Origin ARS 6 (3 page)

"Let's hope so. We go to the city courthouse right?" asked Scott.

"We need to do that today, but we both have a Crysta-com. Once we get there we can register for day labor assignments and download the local bulletin app for Valkovia. After that we can just update it whenever we arrive in a new town in the kingdom. We'll have all of the general quests and missions available to the public right at our finger tips."

"Sweet, like a local online job board," said Scott. That would prove to be quite convenient!

"Exactly like that, yes. The general jobs tend to be numerous, but don't pay much. We should snag several at once, though there is a limit of two at a time per person or four for an official work group. Group work is more dangerous but pays more so we should get those sorts of jobs when we are all together," said Rhea.

"Think we should just get eight separate jobs today?" asked Scott.

"Six. I hate to say it, but they probably won't recognize Herbert as a qualified applicant," said Rhea. She looked down at the tiny Grassrat and smiled. "Though, I think he is more than qualified for most jobs."

Herbert chittered his appreciation at her sentiment. She reached down and rubbed the top of his head. In response his left foot started tapping in excitement.

"Alright. Well, if Herbert can't accept jobs on his own we should just do group assignments, instead. That way everyone receives experience and a fair share," said Scott.

"Sounds good." replied Rhea.

The foursome finished everything they needed to do in order to prepare for their day then headed down to the courthouse. Along the way, they stopped at the mainline bus station on Tenth Street near the East Gate and purchased their transit passes. Money seemed to flutter away like butterflies on a warm summer breeze of late, but such was life. In order to live there were expenses to be paid.

Since they had a pass they decided to take the bus to the courthouse. They waited only a few minutes for the next bus to arrive as they had luckily picked an opportune time.

A Valkovian city bus was both similar and quite different to one from Earth. It had no wheels. Instead it hovered a few feet above the road and glided through the air without sound. There were two types of buses, the standard transit bus, and the express bus. The transit pass only paid for the standard bus fare. Express bus rides did not make stops save for the two bus terminals that they operated between. There were several such buses and each one took passengers to a different quadrant of the city. Four of the major bus terminals were situated near the gates, so the express buses were typically used to ferry people into, out of, and around the city at a high rate of speed. Such convenience cost a great deal more than the standard fare.

Once they were seated on the bus, each of them took in the sights and sounds of the local people. The bus occupants alone comprised a large number of different species. Humans were the most common, of course. But there were a few fairies, blood trackers, and Scott was certain that he even saw an elf near the front of the bus. He stared at the probably rare sight of an elf riding a city bus without shame. Sure, Rhea rode the bus with him, but she gave him other reasons to stare at her. Soon he discovered that the elf in question wore a well-crafted business suit. He had a brief case chained to his wrist, and wore dark sunglasses.

For a moment Scott wondered if there was such a thing as an elven mafia, but let it go. Whatever that guy was doing was none of his business.

The foursome chatted amiably and noted several sights of interest as the bus continued on its silent way across the city. Two stops later, the well-dressed elven courier left the bus and a familiar sight got on. It was the mother and daughter honey badger duo he had seen on his first day in town. A slight smile crossed his lips. It was good to know that they had made it through the attack. The little girl was adorable.

The third stop was the one they needed. The foursome exited the bus only a short distance away from the courthouse. Rhea pointed out that the actual place that they needed to go was next to the large intimidating building. The courthouse had large stone pillars and short staircase. It looked fairly similar to the sort of big city courthouse one might expect from Earth, but instead of a statue of a blind woman wielding a scale, there was a massive eye superimposed over a symbol for the sun. It was carved just above the entrance doors.

The inscription below the eye read:
Let us shine the light of civilization upon the world, that the eye of truth might discern justice from vengeance.

The imposing building was not their stop that day, however. The place they needed to go was a small side-building off to the left of the courthouse. Rhea led the way as she had actually been there before. Once inside the two story office building, they filled out the appropriate paperwork and moseyed on over to the local job board in order to acquire the app.

Rhea showed Scott how to scan and download apps from local sites such as the job board. He used his Crysta-com to do as asked and soon he had a list of all of the generally available local jobs.

"What about specialized or private jobs?" he asked.

"Well, there are guilds and organizations that we could join," said Rhea. She looked over her own job board information for a moment then looked back to Scott. "You might seek out the Grande Cabal, I have never been to one of their guild offices, but they like to take in magic users and I hear that they don't impose too many restrictions."

"Sounds promising. I suppose there are a lot of places and people in the world that we could get more specialized jobs from?" he asked.

"Absolutely. They don't generate a quest screen like on the casual server, but they still count toward social experience and if you sign a contract for payment it is enforceable at the courthouse." she said.

"Hmm, and the chances some quest giver might skip out on paying us?" asked Scott.

"Well, these general jobs are paid in advance. So, all we do is show proof that we finished the task and the payment is released to us," said Rhea. She took a breath then continued, "Private jobs are different. You work for a specific client. If they renege on their part of the deal, you take the contract to court. If it seems plausible that they did fail to pay, the government awards you a settlement and puts out a public warrant for the apprehension of the client."

"They get arrested for non-payment?" he asked, surprised. People failed to pay their debts all the time back home. Few people went to jail for it unless there were specific criminal actions attached to it. Failure to pay debts was a civil issue and not a criminal one.

"Sort of. They are brought in and made to pay their debt to the government, plus court fees. If they pay, then there is no problem. If they don't they are taken to jail and are required to work off the debt at standard minimum wage, minus accommodation expenses."

"I see, so a non-paying client gets brought in by the cops and made to pay their debts?" asked Scott.

"Not just the police, no. A public warrant means anyone can bring the client in." She thought about it for a moment then grinned. "There are even cases where the wronged party takes up the warrant and arrests the person who failed to pay them properly. In that case they not only get their money owed from the job, but they get to earn bounty hunting money and a little more respect from the local government."

"Good to know," said Scott. There were financial dangers to the acceptance of private jobs it seemed, but at least there were options to enforce payment for services rendered.

Ero fluttered over to Scott and landed on his shoulder. She leaned forward, her expression curious, and asked, "Are there any good jobs?"

"Not sure, yet. We need four group jobs. Herbert can't take any, and we have not gotten you a Crysta-com, yet," said Scott.

Rhea spoke up. "Here's one. We can even start it before we leave town."

"Oh? Which one?" asked Scott.

"Public service announcement thirty-six." she replied. Scott immediately scrolled down till he found the announcement that she had mentioned.

[Public Service Announcement #36]

Barbecue Delivery              

Downtown Bar & Grill is looking for someone to deliver two cases of barbecue to Primrose Acres by 12:30 PM.

Mission Requirements:
Acquire the package at Downtown Bar & Grill then deliver it to the Primrose Acres Militia headquarters by 12:30 PM.

Success:
Deliver the package before time expires.

Failure:
Fail to deliver the package before time expires.

Rewards:
120 Copper Fayth

Penalty:
If the delivery is late, you must pay the purchase cost. Each package is valued at 600 Copper Fayth.

[--]

"Holy crap, that's pretty good pay for a simple delivery!" Scott stared incredulously at the amount of coins offered. How could they afford to pay so much to deliver barbecue?

"It's typical for out-of-town deliveries. See the penalty. If we're late, it will cost us twelve silver. Our pay is ten percent of the item value to ensure speedy delivery. I'm sure the Downtown Bar & Grill factored the delivery charge into the order fee," said Rhea.

Scott checked his Crysta-com. It was eight in the morning. "Can we get to Primrose Acres by noon?"

"No problem there. It's only eight miles outside of town, and on the bus route," said Rhea.

"Sweet. Let's take it," said Scott before he accepted the contract. He did have a curious thought cross his mind afterward. "You'd think that a business would have someone on tap for this sort of thing."

Rhea shrugged. "They probably only do out-of-town orders for special occasions."

"Right," said Scott. That made sense. He looked over his Crysta-com again and soon found another job that he liked, and then another. Delivery jobs seemed to be the simplest thing to do at the moment and there were several more that involved Primrose Acres.

"There is another job we can take that goes to Primrose. PSA fifty-three," said Scott.

Rhea checked it over then nodded. "A flower delivery. Let me check my city map." She did so and made a few calculating noises. After a moment passed she nodded once more. "The flower shop and the grill are within five blocks of each other. We could probably get in and out with both packages within about a half hour."

"Shouldn't take that long to get to Primrose Acres by train once we get to the train station, and the flower delivery just says to get there by sundown," said Scott.

"I say accept it," said Rhea.

Scott did so, then they started looking through the apps once more. Herbert climbed up onto Scott's other shoulder and looked at what they were doing. After a moment he started to chitter.

"He says that he thinks he sees a good job," said Ero.

"You can read, Herbert?" asked Scott.

"Of course," said Ero, translating for the tiny Grassrat. "It is one of his miscellaneous skills. Common language: Written and Spoken."

"Oh, does that mean you'll be able to speak to us without a fairy translator soon?" asked Scott.

Herbert chittered then smiled as only a rodent could smile. He then turned sharply on Scott's shoulder and flared his cape for effect. Ero laughed and translated what he said. "Of course, who do you think I am?"

Scott laughed as well then checked the mission Herbert had chosen. It was a short-term subjugation mission that took place, once again, in Primrose Acres.

[Public Service Announcement #93]

Caterwauling Cats

Mrs. Kilman of the Primrose Dance Studio has requested help in reducing the feral cat population outside of her studio. The wildland cats cry and sing off-key at all hours of the night, and frighten her students during the day. The cats seemingly hate anyone who dances and attack any dancer that they see on sight!

Mission Requirements:
Bring in at least forty [
Wildland Cat Paws
] gathered in the Primrose Acres area. Do so before sundown to cut down on the number of caterwauling cats.

Success:
Gather at least forty wildland cat paws by sundown and turn them in to the local militia headquarters.

Failure:
Fail to turn in forty wildland cat paws by 6:17 PM

Rewards:
6 copper Fayth per paw gathered and turned in by sundown. Increased respect from both Mrs. Kilman and the Primrose Acres Militia.

Penalty:
Failure to complete the assignment on time will result in the loss of respect from both Mrs. Kilman and the Primrose Acres Militia.

[--]

"Which one was it?" asked Rhea. Scott told her and she checked it out. Her first response was a grin. "I can see why Herbert would be interested."