“Ahh! There it is! I can see it!” Puff shouted in excitement as he flew a few feet above Tanyargh’s head.

Delric groaned in relief. “Uugh! Finally! I can’t wait to crash in an Inn and drink some beer. I can’t believe I still feel sore after that battle with those goblins. You would think after not being in the game for a day or two we would be feeling better.”

Tanyargh shrugged. “I think it makes sense though. If you could just log out right after a tough fight and log back in expecting to feel fine, that wouldn’t be realistic.”

Puff glowered at Tanyargh. “Shut up! You don’t get an opinion! Stupid troll regeneration is overpowered!”

Tanyargh smiles smugly at Puff. “You’re just jealous! Besides, you shouldn’t complain either. Delric is the one who had to walk the whole way. You just sat on my shoulders like always. You didn’t even fight on the ground like Delric and I did. You just flew around shooting stuff.”

Puff landed on Tanyargh’s shoulders. “That’s true, but it’s hard for a fairy to fly more than 10 feet off the ground. We have our own form of stamina and I spent almost every ounce of it during that fight staying above the goblin army.”

“Enough!” Delric cut in before the argument could build up a head of steam. “We’ve already had this conversation a dozen times already. Puff, You said you could see the village? How long do you think it would take for us to get there?”

Puff pursed his lips in thought. “I think at this rate it would be a couple hours? We would probably get there an hour or two past noon. If we picked up the pace a bit though we could make it just in time for lunch.”

“I’m fine for moving a bit faster if you are up for it,” Tanyargh said. “A big meal to celebrate another successful goblin hunt.”

Puff laid out flat on his perch. “Ugh, that sounds pretty nice actually. Is it just me, or are those goblins out to get us? It’s like every time we go back into the plains, they drop everything they’re doing to chase us down.”

Delric shrugged. “Hey, if some nobody adventurers had wiped out an entire tribe of my fellow goblins I think I would be a little upset as well. On the other hand, with that last excursion, we just reached level ten. Now we’re strong enough to start checking out some of the forest quests and there isn’t any reason to be going back there again. No point in worrying about it now.”

Delric clapped his hands and rubbed them together eagerly. “Now about that lunchtime arrival estimation. I think a cold beer and a hot meal sounds pretty good to me right about now. Let’s do as Puff suggests and pick up the pace a bit. I’m also curious to see how the village changed after the update.”

The trio of adventurers rushed forwards, happy to have a good meal and take a load off their feet. The anticipation they felt allowed them to set a ground eating pace that helped them arrive even earlier than predicted. Arriving just before the crowd during the lunchtime rush.

Because of their focused intentions, they almost missed the signs that something had happened during their absence. It wasn’t until Delric practically slipped in a puddle of blood that they finally started noticing everything that was wrong.

“Holy shit,” Puff said. “Did the village get hit by a bunch of bandits or something?”

They gaped open-mouthed at the carnage as they walked through the town. Puddles of blood could be seen periodically as villagers wandered around with mops and buckets of water to clean up what they could. Broken windows and pottery had provided even more proof that something bad had happened during their absence.

Delric was starting to wonder why they didn’t see any bodies until they saw a cart drive past them as a man stooped down to pick up something from the ground. As the man jogged to catch up to the cart, Delric saw he was carrying a severed arm. The man tossed the arm into the cart and Delric could finally see what the cart held.

To say it contained dead bodies wouldn’t have been entirely accurate. What was in the cart was less a pile of bodies and more a mishmash of bloodied limbs, lumps of flesh, and masses of gore. Delric quickly averted his gaze. He had no intentions of ruining lunch for himself.

They all entered the first Tavern they saw was open, Tanyargh ducking some as she entered the door. Once she stood up, her head barely cleared the support beams of the high ceiling. Her massive size immediately drew the attention of the handful of people in the tavern but after a few seconds of interested scrutiny, most went back to minding their own business.

The bartender, having noticed their entry spoke up as he poured a drink for one of the people sitting at the bar. “Welcome to the HogsBreath Tavern. My name’s Greg, how can I help ye?”

Delric took the lead. “A mug of your finest ale and a hot meal would go a long way, sir.”

“Yea, and the sturdiest stool you have for our friend here.” Puff chimed in with a giggle.

Greg grimaced a bit. “The meal and the chair ain’t gonna be a problem all the stools are made of enchanted wood, so they’re stronger than they look. The booze though is rather limited today.” He gestured to his left at the broken section of a shelf that, at one point, must have been filled with booze.

“Some of the fuckers made it into me bar and attacked one of me customers.” He said. “Sadly the fighting ended up breaking a shelf or three of me alcohol so the pickings are rather slim until I can restock the shelves.”

Puff landed on the bar and asked, “What happened in here? Were you attacked by bandits or something?”

Greg’s eyes widened. “You mean to tell me you don’t know what happened yesterday?”

Puff shook his head. “Nah. We had been out in the plains for the last few days mopping up some goblins. We just got back and noticed that the village looked like it had been attacked.”

Tanyargh pulled out a stool and gingerly sat down. The wood creaked a little in protest but otherwise gave no other sign to worry her. Tanyargh smiled once she had settled the rest of her weight on the stool and didn’t drop to the floor like she expected.

“Alright. Grab a seat. I’ll pour you some Ulroot ale for ya and then we can talk all about it.” Greg said. He did just as he said, bringing out four empty mugs and before he began filling them with a dark amber liquid.

……

“Wait, let me get this straight. The entire village was destroyed by a bunch of fluffy little bunny rabbits?” Puff sat on the bar on a miniaturized stool and a tiny mug of ale in his hand with a look of disbelief. “How could a bunch of rabbits destroy the village and kill dozens of people?”

Greg shook his head. “No no no. You got it all wrong. First, they didn’t destroy the village. That was done by the people panicking. Second, it weren’t no little fluffy bunnies, but Horned Rabbits. There is a damned big difference between the two.”

Greg placed his hands on the bar and leaned closer to the group. “Fluffy bunnies eat the carrots in your garden. Horned rabbits are just as happy ripping you to pieces as they are nibbling the grass underneath their feet.” He straightens up and a look of consternation crosses over his face. “Damndest thing though, the only people they killed yesterday were the adventurers. They never paid any attention to us regular folk.”

“Oh, well. That’s what happened yesterday, and everyone’s been going around cleaning up the town since then. Won’t be much more than a few days until everything is back in order.” The beefy bartender slams his hands on the bar. “Now. What can I get for ye today? Got some beef stew, or roasted lamb with potatoes.”

With drooling mouths, Delric, Tanyargh, and Puff were more than happy to dig into lunch once it was ready. It wasn’t long before they left the tavern waving goodbye to Greg, totally satisfied.

“So, what should we do now?” Said Tanyargh as they ambled down the street.

Delric pointed towards the end, at the adventurers guild. “Now we see what new quests we can get at level 10. I think there are some quests we can take that go into the forests. Maybe something simple?”

Puff nodded eagerly. “Sounds like a plan to me. I’m kinda sick of giving goblin beatdowns if you ask me. I can’t wait for some variety.”

They all read over the available quests on the quest board once they reached the guild. There were requests ranging from herb gathering to subjugation, and even some scouting missions.

“How about this one?” Puff said while pointing to a poster that looked to have been nailed on rather recently. “This one is talking about killing some horned rabbits. Seems easy enough.”

Quest: Laquine lamentations

Description: The recent horned rabbit attack on the village has upset many of the residents who now seek justice.

Objective: Kill 15 horned rabbits in the grassy meadows

Optional: Kill Snowball the white rabbit.

Difficulty: Recommended level 14-16

Reward: Gold, Experience

Delric eyed the quest. “I dunno, we only just reached level 10. We aren’t really ready for quests this high a level yet.”

Puff rolled his eyes. “Pffft! They’re a bunch of rabbits! how hard could they be?”

Tanyargh shrugged. “I’m okay with giving it a shot if you are, Delric.”

After a moment of thought, Delric peeled the paper off the board and walked into the building. “I'll go along with this, but if shit hits the fan, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

……

Balruk blearily opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the smell of someone cooking. As his vision cleared up, he could see the thatched roof of some sort of building. He tried to sit up, but his head throbbed and he collapsed with a groan.

There was a sudden clatter of pottery and some rapid footsteps approaching him. Not even five seconds later, he heard a door open and a light gasp. He carefully turned his head to the right and saw a little girl staring at him. What surprised him though was that she appeared to be a Draconian just like him. Well, almost like him.

She had blue scales instead of his brown ones and was wearing a pretty floral dress. That was about all he had time to notice before the girl started yelling at the top of her lungs. “Mommy! Mommy! The weirdo is awake!!!”

Balruk winced at the piercing voice, thankfully the girl left the room to continue her yelling. He finally managed to sit up and rest his throbbing head in his hands. Balruk could hear the voice of the little girl coming back to his room. It sounded like she was bringing someone with her.

“And I opened up the door and he was awake! So I came and got you because I knew you wanted to see him.”

“Hush sweetie. He just woke up and must be tired. You need to be quiet. How would you like it if someone came barging into your bedroom yelling and shouting after you just woke up?”

“Ooooh. Okay, mommy. I’ll be suuuper quiet!”

There was a click as someone twisted the doorknob and opened the door. Another Draconian woman poked her head in the room. When she saw Balruk sitting up, she smiled at him. “Hello. How are you feeling this evening? May I come in?”

Balruk grimaced. “I’ve got a hell of a headache, but that will go away with time. I don’t really feel too bad anywhere else though. I take it that was your doing?” Balruk managed a smile.

The Draconian lady smiled as she stepped into the room. “Yes. My name is Lilly. You were quite beat up by the time you got here. For a while, I wasn’t sure you would make it through, but you managed to tough it out.”

Balruk thought for a moment about his next words. “How was I rescued? I don’t remember much of how I got here. The last thing I remember was one moment having to struggle just to walk another step, and then the next I remember seeing something blocking my path forward.”

“That might have been my husband, Igneus. He told me he found you stumbling out of the Skitter territory. He carried you all the way back here to our house and I did my best to heal you.”

“Is that what those insect things are called?” Balruk shivered. “Those fuckers just wouldn’t sto- Oww!” Balruk winced and grabbed his head.

Lily had a ladle in her hand. Balruk didn’t know where she got it from, but that didn’t stop her from waving it menacingly under Balruk’s nose. “You watch your mouth young man! I don’t care how you talk when you are around your own friends but I don’t want to hear those naughty words around where my little girl can hear them. Understand?”

Balruk quickly nodded, abashed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I guess my head is still not clear enough after all. I think I probably still need a bit of sleep.”

Lily lowered the ladle to her side. “Fair enough, I’ll forgive you this time. I’ve got supper on the stove that’s almost ready. I’ll bring some to you soon and you can get some shuteye.”

She stepped out of the room, leaving her daughter in the room alone. The girl tiptoed up to the bed and beckoned Balruk to lean in closer.

He shifted a bit and leaned his head down close to the girl’s mouth.

The girl whispered into his ear. Well, one couldn’t really call it whispering if it was still loud enough to be heard across the room, but at least she tried. It was a stage whisper at least.

“Mommy told me I should be very quiet for you mister so I’m going to whisper so you can feel better. Is it working? Are you becoming less sick?”

Balruk chuckled softly and patted her head. “Sure thing. I’m feeling better already. Go on and help your mom though. I think she needs your help more than I do.”

The girl smiled broadly before turning and scampering out the room.

“Such an adorable girl,” Balruk said. “I think she’ll become a wonderful woman when she grows up.” He settled down on the bed and made himself more comfortable. He may be in a game right now, but that didn’t make it feel any less real. He felt hungry and tired. A hot meal and a quiet nap sounded like excellent ideas to him.