"james!" the elderly man said for the fourth time before seeing light return to the kids eye
"Get your head out of the gutter and serve these young men something to eat" he said
James nodded but then paused as a thought crept into his mind
"wait, why am I the one serving them, what happened to Clara? She should be the one …" James tried to bicker
"she is busy" the elderly man said as he stared dead into James eyes
He nodded and turned to the men he was supposed to serve and only now did he register their presence and immediately he flared.
"You! Youre both not going to get away with this if you don't complete the mission, there are penalties for skipping out on taken missions, if you know whats good for you…" James said when one of them stepped forward in front of him
"watch your tongue kid, I am not fond of threats" he said coldly leaning his arm a little showing a sword resting on his waist.
This act didn't skip the eyes of the available mercenaries in the hall as they all immediately got up prepared to defend the rules actively.
however this didn't faze the duo who didn't seem to show a hint of panic on their face but rather an annoyed look
The air was tense when suddenly the town warden walked in along with the supposed Clara who had gone to call him and they were stunned by the atmosphere.
"Ah Warden, you've arrived at the perfect time, the gentlemen who were sent by lady Miranda are back from the mission however there seems to be a slight problem"
At that statement the whole room calmed down visibly as Clara ran to the front desk and everyone else relaxed visibly
"Lets take this somewhere else" the town warden said as he marched to the right where the staircase was and walked upwards with the duo following behind.
On the first floor was a slight replica of the ground floor except no one was manning it.
Well technically the higher floors are for higher ranked mercenaries and important figures but the town didn't have such and so it was empty with only mission boards, table, a front desk and another staircase.
The town warden took a seat and so did the duo.
"If its more mana crystals you want then I am sorry, I cannot provide more, I already confirmed this with Miranda" the town warden said.
"No sir, the crystals are sufficient so far, however the problem lies with our investigation, the mission said we should merely take out the boulder obstructing the flow of water into the houses and farms of the villages however after our investigation last night, it doesn't seem that simple" one of them spoke, and it seemed to be the one with a calm demeanor.
"what do you mean?" the town elder said
"we mean rocks from the cliff falling off were not natural and the farmlands flooded are a lost cause" the other spoke impulsively as his mood had already been soured.
"I did not hire you to check if the cliff falling was natural or not and what do you mean the affected lands are a lost cause?"
"As it stands at the moment, the boulder might as well be saving the farmers than killing them and in due time it'll weather away and then the farmers would have to bear the full impact of the stream of water…
Due to the sudden redirection and narrowing of the water added with the properties of the soil used for farming, its only a matter of time before the outskirts turn into a swamp.
I don't know how the villagers had not noticed or noticed and ignored but the stream had been washing away the soil little by little and seeping into the soil from beneath and now that it had been forcefully redirected it able to do so from above it as well while creating a path to the open sea. I believe you know what I mean"
"it Is only a matter of time before a part of the outskirts are washed away to sea, I understand your concept, tch" the elder said and went into thought
"i don't understand why the damn villagers though cant just move into the town like you did though, I mean if the water doesn't take them, then there are bound to be wild beasts outbursts from the damn forest up the cliff" the annoyed one of the duo spoke.
"Do you have any suggestions?" the town warden asked finally
"As a matter of fact, I do, there's a temporary solution and there's a permanent one, its all up to you" the calm of the duo replied with a little smirk and went into discussions on how to postpone immediate demise of the villagers.
After a long healthy talk, the town warden seemed conflicted about the decision he was to make but regardless it was a perfect idea to him.
"I cant make this decision alone, ill need to consult with the elders and if in favour, ill move on to the next phase, otherwise well just go with the temporary and inevitable" the chief said standing up to shake their hands
"... by the way, i never caught your names?" The town warden asked
"I am Sylvester and the moody brat is Sebastian, we are pleased to make your acquaintance."
"i believe I need no introductions with my reputation, ill take my leave then" Town warden said and exited the mercenary hall first.
"so what do you think syl" the brother asked
"this no longer concerns us, let the lady take charge from here" the duo said as they likewise left the mercenary hall
***********
"ma, its awake" a kid said running to his mother
"its not a thing Ra, it's a person, now come help me arrange these crops by maturity, ill be right back" the mother said running towards the direction Ra just came from
this was the fourth day since the crash landing on the cliff, and since then he had been asleep, awoken today simply because he felt reinvigorated or in this case configured and calibrated.
And to his first sight was a kid looking around twelve, maybe thirteen yelling at the top of his voice to his mother.
This caused like a sensory overload to his brain? More like his consciousness as he immediately recoiled, picking up sounds through vibration, and shades of light that converged to form color, however it only took him some seconds to reel in his senses.
"How are you feeling?" a soft voice whispered to him by his side.
For the first time since she picked him up, she saw what looked like his eyes, they were like gemstones as it stared at her.
However he couldn't reply, not that he was incapable of replying but simply because he did not know if he should reply.
Why he was sure there was a function that allowed him to speak was because he could no longer feel the suppression on his consciousness that obstructed his thoughts converted to voice.
It was a weird feeling for him but for someone who had stayed in soul body for quite a while he understood this weird feeling to himself very well.
It might be instinct or brain function as his whole soul consciousness was now a brain for this body.
And so he only nodded his head slightly before actively trying to sit up.
His controls were fuzzy but a little manageable as he sat on the wooden bed like a child.
Looking at the lady now again, she was a madam, should be in early forties, light skinned, average height, dark hair, and a fit build for madam.
"you don't seem injured so far, you washed up from upstream in quite the same state as you are at the moment, my husband found you thinking you were a some soldier, we tried prying off your Armor before checking if you were alive, alas the good thing was you are alive regardless of the armor, do say where are you from?"
The lady said in a single stretch but got no reply and instead blank stares.
Unaware to her he had toggled on his soul sense and indeed what he experienced before was true.
His soul sense was extremely constricted, like restrained by some force he just couldn't understand at the moment nor why, this was an ability he had frequently used and depended on in the elf forest to give him a 360 view of his surrounding to at least fifteen meters of himself, but now he could barely scrap five meters.
He saw her through his soul sense and immediately noticed something different in her from when others.
By others he meant the elf as those are the only individuals who he had ever seen.