This is my first adventure outside the city.

I had to beg to come along, but not too much, I guess the guild master thought the worth of the reward the guild will get if I come back outweighs the risk of me not getting back. Being honest, he probably would've agreed even if I wouldn't have begged. The favor he did the other, actually respectable, guild is worth much even if I won't come back but after I begged. I will probably 'owe' him a favor too, way to rack up the rewards for him.

I don't care, all I want is to earn respect with the other guild's members so I can move there.

My guild, Helmet Scar, is very shoddy, but that's why it accepted me. Most other guilds have courses, or at least a taskmaster who knows a thing or two about hunting beasts.

In fact, of the 5 of us in this party, I'm the only one who doesn't know what he's doing, never even learned how to handle a weapon properly, That's OK though as all I need to do is be a be a lookout/pack mule and possibly bait if the need arises.

I really am afraid for my life but it beats finding a rats den to kill so that a food district can relax or making sure pigeons don't poop on a neighborhood's laundry dryer. Just last week the paladin order brought an underground criminal to be executed in towns square, I definitely won't survive with crime as a profession.

Being a guild boy is all I can do and without anyone to vouch for me I couldn't get in to the more fancy guilds. After this quest it will change, I will be able to get into a guild and receive proper training. Someday I will get ahead and I won't have to scrape the market trader's barrel at the end of the day for a discount on unsold goods.

----

We've entered the forest a while ago, a few good hours at least. I hitched a ride with one of the party members, they have 3 horses, but as we entered the forest we left them and kept on foot, and it seems the other party members have an emphasis on silence.

Up ahead I can see a small clearing. "Tracks! these are well ingrained in the soil." The adventurer leading the party said in a voice that we all could hear.

"Henry, that means 'bring the book'." he quietly says but his anger is projected in his tone.

Henry is the adventurer in front of me, it seems he also has this as his first adventure. He silently walk over looking a bit down.

"Hey, Russ, the the other kid also has this as a first adventure, why not give him a little lesson too?" The party leader read-guarding us calls the man in the front, while Russ takes the book from the boy called Henry.

After seeing a nod I tread ahead, and as I tread I see that what I had thought was a clearing in the forest was actually more of a cleared area. The trees seemed to have been torn and one was rooted out. The broken trees and branches create a mostly elliptical arena.

"Feet, very small. And these improvised weapons..." Henry raises what seemed no more than a broken branch to me, but after he said weapon it does seem to have a side that seems akin to a broom handle, one made by a bad craftsmen.

"Very good, these are telltale signs of..." Russ let's Henry continue

"Goblins!" Henry proclaims. "Right, but don't shout." Henry covers his mouth with his hand.

"Hey... um... new guy, what's your name?" He's talking to me?! I'm nervous "M-Myth-os, sir" I stutter.

"Well, that's no good, we already have a Mythos here." Thinking for a moment he then says "We'll call you newbie, You alright with that?"

I nod

"So, what do you make of this?" he asks me.

"I recon its a fight place, goblins prolly fought someone here." I reply.

"A dire wolf, the other tracks are big claws. It's gotta be," Henry picks up my words but is quickly met with refute

"If it was a dire wolf I wouldn't need the book, would I?" a refute by Russ, but that's not all "There are 4 claws that look like a slash on the ground but there is another reverse claw, that's bird talons."

Henry looks baffled by this new found knowledge "Is it a catrice of some kind? or a basilisk?" he continues to guess.

"Do you see these charred parts in the middle? also on some of the weapons?" Russ lectures Henry, I can't feel not involved as I didn't even know these were goblin signs.

"Here we go!" Russ seemed to have found the page he was looking for in the book "Basan, a huge rooster with shining red cockscomb adorning it's head and flame of- bla bla bla" Russ continues to read to himself but Henry never heard of this bird.

"Basan?" the other Mythos joins the conversation "What's it doing so far from the dark elves Isles?" The dark elves isles are quite a boat ride from the sunward shore and that alone is a half the country across.

"Killing livestock and frightening townsfolk it seems, no idea how it got here, but we only care about making it leave." The party leader, whose name I didn't catch yet, chimes into the conversation.

"Have you ever dealt with a... Bazan?" I ask him.

"It's 'Basan', and only once before. It was before Russ joined us but Mythos was there too." Mythos looks at the party leader, likely reminiscing in his mind.

"How'd you take it? it says here that it disappears once it flaps it's wings." Russ asks them both.

"A magical chain, but it wasn't us who took care of it." the party leader explains "Dark elf ninjas did that as we were cornering it, and then took care of it all on their own." Dark elves, I can't believe they saw them.

"That was much closer to the sunward shore. But hey, those ninja bastards could be anywhere and you wouldn't be able to know."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Mythos laughs. "I wouldn't count on that here, hahaha." now everyone is laughing, even me a bit.

Russ stands and closes the book, looks like he's done some thinking. "Well, we can tell that it wouldn't shy from a fight, perhaps we can use that to our advantage?"

Does he mean bait? Is it my time to shine? I hope not, not like that anyway.

"A good idea, Russ. We also brought smoke bombs, I read that looking for it is also a perquisite for it to escape." says the party leader. It looks like they're discussing a plan already, and since I'm both bait material and the one carrying the bags it must involve me too. I straighten my back and peel my ears.

"Newbie is ready for some? huh? bringing honor to our name!" it feels like the other Mythos helps me join in the conversation.

"I'll be the bait" says Russ "Henry and newbie are too yellow panted to do something that dangerous. Plus, I won't let them take all the glory."

This takes me by surprise... I didn't think that he'd volunteer himself... I thought they're gonna through me down the waste if they needed to but... "Agreed, hehe. these two can stand and watch guard, if any wildlife decides to take advantage of the situation."

Party leader looks this way "You do know how to handle yourself? right boy?"

Nervous again "I... umm. I can... swing a sw-s-weapon but not.. um strong or fast." words just don't come out.

"Calm down, Henry can handle himself, just watch your back and try to learn something. your pretty much only here for the formality of 5 people party quests and to loot the remains or whatever."

I feel a little reassured "If your in trouble just shout for me, OK? I'll stay close by" even Henry tries to help me calm down. "Alright... I'll do my best."

----

Russ, the other Mythos and the party leader talk a bit about the plan and Russ is explained what he might encounter in the fight. In the meanwhile Henry and I sit on one of the fallen trees by and prepare the midday rations.

"Hey, Mythos, right? how did you end up here?" Henry opens up a conversation.

"I saw the party leader and Mythos over there come into my guild house as I was looking for work. They looked so out of place I followed them and listened in on their conversation, that's when I heard they were looking for a 5th party member to fill in a spot."

I explain, but why do I explain? just because he asked?

"Do you have friends at your other guild?" He seems really interested in this conversation... why?

"No."

"No?... why not?"

Why would I? "They're all scum, that guild is a terrible place with terrible people." everyone there is only there to make money and get out of there, just like me.

"Oh... it can't be all bad though." typical of a rose colored glasses kind of guy.

"It is all bad. did you know I never even went to a field course like you did?"

"What? really?"

"Not even basic weapon training" That guild of mine sucks, cutting whatever corner they can, no wonder with a guild master like that.

"Ohh... then why did you even join in? did you know it was so bad before you started?"

Of course I did! "Of course I did, but I don't have what it take to apply to a good guild like yours... I tried going to Crimson Stars only to be embarrassed in half a minute and leave."

They almost kicked me out saying that they don't do anymore charity quests, and when I said I wanna apply they all laughed saying something about not having any 'capito', they didn't need to kick me out then, I let myself out.

"That sucks, man. I entered because I wanted to be a hero, like Allous, in the paladin order. Did you know that she started as an adventurer in her fathers guild?"

Allous is a famous paladin, the only girl who's being considered to enter the paladin inner circle.

"Allous is so cool, not as much as Sorteiva Leader of the paladins and the inner circle."

"Everyone loves Sorteiva, he's a model paladin, everyone in the inner circle is, but I once saw Allous in person"

"No way! what did she look like?"

"She had the full armor on, so she looked just like any other paladin, but she was introduced by a herald to the town mayor in upper town square after defeating a lich. She was given a shield as an award."

"Wow, too cool. I wish I was there, I live in the outer part of town, it's kinda poor there, no way she'd go in there."

"Hey, boys, we finished going over the details, is the food ready?" Russ comes over... I forgot where I was for a minute there. I was so entranced in the conversation that I forgot we were in the forest, on a quest.

"in a few moments, were warming the sausages in the fire!" I replied to Russ, I think he could tell that I was not entirely focused on the food, but it didn't look like he was angry at us slacking or anything.

"Did you choose to be a guild adventurer to be like Sorteiva? like I wanted to be like Allous?" Henry continues the conversation.

"No... I don't really care about things like that. I just want to make money and get out of the bad part of town. It's just that I don't have any other skills, not family profession either." If I could be anything else but a pigeon shoo-er I'd switch jobs in a heart beat.

"But you do want to be a guild member, right? that's why you chose to join, right?"

Of course not, it's for the money

"It's because you look up to Sorteiva and the like." Henry continues

I don't... I mean, I do like them but... Do I look up to them?

"You like Sorteiva because he's the paladin king, right?" Henry keeps pressing me.

You've got it all wrong! "You've got it all wrong, I liked him even before he was renamed. I always knew he was good, I.. kinda wish he was my dad..."

What did I just say? did I ever feel that before? "Um... forget what I said. Food is ready, come get it while it's hot!"

-----

Everyone is enjoying their rations, I didn't know rations could retain so much of their taste, and taste so good too.

"Mmm, man, Henry, you and newbie really did well" Mythos praises us with food still in his mouth.

"Hey, I bought it. how about giving me some praise?" The leader also has his mouth fool as he speaks

"You too better not talk with your mouths full, you'll choke like that, or even worse: you'll waste food." They both end up being scolded by Russ.

"Mahvir, you bought it with party expenses, so don't expect any praise, only scolding if some falls on the floor." Mahvir is the name of the party's leader, who looks awkwardly avoiding eye contact with Russ right now.

"Hey, Mythos, want me to show you some basic weapon training after this?" Henry asks me excitedly.

"Hey, I'm Mythos, at least call him the new Mythos" Mythos sounds slightly upset.

"Sorry, old Mythos" Henry replies much to Mythos's dismay. "...That isn't what I meant." he agonizes.

"I don't think he needs basic training from you, your a newbie like him."

"But, Russ, he told me that his guild doesn't have basic weapon training."

"What?! for real?" Russ is shocked, I kind of wish I was invisible right now.

"That's a good idea, we met him at a guild in the Pomithas neighborhood, the skimpiest one there is too." Mahvir says before shifting tones to a more serious one.

"Let's go over the plan again first, Russ will hide in sheep costume as the farmers say that it attacked sheep that steer close to the reeds near the lake sometimes. When it attacks we will use our smoke bomb, we only have 1 that isn't made with flammable gas and it'll last about 2-3 minutes. It has dangerous fire and also talons and flight. We will need... phht old Mythos here to shoot it with an arrow with a bell attached. Once the arrow hits the mark, peel your ears and use only sound to trace it, I will cast a spell of restrain movement, If I can make it affect the Basan, and later on join in the onslaught. There is no telling if the Basan will remain after the smoke clears so let's make this count. all the while, Newbie and Henry will remain outside the smoke at a vantage point ready to shoot it if it gets out of there."

Trying to get all of it into my head "What will we shoot it with?" I ask.

"A mechanical bow, I happen to have 1 in the backpack. gnome made!"

As Mahvir exclaims that, he is met with harsh criticism "It was a gnome blueprint that you put together poorly" Mythos corrects Mahvir who seems annoyed at this.

"It works just fine! anyway one will fire and the other will be at the ready for if it charges at you. Don't worry, you only need to act brave so that it will hold off. A few seconds is enough for us to catch up to it."

It seems like it was well planned, I don't even have to be the bait. Now that I think about how I though I might be the bait it seems a little offensive to their character.

"Alright, you got all that Mythos?" Henry asks "Yes, I think I have it sitting in my mind." I answer as he springs up and jogs to the middle of the wood clearance

"Than come here, let's start basic weapon training."