Later that day- Joel

Stepping into a slight pothole in the muddy street, Joel grunted before lifting his foot out and shaking it free of mud, keeping his eyes focused on the building he was intending to enter as he followed behind the adventurers he had just gone exterminating with.

Beside him, two people kept pace with Joel, Tiaahn, and Sereth, both wearily trudging along with dull expressions on their faces, unenergeticly placing one foot after the other as they followed Joel's lead, Sereth having a notable frown on his face.

They were all worn thin and exhausted, Joel himself felt bone-tired, the past couple of days had been humbling, inspiring and frightening all at once.

He had seen what real skill and power was like, Joel glanced at the ones responsible for this as he walked in the midday main street of Octaal behind them, furrowing his brows thoughtfully.

Ahead of Joel, the steel rank team Clairvoyance comfortably strode, waving to onlookers and elbowing each other playfully, Joel had been told by his relatives about the troublesome group led by the troublesome mustached man, Kale, but those whispered mutterings had not done the team justice for how potent they were.

They were superhuman, practically unnaturally strong and fast, Joel had prided himself on his skill with an axe and his physical abilities for years, his strength, when checked by legitimate guild assessors, was steel ranked, an impressive level for one as young as himself but nothing in the face of the overwhelming might of team Clairvoyance.

Joel looked back over his experiences with team Clairvoyance, narrowing his eyes as he considered their flawless teamwork and the obvious knowledge and experience the team possessed, and how easy they made killing trolls look.

It turned out that there had indeed been a brood den of trolls down there, something that may well have grown out of control if left undisturbed, something that had quickly been taken care of once the combined efforts of all the scouting adventurer's parties, save headcase which was hunting down lone stragglers, had located it.

With practically no help outside of securing the perimeter, team Clairvoyance practically slaughtered the den of giant apes with a nonchalant amount of effort, killing the entire brood in less than five minutes, the brood of which consisted of at least of twenty-odd trolls.

The steel ranked team had fluidly and almost casually carved their way through the brood of trolls like it had been a midday stroll, the dark-skinned giant, Ulric, and the rapier wielding Kale had kept the trolls at bay with ease, while the two women Jadiira and Ferra simply threw magic at the beasts that either killed or maimed with every hit.

On the other hand, Joel and his team had struggled against a single immature troll that had managed to slip away from team Clairvoyance, even needing the support of the other nearby adventuring parties to subdue the beast.

After sweating and finishing off the immature troll, Joel had asked the nearby leader of the steel rank team known as Phantasm whether all steel ranked parties were always as strong as team Clairvoyance.

The grey-haired man had laughed at this question then said, "Hell no, steel ranks are strong but not that strong," the man had answered, also eying team Claravoyance with envy and admiration, "Frankly I think Clairvoyance is more of an Illuminatium rank than a steel rank."

This had made Joel pause, 'Illuminatium,' only the truly gifted could reach those heights in the guild, and few ever did, so why had Claravoyance not been reclassed as such if their power was so evident?

Joel had asked this to the grey-haired older man to which he responded, "Hells bells kid! I don't have a clue, if you want to know kid, then ask them," the old man had then snorted in amusement before walking off.

"Perhaps only father could match them..." Joel remembered whispering at the time, Imagining a great clash between the two, an imagining that he had quickly sealed away.

A thought like that could only encourage disaster.

After the extermination of the trolls, all the teams had moved back to the surface to hand in the request, overall the request had only taken two days, and in those two days, Joel had not found a single trace of Lescar, his true reason for coming, not even at the brood den where a trace was most likely as the trolls preferred to breed in the comfort and safety of their dens.

MInd coming to rest on the reason he even joined the extermination force Joel internalized, It was concerning but the most likely answer to Lescar's lack of presence was that she had simply been entirely devoured, thus leaving no trace of her.

Joel had tried to locate her but found nothing, at this point, it was better to forget about her and move on, he could not waste all his energy on a girl, who may or may not, even be alive.

Joel felt a prick of guilt again but stamped it down, pushing the Lescar issue out of his mind.

She was dead, troll food, and now the trolls were dead, so no one would ever know...

Those few who did know, Sereth and Tiaahn were also incriminated in Lescar's demise so neither of them would sell Joel out, Although Joel suspected Tiaahn wouldn't sell him out either way.

There was no one still alive or willing who could rat Joel out, everything would be fine.

Following the team of Claravoyance towards the adventurers guild, Joel could hear some sort of disturbance at the guild, at first Joel simply thought it was team Claravoyance being cheered at, as was common for the famous group, and did not mind it as he drew closer discounting it as nothing.

Marching forward ignoring some of the nasty glares shot his way by lounging or idling adventurers, Joel pushed the steel bound doors of the guild wide open and was surprised to see a crowd gathered around a single table, the people around that table jeering or clapping in appreciation for... something.

Clairvoyance was not among that crowd, instead, being at a counter being served by Tomavin handing in the papers detailing the extermination, but Joel saw them shooting interested glance's in that direction, Kale was even twirling his mustache while scrutinizing the gathering with intrigue.

Curious what could be causing such a ruckus and attracting the eyes of such powerful beings, Joel moved towards the gathering, slowly pushing his way through the crowd with his great bulk, while Joel was young even still considered a child by some, he was very large and muscular, able to shove his way through the crowd with relative ease.

As he moved through the crowd he heard a distinctly female voice say with exaggerated seriousness.

"And that! is how I made it out of the trolls den."

The crowd around him cheered and Joel's insides suddenly curdled.

That voice sounded familiar...

Moving faster, Joel pushed his way past the crowd before coming to a stop before something large and hairy, almost falling backward as he bounced off it.

For a second Joel was confused at what had just happened, then he looked up.

At first, he thought he was looking at a troll then his eyes adjusted and Joel saw it for what it was, a giant hunched over bat.

The bat turned its head to regard Joel with a cold glare, Orange slitted eyes narrowed as it let out a low rasping growl.

A clear warning to move away.

Joel blinked up at the massive creature that stood taller than even him, its massive form towering, Joel took a step back and realized for the first time that most of the crowd was keeping their distance from this side of the table.

Apparently not being far away enough for it, the bat growled at Joel again, this time its entire body facing towards him as it bared its long protruding fangs.

Joel was about to take another step away when a female voice called out.

"Dwayne! stop! He is a friend."

He knew that voice...

"Let him past," the voice called.

Slowly with a snarl, the huge bat sidled away, revealing the person behind it on the opposite side of the table.

Sitting casually, one arm draped over her chair with her legs crossed and wearing a clean brown tunic overlaid with a feathery red shawl and creamy brown leggings, sat a smiling girl.

Glancing around at the crowd gathered around her, the girl said in a cheery voice, "Sorry people I'm all out of story, you can go ahead and get back to drinking or whatever other things you people were doing, thanks for listening!"

Gradually the crowd dispersed, some stopping to hand the girl pieces of paper that she accepted with a simple thanks and smile, the people avoiding the bat's side of the table as the various gathered people went and found something else to entertain or occupy themselves, leaving Joel mostly alone with the girl.

Joel stared at the girl directly and... her pets, the bat still looming behind him.

Curled up on a pillowed chair next to the girl, a large white rat with an abnormal bony tail dozed, slight snores coming from the rodent as it dreamed about whatever rats dreamed about, not sure what to make of it Joel's eyes moved onward before his brows came together as he looked at the last pet.

It was some sort of... slime, a species he had not seen before, the blue slime was sitting on a mostly empty plate on the table trying to eat whatever residual fragments of food were still left on it, tentacle-like appendage waving about furiously as it groped for food.

Joel was not sure what he should think of these creatures, but he could conclude one thing, they belonged to the girl.

The girl herself was attractive, she had a heart-shaped face and shoulder-length hair that hung freely, white teeth formed an even smile on her sharp jaw and round honey-colored eyes regarded him cooly, her skin, which was a lightly tanned complexion complimented her eyes which sat either side of and above her nose which was pointed but slight, the girl had delicately arched eyebrows that were raised in a questioning expression as Joel took in her appearance.

"What don't recognize me?" The girl said, her voice almost flute-like, containing no obvious hostility.

Joel looked the girl up and down beginning to feel a detached sense of alarm, 'this couldn't be her,' he told himself unhelpfully, 'she died, there is no way she fought off the troll by herself.'

Joel spotted movement around the girl's neck and his eye's already wide, widened further.

Curled around the girl's neck, a fourth creature revealed itself, the shawl around the girls neck actually turning out to be a strange monster that was stirring to observe Joel, the luminous yellow light from its blank staring eyes glinting as it studied Joel carefully, protectively covering its owner's neck, Its scarlet and golden plumage flexing and rustling as it shifted to face forward, watching Joel closely as if sizing up the threat he might pose to its mistress, Its yellow bottomless eyes seeping hunger.

Looking away from the luminous orbs, he felt something about its eyes was disconcerting, Joel, After acknowledging the presence of this fourth beast and ignoring it, took in the girl before him and compared her to the girl he remembered in his last meeting with her, she had the same nose, the same hair and the same-

Joel looked at the girl's eyes, 'no' there was something different about the eyes, something that reminded Joel of fire, it was slightly unnerving and her behavior was also different, almost refined and certainly confident, and finally, the pets... Lescar had never shown any obvious skill with creatures before and he should have known if she was a beast tamer, but Joel could no longer deny it.

This was definitely Lescar,

Joel almost hadn't recognized her, being as clean and well kept as she looked. she was drastically different from the ragged appearance of the past, but that did not change the fact that someone who could smear the name of his household was sitting right in front of him.

'My father will be furious' Joel thought his heart sinking like a rock as he looked at Lescar, He had no way of containing her now and no easy way of silencing her either, he would just have to accept whatever punishment his father cooked up for him this time.

Joel shivered, an old scar on his back tingling uncomfortably at the thought, things he did not want to remember assaulting his thoughts.

Cold metal, restraining leather straps, unable to move, barely able to breathe.

"Hey."

Exotic tools of correction, searing pain, denied pleading.

"Hey?"

Days long and sharp, trapped arms, torn flesh, a disappointed frown-

"Hey Joel!"

A taloned fist flicked Joel in the ear shaking him out of his memories, a narrow-eyed Lescar staring intently at him.

"You still there," Lescar asked with a frown, having just commanded Dwayne the bat to flick Joel with a wave of her hand.

"Yes," Joel choked slightly, coming back to himself abruptly.

Lescar's arched brows raised at Joel's response but she did not mention it further, instead gesturing for him to sit.

"Come sit Joel, It has not been that long since we last met and parted..." Emphasis was placed on the word parted and Joel felt a bit of sweat bead on his head.

Obliging her, Joel sat opposite from Lescar, the bat still positioned behind him.

Lescar had certainly not forgotten what he had done to her, and now that he was directly opposite from her he could see the subtle hostility in her narrowed eyes.

No question about it she still held a grudge, Joel was just wondering whether or not she had already told someone else what had really occurred in the sewers, and if not, why hadn't she?

"Now Joel," Lescar said leaning forward slightly so other people would have difficulty hearing her, "I'm gonna cut to the whole point of our little reunion and say it straight up."

Beginning to calm down and recollect himself, Joel began to feel angry at himself for getting visibly flustered and tried to seize control of the conversation, by leaning in to better hear Lescar and preemptively asking, taking a guess at what Lescar was aiming for, "So, how much do you want?"

Lescar stopped for a moment, a somewhat blank expression on her face as she touched the feathery insect-like creature around her neck as if confirming something, before smiling again and saying in a self-satisfied manner.

"Ahhh! so you get it! Yes, I want to be given what I am owed for the service I was so unwillingly forced to do down there-"

Interrupting Lescar, Joel finished for her, his anger steadily rising as his fear fell away, "and I assume that you won't tell anyone about those occurrences If I pay you for that service, right?"

Joel no longer felt despondent and hopeless, anger had already displaced those sullen emotions, Lescar's blatant blackmailing was something he did not like, he was a noble and she was an orphaned street rat, someone like her should never have the gall to attempt such a thing.

But she was, and a small squashed down part of him almost felt relieved she had not died, in a way, him paying her for what he had done helped ease some of that hidden guilt that had been building in the back of his mind.

Lescar twirling her shoulder-length hair around a finger idly, responded with mock surprise, "Why Joel?! you read my mind! that is exactly what I want, that and a guarantee that no hired thugs, assassins or other inconveniences will be tossed my way."

'So she wants protection' Joel internalized, Lescar was trying to shield herself as best as she could even as she tried to milk him for all that he was worth, It seemed she did understand that ultimately If Joel wanted her dead, he, as a member of house Graftoft could make it happen, if, at some cost to his own standing.

It was a gamble for Lescar but one the street rat had won, Joel ground his teeth together but otherwise kept his face passive, well aware of the fact he was still in the adventurers guild as he gave his answer.

"Fine," Joel growled quietly, "but If I hear a single harmful rumor about me or my house you won't live longer than a day,"

Joel knew this was a fact, even if he himself did not do the deed, one of his house surely would, the Graftofs were intolerant of negative reputations somewhat ironically.

As if he had not threatened her at all Lescar cheerfully said.

"Wonderful, now, how much pay I should receive for my death-defying act is the question, I think 5000 dubine is a fair payment."

Joel's eyes narrowed at this large sum, while it was within his reach it would take a significant bite out of his own personal savings, and he certainly would not be taking from the family treasury, he did not even know how to get into the family treasury.

"2000 dubine," Joel said with a straight face.

"Tut tut," Lescar waggled a finger in front of Joel, "not good enough, I had to eat rats down there for days, rats! I might have caught something, I need the money for my own health, how about 4500?"

"2500," Joel said his mouth a tight line.

Lescar shook her head at this sum "no, not good enough the stench down there was unbearable, I'll tell you what? I'll drop the price a bit, how is 4250?"

Joel furrowed his brows even as he kept the rest of his face impassive, Lescar was enjoying this, he could practically feel the smug grin she was hiding in her breath, although she was beginning to push her luck.

"3000 dubine," Joel said gruelingly, his savings were slowly trickling away and while he would receive more at the end of the month when his stipend came in Joel preferred to save his money.

"Hmm well, that's nice but not quite- Lescar began before being interrupted by a sudden 'CLACK.'

A feathery antenna flicked upward hitting Lescar on the nose causing her eyes to water, "Ow!" Lescar said rubbing her nose as she looked down at the exotic creature around her neck, "ok, my pets are getting restless, how about we wrap this up? 3500 dubine."

"3250," Joel said with a slight grimace.

"Done, its a deal," Lescar said still rubbing her bruised nose and watery eyes before stretching out her hand.

Joel took her hand and squeezed hoping to cause her a little discomfort as he vented some of his anger, but to his surprise, she simply squeezed back just as hard, had she always been this strong? he did not think so?

With a guarded expression and terse words, Joel quietly told Lescar, "I will send you the money later, obviously I don't carry that much on me, where can I find you for the handover?"

"Hmmph," Lescar nodded once, satisfied with Joel's words, "you can find me in guild housing number 23."

"Guild housing?" Joel's eyebrows rose, some disbelief on his face.

"That's right," Lescar said pleasantly, "because I was able to escape and even bring down a troll with the pets I managed to tame," Lescar gestured towards the four creatures positioned around her, "The guild decided to raise my metal ranking to bronze, meaning I can use guild housing."

Lescar pulled out a long single molar from her small satchel and a bronze plate that represented her metal ranking, waving both about before placing the large tooth and metal plate back in her bag.

While guild housing was not expensive to rent out or lodge in, It could only be used by bronze rank or higher, Joel had not expected to see Lescar again let alone her be higher placed than him on metal rankings, the fact that Lescar had managed to kill that huge mature troll even with her strange new pets was impressive.

Looking down at the feathery insect coiled around her neck for a moment before looking back at Joel, Lescar coughed before saying aloud.

"Well, Joel, it has been nice seeing you and... them," Lescar pointed at Tiaahn and Sereth who were standing at the guild counter, one staring with hostility at Lescar while the other stared with disbelieving eyes, Lescar, in turn, showing some obvious distaste as she pointed at Sereth.

"But now I've got things to do and a life to live, so I'll be going now."

Standing at the same time as Lescar, Joel watched as she unfurled her legs before standing straight as she stretched, allowing Joel to notice a couple of other things he had failed to notice about her earlier.

Despite it only having been a few days since he had left Lescar to fend for herself in the sewers, now that she was standing he could see that she somehow looked better fed, more filled out, and actually possessing feminine curves that he certainly did not remember being so prominent when he had last seen her.

'Had she always been this good looking,' Joel pondered, unswayed by her improved form but still conscious of it.

Lescar had just begun to walk away when she suddenly turned around and called out casually as if describing the weather.

"I hope you keep your promise Joel, I don't like liars."

Lescar had not been quiet about this and multiple adventurers clearly heard her speak, Joel frowned visibly then put on the friendly demeanor he usually used to mask his thoughts.

"Of course comrade, this Graftoft never breaks a promise."

Joel bowed his head slightly to Lescar to complete the look then waved as she snorted before turning away again.

It was then that Joel realized Lescar's head, when standing, actually reached his eye level but the last time he had seen her, she had only reached his neck, what had happened?

Joel received no answer to this internal question as Lescar rose smoothly before striding away, her various pets following after her, the enormous bat taking up the rear, as the snoozing rat and scrounging slime stopped their respective activities and trailed after their mistress as she walked up to the counter and handed over a slip of paper before disappearing out the front guild door.

The whole time, despite himself, Joel felt his eyes drawn to Lescar's retreating waist, the sway and swing of her hips rather notable, she had definitely not walked like that last he saw her either.

Many eyes in the guild watched her go, the enormous bat and unique looking monsters attracting attention until she was no longer in sight.

The whole tavern/guild began to discuss the girl and her beasts, something Joel himself was still thinking of.

For a little while, the image of Lescar's hips swaying in his mind lingered, then Joel shook his head clear of the bothersome thought and focused on what he had ascertained.

He did not have to worry about Lescar spilling out his betrayal anymore or he hoped so.

At the very least he hoped his dad did not find out.

Joel brought his left hand to his face and rubbed his temples tiredly before looking up as his party members approached him, Tiaahn looking disgruntled, and Sereth having a stoic expression on his face.

"Who was that girl Joel?" were the first words out of Tiaahn's mouth, her eyes narrowed towards the direction Lescar had last been seen, "Do you know her?"

There was a tone of accusation in Tiaahn's voice that Joel did not understand, why was she angry at him?

Moving past Tiaahn's critical words, Joel glanced around and gestured for his party to come closer before he whispered in Tiaahn's and Sereth's ears.

"That, was Lescar."

Hearing this, Joel's companion's expressions changed, Tiaahn resumed her normal look of being mildly annoyed if displeased and Sereth's already stoic expression became increasingly stony.

Tiaahn seemed less concerned with how Lescar could rat all three of them out and more concerned with other things like Lescar's choice of dress.

"That girl has no taste or sense of good decorum," Tiaahh harumphed "but what else could be expected of one of lower birth," Tiaahn jabbed at the absent Lescar.

Joel had never quite figured out why, but he knew that for some reason Tiaahn had always disliked Lescar, and that dislike was openly obvious in the way she was badmouthing the absent girl.

Sereth, on the other hand, decided to say nothing but his gaze was boring into the side of Joel's head, it looked like he was blaming Joel as at fault for this whole mishap occurring.

Which he kind of was.

"Why have you not silenced her," Sereth whispered, his face blank but his tone dripping with venom.

Joel sighed, Sereth was far too rash and quick to violence, there was no obvious way for him deal with Lescar here except to accept her blackmail, surely he understood that?

Killing her in the middle of the adventurers guild would be a massive mistake, not to mention Joel was not actually sure they could win against Lescar and her newly acquired band of monsters in a straight fight.

Rubbing his temples with even greater force, obscuring his face briefly, Joel in a subdued voice spoke.

"I have already dealt with her," Joel muttered with a drained voice, "she should no longer be a concern."

"How?" Sereth's lip twitched.

"I cut a deal," Joel said, fatigued, "she should not speak about what happened."

Sereth grunted, apparently unsatisfied with this answer but did not push the question any further.

Feeling he had to put emphasis on this, Joel spoke further.

"Just remember to keep it quiet yourselves," Joel reminded his party, "this will all blow over eventually and until then I would rather not have to explain this to my house head, and I'm sure you two are in similar boats on that."

Sereth nodded slowly and Tiaahn who had finally stopped heckling on about Lescar's taste in clothes, also bobbed her head in acknowledgment.

"Good, let's move on to less... dour topics" Joel intoned clearing his head of the troubles Lescar might bring, "Did you two already hand in our extermination papers?"

At this change of subject, Tiaahn's eyes brightened significantly and the sour expression on her face melted away.

"Yes! And guess what?! We got ranked up finally!"

Flicking her golden locks out of her face, Tiaahn fumbled around in the small gilded pouch that was tied to her waist before pulling out two plates of metal, both were bronze, Sereth to the side was also holding up his own metal plate which was also bronze.

Joel seeing this cracked a genuine smile, some of the built-up anger fading as he beheld Tiaahn's joyous expression.

"Great!" Joel said nodding, "that means we can take higher ranked requests."

Tiaahn handed one of the metal plates to Joel which he immediately examined, turning the metal plate over and over in his grasp before clasping it firmly in his hand, the metal inscription of his own name facing towards him.

This was a step forward for all of them.

While each one of them was in this profession for their own personal reasons that had little to do with money, Joel himself hoped to rise through the ranks, beating back the enemies of humanity and claiming the glory in order to become a legendary chronaal ranked adventurer.

It was a far off dream and one that seemed almost impossible but Joel had been working towards this aim for many years, training his body and mind, all in the attempt to become the best, perhaps then... his father might look upon him with pride.

Joel clenched his fists together, eyes narrowed at a distant goal before looking at his two teammates Tiaahn and Sereth.

Just beneath Tiaahn's bright expression, Joel could pick up the slight tremors of anger, a defiant anger laced with pleasure that wasn't focused on anyone present, and Joel doubted it was aimed towards Lescar either, if Joel had not have been friends with Tiaahn for so long he would not have detected the subtle telltale twitches in her face.

That same hot flash of fury disappeared almost the moment it manifested in Tiaahn's eyes and soon Joel was looking at the usual Tiaahn albeit a happy one.

Sereth's face remained neutral and impassive as he twirled his own bronze plate idly, Joel did not know what Sereth wanted from adventuring but he imagined the noble, much like himself was pleased with his rank up.

Joel was about to suggest they memorialize the occasion with a celebratory feast but someone else reached that conclusion before him, throwing her own little twist on the words.

"We should celebrate our rise to metal ranks somehow..." Tiaahn said, touching her chin thoughtfully with a single finger, "a meal, a show... a bath..." at the last part of her sentence Tiaahn's voice suddenly turned coy as she stared intensely at Joel.

Joel again felt ill at ease with this sentence and suddenly felt as if Tiaahn was trying to draw him into a sort of net or web of her own design.

With Tiaahn's hungry gaze locked onto his own, Joel's sweat began to bead on the back of his neck, he liked Tiaahn but she was too forward for him at the moment.

How was he meant to deal with her this time? he did not have any good excuses ready nor any other thing he could use to flee the scene.

Why had his father never taught him how to deal with women as women and not opponents or assets?!

"I Uhh..." Joel began but never got to finish as someone else punctuated his words.

"Alright!" Sereth interrupted gruffly, looking back and forth between Joel and Tiaahn, "I think I have seen enough, you two have fun, I'm off."

Joel watched mouth slightly ajar, as his only possible ally against this conundrum simply got up and left, leaving him alone with a persistent and visibly hungry huntress, one that was aiming to bag him.

Joel was too young for that and his father would never approve, why was Tiaahn so very persistent?

Tiaahn watched Sereth leave then said with an edge of disdain "Finally I thought he'd take his sweet time but it looks like he can't stomach the intensity of our feelings."

'Our feelings' Joel questioned, while he certainly liked Tiaahn, they having been friends for years, he was however not ready to get mixed up in the mess relationships entailed, at least not yet.

"I Um-" Joel stuttered not sure where to go and left out in the open.

"Shhhh," Tiaahn hushed, putting a soft finger to Joel's lips, "Come on Joel, just a little bath? it couldn't hurt? could it?"

Eyes dilated and huge Tiaahn advanced to seize Joel's left arm with both of her own, preventing Joel from physically fleeing as she slowly dragged him away towards the stairs, the sweet perfume of her golden hair tickling his nose a fragrant mix of lily and cinnamon.

He was cornered, what should he do?

Joel lifted his other still freehand and reached over to lightly touch Tiaahn's head uncertain what to do even as his own desire began to rise, before a thought came to him and he quickly blurted it out.

"What would your parents think of this?" Joel said hurriedly without thinking too hard.

Those words caught Tiaahn's attention and she stopped clinging to his arm suddenly before looking down, eyes hidden by her golden tresses.

Joel had thought this had been a smart move on his part but his words had an unintended impact he had not foreseen.

Tiaahn did indeed pull away from him, but upon looking up at Joel her eyes were cold, flinty, and shone with anger.

"Fine then," Tiaahn said with an inscrutable voice, cold iciness in her words, "I suppose I should not upset my 'dear parents.'"

Tiaahn said the last part of her sentence with a bitter expression as she pulled away from Joel, her face turned to the side as she folded her arms.

Sensing that he had said something disastrous Joel tried to correct his mistake.

"Tiaahn-" Joel tried but was not allowed to finish.

"I guess it's better that we don't do anything our houses would not approve of hmm!"

With these words, Tiaahn turned on her heels and stalked off, her shoulders trembling with emotion as she headed towards the lodging she had rented out for herself.

Joel watched her go, mouth hanging open stupidly as Tiaahn climbed the staircase by herself,

Tiaahn disappeared, her golden hair vanishing down the second story hallway as Joel stood dumbstruck, things had happened so quickly that Joel was having difficulty registering what had occurred until it slowly clicked together in his head.

'What have I done!?' Joel thought to himself, Tiaahn was one of the few friends he could actually trust and he had just chased her away for a trivial misunderstanding in which he should have simply been direct.

Joel found a nearby seat at an empty table before sinking down into it, clenching his head with both his large hands.

Today had been truly exhausting, he had trudged through the sewers, fought trolls, been blackmailed by a street rat, ranked up and finally hurt his best friend's feelings.

He was tired, he needed something to take the edge off.

Joel looked up from his seat, hands now pressed together above his mouth, before he lifted one up signaling for the barmaid he wanted to be served.

The adventurers guild served as both a tavern and the main administration for guild activities here in Octaal, while Joel was not normally much into drinking he felt a need to not be sober for a while.

A busty barmaid with brown hair and freckles came over to take Joels order to which Joel ordered a beer and a rich stew.

He was not feeling very festive right now, a simple beer and stew would do.

The maid took Joel's order before swishing her way back to the tavern kitchens before coming back with a pint of beer in a large mug for Joel informing him that the stew would be here shortly.

Joel nodded and thanked the maid politely, failing to notice the subtle propositions and obvious attraction the maid had towards him as he sipped his beer, Joel being an obviously wealthy and handsome man.

Her offers unnoticed the maid shrugged to herself internally before walking off to serve other patrons.

Sitting quietly, thoughts to himself, Joel mulled over his past decisions, was letting Lescar blackmail him really the best option? did he really have to betray her back then? Was Tiaahn's outbreak his fault?

After a few minutes of drinking alone, the stew arrived, the maid telling him it was hot and that it was best with the hergande bread.

Joel thanked the woman once more and said to himself in a dejected drawl as she left, "Well happy rank up me," Joel lifted his cup and clinked it with a nonexistent person before taking a large draught of beer and starting on his meal, slowly picking his way through the food unenthusiastically as he chewed the bread and stew mechanically.

Perhaps seeing Joel's gloomy expression, the leader of Team clairvoyance came and sat next to Joel without a word, having only recently completed all the forms one had to go through when finishing up a request, the other members having split to various corners of the guild to do their own respective activities.

Joel could see Jadirii arm-wrestling some plate armored man and winning handily surrounded by a crowd of fans (mostly men), far to her right Joel could see Ulric the wall sitting almost entirely by himself save for a few curious and entranced people (mostly women) sketching something on a blank piece of canvas, a painting in the making? and even further to the right chatting amongst a small gaggle of other Jacouat's Ferra was socializing away happily, glad to be with some of her own kind.

Out of all the things, Kale the leader of Clairvoyance could be doing, the mustached Kale had chosen to simply sit silently opposite Joel before after the second minute of this silence he asked quickly.

"Problems with women?"

Considering whether or not he should respond, the fatigued Joel eventually decided to give a half-hearted response.

"Uhh yeah..." Joel said without energy, knowing he shouldn't speak openly to someone who could be his family's enemy, but not caring much at the moment.

For some reason Joel could not define, Kale seemed to like him, after an initial show of distrust the mustached noble had opened up to Joel in a friendly and amicable way, consistently telling Joel the stories of his past endeavors for the entirety of the time they had spent together in the sewers.

Joel had been more than happy to hear these sometimes tall tales over awkward silence and had even enjoyed some of them, the mustached man had also given Joel a few pointers during the fight with the trolls that had been insightful.

So while Joel's household was opposed to this man, Joel personally was fond of him if still on guard against him at most times.

Most times...

"Aahhhh yes," Kale sighed with a nostalgic look on his face as he contemplated his own past, "well my boy women are complicated creatures."

Kale took off his wide-brimmed hat, sitting it on the table in front of him before raising his hand to stop a passing barmaid and ordering a mug of beer, the sparse golden strands on his head sitting in a tidy short-cropped fashion, Kale turning to address Joel with an understanding gaze as he waited for his beer.

"So what seems to be the issues you are having with women my boy?" Kale asked seriously but with a note of genuine concern, " You can tell me."

Speaking abruptly Joel said stiffly without saying too much, "I made two choices and regretted both of them,"

"Hmm, that sounds rather disheartening, but would you care to share?" Kale pressed on, prompting Joel on, "I've found in my experience that having a good ear to speak into helps ease one's burdens."

Joel turned his downcast eyes upon Kale studying the man's face briefly, He could not detect any ulterior motives in Kale's eyes or wobbling facial hair and at this point, he was too tired and dispirited to care.

"I made a careless remark to my best friend, and I betrayed and antagonized someone I should have protected better," Joel said heavily letting his inner concerns out.

The barmaid arrived with Kale's mug of beer, foam frothing at the top, with a smile and a cheery thanks Kale accepted the mug and took a gulp before his eyes brightened and he nodded evenly, saying aloud.

"This beer isn't too bad! its certainly better than the stuff you get down south," Kale approved taking another gulp of the brew, "but then I doubt you want to hear my thoughts on that.

Joel did not respond and merely took a drink from his own mug leaving Kale to speculate.

"Is the best friend of yours, you are referring too, young lady Tiaahn by any chance?"

"Yes... I'm kind of surprised you noticed," Joel said lifting his brows after he took another draught from his beer.

"Ho! ho! of course I noticed!" Kale laughed merrily, continuing to chuckle as he spoke, "you two are always not far from one another, and I'd have to be blind to not notice that!"

"Umm well yes," Joel hesitated briefly, "I said something that upset her but I'm not quite sure what and I'm not sure how to fix it either."

Kale stopped chuckling before fingering his mustache with a thoughtful expression and taking a swig of his mug after which he said in an honest expression of advice.

"Hmm if I may suggest something," Kale offered, "I'm fairly sure a simple apology will do the trick after you give her a bit of time to cool down, you'd be surprised how often it works so long as you don't abuse it, women in particular in my opinion seem more pliable to this."

Joel blinked at Kales phrasing, 'just an apology?' would that really placate the volatile and occasionally unforgiving Tiaahn, Joel was not sure about this but he would only have it confirmed once he tried with her.

"And as for what might have set your friend off," Kale nodded his head, "I can only recommend that you pay attention to her tone and general body language when she addresses you, women tend to infer or hint at what they mean or want rather than say it directly, even the young ones do this, your friend should not be too far from this behavior, even if... she is more than a friend."

Joel caught the obvious hint in Kale's words and hastened to correct Kale.

"It's nothing like that!" Joel insisted, "I just don't want her to be mad at me."

Joel felt uncomfortable inside as he said this but ignored those inner conflicting emotions as he stated what he had to.

It did not look like he had convinced Kale, the older man simply began curling his golden plumage of a mustache while smiling slightly, mug of beer in hand.

"Ok if that's how it is, don't mind this man," He chuckled, mustache aquiver as his eye sparkled with amusement, "Lay your next trouble one me if you feel inclined."

Joel was no longer sure he wanted to share his 'troubles' with Kale as the man seemed to be enjoying the drama but at the same time, Joel felt just a little lighter at heart after confiding in Kale and so Joel decided to continue.

Speaking only part of the truth Joel told Kale.

"Well you know how my team lost one of our party members before you got here," Joel said simply, watching Kales reaction.

"Yes, the trolls got her, didn't they?" Kale responded stroking his chin, obviously wondering where the conversation was going.

"Mmm," Joel grunted before continuing, being sure to keep up the narrative he had already created, "when a fully matured troll showed up in the sewers, we ran and Lescar the member we lost, was not as lucky as the rest of us, she was caught."

Kale remained silent, mouth set in a somber line, waiting for him to continue.

"It was not the proudest moment of my life," Joel said rubbing his weary eyes, "but we stood almost no chance against a matured troll so I made the call to leave her behind."

"Kale's expression hardened slightly hearing Joel's words then softened as the blonde man sighed then clasped Joel on the shoulder.

"Hmm," Kale considered with a slight frown before speaking aloud, "while I don't think what you did was the morally right thing to do my boy, I will not condemn you for your decision, a leader has to make hard choices and your choice saved the rest of your party from likely death," Kale nodded sagely before adding, "a matured troll is many times more threating than a young one after all."

Joel felt a little better at hearing Kale's words and also a little more sick at heart, he had not told Kale the full truth only the fragments that did not put him in a criminal light.

"Thank you for that," Joel said without guile, "but I recently discovered the good news that Lescar is still alive."

Kale's eyebrows shot up as he blinked, mustache perking up, "Really? that is a good thing for sure my boy! where is she now then? and what are you so glum about then?"

Kale was truly happy that a girl he did not know was alive and well, which made Joel doubt his own sensibilities.

Answering both of Kale's questions in turn, Joel supplied him with the answers.

"Did you see that girl with those monstrous beasts?" Joel said in a worn-out manner, not waiting for Kale to answer before he gave the second half of his sentence, "well that girl was Lescar and now she has a grudge against me because I abandoned her to die."

"That girl?" Kale said a surprised look on his visage, "With that impressive beast by her side I'm sure she could at least put up a fight against a troll, why didn't you fight against the troll if you had her beast on your side?"

Joel could tell Kale was referring to the large bat monster Lescar had been commanding around and he could detect something a little condemning in Kale's voice.

Making sure to disperse any suspicion on Kales part Joel said exasperatedly "At the time we met the troll she didn't have that creature, In fact, I think she only found and tamed it somehow while she was alone in the sewers."

"Oh!" Kale exclaimed the condemnation falling from his voice. "oh ho- ho! well, that certainly is a damper on things then my boy! but is it not simply better that she is alive at all?"

"Yeah..." Joel said somewhat unwillingly, "it is but she hates me now..."

Hearing this Kale snorted.

"A companion spared death is still a companion my boy, in time she will forgive you, I know, I have been in a similar position myself."

Kale glanced at Jadiira who was scooping up her winnings from beating the plate wearing adventurer before he waved at her and she waved back grinning widely the whole while.

"See? Jadiira was more or less in a similar situation to that Lescar once or twice and she holds nothing against me, so there is every chance that lass will forgive you."

Kale brought his drink to his mouth as Joel thought on his words, a slight crease on his head as he furrowed his brows.

Somehow Joel doubted Lescar would ever forgive him and doubted she wanted his apology more than his money, but he couldn't fault Kale for his judgment as Kale did not have the full picture.

Apologies couldn't buy meals or clothe oneself, and it looked like Lescar no longer needed a party with all her beasts covering for her instead.

Joel at this point appreciated Kale's goodwill and gestures but felt that continuing down this path was largely fruitless, instead, he diverted the conversation down a different avenue.

"Kale?" Joel said considering a new line of dialogue.

"Yes Joel?" Kale said, a fine foam of beer on his lips as he sipped his beverage.

"Did you recognize any of those creatures Lescar had with her?" Joel asked, he was curious about these creatures, he didn't recognize the exact species of any of the beasts Lescar had kept and Joel had some in-depth knowledge regarding the various anatomies of animals thanks to his black-hearted uncle, so a species he did not recognize was rare for him, he was hoping the widely traveled Kale would know.

Kale paused at this in thought before responding.

"Mmm... no? oh, wait, yes! a few of them looked familiar to me, yes!"

"Which ones?" Joel insisted, remembering the cold yellow unnerving gleam of the creature that wrapped itself around Lescar's neck.

"I recognize the bat and the... ugh, slime..." Kale coughed uncomfortably as he fingered his collar at his mentioning of the slime, "I believe the slime is some variety of gunk slime and the bat is something called a maul bat, of course for the rat I can only assume it is a mutant of some kind."

'A gunk slime,' Joel thought losing interest, any kind of gunk slime was always weak and unimpressive, he wondered why Lescar even bothered taming it, although the maul bat was a different story, Joel had never seen one until now but he had heard stories about them.

Maul bats were ferocious and intelligent predators that were highly aggressive and territorial but if tamed were apparently extremely loyal, the creatures did not dwell anywhere near Octaal so Joel found it very strange she somehow found one in the sewers, let alone tamed it.

And lastly the rat, Joel knew of mutants and he concluded alongside Kale that the rodent traveling with Lescar was likely a mutant dire rat of some sort, the heavy bony plates and protrusions coming off its tail being some sort of mutation.

That only left one particular beast left to discuss.

"What about the bug riding Lescars shoulders?" Joel pressed Kale.

"Ahhh yes... the feathery insect..." Kale leaned into his free hand before he spoke once more, "it looks kind of like something I saw in an old text once describing an ancient species but..."

"But what?" Joel inquired, his curiosity growing.

"Well, my boy," Kale answered immediately, "that species is extinct, so that beasty that was riding Lescar's shoulder was probably just a distant cousin of that particular species."

Kale looked slightly whimsical as he roamed through his own recollection, as a somewhat impatient Joel probed.

"Do you remember the name of its race?"

"Ohhh... it was something starting with M," Kale muttered eyes looking a bit distant, "membral? methstiss? mental? Oh! now I remember! it was manticore, a manticore cockroach."

'A cockroach?' Joel frowned. the colorful creature that had been riding Lescar's shoulders did not remind Joel of the six-legged insects scattered all over the sewers at all, looking more like a fusion between a parrot and an armored snake more than a cuspid cockroach.

"Why do you want to know boy? got another female fixation?" Kale jested playfully clinking his mug against Joel's own before downing it in one long draught and placing it down with a 'thunk!'

Joel grabbed his forehead and massaged his temples before saying a couple of words.

"No just no," Joel said trying to hide a slight smile of his own, he was not sure if that insect was female or if it even had any sort of defined sex.

Despite his teasing, Joel felt a lot better than when he had first sat down at this table and gave Kale a long look, assessing the man, Joel still couldn't tell if everything Kale had said had been done in an attempt preen secrets out of him or whether it was genuine altruism, but either way, Joel appreciated it.

"Hey Kale?" Joel said suddenly.

"Yes, my boy?"

"Thanks,"

"Think nothing of it my boy, I find it anathema not to offer a helping hand to good people," Kale responded warmly.

Suddenly Joel felt terrible again but he kept his smile up.

"Thanks again, either way, Kale," Joel said keeping his grimace inside.

"Anytime my boy," Kale said standing and placing his hat back on his head, before turning to stare over at the far side of the tavern having gotten a silent message from one of his companions Ferra, Ferra performing some sort of sign language desperately from across the hall asking for help as she was crowded by a bunch of drunken men who were getting a little too familiar with her.

Sighing and beginning to stride off towards the soon to be unconscious drunks, Kale turned his head and said one last thing to Joel.

"Well Joel Nethathar of House Graftoft It has been a pleasure working with you, I sincerely hope you resolve your troubles in the best possible way, you are a good kid."

With that, Kale jauntily marched away to apprehend some drunks before they got in over their heads and pissed Ulric off by manhandling Ferra, leaving Joel to consider Kale's words.

'I'm a good kid?' Joel questioned, he did not feel good.

But for a second, part of Joel soared at the idea.