The next morning Leon showed me around a bit and explained how things worked. Contrary to many stories about people being swept away to a different world, there was no Adventures Guild in this one. There were monsters and dangerous creatures but dealing with those were the duty of knights and trained soldiers. Handled by the Lords and the Kings.
What did exist was bulletin boards. Each neighbourhood had one. There people posted requests and simple jobs. Something that was helpful to travellers. Not every job posted was suited for a stranger, like babysitting, but a lot of them were. For someone in my situation, it would help a lot.
In addition to the bulletin boards there were small community centres. These served larger sections of the city and handled things like disputes. Sometimes there would be events held there as well. Many community centres used the bulletin boards to hire temporary help.
“You can stay the night in the guard house for now", the guard told me. “Regardless of you decide to stay or move on permanently, I think it is safer if you can ask someone who won’t try and trick you.”
“Thank you", I said. Looking over the bulletin I noticed many were made of wood. Rather than words, there were carvings in them. Maybe the literacy rate was low? It kind of felt like solving a rebus.
A carving with a leaf and a hand? Most likely picking herbs. Broom and a bucket? Cleaning. Axe and a tree? Getting firewood.
None of them seemed very complicated and the idea wasn’t bad. Though, I wasn’t sure how to know who had posted the request.
“You can usually ask around", Leon explained. “If you still don’t know, you can try the community centre. These are often borrowed from there anyway.”
Good to know. Made sense to, why make new ones for common requests. I picked one with a broom, hoping I could figure out who it was from. My sort-of friend had to go back to work and couldn’t help me. Since I needed to be able to do this myself it was not an issue.
Before I had moved far a man with a big belly came up to me.
“You picked a request? For cleaning?” he said.
“Yes?” I showed it to him send he nodded.
“I give you five copper and a free meal, in exchange you clean the dining room of my inn.”
It sounded low, even with food included. Before I could answer one of the women around the well yelled.
“Don’t be a cheapskate. You usually offer fifteen coppers and two meals", she said. “And you, lad, there are way more cleaning jobs that pay better. If he insists on five copper, I help you pick a better option.”
Grumbling the innkeeper raised the amount to fifteen copper and two meals. I accepted.
While it wasn’t the whole inn it was still a large, and very dirty, dining room. I was given a rough broom, a wooden bucket, and a ragged piece of cloth.
First order of business would be to clean the tables. For that I would need warm water and preferably some soap. A cook in the kitchen didn’t mind boiling me some water and give me a small piece of soap. Thanking her I started.
First I scrubbed the tables, getting rid of stains and dried food. Once that was done it was time for a quick lunch. Then it was time to sweep the floor, I couldn’t find a dustpan so I ended up collecting it in a corner. Hoping to find a way to get rid of it later. The water in the bucket had cooled so I threw it out and went to ask for more. Amused the cook boiled a pot and gave me more soap.
“Ah... do you have a dustpan?” I asked her.
“It is right in the corner. You can use it while the water boils", she said. Thanking her I did just that. Bucket once more full of hot water I broke the piece of soap into smaller pieces. Twirling with the rag until I got some foam...
The floor was so dirty I had to change the water three times. Thankfully the cook didn’t mind helping me and told me she had plenty of soap. Finally I was done. Exhausted I dropped into a chair. There was probably more that I could have done but I was too tired to continue.
“Is he still working?” I heard the innkeeper’s voice. “What’s taking him so long?”
“Don’t you go off on that boy, Alvaz”, the cook scolded the man. “He has been working properly all day. Now give him this dinner so he can get home before it gets dark.”
The innkeeper grumbled something and I could soon see him enter with a tray. I was sitting close to the door so he only had to walk a couple of steps. Once he had put the tray down he looked around, and froze. He jaw dropping open.
“Wha... you...” he said. “What did you do?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Wrong? I don’t think I have ever seen the dining hall this clean. And the tables...”
“Oh, I used soap and warm water. Don’t worry, I cleaned the tables before the floor.”
He only stared at me silently.
“How was your first day?” Leon asked me as I closed the door behind me. There were still some light out and the others were not back yet.
“Exhausting. I cleaned the dining room of an inn. The innkeeper seemed pleased though. He paid me double from what we had agreed on.” I said and sat down. “He also gave me lunch and dinner.”
“No wonder you are tired then", the guard said and chuckled. “Here.” He handed me a leather bag. Opening it I was amazed to see it was my small collection of herbs. Leon had to have noticed my bewildered expression. “I don’t recognise your clothing but I thought it was a pity you were using your jacket. It is an old one though.”
“Thank you", I said sincerely. “Truth be told, I picked these almost by accident as I was making my way out of the forest.”
“No wonder, considering you have mastered Herbology. It takes considerable practice to master not only one but three abilities. My appraisal is still only at 56 percent and I use it daily. Feel free to look through them here. I need to make my last round.”
With that, I was left alone. It was a good opportunity to get to know this strange ability of mine. Pouring them out I picked on up and studied. Like before knowledge flowed into my mind. Now that I knew what was happening I was able to fully grasp what I learned. The level of detail was remarkable. What each part was, what it could do, the dosage, potential combinations, and how to prepare them depending on the results I wanted.
By the time the guards returned I was sipping on a cup of tea made of the petals from Ziran flowers. It was good for reliving fatigue and had a pleasant taste with a slightly sweet taste. You could overdose on it. The leaves of Ziran on the other hand could be dried and used for pain relief.
They gave me an odd look. I could only assume tea wasn’t a common thing in this world.
“There is plenty left if you want some", I said and gestured to the kettle. It was easy to rinse away any residue and I had used a clean cloth as a makeshift teabag. Leon was the only one who didn’t hesitate. Pouring himself a cup he sipped it. Eyes widening.
“This is good! Really good!” Hearing this the other guards quickly poured themselves some. I could see the tension drain out of them.
“Hah", Falvor sighed. “I haven’t felt like this in years...”
“Same", Brenden said. “What is this?”
“Ziran tea", I said. All three of them chocked on their tea. It was probably only me still drinking that kept them calm.
“Ziran is poisonous”, Leon said. “And tastes very bitter. How...”
“Only the stem is poisonous”, I explained. “The petals is great for easing fatigue but you need to steep them in hot water first. And not eat the petals directly. This is just the water.”
“I’m surprised”, the guard admitted. “So this is what mastering an ability can do.”
“To bad it can’t cure my bad shoulder”, Falvor sighed. “It is giving me more trouble every year.”
His shoulder? There were a few things that could cause someone issues there. “Would you mind if I have a look?”
“Not at all. Maybe some of your herbs can help me.”
I had him undress enough that I could get a good look. As I touched his skin I immediately got a rundown of the problem. Just like when I helped the wolf. This time I wasn’t quite as startled.
The older man had a slight dislocation of his shoulder. It had started to heal in the wrong place but if I could pop it back in, the pain should go too. I looked at my arms, this required more strength than I had... but maybe I didn’t have to do it myself.
Taking help from Leon and Brenden I instructed them of what to do and how. Cautioning them to be careful. Convincing Falvor was much harder but finally he gave in.
“On my count", I said. “One, two, three.” There was a crunching sound and the older man hissed in pain. Placing my hand on his shoulder I could see that the joint was back in place. “Avoid using your arm for a week. It would be best if you wore in a sling. I can probably mix something for the pain.”
“That would be appreciated...”
“Does that really work?” Brenden said. “Couldn’t you just have used some potion?”
“You need to treat a problem with the right solution”, I said. “Falvor had a dislocated joint. Popping it back in will solve the issue.”
“Wise words", Leon said. “You can’t douse a fire by throwing fat on it.”
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