Hero Work

"I've been contracted to perform services in the area likely lasting weeks." I found myself explaining as we took our lunch at the Lucky Heather Tavern, "As such I shall not be taking you both on to Oakfield. In a week's time, the gold from the sale of your father's goods will be in, and I'll give you the cost of those, at which point you may take your cart and mules and return home." 

"Can we not persuade you to see us home?" the older sister implored.

"Not unless you are willing to wait it out to the finish of my work here in Rookridge." I softly denied.

Such sympathy.

"What is it you're doing?" the younger sister asked. 

Though still several years older than Rose, the girl seemed younger than my sister. Something about the emotional damage mixed with a natural simplemindedness. The combination of which did the poor thing no favors. 

"Extermination work." I informed her simply, then took another bite of my thick ham sandwich.

Quite the fattening thing with fried onions and peppers with spicy mustard and mayonnaise, but I countered with two sticks of celery. Though it sounds inane, to a Hero eating celery sheds fat off the body quickly. Though it may not seem healthy for a nine year old, my eight pack abs serve as a perfect wash board, and though I never in my life achieved shredded serratus muscles, by God I've got that freak shit going on now! 

"Do you even know our names?" the older sister asked. 

Ha! Jokes on her, I'm clairvoyant about people's names! All I needed was a moment's focus and I knew their first names, likes, and dislikes. Easy money. 

"I'm hurt you'd say something like that Lauren." I countered, smug on the inside. 

Her face twisted in fury, "I told you my name was Ellen." 

Got me, but where is she going with this?

"It's what I know you by." I shrugged. 

"I didn't tell him." the younger sister told her. 

"How'd you know my name?" she demanded, and I can't say I'll miss her bouts of unreasonable anger when she's gone. 

"I just looked at you and knew you were a Lauren, and apparently a liar." I let her anger roll over my shoulder like a gentle river current.

"Like you two are any better, telling us to call you 'Rose and Sparrow'." she accused. 

"My name is Rose." Rose interjected and crossed her arms over her chest, "And unless you've gotta a point you should just stop talking." 

"He's been ignoring and avoiding us like we're diseased for a week." the older sister explained what put her in this mood right now. 

Not like she needs much reason to fly off the handle. Between her screaming and the younger one crying, a man can't find a moment of peace around here. 

Seeing this potentially ruining my lunch I began hooting and pumping my fist. The three girls at the table stared at me, waiting. Sensing the sweet spot I brought the expression to its conclusion throwing up the peace sign while screaming, "WUYAH!" 

"That was brilliant!" the younger sister clapped at the utilization of her favorite expression. 

Meanwhile the older one looked suddenly confused about her newly displaced anger.

Rose just shook her head, understanding what I'd done, but not likely comprehending the truly insidious act. Most consider the mind a sacred thing, after all. Third rail taboo or not, I finish my lunch in peace and unbothered I gathered my effects and my hound and set off for work, but before I'd gotten far from the tavern, Rose called out to me. 

"Sparrow, over here." she asked from the grassy spot around the corner of the tavern on the opposite side of the building from the toilets. 

Dogmeat and I joined her as she leaned against the stonework wall. 

"Come to tell me how wrong it is to be bounty hunting?" I asked perhaps a bit more testy than appropriate.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." she sighed, "You've always been a weird one. No reason to think you shouldn't be doing stuff like this at your age, not with how big you've gotten." 

"Well, thanks for your support, Rose." I snarked, not happy with her choices not to be out there with me growing stronger, but leaving her to determine her own fate. 

"What do you want from me, Sparrow?" she questioned, a little testy herself. 

"Ideally, you'd live your life by your own will, grow up safe, spend your days in a salon on Castle Way separating all the richest bitches in Albion from their gold with your beautiful dresses, with a chivalric order dedicated to waiting on you hand and foot." I answered. 

"Well, that sounds great." Rose approved.

"Yeah, but as much as we might want something, the world won't accommodate our dreams just for our desires. We need power to chase our dreams, Rose." I clenched my fist, I've a duty to protect my sister, and its not her fault people want to make that harder than it should be, "That's why I want you strong, so you can chase your dreams without being afraid. So that if one bad day happens, you can flip the script and show the world what for." 

"I understand, why you feel that way, Sparrow, but how many Heroes died before they ever made it into the stories. How many Hero stories end with something along the lines of 'And then they died'. I get that theirs something out there your afraid is going to come and get me, but what happens if I go with you, and we end up facing something you can't beat. You're a real mean mugger, little brother, but you don't always get to chose what you fight, when and where. What happens in that situation? Are you going to die to buy me time to get away?" 

"Reasonable." I admitted. 

"Thought so." Rose nodded, "I know you aren't going to back down, not with the results you're getting. So just focus on you, little brother, let me worry about me." 

"Sounds exactly like something a tragic backstory sister would say." I informed her of her impending doom. 

"Yeah, and maybe I'm supposed to be inspired by how hard you worked and work even harder after you die to compensate for my failures as a big sister." Rose countered, "Listen, what happens happens. If we live, if we die. I chose to live how I want for as long as I can." 

"I'll drink to that." I saluted Rose with my imaginary pint, "And with that I'm off. Oh boy, here I go killing again." 

"I don't even know why your afraid of anyone anymore." Rose laughed, "They should be afraid of you." 

"If they're smart, sister of mine, but never trust people to be smart!" I called over my shoulder as I walked away. 

I passed out of town into the hills and forest to the east with a big smile on my face, following my supernatural sense of direction. From my back hung my greatsword and blunderbuss, from my belt my stout iron knife, my fine steel throwing daggers, two pistols, and my sling and ammunition. I quickly ran a few miles out of town, only stopping when I encountered the first of my prey. A gang of rough looking men killed time around a fire with a spinnerbox - the Albion version of a slot machine - between a pair that the others watched in idle amusement. 

They didn't have as many guns between them as the ones I slew on the south road, but the chain breakers looked stouter in body. Forced labor in Albion clearly comes with a supply of whey protein, cause these dudes looked yoked, vascularity creeping up their arms. 

"Gentlemen, might you be members of the notorious Chainbreakers?" I asked from a distance with my sling hidden behind my back while I charged Multi Arrow for single targeting. 

"Wot's it to yew?" a burly man sporting some thick mutton chops shouted back as he rose up with a pickaxe in one hand and pistol in the other. 

A handful of his fellows stood up with him, sporting firearms or hefting pickaxes, felling axes, and sledge hammers. 

"Just being professional." I hollered back, "So, be you Chainbreakers?" 

"Aye, now drop yer purse and fuck off!" the lead man yelled. 

"Wonderful. Might any off you be Billy 'Slaps', Rodney the Mean, Dennis the Menace, Big Papa Murphy, 'Wild' Harry, or Ricky?" 

"Nah!" the man shouted back. 

"Good, headshots viable!" I announced. 

With the dialogue concluded I finished my spell and whipped the chatty chopped man a lead weight to the head. Two more Will manifestations struck as well, leaving the man's face unrecognizable. I rolled out of the way of the return fire and kindly delivered three more of these attacks before drawing my greatsword and deflecting a strong swing of an axe. Charging up my Flourish I smashed my sword through the man's hasty block, cutting into his belly and knocking him to the ground where Dogmeat got a hold of him. A fate most swift and lethal. 

A quick Assassin Rush got me behind the last of them and I gave him two quick swings of my sword, leaving him rendt open on the ground. With my work done, I set about with my knife, collecting thumbs and putting them in a leather bag I don't much care about. Considering their working man's equipment, I figured there'd be a solid demand back in town, so I bound everything up in cord and started hiking back. 

Even loaded down I made great time, more than enough to do some maintenance work on my new stock and clean off in time for dinner, after which I took an evening stroll to the Rosenthal Estate to collect six bounties. Twelve thumbs got me three hundred gold, a single day's work brought me the lion's share of my yearly earnings exterminating pests in Bowerstone. The next day I tripled my earnings, clearing nine hundred coins, apparently matching the half hourly average gross from the mines. I kept that pace going till the end of the week, even managing to hunt down Denis the Menace, Billy Slaps, and Wild Harry. 

I ended up needing to keep my funds with Lord Rosenthal as five thousand four hundred gold coins takes up a considerable amount of space, and thats not even including the sum I'd earned selling the tools and weapons to Lord Rosenthal for his mine and militia. I had no safe place to store so much wealth, but the boy mayor provided me with a fine solution. The Rosenthal's apparently kept their wealth in an old played out and mostly sealed up old mine, like the Iron Bank of Braavos, and my new employer happily took up that name for the service of keeping my coins safe for me despite not taking the task as a commercial venture. The power of making friends and influencing people. 

Though my money increased greatly, and the town I chose to house Rose in became more secure, my true wealth came along incredibly as well. Raw Hero power. I'd gained levels in Toughness, Speed, Guile, and Magical Power, along with the spells Multi Strike and Blades. The latter of my spells quickly became one of my favorites, even competing for my heart with My Beloved. 

With just a thought and a gesture I could summon up three blades of warm glowing energy and fire them off at a single target or multiple, but with a little imagination I could hover them around me, defending me from three attacks, or all of them could appear as one in my hand for a fast and surprising melee attack. Finally with more Will, either an instant burn of my own supply or a handful of seconds charging, I can summon a single powerful blade that flys around and attacks my enemies autonomously. 

My duel with Wild Harry ended rather swiftly as despite his good instinct to dodge roll when I when attempted hack him down with my Flourish Assassin Rush combo, his attempt to counter attack ran him through the neck onto my flash summoned sword of light. Billy Slap encountered a wandering Berserk hulk out in the woods, and Denis the Menace experienced the subtle power of Multistrike, a seemingly innocuous front kick during our duel sudden hit like a mule. 

I'd never admired wizards in fiction much. They lacked the raw machismo and physicality I prefer in a lead man. Fable Wizards are punchy as hell, and I love it. 

Of course like all good things, my sweetheart deal with the boy mayor came to an end, and what a fabulous end indeed. When one kills a hundred men in a week, a smart gang flees, a dumb one comes for retribution. Only one of those ends is fabulous. 

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