We do in fact finish up our gathering in a few hours. In theory we could look for more, but we’d have to replace some of what we already harvested to make room in our bags. It’s a good place to stop off, and it’s getting close enough to dark that we’ll need to head back now if we don’t want to sleep out here … if Bridget doesn’t want to sleep out here while I wait … I’m still not quite used to making that distinction, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. For now though I don’t need to give it all that much thought at least, I can leave the existential panic for future me.

  In theory we probably could’ve gone back through the path we cut to get here, but it’s nearly impossible to retrace our steps that closely, and a lot easier to cut a new path back through the forest around the town. It means I get another workout, but it’s really not all that hard, I’m even getting a bit better at handling a sword. Not that I could apply it against anything that actually moves, but I’m still a bit proud.

  It’s night out once we break free from the dense trees and vines. Honestly, I’m more than a bit glad for the dark, I don’t think I’d like walking straight out into the sun after all that time in the shade of trees. Actually I should go out at night more often, it’s really beautiful. Especially away from the torches burning in the city streets, they give a nice enough light, but it’s so much worse than the lights of the moon and stars filtering down to the ground. Still, I’m more than a bit used to people having different opinions than me at this point, so I’m probably the only one who feels that way, everyone else probably loves the torches. As I’m thinking about that we manage to get back to the city proper, Bridget takes the lead from there and brings me back to her stall. “One last bit of advice, never forget to get paid. After a long job it’s surprisingly easy to just forget about it, and if you’re working for the church you could very well not be able to find the person who hired you again if you forget to ask when you turned the job in.”

  She unlocks the different drawers of her stall and starts unpacking her backpack into them. I follow suit, and set everything I picked up on the countertop of her stall. “Is that really a common problem?”

  “I wouldn’t call it common, but it does happen. It's pretty annoying when it does happen, and it’s worth avoiding if you can. Besides, a lot of people put too much trust in their employers the first few times they take a job, especially if that job’s from the church. Any group that big makes it harder and harder to figure out where your pay got lost if you forget to ask for it directly.”

  I guess that makes some degree of sense … I can’t imagine the church would do something like that intentionally, but with how many people work for them I could see some details just getting lost. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She smiles at that. “No problem, with that in mind, here’s what I promised.” She takes a small bag out of one of the drawers and hands it to me. “Should be forty gold. Tomorrow I can mention you to those people I talked about, if they do want to talk to you though, it’ll be on their own time. So don’t feel like you need to wait for them to get back to you before doing another job or something.”

  Right, them. I still don’t exactly get how to handle that side of things whatsoever, but I guess that’s more of a play it by ear sort of arrangement anyway. “Right … sorry with everything that’s been happening recently that sort of slipped my mind. I don’t suppose you know of any good jobs I could do in the meantime though?”

  She seems to think on it for a second, even pausing her ingredient sorting to think. “Hmm … give me a few days on that. I want to see the rule that got you fired actually get passed. There’re a few dozen people I can think of who’d be happy to pay for things being made, but it depends on how they phrase the actual restrictions … though if you’d be willing to do a bit of crafting before it actually goes into effect, I’m sure I could rustle up a few rush orders.”

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Uhh … Hmm. In theory that’s not against guild rules anymore. Strictly speaking I was only banned from doing other work while I was hired as a craftsman for the guild itself, and I’m not a craftsman anymore. It does feel like it violates the spirit of several rules at once though … I guess though if it’s just a temporary thing it’s not that big of a deal, it’s just a side job. Guild members take those all the time. Not to mention … I should probably find something to do during nights … and days for that matter, if I don’t have work to do then my days are going to be more boring than when I was my own secretary. Besides, the rules are just to keep magic items out of the hands of Dark Mages, and as weird as Willard is he’s no Dark Mage, I trust Bridget’s judgement for who can be trusted with what. “Sure … I’d be willing to. As long as you trust the people I’d be making things for I don’t see why not.”

  She looks up from the sorting she’d gotten back to while I was thinking. “Oh really? That’s great! I’ll send some people your way tomorrow, it’ll be great.”

  I know it’s rude to ask, but a thought’s starting to nag at me. “Bridget … are you getting anything out of this? I feel bad with how much help you’ve given me.” But also you seem very excited for the mere possibility of helping me. It makes me feel like I’m missing something.

  She looks at me and frowns. “I mean … well yes. I’ve made a few friends, but until now you were the only one in a relatively safe line of employment. Most of the rest were adventurers from a young age, and I’ve lost more friends than I’d care to admit. Helping you makes it at least a bit less likely I’ll lose another friend, and if you’re working with my other friends, then it makes it less likely I’ll lose them as well. Even simple things like Liquid Life can easily be the difference between life and death, and being properly equipped is a massive help. Not every guild has a dedicated craftsman after all.”

  Ah … I feel a bit bad for asking now. “Oh … I’m sorry to make you go over all that. I’d be happy to help.”

  It just takes her a second to be back to her usual self. “No worries. And thank you for that. I know you don’t have a ton of options at the moment, but I really think you’ll be a big help to them.”

  If my guild is anything to go by, not that much of a help, but I get the idea, any port in a storm and all. “Yeah, no problem. I’m glad to help.”

  For some reason she seems to laugh at something. “I think you’re forgetting something … given that you haven’t asked about it yet. What was the last lesson I gave you for this job?”

  I think for a second just to be sure I’m not about to say something stupid. “Always remember to get … Oh.”

  She chuckles at that. “Yup, that’s it. Don’t forget to charge for the work, not just the materials. About 10% of the materials cost per day is standard, minimum 10%, even if you just need a few hours. Even more if you're using your own magic to substitute for materials.”

  That’s … actually a lot more than I was paid by the guild. I guess since the guild guaranteed a lot more customers pay wasn’t as big of a deal though. “If you’re sure. I wouldn’t want to overcharge them or anything, even with the situation I don’t want to take advantage of your friends.”

  She seems a bit startled by that. “I … wouldn’t worry about that. I was honestly worried I’d accidentally lowballed the costs, so think of that like a minimum price.”

  I guess … if she says so. “Well it’s definitely something to do. Do you want any help with the organization? I didn’t want to mess something up.”

  “Oh sure, I’ll show you. It’s not as complicated as it looks.”

  We spend a few more hours putting away everything we brought back. It’s nice, a good way to take my mind off everything that's been happening as of late.