Despite his nickname, Eric the Arrogant was all but arrogant, so many wondered why he even had got that name. But what everyone did know was that Eric participated in the Zek’nir Necropolis campaign in which, despite suffering major losses, he defeated the Great Litch. As these creatures were equal to power to the higher demons, it was no wonder that Eric’s name soon found its place in ballads, and became an inspiration to many young paladins.

Having reached the group, Eric shook hands with Mary and smiled.

“Tul!” He nodded to the archer. “Blackbeard, Lari, and, of course, lovely Alice.”

Blushing a deep red, the girl lowered her gaze and continued fiddling with her wand.

“And...?”

“Ash!” the young man exclaimed joyfully. “Nice to meet you!”

Eric nodded and, raising an eyebrow, turned his gaze to Mary, who just rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if trying to say that he shouldn’t bother asking.

“Where are you headed this time?” Eric asked, flashing a pearly-white smile.“Ah, a secret, isn’t it?” he asked, seeing Mary’s smile. The girl didn’t utter a word.

“As for us, we are heading to explore the Valley,” Eric added.

“You have no intention of leaving anything to the loners this year either, do you?” Mary asked.

“Who knows? For the right price, everything is possible...”

“By the way, have you read my letter?”

“Of course I did.” If by “reading,” one meant “tossing the unopened envelope into the fire.”

“So? What did you decide?”

“I’m sorry, Eric. You’re on your own. We never joined guilds,” she replied regretfully.

After a moment of silence, Eric put on his helmet.

“A storm’s coming, Mary. You’ll regret not accepting shelter.”

With those words, he spurred his horse and rushed off, rising a cloud of dust. The rest of his companions hurried to follow him.

When they disappeared from sight, Mary spat and shuddered as if she had seen something disgusting in front of her.

“Bastard,” she hissed.

“I’ll challenge him to a duel one day, mark my words,” Lari said.

“Tired of living, are you, Lari? You do know that he has probably honed his skills to perfection by now. Who knows, perhaps he has reached the rank of a Master... Maybe one of the Dozens will be summoned soon...”

“He’s a big wig, that’s for sure, but he can’t do shit without his mutts.”

“You underestimate him,” Tul intervened. “An underestimated enemy is the most dangerous one.”

“Dangerous or not, his letters are annoying me.” Mary grimaced.

“And yet you keep driving him away,” Alice squeaked. “Go on a date with him once, no one’s asking you to sign a contract or anything.”

“That’s exactly what they’re asking,” Mary retorted. “If I go on a date with him, rumors will begin to spread. That’s the last thing we want.”

The group fell silent, which greatly bothered Ash. He had never been a fan of silence and did his best to avoid it.

“I’ll fight with him if you want!” he exclaimed. “I’ll be the wiener, you’ll see... Wait... Wiener? No... Winner! That’s the one!”

The rest of the group members burst out laughing. Alice’s laugh sounded the sweetest, akin to the chime of bells on the wind. Ash liked her laugh so much that he was ready to make a fool out of himself on a regular basis just to hear it again. He was also glad that he had managed to make Mary smile, even though she had turned around to hide it.

“I’m afraid,” she coughed, “that you can’t defeat him.”

“Really?” Ash sighed and lowered his gaze. “And here I thought that I was the most powerful mage on this side of the Continent.”

A new wave of laughter filled the air, making the passersby stare at them in confusion. However, this helped relax the tense atmosphere and the group continued on the journey, chatting merrily about this and that.

The journey to the Fiery Mountains would take them about three months, unless, of course, something or someone doesn’t spoil their plans. Nobody knew what was in store for them.

Once they had gotten off the main road and stepped hoof and wheel onto the beaten country roads, they found themselves surrounded by the lush vegetation of tall, green grass and wildflowers. Looking around, one had a feeling as if they had stepped into the canvas of some artist.

Somewhere to the west were mountains; so far away and pale blue that it was difficult to see their outline that had almost merged with the clear skies. From this distance, they didn’t seem as fiery as their name suggested.

Mary glanced toward the woodland area to the northwest and ordered the squad to halt. Dismounting from her trusty horse, she walked over to Ash, who didn’t seem to have any intention of getting off.

“This is your last chance to give up,” she told him.

“Nah.” He grinned, tapping his staff against the wood. “I’m with you.”

Mary shook her head and motioned him to get down. Ash, making a comically distressed face, jumped off the cart reluctantly.

“Listen, we’re not going there for a vacation. We’re going there per Garangan’s orders.”

“The king? Fun guy had tea with him once...”

“Stop fooling around! This is a serious matter. What I’m about to tell you is a closely guarded secret that only a few know... The king’s daughter, Princess Elanor, fell ill with the Fiery Fever.”

“The cure for which is made from the Star Flower that grows only on the slopes of the Fiery Mountains,” Ash said thoughtfully, surprising everyone with the sudden change of tone. “So, we need a flower to save the princess... Of course, I’ll help you!”

“It’s going to be very dangerous, deadly even...”

The mage waved his hand. “It wouldn’t be interesting otherwise. Now, for the most important issue — when are we gonna eat?”

Silence.

“What?” Mary blurted out.

“I mean,” Ash scratched the back of his head, “isn’t that why we stopped?”

Marry slapped her forehead; the squad snickered. Blackbeard almost dropped the brush with which he was grooming his beard. Ash, on the other hand, looked at them with a puzzled expression as he patted his rumbling stomach.

“Here.” Lari rummaged through his bag and threw him a pie.

Ash, like a puppy, jumped up and caught the treat with his mouth. He flashed Alice a content smile as he chewed. Chuckling, Alice patted his head as if he were a little poodle rather than a grown man.

“Stop that!” Mary barked. “Lari, if you touch our stash once more time, I will chop your hand off.”

“As the Queen orders,” he replied jokingly and bowed, taking off his imaginary hat.

Given the way he was holding the map in front of his face, Tul was trying to hide his grin rather than chart their way forward. The map was drawn on an old piece of parchment because quality paper, which was more durable, cost more coins than they could afford. As did an enchanted bag. As one might’ve assumed, it was a bag in which one could fit just about anything, even an elephant if they were so pleased. But since they cost a hefty sum, only the richest of Guilds could afford such bags.

“Ash!”

The young man winked at Alice and turned to Mary. In his opinion, she was taking all of this a little bit too seriously. Well, he had three months to teach her and her friends how to relax and have fun.

“Yes?”

“Since you’re still without a mount, you ought to pick someone to ride with. The cart is for luggage only!”

Ash looked down, feeling as if he had forgotten something again, though he was sure that it had something to do with this mount. While he pondered, the rest of the group started discussing who will be the unlucky one to have to share their saddle.

Not paying attention to them, Ash closed his eyes, grabbed his staff, and raised it slightly above the ground.