1.14 – Canyon Falls

Rika stepped out into the hallway and headed downstairs once she’d changed. Erik stood at the far side of the common room, right next to the door. He seemed far less confident than he had when performing his role as a healer. It mostly came from the way his thin, delicate hands didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves. So they sort of just hovered awkwardly near his waist, maintaining a position that was just unnatural enough to be noticeable.

The common room itself was a clean affair. All the tables were well polished, and the smell of simmering vegetable stew wafted out from the kitchen. The windows fronting the building were set with thick glass panes. The morning light shone through them, casting a golden shine on the tables and chairs closest the front of the room. A portly woman bustled out of the kitchen as Rika came down the stairs.

“Oh, you’re up,” she said, wiping her hands on her woolen apron. “Your gambeson’s done and patched as good as I could make it. Had to send the suedes over to the tanner, but he knows his work and they’ll be good as new by the time he’s finished. Erik here paid for your room, and you can just pay for the mending with your thanks if you need. Not gonna cast out a woman stumbling into town half dead. Couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

“Thanks, Addy,” Erik said before Rika could answer the barrage herself. “I’ll be taking Rika here to meet with Vilmos and Kriztan. If they agree to it, we’ll be headed off to the goblin encampment, so we’ll be able to settle up any accounts you need when the quest clears.”

“Well, do be careful, all four of you. Wouldn’t do to never see any of you again. That said, get out of my commons. I’ve work to do.”

Once Addy had finished shooing them both out into the morning sunlight, Rika shot Erik a questioning glance.

“She’s got a kind heart,” he said. “Probably for the best that her husband sees to the business side of the inn, though.”

“Seems like it. So, Vilmos and Kriztan, was it? The other two members of your group, then?”

“They should be over by the guild hall. That’s where they’re usually at most days. Vilmos is a bit gruff, but he’s got a good head about him, I think. Kriztan, well, you’ll see.”

“Lead the way,” Rika said, not asking for any further clarification on Kriztan. She couldn’t say she was thrilled about that introduction, such as it was, though.

The inn was tucked about halfway into the box canyon from which the town took its name. At the far end of the canyon, a waterfall plunged down the sheer rock walls and into a small pond. A large stream flowed out, and through the center of town before cascading down the mountainside in a second, somewhat less impressive waterfall. A series of wooden bridges spanned the stream, connecting the buildings on either side.

Next to the falls sat a series of brick buildings belching smoke. Foundries, or kilns, given the stacks of coke and iron ingots. Just behind them, Rika could make out the yawning entrance to the town’s mine. The Ironback Mountains were named well, and most settlements on the slopes carved into the mountains digging up ore. Most buildings in the town were only a single story, except for the inn and one other large hall toward the entrance to the canyon. Even if Erik hadn’t been leading them in that direction, Rika would have assumed that to be the Adventurer’s Guild. As they approached the guild hall, two figures came into view, both men. And by the look of them, more seasoned than she was.

Name: Vilmos

Class: Defender

Level: 4 (Grade I)

While Vilmos may have been a bit shorter than average, he more than made up for it in bulk. The man was built like an anvil. He kept his hair pulled back in a short tail at the base of his neck and wore a pointed pike-devant beard with an immaculately waxed mustache.

He wore a padded jerkin, similar to the one Addy was mending for Rika, and a linen tunic underneath. The sleeves of his tunic were rolled up to reveal his thick, hairy arms crossed over his chest as he stood talking with his companion.

Name: Kriztan

Class: Ranger

Level: 4 (Grade I)

Kriztan couldn’t have been more different from the Defender before him. Tall and lean, his angled face was shaved clean. His deep-set eyes had a hawkish intensity to them. He dressed much the same as Rika had during her travels, in a padded gambeson and suede leather leggings. Where Vilmos walked around town unarmed, Kriztan had what must have been at least twenty throwing knives strapped to anywhere he could easily reach.

As Rika approached, it looked as if the two of them were having some sort of disagreement, but whatever it was, they set it aside as soon as they noticed her and Erik.

“Who’s this?” Kriztan asked, practically sneering the words at Rika as she approached.

“This is Rika,” Erik said. “She’s new to town. Looking for work.”

Vilmos turned an appraising eye on her from beneath his thick brows. “Dark Warrior? Can’t say I’ve ever heard of that class.”

“And only level three,” Kriztan said.

“Its rare,” Rika said, directing her answer to Vilmos. She already didn’t like Kriztan. Erik, their healer, was level three, and the two of them were only level four. “Hybrid Striker and Bastion.”

“We’re looking for a dedicated Striker,” Kriztan said.

“He ain’t wrong,” Vilmos agreed, reaching up to stroke his pointed beard. “But it’s not like we’re swimming in choices.”

Erik spoke up. “She’s probably pretty tough if she made it all the way to town on her own. Especially with the fever she was running.”

“Oh, that’s where I recognized you from,” Kriztan said. “You’re the one who stumbled into town half-dead the other day. Great introduction. Really inspires confidence in your ability.”

“She made it here all on her own,” Erik said.

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Before the Healer and Ranger could continue arguing, Vilmos raised a hand to silence them both. “What happened?”

“Goblins,” Rika said. “I got ambushed twice.”

“Ah, so she’s oblivious and a liability,” Kriztan said. “C’mon, Vilmos. We don’t need a fourth. You, me, and the kid can handle this just fine.”

It seemed she’d just gotten a good idea of what they’d been arguing about before she showed up, at least.

Vilmos, to Rika’s relief, ignored Kriztan. “How many?”