Little Piggy

We continued towards the gate but kept an eye on the procession heading our way. There was at least 50 men, 20 of whom were on horseback hurrying towards us. As the men got closer to us, we could hear their shouts, their battle cries…

"Charge!!" The lead rider bellowed.

Oh shit, they're going to kill us. I dropped the boar from my shoulders and pulled the axe out from its head. I turned to face the oncoming riders. As the riders drew closer, the lead rider's face changed from determination to confusion, then panic.

"Stop!" The lead shouted.

He veered his horse away from us, his confused men following him. Luckily, they had been far away enough that their sudden slowdown and change of direction was still feasible. If they were any closer, we would've collided.

The riders eventually trotted over to us, much more subdued now.

"Hail travelers!" The lead rider called when he was within 15 feet of us.

"Good day, sir!" The forester said, bowing towards the procession.

I stood there, positioned between the cart and lifeless boar, the axe resting on my shoulder. I looked over the lead rider. He seemed to have a lean athletic build with short brown hair. His face was handsome enough that I'm sure women fawned over him, but in uniform they'd throw themselves at him.

"Greetings riders. What seems to have been the problem?" I asked.

The riders were all around us now, looking at the cart and most of all, the dead boar.

"We received word from the wall that a giant boar was attacking a cart that was approaching the city. We rushed out here to face it but—" He looked at the boar carcass. "—seems that it's already dead."

Oh, oops. I guess from the perspective of the city, and the guards on the wall, the boar on my shoulders was a humongous one attacking the city. It didn't help that I was behind the cart so they couldn't see my body.

"But to be able to carry such a massive beast upon your shoulders, you must be… " The lead rider started

A voice pierced the air as he was speaking. "HYAAH!"

The voice was so loud and sudden that everyone jolted, and all the animals bucked in fear. Some of the riders tumbled out of their saddles.

The lead rider was able to stay on his mount, until suddenly a figure dropped out of the sky landing between him and I. The sudden appearance of the new character caused the horse to startle in renewed fear, throwing the rider to the ground.

When the dust settled, I saw a huge man. The guy was buff, and I mean super bodybuilder buff. He was wearing the same uniform as the riders, but he had so much muscle mass that the uniform looked like it would tear at the seams any second.

"Where is that little piggy?" The man shouted, facing away from me.

I cleared my throat, causing the man to whip his head in my direction.

"It's dead." I stated.

The man looked at me, then the carcass, and back at me. He did this for a little while, his brain churning. Not the brightest crayon in the box, I'll call him muscle head.

"Captain." The lead rider started when he was back on his feet. "The boar has already been slain."

"D-dead?" The muscle head stammered out.

I watched as the muscle head visibly deflated. The lead rider looked at me apologetically then re-seated himself back on his horse.

"My apologies traveller for the inconvenience. I am Vice Captain Marcus of the town guard. He—" the rider said with a nod to muscle head, "— is Captain Chad. We welcome you to Edgefort."

"Thanks for the hospitality."

"If you don't mind then, we will travel with you to the gate so as to prevent any further panic." Marcus said, glancing at the carcass.

Once we were able to calm down the donkey, the procession proceeded down to the town. Mus— Captain Chad was walking beside me, still suffering dejection. You'd think he was just dumped or something.

"The forester I know, but I don't think I've seen you before." Marcus said to me.

"Ah, yes. My name is John. I am merely a traveller. I met the forester on my way here. He and his wife were gracious enough to… host me for the evening." I replied and the forester nodded while blushing.

"I see. You seem quite strong Sir John. How much does that boar weigh for you to so easily be carrying it?"

"Oh! Sir John is blessed, Sir Marcus. He killed that boar himself with one strike!" The forester exclaimed.

The riders all looked in my direction. Understandable that they'd be skeptical. Me and my medium build paled in comparison to the captain's frame. Captain Chad however, looked at me with noticeable glee.

"A blessed! What are your stats? I have been blessed with great endurance and strength. If you couldn't tell." Captain Chad said while flexing. His shirt almost started tearing at the seam.

"My apologies for the rudeness of my captain, Sir John." Marcus said. "He gets very excited when new adventurers show up. He's always looking for sparring partners. The result of your finding is yours to keep to yourself."

"Ah, please. It's no problem." I said.

"Bah, it's just a parchment with stats on it. It's not as if people knowing would change anything. The blessings are final." The captain protested.

It appears I'm the only one who can change my stats. I'll have to keep that to myself. Also, a piece of paper. They must not have status screens then.

The captain pulled out his wallet and started searching through it.

"Ah, here it is. These are my stats. I guess it's only fair for me to show you mine before I ask for yours." He said as he handed me a piece of parchment.

Strength – 30

Endurance – 20

Agility – 10

Willpower – 3

What interesting stats. His total points are lower than mine. Also, what is with that willpower? As I was lost in thought, the captain started speaking again.

"Impressive isn't it. I'm one of the few blessed in the kingdom with a combined stat point over 60. That's why I was asked by the King personally to take this position here."

"Ah, yes, quite impressive."

"If only some of that strength were in willpower." Marcus sighed.

"Bah, willpower is for those puny mages. I am a warrior, a defender. I don't need that crap." Chad proclaimed.

The two continued their argument until I interjected.

"Captain, thank you for sharing your stats with me. I'm afraid that I don't know what mine are since I didn't have a way to check them." I said while handing back the parchment.

"Ah, you must've come from a small village then. Well, it's no matter, the fact that you can so easily lift that piggy is proof enough. The guild shouldn't charge you for the finding." The captain said.

As I looked at the captain confused, Marcus explained.

"The guild charges for findings if someone is not blessed. This is to keep everyone from getting tested just for the sake of it. It's a 1 gold fee for a finding that is unfruitful."

I saw the forester wince at the price. That must be quite expensive then.

"How do they know that someone is blessed?" I asked.

"A combined stat over 50. Most people range from 30 to 40 combined stat points. Mages all have a willpower stat of at least 10. Apparently, it must be at least that much for them to possess mana." He answered.

"Do all mages have to go through a finding for their stats?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think that there is a specific device to measure the presence of mana." He replied with a shrug.

"Your knowledge is impressive, Sir Marcus." I said "Are you blessed as well?"

Marcus sighed, and Chad chimed in.

"He is, but he's just a little pansy. Strength and agility are his main stats, but he isn't over 60 points. What was your total again?"

"58." Marcus said with annoyance. "And just barely a mage."

"Bah, mages are pansies." Chad dismissed, and the pair once again started arguing as we neared the gates.