I get in line at the counter and check out the quest. It's manual labor, or at least that what it looks like, thus I don't expect anything out of the ordinary. Especially no lectures on possible dangers or the likes. This goes a long way to show to never take anything at face value just like that, because I actually do get lectured as the clerk sees the quest I picked.

"Very good. I was afraid no one would pick it up. It would have pained me to let our lord and the city down like that. Head out to the upstream waterfront. The boats with the workers will depart from there. All the best clay deposits are a little further upstream. And while you are in theory hired to haul clay and shape it into bricks, you'll have to look out for Water Rats too. They might not be thrilled to have this many people around. So, look out."

I take a deep breath while he processes the paperwork and nod. Then, after receiving it back, I stow it in my pack and am off. I probably don't have any time to waste. These boats probably don't wait.

The streets are getting more busy now, but thankfully I don't have to wait at the gate. The guards are too busy checking and taxing anyone who wants to get into the city and wave anyone who is leaving just through. It's not a big surprise to be honest.

As I make my way across the district outside the wall I cross one of the markets, much more busy already than the one inside the walls, too. My goal is to grab a quick bite to eat along the way. It sounds easier than it actually is. Not because I have to blend in and be subtle. I have no trouble with that. Even better my [Stealth] improves a little again too.

No, the real trouble is to pick the right kind of food. The stalls selling freshly prepared treats would be a tempting target. Except, most of the freshly prepared food tends to be hot. Fresh food like that might make for a nice meal, but if you have to acquire it by means of sleight of hand it's slightly less than optimal if it's hot and fatty.

Another option would be the much more numerous stalls selling fresh produce from the surrounding farms. The risk to burn my fingers is close to zero with those. Most fresh produce isn't all that tempting, even to a very hungry scoundrel though. I could eat fresh lettuce or the like, but I really don't want to. I'm neither hungry nor desperate enough to try.

In the end I go for one of those incredibly sweet Sugar apples again. I know already what to expect with those after all. The farmer I pick isn't the same one as last time either. To be honest, the fruits he sells look almost a little too ripe already too, which might be why people haggle a lot harder with him.

My approach isn't very direct this time around either. I almost bump into someone at the next stall over, apologizing to the woman in passing, while she actually bumps into someone haggling at the stall with the Sugar apples, who in turn bumps into the cart with the fruit on sale, jostling it just enough to send some rolling.

A moment later I can catch two fruits that rolled off the cart. I switch one to my other hand while putting the other demonstratively back onto the cart where the merchant can see it. It's not like he can really focus on me. No, he barely takes note as the man he is haggling with demands most of his attention. And before anyone else can take note of what happened I'm already part of the crowd again, swallowed up by the constant stream of people going one way or the other.

As expected my [Sleight of Hand] skill benefits. And, of course, I now have breakfast, of sorts. The fruit really isn't quite like the one I have gotten to know. It's a little softer. It doesn't look or smell rotten yet though, thus I take a first tentative bite once I'm well out of sight.

Well, it certainly tastes different. Not bad, but different. The texture is a little different and it's not quite as sweet. Instead it has a slightly prickly aftertaste. It's only after the second bite that I realize why. It has started to ferment! Not much yet, but still noticeable enough. It not being quite as sweet at the first one is actually a benefit in my book, but I hope it's alright to eat it first thing in the morning. I mean, you can't get drunk of just one single apple that has only started to ferment ever so slightly, right?

Ah, never mind. Only one way to find out. I finish the fruit and eventually toss what little is left after making sure no one, and especially no guard, sees me doing it. I don't want to find out what they would have to say about littering.

Soon I reach my destination, the upstream waterfront. I don't have to look too hard to find out where exactly I have to go and who I have to talk with. On the wooden jetty in between two medium sized river boats a group of laborers crowds a man who is busy entering names into a ledger. I muscle my way past the others and clear my throat to catch his attention.

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A look of irritation crosses the man's face, but it quickly fades, even before he can say anything that would sour my opinion of the him. Instead he actually looks relieved as he notices the quest papers I'm holding out to him.

"Oh! Thank all the good gods and goddesses! I was really afraid we would have to go out without anyone from the adventurers' guild today."

He takes a closer look at my papers and adds my name to the list in his book.

"Welcome with the workforce. I hope you don't mind getting your hands dirty, because while it's good to have someone along who knows how to use more than just their knife, I really hope that all we'll do all day is haul clay, shape and burn bricks."

I nod with a faint smile on my lips.

"Yes, lets hope it turns out to be a pretty boring day in the end."

That earns a chuckle from the man and a few outright laughs from the crowd, probably the other workers for this particular project, around us.

The scribe waits a little longer, but finally he closes his books when no more volunteers show up, to exchange a few words with the riverboat men. Then he turns to address us.

"Well, we might as well get going. We don't have any time to waste. Granaries don't build themselves and bricks don't burn themselves either. Lets get on the boats. Fourteen people on each one please."

I let the other workers go ahead, keeping an eye on how many get on which boat. It seems that either most people here don't know how to count beyond ten or they see the scribes words more as a rough suggestion than anything else. In the end I step on the one with the fewer people, that way we are almost evenly split in between the two boats.

At least I don't have to row the boat or anything. None of the workers hired for this have to do anything but sit tight while the riverboat men take care of everything. It's probably for the better too. They know what they are doing after all which minimizes the risk of us capsizing. Sure I could just swim to shore, but I'm not entirely sure about all the others.

Thus in the end the trip upstream is rather uneventful. There is very little gossip going on either, as the men and women on the boat with me mostly opt to catch a little more sleep while we are en route to the actual site where we will have to work.

I'm tempted to close my eyes too, but I decide against it. They wanted an adventurer along not just as another worker after all. Thus it's for the better that I keep my eyes open just in case. Not that there is anything around that would dare and attack a big group with two boats like ours this close to town. That might be different further out though, thus I keep my eyes peeled.

We reach our destination without encountering any trouble a little later. Paying attention to our surroundings isn't without benefit though, as it earns me some more progress for my [Perception] skill. What greets my eyes, on the other hand, is quite a surprise.

A makeshift jetty extends into the river. That much is to be expected. Stacks of already burnt bricks sitting along the shoreline on the other hand are another matter. In hindsight it's not so unusual though. The kilns used to burn those don't really care for the time of day or night.

The workers getting off the boats with me now obviously aren't the only ones hired for this project either, as I can see and hear more tending the kilns still in use. Our first order of business is to load some of the ready bricks on the boats, which will in then return to Riverrun.

We make a chain and move the bricks one by one in a never ebbing flow and before long the boats are fully loaded and ready to depart.

This raises another curious point, in my mind. Where are all the bricks being stored? I'm pretty sure there is no construction for that new granary going on yet. And, since this probably isn't the first load of bricks and it certainly won't be the last either, do you really need that many bricks for a granary? The fact that the observation seems to earn me a little progress for my [Gather Information] skill reinforces that curiosity even further. Maybe I should talk with Jerzy? Well, once I'm back in town anyway. First I have more work to do. A lot more in fact.

The production chain set up here just a little upriver from the town is quite impressive to be honest. Fresh clay gets harvested from just beyond the bank of a sidearm of the river. It doesn't get used just like that though. It gets mixed with water as well as some sand apparently and then kneaded until na expert deems the consistency just right. Afterwards it gets pressed into wooden forms. The resulting clay blocks are then left to dry in the sun. Mud bricks that have dried enough in turn get stacked into the kilns dug into the ground.

That isn't all either. There is some logging going on too. Those kilns need plenty of firewood after all. What really surprises me though is, that there is a druid on payroll who immediately sees about regrowing fresh trees wherever one is chopped down. Sure even with the druid's spells those trees won't grow overnight, but there won't be any unused clearings once all is said and done.

It makes sense, considering that Riverrun probably very much depends on wood and coal from these woods. Can't just cut them all down without a care or you might not have anything to burn for your fire when the next winter comes around.

And we all get to work the various jobs. I'm quite glad to be honest. It keeps boredom from setting in. It's a little more stressful for me than most others though, as I always keep an eye on the nearby water or the treeline too. Overall I get the impression though, that I'm just along to serve as another pair of hands and to ease the minds of everyone else.

By the time noon rolls around and we load yet more bricks onto the riverboats once more before we wash up to have a bowl of gruel for lunch there certainly hasn't been any trouble worth mentioning yet.

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