"If you take me, you must also take Cat Rider," Motley Owl told the fifth adventuring group to approach him. No one wanted a crippled human despite Cat Rider’s acknowledged prowess as a mage. Motley Owl and Cat Rider assumed they would have a party of just three with Fuzzy as the third person.

For those who aspired to be a soldier, merchant or staff to the king or a chief, custom dictated an elf should gain two years experience working outside of elven lands. Elves between 16 and 20 wandered in the surrounding kingdoms, either alone or in groups. Most banded together and took service as caravan guards on the human-organized trade routes to the east or south.

Adventuring parties came together a half-year to a year before leaving the forest. The teams took trips together to make sure personalities got along. They would also train together to find an effective fighting style as a group instead of a gathering of individuals.

"This is discouraging," Cat Rider drooped. "Two mages and one fighter." He moved a soldier piece on the Tweer board. “We can wait a year.”

"Don’t want to wait but we are unbalanced right now," Motley Owl conceded.

* I can fight too, * I protested.

“You can’t shoot a bow or use a spear, Fuzzy,” Motley Owl scratched my head. “Weapons matter.”

"It doesn't need to be that way," Roaming Wren walked up to the table where the two boys were playing Tweer.

"I'd say," Cloud Eye joined her. "The proposition we made to the three of you last year is still open." Cloud Eye never forgot to include me. I liked that about him. "The five of us should form a team and specialize in hunting. That means we join the hunters' guild, not the mercenaries' guild."

"Wren's a fighter," Motley Owl frowned, "and Cloud’s an all rounder."

"Right. Archer, mage, and maintenance," Cloud Eye persisted. "You'll need maintenance for all of Cat Rider's custom-build weapons plus the upkeep of the false leg and the walking canes. Did you ever consider that?"

"Did Storm Eagle put you up to this?" Cat Rider was suspicious. “We already turned you down once, yet here you are again. And Wren doesn’t even need to go adventuring, given she’s already part of the King’s agents.”

"Cloud Eye shrugged, "Wren has done just short message missions, and neither Wren nor I have been able to do our two years yet. This is a good deal for all of us."

"Hunting instead of adventuring also Storm Eagle's idea?" Cat Rider prodded.

"No, that was my idea," Roaming Wren interjected. "We've got Fuzzy. Fuzzy is a hunting machine like no other, and you can take out wyverns by yourself. Do you how much the bounty is on wolves in Osterius right now? Forty silver."

"Huh. It's gone up," Cat Rider said to himself.

"How bad is the wolf problem in Osterius?" Motley Owl asked.

"Really bad," Cloud Eye pulled a stool up and sat down at the Tweer table. "The Osterians undertook a huge project that took over ten years to drain the Gan Swamp. So now they are settling and clearing that land and planting wheat. They are now grazing cattle and sheep in the uplands to the north. But the Osterians hunted out the other animals who compete with wolves, namely the mountain cats, snow bears, skunk bears, and kieyotays. Then they added easy prey for wolves in the form of livestock. So the wolf problem has exploded on them."

"And once we eradicate all the wolves?" Cat Rider asked.

"The wolf problem is so bad, it has spread into the northern parts of Nordweg and Gorgurak," Roaming Wren pulled out two pieces of vellum. "I took these from public announcement boards in both Nordweg and Gorgurak."

"Huh," Cat Rider picked them up, "so that's where your father sent you snooping this time." He read one flier and then gaped at the second. "Seriously? Gorgurak will welcome hunters for wolves and wyverns? One gold per wolf? Fifty gold for one wyvern? Hey, what?" I nudged his hand because I wanted to see the fliers.

"Oh, here Fuzzy," my boy held them at my eye level. I had to step back a pace to read them since all felines are farsighted.

"The Goblin Queen sent my father a message saying Gorgurak would welcome elven hunting teams," Roaming Wren added. "None of the human kingdoms were invited. No offense, Cat Rider."

"None taken. Done yet, Fuzzy? My arms are getting tired."

"So, do we have a team or not?" Cloud Eye tried not to look too eager. "With a hunting team, we could get our credentials here instead of needing to travel to Hempdal."

"I note a pattern here," Cat Rider remarked, handing the fliers back to Roaming Wren. "All these potential hunting bounties are for areas well to the north of central Nordweg, which is somewhere I want to go."

Cloud Eye and Roaming Wren gave each other a look.

"It's hard for me to believe that your father didn't have some hand in this, Wren," Cat Rider made a sour face. "If Storm Eagle had his way, I wouldn't go on two years of adventuring at all. Now, all these northern hunting bounties are sure to keep me from Tammerhof, but I'll be 16 next year and legally an adult. I will go to Tammerhof. I have to see for myself what it's like there now that Griselda runs the place."

"You'll stand out too much," Roaming Wren argued.

"No one will look at me," Cat Rider sighed. "Everyone will be looking at Fuzzy. Besides, it looks like I have both a left foot and a left eye. And I no longer have a Nordweg accent. With my hood up, I look like a short elf."

"There's no such thing as a short elf," Roaming Wren rebutted.

"And your skin is pink, not brown, and no elf has red hair," Cloud Eye added.

"I need to go," Cat Rider would not be swayed. "You can come with me or you can join some other team. If Willam looks like he will make a good king, I'll come home."

"And if Willam looks like he will be a bad king?" Roaming Wren had to ask.

"I'll cross the bridge when I come to it."

"You are being unreasonable," Roaming Wren snapped. "You are going to get yourself killed."

"I will have Fuzzy with me," he calmly countered. "A Divine Beast by my side is a great advantage. You can't argue with a blessing like Fuzzy, sent directly by the gods. I do have some tremendous strategic advantages Griselda has no clue about. Besides, my existence is one of the worst kept secrets in all the neighboring kingdoms by now. There just aren’t that many one-legged red-haired human youths in the world with scars down the left side. Sharp Turtle’s sentries have already caught three round ears climbing the escarpment and Fuzzy’s caught two. I no longer can depend on my existence remaining a secret."

"If Griselda knows your alive, she will try to kill you again," Cloud Eye argued.

“She already knows by now and given all the round ears trying to break in, she’s already trying. We've had this discussion many times before and my answer is still the same," Cat Rider replied in a level and calm voice, reasonable and resolute. "I didn't have any allies before and I was just a helpless boy. Now I have three good and stout friends and a Divine Beast by my side, and I am a practicing mage who can invent new spells and take down wyverns. The enemy has no knowledge of my advantages. I will not be deterred by what-ifs."

"This is foolishness, Cat," Roaming Wren was vexed with his stubbornness.

"I have no great ambition to be a king, Wren," Cat Rider sighed. "I'd be happy to hang out a shingle and earn my keep as a mage or a healer. But I want justice for my sister's death if I can get it and I need to be sure that Willam will rule well and not abuse the kingdom my father loved so well. I will go to Tammerhof. The real crux is whether you come with me or not. I admit it is dangerous and that danger will extend to everyone with me. The choice is yours."