What the fuck was Garrick doing?

“This man’s name is Max,” Garrick announced. “Max Knightly. He arrived in the village yesterday after surviving an attack by Kreasel’s bandits.”

There was the slightest of gasps at this.

“And today, he went out into the Western Grasslands alone, and killed every one of the grassgrots that had taken over the area.”

A louder set of gasps, along with a few whispers.

“Though going out into the grasslands alone was a foolish thing to do - and against Oakwatch guidelines, might I add - it also showed great courage and skill.”

Max couldn’t tell if Garrick was attempting to scold or congratulate him, but he didn’t appreciate either.

“Therefore,” Garrick boomed, “I believe that with formal training and the correct discipline, Max would make for a fine addition to the Oakwatch.”

He turned to Max, extended his arm, and a badge materialised in his hand; a badge Max had noticed every member of the Oakwatch had on their breastplate. It depicted the village’s central giant tree inside a shield, and Max did not want it in the slightest.

“Max Knightly - due to your reckless but well-intentioned efforts to help the people of Oakhaven, I offer you an honorary position as a member of the Oakwatch.”

Instead of taking the badge from Garrick, Max picked his tankard up from the table and drank the remaining dregs in silence.

“Don’t make me look like a fool,” Garrick said in a low volume through gritted teeth. “Accept the offer.”

Max wiped the froth from his lips, then he took the badge from Garrick’s fingers, and tucked it into the cock’s collar.

“Save that for someone you can control,” he said. “I am not that someone.”

Garrick’s glare bore into him, and the weighty atmosphere could have been cut with a knife.

Max couldn’t help the feeling of satisfaction coursing through him at rejecting Garrick’s offer, and he decided to ride the wave a little longer.

“You people have lived in fear of the hostile beasts around here for a long time,” he said to the crowd of punters. “Too long. This Oakwatch that you have been told is here to protect you has failed you by making excuse after excuse for not taking action. Now, I’m going to keep this short and sweet, because the last thing you need is more talk and no action. If any of you want a particular problematic beast or collection of beasts killed, you come to me, and I will kill those motherfuckers. For a price. No twatting around. I will make it happen. Full stop. I’ve said my piece.”

As the crowd burst into excited chatter and a couple of cheers, Max turned to Garrick, who was so red in the face it looked like a few blood vessels were about to burst.

“You’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life, Mr Knightly,” Garrick snarled.

“We’ll see about that,” Max said. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get myself a top-up.”

Max grabbed his empty tankard and headed for the bar, where Bron was waiting for him with great, big, gleeful grin.

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“You just made these folks’ evening,” Bron enthused. “They’ve been waitin’ for someone like you to put Garrick and his cronies in their place for what seems like forever. No one except you has had the balls to do it.”

Max wasn’t quite sure where the confidence was coming from, if he was honest with himself. Thinking back to the sad case he had been his entire adult life before waking up in this world, he knew he would never have done something like he had just done in front of a crowd of spectators in that other life, but his former self didn’t even feel like it had been him. The name Max Knightly represented someone else entirely now; an upgraded version of the old him; one that had been dormant inside him, desperate to break free, and had now finally done so.

“Same again?” Bron offered, taking Max’s empty tankard and reaching for the Bronze Brew pump.

Max actually fancied mixing it up.

“I think I’ll try something stronger this time, Bron,” he said. “Give me something rich. A real ale that tastes like the salt of the earth.”

“Oh, I’ve got that alright. Here you are, son. I’ll pour you a Black Bitter.”

Bron poured a thick, black liquid into his tankard, topped with the creamiest froth.

After finally convincing Bron to accept payment for it - just 3 Eldercoin - Max took a swig. He didn’t know exactly how biology worked in this world, but he could practically feel the metallic compounds in it replenishing and invigorating him.

As Max was guzzling the drink down, he felt another hand upon him, this time on his waist. He almost instinctively grabbed the wrist it belonged to, considering turning and throwing a punch if it was to be Garrick again, but the hand was small, soft, and delicate.

Max turned around to find Ereni beaming at him, looking even more beautiful than he had previously thought; no longer in her work shirt and skirt, she was now wearing a flowing knee-length forest green dress that was cinched at the waist with a slender belt made of braided vines. There was also a pendant necklace around her neck featuring a small, polished green gemstone that matched her dress, and a delicate circlet around her left wrist that seemed to be made of intertwined vines and tiny wildflowers.

“You have no idea how satisfying that was to witness,” she said.

Max hadn’t realised Ereni had been in the audience, but he had been so in the zone of putting Garrick in his place, he hadn’t been focusing on anyone.

“That’s also pretty impressive you went out and got rid of those grassgrots today,” Ereni continued. “I have to say, I didn’t expect you to go looking for more fights so quickly.”

Max looked around to make sure nobody close to them was eavesdropping.

“I figured out how to use the orbs,” he said quietly. “So I got straight to earning more of them.”

Ereni’s gorgeous brown eyes went so wide he could see his own reflection in them.

“Kefbeck and Kavos,” she breathed.

Max had heard these names one too many times now not to enquire about them.

“Who are these Kefbeck and Kavos people everyone keeps mentioning?” he asked.

Ereni bit her bottom lip and screwed up her face, which Max found quite cute. “I keep forgetting you’re not from this world. You know what - I could tell you, but I’d much rather show you.”

Show him? They couldn’t have been the religious figures Max had previously assumed, unless Ereni was planning on taking him to see some kind of statues.

“I would show you right now,” Ereni said, “but it looks like the entertainment’s about to start.”

Max glanced over at the hearth, where a young guy with a lute was making himself comfortable on a chair facing the rest of the tavern. He had to be Oakhaven’s resident bard.

“Play us The Mage and the Mouse!” someone called out, but the bard shook his head as he fiddled with the tuning of his instrument.

“Oakheart’s Loving Embrace!” another suggested, but the bard shook his head again.

“I have a new song for you this evening, my friends,” he said. “Something I’ve been writing for quite some time.”

As the bard continued getting himself set up, Max turned back to Ereni.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked her.

“Just a korraflower water for me,” Ereni replied. Max had no idea what it was, but Bron seemed to know exactly what to make, and didn’t charge a single coin for it.

“Let’s grab a seat,” Max said as he handed Ereni her water - which had green leaves and purple petals floating in it - and led her over to a small, vacant table.

“Fill your tankards and gather around, everyone,” the bard instructed. “You’re going to want to huddle up close for this one, for it is no ordinary ballad; it is a journey through the darkest pages of our dear Oakhaven’s history. It is the story of our most fearsome foe; a story that will chill your bones and haunt your sleep. It is called… The Ballad of Dreadroot, Devourer of Dreams.”