Rayn sat in a crowded bar, sporting a long gash on the left side of his face that hadn’t been there a couple of hours earlier. Strangers wondered if he’d gotten the new scar from the rogue monster they’d gone to find. The silent [Monk] who sat next to him new better.

Belo would’ve told the man that fighting Lavar would only end in misery. He’d been in the same party as the woman several times before and she lived to goad her party mates into a duel. They were always surprised to see that a low-leveled [Swashbuckler] could have such exotic skills, but Belo knew better. One of the many times Lavar had spoken to him in some vain attempt at opening him up, she’d told him she was actually from Ble Smurg, a country well known for training their young thoroughly and extensively so that, in reality, Lavar was on par with a level 30 [Swashbuckler].

Since then, he’d tried to send a message to any member Lavar happened to be baiting at the time, but they hardly ever got them. He supposed it would be better if he actually spoke to them, but that would be too much trouble.

Now Belo was watching his former captain chug his fourth bottle of Rungin’s Beer like it was nothing. He understood that the day had been quite stressful, but he thought four bottles of that horrid stuff was quite excessive.

Belo himself wasn’t much of a beer man; he preferred a nice glass of red wine, preferably made from cinder grapes and just a hint of storm pepper. He liked a bit of spice to his weekend relaxation, after all.

He sighed (inwardly), wondering if it would be fine to leave the younger man here for the night so he could return home. The salmon he’d caught would do nicely with the Ureviel Wine Jan had gifted him yesterday. Ooh, and maybe he could use a bit of that freshly harvested Choy and rice he had in the pantry-

Rayn burped loudly, taking Belo out of his thoughts and back to the moment at hand. The other man turned to him, a goofy grin on his face, and he very drunkenly said, “You know, Belo, you’re a mighty fine drinking partner. You don’t talk at all and you mainly just stare menacingly at everybody, but boy, am I glad to have you around!”

The feeling was not mutual, but Belo wouldn’t be the one to say that. He just nodded and went back to his drink―Earthen Whiskey. He might not’ve been a beer man, but he could appreciate a nice whiskey every now and then. It burned as it went down, but the rich, earthy taste made it worth it. He idly wondered if he could convince the owner to give him the recipe.

His captain burped again, even louder this time. Belo glanced over and saw a new bottle had replaced the other one. The barmaid who’d just served him had a happy yet mildly concerned look on her face as she turned to serve another customer. Belo, having finished his own drink, grunted and lightly tapped the counter.

The young woman jumped a bit when she heard the sound and spun back around. “Oh! Sorry, Master Belo, would you like another glass?”

She scurried to fetch one when she received his nod of approval. He turned to find Rayn staring at him through squinted eyes. The drunken [Warrior] gestured in the direction of the barmaid and said, “You got real skill, you know? I’ve never seen Milly run so fast. What’s your secret, man?”

Belo shrugged. He personally didn’t think he was intimidating, despite his height. He was short for a Mountain Giant, standing at only 7’3”. It didn’t help that he was skinnier than most; his [Monk] class called for him to be lithe and agile. Being built like Saira would do him no good. Perhaps it was his facial appearance then? He ran a large hand over his shiny, bald head and then dismissed the thought. There was nothing scary about that. He stared at his reflection in the gleaming wood of the bar counter. Nothing stood out to him as ‘intimidating’. So what was it?

“Really? You don’t know?” When all he received was another shrug, Rayn sighed and took another swig. “Maybe if I had an aura like yours, Lavar would’ve been more respectful.”

Truthfully, Belo didn’t think so. He’d seen Lavar go up against men who looked and acted much tougher than he did. The woman truly had no sense of self-preservation sometimes. Perhaps it was more than just her personality? He knew some women liked to dominate when it came to the bedroom. But if that was Lavar’s way of coming on to a man, she was going about it the wrong way.

“My goodness. I leave the two of you alone for a few hours and you get drunk?”

Both men turned to find Saira, Vagis, and Lavar standing a few feet away, all still dressed in their armor.

Rayn scowled. “What are you all doing here?”

“Well, it turns out that the guild won’t accept that the fire was just put out and in its place appeared a random building, so they want us to go check it out,” Saira answered. She flashed them a grin. “I guess you’ll get to explore it after all.”