Side Story: What Happened with Nishka

Side Story:
What Happened with Nishka

WHEN I WOKE UP, I found out I didn’t have a coin to my name.

“Urgh, I feel awful…” I batted at the air. “Be a pal and grab me some water, Shooter.”

Guess what? Shooter wasn’t there. I was the only one left in the empty room, still hanging around in my hammock, sunlight blazing right into my eyes. The only thing left was the smell of the bug repellant that had been burning all night long.

Water. I was dyin’ of thirst. Need…water…I crawled out of the hammock and buttoned up my blouse. Come to think of it, where was Shooter? I struggled to stay on my feet as I grabbed one of my kickass eye patches from the top hammock. It was a different one than I’d worn yesterday, but no one really seemed to notice or care. Looked pretty good on my right eye as well, but I was hoping for some guy to come up and be like, “Dang, your right eye looks as beautiful as your left!” or something like that. Nobody notices these things! New shoes, new eye patches. Clueless.

Hold up, wasn’t I supposed to be sleeping in the top bunk? Wait. Wait, why was I in Shooter’s bed? Panicking, I checked my clothes to make sure I still had ’em all on. Thankfully, my underwear was still present and accounted for. Safe again from the antics of Tipsy Nish. And yeah, before you ask, of course I don’t put my underwear on after sex. What kinda weirdo would do that?

Whatever. Water. Needed…water. I grabbed the canteen I saw on the hammock and took a swig.

And it was booze. Great. I thought it was Shooter’s canteen, but it was just mine. Was there really no water nearby? I grabbed my knife and belt from the side of the bunk bed and hooked it back around my waist. First thing’s first: water. That good shit we organisms crave. Next step, find out where those two went off to. I got hold of the goblin running the counter downstairs and asked him if he’d seen the boys anywhere.

“Gimul and that loincloth guy? Yeah, they left earlier this morning.”

“Where to?!”

“Hell if I know. I know they paid for ten days in advance, but that’s about it.”

Which meant someone would be coming back soon, at least. Gimul said he was going back to the village today, so I guessed he’d be going to the guild to pick up those adventurers, which meant Shooter would come back later. Maybe soon, if it was almost lunch.

“Hey, man, I’m dyin’ of thirst. Give a girl some water, would ya?”

The goblin stuck out his hand.

I blinked. “What? You wanna shake on it?”

“Water’s gonna cost ya. Need to cover costs for firewood, so pay up.”

“No, you moron! I’m talking about water to drink!”

“Only seeing one moron around here, missy. You really gonna drink water without boiling it and vomit all over my inn? Nah. One bronze coin.”

Friggin’ cheapskate. I reached inside my pockets and started to rummage around, but then, uh. Right, I was still in my blouse and a pair of underwear. Bad enough, that, but also? Broke.

I didn’t have much of a choice, so I cut some vodka with well water and drank it down. The booze rushed down my throat, finding a home in my empty stomach.

No matter how long I waited, Shooter didn’t come back. It was right around sunset that I got a bit nervous. I dug into some of the nasty biscuits and wyvern jerky we brought as portable rations, just to get something in my stomach. What I really wanted was to put it in a stew or something, but that was out of the question since I didn’t have the cash for firewood.

I was dead broke, after all. If Shooter wasn’t around, I wasn’t going to get any kind of decent meal. Not that I regularly have money problems, thank you very much. I’m just a good big sister. Left the cash back home. Plenty of cash, which we always have, because I’m great at money when I need to be.

Still, I probably should’ve brought some cash just in case something like this happened. The only thing on me that was worth anything was the wyvern scale I wore around my neck. I used it as proof of my skill as a hunter, but I also heard certain moneybags with too much money bought ’em up. Something about crushing them up and using them for medicine, if I remembered correctly.

My plan was to go to one of the trading counters they had at every guild and see how much I could get for it, unless I found Shooter first. I retraced our steps from yesterday and followed the road to the adventurer’s guild. I may be from the sticks, but we hunters gotta memorize any routes we take the first time around.

Eventually, I moseyed on down to the guild counter. “If you’re talking about that lightly armored warrior,” said the girl at the desk, “he hasn’t come back here since this morning.”

Well, shit. No luck here either. “Got a question for you.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Whaddya think of this, huh? Fancy stuff, don’t you think?” I said, wiggling my necklace at her.

“Um…it looks nice? Did it come from a dragon?”

“A wyvern, actually. I’ve hunted as many wyverns as I’ve seen winters since becoming a hunter.”

“Okay! That’s! Very cool?”

Uh. How was this not impressive? “W-well, you can sell stuff here, right? How much do you think I’d get for it?”

“Probably about twenty copper coins, I’d imagine.”

“Not even one silver coin?”

“Not from the guild, no.”

“But I won’t be able to even feed myself with that! I’m starving here, tell me you know a place that would buy it for a bit more!”

After drinks and a teensy bit of food, twenty copper coins would be gone in no time. Everything cost an arm and a leg in this place. What was I going to do if I ran out of money before I found Shooter?

“C’mon, you gotta help me out here! Please!”

“I’m sorry, Miss, but there’s nothing much I can do for you. If you’re strong enough to handle a wyvern, I would think registering here at the guild would be the best way to secure your future.”

“Hrm…” She had a point. I was a hunter, so killing monsters would be a snap. I didn’t have much in the way of hunting gear, but I wouldn’t need much to handle kobolds or some wild bears. From what I heard, it wasn’t like all adventurers did was hunt monsters, either.

“Then fill me in on what I need to do for registering. You don’t charge a fee for that or something, do you?”

“I would be happy to help. And not to worry, we don’t charge a registration fee,” the receptionist said, smiling.

Ugh. Well, whatever. She led me over to an adjacent counter to get me squared away.

“It just so happens that we’re accepting applicants for an ogre-hunting quest! Anyone who’s already joined, please wait there. We’re also looking for people for a temporary farming quest!”

I stood outside the guild, working to sell passersby on the quests available inside. Look, I needed cash and food fast. The sun was already low in the sky, but the guild was livelier than ever since the appearance of a group of ogres in a village on the outskirts of town. Advertising opportunities were through the roof, apparently.

I kinda wanted to do the ogre quest—would’ve made bank on that one—but the receptionist said she would treat me to food after this marketing job was done, so I went with it instead. Shooter hadn’t come back, so I didn’t have much of a choice.

“Ogre-hunting quest, right here, folks! Step right up, don’t be shy! Ogre come, make danger, taste adventure, smell heroism! Anyone who wants in, just ask at the counter. Everyone who’s already signed up, gather up over here, please!”

Stupid Gimul, stupid job, Shooter, you asshole!