James did not let Rocko off the hook for the setup. He had a better idea of why he did it, but that didn't make it okay. That evening, he enjoyed dinner with the Del Torro family and even had some alone time with Veronika. Veronika and Onyx seemed to have agreed to ignore each other, and Onyx decided not to push her claim on James while Veronika was in the room. Once they were back in the cave, she asserted herself as a lap dog.

After dropping off more items for Glezda, James remembered to refresh Onyx's summons, and they slept soundly through the night. James was pleased to wake up in the morning without his sleep being interrupted with troubling dreams of one sort or another. Putting on a different change of clothes, James and Onyx headed out. James left the gear from Glezda with Onyx in Astral Space at the Anchor point and made his way into the village of Milgarden with a different disguise. Upon arriving at the tavern, he noticed the girls were seated at the same table as before and grabbed an empty table to order breakfast. James spent some time people-watching. He wanted to ensure that there were people actively looking for him.

Eight other patrons were in the tavern, two groups of three and one pair. Everyone seemed to be having breakfast while enjoying some idle chatter. One group of three men appeared to be having a grand time and laughing continuously. One of them seemed to be telling a story about a young carpenter's wife and a bucket suspended from the ceiling. James tried to listen in without using Shadow Sense, but the speaker's accent was too thick.

After his breakfast arrived, Connie invited him to the Party, which he accepted. He was amused to notice that Roland was also a member. He tried to see if there were any settings regarding the Party feature, but he could not find any. He asked Rocko, but Rocko said he didn't have enough Advantage points to waste on Party Features. That, of course, made him curious. James opened up his Status Screen and went to the tab with this Advantages. There he searched Party Features and spent a pleasant half-hour reading up on all the exciting abilities that could be purchased. He was so engrossed in his reading that he almost missed when Barbara whispered the word 'stable' as she walked past his table on her way to the bar.

The women finished their breakfast before he did and left together. James ordered another watered ale and enjoyed the last of his fresh slice of bread with jam. He was almost ashamed when the total was only eight copper. With the tab paid, he slipped out the back and walked directly to the stables.

"About time," Doris grumbled, "I swear I was growing roots."

James smiled at the woman, "Nice to see you as well, Doris. Always a ray of sunshine."

"Up yours," she said, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

Connie eyed him up and down, "Interesting look." James shrugged and shifted back to his usual form. He had changed his form so many times that James wasn't sure if this was the form he had when he first arrived at Milgarden or not. When Connie smiled at him, he figured he had guessed right.

Barbara put her arm around Roland and called to James, "James, you remember our brother?"

"Brother?" James asked.

Connie nodded, "Yes, brother. What did you think?"

James shook his head, "Nope. Brother makes sense. Nice to meet you." James was too far away to offer his hand, and he didn't get the impression that Roland would shake it.

"You have met. Now can you leave? I have work to do," Roland scowled.

"Hush," Connie said to him. "So, if you haven't looked, we made it to level 10."

James beamed, "That's great news. I thought it would take longer since the goblins out front were not as tough?"

Doris shrugged, "They were tough enough. Without you in the Party, our experience was down by more than half. Fortunately, we got a decent bump with the level difference being calculated at our level instead of yours."

Barbara continued, "We had to change our strategy without your extra sword arm, but we poor girls managed."

"I never doubted your skills, Barbara," James was quick to interject.

Connie finished, "We know, but it was still fun. And we did very well financially. It wasn't as much as when you were with us, though. You may have affected the amount of what was dropped and the experience."

James turned to Rocko, 'Money is affected as well?'

Rocko nodded, "Yes. As a Champion, you get much more than others."

"Sorry," James said to Connie with a grin. "Guess you just have to kill more of them."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"No worries, we still made more than a hundred gold in coin and another fifty gold in potions and scrolls." Connie clarified.

"Oh, tell him about the real prize!" Barbara chuckled. Roland just rolled his eyes at his sisters.

Doris moved up to James and pulled aside her cloak. Underneath, he saw steel chain mail. "Enchanted." Doris said, "Probably worth more than all the stuff we collected after you left."

"I don't think it is worth more," Connie tried to correct her.

Doris turned to her, "Is too. Mom says it is worth at least three hundred gold."

"I think mom was pulling your leg," Connie said dismissively.

"You're just jealous because the only Spell you could find makes your eyes turn gold." Doris countered.

"It lets me see through illusions, you hag. That would have saved your ass in the Dungeon," Connie snapped.

James smiled, "Speaking of Dungeons."

"Hag!" Doris screeched, "I'm not the one letting one of the Davis boys peek under your..."

"Stop," Roland said quietly. James was surprised when both ladies stopped. Doris stared daggers at Connie, but neither of them said a word.

"James. Are you here about recruiting my sisters for another Dungeon?" Roland asked.

"Oh, that could be fun," Barbara said, smiling at James.

"You sure about this, James? They are four levels below you."

James nodded, "I have a Dungeon which I am hoping to be able to explore first. It will give me a boost in the Challenge. It is a level 15 Dungeon, so it will be tougher than the one we were in, but I am level 14 now, so we should be okay. It would be nice to have some people at my back I can trust."

"Where is it?" Connie asked.

James looked to Rocko.

"The Darkkon Ard Desert," Rocko offered, and James relayed.

"The Darkkon Ard Desert! That is on the other side of the world! It would take months for us to get there," Doris gripped.

"Is that near Port Ashmoor?" James asked.

"They are a lot closer than we are, that is for certain," Connie answered.

James hoped he wasn't wrong, "I can probably get us there in eight to ten hours." Even Roland raised an eyebrow at that news.

"Your teleporting door?" Barbara inquired, and James just nodded.

"That takes care of that problem. Okay, when do you want to leave?" Connie asked.

James spread his arms, "Now?"

The others laughed except for Roland. "We can't leave now, James," Connie explained.

"We have to kill the goblins," Doris stated.

"And we don't have a thing to wear in the desert," Barbara advised.

"We can be ready tomorrow," Connie agreed.

"I am sure the goblins can survive a day without us," Doris grinned at her joke.

"And I can prepare some food since we would be gone three days at least, maybe four," Barbara offered.

"I should go as well," Roland stated.

"We don't need you watching over us, big brother," Connie said.

"You may be stronger than us, but we will never catch up if you are in our Party," Barbara agreed.

"Then I won't be. I can leave the Party once we are in the Dungeon, and I can follow along." Roland offered.

"I thought he was level 1?" James asked Connie.

"No, silly. Roland is a level 19 Warlord," Connie said carefreely.

"Mom won't let you leave the village as long as that dangerous Champion is around," Doris grinned at James.

"Only level 19?" Rocko quipped.

"He looks so young," James whispered as he joked.

"He is a half-elf. He is closer to fifty years old," Connie whispered back.

"Mother knows I must return to the city in a few days. If I leave tomorrow, it will be of no consequence. But you need to make sure you tell her you are leaving. Otherwise, she will worry," Roland said.

"How come his level shows as 1?" James asked.

Connie shrugged, "Probably the same reason why yours doesn't say Champion."

"Then it is agreed," Barbara clapped, "Meet us here tomorrow, and we will be off on another adventure."

"Can you guys meet me at the cave? That way, I don't have to sneak into the town again," James asked, and they all agreed.

----------------------------------------

"What the hell is a Warlord?" James asked as he and Rocko made their way through the woods to Ash Rumbo. They were on their way to drop off the items at the warehouse and spend the day working on James' Urban Skill Training. Onyx was waiting for James in Astral Space, where it was safer.

"A Warlord is a Rare Class. I would not be surprised if Roland is an officer in the local military. They have some Abilities similar to Party Features, but most of them enhance their group, not them." Rocko explained.

"Sort of like a cheerleader?" James asked with a grin.

Rocko looked over at James but didn't respond. James shrugged; he was sure that Rocko didn't know what a cheerleader was, and truthfully, he was being a bit petty toward Roland. There was no real reason, but he wasn't a big fan and Roland. Perhaps it was because of how perfect he seemed. Perfect people were the worst.

James shook his head, "What kind of abilities?"

Rocko shrugged, "There are many. I know of a few because some Champions were stupid enough to take the Class. They are great when they are in a party with other Champions, but weak when those Champions turn on them."

James waited; he figured Rocko would get around to answering his question.

Rocko sighed, "They can give a bonus to all the other Party members. Bonus to attack, damage, Armour Rating, speed and some Skills. The bonus depends on the number of people in the Party and the Warlord's ratings in those areas. This helps the weakest members of the Party. The strongest might improve slightly, but it would not be as noticeable."

James nodded, "Why can't they give a bonus to themselves?"

Rocko shook his head, "The will of the gods. To create a sense of balance. Who knows."

James looked over at Rocko but didn't say anything.

The rest of the journey was quiet. James did his usual routine of doing clothing changes and appearance changes. He arrived at the warehouse and did the exchange with Sasha. Sasha was his usual talkative self, which meant not at all. With that work done, James went through the market, improving his Skills.

Today was not all about random shopping, but James had a few items of interest. He had enough money to purchase several Potions of Bonus Experience. He picked up six uncommon potions at 60 gold coins each and three rare potions at three hundred gold each. They would have cost more, but James cheated. He used Mind Scan on the alchemist and learned that the alchemist had a tough time moving these potions, primarily due to their cost. He also picked up three Uncommon Potions of Mana and three Uncommon Potions of Health. He was very expensive and tapped him out, but he was sure they would be worth it.