Unexpected Healer Book 2 -- Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“You came.”

Thaden snorted in annoyed amusement.  “Of course I did; you didn’t really give me much choice if I didn’t want to have to start over somewhere new.”

Camille looked away from his accusing eyes, as a blush suffused her cheeks.  “I’m… sorry about that.  I didn’t think I had any other option.”

“There’s always another option,” he responded harshly, before he mentally calmed himself down.  Sighing, he continued.  “But I’m here, and unless you magically figured out how to free your brother, I’m agreeing to do this – and only this.  Once I get you the information you need, my job here is done; so, let’s figure out how I’m supposed to do this.”

The former French woman straightened up as she adjusted herself in her chair, her gaze drifting over the handful of dining people in the restaurant she’d chosen for their meeting.  Thaden hadn’t really had a chance to eat in many places after coming to Tarth, so that was a small portion of why he agreed to meet in the restaurant, because he wanted a meal that he didn’t have to pull out of his Inventory for a change.

“Well, first, you’ll need to be at least Level 15 so that you show as having access to a resurrection spell, but it likely needs to be even higher than that,” she began, again ticking things off on her fingers as she spoke.  “You’ll want something that will attract the attention of the Harvest Guild, and any simple Support won’t do it; you need to have something to bring to the table that will make them want to bring you into the fold, no matter what.

“Then, you’ll set up a listing on the Contender Market under services and set your fee to something so outrageous that it will draw attention.  But, like I said, it will have to be something that will be worth it to them; most Support services only offer a resurrection outside of a dungeon entrance when the party emerges or as a dedicated healer in between fights in the dungeon.  They cannot actively participate in the battles that occur, as that would be the equivalent of being an actual party member, but healing and buffs between fights is perfectly acceptable for a Contract Bond.  It is this service that I think you should offer, as I haven’t heard of anyone offering full healing, buffs, and resurrection capabilities while inside a dungeon.”  She paused for a moment before asking, “You have a resurrection spell, no?”

Thaden nodded.  “Of course.  I think I can do that, though I haven’t actually partied with anyone that I’ve had to heal before.”

“You—what?  How—?  Forget it, I don’t think I want to know.  I’m sure you’ll do just fine, considering that the Bond will ensure that you can’t be hurt by them or the monsters inside the dungeon.”

“I have a question.”  At her wave for him to continue, he asked, “What is the highest Level of Contender in Forgestone right now?”

“Other than you, I presume?” she asked with an amused curl to her upper lip.  “As far as I know, there are dozens of Levels 20s that are getting close to the next Level, though that could’ve changed over the last day or so.  As far as I know, there haven’t been any Level 21s floating around, as I’m pretty sure that many of them are waiting until there is a larger number of them available for protection.”

Protection from other Contenders, I assume she means; it would be the point where they could be attacked and killed, so I guess that makes sense. 

“So, a Level 20 Support offering his services wouldn’t be wildly out of place?”

Camille’s expression was momentarily shocked, but she quickly smoothed her features.  “It wouldn’t necessarily be out of place, but it would certainly be unusual; I’d say that 99.9% of any Support Classes over Level 18 are part of a dedicated party, so one offering their services would certainly get your posting the attention it needs.”

He was starting to understand this whole service thing a little more, and he could certainly see how it could be beneficial for both parties.  If he was a normal Support, offering his services as an in-between-fight healer could be a lucrative side hustle, and for those parties that either didn’t have a dedicated Support Class or simply needed a little extra security, it could mean the difference between living and dying.

But, of course, this wasn’t necessarily about making money on the side for Thaden, as his goal was to learn about the Contract Bond Camille’s brother had fallen victim to.  But if I can figure out how to disguise myself better, this could be an option for me if I needed a little more cash or simply need a break from running dungeons solo.  If this whole things works out like we both hope, of course.

Before they could continue, a server came over to take their order, and to his surprise, they had something on the menu that was very similar to pizza, though it was a flatbread variation that was slightly different in its choice of ingredients.  That didn’t matter too much to him, though, because he just wanted a taste of home, so he ordered not just one but three of the flatbread creations, intending to store the other two away in his Inventory to enjoy them later.

When the food came, it was as good as he had hoped, and he scarfed it up so quickly that he was disappointed when it was gone – so he ate a second before he could stop himself.  Thankfully, he stored the third away before he could get to it, though by that point he was nearly stuffed after everything he’d eaten.

All through their meal, they discussed the details of exactly what he needed to put up on the Contender Market to bait the Harvest Guild, the actions he would need to perform while carrying out his service to them, and how to avoid agreeing to any proposed Contract Bonds they offered after the job.  She also warned him that it might take a couple of service jobs to hook them completely, but once they did he would have to assure them that he would think about any further Bonds with them.  As long as it only takes a couple of days at the most, I don’t have a problem with that.  This could even be fun, as I can finally use some of my spells that are meant for other people.

“And you’re going to have to change your appearance, along with your name if you can,” she added at the end.

“Uh… what?  Why?”

“Because some of them have already seen you as Christopher, remember?  Near the Goblin Mine?”

Oh, that’s right; she mentioned something along those lines when she told me she was following me.

“So, get a haircut, wear a mysterious mask – whatever it takes to hide your identity.  There are plenty of Contenders that do the same thing, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.”  Once she said that, Thaden couldn’t help but remember seeing dozens of Contenders wearing some sort of face covering, though he thought that they were all Scouts and it was part of their getup. 

When they finally finished their meal and ironed out all the details, as Camille mentioned that she would be hidden somewhere nearby when he eventually met with whoever purchased his services, he took her advice about changing his appearance.  First, he went to the Tailor again and purchased a white, wide-brimmed hat, a white robe, and a white face covering that looked similar to a woman’s veil – but the Tailor told him it was all the rage for both men and women.  It wasn’t transparent, at least, so he supposed he had to take their word for it. 

After that, he discovered the presence of what were essentially barbers or spas – he wasn’t sure what they would be classified as back on Earth – called Sharbins that performed all sorts of services related to hair-cutting, massages, and other beauty treatments, though they were primarily frequented by Charee instead of any of the recent arrivals.  That made his trip into one of them a little awkward and his head ended up being nearly shaved bald, but he had to admit that he looked quite different than he did the day before.

Once he was back in his room in the Coalition, he used his Trait to change his name to display the one that the both of them had cooked up earlier, as well as his Level.

Angelo

Human

Level 20

When she first mentioned the name, he thought it was pretty cheesy; but as she explained that she considered him somewhat of a guardian angel swooping in to help her in her time of need, he relented and accepted the name – even if he was far from being a benevolent force of good that chose to help out of the kindness in his heart.  She was still blackmailing him to get his cooperation, after all. 

Regardless, he kept the name because it was completely unlike his real or assumed one, and it would only be used temporarily until all this clandestine business was finished.  Once he was all prepared, he sat down at the table and pressed his finger against the spot of blue on it that would bring up the Contender Market.

Instead of choosing to Buy, Thaden instead chose to Sell. 

Thankfully, the interface for this side of the Market was just as easy to use as the purchasing side, and it wasn’t long before he was filling out the service posting job, which thankfully pre-filled in his current fake name and Level, which was something they had both been worried about while discussing plans.  If it had instead used his real name and Level, then this whole thing wouldn’t have worked. 

New Service Posting!

Service Category: Healing and Resurrection Services

Service Contract Duration: A single dungeon delve of up to 8 hours

Service Description: Superior healing, protection, and resurrection spells provided to purchaser’s party in-dungeon between fights

Service Location: Forgestone

Service Provider: Angelo, Support Class, Level 20

Service Price: 20 Gold

Thankfully, the posting also didn’t reveal his actual Class, because that would’ve been another awkward revelation.  When it appeared to be all in order, he finalized the posting…

…and then he waited. 

And waited… and then waited some more.

It took five hours before he finally got a notification on his feed.

Service posting has been purchased!

That was faster than I expected.  He couldn’t pull up any details until he went back into the Market, but once he was there, the purchased contract came up immediately.

Healing and Resurrection Services contract has been purchased by Meghan, Level 15

Meghan?  Oh, no – was that the woman I met near the Goblin Mine?  If Camille was correct, then she’s part of the Harvest Guild at least.  It looks like she Leveled-up since yesterday, too. 

The Market posting also listed a meeting location – just outside the Goblin Mine in the large dungeon tunnel – and a time, which just so happened to be later that night at approximately 10pm.  That was fine with him because he’d basically been chilling all day and had slept late that morning. 

Do you accept this service contract? Yes/No

It was nice to see that even though someone had bought his services, he could still refuse if he didn’t want to work for the person who purchased it.  Since he would be incognito, with a whole different name and Level, he figured that it wouldn’t matter all that much that it was the same person that had seen him before.

So, he accepted the contract – and immediately felt a tightening around his head that bordered on pain, as if someone had wrapped hundreds of rubber bands around his skull.  It only lasted for a few seconds before the uncomfortable squeezing faded away, leaving a sense of a foreign presence in the back of his mind.

Contract Bond is now in effect!

To be released from this Contract Bond, one of three things must occur:

1. Fulfillment of all stipulated services to the absolute best of the service provider’s ability during the allotted time

or

2. Both parties must agree to dissolve the Contract Bond

or

3. The absolute death of either the service provider or purchaser will render the Contract Bond null and void

Thaden wasn’t a lawyer, but even he could see some issues with the way these Bonds released the service provider.  The language of “fulfillment of all stipulated services to the absolute best of the service provider’s ability” could be interpreted in multiple ways, and if the Harvest Guild – or others like them – could alter some of these fulfillment requirements, then he could certainly see some issues in being free from a Bond like this.  Legal jargon could theoretically even set up the allotted time to be at some nebulous date far into the future, and he could think of a dozen different ways to word the services provided into something ill-defined. 

I think as long as it doesn’t mention anything relating to slavery, indenture, or prostitution, this kind of thing could be abused like crazy. 

Thankfully, since he was the one who set it up originally, he was confident that the terms were clear enough that it couldn’t be misinterpreted.  At least, he sure hoped so.

Regardless, it was done, and he had time to kill before he was supposed to meet with Meghan and her party.  He wasn’t enthused about accompanying them on a dungeon delve, as they didn’t seem like the nicest people, but he already knew that he’d be working with some individuals that actively took advantage of other Contenders using manipulated Contract Bonds – so, of course, they weren’t the best people.

He ended up eating more of the flatbread pizza he’d gotten for lunch for his dinner, as he stayed in his room until it was time to leave.  Once he gauged that it was about time to go, Thaden donned his new outfit, looked at himself in the mirror inside of his bathroom, and confirmed with satisfaction that he didn’t look anything like his previous self.

Leaving the Coalition building, he was aware of Camille following him along the way – which he realized was only because she allowed him to see her, as if reassuring him that she wasn’t abandoning him to do this all alone.  Thaden didn’t bother acknowledging that he saw her, nor did she communicate to him in any way, and by the time he arrived at the large dungeon tunnel, she had disappeared so completely that he couldn’t spot her anywhere.

The nervousness kicked in and started to tie his stomach in knots as soon as he walked into the large tunnel, threatening to bring his dinner back up, so he slowed down and took deep breaths to calm himself.  When he felt his stomach settle, he started moving quickly again, looking ahead to see if he could find his contact, but the crowds were large enough that night that it wasn’t until he was nearly 50 feet away that he recognized Meghan, and near her was Suzee, Peter, and the large Fighter that he hadn’t bothered to learn the name of before.  It turned out that is was George – so he wasn’t missing much when he had failed to learn it earlier.

They saw him at approximately the same time.  “Angelo!  You’re late!”

Thaden doubted that, as he was probably at least a half-hour early, but he didn’t bother refuting her claim.  Instead, he simply walked up to them all and bowed, his arms crossed over his chest in silence.  Camille instructed him not to speak if he could help it, in case someone recognized his voice; if he had to, he would need to lower the tone to confuse anyone trying to identify him by such a method. 

“Not a talkative one, are you?  I hope I didn’t overpay for you, because I doubt that you can live up to the price you required – especially for a single dungeon delve,” Meghan said to his silence.  “We’re going to test just how good you are by pushing as far into the Medial difficulty as we can, so I hope you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” he said, deliberately lowering his voice and adding in a scratchiness that completely camouflaged his normal tone.

“Fine.  Add whatever buffs you have to us before head inside, and be sure to refresh them whenever we’re out of combat.  I don’t want to see any slacking, now, and if I feel like you’re not giving it your best, we might just have a problem.”

“No problems from me, I assure you,” he promised the rude woman.  She’s as bad as she was before.

With a nod at his assurance, Meghan started to lead the party toward the offshoot tunnel that would lead to the Goblin Mine; out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Camille a bit further down, watching as he moved to follow them.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get more than two steps before the entire tunnel started to shake, reminding him of what had happened after he’d left the Magma Dungeon the night before. 

Unlike what happened then, this wasn’t a simple rumble.