In the end the fires burn themselves out long before they can reach the river. It looks like the fungal plague is well taken care of anyway. I suspect new trees, bushes and ferns will spring up on the cleared land before long, if no one moves in to keep the place cleared, which of course is a possibility too. To my shame I have to admit though, that I hope it won't be the case. I want my hidden tower to remain my mostly secret refuge for a little while longer.

Once Ediva and her group arrive at our position we resume our trek back to the city. There is a certain exhilaration in the air, after our victory. We don't move carelessly though. It's once again up to us scouts to secure the perimeter, which in turn means that my skills get another good workout. My [Stealth], [Perception] and [Running] skills all progress a little, as I run circles around the main group, always on the lookout for trouble that doesn't manifest.

Sadly there are no more level ups. Or maybe there thankfully are none? It means that we get back to town without any incidents after all. The elven wizard doesn't announce her return with a spectacular fireworks display this time around, as we draw close to town. She must have really exhausted her Mana reserves and whatever means she has to quickly restore them.

We still receive a warm welcome. Especially the fact that no one is missing among those that return and that we don't have to stop at the graveyard first is well received.

Obviously not everyone in town is an adventurer, but plenty of people know one, or at least one of the porters who were along for the trip. Plenty of people earn their living providing for the needs of adventurers too. And for most a living adventurer means more and better business than a dead one. I pay close attention and try to memorize who is welcomed by whom. These are trivial tidbits of knowledge in general, but my [Gather Information] skill benefits anyway. And who knows, I might benefit from my growing knowledge of this delicate net of relationships one day too.

The most tangible reward we receive upon our return to the guild house. A silver shilling for everyone who was along for the emergency quest and one more round of good beer, paid for by Riverrun's lord. After spending the day on my feet, the latter is just as welcome as the former.

As far as I'm concerned I have thus already recovered my investment into the guild membership. Most adventurers usually take much longer to earn back that shilling. Most quests don't pay nearly as good as this one after all. Most quests aren't an all expenses paid trip either. I guess I really got lucky. More than once too.

I drink my beer and although I would like to do nothing more than enjoy one of the bunk beds of the adventurers' guild, I can't retire for the night yet. I really have to check in with Jerzy first to catch up on the most recent developments within the city. I really wasn't gone all that long, but still long enough for important things to happen. I really want to know if the Dreamstone Dust situation is resolved yet.

Instead of taking the shortest possible way, or even a shortcut across the rooftops, I take a winding path this time around. One that leads past the bakery in question. Just a few days ago The Croissant Moon was the most popular bakery in town. Now not so much anymore. That much becomes obvious as I draw close.

The house is still standing, but it's impossible to miss that there has been a fire. On a second glance the house is only just barely still standing. The window frames at street level are nothing but blackened holes. The place is completely burned out and the structural integrity seems to have suffered overall too. I'm no expert, but the structure might have to be demolished in the long run. I certainly make a mental note, to not include this building's roof on any rooftop runs anymore.

I look around briefly and call out to one of the neighbors.

"Excuse me? Do you have a moment? What happened here?"

The middle aged man looks a little annoyed at first, I'm probably not the first one to ask, but he takes a moment to answer anyway.

"Oh? You are one of the adventurers who was out of town the last days? Of course you can't know yet. There was a fire in the bakery the night after you left. Something might have been wrong with the oven. Or maybe they didn't dispose of the hot ashes properly. We'll probably never know. The baker and the traveling journeyman he recently took in didn't make it out."

He pauses briefly to sigh and shake his head.

"I guess it was a small miracle no one else died. The night watch kept the flames from spreading to our building or any of the others nearby. Thank the gods and goddesses. I'm terribly sorry for the widow, but this could have turned out so much worse for everyone else too, so I guess we got off lightly."

By now all initial irritation seems forgotten and he just keeps talking. I don't interrupt him either.

"If you are looking for a place to get your baked goods, there is another pretty good bakery on the other side of town, near the river wall. No comparison to what we lost here, but their bread is pretty decent anyway. Neither too small, not too hard or expensive either."

I nod and smile in a show of appreciation. An act that actually earns me another little improvement for my [Bluff] skill. And of course [Gather Information] keeps improving little by little too. As far as I'm concerned this little detour is already paying off.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Thank you!"

With that last expression of thanks I'm off again. It seems the thieves guild already took care of this particular rat and its dastardly plot. That's good to know.

As I near the gate I make sure my tag from the adventurers' guild is easily visible. I needn't have bothered. The guards are more focused on people coming in anyway, as usual. I only relax once I'm out of sight from the gate and the guards on duty there.

My destination is the nameless tavern by the downstream waterfront where I'm, according to my own admittedly limited experience, most likely to meet other members of the thieves guild.

My expectations aren't that far off either. Except, it's neither Jerzy nor Wiktor sitting their nipping at their beer at a leisure pace today. No, today's its another familiar face. Sitting there, with her feet on the table is Sylwia. I slink over to the enforcer's table and drop down on a chair across from her. I'm pleased to note that her sour expression actually brightens a bit as she sees me. I flash her a smile.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Sylwia, but you are not who I expected to meet here of all places."

She snorts and orders me a beer.

"That makes two of us already. Seems your boss and my boss are out on some kind of family business. And well, actually I think Wiktor was supposed to take over here, but he said something along the lines of, nah, don't want to."

I snort and nod.

"And now you are stuck with the job of being everyone's go-to woman."

She actually swings her feet down under the table, as she answers, for which I'm quite grateful.

"Just about it. Welcome back in town anyway. I take it the emergency quest was a roaring success?"

I accept my beer as it arrives, and take a sip from it as Sylwia pays for it before I can even move to grab my purse. I take a sip and keep the conversation going.

"Oh yes! A roaring success! A total blast! Almost blew me away. I heard you had some excitement here in town too though?"

The female guild enforcer almost chokes on her own beer at my flippant comeback and its implications.

"You almost …"

She shakes her head and focuses on the question I posed in return instead.

"... yes. There was a fire inside the walls. A popular bakery. A real shame. Too bad that we'll probably never find out what exactly happened as both the baker and his live in journeyman are dead. But at least everyone else made it out alive and the fire didn't spread to any other buildings!"

I nod.

"I heard the night watch kept the fire contained. They probably weren't the only ones though, right?"

Even as I say that I can't help but look at Sylwia's left hand. It sports a burn. It's already fading, but I can still see it.

She notices what I'm looking at. She winces a little but does her best to keep the casual tone going.

"They coordinated everything. Rescue efforts for the people trapped in the upper floors. Bucket chains. Everything. Downright exemplary! But yes, they most certainly weren't the only ones who got their hands dirty that night."

I motion for her to show me the burn on her hand. I look at it briefly. It probably was worse still the other day, but it clearly is already healing. I take her hands in between mine anyway. I want to give one of my new skills a try. As I gently grasp her hand, as not aggravate the injury, I look up and speak quietly but with conviction.

"Fox, divine guardian of many masks. God of making mischief and Goddess of having fun. I beg you, heal this servant injured in your service and ease her pain."

I'm rewarded with two whispered notifications and a downright priceless look on Sylwia's face.

[*Ding!* Your skill Prayer has leveled up to level 2!]

[*Ding!* Your skill Healing Touch has leveled up to level 2!]

Nice! That's almost a level up for my new class there. The downside is that I can feel some of my very scarce Karma drain away, which seems to fuel the use of this quick prayer instead of Mana.

Sylwia's injury isn't completely gone, but it has faded a little. I decide to inquire with her about the effects of my skill. I still need to learn the ropes after all.

"So, how was it? How much did it heal? I'm still pretty new to this after all."

She gapes a moment longer, before she finally shakes the surprise off, quite literally.

"A single point. This was the first time you used this skill? Well, it will probably increase when you level it up. If it's a prayer it consumes Karma instead of Mana though, right? You'll need to make sacrifices to earn it back."

I nod and take another swig from my beer.

"Yes, a point of Karma for one point of health is not a very good exchange yet, unless it's in a life or death situation, but I guess it'll get better. I'll probably visit the temple a little later anyway. I just thought it would be easier to show you."

She snorts in amusement once more.

"Easier? Or more convenient? You probably got at least one skill level out of your little demonstration. Or didn't you?"

I shrug and smile.

"Guilty as charged. Anyway, it's something to keep in mind. I can provide a little healing if it's needed. Just don't expect it to come free of charge. I may be good at heart, but I'm no charity."

She doesn't seem to mind. Not in a bad way at least.

"Of course. I'll keep it in mind and pass the news along to the boss brothers."

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