Raith rubbed his chest as he entered the Adventurer’s Guild for the second time that day. Thea had headbutted him when she came to the door for not letting her know he was ok the moment he was released from jail. Her horns may be small, but they packed a wallop and she still wasn’t over it.

  “I really am sorry. Come on, this is supposed to be exciting. We’re about to be a real, certified adventuring team. Delve every dungeon, climb every tower.”

  He looked at her with eyes widened, waiting for the response. Thea held on to her scowl for a moment before relenting.

  “Grind out those levels, ‘cause levels are power.”

  Raith smiled, relieved she wasn’t going to be mad all night.

  “You deserved the headbutt, though,” Nyhm said.

  Raith clutched his heart dramatically.

  “You’ve never got anything to say, but when you finally throw in your two coppers it’s to betray your own brother.”

  Nyhm looked unrepentant and Thea gave a self satisfied nod, so Raith decided to call this battle a loss and move on. He nudged Thea with his elbow.

  “After all this time, I can’t believe you’re the one who turns out to be the thief.”

  She elbowed him back way harder.

  “Getting that cane was the best way to see through your foolish plan. And you still got yourself thrown in a cell.”

  “Ouch.“ Raith rubbed his arm and decided perhaps now wasn’t the right moment to give her a hard time. “Lets get drinks and head to the back room. There probably isn’t anyone here yet, but maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  The trio entered the back room in good spirits, laughing with drinks in hand. Several tables were full at this hour, but it looked like the conference rooms sat empty. Raith wondered if he needed to get permission to use them. He gestured towards the board on the wall with his wine glass.

  “That’s the [Quest] board, which we’ll…”

  A booming voice interrupted the impromptu tour.

  “Raith Quirric?”

  An enormous man with wild red hair stood up from one of the tables. He wore furs, even in the heat of summer, and an enormous two headed axe leaned on the table next to where he had been sitting. It was a small comfort that the barbarian hadn’t reached for it yet, since he looked like he could crush them all with his bare hands.

  The rest of the room went quiet.

  “I am Dagnar!” He slapped his chest with a meaty palm. “And I accept your challenge.”

  “What the threaded fuck did you do now?” Thea whispered out the side of her mouth.

  “I swear I have no idea what this guy is talking about,” Raith whispered back, before smiling at the barbarian. “Hi, uh, Dagnar. I think we may have some kind of misunderstanding.”

  “Dagnar misunderstands nothing,” the barbarian roared, and Nyhm moved to flank the man in case he charged.

  “I doubt that very much,” Thea whispered again.

  “Shut up, he will hear you,” Raith hissed before raising his voice again. “Ok, then help me out, Dagnar. What challenge are you talking about?”

  “The call to adventure!” He snatched up his axe and thrust it into the air at this, which ironically coincided with everyone relaxing about the encounter. Chairs scooted back into tables, and quiet conversation resumed.

  Raith couldn’t help but let out a relieved chuckle, which caused Dagnar’s brow to furrow in consternation.

  “Of course, sir. Our post seeking party members. Why don’t we step into one of the conference rooms for an interview?”

  The furrow grew deeper.

  “There will be no interview. I have reached the third braid of power, and together we shall slaughter our enemies across the land. Glory in blood!” He thrust his axe into the air again.

  Raith exchanged glances with Nyhm and Thea, who both gave subtle shakes of their head.

  “That’s no problem, Dagnar. It sounds like you’d be an amazing asset to our team, but we have a lot of other people to talk to and it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t hear them out.”

  It seemed to take the barbarian a long time to process this, and Raith was afraid he’d just made the man angry. Eventually, the cragged face relaxed and he nodded.

  “It is important to be fair in all things. When you have told the others no, you will find me drinking ale in the next room.”

  They watched him leave before Thea spoke.

  “We’re definitely not taking that guy, right?”

  “Right,” Nyhm and Raith said at the same time.

  They turned and approached the attendant behind the counter. Terra’s replacement was a slender, elderly man with wine stained teeth named Sal. Raith had met him briefly on the way out last time, and the old [Rogue] was somehow even more blase than Terra had been.

  “Hey, Sal. Is it ok if we use the conference rooms back there?”

  “First come first serve, knock yourself out.” He patted Raith’s hand in a kindly old man way, and a voice rung out from behind them.

  “No stealing from Guild members, you rotten old thief.”

  Raith jumped and turned to see Senora entering the room. He turned back to Sal, who was wearing a huge grin and didn’t look the least bit embarrassed.

  “Aw, I’m just keeping in practice. Wasn’t gonna keep nothing.”

  The old man pushed a black wooden ring that Raith had never seen before across the counter. He picked it up and examined the fine grains, wondering what game this thief was up to.

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  “This isn’t mine.”

  Sal stopped smiling and looked confused.

  “Then what was it doing on your finger?”

  “It wasn’t on my finger.”

  “Was so. That one right there.” The old man pointed and scowled. “What are you playing at? It was just a spot of fun.”

  “You were wearing that when we came in,” Thea said quietly.

  Raith re-examined the ring, then slipped it over the finger Sal had indicated. The conversation with Remi all came flooding back, smacking him in the brain like one of Thea’s shield bashes.

  That was way too close for comfort. I need to sew this thing onto my finger or something. At least now I know what happens when I take it off.

  Shaking his head to clear it, Raith put on one of his horrible fake smiles, causing Sal to lean away.

  “I’m only kidding. Of course it’s mine. Just trying to get you back a little…haha.”

  Everyone looked more confused than amused, but Senora had no patience for whatever this was.

  “Raith, come talk to me when you’ve finished with your interviews. We need to speak about your intentions with my daughter.”

  Thea’s mouth fell open. Nyhm could not have raised his eyebrows any higher, and Sal resumed his wine-stained grin.

  “My…my….intentions?”

  Senora’s eyes narrowed.

  “I saw how Terra got all dressed up to go out with you when she got off work. No offense, but I didn’t think you were her type.”

  “Wait, no. I didn’t…”

  She interrupted, leveling a finger at him. “When you are done.” She jerked her thumb back towards the door. “My office. Understood?”

  Raith just nodded mutely, and the guildmistress stormed away. Thea gave him a friendly elbow to the ribs.

  “You rebound fast, don’t you?” She was grinning ear to ear. “And with such a beauty. I’m impressed.”

  He was about to correct her, but realized the truth was so much worse and groaned.

  How am I going to explain this to Senora without being murdered?

  “Let’s just go sit down. Sal, would you please direct anyone responding to my post to the conference room back there.”

  “Sure thing, loverboy.” Sal threw him a wink and cackled.

  By the time they got settled in, Raith’s wine was gone, but he was afraid to go back out there in case any more weird shit happened. Nyhm must have noticed him frowning at his empty cup.

  “I’ll grab us another round when I finish mine.”

  “Watch out for Dagnar while you're in there,” Thea said.

  Raith chuckled at that, but Nyhm frowned and leaned forward.

  “A thrice braided [Barbarian] would be a powerful addition to the team. We could fight much tougher foes and level more quickly.”

  Thea pointed towards the other room.

  “Yeah, but you heard him. He’s a bloody lunatic.”

  “And why does anyone at that level want to sign on with us?”

  “Good question. He should be looking for a silver or gold ranked team.”

  “I can answer that.”

  They all turned to see a gnome had poked her head in the door.

  “Sorry to interrupt.”

  Raith jumped up and gestured to a chair.

  “Not at all. Please have a seat.”

  She moved fully into the doorway, but didn’t come all the way in. The gnome was decked out like a [Gizmoteer], with goggles pushed up on her head and a complicated looking crossbow on her hip. Raith felt his pulse quicken with excitement. He had really been hoping for an [Archer], but that was only because [Gizmoteers] were so rare on this continent.

  “I’m not here to join up. Got a team in there.” She nodded behind her. Raith tried to hide his disappointment, and she smiled apologetically. “I just wanted to warn you guys about Dagnar. He’s a [Berserker]. Been kicked off his last two teams for accidentally murdering party members in the heat of combat.” She seemed to consider a moment. “Well, murdering one and cutting the leg off another. Just thought you guys should know before taking him on.”

  “Thank you. The advice is really appreciated. I’m Raith, by the way. My teammates are Thea and Nyhm.”

  “Sonnet.” She gave a little wave. “The rest of the Wendel’s Wolverines have a table out there. You should come have a drink when you're done. It’s good to get to know other teams. Never know when you’ll be in a scrape together.”

  “We will definitely do that. Thank you, Sonnet.”

  After she left, Nyhm upended his mug and gathered up the glasses, leaving to get more drinks.

  “So Terra Goldheart, eh?” Thea waggled her eyebrows and smirked. “Pretty face, although I hate the way she wears it.”

  “It wasn’t like that. I just introduced her to the Players of Shan because she wants to be an actress.”

  Thea dropped her smile and tilted her head to the side.

  “And how in the world do you know the Players of Shan?” Her expression transformed into shock as she realized the implications of his statement. “Wait, Senora is going to murder you.”

  Raith nodded glumly.

  “I know.”

  “Not just murder. She’s going to flay the skin from your bones. She’ll put out a [Quest] to have hobs torment you for years to come. She will…”

  “I get it! I’m screwed.”

  “Ehem.”

  A throat cleared in the doorway and they both turned to see a very pale young woman in a black robe standing there. They all stared at each other a moment before Raith realized it was probably his job to say something.

  “Are you here for the adventuring team interview?”

  She just nodded, an blank expression on her face.

  “Please have a seat. I’m Raith and this is Thea. Nyhm is our third member and should be back in a moment.”

  She sat and folded her hands neatly onto her lap, back very straight in the chair. An unpleasant, antiseptic smell followed her into the room.

  “I am Serabeth, [Healer] and priestess of the goddess Maeve.”

  “A [Healer], that’s wonderful.”

  He looked over to Thea, who didn’t look nearly as excited as she should be over the prospect of a [Healer] on the team. They usually got snatched up pretty quickly. Maybe they could bring on both her and an [Archer] if they got lucky.

  “Tell us a little bit about yourself.”

  Neither Serabeth’s face nor her stiff posture changed as she spoke. Only her eyes darted back and forth between Raith and Thea.

  “I was anointed at Maeve’s tower in the holy city of Torrich. It was there I joined a team named the Hammers of Donnel. Our bond of pain and power lasted for seven months. I am the only survivor.”

  She uttered that last part in a weird throaty voice that made Raith very uncomfortable.

  “Uh, ok then. Do you have any questions for us?”

  “I do not.”

  He glanced at Thea, who gave him a subtle shake of the head.

  “Well, thank you for stopping by. We’ll let you know when we’ve had a chance to decide between all our options.”

  The strange woman swept out of the room in a rustle of robes, almost running into Nyhm on his way in. He managed to avoid spilling the three drinks he was juggling and crinkled his nose as she passed.

  “Who was that? She smells weird.”

  “She was weird. But she’s also a [Healer], which may be worth putting up with some weirdness. I feel like I should have asked more questions or something.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m exercising my veto on that one,” Thea said.

  “We have a veto?” Nyhm asked, settling back into his seat.

  “For new team members? You bet your topknot we do.”

  “What’s your problem with her?”

  Thea looked from Raith to Nyhm and back again.

  “I don’t expect you two to know much about this stuff, but I grew up around the Order. One of the main things they do is keep the towers in check. The gods may be trapped, but they can still influence the world through [Priests] and minions.”

  It pained Raith to acknowledge the Order did anything worthwhile, but some of the more unsavory gods required a close eye to ensure they didn’t wreak havoc.

  “Is Maeve one of the evil ones? I’ve heard some of the tower towns can be pretty strange.”

  “They’re all pretty strange, even the nice ones. But no. Maeve isn’t exactly evil. She just believes pain brings you closer to perfection. Her [Healers] do not employ any of the pain reduction techniques other sects do. No matter how horrendous the injury, you’ll experience all of that pain in reverse, just like a cheap potion.”

  Nyhm shrugged.

  “Sounds like the [Healers] in the pits. It would save us a lot of money on potions.”

  Thea nodded.

  “True, but a lot of Maeve’s priests cross the line into sadism. Anything non-consensual is frowned upon, but the line is fuzzy. They give me the creeps, and I don’t want one on my team.”

  Raith leaned back and sighed.

  “Fair enough.”

  They didn’t have any comers for a while, and Raith went to grab a pitcher of water after Thea’s round so they didn’t get too drunk. Dagnar was sitting by himself at the bar, slumped heavily forwards and slurring at a very put upon bartender.

  “Ishh not my fault. Thoshe guys were my friends, too.” *hiccup* “The rage just takshs ahold of my heart, you know?”

  Luckily, the barbarian didn’t even look his direction as he returned to the back room.

  He entered to see a vaguely familiar face walk towards their conference room, stop and shake his head, then turn and walk away muttering to himself. The thin man wore stylish, loose fitting clothing that was obviously expensive, if only for the dark blue hues that suggested impossible depths to the fabric.

  Raith knew he’d seen him before, but couldn’t quite place it. Raith watched as the man repeated his approach and walk-away routine, but on the third repetition, the man looked up and noticed Raith. His eyes grew wide, and Raith realized where he had recognized him from.

  “Tolliver?”