Once they’d both finished the roots, Becka took his hand and led him into a small room off the hallway, one with a rectangular wooden table with an attached bench on both sides. A large glass window parted the south wall, facing the town, and a small indoor sink sat in a narrow counter to the north. A much smaller wooden door sat to the west, likely leading into Karl Coldbreaker’s tiny backyard.

Various pots and pans hung from gleaming metal hooks secured to the ceiling so tightly Glenn suspected he could swing on them. Two full butcher blocks of fine-looking carving knives sat on the counter. Karl owned more cooking implements than anyone Glenn knew.

“Stand here and act like you’re admiring the cookware,” Becka instructed. “I’ll go let Father know you’ve arrived. You can break the ice by complimenting the sturdy nature of his kitchen.”

“I was actually going to do that anyway,” Glenn said.

Becka rolled her eyes. “Gods, I believe you.” She patted his arm and turned away with a swish of her dress’s low hem. “We’ve also broken out the good cask of mead, so eat hearty.”

Once Becka stepped outside the kitchen’s westward wooden door, Glenn took a moment to adjust his hair again and make sure none of his clothing was obviously out of place. Becka could get awfully handsy when they kissed like they just had, which was absolutely wonderful. Yet it wouldn’t do to look like he couldn’t properly put on a shirt when Karl arrived.

He’d just moved to investigate if the water from the faucet above the sink was cold when the westward door thumped open with a loud bang. A big booted foot slid through after, followed by the largest oval serving dish Glenn had ever seen. And carrying that dish was Karl Coldbreaker, dressed in a sweat-soaked shirt and pants, and on that dish was what looked to be an entire roast pig.

The big animal’s well-cooked carcass was steaming, red, and glistening, and it looked to have been freshly barbecued. Glenn’s mouth watered at the delectable smell of salt, pepper, and other spices. Yet despite how good that pig smelled, why had Karl cooked up the entire thing?

A common pig was no Grass Boar, but it still made enough food to feed twenty people. Did Karl really expect the three of them to eat all this tonight? Glenn would rupture his stomach if he tried.

“Glenn!” Karl called over the barbecued animal. “Glad to see you, boy!” He thumped the oval cooking dish and its lovely-smelling prey onto the wooden table with a bang that rattled the entire floor. “Hope you like barbecue. I broke out the Lakebrooke spices for this one.”

Glenn resisted the urge to tell the big man he shouldn’t have done that. It would be rude to deny Karl’s hospitality, so instead he simply said, “Sir, that smells amazing.”

“As it should!” Karl agreed heartily. He slapped his big hands together as if cleaning off dirt. “I’ve been roasting this monster over my hearth fire since this morning. It died for a grand purpose.”

Glenn realized what that meant. “You started preparing this before we returned?”

“Always knew you’d be back,” Karl said firmly. “Wanted to be ready to celebrate your return.”

Glenn appreciated the big man’s faith in him and Becka all the more. Or perhaps slow-cooking this pig this morning was Karl’s own offering to the Gods. The Gods might be unpredictable, but almost everyone agreed They rewarded confidence. Hence why Glenn had chosen a Duelist Skill at level 4, trusting the Gods would see his action as more reason to make him an Adventurer.

Karl glanced at Becka. “After all the heat and smoking, I’m just a mess, girl. Could you get out the plates and supperware while I change?”

From another person, Karl’s common used of “girl” might have seemed dismissive or denigrating. Yet the love in Karl’s voice when he said the word assured Glenn it wasn’t a word he’d used to describe just anyone. It was clear Karl adored and respected his daughter.

Becka nodded. “Of course, Father.”

Karl glanced at Glenn and grinned. “Hope you’re hungry! And boy, make sure and save some room for the mead.” He laughed at a joke only he seemed to understand and sauntered out of the kitchen. His large boots thumped heavily on the floor before he entered his bedroom, on the other side of the hall. He closed the door with a heavy thud.

As they listened to Karl’s obvious footsteps thump back and forth on the other side of the door, Becka pointed at the whole cooked boar dominating the kitchen able. She mouthed “Good luck.”

Glenn stuck his tongue out at her, and she stuck her tongue out right back. He was sorely tempted to find out what their tongues could do together again, as they had in the hallway, but Karl could open his bedroom door at any time. So Glenn instead walked to the table and waited.

Becka opened the few cabinets in the kitchen and produced plates and supperware with scarcely a look. She obviously knew this kitchen in her sleep, and that recalled a tale Glenn had long tried to forget. Standing in a house with only one parent, he couldn’t help but remember.

Karl had built this kitchen for Ana, his wife, but it had been Becka’s kitchen since she was eight years old. Becka’s mother, Ana Coldbreaker, had died almost eight years ago, after a rancid and virulent poison cloud swept down into Grassea from the Madlands. That was a high Level zone across the high cliffs barring passage across Grassea’s northern border, reserved for those 36-40.

Due to the failure of two full parties of high-Level Adventurers to complete an Epic Quest in the Madlands, a servant of Ralun unleashed a plague across the zone. The poison cloud then wafted right over the mountains into Grassea, just far enough to blanket Wolfpine. It was a horrible time.

Twelve Townsfolk of Wolfpine had met the forever death in forty-eight hours after the plague reached the town, a threat even Wolfpine’s Town Guards couldn’t hold at bay. Richard Deepscar had exhausted his considerable Blood casting [-Cleanse Body-] as often as he could, yet eventually, the town’s only Spiritualist had to triage. He only had so much Blood.

Karl and Ana Coldbreaker, like all other parents in the village, willingly offered to be passed over so Richard could repeatedly cast [-Cleanse Body-] on their child instead. Despite the Church of Celes assuring everyone any children who died would be returned, death by plague was painful.

Given a choice between letting their children die coughing and writhing in blood-choked agony, possibly multiple times, or risking their own lives instead, the parents of Wolfpine had done what any parents would. They’d toughed it out while Richard saved the children.

And it wasn’t like the plague had been a death sentence. While rancid, the poison affected everyone differently. Those with high Vitality were likely to survive.

Ana Coldbreaker died, but Karl only suffered a week’s fever. Malcolm Silverstone, Zack’s father, died as well, but Glenn’s parents, who also gave up their turn with [-Cleanse Body-] in his favor, both survived. Glenn’s father had always had high Vitality, a trait he’d passed onto Glenn, but Tania had been born with less. Glenn suspected only the Vitality she’d gained Leveling saved her.

To this day, Glenn had no idea what Epic Quest those Adventurers up in The Madlands had failed, but no one in Wolfpine blamed them for the town’s tragedy. Whoever those eight had been, they, too, had fallen into the forever death, fighting to the last to stop the Servant of Ralun from spreading its horrible plague. The plague shouldn’t even have come to Grassea, yet fate was often cruel.

And the Servants of Ralun were the cruelest of them all.

Almost as soon as Becka finished setting the table, Karl opened his bedroom and walked back out. He still wore his fine boots from earlier, but had changed into dark pants and a loose brown tunic. This reassured Glenn he’d made the proper choice in dressing casual. He wasn’t out of place.

Karl entered the kitchen again. “Goodness, Glenn, don’t just stand there. Take the seat with its back to the window.”

Glenn glanced at Becka. “I was actually waiting for Becka to sit first.”

Becka glanced at him. “Were you?”

“Please.”

Karl beamed at them. Becka might have rolled her eyes under other circumstances, but under the gaze of her father, she appeared positively angelic. She smiled warmly and sat on one of the two benches attached to the table, then patted the space beside her.

Karl snatched a big butcher knife from the block on the counter, and Glenn only them remembered his gift. “Sir!”

“Karl,” Karl reminded him. “What’s wrong? Not a fan of meat?” He wiggled his knife.

“Oh no, sir ... Karl ... I love meat, especially barbecue. I can’t wait to eat. I just wanted to give you a gift first, to thank you for inviting me over tonight.”

One of Karl’s thick eyebrows rose. “Who told you I wanted a gift?”

“It just seemed like a nice gesture,” Glenn hedged, and reached into his pouch. He pulled out the muddy brown ingot, but immediately thought better about placing it on the dinner table.

Karl’s eyes widened. “Orichalcum?”

“Yes,” Glenn said. “It’s a Key Material, right?”

“One of which I am always in short supply,” Karl said gravely. “Thank you, Glenn. Place it on the kitchen counter for now. I’ll spirit it away after dinner.”

Relieved, Glenn placed the ingot on the counter.

“Now,” Karl said. “Let’s eat!”

As Glenn sat down beside Becka, Karl leaned over the barbecued pig and sawed off a massive hunk of flank. The meat practically spilled off the bones, a sight that made Glenn’s mouth water all the more. Karl snatched his own fork and used it to balance the big slab of salted and barbecued meat on the top of the knife before dropping it onto Glenn’s plate.

There looked to be no vegetables, just meat and bread. Glenn approved of meat and bread. Karl sliced off a smaller but still respectable slice of flank for Rebecca, dropped it on her plate, and then sliced off a large slice for himself. Once he’d done that, he produced a discolored cloth from his pants pocket and wiped the butcher knife clean just like Glenn would clean a blade.

He walked over to the sink, dumped the knife into it, and then stomped over to sit in his the seat with its back to the hallway door. “Dig in!” he ordered. “Before it gets cold.” Then his eyes widened, and he thumped the table with one big hand. “Vox’s Tits! I forgot to bring up the mead.”

As Glenn’s eyes widened, Karl immediately reddened. Becka’s quiet giggle made it all too clear why she was so fond of that particular curse. Karl cleared his throat.

“I don’t usually curse over supper,” he said, abashed. “So, my apologies.”

“Is that true?” Becka asked.

Karl mock-scowled at her. “Not a word from you, young lady.” He rose, sighed, and walked off to the hallway. “Just a moment, you two. I’ll grab mugs and mead to share.”

Once Karl had once more disappeared, this time into the cellar, Glenn glanced once at the delectable slice of barbecued pig he didn’t yet dare eat, then smiled at Becka. “Your father seems an easygoing sort. I was worried he might interrogate me, but now … not so much.”

Becka snorted. “Easygoing is one word for it. I’d hoped to string you along a bit longer, but Gods, the orichalcum wasn’t remotely necessary. It should be obvious by now he’s quite taken with you.”

Glenn cautiously dared believe. “Really?”

“You’ve Leveled at my side for six months, you came for me in the woods, and you helped me rescue Debra Whitetalon’s little girl. He’s already asked me what we’ve promised each other.”

“And … what did you tell him?”

“You’ve promised to remain in Grassea once you become an Adventurer to help me Level all the way to 6, to ensure I gain a proper offensive Skill after I choose Harmcaster.”

Glenn smiled in relief. “Of course.”

“And I promised to let you bone me senseless every night after we’re done Leveling.”

Glenn gaped at her. For one delicious moment, Becka’s face stayed calm. Then, her laughter won out, and she near bent over the table. “Gods, your face. It’s melting off.”

Glenn’s blush faded. She was only toying with him. “So what did you actually promise me?” he asked, referring to what she’d told Karl.

“Oh, I haven’t promised you anything other than a Leveling partner,” Becka said. “You’re simply so enamored of me you immediately agreed to do whatever I need.”

Glenn paused and acknowledged his plight. “That’s certainly plausible.”

====

Unlike Adventurers, who have a Divine Level Cap of 40, the Divine Level Cap for Townsfolk is 20. However, this does not mean that Townsfolk Level faster. In fact, without the constant and huge influx of experience gained by killing Monsters and completing Quests, Townsfolk have only their chosen profession to rely upon to gain experience. They thus level far slower as a result. A successful and determined Townsfolk may reach Level 12 by age 30. They may not reach their Divine Level Cap of 20 until 40 or older.

Moreover, because their Level cap is twenty, even Townsfolk who have reached it (and gained the honorific “Preceptor”) remain far weaker in attributes than Adventurers, who can continue to gain attribute points all the way to Level 40. Finally, Townsfolk cannot venture to zones whose minimum Level requirement is higher than 20. This means that Eastwend, the Level 20-26 zone of Landers, is the highest Level zone Townsfolk born in Landers can visit.

How Townsfolk gain experience varies based on the Townsfolk Class they choose once the Gods choose them as Townsfolk during their Ceremony of the Path. Blacksmiths craft weapons and armor. Enchanters enchant weapons and armor, as well as making enchanted items. Politicians rise in status and power by running in elections and officiating ceremonies, while Merchants gain experience from striking beneficial deals and earning coin.

Once chosen as Townsfolk, a mortal usually chooses either the Class they find most interesting or the one for which they feel will allow them to gain the easiest experience. Finally, while the vast majority of Townsfolk settle in their town of birth and never leave, there is one final option available to Townsfolk whose wanderlust lasts all their life.

Upon reaching age 40, Townsfolk may officially retire. They may then travel to a Chapel of Celes and choose a second Base Class (even an Adventurer Class) in the same way an Adventurer who reaches Level 20 may choose to Dual Class. While becoming a Level 2 Adventurer at age 40 almost always puts them at a huge disadvantage, this is the only path Townsfolk have to see the wilds of Balarel.

And after a whole life inside town walls, those without strong ties often choose adventure.