It took the rest of the day to make it back to Roseglen. We stood at the end of the forest looking at the town.

"Mr. Bear, can you promise to be extra gentle and not hurt anyone in town?" I asked the massive grizzly.

He tapped his paw once in agreement.

As we walked towards town I called out for Shamus or Nina to come to talk to me. I wanted to make sure the town leaders were okay with my new animal friend coming and being around the townsfolk. Shamus jogged out to greet me. I explained my animal situation to him and he thought before responding.

"We are friends of the forest, but because of the sheer size of your companions, we should probably put them in one of our storage outbuildings," he said pointing to a good-sized building that looked similar to a barn.

"Mr. Snuggles, Mr. Bear, we have a place to stay the night," I shouted over to them. They came over to us and I pointed them over to the building Shamus had indicated and they made their way over to it. "I'll be there in a little bit with some comfy mattresses."

"I have a few things to say," began Shamus with a little smile appearing on his face, "First, I'd love to hear the story of your adventure clearing the caves. Second, I'd ask if we could discuss your reward tomorrow as I didn't expect you back so soon. Lastly, you do know that bear is a female, right?" He laughed as soon as he finished speaking when my face confirmed that I did not know that.

I jogged over to the barn and started by apologizing for calling her 'Mr. Bear' so many times. We went through the same process of picking out a name for me to call her and she finally said yes to 'Honey' which I thought was a little on the nose, but it was my fault for suggesting it.

There was plenty of room in here for bedding and I set up two mattresses for Mr. Snuggles, four for Honey, and one for myself. I probably could've found a house to sleep in, but I wanted to be close to my companions. Once we were all set we headed over to the fire in the center of town. I recounted the whole journey to Shamus and anyone nearby who wanted to hear it. Shamus was especially interested in the mattresses and hearing how many I had he asked if I would want to work out a trade.

Everyone in town now had a magic mattress and Shamus had traded me some leather boots and pants, some of his uncommon quality arrows, and a few magic scrolls. I was thinking about just giving them the mattresses, but Shamus insisted on a trade. The evening winded down and we headed back to our beds.

The next morning the three of us got up feeling refreshed. I took the time to explain everything I knew about the dragon as well as I could to the two animals. I was pretty sure that the wolf pack had respawned, but I still remember them getting killed by the dragon and it haunted me. If I convinced these animals to come with me and anything happened to them that would add more psychological trauma to my already confusing situation.

I told them the basics of my plan and let them know that I wouldn't want to put them in danger. Both wanted to come at least help me with the goblins and orcs, but also agreed that I would be the only one facing the dragon. I'd formulated a few different scenarios for facing Tekosh, but that part of the plan was fluid at this point.

We found Shamus directing the townsfolk in more repairs and waiting until he was between tasks to get his attention. It was pretty amazing the amount they had accomplished in such a short time.

"Shamus, the town is looking so good. You've made so much progress already," I said shaking the man's hand.

"Thank you, Theodore," he said looking more well-rested than a man under that kind of stress should look, "The whole town has been working hard. I was worried at how much we were all pushing ourselves, but I think those mattresses will be a game-changer."

"I'm glad I could do my part," I said with a smile. I shifted into serious mode and added, "My plan is to leave this morning to kill the dragon."

"Great," he said putting his hand on my shoulder as a sign of support, "and I'm coming with you."

I tried to convince him to stay and take care of Roseglen, but nothing could dissuade him. He was coming whether I liked it or not. I was able to get him to at least agree to let me face the dragon by myself, but I was unsure if he was just trying to placate me.

"I'd like to complete the cave quest you sent me on," I said shifting topics.

"I'm ready. Thank you for giving me time to prepare your rewards," Shamus said.

Quest Complete!

Clear out caves to the Southeast of Roseglen. 3/4

Level 11!

He gave me the quest rewards and explained each one. I could tell these were special items to him and listened attentively and respectfully as he spoke.

"Your first reward is a bundle of my finest arrows," he said handing me a bundle of beautifully made arrows.

"Next is a bow of my own design. My family has been crafting and improving this style of bow for generations," he handed me a bow that looked like the one he handed me last time, but something was different about it. I'd have to compare them later.

"Lastly, a cloak that has been imbued with magic. It is made of a special fabric that provides some protection against blades, but even more protection against blunt force," he handed me the folded, dark green cloak.

"These are amazing rewards," I said accepting each with a bow of my head. "How does a fabric cloak protect against blunt force?"

"Put it on," he said motioning me to try it on.

I latched it around my neck and put the hood up. As soon as the hood was up I felt an impact like an airbag had just gone off by my head. It was sudden and violent but did no harm to me. I looked over to see what had hit me and saw Shamus with a wooden club and a huge smile.

"Did you just hit me in the head with a club?" I asked feigning anger as I awkwardly smiled because of how awesome this cloak was.

"Yep, but I also answered your question," he said still smiling.

Each item Shamus handed me had a blue background denoting they were rare quality items. The bow was the same as the previous bow, but it had been cleaned, polished, and restrung. The bow had the same rarity but had a special ability available when it was equipped. When I held it in my hands a notification appeared that designated the special ability was available. I head the bow and popped up my special ability menu. I read the description of the ability.

Overdrawn Powershot

This special ability allows you to add extra power to a shot but puts additional stress on the bow.

Adds 25% power to the shot.

5% chance to render the bow unusable after the shot. Stacks each time the ability is utilized.

It was an awesome special ability but I would avoid using it unless I absolutely had to. I didn't want to break this bow, even if I did have a decent backup.

I had a pretty good loadout and was feeling ready to take on Tekosh even if my odds were slim. I had the cloak, a light chainmail shirt, leather boots and pants, and my new bow and arrows. I checked with my animal companions and we were ready to head out.

Shamus and Nina wished us good luck on our journey. They had given me some more meat for my team and thrown each of them a piece to start the trip off right. I had a thought about a way to get my own snacks for them and a good way to relax.

I turned back to Shamus who was watching us leave with Nina by his side smiling.

"This may be a stupid question but is there fishing here?" I asked motioning like I was casting with a fishing rod. I had enjoyed fishing back home but this was the first I had thought about it as an option.

"Of course we have fishing," Shamus said back to me, "I'll have a rod waiting for you when you get back. We will celebrate your victory then wind down with some fishing."

I smiled and turned back towards Tekosh's encampment.

"Operation: Tekosh Kibosh is a go," I said to myself.

"That's kind of a dumb name, Teddy," said Mae. "But I think you are strong enough to defeat him."

I was equal parts offended and encouraged. I think that's what she was going for.