"We're finally here," Axel said tiredly as the noon sun beat heavily on his small party and the walls of Hero's Crypt came into view. "That took so much longer than I thought it would."

"I'm afraid that I might have had something to do with that," Harn said sheepishly as they lead Drago toward the city's gate. "As a Mystic of Nature, I do not belong within the walls of cities very much and the land will do all it can to slow my movements toward one."

"That sucks," Axel said as they stepped onto the road and followed behind a farmer's cart. "How does it work?"

"My passive Forestwalk increases my speed as I move through the Wilds and aids me further if I am moving the direction the lands wish me to go," the Bird-man explained as King Burny preened his feathers contentedly on his shoulder. "If I am moving toward a city or other civilized area, it slows me greatly."

"That's cool and also terrible," Axel told him as they waited patiently for the cart to be inspected and allowed through.

"At times it is," Harn agreed as they stepped forward. "However, I am ever grateful that nature allows me to offer my aid."

"Names and business," one of the guards demanded.

"I'm Axel, I kind of live here," Axel said, pulling his Hunter's Guild token from his shirt and presenting it. "The Rockwolf's Drago, he's my Tamed Creature. We're here to get some drinks with a friend."

"I am Harn, Mystic," Harn said showing his palm to the guards. "This is King Burny, he is my responsibility. Same reasons."

"Alright," the same guard said after a moment, "go on through and don't cause trouble. If your creatures cause problems, the Guard will deal with them. Don't let them run free in the city and terrorize anyone."

"We won't," Axel assured the bearded Orc as they entered the city and began to walk down the crowded, cobbled streets. "Let's head over to the Minotaur, I'm pretty sure they're open now and who said that we can't do a bit of day drinking."

"A spot of lunch would be wonderful even if they refuse to serve me my whiskey," Harn grinned as he reached up to stroke King Burny's plummage to calm the hawk that was uneasy around so many people. "It's alright, King Burny, it's alright. Stick with me and it'll all be fine."

As they walked through the crowded streets, Axel did his best to keep Drago on track while Harn kept King Burny from inspecting all the interesting new sights and smells they passed by. Axel also noticed that more than one Gnome or Gremlin paled at the sight of the bird before finding someone else to stand beside until they were passed.

"Are hawks like King Burny an issue for the tiny races?" he asked Harn as they moved through the city.

"It's an old superstition for them," Harn explained to the Wolf-man, smiling warmly as they passed by a feline Beastkin of some sort. "Supposedly, large birds of prey would hunt them down, even as adults, and take them away for eating."

"That's terrifying to think about," Axel told the feathered man.

"Indeed," Harn agreed as they turned down the alley to the Minotaur and left the crowded streets behind. "In a bit of poetic justice though, Gnomes and Gremlins have both created terrifyingly effective aerial knight orders in the nations they rule."

"That sounds so badass," Axel grinned as he pushed the door of the Barfing Minotaur open and Drago lead them into the room half-filled with other citizens enjoying lunch.

"Axel," Willow greeted him as he and Harn approached the bar. "Good to see you."

"Great to see you too, Willow," he grinned at the Wood Elf woman before turning to introduce Harn. "This is Harn, he's a Mystic of Nature and we helped each other out with something last night. That's King Burny."

"Now, Axel," Harn grinned at him as he leaned against the bar, "don't leave out the details for the lovely young lady! Why not tell her of our dashingly heroic journey across the Wilds to keep evildoers and ne'er-do-wells from causing problems for everyone?"

"Because he knows that I'll just smile at him and tune him out," Willow told the Bird-man with a laugh as King Burny hopped from his shoulder and began to peck curiously at the bar top. "Lunch?"

"With such a beautiful woman asking, the answer is always yes," Harn said, turning his grin toward her. "Perhaps you'd like to join us, rest your feet, and tell me all about your favorite patrons over the years?"

"That could be fun," she said after a moment of thought. "It's not often that people ask about my favorite customers."

"They are fools," Harn said fiercely. "Passing up the opprotunity to hear more of your lovely voice? Sacrilege!"

As the Bird Beastkin continued to flatter and flirt with Willow, Axel shared a look with Drago and King Burny before shrugging and turning to examine the other people eating in the tavern. With no desire to interrupt their conversation, Axel took another look at Harn and Willow before shrugging and moving over to a table in the corner, with the hawk and Rockwolf following him amicably. Once seated, he waved down a waitress, a pretty Half-Goblin girl with her Human parent's coloring, and ordered a large lunch for himself and King Burny and a bunch of raw meat for Drago.

Waiting for his food, he called up the messaging function and shot a message to his friends.

Axel: sup guys! how are things going?

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Pear: I'm good, just working through the dungeon from hell and trying not to die. Glad I found someone to go through this whole thing with.

Axel: details

Jim: Im good 2 working on something for M and his new friends so I cant be around for a bit

Jim: also Im with A whats happening

Pear: It's nothing, I just met a girl in the dungeon and we're Partying up until we're done.

Axel: holyshorts! pears got himself a girlfriend!

Jim: nice job P! proud of you!

Markus: Pear's got a girl? Sweet!

Pear: It's not like that! We're just helping each other get through this dungeon!

As he and his friend messaged back and forth, Axel couldn't stop from grinning as he reached down and scratched Drago's ears.

"How 'bout that?" he asked the wolf. "Pear's made a new friend. What kind of friend do we want to make next?"

Leaning into the Wolf-man's scratching with a contented groan, Drago declined to answer. Before Axel could continue to talk to his partner, the waitress returned with a serving platter filled with his ordered food and drinks.

Grinning gratefully at the girl that almost looked like a short Human, Axel passed her the money for the food and dug into his lunch as he shared with King Burny and passed Drago's food to him. The entire time, he continued reading his friends messages.

Jim: so you dont even know what this girl looks like? sucks Markus: At least he's not going through this whole thing alone. What's her class? Pear: Monk. She's going full-on martial artist with it too apparently. I had to give her the hooded part of my robe cause her clothes were pretty much destroyed and she was taking damage everytime she hit an elemental. Jim: you say youre not dating her but shes already taken your hoodie. do you need someone to explain things to you? Markus: Jim's got the wrong idea. That's the step that they take no matter what. My sisters never let me keep my hoodies. Pear: I hate all of you! What was I supposed to do when she said that she looked like a barbarian woman? Not offer something? Axel: you couldve let your imagination go a little wilder! Markus: Yeah! What Axel said! There's all kinds of barbarian women! Are we talking Amazon like Wonder Woman or some sort of tribal wild woman? Jim: amazons werent barbarian women. they were warrior women. Axel: whats the diff?

As their conversation moved on a tangent, Axel offer King Burny portions of the roast he'd been given and pieces of the various vegetables, swiping a bit of raw meat from Drago as well so the bird had his choice. Happily, King Burny ate the offered food, even if only for a taste before delicately dipping his beak into the ale Axel had ordered.

"Hey, that's mine," Axel complained as the bird seemed to enjoy the flavor of the ale. "I got you water, look it's in the bowl."

Ignoring the Wolf-man's complaints, King Burny continued to drink from the ale and ate more of the food from Axel's plate before pecking at the bread and returning to the ale. Shaking his head at the bird's antics, Axel returned to his messaging with his friends.

Jim: so you dont even know what she looks like? Markus: Can you at least tell how tall she is? Or the general shape of her body? Jim: whats that going to help him with? Markus: If he knows how tall she is, then he can use that to help him know her limits of motion. Arm reach and all that. Pear: Doesn't matter either way, I can't tell either. It's like she's a dead spot in the mana and I can only see her when she's not moving fast, otherwise the mana swirls and I get a little nauseous. Axel: dont tell her that! Jim: seriously P dont tell her that! Pear: I'm not an idiot! All I told her was that when she moves really fast in a large area, I lose sight of her from the mana. Markus: He's not an idiot! Hooray! Axel: hooray! Jim: hooray! Pear: I hate all of you.

As Axel continued to tease Pear through the messaging system, he finished his food and sat back with a contented sigh. Looking around the room, he saw that Harn was still talking to Willow, though she was now sitting next him at the bar as he ate lunch and drank a tankard of ale, listening to her as she excitedly spoke with him.

"I've got to learn whatever that trick was," Axel told King Burny as the bird settled himself on the table and closed his eyes for a nap. "You good Drago?"

With a light snore, the Rockwolf answered him and Axel grinned as he reached down and grabbed the now empty bowl his food had been in.

"Sleep tight, bud," he said as he stacked the dirty dishes in front of him and leaned back in his chair pulling his tankard of ale closer to him. "You really earned it, you know."

"Axel," Harn's voice combined with the shaking on his shoulder, jolted the Beastkin awake with a gasp of surprise.

"What the- Harn?" Axel demanded as he blinked sleep from his eyes and looked at the feathered man. "What time is it?"

"Just before my dinner rush," Willow told him as Axel looked around the nearly empty room. "I can't let you sleep here anymore, we need the table for other customers."

"Sorry," Axel said, standing with a groan and a stretch. "I was exhausted."

"I know," Willow told him with smile. "Your friend told me what you'd done. Figured the least I could do was let you sleep. Especially since you were at the far corner table that no one likes."

"Thanks for letting me sleep," Axel said gratefully to her. "I'll try not to let it happen again."

"It's fine," the Wood Elf waved him off as she began to make her way through the tavern, humming quietly to herself.

"That is one fantastic woman," Harn told him with a grin as he watched her move through the tables. "Such an excellent speaker as well. You should really try to talk with her about the things she's seen in this tavern. It's fantastic."

"I'll try to remember that," Axel said as he lead the Bird-man out of the tavern and into the alley. "Maybe she'll tell me why their front door is in an alley."

"That's something I didn't think to ask," Harn said as the two Beastkin set off with a Rockwolf following them and the Hawk on his shoulder. "Now, wonderful as this day and your company has been, I must be leaving."

"Good luck," Axel said to the man as he turned down a street toward the Gremlin alchemist he'd been helping before being caught up with the man.

"Be on the lookout for more terrible things like that corruption," Harn called after him. "The land will be ever grateful for your efforts to stop it."

Waving over his shoulder, Axel continued to the Gremlin's shop for his payment.

"Hope she's not pissed I took so long," he told Drago as they walked.