The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

            The ex-assassins and the kids frowned when they heard that since it didn't make any sense. Mercenaries were mercenaries because they solved their problems by fighting. If they want something, they take it from others. While there are some exceptions, those exceptions barely last for long since the other militarized bands do everything to obtain power constantly.

"Once again, I can only show that I mean what I say," Zaos said. "If you don't have a place to stay and don't want to work for me, you can use our headquarters for a while since we have plenty of free rooms. But if you wish to help me, then I will give you the right tools to live your new life and I will also pay you no matter what kind of job you want to do."

            When Zaos went quiet, the place also became silent. They didn't know what to do, and they still didn't know Zaos all that well to quickly accept working for him. Even though he freed them from shackles, nothing was confirmed that he wouldn't put them in others. That being said, some people approached Zaos, saying that they wanted to join his band, they weren't numerous. Still, they were eager enough to satisfy Zaos.

"Before anything, let's make this place into something more comfortable," Zaos said while looking at the eerily-looking headquarters.

            The next day, with the help of those who decided to help, Zaos bought and carried some lumber from the town to increase the size of the headquarters. While they had numerous tents there, it was better to sleep under something that could protect them from the rain. Zaos didn't know a single thing about building even small rooms, so he paid the lumberjack he bought the planks from to help them on building the new quarters. After that, he brought other materials and then made several beds. Once Nakin and the others got the hang of things, Zaos decided to talk with the kids who decided to join his group. Naturally, they couldn't fight, and while Zaos learned how to fight pretty early, he didn't want to limit the options of those kids. Unfortunately, there were only so many things he and Aleni could teach them. Zaos learned that noble kids learn the way of the sword or go to the magic school, and ordinary kids learn the craft of their parents until they become adults or they decide to join the army. So, he decided to let them learn how to clean some weapons that wouldn't hurt them by accident and how to identify some plants and cultivate them. Zaos also began to teach them how to read since it was almost time for Milliendra to learn as well.

          After a couple of days, Zaos noticed that some travelers were approaching to see his group's things. They probably heard the rumors and came to check, but they still had no idea if they wanted to join or not. Regardless, Zaos kept doing the same as usual, and once things got calm and everyone was learning new things, he began to talk with people of the town and spread the kind of services they were offering. At first, some merchants really frowned since it seemed too suspicious. Still, they eventually asked for odd jobs like cleaning weapons and looking after animals like horses.

          Once Zaos was satisfied with the number of quarters, Zaos asked Nakin about those who still wanted to use their skills. The number was small since they wanted to forget everything about that period of their lives. Still, six out of the sixty was more than sufficient for the time being. Zaos reunited with them in his room about the assignment he had for them. But first, he gave them some gold coins.

"This will be your payment for this month," Zaos said. "You can use it how you see fit, but I would you guys to go and move around while spreading the word that I am recruiting in all major towns of this region. That is your main mission, but I also want you to keep watching people who may speak about us. It doesn't matter if it is good or bad, or if someone is asking or answering. I want to know every single piece of information that is spreading regarding us."

The group understood the goal of their job. Zaos wanted to make sure that no one would spread bad rumors about his group in order to prevent potential allies from not joining the group, and he also wanted to know those who would benefit more from that. The only thing they didn't know was that Zaos also wished to prevent information about them leaving the country. Preventing that forever was impossible, but as long as he could, Zaos would try.

          While they wouldn't be able to mix all that well thanks to their appearance that hid their faces, the group left early in the morning, and they looked pretty excited about a mission in which they didn't have to end up killing someone. Not to mention, it was the first time they had been paid to do something.

          On that very same day, Zaos found five young boys at the base entrance who wanted to join his group. They seemed pretty green, but Zaos couldn't see any malice in their eyes. They certainly were kids who never had to touch on weapons until now, even though they were around thirteen.

            Just teaching everyone to fight for free would be insane, so Zaos let them learn the basics of sword fighting in the morning. In the evening, they began to plow a certain area outside the town. Zaos was planning to cultivate the plants that could make mana potions, but before that, he needed a decent field for that.. Fortunately, those five understood that they needed to work like that to deserve their place in the group since they Still couldn't contribute all that much.