The wagon was repaired in spite of the near panic caused by reports of zombies. The women in the party smirked. The rest of the time they were in the workshop but refused to tell the men anything until they got back on the road.

Once they were a few miles away from the manor, they spilled. Thokri let out a belly laugh that only a dwarf could muster, and Voekeer just shook his head.

“You’re all a menace. You know that, right?” Voekeer asked.

“Yep,” Anna replied.

She was driving the wagon in the blazing sun by herself again. She didn’t mind all that much, other than the lack of company.

Even Thokri doesn’t want to sit next to me.

Voekeer sighed. “Honestly, I think they all deserved far worse than a scare,” he said.

“I wish there was something else we could have done, but what they did was legal,” Elaine replied.

“Baa! Legal, only in human lands, lass! We dwarves would have buried the lot of them alive for what they did to those lads!” Thokri said.

“The same is true for our people. They would have killed the ones responsible,” Voekeer said.

“I hope my father never finds out about this,” Anna said.

“Why is that, child?” Barika asked.

“Because what I saw was a nightmare, and you know what he does to nightmares,” Anna replied.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“Well, that’s fucking terrifying,” Elaine said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied. Her friends didn’t say anything else for a while afterwards.

I hope I didn’t scare them too much.

“So, how long before we get back to Oldforge?” Lyreen asked after a few minutes of silence.

“About a month, as long as the wagon holds up that is,” Voekeer replied.

“It’ll be fine, lad. Just had too much weight over the wheel. That’s all,” Thokri said.

“I knew we should have had Elaine sit somewhere else,” Lyreen said.

“Shut it, elf!” Elaine replied. The others laughed.

Anna simply smiled, glad that they weren’t too upset.

The rest of the journey to Oldforge was relatively peaceful, other than Elaine nearly killing a man she had taken to bed when she found out he was married that is.

As Oldforge grew larger, she had the strangest feeling.

Is this what coming home is like?

Having no way to know, she shrugged it off.

They waited in a long line to enter the city. The guards were searching everyone who entered for some reason. When it was their turn, she stopped the wagon where instructed to, and a guard came over to talk.

“We got a wagon full of spears and gold, lad,” Thokri said.

“Adventurers?” the guard asked.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

“Sounds like you had a good run then,” the guard replied.

“We did,” Thokri replied. They showed the guards their guild badges.

“Well, we still need to search your wagon,” the guard said.

Thokri shrugged, and they all got off the wagon. The guards looked through their things. They paused when they opened the chests.

“Did you slay a fucking dragon?” one of the guards asked.

“Maybe,” Anna replied.

The guard looked at her for a moment and shook his head. When they spotted the two-foot fangs, she was certain that the rumor of them being dragon slayers would start as soon as the men hit the tavern that evening.

“What’s all this about anyway?” Voekeer asked.

“Wish I knew. We just got orders to lock the city down a week ago,” the guard replied. Voekeer frowned. “Make sure you go straight to the guild. No one is allowed out without good reason,” the guard added.

Once the guards finished, they got back on the wagon and headed into the strangely empty city. Without the crowds, it didn’t take long to get back to the guild hall.

She drove the wagon around the side of the building to the stables located there. Adventurers were rather fond of their mounts and didn’t like them kept too far away. The wagon was parked, and the horses were led to stalls to be brushed and fed.

Anna picked up two of the chests, leaving Voekeer, Thokri, Elaine, and Barika to carry the third. Rose carried the fangs and two packs with Lyreen carrying the rest. They walked into the back door and headed to the main room only to find it full of sullen adventurers.

“I’ve seen more cheerful crowds at a funeral,” Voekeer said.

“Funerals are a lot of fun,” Elaine replied. The others looked at her for a moment, unsure if she was joking this time or not.

They walked over to the counter and set the chest down. Anna set the two she was carrying next to them. The others gave her a look this time.

“What?” Anna asked.

“Nothing,” Voekeer replied.

Bruno walked out to greet them. He looked at the trunks and at them and then back at the trunks.

“Do I want to know?” he asked.

“We’re going to need you to do some paperwork for us,” Voekeer replied.

Bruno muttered something rude under his breath. They told him about the caravan and what they had done. He took out a stack of papers and started to write on them, complaining the whole time.

They each had to sign the documents stating they were claiming the treasure and Rose with finder’s rights. Voekeer had a few documents he had found in the caravan so that the owners could be found and informed. This was a legal necessity.

Once they finished signing the mountain of documents poor Bruno had to write up, he retrieved a guild contract. He seemed cheerful to do so.

Because Rose couldn’t read, he read it aloud for her. He asked her if she understood as he read it and would continue when she nodded yes.

Once he finished, she made an X on the bottom of the page and then paid the silver needed to join. Anna had given her a pouch full. Once that was done, Bruno smiled. It was a terrifying sight.

“Enjoy your freedom,” he said. Rose smiled back and winked.

“Try not to get eaten by anything,” he said.

“She might like that, lad,” Thokri said. Bruno chuckled, and Rose smacked Thokri’s arm.

“Any idea what happened?” Voekeer asked.

“Not a clue. One day, the guards just started telling everyone to go home,” Bruno said.

Voekeer shrugged. He handed Bruno the signed contract. Bruno looked it over then stamped it. He put it on the shelf and then counted some coins from a strong box before putting them on the counter.

“Don’t spend it all on the same whore,” Bruno said.

“You really need a new joke,” Anna replied. Bruno looked at the party for a moment then shrugged.

“Works for everyone else,” he said.

She helped him bring the chests into the vault which was a room with a huge iron door. She wasn’t allowed inside and didn’t really care anyway.

Bruno gave them a stack of skull contracts to look through. They found a table and sat down. Voekeer spread the contracts out, and they started to look them over.

“What’s a basilisk?” Anna asked.

“Big lizard that sprays poison and can turn folks to stone,” Thokri replied.

“That sounds fun,” Anna said.

“Not really, but with you around, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Voekeer replied.

“You know their eyes can be used in a number of spells,” Lyreen said.

“Aye, and their scales make fine armor,” Thokri added.

Voekeer held out his hand. Anna passed him the contract and he looked it over.

“Pay isn’t too good, but it’s not like that really matters at this point,” Voekeer said.

“We should look at the others before we make any decisions,” Barika said.

“This one is to collect some gryphon feathers,” Elaine said.

“What’s a gryphon?” Anna asked.

“Big fucker that looks like an eagle and a lion had a baby,” Thokri replied.

“Ooooh, what’s a lion?” Anna asked.

“Big cat,” Thokri replied. She spent a moment trying to imagine such a creature but was unable to.

“Collecting feathers shouldn’t be too difficult. Tell me, where is that contract’s location?” Barika asked.

“It says we can get them from anywhere, but the largest nest in the kingdom is at the base of Skybreaker mountain,” Elaine replied.

“That’s a long way from Oldforge,” Thokri said.

“We are also supposed to deliver them to the requester’s estate,” Elaine added.

“And where would that be?” Barika asked. Elaine looked at the contract in her hands again.

“Just south of the capital,” she replied.

“It would take months, but we’d get to see most of the kingdom,” Voekeer said.

“Aye. Might be worth it for the trip along,” Thokri added.

“Anything else?” Voekeer asked. Barika picked up a contract at random.

“Giant spiders have nested near the edge of Gloomwood, and they are attacking nearby settlements,” she said.

“Yum,” Anna replied, thinking of the spider legs she’d eaten in the cavern. Her friends looked at her with concern on their faces for a moment.

Thokri looked over a few on the table then grinned at one. He picked it up.

“This one is for wyverns. Could use a hide for some light armor,” he said.

“What’s a wyvern?” Anna asked.

“Hush, child,” Barika replied.

The others looked over a few more of the contracts.

“Why don’t we do more than one?” Elaine asked.

“We would have to get the guild master’s permission,” Voekeer replied.

“Would she say no?” Elaine asked.

“I really don’t know,” Voekeer replied.

“Better have a good plan on how we’d do them before we go and talk with her, lad,” Thokri said.

“Let me go get a map of the kingdom,” Voekeer replied.

He went over to the counter and talked with Bruno for a moment. The others kept looking through the contracts.

I have no idea what any of these monsters are.

She set the contract she was holding down and took a piece of candy from her belt pouch and popped it in her mouth. She rolled it around with her tongue coating her mouth with sticky sweetness.

She looked up at the ceiling again to see if the big spider was there still.

Oh, there it is!

She watched it sit there, unmoving, for a few moments before looking around. The other adventurers were drinking and softly murmuring to each other. Mostly about what could be happening. A few were doing the same as them and looking at contracts to go on as an excuse to leave the city.

Even Rufus is looking for work?

The bull man and his cronies were in deep discussion about a contract to guard a caravan heading to the empire.

Voekeer came back with the map, and the others started to talk about what contracts they wanted to take, and then they started to plan the best route to take.

It took the better part of two hours for them to come up with a good plan and work up the nerve to talk to the guild master. They went to the counter and gave Bruno back the contracts they didn’t want.

“So, no slime hunting?” he asked.

“Absolutely not!” Lyreen replied.

“I take it you want to go and see the guild master?” Bruno asked when he saw the map and the contracts still in Voekeer’s hands.

“We do,” Voekeer replied.

Bruno motioned for them to followed, and they went into the back of the Adventure’s Guild Hall. It was the first time she’d ever been here. Really, it was just a hallway with a few rooms.

They went into the one on the far back wall. Bruno knocked on the door, and she heard the guild master’s voice saying they could come in.

The inside of the office was surprisingly nice with thick carpets on the floor and bookshelves lining the walls. The guild master sat behind an enormous desk that was filled with papers. She was reading one of them at the moment with a frown on her face.

She looked up. “I supposed you want to take more than one contract,” she said, looking at Voekeer.

“Yes, ma’am,” Voekeer replied.

“You have my permission,” the guild master said.

“Really?” Voekeer asked.

“Yes, really,” she replied. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. “Listen, I know you can handle anything we have, and I’m trying to get my people out of this city before they start to cause trouble,” the guild master added.

“Why do you want to get everyone out of the city? Do you know what’s going on?” Barika asked.

“No idea, but I don’t feel like dealing with the paperwork because some of my boys got antsy and fucked up the guards,” the guild master replied.

“Ah,” Barika said.

“Take whatever you need from the stores and get out of here in the morning. I’m not sure if this lockdown is going to get worse or not,” the guild master replied.

“Alright. I guess we’re going to get our wagon ready,” Voekeer said in a confused tone.

The guild master grunted and went back to work. They went back to the main room and talked to Bruno, letting him know of their plans.

“I’ll get you some supplies from the storeroom. Got anything you want to offload?” Bruno asked.

“Yeah, we have a whole bunch of spears and nets we used to get the sea monster,” Voekeer replied.

“Well, we can keep them here for you,” Bruno said.

“That would help, thank you,” Voekeer replied.

Bruno waved them off then left for the back of the guild himself.

The party went back to their wagon and unloaded the extra weapons and other unneeded supplies. Bruno brought a few other people with him, and within a few minutes, their wagon was basically empty save for rations and their packs.

“We should take a strongbox full of coin as well,” Thokri said.

The others agreed, and they went back inside. Bruno filled one with copper, silver, and gold coins for them, promising to take what they owed from the treasure and no more. They ate a huge meal of soup, bread, and cheese. They also drank copious amounts of ale before heading to bed for the night. She looked out the window at the empty streets.

I should go find out what’s happening.

She went to put her dress back on but hesitated. After a moment of thought, she decided against it.

Something weird would happen. Something weird always happens.

She went to bed instead, figuring they would just learn what was going on with everyone else when they got back.

The next morning, she passed out hangover cure to the others. Only Thokri refused. Everyone else gratefully downed the concoction and sighed seemly in unison.

“This is the greatest thing dwarves have ever come up with,” Lyreen said.

The others agreed, causing Thokri to shake his head in disgust. Breakfast was porridge, which she sweetened to an eye watering level. They ate in silence.

Once finished, they went to Bruno. Anna handed him two letters. One was to the dwarves, letting them know she’d be gone for a long time and asking for them to keep taking care of her house.

The other was to Beth. It was filled with more drawings, mostly from the ball. Beth loved dresses and would have died from excitement had she been allowed to attend. After that, they said their goodbyes to the ogre and left the Guild Hall.

They got the carriage hooked up, and everyone climbed aboard. She drove the wagon through the empty streets with Rose and Thokri sitting next to her. The others were sprawled out in the now roomy wagon. They had kept a few spears, but those were now strapped to the side of the wagon wrapped in oilskin.

Rose shifted some. She was still wearing an ill-fitting dress. They had bought a few on the trip home, but like Anna, nothing quite fit her.

“We can get some made when we reach a big town,” Anna said. Rose nodded if she felt bad about Anna buying her things. Anna couldn’t tell.

They were searched again before leaving the city. The guards seemed more on edge this time, but that might just be because they were at a different gate this time. The western road was far larger than the southern one, and there was more traffic, even with the lockdown.

They spent two weeks on the road before stopping in a large town. The guards at the gate waved them through as soon as they showed their guild badges. She looked for an inn as they rode down the main street. She found one near the gate.

It even has a stable attached.

She pulled in next to the inn, and a few men came out. Thokri paid them, and they started to unhook the horses. The party went inside the inn and got rooms for the week.

“Come on, Rose. Let’s go get you some gear,” Thokri said.

They had intended on buying everything she needed before they left Oldforge, but that hadn’t worked out because of the lockdown. The other towns and villages they passed were small and didn’t have the kinds of things they were looking for.

“Sure you want to use a bow?” Lyreen asked. Rose nodded.

“You’re going to knock those huge tits of yours off,” Lyreen replied.

“She’ll be fine if she wraps them or gets a breast plate,” Barika said.

“What if she doesn’t have time to put one on?” Lyreen asked.

“Then she’ll smack herself in the boob with the string. I’m sure it will hurt like hell, but that’s not your problem elf,” Elaine replied.

“It is if she flinches and shoots me in the ass, human!” Lyreen said.

“That’d be a hell of a shot,” Anna said.

“Shut up, you,” Lyreen replied.

Lyreen had been opposed to Rose using a bow for some reason and had been trying to talk her out of it since she had decided on it.

“Don’t listen to her. She just has some weird thing about butts,” Anna said.

“I DO NOT!” Lyreen replied.

Everyone chuckled for a moment before they left the inn.

They walked around the town until they found the clothes shop. This town didn’t have a separate dressmaker and tailor because they were a husband and wife pair. Both were hard at work when the party walked inside.

“How can we help you?” the husband asked.

“We need clothing for her. Some light dresses for the summer and a few heavy ones for the winter along with a good cloak,” Barika replied. The wife got up.

“I need to get your measurements,” she said.

“She can’t speak. Is that going to be a problem?” Barika asked.

“No, ma’am,” the wife replied. She led Rose into the back room.

“Can I help you with anything else?” the husband asked.

“Do you have ribbons?” Anna asked.

He smiled. Most people did when she was talking to them for some reason.

“Of course, we do,” he replied. He walked over and pulled reel after reel and set them on the counter. She walked over and looked at the colorful things.

There were so many, she didn’t know where to start. Elaine walked over and pulled out a length of purple ribbon.

“Got to start with this. It’s the same color as your eyes,” Elaine said.

“Yeah, that one is nice.” Barika and Lyreen walked up next to her and started to look at the ribbons.

“I guess it really depends on how you do your hair,” Lyreen said.

“What do you mean?” Anna asked.

“Well, if we put your hair in pig tails, you’d need a different color than if we braided it and put the ribbon at the bottom,” Lyreen replied.

“Oh,” Anna said. She picked a few lengths she liked and let her friends do the same. She gave the man a copper for them and let Lyreen put her hair in pig tails.

She seemed excited about them for some reason.

Rose had come back out in the middle of it, and she seemed excited as well. Her hair had grown out some, and she ended up buying a blue ribbon to tie it back. Elaine got a black one, of course, and Lyreen bought a pink one.

Once they paid for Rose’s clothing, they left the shop and headed to the main market. The market wasn’t anything special, but she was still having fun looking at the stalls. Thokri was dragging Rose around, pointing out the things she would need, and then explaining in great detail what to look for in said things.

Watching the two of them, she had a strange feeling and then remembered the first time she’d gone to a market with Thokri to buy adventuring gear.

A smile came to her face.

I know what would make this perfect.

“I want to go to a candy stall,” Anna said.

“That sounds wonderful,” Lyreen replied.

“As soon as they finish, we’ll go find one,” Voekeer said.

Poor Rose was carrying an arm full of equipment and tottering along after the surprisingly quick dwarf.

“You might want to get her a pack,” Voekeer said.

“I’m getting to it, lad,” Thokri replied.

Anna took a few of the more cumbersome things from Rose who smiled at her in thanks.

“He forgets that not every pretty human girl is me,” Anna said. Rose nodded in understanding.

Anna sighed. She’d tried to teach the woman how to read and write, but she just couldn't for some reason.

Whenever she tries to write, the letters are backwards and upside down sometimes.

She’d asked her if that’s what was happening when she tried to read, and Rose had nodded yes.

The others told her to quit trying after Anna had told them what she learned, saying that it would be impossible for Rose, and that it would just frustrate her.

She’s having trouble with dwarven sign as well.

Anna had tried to teach her that as well, but to be fair, it was a complex language based on dwarven which was itself a complex language that shared nothing with common language.

I should have known it would be hard. Me and Thokri have been talking to each other in dwarven for a year, and the others barely know a word of it.

She didn’t think Rose was stupid or anything, but it seemed that it may be impossible to teach her a new language anytime soon.

Guess I just have to find a way to heal her. Anna remembered that their journey would be taking them to the capital. I might find someone that can help her there!

Elaine, Thokri, and Barika had all been there before, and they told her so many things, some of which seemed far fetched, but her friends wouldn’t lie to her. She got a little shaky when she thought about it from the excitement.

She heard Rose sigh and looked over to see what the woman was doing. Thokri was holding a pack and started to explain how to pack it. Poor Rose looked confused as the dwarf described in great detail what to do.

“Hey, uh, I think we should just show her,” Anna said.

Thokri stopped and looked at Rose and then back at Anna.

“Aye,” he replied.

Rose looked at her in thanks before they started to fill her new pack. It didn’t take long for the two of them to pack Rose’s pack. She watched intently as they did so. Once finished, she put the pack on, and Thokri adjusted the straps, explaining how and why as he did so.

They found the armor vendor next. Thokri put poor Rose in a thick mail shirt over the usual padding, and she looked miserable in it. They tried a few different types of armor before hand, but most were either too heavy for the frail woman or didn’t protect well enough from the dangers of adventuring. She reluctantly put the pack back on and started to sweat horribly as they walked.

“I don’t think she’s ready for a full kit, Thokri,” Anna said. He looked back for a moment.

“She’ll be fine,” he replied and kept walking.

Their last stop for equipment was the weapon’s stall. Thokri was poking through the bows with Rose while the rest of the party went to their preferred weapons. Anna had enough clubs to last for a long while, so she looked around at the other weapons.

Oh, what’s this?

In a basket next to the slings were small grey objects. She picked one up. It was surprisingly heavy. She tossed the oval thing into the air and caught it.

It’s metal!

The weight reminded her of gold, but it was a dull grey color. There were leather bags hanging next to the basket. She put one over her shoulder and adjusted it so it would hang next to her hip. She filled the bag with the metal ovals and then walked to the merchant.

“Yes, miss,” he said.

“How much for this bag and all of these?” she asked, opening the flap.

“Three copper,” he said. She handed him the coins.

“Ever used war shot before?” he asked. She shook her head no.

“Make sure you practice with it first,” he said.

“I will,” Anna replied. She walked over to her friends who were still picking through the weapons.

“What have you got there?” Voekeer asked.

“War shot,” Anna replied.

“Why would you…. By the tree, why didn’t I think of that?!” Voekeer said.

“I hadn’t thought about throwing stuff in a while, so don’t feel bad,” Anna replied.

“How much was that?” Lyreen asked.

“A few copper,” Anna replied.

“We should buy that whole basket before we leave,” Voekeer replied looking past her.

Rose ended up with three bows. A light one for practice, a heavier one to hunt with, and a war bow. She couldn’t draw the hunting bow or the war bow, but Thokri was convinced she’d be able to with the proper training. She also bought a bundle of arrows for each.

They went back to the inn and packed Rose’s new equipment in the wagon. She looked relieved when she pealed the padding off. Anna looked her over.

“Bath?” she asked. Rose nodded vigorously.

“Water and food first. You’ll pass out from the heat if you don’t,” Barika said.

Rose looked crestfallen but didn’t argue, not that she could. They finished packing the wagon and went into the inn.