Just another job Part 8 - On the beaten path
Of course, Rem could also listen to his floating librarian and take him on the job. The lich truly was not as powerful he was before he had his entire body, yet still, his magics were polished. The holy undead was also a skilled alchemist and after recovering the property of his current employer, he could try and determine what it was that she trying to hide so hard. That and he was able to detect magical auras, traps and such, which Rem himself couldn't. In this case, having his floating lich skull of a friend in tow was by far the better choice and he walked back to his mansion's library. Felkmar opened its door with his magokinesis; anticipating that Rem was coming for him, the librarian wore his sturdy, made from dark iron helmet. It was intimidating to say the least and Felk being at this part of his unlife a corpse-less floating skull, needed every advantage he could get his “hands” on.
“I thought that you'd come looking for me. That legendary curiosity of yours will be the death of you.” - the lich chuckled – “Then it will be two of us, one perhaps less bony than the other, looking for the reason why Kan brought us back. Though it your case it will be anything but a mystery – You know that he sometimes raises bums like you just to have fun, right?"
“Indeed your bonyness, I am sure that he pulled you back just to look for your body. Not that I am complaining though. Got me another buddy, that God of mine. Now, if you are done murmuring and complaining, let us boldly go where no other floating skulls had ever... floated.”
Rem and Felkmar left the mansion and a couple of minutes later found a carriage waiting for them, parked conveniently close, yet not in full view from the country road. That nifty transport was courtesy of the Hoods and both entered it, happy that it will spare them some time. Their outlaw allies would at least give them a ride to the fishing village, that, and Rem preserve some of his stamina. Otherwise he'd be running from his mansion to the forest's outskirts about now, had he not made the deal and paid them. Rem found his contact Bortom waiting him inside, sporting a most somber face and eating a piece of fish jerky.
“Good, you be here and I see, dressed to kill, Remmy boy!” - the stocky dwarf pulled his magical map and mumbled its activation words before greeting Rem's companion - “He'ya blinky, what's floatin?”
“You call me blinky one more time and I'll blink at ya so hard, you'll have mana burns all over your bum, you inept fishmonger you!” - Felk hissed at the dwarf, while his bluish mana burned brighter for a second, forming a halo above his helmeted head. Bortom gave him one of his grins and then tapped with his foot to give his driver the go. The carriage shook slightly and Rem felt they were moving fast, drifting on the turns as they took them, and with the top speed even. The solver of problems looked at Bortom and waited for his contact to drop the info his scouts had gathered. The dwarf tapped with his meaty finger and pointed a well hidden clearing not that deep in the forest, two days travel on foot away from his fishing village. Rem could see eleven dots all moving about and marked on the map, which the dwarf then gave description of each and every one. Seemed run of the mill useless: fighters, five of them, there rogues, two archers and one wizard. They were moving about almost aimlessly as if waiting for something or... someone.
“So ere this boyo, them scouts found these special forest fishies of yours, you can see them on dis map. But... 'ere be another group lookin for em, Remmy. Problem iz, my girls said they smelled bad jojo there, not that them useless fucks ere not bad to being wif... These others who be lookin for them too are lurking round the forest, as if waitin for sumfin' and the girls say they be wrapped in magic. At least six of em are skulking, searching fer your lost forest fishies, Rem. Some top grade invisibility magic it is, not the usual kind and if ya can get that thing yer looking for, then git ewey quickly! All I say is, be careful my friend, you pay good coin and now ya owe us a favor. It be real bad if ye hug them mushrooms... erm... kick da bukit', before we can capitalize on our investimunt, so to speak!”
“Indeed you show great concern for your investment, dear Bortom. There's no need to be afraid, unless the war band you sent to keep my behind safe won't cut it, if we did battle with those lurkers. Is that what you think?”
“No, of course not! Remmy, my boys are real accurate, they can aim at a shitfly's wing and hit it form a hundred paces. We be here,” - the dwarf kicked the door open and leapt out, then invited Rem and Felk to do the same - “time fer ya to start runnin!”
Bortom, once being paid, just as any other Hood, totally committed to the job. If he said something, he meant it and Rem knew full well that his sharpshooters were accurate. This job however, no longer looked like it was like just any other job, but a high stakes noble's or worse yet, a magician's game. Leaving Bortom, his carriage and the sleepy fishing village behind, Rem ran inside the forest, while Felk floated right behind him. Whispering inside his mind, the lich asked a question:
“Do you want my advice? Yes, of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't have taken me on the job. Anyways, what I think is – we should find and take care of those mysterious lurkers first. That or at least find out who, or what they are, and why are they trailing those useless idiots. What Bortom described was advanced invisibility, the same what your cloak is capable of and trust me, I know my magic gear. What other stuff may they be packing under their cloaks? It'll be better to tackle them first than get pancaked between a bunch of useless and some unknown group of invisible, probably well armed individuals, with indiscernible goals.” - That was a sound plan. Even if those lurkers were competition, or sent by one of Rem's enemies to take him out, he could at least retreat if they proved too tough.
You picked option 1. The next part of Just another job, "Forest fishing" will be published later today.