It had been a little while since Shagrath had last undertaken a mission and yet again he found himself running extremely low on Jewel. He had been managing his finances somewhat carelessly on his first few days in Hargeon, staying in lavish hotels and eating out at nice restaurants every day. This had all been well and good when he had a nice amount of money that he had saved from his days in the coal mine, but now after all of the overindulgence Shagrath found himself dead broke. He had gone from sleeping in high class accommodation to staying in run down hostels where there was a very strong vibe that one might be stabbed at any moment. Yet again it appeared to be time to find some more work, otherwise it looked as if he would be sleeping on the streets soon.

A few days before, or however long it had been, Shagrath had been spotting a man named Jay Holiday at the beach gym. It was boring work, Shagrath didnt much care for lifting weights, finding calisthenics to be a much more appropriate use of his time, but for such a very easy job, the client payed very well. Enough for the fee of a pretty decent hotel for at least a week. Yet again, at one of the popular dives in town, Shag had heard that Jay was yet again looking for able bodied individuals to assist him in his efforts to compete and win the most prestigious weightlifting tournaments in the area. Shagrath had been hoping for a job more suited to his status as a mage, but apparently he wasnt well known enough to attract that kind of work. Making it even more difficult was the fact that he didnt belong to a guild, and most of the good jobs for mages were posted directly in guild halls. It didnt matter too much, money was money and the time would eventually come where Shag would be recognized properly for his abilities.

Hargeon beach was quite a long walk away from where Shagrath was staying, so he made sure to rise early, before the sun had fully risen and before people were on their daily commutes to their jobs. Sometimes the human traffic in Hargeon was unbearable, so it was a nice change of pace to be able to walk down the street mostly alone, with the cool morning breeze to really freshen up Shagrath for what seemed to be a long day of work ahead. Upon passing the very few pedestrians on the street at this early hour of the morning, Shagrath made every effort to give them a nod or a smile. Not that he cared much for these people at all, but he didnt want to be perceived as a rude outsider, as these types generally didnt get the best reception from the Hargeon locals. After about a half hour of walking, Shagrath finally came upon the beach, and after walking the coast for a few more minutes, the client - Jay Holiday - was within his sight.

[514]

Shagrath approached the burly, blonde haired behemoth of a man, and gave him the same shallow smile that almost everybody in Hargeon had seen by now. Jay appeared to just look right through Shagrath, barely even affording him a passing glance, before going right back into his weight lifting. Strange. Jay and he and just been acquainted with one another less than a week ago, and had spent a long day with each other while Shag assisted with his training. It would be the courteous thing today to at least smile back, especially to someone that you already had some level of familiarity with. While this was strange to Shag, he didnt really care all that much about it, as his own gesture of politeness was exactly that. It was somewhat good to know that they were on the same page of understanding however, Shagrath was here to do a job and get paid - nothing more and nothing less.

He approached Jay, who was sweating profusely and the veins on his arms and forehead looked fit to burst right out of his skin. Shagrath had to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention, before yet again shallowly smiling and introducing himself.

"Hi, Im Shagrath. We met the other day, I helped you with your training for that competition. I heard you needed help again and I thought since we already somewhat know each other I'd be the right man for the job."

Jay's stare didnt seem to change, in fact he appeared to not even acknowledge Shagrath at all.

"Whatever. I've been too busy getting them mad gains and lifting sick pounds that I actually forgot to sign up for the competition I was training for. Now I'd do it myself, but that would make me miss far too much training time. So how about you be a good fella and do it for me. It's on the other side of the beach, the way you came actually. Sign me up by sunset and you'll be paid"

This time around Shagrath didnt afford Jay any formalities. He curtly turned his back on the man and set off running for the other side of the beach. On his way there he almost barreled over a couple of old folks using walkers, but he managed to divert his path just in time to avoid the awkward situation that would have ensued. A few drunken individuals who seemed to be under the legal age tried to distract him with throwing garbage and empty beer bottles, but Shagrath paid them no mind. Finally he had to leap a sandcastle that was right in the middle of the walkway, erected by some playing children who's parents apparently abandoned them for the day. Finally he came upon the line for the sign up booth, which was long and full of sweaty, smelly bodybuilders. Since Shag was in a rush, he simply shoved his way past all of them, ignoring the shouts and groans. He wrote Jay's name on the form, submitted it and headed back to collect his payment

[Mission complete]