Zack Silverstone

It was well past ten at night, and Zack was well past buzzed on mead, when Anna Ironstar and her annoying brother finally walked into the mostly empty interior of The Mead Beast. There were still no other Adventurers present, as most everyone who was going to visit Grassea had visited a week ago, during . Zack was actually embarrassed by how dead the place felt.

More Adventurers would come in the next few weeks, but for now, the tavern was empty save for a few Townsfolk nursing their mugs. Glenn and Becka’s safe return this morning had offered so much excitement and celebration the town was all drunk out. Sadie Wintershade, the innkeeper, looked quite pleased to see people who might actually buy food in her establishment.

Adventurers offered good coin.

“You two just take a seat anywhere!” Sadie called warmly from her space behind the worn bar. “We’ve got warm bread, warm soup, and several other meals for a weary Adventurer at the end of the day. Just relax and I’ll send my girl to get your order!”

Sitting across the table from Zack, Erika Willowbraid offered him an absolutely gorgeous smile. She wore an expensive red dress that was more low cut than it needed to be, which Zack always appreciated. She had her blond hair tied back in the most fascinating ponytail.

“Look over there!” Erika said quietly. “Your date’s finally arrived, and only a day late.”

Zack grinned across his mug. “I thought we’d agreed you were my date.”

Erika smirked and pushed her empty mug at him. “And I agreed I’d only stay so long as you paid for my drinks.” She glanced toward the rookie Adventurers. Anna and Alan Ironstar surveyed the sparsely populated tavern with the expressions of people who worried they’d missed all the fun.

“Hey, you can’t leave yet!” Zack whispered. “You’re supposed to make her jealous, remember?”

“Did I promise that?” Erika asked. After a moment of staring at Zack’s hopeful face, she laughed. “Oh, fine.” She leaned in, offering him a delightful view of the cleavage revealed by her V-cut dress. “Good luck, you irredeemable rapscallion.” She kissed him on the cheek, then rose.

Zack grinned and watched Erika’s backside as she strode confidently out of the tavern. Erika was even nice enough to offer Anna what might be a warning glance on her way out. Anna cocked an eyebrow at her, but otherwise seemed merely amused by the attention.

Erika remained a good friend. Sadly, she seemed entirely uninterested in mutual fun, likely due to her preference for Glenn, so the two of them had settled on becoming drinking buddies. Zack didn’t know what Erika was waiting on, as she could have any man in Wolfpine, including him. Besides, Becka had Glenn entirely wrapped up.

Still, there were always plenty of other women to charm. Including the one who’d just walked into the tavern after he saved her life one day ago. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

As he eased his eyes off Erika, Zack glanced lazily in Anna and Alan’s direction. Anna met his eyes at once, then beckoned him over. Zack gave it a beat.

Then he pushed up, taking a moment to steady himself. The tavern was spinning just a little bit. Still, no one would ever accuse Zack Silverstone of lacking in footwork. He sauntered past tables, then sat himself down on the unoccupied third bench between Anna and her brother.

Zack smirked at Alan. “Worried you got lost again.”

“We had business,” Alan said.

“But you came. A day late.”

“There’s no other place to eat that’s open after dark.”

“And we owed you a meal,” Anna added, with a glance at her brother. “Don’t we, Alan?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just don’t expect anything expensive.”

“Hello there, Adventurers!” Randi Callowdust bellowed from beside Zack, loud enough that he actually winced at her enthusiasm. “Welcome to The Mead Beast, where we have the best meat soup in Grassea. Can I get you all a mug of our finest apple mead?”

Even as she spoke, Randi slapped down three simple menu sheets with the skill of a barmaid twice her age. Zack offered the beaming, slim, and red-headed girl a glance. Randi wasn’t yet 14, but was about six months away.

Randi couldn’t Level until she turned 14 and began Balarel’s Climb, but Zack already suspected the Gods would choose her as Townsfolk. Randi seemed to love her job as a barmaid, and unlike Zack, she’d shown no desire to explore the wilds of Grassea in her youth.

“Apple mead is fine, thank you,” Alan said calmly. “Three mugs, if you please.” He produced a gleaming silver coin and tossed it to Randi, who caught it easily. “For the trouble of late service.”

Randi beamed at both of them, then bowed as she pocketed the coin. “Thank you, kind sir! I’ll be back with your mead in just a moment. Please, look over the menus.“

Zack immediately disliked Alan a little less. The man had tipped Randi generously and without hesitation, which worked out well for everyone. If Alan had been rude and condescending to Randi as well, Zack might have gone through with his plan to slip special powder into Alan’s mead.

It was the kind of powder that made a person go to the privy. A lot. The powder wasn’t considered an attack, since it had medicinal value when aiding in constipation, so it could be slipped into someone’s drink without running afoul of the Pantheon’s Law of Consent.

That powder would be one way for Zack to get himself some time alone with Anna. Yet by being such a gentleman to Randi, Alan had spared himself a rather uncomfortable night. Zack supposed that just because the man was rude while Adventuring didn’t mean he was a jerk in other respects.

“What’s good here?” Anna asked. “The soup?”

“The soup’s fine,” Zack agreed. “But the chipwrecks are what you’re looking for.”

“What are those?” Alan asked.

“Seared potato wedges covered in salt and pepper. Mouth-wateringly good.”

“Aren’t those rather fatty?” Alan asked.

Zack pulled up his shirt to reveal his taut abdominals, then glanced down at his bare stomach as if surprised by how muscular it looked. “I eat them all the time. See any fat here?”

Anna’s gaze dropped and rose appreciatively. Alan simply rolled his eyes.

Zack dropped his shirt and grinned at the man across the table. “Meatroll and chipwrecks. That’s my recommendation. But if you’re in the mood for soup, you can’t do better than Sadie’s.”

Randi was already returning, balancing three mugs of sloshing mead in two hands without spilling a single drop. She expertly dropped each mug of mead exactly where it needed to be. “Ready to order, or would you like some more time to consider?”

“You know my weakness,” Zack said. “Get it out here.”

“And you’re paying for it how?”

Zack pointed across the table at Alan. “He’s paying.”

Randi beamed at Alan again. “You truly are a generous man.”

“I try,” Alan agreed evenly.

“I’ll try the meatroll,” Anna said, eyes on her limited menu. “And those chipwrecks.”

“Great choice!” Randi said.

“The soup, please,” Alan added. “But with chopped vegetables, if you have any available.”

Randi’s smile faded. “I’m afraid those cost extra. We’ve had to ration since .”

“I’m willing to pay a little extra, and I completely understand.” Alan smiled gently at Randi. It wasn’t a lecherous smile at all, but more of a genuinely pleasant one. “Meat and vegetable soup would be lovely, if you can spare the extra ingredients for the extra coin.”

“Coming right up!” Randi promised. She snatched their menus off the table as quickly as a gambler snatching up a deck of cards. “Oh, and miss?”

Anna glanced at her. “Yes?”

“Watch out for this one. There’s not a woman in town he hasn’t tried to seduce.”

Anna, eyes not remotely on Zack, nonetheless smirked at her menu. For his part, Zack stuck his tongue out at Randi. “Don’t you have a job to do, squirt?”

“Get that thing away from me. No one knows where it’s been.” And with that, Randi Callowdust sauntered off with her head held high.

“Ouch,” Alan said appreciatively. “I see someone else knows exactly where to stick a knife.”

Zack merely grumbled quietly to himself.

“She’s quite the character,” Alan continued. “Adopted?”

Newly intrigued, Zack eyed Alan. “How you figure that?”

“Her mother,” Alan said, referring to Sadie. “Dark hair. Randi has red.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Never mind.” Alan returned his gaze to Zack. “After yesterday’s adventure in the mine, I’ve decided we’re going to continue hunting in Grassea for a few days. Yet that mine was a little crowded for my taste. You’re a local, aren’t you? Can you recommend any good hunting spots?”

“Absolutely,” Zack said.

The silence held between them for a second.

“Will you?” Alan added, visibly attempting not to be exasperated.

“If you’ll tell me where you’re from,” Zack said. “A man like me gets curious.”

“Why does it matter where we’re from?”

“You’re not from Grassea, obviously,” Zack continued easily. “The style of that [Healing Staff] is unlike any I’ve seen here before, and moreover, what kind of a self-respecting Adventurer’s never heard of chipwrecks? The way you two act, I wonder if you even grew up in Landers.”

“We’re from Aquarine,” Anna said calmly. “Lindow Village.”

“Anna!” Alan looked visibly annoyed with her.

“What does it matter if he knows that much?” Anna asked. “It’s not like we’re at war.”

“We barely know this man,” Alan reminded her crossly.

“And he saved our lives yesterday,” Anna countered. “What reason did he have to do that?”

Alan huffed. “I should think his reasoning is rather obvious.”

At that, Anna glanced Zack’s way. She quirked her lips. “Do you mean to say our young server wasn’t merely impugning your good name?”

Zack leaned in closer, crossed his arms on the table, and lowered his voice. “You’re absolutely my type, but I’d have helped anyone in that situation.”

Anna smiled triumphantly at Alan. “See? He was just being helpful.”

“I also knew you two didn’t belong here,” Zack added, pleased that he’d correctly decided they were from another province. “So what kind of trouble did you run into in Lindow Village?”

“No trouble,” Alan said evenly.

Zack rolled his eyes. “No pair of Level 6 Adventurers is going to pay to cross the open sea to Level in Grassea unless their own starter zone isn’t available. So who are you running from?”

“Our business here is our business,” Alan said evenly. “You asked for a meal. We’ve offered it. Do you intend to make our meal uncomfortable by insisting on answers you haven’t earned?”

Anna sighed. “In this point, I’m afraid, I must agree with my brother. You seem a nice man, Zack, but despite yesterday’s heroism in the mine, we’ve just met. You can’t expect us to spill all our secrets.”

“That’s fine, that’s fair,” Zack agreed, and eased back.

“Do you intend to keep your part of the bargain?” Alan asked. “We answered your question.”

They had. “You two should try the Dewdrop Hills east of the Safe Road. Grass Boars wander out there, and with Anna’s ranged Skills, you can even tackle a Grass Hawk or two. The woods, by comparison, are lousy with Gloamwolves and Grass Sprites. The little ones won’t give you experience, and the wolves travel in packs. Not a good match for two people.”

Anna’s resulting smile made Zack surprisingly warm. “Thank you.”

Zack’s expression darkened as he considered other dangers. “Just watch out for Vulpor. That’s why I recommend the hills for newcomers like you. Unlike in the woods, you can see that old wolf from a long ways off.”

“Elite?” Alan asked.

“Big as a horse, black as ash, and mean,” Zack agreed. “Takes a full Party of 8s to drop him, if they’re good. But he strolls about like an old man. He won’t chase if you give him a wide berth.”

Randi chose that moment to return with their food. The smell of freshly seared chipwrecks made Zack’s mouth water. The meat roll smelled great too, as it always did. Sadie offered a limited menu late at night, but Zack never had any complaints about the options.