What a crazy day, I nearly died but I got lots of gold as compensation. I can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad thing... The clerk at the Hunters’ guild counted his blessings. He got four gold coins today. That was equivalent to three months of work at the guild, minus the guild bonuses or customer tips that sometimes boosted one’s income. That sorts out rent for the next few months, and I can use the earnings from the job to get whatever else I want. I can eat a lot of meat with this!

The clerk salivated at the thought of Townsend’s lizard tail soup. Dorothy made it best, according to his manager. The most he’d gotten was a whiff of the sweet, yet bitter, scent coming from the soup. The tail was the best part of the soup, since it came in chunks that simply melted in your mouth. For a clerk at the Hunters’ guild, such a delicacy was to be savoured when one could afford it.

He hadn’t even realised that an hour passed by. The only thing on his mind during the hour was lizard tail soup.

Out came the party who went into the sparring grounds, and this time the clerk felt nothing. He was both relieved and somewhat sad. The possibility of nearly dying and getting paid for it was now a reality he craved for. This was a realisation. Or something like a revelation. Or he was just greedy for more money. Either way, it was a bittersweet feeling to see the two, now jovial, kids led by the two adults. The clerk felt like he’d gone through a pivotal part of his life.

With a salute in his heart, and a tear in his eye, the clerk at the Hunters’ guild silently thanked the red haired demon for showing him a part of himself that he didn’t know existed. He wondered if the after-hours district in Aurum had any positions that satiated his new cravings. I suppose the only thing to do now is check, he thought to himself.

I’ll go on my next weekend break.