20 Chapter 20

The next morning, Max woke up at the first light and took a look at his surroundings, then closed his eyes and opened them once again.

"You know your day is off to a great start when you wake up and you first thought is 'no'." He said as he sighed and slowly got up.

"What are you doing?" He asked Medb who was in the middle of staring at a forest fire.

"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"How did you even make wet wood catch on fire? You know what? I don't wanna know. Let's stop this before it gets worse."

"Nah, don't worry. It'll stop after a while. Come on we got to go." She said as she packed her stuff.

"What's the hurry?" Max asked.

"Just a feeling." Medb shrugged once more.

Max didn't ask anymore as he also went to pack his stuff and the duo got on the road once more.

——<>——

After a few more weeks later, their destination was within sight.

Bravil was a squalid town located on the banks of the Niben Bay, South of Imperial City. The river that passed through and wrapped around was called Larsius River.

Bravil was known as one of the poorest towns in Cyrodiil and Max could understand why.

Houses were built like shacks, being stacked on top of each other. Larsius River that runs through the town served as its sewers. And because of its location right by the Niben Bay, the climate was damp.

"Ehh, it smells here." Mebd said while pinching her nose.

"Get used to it. We'll be here for a while." Max replied as he walked through the town while asking for directions.

Soon, he found the place he was looking for. Bravil Hunters Guild. He could check in there and get free accommodation to stay for the time being.

Spending a month on the road tired him out both physically and mentally.

Unlike Horizon, Bravil Hunters Guild didn't have any other name and didn't serve as a bar for the people.

He went in saw the hunters in Bravil. Unlike the ones in Horizon, they had a more professional air around them.

He went to the desk. "Hello."

"Greetings, how may I help you?"

Max took out his badge that said Horizon Hunters Guild and presented it to the person behind the desk.

"Ah, came through Blackwood eh? You must be tired."

"Yes. That's why I came here as soon as I set foot in Bravil."

"Is she with you?" He asked while pointing at Medb with his chin.

He turned to look at her and saw her expectant eyes. Then he turned to the man once more and uttered almost inaudibly, "yes."

The man nodded and jotted their names down. "You can stay upstairs. Come on, let me show you to your room."

He got up and they walked upstairs.

It was the same as in Horizon. Second room served as lodgings.

"Here we are. Lucky for you we had some empty rooms. You can pick whichever. Ah, sorry for my late introduction, you can call me Vincent." He said.

"I'm Max and she is Medb."

"Nice to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said and walked downstairs, back to his desk.

The Max turned to one of the empty rooms and entered.

"Finally! A bed to sleep on!" Medb exclaimed as she opened a door and went in.

"I agree." Max said and he also crashed on the bed.

The next day Max woke up and went downstairs. He saw Vincent at the same desk from before.

"Morning."

"Ah good morning."

"Any news around?" Max asked.

"Well, the monsters are getting restless, we are still investigating why. Our work has almost tripled since last month." He said with exhaustion in his voice.

"How are the other guilds doing?"

"They are pretty much the same. Some less, some more than the others. But there is definitely an increase."

"I see." Max nodded. 'Hope the captain and rest are doing fine.' "Anything else?"

"Oh, the Imperial City has closed off the sea route."

"Closed the sea route? Why?" Max was surprised. He was planning on catching a ship if he wanted to make the journey shorter but now that was out of the options.

"I don't know. I'm not privy to that information. Only the captains are allowed I heard." He shrugged.

"How do they get the supplies?"

"Through portals. But they are closed to usage except for emergencies."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me. I plan on staying here for winter. Let me know if you need my help." He said as he went to get himself something to eat.

"Got it. Will do." And Vincent went back to paperwork without minding Max's promise to help.

He was a hunter for almost ten years now and he was still a low ranked one. He didn't mind the words of a kid who was still wet behind the ears.

Max sat at a table as Medb came after a short while. "Sea routes are closed." He said while eating.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth." Medb criticized. "Do you know why?"

"No. I plan on spending winter here. What you do is up to you."

"I don't mind staying here." She said.

Then they finished their food in silence when Max's attention was grabbed by a woman.

She had an apron on and was carrying a bag on her bag. "Here's your stuff." She said after dropping the bag on the table.

The contents of the bag were filled with swords, axes and arrows.

"Thanks Tadrose, you're a life saver."

"You're welcome." She said as she went to the door.

"Who was that?" Max asked to a hunter that was sitting at a nearby table.

"Who? Tadrose? Ah, she is our blacksmith. She has been a member of the Bravil Hunters Guild for as long as I've known her."

"Do you happen to know whether she is accepting disciples or not?" Max asked with intrigue.

"Dude are you kidding? She has been looking for a disciple for a long time. She always yaps about there being too much work for one person to do and she needs helpers. Some tried but gave up halfway because it was hard and frankly, going out there and killing some monsters brings you a lot more income than sitting before a furnace and hammering all day long."

"I see, I see. Thanks for telling me." Max nodded. 'Guess, I've found something to do in the meanwhile.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you enjoy the story don't forget to drop some stones and also give reviews!

Seriously tho I would appreciate some sort of feedback, I'm kinda shooting off in the dark here…