Luard glares at Alliot and the party. He then speaks like he has grit in his throat.

  “You have paid back your debt and are pardoned for the crime or trespassing, breaking and entering along with property damage.”

  “Yeah, baby!” Alliot cheers.

  Alliot, Bron, Linda and Malo start high fiving each other. Ren is there too and she receives high fives.

  “I sincerely hope I never have to see any of you again.” Luard says.

  “Welcome back, Alliot.” Crane Baross, the guildmaster of the adventurer’s guild says. “I need you to take on a quest for me. It’s a request from the royal castle. Once you're done, report to Chancellor Luard Luminite.”

  “You got it, boss.” Alliot gives Crane a wink and a thumbs up.

  Alliot walks off and Crane waves Bron over. He approaches Crane.

  “So, how’s the wife and kid.” Bron asks.

  “Just fine.” Crane nods along. “And yours?”

  “Pah! The kid had dreams about being a boxer.” Bron scoffs. “I keep telling the kid that it’s tough to make it big in the sport, but that don’t stop ‘em.”

  “Hah! Well, it’s good to have ambition while you’re a kid.” Crane chuckles. “Anyway, can you do the usual?”

  “Yep! One wildlife survey and population culling coming up.” Bron says.

  Bron starts to head off. Next, Linda approaches Crane.

  “Glad you’re back. I have letters for you.” Crane says.

  Crane hands her a set of letters.

  “Linda, you somehow got a date. Don’t ask me how.”

  “Oh! What luck!” Linda cheers and takes the letter from the guild master.

  “Try to leave this date in one piece.” Crane says.

  Linda practically skips away with a glee and a number of letters in her grasp. Next were Malo and Ren. Crane Baross just looks at the two of them.

  “I- I don’t really have anything for either of you.” Crane says.

  “It’s fine.” Malo says. “Maybe I can take on a new quest or do some troubleshooting.”

  “This is Lucia.” Ren says.

  Crane looks to Ren’s side. Ren is holding Lucia’s hand.

  “She wants to be a hero.” Ren continues. “She has no experience and has a confidence issue. Where can we get her started?”

  “Herb gathering is a good starting place.” Crane says. “I think Psycho Twin Bells are selling for decent coin nowadays.”

  “Isn’t that an ingredient for a lot of illegal drugs?” Ren asks?

  “Yes, but alchemists can use it as materials for black powder.” Crane says. “And of course, black powder is growing in it’s usage and popularity. Quite frankly, the supply can’t keep up with the demand of black powder. Most of our black powder is imported. To produce it domestically, we need alchemists to use their ability to turn a material into another material. The mad quest to turn lead into gold ended up being good for something in our age.”

  “Cool.” Ren says.

  “Well, be careful. Drug peddlers are still in the market for those.” Crane says. “If you need help finding a proper buyer, you only need to ask me.”

  “Okay.” Ren says.

  Ren prepares to drag Lucia off somewhere until Crane grabs her by the collar before she can dart off.

  “Before that, I think a discussion is in order.” Crane says. “Grab a seat. Let’s have a talk.”

  Crane sets the two down onto a pair of chairs at the table he was seated at. Crane then waves a hand and mugs of grape juice are slammed onto the table in front of them.

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  “So, hero stuff, huh.” Crane takes his tankard and looks into it for a moment. “So are you really looking to become a hero?”

  “That’s what she told me.” Ren says. “She was talking about how awesome heroes are and that she- bwaghg!”

  Crane thrusts a mug of grape juice into Ren’s mouth.

  “Let the girl speak.” Crane says.

  Crane then gestures to Lucia.

  “Answer me honestly, is becoming a hero your dream?” Crane asks.

  Lucia begins to violently shake in the face of this muscular flamemane man. She inches away from his stare in her seat.

  “Uh- uhm-... s- sort of…” Lucia stammers.

  Crane gives Lucia a hard look.

  “Well, you weren’t lying about that confidence issue.” Crane says. “Do you know what a hero is?”

  At that question, Lucia straightens her back and her tail begins to furiously wag.

  “Heroes are the coolest and bestest people in the world!” Lucia goes from stammering to cheering. “They’re paragons of good! Blessed by the gods and eternal enemy of the dark lord! They’re the heroic virtue of bravery and justice! They’re the greatest!”

  Crane nods along with Lucia’s definition of the term “hero”.

  “That’s one way of looking at it.” Crane says. “Is that something you want to become?”

  “Uh! Well…” Lucia suddenly returns to stammering.

  “I know that a lot of heroes get their start as adventurers. Joining us is a sound plan if you really are aiming to become a hero.” Crane says. “As an experienced adventurer, let me tell you what a hero means to me.”

  Ren and Lucia look to each other. Then they give Crane a confused look.

  “Throughout history, the gods themselves choose a single person to receive a number of unique classes. They are unique in that only one person can have a unique class at a time. So the gods select each person who embodies the traits they desire to have these unique classes. Which is to say, if you dance to the gods’ tune you can gain the unique class of hero.”

  “Cool.” Ren says.

  Crane leans in and asks Lucia in earnest.

  “Is that what you really want?” Crane asks.

  “I- uhh- well- I mean-... sort of…” Lucia stammers.

  Crane gives Lucia a hard stare. After a moment, he shrugs his shoulders and takes a swig of his mug before speaking again.

  “Strangely, heroes were built on less.” he says. “Alright, you two be careful out there.”

  “Okay. We will.” Ren says.

  Ren starts to head out and Lucia snaps to attention. Lucia swiftly finishes off her grape juice before rushing after Ren. The two spend the next few hours picking herbs without issue outside of the city in some woods. Most were the Psycho Twin Bells that are supposedly valuable and legal now that alchemists can use it to produce black powder. No wolves, no bandits, no enterprising low lifes competing with them for the same herb. There were no issues.

  Ren and Lucia return with the setting sun. Both of them return with a basket full of various herbs, most of which were the Psycho Twin Bells, but there were plenty that Ren took an interest in. As they walk through the doorframe with a broken door hanging loosely, an adventurer is back and tumbles to Ren’s feet. Inside the guild, there seems to be an argument. What seems to be a crew of unfamiliar armed and armored men and women are gathered at the center of the lounge. One is posed as though he threw the punch to knock a man to Ren’s feet.

  “Come on! All we want to do is take a crack at your job board.” a man with slicked back hair says. “You have plenty. I can see them right there.”

  Opposite the man with slicked back hair, there is Malo Goldleaf with a hand hovering over his holstered wands.

  “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you disrespected exactly everyone between the door and the center of the lounge.” Malo says. “I’m going to ask you to leave before you do something beyond our hospitality and forgiveness.”

  “Why so stingy?” the man asks. “Just a little ‘how do you do’.”

  “THen kindly fuck off.” Malo says.

  “Lot of smack talk for a skinny caster in punching distance.” the man says. “You got a death wish or something?”

  “You sure smell like shit for a bunch of assholes clustered together for a wizard to Fireball and Chain Lightning.” Malo snaps back.

  During this conversation, a man has been looking the quest board up and down. At this point he cries out.

  “Boss! I can’t read any of this shit!”

  The man with slicked back hair snaps to look at the quest board and pushes past his fellows and adventurers alike. He too looks the quest board up and down.

  “The fuck is this?” the man says. “Don’t tell me you keep your job board in a code.”

  “You can’t read it because you’re not a member of this guild.” Malo says. “The whole point of a guild is that a bunch of people in the same line of work assemble to further their business interests and speak with one voice when an issue comes up. It’s the same thing for merchant guilds settling on prices for goods or a thieves guild planning heists with each other. It wouldn’t do if assholes like you could see who posts our quests. People who are asking for help. They don’t need you bothering them.”

  “Why you-” the man says.

  The man with slicked back hair draws a pistol and both the pistol and his hand fall to the ground. It is only after the both of them hit the ground that Malo is heard.

  “Gale Cutter!”

  Malo drew his wand and casted a spell before the man could draw his pistol.

  “Ah! Augh!” the man screams as he realizes that his hand had been cut off.

  “Leave! Now!” Malo demanded.

  At those words, the group of armed and armored men and women decide to draw their weapons. They prepare to surround Malo and hit him with their weapons until he dies. The other adventurers prepared to fight. Before anyone else could lose their hands or die, a voice rings throughout the building.

  “STOP!!!”

  At this word, everyone stops where they are. Crane Baross, the guildmaster of the adventurer’s guild walks into the lounge. The blazemane man’s hair and beard whip wildly.

  “You did well to buy me time, Malo.” Crane says. “That’s enough. I have everything I need.”

  Crane approaches the unfamiliar crowd. As he does, the room starts to get hotter.

  “For disrespecting my guild and it’s adventurers, the Helgen Swords are now prohibited from entering this building. If you harass our members or clients, know that you will be hunted by vengeful lunatics who have no issue with facing death.”

  “Like I care! I’ll kick your ass!” one of these supposed mercenaries shouts.

  The man swings an axe at Crane’s head. The axe blade struck Crane in the eye. Not the brow. Not the eyelid. The eyeball. Despite the blow to the universally recognized weak point in all of anatomy, the axe bounces off the eyeball harmlessly. In response, Crane raises a fist over his head. He brings it down hard and fast onto his attacker’s head. The sounds of bones snapping and his body violently spasms and writhes as though the force of the blow passed through his body like it were a gelatin. The man then crumples to the floor with seemingly every bone in his body reduced to a fine powder.

  “I put in a lot of work to make this guild what it is.” Crane says. “I gather adventurous people to my side. I kick disrespectful, greedy and hostile people out. I protect our documents with my spirit of adventure. I welcome all people, regardless of race and even let a lot of trouble slide. I will not suffer the likes of you. I will not have my aspiration for what it means to be a true adventurer be spat upon by you.”

  The mercenaries look to each other. It isn’t until the man with slicked back hair stumble to head back out the door.

  “This isn’t over! You hear? The Helgen Swords aren’t finished with you yet!!!”

  “You all came in from the north after you lost the favor of the Razneck Empire. I don’t want trash the empire threw out.” Crane says. “This is your warning. Take it. If you don’t, you’ll lose your head. Maybe not by my hand, but eventually someone will come for it.”

  The mercenary band starts to file out of the adventurer’s guild. They all pass by Ren and Lucia who are still at the door.

  “Wow! So cool!” Lucia says.

  “Feh!” Crane chuckles. “I go on about the standard and regard of adventurers and you get a twinkle in your eye.”

  Crane takes a familiar seat at a familiar table before resuming to speak.

  “There may be dozens or maybe even hundreds of definitions to the term ‘adventurer’. All I do is try to nurture my own definition by supporting everyone here. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for being a hero. Our definition of the term ‘hero’ may differ from the gods’ and that difference can deny so many people from the pursuit.”