a swamp?"

"Flies.. The smell.. The Don" The man finally said more than just 2 words, and Connor saw this as progress.

"The Don?"

"Back there in that Temple. But my post is here.. In the swamp!"

"Sounds like an important job" Connor continued. "What is there around here that people need guarding from?"

"You must have seen them?"

"Seen what?" Connor asked. He wasn't sure if he was talking about the Devilworms or not, but if there was another type of creature around here he needed to know what it was.

"Those Things" The man said. "The things from the Ruins!"

'Were the Devilworms from the Ruins?' Connor thought. 'They looked way too off to be just mutated earthworms'

"These things came from the Ruins?" Connor asked.

"Yeah. They're all over that excavation site in the middle of the swamp!" The man said, pointing towards the direction of the swamp. Connor couldn't see what he was pointing at with the thick fog though. "They make me nervous!"

"Why?" Connor asked. "Aren't they far from the camp? You think they'll make their way here?"

"They're disgusting!" The man spat. "I can't even bear to be anywhere near them, but where could I go? I can't abandon the camp!" The man continued. "Enough chit-chat now, leave me be"

"Alright!" Connor left, heading towards the lady with the apron he could see in the distance. He was not about to chat with everybody he sees, he already knows enough for now and he has to deliver the meat.

He walked up to her as she was stirring a pot on the stove. The stove was outside a house, which was probably hers. Right next to it was a table with various ingredients.

"Waif and stray looking for pity? Or a fortune Hunter looking for Gold?" The cook spoke the moment Connor approached her. "Looks like I've got another mouth to feed"

"I'm guessing you're the cook" Connor said.

"Amongst other things. You have to be adaptable these days.. One day you have a Sword in your hand, the next, a ladle!.. And the cooking relaxes me, if you call stirring wild boar and Brugleweed cooking.. Sorry, I forgot my manners. I'm Rachel" She said with a smile. "Here. New mouth, take this meat. Freshly cooked.. That's your share for the day, so don't come back asking form ore later" She handed Connor a cooked piece of meat with quite the aroma.

Connor thanked her and asked."How are things around here?" He found a talker, so why not ask something while he still can.

"Things are perfect. I don't know why we didn't move out of Harbor Town earlier" She said sarcastically. Her gaze scanned the area around as a sad expression appeared on her face. "The Inquisition is sucking the life out of the town, but this swamp is sucking the life out of us. We used to be close, all of us. Everyone made their share, worked for their share. Now it's falling apart and with Don in that damn temple.." She sighed. "I'm the one trying to hold this shit hole together"

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She seemed to have some form of power around here, guessing from her last words, so Connor decided to get on friendly terms with her first.

"And why you wanna to do that?" She asked. "What do you want with this place anyways new mouth? Lazy cutthroats, idle thieves and mosquitoes.. Why do you want in on this? In my opinion, what they say about the Monastery is just pathetic excuses. Go there and you'll be fed and taught things, unlike here where you need to struggle for anything.. even a bite of food!"

"I still did not make my mind up yet, so I wish to talk to the Don if possible, learn what kind of benefits he could offer if i join his Camp" Connor said. Introducing himself to the big man would be the first step into finding out exactly what is happening here and what he receives if he decides to join.

"Join the queue then! I'm thinking of joining it myself" She said with a sigh. "You can talk to me when the Don is busy and he's always busy. So until otherwise is said, I'm in charge"

"Noted! But can you get me in to see him? I won't take long" Connor asked.

"No! Look, he needs time alone, to think. I'm always having to turn people away. Even his good friends. Why would I make an exception for a newcomer?"

"You mean apart from my rugged good looks?" Connor said with a smile.

"Ha! Believe me, I've seen better" She said, chuckling. "Unless you have something really important for the Don, you aren't going to get to see him.. I don't like the situation myself. I'm his wife and I don't get to see him! But it's his wish and the way he has been acting lately is making some fools have troublesome thoughts" Rachel had a sad expression on.

"You think the Don is losing control?" Connor asked with a hushed voice.

"He's… a complicated man. The Inquisition's takeover of Harbor Town shook him up badly. All we've got is this place and it's fragile, especially at the moment. I really don't need someone stirring up trouble"

"Why do you think things are falling apart here? It seems fine to me"

"It's those Ruins! They've got everyone's mind on treasure.. Even my Don!" She continued. "The whole place is being dug up! Although I'm certain that not everything being found is delivered to the camp.. The Don makes sure that all the workers get a share of the Gold. He's very fair like that. But someone is looking to line their own pockets"

"You sound like you need help.. What if I help out?"

"You'd do that? But.. Well, if you really want to stick your hand in this beehive, you're welcome to. We can certainly use the help. Everything seems to have ground to a halt" She said with a faint smile. "Go to the camp's lieutenants and talk to them, understand what sort of problems they're having. That should help you get a picture of what's happening here.. Maybe we can root out the source of this rot. Before it reaches the Don"

"Who do you think is lining their own pockets? And what would happen to them if you knew who it was?" Connor asked.

"He'd be dead! The Don is not a forgiving man"

"Ok, i'll see what i can do!" Connor remembered the meat, the main reason he approached her in the first place. "I nearly forgot. I was given this meat by Doug on the bridge" He said, giving her the sack of meat.

"Finally, something is finally being done... But this isn't enough. I need 10 pieces while these are only 6" She continued. "I know Doug must have threw this on you.. Those lazy Hunters won't do anything right.. How about this. You bring me the meat and i'll throw a little Gold your way, that'll sure piss Doug off but he deserves it. He should do his full job next time"

"I never say no to Gold" Connor smiled "So who are the lieutenants here?"

"If you can't find that out yourself, how are you going to help me? Just go and talk to everyone, you'll find them.. You'll soon see who is in charge and who thinks they are!"

And just like that, Connor started his work.