Chapter 49

Leon woke the next morning and rubbed his eyes. He’d forgotten all about the plan he’d wanted to try in the Slums the previous evening. They came out from the kitchen and received their reward, and Finn was at the bar. Leon sat down with him for the promised drink after having washed himself off. Not that he expected to enjoy his time with the man, but since his mind was elsewhere, it was easy to let his mind wander and just agree to all Finn’s comments about his own greatness and listen half-heartedly to his previous adventures as a hero to his parties. The parties that had, eventually, left him by roadside for someone else to pick up. Still, Leon had kept his mind active enough to spot if there were any claims about his current party and to shoot down any grand ideas.

Red hadn’t said anything since they exited the dungeon, either. She just picked up her hat, wiped her lute with an offered rag, and walked to the corner of the next room, where she started playing after fiddling around with the strings for a bit. No one seemed to pay her any mind, except for the old innkeeper. He swayed his head to the solemn tune while keeping an eye on Leon and Finn.

Leon looked at Trouble, laying on her side. Her level hadn’t increased, so there was no way of knowing if the quest did something for her. Still, he might accept it one more time. The clothes had mostly come out clean, so at least they’d completed the quest with a small profit.

“Hey.” Leon gently stroked the fur on Trouble’s back. “Ready to head out and hunt today?”

Her ears twitched. Then she rolled over, stood, and shook her head. Leon opened the backpack. She’d hopefully get some more experience through coming with today, if she wasn’t put in too much danger. He didn’t know what the levels did for her, but they were bound to do something. There was only one way to find out.

Leon headed downstairs, ate breakfast, and walked toward their meeting spot. He hadn’t seen Finn for the whole time. Maybe he’d gotten too excited and decided to come early?

Ava stood outside the inn, tapping her fingers on a dark blue satchel embroidered with white flowers, but Hert and Finn had yet to show. Leon raised a hand in greeting, and she jogged up to him.

“Good morning,” Ava said with a brilliant smile, caressing the closed flap.

“Morning.”

Ava twisted herself a little back and forth, making the embroidery twinkle in the sunlight. Then she stretched her arms forward, pushing the bag to her front.

Fine, he’d take the bait. “New bag?”

“Yes!” She stroked her fingers over the design. “Finn gave it to me.”

Likely a bribe for staying in the party. And an expensive one at that. Ulterior motive? “Well, good for you. How many slots?”

“Four. He’s really such a sweetie.” She frowned and pointed at him. “Don’t get jealous, okay? You’ve also done good things for me. I’m not saying you’re inferior, in any way.”

“Um… sure.” To Leon’s relief, Hert chose that moment to exit his store. “Now there’s only one left to wait for. Did Finn say anything to you about today?”

Ava pursed her lips and looked from the bag to Leon. “Aren’t you—” She cleared her throat. “No, he didn’t. Except that he would amaze us.”

“Alright.”

“Mornin’,” Hert said. He looked around. “Where’s wonder boy?”

Leon shrugged. “Late.”

Hert leaned onto the fountain, crossing his arms and looking into the sky. Then he sighed and looked at Ava. “You wanna say something, say it instead of twisting around like a fool.”

Ava pouted. “I have nothing to say to you, anyway.”

“She got a new bag. From Finn.”

Hert scoffed. “Wow, he must be desperate.”

“Hey,” Ava said, pushing his shoulders. He gripped the edge to keep himself from falling. “What’s wrong with liking me?”

“Oh, plenty. But I was referring to him trying to bribe his way into staying with us.”

Ava’s face reddened. “It’s not a bribe.”

Hert waved her off. “So, how long do we wait for him to show?”

Leon shrugged. “Depends on you guys. We’ll get more done the earlier we get going, but for now, Finn will also share all the experience. Not having him would be more of a drain than a boost, so that kind of defeats the purpose.”

“Ten minutes,” Hert said.

“No. We’ll wait until he comes,” Ava said, crossing her arms.

Leon glanced at the time. “We don’t have all day, but maybe half an hour will be enough?”

“So much for our decision,” Hert muttered. “But I guess that’s okay. As long as he’s useful.”

They moved from the crafting fountain after a few irritated glances from people wanting to use it. Even though they waited for more than the set time, Finn was nowhere to be seen.

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Finally, Leon stretched out his arms and got on his feet. “Well, I guess he’s stood us up. Let’s go.”

Hert stood. “So, let’s kick him from the party.”

“You can’t do that,” Ava said, also rising. “He just joined. And he isn’t that late.”

“Chill, Miss Redhead. Only for today, so we can get the experience he’ll leech from us.”

“Who’s leeching?” Finn huffed, red in the face. He put his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

“Ah, he arrives,” Hert muttered. “Great.”

Finn held up a finger and took a deep breath. Then another. “I know you losers want more EXP through working with me, but you’ll never want to get rid of me once you see my full power.” He straightened his back.

“You overslept, didn’t you?” Leon asked.

“I—” Finn cleared his throat. “No.”

Leon waited for an explanation, which didn’t come. “Well, then. Since everyone’s here, let’s get going.”

The others nodded, and they walked side by side through the city. Finn kept Leon’s pace and put an arm around his shoulders. He leaned in. “Let’s have a contest today. The one who kills the most gets the other as a servant for a day.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Today was going to be about working as a party, remember? You’ve already nicked that through not respecting our time.”

Finn stopped for a few seconds, and Ava stopped, too. Then he jogged to Leon’s side again. “Man, my alarm didn’t go off.”

“Mhm.” Not possible, but whatever. It could have been a good idea to compete throughout the day since it would bring in more experience and loot, but both win or defeat meant he’d need to spend a full day with Finn. Besides, competitions where one aimed to battle as much as possible meant mistakes were bound to happen. Mistakes that could be expensive in more ways than one.

“So,” Finn said in a louder voice as they passed the guards at the arch to the Slums. “What are we going to change the party’s name to?” He pushed at Leon. “This guy here seemed interested in ‘The Arrows’ or ‘The Strongman.’ And in having me as a leader, since I’m the highest level.”

Leon kneaded his eyebrows. “No, and no. As I said yesterday; we decide things together. There’s no leader.”

“We need one. One who’s lived through it all.”

“It might not be a bad idea,” Ava said, grabbing Finn’s arm. ”He can take us up in the world. He knows people.”

“If he becomes our leader, I’m out,” Hert said. ”I think we work well as we are.”

“No one would miss you,” Ava quipped.

“Stop,” Leon said. “Let’s get through today and see how it goes. If we fight within the group, we won’t get anything done. And Finn, you just joined. Don’t try to change stuff like that from the get-go. See how we work, first. Then you can come with suggestions and maybe we could work something out.”

“He says there’s no leader while acting like a fucking dictator,” Finn whispered to Ava. “Here he goes, deciding stuff. Can’t say this, can’t say that. Like I don’t have double his experience in leadership.”

Leon decided not to comment. It didn’t surprise him to hear it, but he was glad Hert didn’t. He’d probably start up the argument again, and suddenly, the day would have been wasted.

Ava glanced at Leon for a second, and then away. She didn’t give Finn an answer.

They approached the field, and Finn walked ahead. The stairs were still visible, though, so he didn’t need to do much. Still, he entered first.

Leon waited for the others to get inside before he opened his inventory. “Trouble, would you like to come out? I think you heard the new person who’s with us. It’s up to you what you want to do.”

Leon took out his weapons, but the rabbit didn’t jump out. Leon nodded and entered the portal.

The others stood waiting for him.

“Did you fall asleep out there?” Finn asked.

“No.”

Hert’s face had a red nuance, and he looked away from the other two. Leon wondered if he’d missed something.

“Well, then. Let’s go,” Finn said. “Follow my lead, and it will be a breeze.”

Leon followed, careful not to show any emotion. So, now Finn would try to prove he was fit as a leader? Or did he have something else in mind? Did he have a plan at all? Leon shook his head as he followed behind the others. He didn’t seem like the type that liked to strategize. Well, as long as the group didn’t come to harm, and they gained something from it, Finn could think what he liked.

Leon just wondered what the endgame was. Finn had hounded him, and tried to win his good graces for quite some time. Now that he’d entered the party, what was his new goal?

Finn pulled Leon out from his thoughts through equipping his bow. He pointed it forward. “Hert, I’ll hit it and make it come here, and then you protect us with your shield while I take it down.”

Hert glanced at Leon, who shrugged. Hert looked into the next corridor and pulled out his shield, readying it in a half-crouch. Finn let go of the arrow with a “Pew!” and it hit somewhere Leon couldn’t see. The monster roared and a buzzing sound came closer. Finn let go of another arrow, then another. The level eight grasshoppers came into their corridor, and the barbed front leg cut down. Hert caught it with his shield and strained to hold it back. Finn knocked another arrow, and it flew into the beast. It splintered into pixels. Finn took a step past Hert’s shield and patted the man on his head before pocketing the loot.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“You’re great,” Ava said, jogging to him. “Very organized.”

“I know, right?” Finn turned to Leon and Hert, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Yeah, really great,” Hert said, inspecting his shield. It had a small dent on the top.

“Alright, team! Next one.”

Finn took the lead into the next wheat-walled corridor and Leon looked at the mini-map. It seemed not to have changed since they entered the semi-dungeon in the first place, except that there was an extra dot now that Finn had joined their party.

“Two coming up,” Finn said, waving his arm forward. “Hert, come on. Move it.”

Hert sucked in a breath and passed Finn. He held the shield in front of him. They stood close to the smaller room where they had met two monsters before, and those two seemed to have respawned. Finn let an arrow go, hitting one of the creatures’ back. Both of them roared and came flying toward them. Leon stepped forward as Finn readied an arrow. The arrow fell to the ground as Finn held out an arm, stopping Leon’s approach.

“Chill, man. I’ve got this.”

A barbed leg smashed into Hert’s shield, and he grunted. Finn let an arrow fly, then another, smacking into the grasshopper’s hard shell. The second monster threw its leg down too, knocking Hert back.

“Come on, it’s not that heavy,” Finn said, letting another arrow go. One creature fell.

Leon stood slightly behind Finn, weapons ready in case things went south. The remaining monster launched toward Hert, and he pressed the shield up. The pointy tip of the leg was an inch away from ripping a hole in Hert’s shoulder. Finn let his arrows fly, and the grasshopper fell down, shattering into pixels. Finn approached the pile and picked up the loot.

“We’ll divide it later, okay?” Finn said as Hert rubbed his shoulder and approached the pile, too. “Easier that way.”

Hert didn’t respond, but let Finn walk into the smaller square room, where he continued to the left.

“So… this is what a leader does?” Hert said.

“He’s taking control,” Ava said. “And it worked out fine, right? You didn’t get hurt at all.”

“That’s a pretty low barrier for what can be classified as ’fine.’”

“Stop moping,” Ava said, and skipped ahead. “Come on, we need to catch up!”

“Easy for you to say,” Hert muttered. “You’re not risking your life. Actually, are you doing anything helpful at all?”

Ava either didn’t hear him, or didn’t listen.

Leon patted Hert’s arm. “I’m ready to jump in when I’m needed. I won’t let him take things too far. Hopefully, it’s enough to make our scaling worth it.”

Hert gave a curt nod. “As long as we survive. Can’t help our families if we die.”

Leon and Hert followed Finn and Ava.