401 Cactus Soup (1/2)
Truen returned to the inn and greeted Dwayne.
”Did my brother eat dinner yet?” he asked.
The S rank ex-adventurer shook his head. ”He was in the stable with Brutus the entire time. I think they're still there.”
Truen thanked the innkeeper and walked back out again to find his troublesome friend. Didn't he ask Zero to ask around for information? What was he doing in the stable for so many hours? It was already dark, Zero should know better than to ignore curfew. He had to be in bed by nine and up by five in the morning. That had been Hua Tuo's instructions and other than a few occasions, Zero had never failed to adhere to this good habit. It was already eight and the doctor hadn't even eaten or showered. Truen must have been too lenient with him.
As he got closer to the stable, he heard chatters. That sounded very much like Zero but Truen couldn't recognise the other voice. The man sounded gruff and the archer readied a spell to knock out the person Zero was talking to if he proved to be a nuisance.
”Oh! Truen you're back! This is Brutus, he is a stablehand but he also knows a lot about the desert. We were just talking about the huge blind worms that attack travellers by luring it into its mouth, acting like a cave.”
”So this is where you've been,” Truen cancelled the spell. Zero was gathering information after all and the man called Brutus didn't look like a threat. He thought that Dwayne would help him keep an eye on the troublemaking doctor but there wasn't a real need if Zero hadn't even wandered from the territory.
”What's so interesting that made you forget about dinner?” he asked and gave Ela a pat. The sand walkers looked fed but he couldn't make out what they were eating. Brutus was a good stablehand and he could tell that the man didn't lie. Sure, he might look rough around the edges but so does everyone else in this lawless area.
Zero blinked and looked at the sky. ”Oh my goodness! Sorry, Brutus! I didn't mean to keep you here for so long, I just got so carried away. You must be hungry, please go and have dinner now.”
Brutus shook his head and blushed when Zero showed concern. Nobody has ever shown him such kindness and Brutus felt as if he wanted to repay that debt. ”Join me for dinner?” he asked and gestured to Truen as well.
Zero blinked and looked at his best friend. He only accepted the invitation after Truen nodded. As of now, they were broke and Brutus didn't look like he was going to poison them so there wasn't any harm accepting his proposal.
As it turned out, Brutus didn't live near the inn. However, he was still in Dwayne's unofficial territory so Truen wasn't as worried. There was still some distance to walk so Truen decided to fall back behind Zero as his friend chattered away and asked for more stories about Dwayne's time as a mercenary.
This was something Truen already knew. However, there really wasn't a way for him to get promoted to an A rank so quickly. Also, Zero was technically a C rank adventurer which would ordinarily be a suicide mission with just the two of them and their mounts. However, because of connections from Zero's side, they wouldn't be stopped. In fact, Truen was curious if there were any quest givers in a lawless zone like Deadman Town. He would have to ask Desert Lily about it after the match. Knowing the assassin guild leader, she would never turn down a good money-making opportunity, especially one as high-risked as this.
”Do you know any place we can buy maps about the desert or anyone who has experience travelling in it for a long time? Any desert guides? My brother and I have to travel to the desert.”
Brutus opened the flimsy wood door with a groan. ”Nobody who goes deep into the desert returns alive. However, there are stories from those who found the notes of dead adventurers. Notes that say there are people living in villages and cities in the desert.”