It was still fairly early in the morning, so there was a bit of hustle and bustle as Dryth walked through the town. He passed a few bakeries either setting out their wares on racks or doing their best to quickly get through the building lines of people after a breakfast pastry or something else to eat. Shops were opening up and people were setting out signs with inventory and prices displayed on them outside the more well off looking establishments where expecting their customers to be able to read wasn't too outlandish.

  According to one of the guards, who Dryth had stopped before they'd gotten to far away to ask for directions, the current bounty station in Far West was in an old refurbished barracks from when the town had been just an exploratory outpost. The guard was apparently a talker when they were nervous and had started on a summary of the town's history when Dryth had taken pity on them and left. They'd been obviously uncomfortable with Dryth and Sindri's presence, whether that was because they knew Ewan, were mages, or could potentially be some kind of shapeshifting monster wasn't clear. Or they might not be comfortable around snakes, Dryth hadn't really thought about that but several people were giving Sindri specifically some uncomfortable looks as they passed.

  The people in Far West all looked rugged, like they were used to hard work, which made Dryth nostalgic. Everyone in the village he'd been born in had to work, even the Mayor, so calluses on hands, muscles, and hard feet were the norm. In the school he'd been shipped off to to learn how to be a future mage he'd met other children that had never done a hard days work in their life and some that only had to occasionally. It'd been a culture shock that slowly faded as they all got molded into students and mages to be and it had taken Dryth weeks to realize that his last callus had faded many years ago. He still didn't have any, although with his new potential career path he was expecting to develop a few new ones in the future.

  The bounty station was similar to the one in the capitol just by how nondescript they both were. Neither had any decoration on the outside, the doors were simple, and even the sign declaring that they were bounty stations was small and simple. The building of Far West's bounty station was only one story and not as long or as deep as the one they'd been to in the capitol but they were very similarly laid out when Dryth stepped inside. The proportions were different, the area with boards holding job and bounty postings was smaller, less populated, and had less papers hanging, and the cafeteria area was the section that took up half the space here, but otherwise the three way split was much the same.

  There were only half a dozen other individuals that weren't workers in the building and they all turned to look at Dryth and Sindri as they entered. The two individuals looking over jobs both gave them one glance then dismissed them, but the team of four people sitting at a table in the dining area gave them a longer look. After a moment of sizing them up the four decided to go back to their conversation and Dryth wasn't sure if they'd been found uninteresting or just wanting.

  "Hey." A growly voice called out.

  Behind the counter where people could accept jobs and get information, which Dryth noticed for the first time was a long counter like a bar's instead of a series of desks or booths, was a large burly man with long dreadlocks twisted into a ponytail like shape. He was scowling as he impatiently waved them closer.

  There was no one in line, so Dryth walked over and stood in front of the man. "Hello."

  "Yeah, salutations or whatever. What'cha here for? Want to put up a job or got a bounty to pay in to?"

  "No, we're here to take on a job or bounty." Dryth set his bounty hunting identification card he'd gotten after the gremlin hunt on the counter in front of the man.

  "Eh?" He picked up the card with thick fingers, unintentionally highlighting the thick, pink ropy scars covering one of his hands that contrasted against his dark skin. "Oh, you're a newbie. Wait." He held the card to a nearby lamp and squinted at it. "This says you got certified in the capitol. What're you doing all the way out here?"

  He'd already identified himself to the guard, so Dryth didn't see any reason to keep secrets. "I'm Ewan's student. He took my to somebody in the Agency he knows who works in the capitol to fast track my paperwork, but he doesn't want to teleport me there to work every time I want to make some money."

  "Oh? You're Ewan's student, eh?" He slowly traced his eyes over Dryth and then Sindri. They narrowed when Sindri nodded politely to him. "Interesting."

  "Hey, I'm Ewan's student too!"

  "Sorry, my partner's correct. We're Ewan's students." Dryth patted Dryth a couple of times. "Sorry, still not entirely used to not being alone."

  "I accept your apology."

  "Are the two of you? Isn't that something." The large man spun the card between two fingers before handing it back to Dryth, obvious thought on his face. "And what are you two doing looking to take bounties instead of going for a less dangerous career, like recharging things like this?" He pointed at the lamp nearby on the counter. "Doesn't pay as well up front, but much less chance of dying."

  "... I'd rather not share those kinds of personal details." Dryth replied after considering the question.

  The man grinned widely. "Paperwork problems with the Association? Ewan does like picking up the 'problem cases'. I'm Holter." He held out a hand to shake.

  Dryth tried not to wince at how much power Holter put into the shake. "I'm Dryth and this is Sindri."

  "Nice to meet you boys. My official title is a bunch of words smushed together, but I'm in charge of this bounty station. Since we're not that large I put in as much work at the counter as the full-time receptionists do, so you'll see me around if you come by for jobs on the regular. Now, we can talk business in a moment and I'll help you two find a job that fits what you're looking for today, but before then..." He leaned in close and whispered. "Can you do me a favor?"

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  "Depends on the favor."

  "It's nothing bad, I promise. Just, can you tell Ewan not to come to town for a few weeks? He tends to stop by randomly without much of a schedule, but with you two coming in he might show up more."

  "Why shouldn't Ewan come to town?" Dryth asked suspiciously.

  Holter made an awkward face. "Well... There's a bit of a thing with-"

  "Wait." Dryth held up a hand to cut him off. "Does this have anything to do with Ewan's-" He stopped talking suddenly, trying not to gag at almost saying "Ewan's sex life". "...His romantic activities? Because if it is I do not want details."

  Holter grinned and Dryth swore he could see a twinkle in the man's eyes. "Oh, not interested in hearing about his exploits?"

  "He gets sidetracked for half an hour talking about the most random things during our lessons, I don't want him to think he can start talking about past relationships. Also, no, in general I really don't want to hear about Ewan's amorous encounters of any kind."

  "I don't get why its such a big deal to you."

  "It's a human thing."

  "You know, that's probably wise of you." Holter admitted after a moment. "Leaving out the details, it is related to those sorts of activities and it'd be awkward for a lot of people if he was in town any time soon."

  "'A lot of people'?" Dryth groaned. "No, don't tell me! I still don't want to know."

  "Alright, kid, what- no, sorry, kids. What kind of job are you looking for? You're still pretty low on the ladder as these things go, so you can't take on any grand quests or throw yourself at crazy powerful beasts to slay." He reached under the counter and came up with a large, leather bound tome that thumped on to the counter under it's own weight.

  "I want to fight something I can eat afterwards!" Sindri declared. "We still haven't gotten something for me to eat, by the way."

  Dryth shot his partner a glare. "You didn't want anything from the bakeries we passed! I'll see if there's a butcher on the way outside the walls."

  A hand tapping right under Dryth's face startled him. "What's happening here?" Holter asked.

  "Sorry, Sindri was making his preferences known. He'd like a job where we can fight something, specifically one where he an eat whatever we kill. I'd like something rated for beginners that we can finish before the end of the day so we can walk back."

  A single finger pointed at Sindri. "I don't know what he is or what he can or can't eat."

  "If humans can eat it its probably fine and even if he can't eat it he's not going to blame you."

  "I won't!"

  "A bounty or job where the target isn't sapient and doesn't want the full body back for us to get paid is fine." Dryth finished.

  "I can work with those restrictions, let's see..." Holter flipped through the book, skipping several pages and then slowly perusing the listings written down. "Here we go, mosstoads. Low level bounty that hasn't been taken yet that's asking for about three toads worth of moss from mosstoads." He pulled out another book that flipped open on its own, showing a hand-drawn but highly detailed picture of a large toad with a carpet of plant life growing on it's back. "Mosstoads are about this big," He held up his hands and made a shape the size of a loaf of bread, "And they grow a kind of magical moss on their backs. Kill three of them and bring back the bodies with the moss undamaged, we'll take the moss off back in the cutting room," He pointed over his shoulder at a closed door with his thumb, "And no one cares about the toad's meat so you can see if you can eat it."

  "That sounds like a plan! Let's go!" Sindri launched himself off of Dryth's shoulders toward the door.

  Dryth snapped his hand out and grabbed Sindri by the middle. "Not yet! I've still got questions!" He laid Sindri back over his shoulders. "And where were you going?" He added silently. "Were you going to fly off by yourself?"

  "No, I was going to hide on the roof and jump down when you came outside. But, you've ruined it."

  "I'm so sorry to ruin your prank." Dryth sent back with a hefty does of sarcasm. "Now you have to wait in here with me and listen to Holter explain how mosstoads fight so we're not going into this unprepared." He turned back to the man in charge of the station. "What kind of danger are mosstoads?"

  "Well, they're monsters, so they're automatically a little bit dangerous. They won't attack people unless you get too close or start things first. They're fairly slow when walking, but they can jump pretty far and they're heavy when they land on you. Not enough to break things unless you get a bad angle, but they can knock you down and leave bruises. All of them can do spitting attacks, but they vary between balls of water, clumps of dirt, and clumps of mud. Oh, and if any of them live for longer than most do they sometime develop just a little bit of plant magic."

  Dryth had a small notebook out and was taking notes. "Where do they live?"

  "Hey, where did you get that?"

  "I asked Ewan for it, you were there."

  "You can generally find them not too far from town. If you head south toward the swampier areas they tend to hang out murky pools of water and disguise themselves as rocks."

  Dryth looked up from his notebook. "If they live in water wouldn't they be frogs and not toads."

  Holter shook a stern finger at him. "Don't you be like Ewan and start lecturing me about the names of things. I didn't name them that and I don't really care if they're actually frogs and not toads, they're called mosstoads."

  "... Sure? Anything else I should know before we take this job?"

  "At this bounty station we don't charge for information like what you're asking for, cause we're not jerks like some of the stations in bigger cities." Holter nodded self-righteously. After a moment of silence he also admitted, "And because there's no profit in it around here."

  "We... appreciate that?" Dryth replied questioningly. "Was that relevant to the job?"

  "You asked if you needed to know anything before taking the job, I felt you needed to know that."

  "...We'll take the job then."

  "Right." Holter pulled out a piece of paper and pressed it against the lsiting in the first book. The contents transfered from the page to the sheet in a blink, then Holter held his hand out. "License please." Once he had Dryth's license he pressed it to the sheet, where a small copy of the information about Dryth appeared. Holter tucked the two books under the counter again and handed back Dryth's card. "There you go, you've officially accepted the job."

  "Thanks. South for the swampy areas, shouldn't be too far from town?"

  "Right," Holter's nod sent his dreadlocks shaking around behind him. "Unless you're crazy unlucky you should find three of them close enough to be there and back before the sun sets."

  "Thanks, Holter. See you in a few hours then."

  "Bye Holter! It was nice meeting you! I'll tell you if mosstoads taste good!"

  "Be safe newbies, I'd hate to have to tell Ewan- Oh, wait, before you go!"

  Dryth turned around. "Yeah?"

  "There's an open bounty on mistdeer thanks to their population rising like crazy in the last few years. If you see a young one, you can probably take it, but stay away form the old bucks."

  Dryth opened his mouth to reply when one of the two people who'd been perusing the listings along the wall walked over with one in their hands.

  "Gotta help this one, you two be safe out there!" Holter said before turning away.

  "What's a mistdeer?"

  "I don't know, but I say we stay away from even the young ones until we know more."

  "How do we tell an old one from a young one?"

  "My thoughts exactly. Let's go hunt some mosstoads and stay away from any mist or deer in general."