Good Start

As Reden walks back to the boarding house, his mind is filled with thoughts about the Dragevamian diplomat and the display of power abuse that he just witnessed. The incident has left him feeling uneasy and more cautious about his surroundings. It's clear that corruption and abuse of power are present even in this seemingly peaceful town of Castledale.

Upon returning to Lily's Boarding House, Reden is greeted by Lily with a warm smile. He's relieved to see her and know that Gah-Hal is safe and sound.

"Welcome back." Lily says and gives a warm smile.

"Hello. I managed to find a job and earn some copper." Reden says, trying to keep the uneasiness from the earlier incident out of his voice.

"Wow. Good job. I was hoping you will find something. It's a big town afterall." Lily says.

Reden approaches the desk where Lily is.

"How is my son? I hope I didn't cause you any trouble for asking you to take care of him." Reden asks.

Lily smiles reassuringly at Reden's concern.

"Oh, don't you worry at all. Gah-Hal is a delight to have around. He's a very well-behaved and sweet little one. He didn't cry a single time and doesn't seem to sleep a lot. Taking care of him is a big pleasure." Lily reassures Reden.

Reden visibly relaxes, feeling grateful for Lily's kind words and the care she's provided to Gah-Hal. He is already used to how unique Gah-Hal is by his totally unamused behaviour of no crying or anything. It's a relief to know that his son is in good hands while he's out working to earn a living. He now fully trusts Lily.

"I'm really thankful for your help, Lily. It means a lot to me." Reden says sincerely.

"Oh. It's my pleasure, dear. You and little guy are always welcome here. You're both part of the little family we have here at the boarding house." Lily replies warmly.

Reden's heart warms at Lily's words, and he smiles gratefully. It's been a long and challenging journey for him and Gah-Hal, and finding such kindness and acceptance in Castledale is really a big positive "boost" for Reden's mentality.

Reden takes out his pouch and places 3 copper coins on the desk in front of Lily.

"From now on, until the moment I stop renting the room, I will pay you 3 copper daily for taking care of my son. Is this alright for you?" Reden asks seriously.

Lily looks at the three copper coins with a small gasp on the desk and then back at Reden.

"Oh my. Dear. Thank you for your offer, but you don't need to worry about the payment for his care. I'm more than happy to help and take care of him while you're working. It's just that it's not really about money for me. I just really enjoy spending time with children. Really... Payment isn't necessary." Lily says kindly while slowly pushing 3 copper back to Reden.

She really seems to be devoted to this. Although Reden doesn't like when something like that is done for free, he seems to see through her that she also probably went through something.

"I mean... I see." Reden places the coins back into the pouch.

"So again. Don't worry about it. Everything will be okay when you will be away." Lily says to Reden with smile.

Reden stood straight and placed the pouch back.

"Thank you very much, Lily. You are an angel." Reden says to her with caring eyes before going to his room.

Reden enters his room and looks at Gah-Hal lying awake on his crib. He spends the evening with Gah-Hal, cherishing their time together and feeling a sense of peace and comfort knowing that his son is in such loving and caring hands. Reden plays with Gah-Hal for few moments and then infant is asleep.

Reden was tired, but he also felt dirty. He left the room and went to the public baths to take a quick bath. 20 minutes later he left the baths with clean both body and clothes. He went back to his room and prepared to sleep. He sat on the bed, took off his jacket and shirt and went to sleep.

Next Day, Morning

Reden leaves the Lily's Boarding House and walks around town looking for more one-time jobs to do. He checks the boards looking for anything interesting and something that is within his capabilities. Unfortunately for him, there doesn't seem to be any one-time job that he could do without too much risk or that is within his capabilities.

He doesn't give up looking and keeps walking around the streets. In other case he will need to find other way to gain money like for example hunting.

While he walks he once again passes by Adventurer's Guild. He looks at it once again but once again decides not to do any of their quests. Not only because it might be mainly dangerous fighting quests but also because he doesn't want to be one of the adventurers with additional responsibilities.

Reden continues his search for one-time jobs, keeping an eye out for anything that aligns with his skills and risk tolerance. However, it seems that luck is not on his side today, as he can't find any suitable offers. He starts to feel a bit frustrated, but he knows he can't give up.

Looks like the only way for him to get some coins would be hunting. He will try looking again tommorow. So Reden decided. He will go hunting. Before that he obviously needs some tools for that. He thought between bow, spear and daggers.

His focusing is too low to shoot with bow properly. He would need to spend a long time training with it before he can actually try to shoot something with it and not to startle.

Spear is interesting and quite long ranged weapon. He has it in mind in case he would need to fight something on distance but he doesn't have much skill with it as he rathers more agile weapons.

Speaking of agile weapons the one weapon that he would actually feel safe with would be daggers or long daggers. They are small enough and can be held with one hand without much strength needed. He always liked such weapon but problem with them would be if he encountered a big animal like bear then it would take some time before bear falls dead while meanwhile Reden might slowly bleed out from injuries.

Reden weighs the options in his mind, considering the pros and cons of each weapon. While he finds the idea of using daggers appealing due to their agility and ease of use, he is also aware of the risks involved, especially when dealing with larger and potentially more dangerous animals.

After some contemplation, Reden decides to go with long daggers. He will bring two long daggers with him. They will serve as a versatile close-range weapon for quick and agile movements, while also being quite long enough to do some really deep damage in case of mentioned animals.

With his decision made, Reden starts searching for a place in Castledale where he can acquire his demanded weapons. He wanders around the town, until he finds a small weapons shop. He gets inside and is right away greeted by the shopkeeper.

"Good day, Mister. What can I get for you?" Shopkeeper asks Reden who approaches the desk.

"I need 2 dirks with atleast 8 inch blade for like 6 copper each." Reden says the shopkeeper what he need while looking into his eyes.

"I might have something like that. Give me a moment." Coachman responds and walks to another room.

Reden waits near desk while looking around the shop. He sees impressive looking swords, scythes, spears and other bladed weapons which are too expensive for just by looking at them.

Few minutes have passed and shopkeeper came back with two identical dirks slightly curved and lays them on desk.

"If that's all then 12 copper." Shopkeeper says.

Reden checks his pouch, takes 12 copper coins and places them on desk. Then he hides his pouch back and takes the daggers. He doesn't need to take a closer look at them as he already sees that these will do good enough.

With his new long daggers in hand, Reden feels more confident and prepared for his hunting expedition. The blades feel comfortable in his hands, and he knows they will serve him well in the wild. He makes sure the daggers are securely fastened to his belt before he sets out for his hunting trip. He thanks the shopkeeper and leaves the store.

After leaving a store he heads to the gates of Castledale and moves further into the forest in the distance.

30 Minutes Later

Reden ventures into the wilderness, carefully navigating through the forest. With each step, he feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, knowing that he must provide for himself and Gah-Hal. He keeps his senses sharp, listening for any sounds of movement or potential danger.

As he moves deeper into the forest, Reden spots a few small animals like rabbits and squirrels. He decides to warm-up his hunting skills with these easier targets before attempting to take down larger prey. He silently approaches, using his agility and stealth to get within striking range.

With a quick and precise movement, Reden throws one of his long daggers, hitting the rabbit with accuracy. The animal drops instantly, while other animals startled and ran away. He retrieves his dagger with ease. He continues his hunt, taking down a couple more small animals, and he starts to feel more confident in his abilities.

Everything is going fine so far. He is already carrying 4 rabbits. It would be easier if he made a net to carry these animals so he drops them and looks for vines and sticks to make a convenient bag. 20 minutes have passed and Reden has already finished the net. He lays the rabbits on it, rolls the net and carries it on his back. It's not yet that heavy so he can still carry either 4 more rabbits. At the moment all these rabbits weight is around 40 pounds.

As the he continues looking carefully for something to hunt, Reden encounters a larger challenges. 2 boars. He knows that these are a dangerous animals, and it will require more skill and focus to take it down without getting injured.

Carefully, he stalks the boars, waiting for the right moment to strike. Patiently. One of the boars walks away from the another. The boar that Reden is stalking is now alone. Now is his chance. When the opportunity presents itself, he charges forward into the boar. When boar turns his head a little to look at the cause of sound behind him, the dagger that Reden quickly threw pierces through animal's skull. Boar falls dead.

Reden feels a little adrenaline flowing through his body but it quickly stops as he sees the bear is down. He decided to quickly grab the boar's foot and drag it out of the forest along with net he left nearby. He decided to stop the hunt right here because he will tire himself too much from all this carrying and dragging.

After a while Reden manages to leave the forest with rabbits and boar. He is now in more open space so he takes few deep breats and sits for a while to regain a bit of energy. It's a long way to carry so he thinks of anything that may help him with that as he rests.

As he sits and thinks he sees a man on a horse dragging an empty cart heading into Castledale. He reacts quickly, stands up and runs up to him.

"Excuse me!" Reden yells to man.

Man on a horse stops and turns his head towards the voice.

"Hey um. Would you mind helping me a little with carrying these animals back to Castledale? Im asking because you have empty cart." Reden asks trying to sound polite.

"I mean..." Man looks at Reden and take a moment to think.

"Fine. I will help with these." Man finally answers Reden.

"Thank you very much!" Reden says showing gratitude and heads to the net of rabbits and boar.

Reden drags these for around 30 seconds and places them on the cart while man on the horse patiently waits although he doesn't look like he wanted that. When Reden finishes loading the cart he gets on the back of it to keep dead animals from falling off the cart.

Reden gives a sign for the man to move and then they start moving.

10 Minutes Later

They both are near Castledale gates now.

"Would you mind going to butcher if you could?" Reden asks politely again.

"Alright." Man answers.

When they crossed the gates of Casatledale, man on the horse started heading to location of butcher. Since he knows where he is it means he isn't here for the first time. Once they arrive, Reden jumps off the cart and unloads the animals from the cart then approaches the man.

"Thank you for such help." Reden says while giving him 2 copper.

Man accepts the copper without saying anything and heads back to his own business. Reden continues dragging the animals to butcher which is right next to him.

The butcher, a burly man with a friendly face, greets Reden as he arrives with the rabbits and boar.

"Ah, what do we have here? This was some nice hunt you've done." The butcher says with a smile.

"Indeed, they are. I was hoping you would be interested in buying them until they are still fresh." Reden replies.

Butcher stops doing his butcher thing and gets looks closer. He takes the rabbits out of the net and places them on table probably measuring them. After a few moments he takes a long look at the boar and probably also measures it.

"Alright. Fresh and quite good looking. It would be enough for one person to survive for like 4-5 days depending on how gluttonous the person is. I will take all of these for 50 copper." Butcher looks at Reden and smiles. He clearly wants meat and fur of these preys.

"That is very fine by me. Deal." Reden replies to butcher.

Butcher smiles again and takes the pouch from under the table. As he prepares 50 copper coins, Reden can see that this butcher is really successful as he not only buys this so willingly but he also has few silver coins inside the pouch.

One silver coin has worth of 100 copper coins. It's a value to make it easier for people to trade with more expensive resources, weapons, properties etc.

"Here you go, Mister." Butcher hands money to Reden.

Reden takes the coins and puts them right to his pouch.

"Can I ask you something?" Butcher asks.

"Yes? What is it?" Reden responds.

"You seem like a guy who can hunt without much troubles. So I've been thinking if you would be interested in hunting for me. I recently started selling too much food and Im almost out of stock. It would be good for me to have someone who can deliver me freshly hunted animals." Butcher gives Reden a job offer.

Reden's eyes light up as he hears the offer. Not only this is very good paid but also kind of job he is good at.

"Yes! I accept the offer." Reden responds immediately after butcher finished talking.

Looks like luck once again is on Reden's side. He is now 50 copper richer and also got a very profitable possession for quick money. Reden's decision to accept the butcher's offer is met with a pleased smile from the burly man.

"Excellent! I'm glad to have you on board. I can see you're quite skilled at hunting and that's exactly what I need. Freshly hunted meat is always in high demand, and I'm sure this partnership will be beneficial for both of us." The butcher says appreciatively.

Reden nods, feeling a sense of relief and excitement. He's grateful for this opportunity, as it not only provides him with a stable source of income but also allows him to put his hunting skills to good use. The prospect of regular work and a steady income is a welcome change for him, especially after the challenges he's faced on his journey so far.

"I'm ready to start whenever you need me. Just let me know what you require and I'll do my best to provide." Reden says confidently.

"Good. I'll keep you informed of what I need, and you can bring me any fresh catches you find while you're out hunting. I'll pay you fairly for each delivery." The butcher explains.

Reden and the butcher discuss the details of their arrangement, including the types of animals the butcher requires and the agreed-upon payment for each delivery. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, and Reden can't help but feel grateful for this stroke of luck that has given him a stable job.

With the deal sealed, Reden leaves the butcher's shop with a newfound sense of purpose. He knows that this job will not only provide for him and Gah-Hal but also strengthen their position in Castledale. He's determined to make the most of this opportunity and continue building a life of stability and safety for himself and his son.

Reden right now has opportunity to be one of the best meat, fur and skin provider in Castledale. It would be much easier if he was the only hunter in Castledale, but as always there are always some kind of competition. He thinks about profits of being one of the kind as such provider. Maybe it wont be just about money but also for something else.

As Reden contemplates the potential benefits of being one of the best meat, fur, and skin providers in Castledale, he realizes that this opportunity goes beyond just financial gains. Being a valued and respected provider in the community brings with it a sense of pride and accomplishment. It means that he is contributing to the well-being of the town and its residents.

Moreover, Reden's proficiency in hunting allows him to connect with nature and hone his survival skills. He finds solace in the peaceful moments spent in the forest, tracking and observing animals, and it reminds him of the days when he traveled through the wild with Gah-Hal.

The thriving hunting business not only improves his reputation in Castledale but also opens doors to new relationships and connections. People seek his expertise not just for their needs but also for advice on various matters, making him an integral part of the community.

But all of that is just a planning possibilities. Life can always play tricks and make it the total opposite. Instead of having good reputation he may have bad reputation among people for whose Reden's business would be a threat for their own interests. Anyways Reden rathers optimistic thinking.

Overthinking aside. Reden happy from his recent success goes back to inn to take a shower and break. He got quite nice money from just a hunting so he allowed himself to take a break until the end of the day.

Before he gets to inn he buys 3 bread loafs for 3 copper each. He buys it from marketplace and places it into the bag he got on the spot. He now has 42 copper left.

Since he decided to stay here for a while as he has promising future he went to buy 10 papers for 2 copper and charcoal pencil for 1 copper. He has 39 copper left.

He sat on the bench and started writing something. It took him 10 minutes to write something in all 10 papers. What he wrote there is:

"Missing woman! 30 years old, 5ft 7in height, black hair, beautiful and well-groomed face, upper-class clothes, ice magician. Her name is Mary and she has been missing in the vicinity of Boullegarde. If you find her or if she finds this poser, please visit the Lily's Boarding House. The faster she's found the higher the reward is!"

Reden wrote the missing poster with hope that Mary or someone who saw her will let him know. After he finished writing he posted this on all 10 notice boards around the Castledale. He really hopes that his current luck will help him with finding her.

After he finishes posting the posters he calms down as he think he has already done everything he could to increase a chance of possible reunion.

After that he heads back to the inn with 39 copper inside his pouch. That's a very good "score" for one day.

Same Day, Noon

Reden returns to the Lily's Boarding House feeling a sense of accomplishment. The successful hunt and the promising business partnership with the butcher have lifted his spirits and brought a new sense of purpose to his life in Castledale. The missing poster for his wife gives him additional hope of returning back to the happy life.

Reden enters the inn and is greeted warmly by Lily, who notices the content look on his face.

"You seem to be in a good mood, dear. Did you find any interesting job?" Lily asks with a smile.

"Hell yes I did. I just found the best job for my skills. I managed to make a deal with local butcher that seems to like my hunting experience and enjoyed the fresh catches that I brought to him." Reden responds with enthusiasm.

Lily's eyes light up with happiness for Reden.

"That's wonderful news! I'm so happy for you, dear. You both deserve all the best." she says sincerely.

"I think I deserve a to take a break for a day. I managed to get enough money for like 3 days of living. If it keeps going I will have to rent room for more nights soon." Reden says proud of himself.

Lily smiles as she watches Reden going to the baths to clean himself and his clothes from the sweat of today's day.