The Gilded Boar's Guild headquarters was an impressive two-story structure with a wide stone stairway that led up to the front entrance. I hitched my horse to a post at the base of the steps and continued on foot, passing an intricate golden statue of a boar holding an axe that stood at the landing’s peak.

  I tried not to gawk, but Ingcaster kept surprising me. From Jordain's explanation of the tense political climate, I expected more unrest. Maybe some riots or at least a breadline. Instead, I saw thriving districts efficiently serving a massive population. There was structure, law, and order.

  For a world steeped in so much corruption that a god needed to intervene, I was expecting to see more heads on spikes. Of course, I'd only explored a mere corner of the city, but from what I'd seen thus far this city was no worse than those on Earth.

  As I crossed the landing and approached two towering wooden doors with iron slab handles, I straightened my posture, pretending that I belonged, and swung the door open, making a grand entrance.

  Nobody cared.

  The first floor of the guildhall was sparsely populated with a few groups of adventurers that kept to themselves. A burly man in the back of the room was level five, the highest I'd seen in person so far. I avoided eye contact despite his positive karma rating and proceeded to the front desk.

  A level two female with curly blonde hair, who looked too tired to be there, waved me over.

  "Greetings," I said, slightly embarrassed by my underwhelming nomenclature. Though it seemed the lameness of my statement went largely unnoticed.

  Kora picked a small piece of crust from the corner of her eye and flicked it to the ground. "Ugh, good morning," she groaned.

  "My name's Cyprus and I'm looking for work."

  Without another word, she pointed to a wall covered with posters. I thanked her and trudged across the room. Hundreds of requests were pinned to the wall, but I couldn’t read a single one of them.

  "Shit," I muttered.

  I had underestimated the obstacle of illiteracy. I squinted, trying to make heads or tails from the unrecognizable language. My struggle drew the attention of a party sitting at a table to the side. A woman with short walnut colored hair sprung out of her chair and headed in my direction like a heat-seeking missile.

  My blood pressure spiked, heart pumping faster than when I was standing against the roughnecks from earlier. Interacting with people was never my strong suit.

  "Hello, I'm Sairees."

  I already knew her name and that her intentions were most likely pure. She was level three and had a staggering +1050 karma rating.

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Cyprus."

  She grabbed my hand and shook it hard. From the handshake alone, I could tell she was strong.

  "I'm not sure what I'm looking for," I said.

  Admitting that I couldn't read felt like a weakness that shouldn't be revealed. Truly, I was just too embarrassed.

  "This is the contract board. Each paper is a potential job. They're ordered by their difficulty level and date assigned. The easiest jobs are posted at the bottom and the hardest on the top."

  While that information was indeed helpful, I was still at a complete loss.

  "Is this your first time here?" Sairees asked.

  I sighed, and she slapped me on the shoulder.

  "We've got a newbie here guys," Sairees said over her shoulder.

  The three other people in her party tipped their glasses in my direction. Unsure if they were making fun of me or not, I simply nodded back at them.

  I pointed to a poster three rows up from the bottom. "What does this one say?"

  "Oh," Sairees said. "You can't read, can you?"

  My cheeks burned, unable to conjure an excuse. But Sairees just slapped me on the back again and said, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Roxham can't read either, can you Roxham?"

  "No, but that doesn't stop you from bringing it up constantly," he grumbled and sipped his beer.

  "That's a three-star contract requesting the extermination of a goblin camp."

  No good.

  I hesitated to take any job that required me to fight an unknown enemy type. There were too many variables to consider. Did karma apply to other humanoid races? If it did, what if they turned out to be really virtuous goblins? I shook my head.

  "Are there any quests targeting bandits?" I asked.

  Sairees raised her brow. "Only the old generation uses the term."

  "I'm only 33."

  "Strange. Regardless, the lowest difficulty contract involving outlaws is this one." Sairees pointed to a wrinkled poster four rows up from the bottom of the wall. "But I wouldn't recommend it."

  "Why not?"

  "Too little payout for too much risk. No wonder it has been there for ages."

  "What does it say?"

  "It pays one gold coin to eliminate a suspected bandit camp in the mountains north of here. There's even a note here that warns Drayvoss The Bandit Lord may be present. The job is rated at a four-star difficulty, but if Drayvoss is there, I'd say it's at least a six'er."

  I grabbed the poster off the wall, but before I could carry it over to the counter, Sairees grabbed my arm.

  "Wait a minute. If you're going to take on a contract by yourself, take the goblin camp. You'd at least survive, and it pays better."

  "I'll be fine," I said, pulling free.

  "Sairees, let the fool go," Roxham shouted.

  But she didn't relent. "It says there's ten bandits, minimum. If you'd been around here long enough, you'd know that means there's at least twenty."

  The woman's concern might have softened my heart if it wasn’t made of super-glued Legos. Instead, I brushed past her, driven by excitement. On Earth, it sometimes took weeks to even find a target. Even when I roamed high-crime areas, it took forever to find action. Being a vigilante was nothing like the comics suggested. Sometimes it could take more than a month of observation before I found a worthwhile target. But in Gadika, I’d already experienced two attempted robberies, and now I could simply stroll into the adventurer’s guild and get paid for what I did best.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Frustrated, Sairees clung to my side as I slapped the contract down on the front desk, much to the dismay of the curly haired attendant.

  She glanced down at the paper, then back up at me. "Guild ID," she said and extended her palm.

  "I don't have one."

  The attendant rolled her eyes and lethargically made her way over to a cabinet and rifled through a stack of papers. She returned with a paper form and a quill with a bottle of ink.

  "I can't read or write."

  "Ugh... OK."

  She scribbled my name down on the sheet, filling in multiple blanks.

  "Your party's name?"

  "I don't have a party name."

  "I"ll leave it blank for now. You can amend it later if you form a group or join one."

  "OK, that's fine," I said and pointed to the bandit camp contract.

  "That job exceeds your current rank. If you'd like to proceed, you'll need to put down a twenty percent deposit, plus a five silver registration fee."

  “What’s my current rank?”

  “New adventurers start at C rank. If you’d like, you can schedule an appointment to test higher.”

  “No thanks. I’m good for now.”

  Ready for our interaction to be over, I quickly counted out 25 silver and slid it across the counter.

  The annoyed attendant stamped the contract and handed it over. With the transaction concluded, I headed for the door. If Justice paid me a visit soon, at least I'd be able to show even the slightest modicum of progress. Stamping out bandit camps surely wouldn't be the end all be all to rooting out Gadika’s corruption, but it was a fun starting point.

  "Hold on," Sairees chased after me.

  What’s with her?

  I barely knew this woman, and she thought she had the right to interfere with my business? Whether or not it was coming from a good place, I found it annoying.

  "Are you suicidal?"

  Not right now.

  "At least wait till dark to get the drop on them."

  “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

  "Let him go," Roxham said, finally getting up from the table and intervening. "It's uncouth to besmirch a man's honor."

  I already liked Roxham, not for his outdated sense of chivalry, but for his attempt to eject Sairees from my goddamned business.

  "That's not my intention. I just don't want to hear of his death when we could've stopped it. Are we not The Iron Shield?"

  Roxham put a hand to his face as Sairees tugged my shoulder.

  "Let our party accompany you," she said. "Think of it as a trial. We could use a fourth member. We'll split the reward four ways."

  "No thanks," I said.

  "Fifty-fifty, then."

  "Sairees!" Roxham growled.

  "You keep half since it's your deposit. What do you say?"

  Anything to stop her from talking.

  "Fine."

  ***

  Upon my insistence, we left Ingcaster immediately on horseback. We headed northeast, toward the mountains outside of the city’s perimeter, crossing through a grassy ocean of rolling hills.

  At first, I thought linking up with Sairees and her party, The Iron Shield, was a mistake. As a loner, the extra company was uncomfortable. But at least they could answer more of my never-ending questions and serve as a decent safety net if the gig went sideways.

  I wanted to complete the job fast, return before sunset, and enjoy a proper night's rest. Despite being awake for nearly 24 hours, my hearty breakfast brought on a second wave of energy, plus I was giddy to test out my new abilities and stats.

  With the passive bonus physical damage from Karma’s Gaze, and knowing my targets likely had negative karma ratings, I had the advantage. Even better, I confirmed with Sairees that it was perfectly legal to use deadly force. I still wasn’t well-versed in this country’s laws, but so far, I liked what I was hearing.

  “So, I can kill criminals without recourse?” I asked, only realizing how strange the words sounded as they came out of my mouth.

  “Uh, only if it’s an elimination contract. Those require signatures from the court and approval from the guild’s captain or vice-captain,” Sairees clarified.

  “Hypothetically, if I was accosted by criminals with deadly intent, would I have the right to defend myself?”

  Roxham, a beefy fellow with an unmoving expression, turned his head as he led the way up a rocky slope. “Killing in an act of self-defense is an unspoken law. But you’re better off dying if they’re a nobleman or royal guard.”

  Roxham was level three with +675 karma and had a battle-hardened look to him. His plan was to scout out the base, wait till dusk, and then carry out an assault if there were less than 15 enemies.

  The third and final member in their party, Danphar, was a wiry level two mage. He wore a blue silken robe and hadn't spoken a word since we left town. He had the lowest karma rating of them all at +200.

  "Where are you from?" Sairees asked.

  "Far from here."

  "You have an odd accent. I can't place it."

  It was no surprise. I grew up on the west coast but spent a majority of my life in the east. I decided the best course of action to evade suspicion was to ignore her questions entirely, and if it came down to it, provide her with the vaguest of answers.

  "Tell me about Drayvoss,” I said.

  "They're mostly rumors."

  "Rumors sometimes have a hint of truth to them. Go on," I said.

  "Well, they claim he makes his living from kidnappings and ransom payments. Even if you pay, sometimes he'll double dip and sell your loved one to a slave trader."

  "Slavery's legal here?"

  I guessed an Abraham Lincoln type figure had yet to appear in the country of Aclana.

  "It's a dirty trade, but that's how Ingcaster was built," Sairees admitted.

  "My brother's a slave trader," Roxham said.

  "Sorry." Sairees sank her gaze to the ground.

  "Don't be. I didn't say I liked the guy."

  The road twisted upward, intensifying the ascent at an angle that slowed the horses to a crawl. The absence of the tremendous trees with purple leaves gave the mountainous terrain a barren look. Its ground was too hardened to cultivate life. Jordain mentioned a few mountain villages but complained that their women were ugly and claimed they seasoned their soup with rocks.

  Roxham dismounted from his horse and kneeled over the dirt. "There are a lot of tracks here. We're getting close."

  We moved off the path, walking beside our horses until we hit a corridor of dying trees that curved around the mountain.

  "I'm going to scout ahead. Everyone else wait here," Roxham said.

  "I'll do it," I said.

  "No, you'll stay here. It’s my party's neck on the line. We’re doing this my way. Got a problem with that?" he asked.

  Yes, I had a major problem with that. My entire existence revolved around being unseen. Following people without them noticing and stalking them until the perfect time to strike was my bread and butter. This was no different, and Roxham's boxy, musclebound frame didn't look like it lent itself well to stealth.

  Sairees grabbed my arm for what felt like the one thousandth time. "Don't worry, you can trust him."

  My skin crawled from her touch. I peeled away, creating distance between myself and the weird woman. "Good luck," I said.

  Roxham continued up the corridor of trees, armed with a long sword and a shield. He vanished from sight as he passed over the hill.

  Balking at the thought of being alone with Sairees and Danphar who so far had displayed the personality of a wet cardboard box, I excused myself around the side of a rock under the guise of taking a piss.

  What the hell was I doing? Letting Roxham take over left me with a sour stomach. Maybe it was for the best. If he reported back with information that Drayvoss was present or that we were outnumbered, he'd likely cancel the mission, despite Sairees's outrage. They didn't need to get involved on my behalf. Confidence swelled through me. No matter the enemy's numbers, I was eager to spill blood.

  "Are you done peeing?" Sairees asked, peeking around the edge of the rock.

  "Yeah, I'm done."

  "You don't seem to like me much, do you?"

  Was she hitting on me? Fearing a stroke, I looked to the ground. "I prefer combat to social interactions."

  Combat was the nicest version of the word “killing,” I could think of. "Why bother to help me? You even said it yourself; this contract is too dangerous."

  Sairees puckered her face and rubbed her chin, strands of walnut hair drifting across her inquisitive brow. "Because you looked lost. Everyone in The Iron Shield was lost until we found each other."

  "Even Danphar?"

  "Him especially."

  I shrugged. "He doesn't seem to say much."

  "Well, a slaver cut out his tongue," she said.

  Now I felt like a dick for comparing Danphar to a cardboard box.

  "There used to be more of us."

  "I'm sorry to hear that," I lied.

  I wasn't surprised to hear of their losses when they agreed to help a total stranger with a dangerous contract. And with an uninspired name like The Iron Shield, I bet recruiting new members was a struggle. Before Sairees pried any further, I strolled past her.

  "Where are you going?"

  "To shadow your friend and put this feeling of unease to rest."

  Instead of objecting, she motioned for Danphar to join us. I preferred to go alone, but at least our recon was under the assumption of silence.

  The uneven path widened as we reached a plateau. Smoke trailed into the sky from the other side of the summit. I crept ahead of the others and hooked a left along the edge of the mountain, pressing my back into a slab of sun warmed rock, peering through the withered treeline.

  A bonfire raged in the center of an encampment on a plateau in the distance. I spotted the vague outlines of armed men shifting throughout the camp, gleaming their statuses automatically thanks to Karma’s Gaze. They were all level twos with disgustingly negative karma ratings.

  As my eyes drifted to the hill below their settlement, Karma’s Gaze pinged four more statuses. Three bandits were dragging Roxham across the dirt with his hands tied behind his back.