Michel flipped the piece of monster meat in the pan with his dagger as he sat across from a dwarf who had one of those constructs of a female dwarf handing the real male one a mug of beer. Michel liked this brother of the twin duo he and his own brothers have been learning from for the last several months. This one was what he pictured a fantasy dwarf should be like, instead of the older grouch whose idea of small talk is awkward silence.
“ I be surprised how well you cook, I have spent many years roughing it in the wilds, but never have I had anything enjoyable before you came along.”
Michel smirked as he checked on the loaf of bread he was making in the makeshift oven.
“ I always enjoyed cooking, even in my previous life. In the home, I was the one who cooked all our meals. It was a struggle at times to feed twelve with enough food for seven.”
These words caused the dwarf to pause his drinking mid-gulp, and he soon found himself with a beard full of beer.
“ Ah, kin but not by blood, I had thought it strange you four did not look alike.”
Michel merely nodded to this as he stirred the stew before setting the slab of monster meat to cook and putting another slab in the same skillet to cook.
“ I wanted to be the chef. Tony, his dad was a cop, a town guard... Died in the line of duty. He is alway the stong one. The one that keeps us straight. Luke his parents were narcotics dealers and makers. He always had a knack for getting what we needed to survive, as long as we did not ask too many questions. Even Tony knew not to ask. Brandon, he... he was never the brightest, but he is not stupid. He's just a bit slow. We protect him from people, he protects us from everything else now.”
The dwarf nodded. Pleased to hear it.
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“ Ah, a proper clan in the making. I notice you do not fight as much as the others, but remain around their level. You ain’t a combat class, are you?”
Michel shakes his head.
“ You have to have one to be an adventurer. I’m a support at best, crafter in all but name.”
“ Thought so. the other three archetypes are easy to guess: guardian, rogue, and strongman. You, you hang out behind with a crossbow and take pot shots. No skills, abilities, or real skills have been shown. The giveaway, however, was the food.”
The dwarf gestures toward the fire pit-turned-make-shift-cooking station.
“ No adventurer worth their rank spends more on that than their own kit. Do not get me wrong; the buffs are good. Some of the best I ever saw, but you know, if you enter a dungeon, you are the liability.”
Michel did not respond immediately; instead, he chose to focus on his cooking before finally deciding on what to say.
“ There is a small war within the ranks of the otherworlders. On one side is guild 88. Our boss is a leader of them, they consist mainly of crafters and support personnel. On the other is The Association. From day one, they tried to consolidate all the otherworlder power under them. If I did not know better, their leadership was chosen ahead of time by outside forces. At the start, they mind-controlled and forced contracts of servitude on dozens. When that failed, they gang recruited hundreds. Those of us who stayed independent don't want anything to do with one and do not think the other is right for us.”
Michel then sighed as he got the bread out and tested it to see if it was done in the center.
“ Do not get me wrong, my brothers and I plan on joining the side of the guild, but we want our independence too. Many who joined the adventurer guild thought we were the heroes of our own stories.”
The dwarf smiled at that as Michel finished putting the plate of food together and handed it over.
“ We natives can tell the difference, you know. The Cardmancer, he is something special, he is thrust into his destiny, and he grabs hold of it and turns it into greatness. You and your brothers, you look what is before you and you do not run toward it like the Cardmancer and his las, you walk slowly with measured steps. Which is not a bad thing. If our boss were to go out, it would be with an explosion that would make a star exploding look mild. But for those like us, who still move down our paths, albeit slowly. We will not meet our end with a bang. It will be overshadowed by those further ahead than us. But we will also not go unnoticed.”
The dwarf then bit into the bread, and a smile crept onto his face.
“ You should definitely open your own tavern. Tony can be the barkeep, Luke can handle the secret security, and your big brother can be the bouncer. Call it Hero’s rest.”
The dwarf then barked a laugh, but Michel could not help but smile at the idea. Especially since that was their plan already once the Cardmancer finally conquered some land from the demons.
