CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 54 - Street Patrol

Maisen checked the clock hanging above the doorway at the armory; she saw that the hands on the dial indicated the time was fast approaching the second hour of the afternoon. She winced at the late hour. The captain wanted to spend as much time breaking in the new Watch recruit as possible before returning the nobleman to the dojo as she had promised the grandmaster.

Captain Maisen pursed her lips as she pondered what section of Tregome she could patrol and cover adequately in approximately two and a half hours. The captain wanted to take Lawrence back to the school by dusk so that the instructors would have some daylight remaining to get in some practice time with Lawrence. She decided that the best course was to inspect the northern walls and then march, eastbound, along with the wall before heading south. Assuming that nothing came up during the street patrol, he should be back by the seventeenth bell.

When the captain turned back to the trio of men, who were waiting patiently for her order, Maisen announced her decision. "We'll inspect the northern walls first and then head south." With that, she marched out of the armory.

Sankryn and Giudot walked behind her and stood to her left and right, respectively, while I took up the rear in a diamond formation. As we marched northward at the captain's customary pace, I thought about our formation and pondered its significance. The two Watchmen could have simply lined up in single file behind their captain. If the streets were crowded with merchants and pedestrians, I was certain that they would have marched in a single column. But since the streets were empty, the duo was less inclined to do so. Instead, by standing apart from their superior officer, the two men could focus on scanning the left and right sides rather than staring at the Maisen's back (Giudot) and head (Sankryn). It was a subtle choice by the two men but effective nonetheless for a street patrol because the trio was covering more ground that way. And it spoke well of these Watchmen because they were actively seeking to achieve their new captain's objective rather than going through the motions of obeying her orders like robots.

As for me, my objective during this patrol was to learn by watching how the three acted while patrolling the streets and absorbing their lessons—through both words and deeds. A few hours earlier today, Maisen had suggested that the two were yearning for someone worthy to follow; I was beginning to appreciate how valuable they would become as my faithful followers in the future. Following their lead, I started turning my head back and forth as we marched along the empty street. Of course, all the shops were closed per the Bishop's edict to mourn the town people lost last night.

Unfortunately, many of these shops lacked signs to identify what wares were available inside the stores. They were like the Lucky Shrine in that sense; you didn't know what you were getting into until you're already knee-deep into it. I pondered why the shopkeepers would not have signs for their shops. It certainly wasn't due to a lack of need. Perhaps, it was because the store owners couldn't afford whatever Roen, the sign maker, was charging for his signs. After all, he basically had a monopoly in town to charge whatever he pleased and therefore, the owners had nowhere else in Tregome to obtain signs.

As I thought about the sign maker, my left hand touched the small sack of gold tied around my belt. I needed to finalize my contract with Roen but alas, I wasn't going to talk to him today since all the shops were closed. Perhaps, it was better for me to talk to him later rather than sooner because this would give me more opportunities to increase my personal reputation and, hopefully, convince the elf to knock down his price.

During our trek through the second block, the church bell tolled fourteen times, indicating that it was now two hours past noon. When our patrol reached the third block on the street, I felt my eyes glazed over and I closed my eyelids for just a moment. I felt a sharp blow to my torso and the sudden hit jolted me awake instantly. I saw the pop-up, which indicated a loss of a single point of health. My eyes darted forward and I saw Sankryn glancing back with a slight frown; his hand rested on his sword hilt. Apparently, he was the one who smacked me awake with the butt of his sheathed sword. I grinned sheepishly, but the tall man only shook his head and turned his focus ahead again.