"Sixty years ago," Mr. Shwarz said as we stepped into his home. My eyes widened upon walking into the manor. The entrance hall was vast; it had to be nearly thirty feet or so high with a silver chandelier. In front of us were two staircases on either side of the room going up to the second floor, which overlooked the first, and at the end of each wall to our left and right were two hallways heading towards the manor's wings.

  "Before my family even began to build this farm, Gunther was just a tiny town near the Blythetane Forest." He pointed out one of the front windows overlooking the fields. I could see the automaton harvester, now a mere dot from where we stood, cutting down the field; beyond that y a menacing forest.

  Shwarz continued as he then motioned for us to follow him up the right-hand stairs. "Gunther was a pitiful pce to start a town; the dirt was stiff and infertile; you couldn't grow anything here. Originally, it was just a resting pce for travelers between the ferry crossing and Johanneson, but as the metropolis continued to grow and grow, overpopution was becoming a concern." He chuckled as we made it to the second floor. He motioned for us to follow him to the right down a long hallway with doors and paintings on either side.

  There are so many rooms here; I wonder what they're all for. I thought to myself.

  "So the Regional Governor at the time… oh, what was his name again?" Shwarz tapped his chin.

  My mother pursed her lips as we walked down the hall and said, "If it were sixty years ago, that'd make the year 1883, which would mean that Herbert Shol was the acting governor."

  Shwarz snapped his fingers and nodded. "That's it; thank you, Cailynn." He smiled and continued the story: "Governor Shol was concerned his people were growing too fast and would eat all the food, so he put out a nd bid here in Kencha Valley, calling out to would-be farmers. My parents were eager to own their own stake and bought a few gren for only ten gold."

  "Gren?" I blinked; I'd never heard of this measurement before.

  "A plot of nd," Shwarz crified, "a few gren is about the size of my field out front you all saw."

  Oh, so it's like an acre. Darn, even back in my old life, I didn't even know how big an acre was. It looks like a lot, though.

  "And, oh boy," Shwarz said with a ugh as we stopped outside a fancy double door. Shwarz reached for his key ring and said, "The first year of moving to this empty nd outside of Little Gunther was a nightmare. At the time, I was a little d, about seven, and trying to plow this nd was quite the work out." He chuckled as he grabbed a silver key and unlocked the door.

  As the door opened, Gunther motioned for us to follow him into what I concluded to be the master bedroom. Unlike the decorated hall or entrance, it was surprisingly quaint inside the master bedroom. A rge bed sat on the far right wall; beside it was ornate coffee stands, and in the center of the room, directly in front of the entrance against the wall in front of a rge window, was a study.

  Shwarz put a pause on his story and said, "Over here is my wardrobe; I keep a lot of my daughter's old stuff stored away here."

  Both my mother and I nodded as we followed. "Anyways," Shwarz hummed as he opened the door to the rge walk-in wardrobe. "After a year of absolutely backbreaking bor, my family and I pnted our wheat and prayed to the gods that the harvest would be worth it. But in a twist of sick fate, over the next few weeks, everything died. Shriveled and gone."

  "A blight?" I guessed.

  Shwarz shook his head as we walked to the back. "A good guess, but no. What happened wasn't natural. It was like the life was sucked out of everything pnted and turned it all to tinder. To make matters worse, it wasn't our only farm that was hit either. All of those who moved here with us experienced the tragedy."

  We stopped by a handful of wooden boxes stacked in the back I gnced up at my mother and then Shwarz. "I take it; that's where this… Khretenmoss came into py?" I asked.

  Shwarz smiled. "Well, there's a bit more to it, but… Pun intended, I'm getting lost in the weeds." He ughed as my mother rolled her eyes. "But yes, to make a long story short, something about this nd wasn't natural, and after a year of investigation alongside the help of the regional authorities, we learned of a dark entity living within the Blythetane."

  "The Khretenmoss, a Dark Fae," my mother said. "Horrific monsters and a terrible pgue for farmers. They're shambling parasites that feed off any living thing that gets caught in their vines."

  I shuddered. "Carnivorous pnts, like timberwolves?"

  Mother shook her head. "No. Both are Fae, yes, but as mentioned, Khretenmoss are dark Fae, creatures created merely out of malice. Unlike wolves, they serve no purpose in the circle of life; all they care about is consumption."

  Shwarz nodded his head. "That is true, and the one that had moved into this valley had sucked the life out of everything. Leaving the ground dry, but when we farmers came, it learned. Surprisingly. Instead of attacking us and consuming us, the sly creature waited for us to pnt our crop, then consumed it and waited for us to do it again. When you mentioned a blight, Luna, that's what we thought at first. Little did we know we were feeding the beast."

  My mother smiled gently, her eyes widening as she seemed to recall the memory. "Gunther was lucky, my party, and I arrived when we did. When word got out what was happening, the Herbert Shol was ready to have the Hein's Guard burn down the entire forest to get rid of the creature… Not, that'd work anyway."

  My eyes widened at this point, and the thought of my mother and father battling a shambling mound of carnivorous pnt matter engulfed my imagination. Now this sounds like something out of a D&D game! My mind raced.

  "What happened next?" I asked as Shwarz leaned against the crate and looked at my mother.

  "Well, that depends; it's a long story. Would you want to hear the whole thing or the short version?" He asked me.

  I gnced at my mother, who tapped her chin and sighed. "We have a couple hours probably till your father returns, so I think we have time. But let's look through the clothes while we talk."

  I nodded and beamed as I turned to the older man, who smirked and began to open the crates. "Well, how about we let Cailynn start?"

  The Spellbound Rangers

  18th Dusk Day, Eunomia, 1883 PTW

  The harsh te spring sun beat down on the three adventurers. Cailynn panted and groaned softly as she held a hand out in front of her and bsted her face with cool air. The sweat on her face and hair shot backward as the powerful gust sent her bangs filing behind her.

  "Babe, please shoot me too," Slyran sighed and nearly dropped to his knees, his face and upper shirt caked in sweat.

  Cailynn smiled gently and nodded as she aimed her staff at Slyrann and bsted him with a gust of wind, which sent him sprawling into the grass alongside the road.

  "Oh, he really went flying this time." The heavily armored Cyrus said with a giggle as she brushed her silver bangs out from in front of her face.

  Slyran kicked and thrashed in the tall grass before eventually finding his footing and pushing himself to his feet. He spat out a few loose bdes of grass and pouted as he looked at his wife. "What was that for?" He asked with a whine.

  Cailynn held her staff close to herself and said, "You asked me to shoot you, so I did!" After a few moments, her smile slipped, and she asked, "Are you hurt?"

  Slyrann shook his head. "Physically? No. Mentally? I will never recover." he joked, causing Cyrus to giggle.

  The dark-skinned woman came over to him, her heavy pte armor clinking as she stepped beside him and pced her gauntleted hand on his shoulder. Slyran tried to shrug her off, but her grip was too strong.

  "Cyrus, I'm okay—"

  "Shush," The cleric's eyes fshed a bright green, and an aura formed around her hand before flowing into Slyran. Any minor cuts or bruises he had immediately vanished. "There, all better."

  "I wasn't hurt, though," Slyran grumbled.

  "Knowing your pride, you'd hide a broken foot from us," Cyrus said with a wink. "And you, stop blowing your husband."

  Cailynn rolled her eyes and groaned. "Phrasing, please!"

  Both Slyran and Cyrus snorted and smiled.

  Slyran winked at Cyrus. "I don't know if I want her to stop doing that, or if she even wants—"

  Suddenly, Slyran vanished from Cyrus's sight, repced by a heavier bst of air and his distant screams. Cyrus blinked and gnced at Cailynn, who turned around.

  "He can catch up ter." She huffed as she rested her staff on her shoulder and began to walk down the sun-scorched road.

  An hour ter. The trio continued along the road, the nd around them transitioning from one of lush grass to brittle stone and dirt as a desert began to take shape around them.

  "Heinmarr sure has changed," said Slyran as he adjusted his magelock rifle strap. "Thirty years ago, the Kencha Valley was… lush."

  Cyrus pursed her lips. "Okren's essence cannot be felt here," she said. "Nature's Lord does not take kindly to the encroaching gears of industry. Perhaps he has abandoned this pce?"

  Cailynn rolled her eyes. "I doubt he's that petty, besides," Cailynn gestured around them. "We aren't even near Johanneson."

  Cyrus shook her head. "Doesn't matter. The pollution we Enoran's create spreads far and wide, choking the lives of Okren's children—"

  Slyran rushed forward between the two as they walked. "Or perhaps it's something else! We don't know," he said cheerfully. "We've been traveling for months, and now we've stumbled onto something interesting."

  "What're you proposing, Sly?" Cailynn grumbled.

  "A mystery!" He smirked and crossed his arms as the road began to meander up a hill. "What's causing the nd to die around Johanneson? Clearly, this isn't natural, right? Everywhere else in Heinmarr is lush and beautiful."

  Cailynn hummed and tapped her chin as they walked. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. The problem is, though, we won't be getting paid for doing something on our own time."

  Cyrus gnced at Slyran, who looked back at her and smirked. "Well, we can just ask around. There's a vilge near here, right? Gunther, if I recall?"

  "The old tavern?" Cailynn asked, and Slyran shook his head.

  "No, no, it's a whole vilge now. A little one, but I'm sure the locals will want to know what's up."

  "Wouldn't a scientific investigation like this take… a while?" Cyrus asked.

  "Depends," Cailynn said. "It could take a year or two, maybe more, depending on how bad."

  "Tw-two years?" The cleric sputtered. "That's a long time!"

  The two elves gnced at the human. "No, it isn't." They then stopped and blinked, both their eyes widening. "Oh yeah… That's right."

  Cyrus rolled her eyes as Cailynn gnced at Slyran and said, "There's one other issue I just remembered."

  "What's that?" He asked.

  "Well, we're in Heinmarr for one. It is much more developed than many of the other nations in Eurion. In other words, the regional authorities may not be too keen on outsourcing to adventurers." She said as her eyes cast to the ground and she gripped her chin in thought.

  It's been over two hundred years since the start of the Magranium Advancement. Ever since, schors have learned how to efficiently compress and reshape magrite into smaller, usable forms. Nations across the globe began to industrialize and develop faster than ever before. Not only had this affected the industries of the world, but also its governments. No longer were peasants unequal to wizards and kings. No amount of martial or arcane training could stop the speed at which a mag-bolt pierces one heart.

  Thus, the dawn of revolutions began. Heinmarr was one of the first countries to enact reforms at the start of this new age. Having successfully quelled the revolutionaries diplomatically, the Kaiser agreed to a peaceful compromise, and thus the elected monarchy that was in pce now was born, along with a wide array of changes. Law and order, expansions, growth, and the extermination of monsters were all things that came with it.

  The extermination of monsters is the biggest problem. Adventurers like the trio required monsters and the like to make a living. Monster hunting, being one of the most lucrative businesses out there, was originally monopolized by the guilds. Nowadays, though, a peasant with magelock could easily dispatch a ghoul or two with a simple headshot. Or even a Gizzard if they could get the drop on it, but now the new regional governments are creating their kill squads to do it themselves.

  Cailynn sighed, and Slyran shrugged. "Well, who cares? What're they going to do, arrest us?"

  Cyrus bonked him on the back of the head with her gauntled fist. "Most likely, dummy. Unlicensed monster hunting in Branoria is illegal nowadays. I wouldn't be surprised if Heinmarr adopted this."

  Slyran winced and rubbed the back of his head as he gnced at Cyrus. "A license? What do you mean by license? Why does everything require a license nowadays?!"

  Cyrus sighed. "Times are changing, you old geezers."

  "I'm not old; I'm fifty years old!" Slyran scoffed.

  Cailynn pouted and said, "I'm only forty-two. I'm not old!" She looked at Slyran with her big blue eyes. "I'm not old, right, hon?"

  Slyran gripped his wife by the shoulders and hugged her. "You're not old at all!"

  The twenty-two-year-old Cyrus's eyes twitched.

  Further along the road, the trio continued their journey towards Johanneson. With the sun now settling high in the sky as morning passes into noon, the group came to a stop when Cailynn noticed something up ahead. Coming over the hill, a train of wagons was heading their way. Normally, such a sight wouldn't be unusual as they walked upon one of the most traveled roads to Johanneson, but what set this apart from others they had seen were the numbers.

  A rge train, at least six vehicles, two coaches, and four open wagons were rolling in their direction. "Look at the wagons," Slyran said as he came up beside his wife and pointed. "They're overflowing."

  Cailynn squinted. "It doesn't look like merchandise either."

  They've seen such a sight before. Many times, the band of heroes had come across towns besieged by monsters and fae alike. These were refugees.

  As the wagons encroached on their position, the three adventurers stepped off the side of the road to make way.

  "You better be going the other way!" Shouted a gnome driver of the leading coach.

  "What's going on?" Slyran called out to the gnome as he began to jog towards the coach and then along with it.

  "The regional governor ordered the town of Gunther to be evacuated." The gnome said this to him as Slyran continued to jog alongside it. "A dangerous monster has taken root in the Blythetane; already it's killed folk, so you best be going the other way!" The gnome flicked the reins, and the strider pulling the coach squawked as it moved faster.

  Slyran slowed to a walk and then stopped before turning around and walking back to his party.

  "What's up?" Cailynn asked him as he came over and gnced at Cyrus.

  "Well, I think we already have a lead." He smirked. "The regional governor has ordered an evacuation of Gunther, which is up ahead." He pointed. "Apparently there's a monster in the Blythetane that's already killed some people."

  Cyrus smiled as well. "Well it sounds like we might be getting a job after all." She hummed.

  Cailynn shook her head. "Probably not," she said pessimistically. "If the governor is stepping in, most likely the military is involved too."

  Slyran shrugged. "Probably, but hey, what's cheaper? A few adventurers going to sy a monster, or an entire army? I feel like if we negotiate we can maybe take the task."

  Cailynn tapped her chin and then shrugged. "Maybe. Let's go check it out."

  "That's… That's a lot of soldiers," Slyran said with wide eyes as the group watched the battalion of soldiers setting up camp outside of the small vilge of Gunther from atop a rge hill.

  "There has to be at least a thousand of them," Cyrus said, dumbfounded, as she ran a hand through her silver hair. "What did they find out there? A dragon?"

  Cailynn smirked and said, "Gods I hope so. If it's a dragon then we'd be set for another five years." She chuckled.

  "Well, let's not get greedy now," Slyran said as he took on a more serious tone. "Whatever it is, it must be serious if the army is pulling out the big guns." He pointed towards the east, where rge arcane cannons were being set up. "Back in my day, we only brought out the siege engines whenever it was something huge." "Or they're overreacting," Cyrus added. "The army always overdoes it in these scenarios."

  "Maybe," Slyran nodded. "If it's anything like back then, it's best we stay cautious. A broken clock is right at least once."

  Cailynn frowned a little but nodded. "Agreed."

  Cyrus nodded as well. "How should we go about this?" She asked.

  Cailynn shrugged once again. "I was just going to go down and introduce myself as per usual."

  Slyran smirked. "That's the simplest route, but it's also the quickest to being arrested if we don't turn away."

  Cyrus and Cailynn looked at him. "Then what do you suggest?"

  He raised both hands. "Oh, no, I'm not saying we don't do what you said, hon." He smiled at Cailynn. "I'm just suggesting that if they turn us away we do just that. These guys don't mess around, trust me—"

  "We know you were one of them," Cyrus said as she rolled her eyes.

  Slyran chuckled. "It's my field of expertise; what can I say?"

  Cailynn dusted off her cloak and smoothed out her skirt before saying, "Well, let's go talk to them."

  As the party approached the edge of the vilge, a small group of soldiers stood on guard. "By orders of the regional governor and for your safety, the road is barred from travelers!" A rge, burly, and uniformed orc said his with a low rumble to his voice. "A monster has been prowling these nds. If you wish to make it to Johanneson, you'll need to traverse the Silfan Way." He stepped forward and into the center of the road, along with a few others.

  "Oh, that's a ways away," Cailynn mumbled to herself as she smiled at the big soldier. "We apologize for intruding on your guard duty, sir," she said as her voice took on a completely different tone. Cailynn spoke slowly and with an added purr as she said, "My companions and I were hoping we could help the regional governor with this little issue." She cooed and stepped forward, her cloak parting a bit as she leaned forward to reveal her partially unbuttoned top, which dispyed a bit of her cleavage.

  Slyran had to bite his tongue and try not to scoff as he watched his lover put on such a dispy.

  The two soldiers behind the orc immediately turned red. One of them even smiled broadly and whistled, while the orc appeared more confused.

  "You've come to help?" The Orc snorted. "Civilians or vigintes are not permitted to interfere with ongoing operations, but we appreciate the sentiment." He chuckled.

  Cailynn pouted and leaned back a little as she kept her robe parted and gripped her staff close to her chest. "Civlians? Viginties? Do not compare us to such lowly folk." She smiled. "We are the Spellbound Rangers."

  As she said this both Cyrus and Slyran stepped forward, chests puffed out.

  "So you're mercenaries, eh?" The orc crossed his arms as the other two behind him started snickering at the name. "Quiet!" The orc barked at them, and the men flinched and straightened up. He looked back at Cailynn. "What guild are you licensed with?"

  Cailynn frowned. "Excuse me?"

  The orc frowned and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Cyrus stepped forward with a card in hand. "We're signed up with the Stalwart Shield!"

  The orc leaned forward and squinted at the card. "Ah, so you're Brannons." He huffed.

  "Uh, not really; we are travelers," Cyrus corrected. "But we've been signing up everywhere we went."

  The orc huffed again and gnced at his allies behind him. "Very well, I have no guarantees the Lieutenant Colonel will want to speak to you all, but I'll let them know some volunteers have arrived."

  Cyrus smiled. "Thank you." She cupped her hands together. "May the goddess's blessing be with you." She then stepped back and turned to face her two elven companions, who looked at her with confusion. "I told you earlier that licenses are becoming important."

  "Since when did you get signed up, though?" Cailynn whispered as the soldiers walked away.

  Cyrus smiled and tapped her chin. "Well, since I was little, back in Branoria, I signed up before meeting you guys. Then, when we went to Felkier, I joined the Seekers Guild, and when we went to Saxonia…" On and on, she listed the guilds she had signed up for. Reaching into her bag, she showed them all the cards she had collected.

  "It's not hard to join; since you two are always taking forever in towns, I get bored." Cyrus giggled. "You two should really start grabbing these as well; one of these days I won't be here to bail you out."

  Slyran stepped forward and patted Cyrus's pauldron before hissing when his hand touched the hot metal. "Roots, that's hot…" He waved his hand and said, "I'll think about it." He chuckled.

  It wouldn't take long for the soldiers to return. As the rge orc adjusted his rifle strap, he said, "I bring good news; the Lieutenant Colonel is interested in what you have to propose."

  Cailynn turned to face the soldier and said, "Excellent. Lead the way, and we'll follow."

  The trio followed the soldiers into the vilge. Gunther was small, only housing about a dozen families and a rge tavern in its center of the same name. Most of the houses already appeared to have been evacuated, yet one in particur seemed occupied, and the residents there looked like they didn't want to leave.

  "I don't care what the Governor ordered!" A plump woman in a bck and white dress shouted into a young soldier's face. "I'm not going to pack up my entire family and leave because you dimwits cannot deal with one monster!"

  "Ma'am, please." The soldier tried to reason. "The creature is far too dangerous to have anyone within its vicinity."

  "It lives in the woods, miles from here!" The woman screeched. "Fight it there! Why move everyone out of here?!"

  "She makes a good point," Slyran muttered softly as the trio walked by the show. "The gnome in the caravan said something simir. That the beast is out in the forest, Gunther is probably a good few miles from the Blythetane."

  "That is interesting," Cailynn muttered back. "Perhaps you're right; maybe it is something big."

  "Careful! Careful!" A voice shouted up ahead, which caused all three of their heads to perk up. Up ahead, a rge wagon was parked off the road and was hitched to a massive Dorrogan. At the back of the wagon, it could currently be seen that it was being unloaded by a group of soldiers who were pcing heavy metal barrels on the ground. Slightly off to the side of the men unloading the wagon stood a half-elven man in an officer's uniform, shouting. "That's dragon's breath, you twits! If you drop that, you'll bloody kill us all!"

  "Dragons breath?" Cyrus gawked as they continued down the road. "Why the hell are you bringing that out here?"

  Slyran frowned and bit his lower lip. "I think I know why," he muttered as they finally stopped outside the Gunther tavern.

  A portly, well-dressed man dabbed his darkened beard with a handkerchief before leaning over the table with his knife to stab a sb of grok steak. The bulging man gorged himself on a vast feast before him at the center table within the tavern. Around him stood his guards, and at the table were his advisors, who consumed poultry compared to what he had.

  When the door to the tavern opened, the trio of heroes entered. The man belched and wiped his beared face clean. The soldier escorting the group of heroes who wished to speak to him stopped before the table and raised his fist into the air as he performed the Heinmarran salute.

  "Lieutenant Colonel Kaus, I've brought the visitors as you requested."

  Leaning back in his seat, Kaus dabbed at his face some more as his eyes wandered over the three. His eyes first nded on a beautiful dark-skinned woman with silver hair wearing ancient pte armor; beside her was an Elven man wearing a fine outfit armed with what looked to be a modified magelock. But what his eyes nded on and became stuck on was the stunningly beautiful elven mage in the bck coat and dress. A dress that was most certainly not appropriate, the skirt was too short, her buttons undone, and leaving little to the imagination. A sight that truly made even the professional Lieutenant Colonel blush a little.

  "So you are the three who wish to speak to me," The colonel's grumbling voice echoed within the tavern. With a heaving grunt, he struggled to raise himself out of his chair and waddled around the table. "I was told you three are the Spellbound Rangers…"

  "So you've heard of us?" The scantily dressed mage asked.

  Kaus stroked his beard and nodded as he came over to the three. "To be frank, I have. Stories of what transpired in Saxsonia have already begun to spread. You did excellent work on the Arachnai infestation, if that is true."

  The armored maiden shivered heavily upon the mention of the arachnai. "Truly horrid creatures were those things," she said, and Kaus let off a rolling ugh.

  "So it must be true." He snorted and smiled.

  The mage and gunslinger nodded. "A couple pounds of magrite and a well pced fireball did short work for the Queen," said the man with the rifle.

  Pcing his hands on his belly, Kaus stood in front of them and nodded. "So I take it then; you came here to deal with our monster then?"

  The three of them nodded; however, the mage said, "For a price, of course."

  The lieutenant colonel raised an eyebrow. "For a price?"

  The three nodded, and the gunslinger spoke, "Surely, what we're asking for would be cheaper than the amount of dragon's breath your men are unloading outside."

  "Speaking of which," the mage said, "why are your men handling such votile material?"

  Kaus frowned for a moment, debating whether he should even humor the woman with an answer that was fine. With a wave of his hand, he said, "We are pnning on flushing the beast out of its hideout and are going to blow it to smithereens."

  The gunslinger and cleric both raised their eyebrows. "You are going to light the Blythetane on fire?" The man asked.

  Kaus nodded. "Aye, that is the pn. The beast is a Khretenmoss," he said, immediately noticing the mage's eyes widen with shock. "It is a creature made of pnts twisted into malice that blends into its environment. Already, I've sent men in to kill it, and only a small handful have returned."

  "They are ambush predators," Cailynn said. "However, I disagree with burning down the entirety of the forest just for one monstrosity."

  Kaus shook his head. "But that is where you're wrong, Madam…"

  "Moonweaver," Cailynn said, and Kaus nodded.

  "This creature, Madam Moonweaver, isn't your typical Khretenmoss." He tapped his forehead. "This one is smart, and…" Looking at himself, he chuckled. "Like me, it's rge and well fed."

  The mage sighed and gnced at her companions. "An intelligent Khretenmoss. It sounds like this one could be trouble."

  The gunslinger cracked his knuckles and said, "A bunch of sticks and weeds doesn't sound too hard, and besides, I think the governor would prefer it if the forest wasn't burned down."

  Kaus gnced at his advisors at the table and then back at the group and said, "If the renowned Spellbound Rangers want to take part in a hunt, I see no issue, and as a matter of fact, I'll see to it that you are paid, if successful. You would save my men the headache and certainly the coin if this succeeds." He smiled.

  Moonweaver gnced at the man beside her, who said, "I'm down for that. How much are we talking?"

  Kaus held up a finger, turned to his advisors, and began to softly discuss amongst each other. After a few moments, he turned around and said, "Three Heinmarran ptinum coins I believe is more than enough."

  "Ptinum?!" The cleric gasped.

  "Sounds good to me." Said the man.

  Though the Moonweaver seemed skeptical, "Hold on, Deadeye," she said, grabbing the man's colr. She gred at Kaus, who frowned in return. "Make it five ptinum."

  Kaus and his advisors scoffed. "Don't be absurd—"

  "The Saxsonians paid us six ptinum coins to deal with the Arachnai Queen and see what you have outside. I know for a fact that five is more than reasonable."

  The lieutenant colonel's eyes twitched, and he turned around to discuss some more. After a few seconds, he sighed and said, "Fine, five ptinum it is."

  The three heroes smiled and nodded as Kaus waved his hand. "You have three days. If the creature is not dead by then or you do not return, we will proceed with the operation."

  "Got it. We'll be back before then." The Moonweaver said as she turned away. "Come on, guys."

  "Hell yeah, let's go pull some weeds!" Deadeye high-fived the cleric as they made their way out of the tavern.

  As they left, Kaus took a deep breath and turned back to his table and advisors. "Well, gentleman, it seems our job may have gotten a lot easier." He chuckled.