I told Huo Qianlei first before leaving. I didn't want this to be a repeat of last time.
Their whole family seemed like they were really starting to care about me and I didn't want to leave them stranded not knowing where I was for up to two days.
I set out, from the gate at the Mudfoot district. I wasn't allowed to use the other gates even though they were closer.
Thank fully the supervisor didn't seem to have as much pull with the guards as he did others.
I was going to far hollow. I didn't know where that was but Big Randy gave me the route to get there before I left. His wife even gave me a batch of homemade… I don't know what, I just knew that she would be very disappointed if I turned them down.
Maybe she was trying out some new recipes?
I walked as fast as I could while I held the bundle. I could only use one hand so things got tiring fast. And I wasn't stupid enough to try using the forest paths even if they would have been quicker. I would be nothing but an easy snack if I came across anything even mildly dangerous.
I walked on. Using my years of experience as a hunter to avoid anything I thought would be a good hiding spot for a predator or some ill thought out trap.
I reached far hollow by nightfall. Far less than the timeline Huo Qianlei expected for me.
It was getting closer and closer to winter so I imagined there weren't a lot of eager volunteers for this kind of job.
I showed up, holding the package right in front of me so I wouldn't be riddled with arrows.
I had never seen a militia post before. The men all wore dark robes and thick leather vests with a black helmet so I could only see their eyes and the middle of their face.
The second they saw me, I noticed there were at least 5 arrows pointed at my face, and more that I probably didn't notice.
"I'm from Big Randy, he said to bring you this parcel. I'm no harm."
I waved my arms slowly as I spoke. Trying to make myself seem less like a threat, which wasn't hard to do since I was effectively disabled for the next few days.
A pang of heat rose through me as I remembered the elixir, but I shoved it down.
A tall, muscular man—that was all I could see of him, walked up to stand a few metres away from me.
"Come here slowly, keep the parcel in front of you."
I obeyed. I was starting to regret agreeing to this kind of work.
He took the parcel from me when I got close. Passing it of to one of his men. Then turned back to me, "Wait here."
I wasn't sure I had a choice.
It took about the time for an incense stick to burn before the other guy who had left came back out, which is too say, not a long time.
He brought with him a small paper pouch and handed it to the man who had spoken to me earlier.
"Here's your coin," he dropped it off in my hand. Then looked at me, as if assessing me.
"Before you go kid. Are you willing to take on more jobs?"
I looked at him in surprise. "What jobs?"
He looked around, "Delivery jobs. Same kind of work you're doing now. No hassle. Low effort. " He said it like a con man.
I didn't trust the look on his face, but I wanted the money more. "Alright, what do I have to do."
He tilted his head towards the barracks, "Come in, let's have a talk."
~~~~~
I was sat down at a small rectangular table. With who I assumed was the head of the people here. The man who had led me in here stood to his right.
The leader was shorter than his subordinate, but he made up for it with his sheer size. He was almost as wide I was tall. Muscles bulging at the seams of his garments.
He nodded at me, he didn't have his helmet on but there wasn't much to see from his face. He was bald, the type that made you believe he shaved every night and had a serious face. No mustache, no nose hairs. Not even eyebrows.
"Look here, young man. This is a serious offer I'm giving you. We just want you to deliver some stuff for us. The pay will be wonderful. What do you say. "
I was starting to get suspicious. Nothing came for free as far as I knew, and this deal sounded too good to be just that.
"What's the rub?"
"What rub? There is no rub. We give you stuff. You deliver them. We pay you. That's all there is to it. "
I tried to analyze his face, staring at ever little hairless hole I could find, but I couldn't glean anything. I looked to his subordinate. Who had turned his head sideways to hide his expression.
Something was off. I stood up. "No thank you commander, there's no way you are telling me everything. I'd like to take my leave."
He chuckled then slowly got serious as he realized I wasn't joking.
"Hmm, alright, we'll be sending you to go and receive delivery packets from our allies on the field. We need as many men as we can to keep watch over here. Tensions have been rising with the lightning lily sect and if anything breaks out between them and the awoken moon sect, their mortal citizens will be on us like vultures."
"So you're sending me to a military zone. "
"Yes."
I could imagine not a lot of people were willing to go out of the cities so close to winter. It was probably only the merchants and cultivators who would try it.
But I didn't care. I wanted money. And connections. And a military campaign was one of the best ways to get it.
"How much is the pay?"
The leaders eyes brightened. "Hah, good lad. One silver per trip."
"Five. "
His eyes nearly burst out of their sockets.
"Five silver per trip is unbridled madness. 2 and you can have some of the rations."
We bargained till we settled on three silvers with rations and some warm clothes.
My first trip was in a week. I left to make sure I gave Big Randy his money so that he could give me a cut.
I wasn't aiming for the money I could get from the deliveries to the military brigades in the field.
Already my mind was already thinking big. I could imagine all those, hungry, starving soldiers who had only had dried, stale bread for the last few weeks.
I started to plan out the details. Maybe I'd be able to make a killing if of this spat between the two sects.