The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 8 – A walk with Duza Sonanji – part 1

When Ronald crossed the front doors of the Guild, he went straight to the front desk, where Mira was waving at him. “Good morning, Miss Mira. Did I arrive too soon?”

“Good morning! No, it’s a good time. Duza is still getting ready in her room; she was having trouble choosing her clothes. Normally, she doesn’t go on a walk around the City, so she was a little worried about what to wear. But you can sit while you wait and drink something. And this guy over here can stay right here, next to me.”

Ronald gave the rope to Mira, and looking at Woof, he pointed towards her. “Woof, protect Miss Mira, okay? Be a good boy and stay here next to her. I will come to get you later this day.”

Woof!

He sat on the floor at Mira’s right side with his tail waving. Mira caressed his left ear. “Good boy, Woof! This is funny: a wild wolf acting as my bodyguard! I want to see any of these crazy bastards annoying me today!”

Ronald smiled, and a shout from a corner called his attention: “Mister Ronald, come here for a moment!”

Reylom was waving at him, seated next to Ini and Ovaidel. Ronald approached them with a smile. “Good morning, everyone.”

Ini made a small nod. “Someone is in a good mood… It has something to do with going for a walk with a beautiful woman?”

Ronald stuttered: “Well… that too… Miss Duza is an extremely beautiful woman… I guess any man would be happy about walking next to her… But finding a job on my first day here and on my second a well-paid escort journey can also be the reason.”

Ini smiled, looking to the place behind Ronald, to a blushing Duza. “Hello, boss! Nice dress you have there. I wonder why you never use something like that when you travel with us. Maybe we aren’t as good-looking as we thought, right, Ovaidel? Hey, close your mouth, man, you look weird! You never saw a woman or what?”

When Ronald turned around, he saw Duza with her hair loose in a long, light green dress with short sleeves and a sexy cleavage. Ronald blinked his eyes a few times to get used to the astonishing sight in front of him.

Duza took a slow breath and asked while sitting in front of him, “What is that about, a well-paid escort journey?”

“Well, at breakfast in the Inn, Mister Feebles introduced me to a young couple. They said they are sixteen-year-old Nobility, and they are travelling across this region to get a little more understanding of the state of the World. They were escorted here from the North, by those three that I… assaulted… yesterday. Since they are in no condition to continue, that couple asked if they could hire us to escort them to Argoheria, for twenty-five gold coins. Five coins now, and the rest in Argoheria. With an extra, if Woof could go and my meals would be good. And when they decide to come back, they want us to escort them again. The young boy said we could go across the land or by boat. I got the impression the girl prefers going by boat, but the boy seems to be a battle maniac and likes to fight, so he prefers going across Zakrosia. I said it would be up to Miss Duza to decide, and I could give them an answer by this afternoon. But they want to meet you all, of course.”

Duza was gasping. “Such a vast sum of money… But why did they ask you instead of coming to the Guild and posting a Quest? That would be the normal procedure!”

“Well, maybe because the Guild from where those three guys came said to them that they were strong, and a mere Farmer knocked them out with a wooden bench… I guess Mister Feebles told them what happened…”

They all started to laugh. After a while, Duza spoke, after clearing her eyes: “Yeah, that could be the reason! Receiving such news would make anyone decide to hire that Farmer… Ahahah! Sorry, I just remembered what happened. Only now have I realized how funny it was!”

Ronald made an awkward smile while they were still laughing. When they calmed down, he continued, “I just don’t know when they will want to return or if, instead of returning to Loriath, they want to go to another place. I guess you can ask them in the afternoon. They also said that if we face danger and, if needed, they can fight. It seems that at the beginning of their journey, they were travelling alone, and when they decided to get an escort, that Guild fooled them. I guess they don’t trust Adventurers Guilds, and they prefer to be the ones to choose their escort. If you decide to accept the job, I think we could start tomorrow after lunch, with today’s afternoon and tomorrow morning, to find the supplies and extra weaponry. They have their own carriage. I took the liberty of warning them that if too many of us died or it became too dangerous, we would either turn back or find a safe place to go.”

Duza nodded while leaning on the table to support her crossed fingers. Ronald tried to look away; that cleavage was too tempting, and those two big, round breasts seemed to call for his attention.

She smiled after a brief moment. “I am not counting on taking any risks with our lives; you did well in warning them. I think we can accept that task, but it would be better if we went by boat to the border of Thetria. We could go by horse along Kwoghia, Rediorumia, and Thetria, get a boat there, and go by sea until Argoheria. If all goes well, in less than four months, we will arrive at our destination.”

Ronald raised his arm. “I don’t know how to ride a horse; I never learned.”

Duza was surprised. “How did you manage to get to this country, all the way from Trebiak?”

“By foot. Sometimes, a ride on the top of a carriage or an open wagon. Considering they have a carriage and we will always travel on roads, we can put the supplies on top of the carriage, correct? I can go in there as well, or I can take this opportunity to learn how to ride.”

Ovaidel tapped his back. “I can take care of that; I am a wonderful teacher! The wolf can go on top of the carriage; he will have a good spot to look around so that we can rest assured that he warns us if something weird happens.”

Ini looked around and asked, “So, we agree? The only thing left for us to do is talk with our employers. And you two, while walking around the City, search for supplies. Rice, potatoes, meat, vegetables, and bags of grain for the horses.”

Ronald raised his arm again. “I think I can find some eatable plants along the way. The meat won’t be a problem either; I can hunt with Woof, and I was told that if prey is not available, Monsters such as Lamias, Harpies and Orcs, are very tasty. I never tried, but I know how to cook snakes, birds, and pigs.”

Ini frowned. “I would prefer not eating those. Unless you are an amazing Cook… Either way, it’s better if we have enough food and water instead of depending on finding those during our travel. But we don’t need a lot; we can buy in some Villages and Cities while we travel. Well, go away; you are losing daylight! Have a nice walk, and Mister Ronald, don’t let anyone get too familiar with our Duza there, because, in those clothes, she can get into a lot of problems!”

Duza quickly got up, with her face all red. “What do you mean by that? Mira helped me choose these clothes! I wanted to go in my combat clothes, but she was the one to say that for a mere walk, these clothes would be better!”

Ini hid a smile. “I agree with her. Those are indeed the perfect clothes to show this City to Mister Ronald. And you, be a good boy and pay her a snack during your search for supplies. In the market, there are always stalls with drinks and all kinds of food.”

Ronald nodded. “Of course, that was my intention. There is no way I would be walking with a woman and not provide food and drink when we take a rest. Miss Duza, shall we go?”

Duza smiled, but before she could answer, they heard a woman screaming from the front desk. When they looked, Woof was chewing Ma Yangfa's arm. Ma tried to get loose, only to make Woof bite harder and make his arm bleed, with Mira shouting for Woof to stop.

After her second shout, Woof let go, but he stood between Mira and Ma, growling. Ronald rushed to get there. “Woof, quiet boy! Miss Mira, what happened?”

Mira was all red, and she stuttered to explain: “I… was giving orders to Woof, to see if he obeyed me… I told Woof to be alert… and then Ma approached and shouted my name when I had my back to the front desk. He was giving me a prank, but I got spooked and shouted. I think Woof thought I was in danger, and he jumped on Ma to stop him!”

Ronald kneeled to look at Woof while caressing his head. He was still growling at Ma Yangfa. “Calm down, boy. You did well; don’t worry. Miss Mira was not in danger, but you couldn’t know. You did a good job protecting her, thanks. Mister Ma, sorry for this, but it was your fault. Woof is very obedient, and Miss Mira ordered him to be alert. He saw your prank on Miss Mira as an attack.”

Ma was holding his bleeding arm and breathing heavily. “Yeah… That was indeed a very bad idea… I thought it would be funny; I didn’t know he was behind the front desk!”

Mira rushed to Ma with a bowl of clean water and a rag to help him. “Let me take care of you, Ma, and I’m sorry for this. I was just playing with Woof!”

“No, I was the one at fault. You have a very good escort. No one here would dare to attack me as he did, and this little guy didn’t even hesitate!”

Ronald got up again, and he winked one eye at Ma Yangfa. “I am counting on you to help Woof protect Miss Mira against this horde of crazy men, okay?”

“Of course, that goes without asking!”

Ronald left after taking one last look at a red-smiling Mira. When he got near Duza, she was smiling too. She pointed her head in their direction. “It’s good to see those two like that. They make a nice couple, don’t they?”

Ronald agreed. “I thought the same thing yesterday. I hope that develops; it would be funny to see them go all lovey-dovey. The kind and beautiful Miss Mira with the big and mean Ma Yangfa! Hehehehe!”

While they were leaving the Guild, Duza pointed back with her right thumb. “Ma is not mean; he is truly amazing and a gentle person. But because of his looks, people always tend to fear him.”

“I know; I like him, too. After what I did to him yesterday, a mean man would not rest until he got revenge. But I think we became friends. And late this day, he will either be friends with Woof or he will lose one arm if he scares Miss Mira again while Woof is next to her! So, where can we go first?”

Duza smiled while grabbing the side of her dress to lift it a little, to make it easier for her to walk without dragging the dress on the soil. “We can go along this street, look at the Church, see the main house of the City Chief and go to the Market in the central square. There are a lot of small shops near it where we can ask for the prices of the supplies that we need. We must make a list of everything and the total of what it will cost to present it to our employers because supplies and stays in some Inns for them along the way are their responsibility. We can sleep outside, in a stable or an Inn, but that’s on our own.”

They walked down the street, stopping from time to time for Ronald to look at the entrance of a house that caught his attention, with Duza telling him what she knew about the people living there.

When they approached the Church, Ronald asked if they could enter, and even with Duza frowning, she agreed with him. In there, Ronald saw some paintings along the walls, depicting some past battles and Kings. On the back wall, facing the entrance was a picture of the World with Gaya over it and God Seya underneath it, with his arms stretched as if he were lifting the entire World. Right in front of it, there was a circle on the floor with drawings similar to those that he saw in the cave where Ronald appeared. Ronald stopped right in front of it, looking.

A Priest came from a room on the right; he had a rag in his left hand, and it seemed like he was cleaning something at the back. He greeted Ronald with a smile: “Good morning to you, stranger! And to you too, Miss!”

“Good morning, Priest. I was just looking at this circle. And this painting.”

“Yes, this World supervised by Gaya, the Magical Mountain, and God Seya, carrying and supporting it. And this circle, you know what it is, right?”