“Yes sir, thank you sir.” Alburet replied. “I will do so, but first I am going to head back out for a bit longer and slaughter some more of the green skinned bastards.”
“As you will. Just stay safe out there.” the Sergeant went back to his desk just as another player to come running in to demanded a quest.
“Alright, guys. Break time is over. Let's head out again,” Alburet said, then paused. “Err… Do I need to feed you two?”
“Tiny feeds on the blood of his enemies,” Tiny said.
Bob rolled his eyes, “We don't eat anything from this plane. Just dismiss us when you’re done for the night and we will eat when we return to our plane. We can go days without needing to eat though, so do not worry.”
“Good to know,” Alburet said as he led them back out the gate. “Tiny, front and center. Do not attack any goblin engaged with another player. We are heading back to the corner we were at earlier.”
Tiny grunted and set off at a trot, followed by the other two. “Good thing you gave him explicit instructions or he would be stopping at every mob,” Bob said as he ran along with them in his normal skipping gait.
Alburet just chuckled as they engaged their first goblin. “I thought he might.”
They spent the next few hours killing any goblin that came in range. Alburet noticed the number of players starting to increase as evening came on. He called a halt to it without having hit level ten, but he knew he was close to it.
“Alright, back to the fort and once we are inside the walls you two will be dismissed for the rest of the night.” Alburet said and started to jog for the fort. The two minions followed along and vanished in puffs of smoke as soon as he passed the gates. “Well, at least they follow orders well.”
He sold off the excess gear and handed off supplies before heading up to the barracks. Once he found a bed, he dropped one piece of gear into the foot locker. A message came up telling him that anything he stored in the locker could only be retrieved by him. Smiling, he put both bags into of the locker along with his staff.
Turning, he found a young man in uniform buckling on a belt. “Excuse me, is there a bathing room here?” Alburet asked the man.
“Down the hall, fourth door on the right,” the private replied without looking over. “Remember to clean up after yourself or the Sergeant will be pissed.”
“Will do, thanks,” Alburet said and followed the directions he had been given.
The bathing room was a large room filled with four granite tubs. A sink stood to one side along with a wood stove that was burning away. Taking some kettles stacked near the stove, Alburet filled them with water and placed them on the stove, then he partially filled a tub with cold water after having put the stopper into it. He added the hot water when it was ready before stripping down and climbing in. He used the bar of lye soap he found on the tub rim to scrub down before relaxing in the water.
As he was getting dressed after his bath the door opened and ten men came in laughing and carrying on. They froze at the sight of Alburet. One of them stepped forward with a frown. “What are you doing in here, Civvy?”
Sighing, Alburet stood up, “Leaving actually. After I look about the place a bit more I think I might retire a bit early tonight. Is that a problem, private?”
“Yeah. This is a military keep not a fracking inn,” the private said belligerently. “I think I should take you down to the Sarge so he can explain it to you.”
“The Sergeant is well aware that I’m here. He offered me the barracks as a place to sleep for the night. Something about killing more goblins than any of the privates in the building. Now excuse me, but I will be leaving.” Alburet walked forward being forced to stop as none of the privates moved.
“I don't think so dumb nuts. First we’re gonna teach you a lesson for insulting us.” the private growled, reaching out to grab him.
Alburet sidestepped, taking the proffered arm and tossing the private into the nearest tub. “I think I should go without being taught anything. I will warn you that the Sergeant and Captain Roberto at the capital both think highly of me.”
The others all stepped out of the way with dark looks and mutters. The first one clambered to his feet groggily. “Don't let him bluff you, guys. After we beat the shit out of him we’ll turn him over to the Sarge and say he started the fight.” The eyes of the other nine all glinted at the idea.
Alburet sighed and pointed behind the group, “Come to me, Tiny.”
The group paused to glance behind them as the smoke cleared, showing Tiny. “You called, master?”
“You’re a fracking Summoner?” one of the guys gasped and stepped well away from the others.
“Yes. Now, do you want to continue down this road or not?”
The guys near the door backed away from Tiny and Alburet, shaking their heads. “Oh come on guys, if we subdue him the demon leaves.” The first attacker said as he got out of the tub, clenching his fists.
“Tiny, make sure the others do not join in. This one is mine.” Alburet said as he turned back to the attacker. “I ask you again to stand down, private.”
The young man shook his head and stepped forward slowly, “I'm going to show you that we’re better than you, Summoner.”
Alburet waited, arms out before him, his hands flat as the man came forward. Alburet batted the first three strikes away, “This is not going to work out for you.”
“I'm just testing your defenses,” the private said before lunging forward with both hands, trying to grab Alburet.
Alburet went down and swept the grabbing arms up and away before turning and slamming a hand into the back of the private’s knee. As the private went to his knee Alburet grabbed him from behind and applied a choke.
“Aggression is not always the answer. The wise man learns when to back down. Are you wise?” Alburet said waiting for the private to go limp. Once no more resistance was forthcoming Alburet released the hold and stood back up. “Anyone else?”
The other nine looked from him to the private then back, shaking their heads.
“Good,” Alburet said. “Tiny, pick him up and follow me. We are going to see their superior about this incident.”
The other nine sighed and followed Tiny, who followed Alburet, out the door and down to the main room. The unconscious private was beginning to stir as they arrived at the Sergeant’s desk. He looked at the group with raised eyebrows.
“Sir,” Alburet saluted. “I am afraid I must report being attacked by this man in the bathing room. He addressed me as a Civvy and told me to get out. He failed to listen to me when I informed him that I was in the barracks on your invitation, sir. These nine witnessed the attack but did not interfere when I asked them to stay out of it.”
The Sergeant looked at the other nine, who all nodded agreement with what Alburet had said. He then turned to the private who was getting to his feet from where Tiny had dropped him. “Private Jenkins, do you have anything to add?”
“Sir, he attacked me, sir. He summoned a demon and attacked me after intimidating the others.”
“I have a different story from Alburet and the others have agreed with his story. Do you wish to continue with that line Private Jenkins?”
Private Jenkins lowered his head, “No sir. I attacked him without provocation. I was in the wrong. I just let my anger at all the Civvies talking down to us out on him, or tried to.”
“Very well, you have kitchen duty for the next month during your usual off time. Maybe this will teach you not to act without thinking. The rest of you, not all civilians are what you expect. This goes double for the two-souled. Alburet here has been killing goblins all day. Take this into consideration the next time you see a civilian in the keep. If it bothers you that much, come to me first before you start a fight.”