“My head,” Brand moaned quietly as he followed Markus on their way to the Hunter’s Guild where Luna had asked the Party to meet for a Job.
“I told you not to try and keep up with Pear,” Markus said without pity for the Orc. “He’s like a bottomless tank when it comes to alcohol. The only one of our friends that still tries is Axel and he always gets a hangover.”
“But he’s so small!” Brand defended himself before wincing at his own volume. “He’s like half my size and he didn’t get up to pee the whole night. What’s up with that?”
“Always been that way,” Markus told him with a shrug. “In college we all decided to pledge to the same fraternity and they made us drink a case of thirty-six beers every night of pledge week before shoving us on our way to class. Pear’s the only one that managed to finish the case and he went to his early classes without any problems.”
“That was a case between all of you, right?” Brand asked.
“No,” Markus said with a shudder. “Each.”
“How did you stay in college?” Brand asked quietly. “If I had to drink a case of beer like that every night, I wouldn’t be able to function the next day, much less learn anything.”
“Pear and James got together and they signed up for the general education and elective courses they wanted and then Axel and I just picked the same ones that year,” Markus explained. “Pear took notes and we threw up, then we did it all again for a few days.”
“If they did that, then what did you all major in?” Brand wondered.
“Pear’s got a computer engineering degree, managed to push toward a Master’s before we left by taking extra courses and using the online and summer semesters,” Markus said, stepping around a gathering of workers laughing and talking as they waited in front of a cart. “James wanted a poli-sci degree but he changed midway through and ended up with a German literature degree, I think. Axel got a physical education and nutrition degree, he’s thinking about going back for a few more years to get a physical therapy degree. And I made a deal with my dad and I got a double major in business management and computer programming.”
“Why did you have to make a deal with your dad?” Brand asked as they approached the doors of the Hunter’s Guild.
“He wanted me to get a degree that would let me take over his businesses and company and I wanted to do something that would let me go in on an idea with Pear to make our own video games,” Markus told him, stopping at the door and waiting for the other man to catch up to him. “We compromised and I did both if he agreed to buy me a place to live, rent free.”
“Wish my old man did that,” Brand muttered as Markus pushed the door open and Stella’s fiery red hair came into view next to Luna’s inky black braid.
“I’d rather he didn’t bother with certain things,” Markus muttered, a flash of anger and annoyance flitting through his tone as they stepped into the Guild building.
“Markus, Brand, excellent,” Luna said, turning to look at the two of them. “Right on time.”
“Morning,” Stella greeted them with a yawn and a wave of her hand.
“Hey, how are the two of you?” Markus asked as Brand returned Stella’s wave.
“I’m fine,” Luna said with a smile. “Stella has complained about me waking her up all morning.”
“It was still dark out when you woke me up,” Stella started to complain before breaking into a yawn and finishing with, “Who does that?”
“Have you seen any good Jobs?” Markus asked as he grinned at Stella’s question.
“I asked Ally and Ric to pick something out,” Luna said, nodding toward the blond man in robes and the brunette woman with a large halberd on her back beside him who were looking over the different Job Boards for something to accept. “So far they’ve grabbed a few and given it to the other, but they haven’t agreed to a Job yet.”
“Why are you leaving it up to them?” Brand asked. “Aren’t you and Markus in charge?”
“What’s your favorite food?” Luna asked in return.
“Huh?” Brand said in confusion.
“Humor her,” Stella said with a yawn.
“Okay,” Brand said slowly before taking a moment and answering Luna’s question. “Fried chicken. Homemade and crispy.”
“I prefer a nice spring salad with a sweet and sour vinaigrette dressing,” Luna said. “Because of that, we’re eating that salad whenever we’re doing things together. Do you like to have a fire when you camp?”
“Hold on now,” Brand demanded as anger began to seep into his voice and his slight Southern drawl became more pronounced. “Who said you can tell me what to eat?”
“He got there faster than you did,” Luna observed to Stella.
“Uh-huh,” Stella said with a yawn as she tried to keep her eyes open.
“If you’re going to be a part of this Party and this Clan, then Markus wants you to have an opinion about how things are done,” Luna explained to Brand as he glared at her. “If he and I made all the decisions and tried to force you all to follow them it wouldn’t go over well would it?”
“What?” Brand demanded, his anger becoming mixed with confusion.
“She’s saying that since you’re a person, she wants you to at least act like one instead of being an emotionless robot. You have a direct line to the man in charge of the whole clan, much less the Party,” Stella explained to him. “Tell them when you don’t like an idea, offer things to do if you want, come up with a new way to do something.”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“So we’re not eating salad forever?” Brand asked hopefully.
“I wouldn’t force that on my worst enemy,” Markus spoke up before shuddering. “Green leaves and grass for a meal? No way.”
“I do like that salad though,” Luna said, a little hurt.
“And you can do what you want and eat what you want,” Markus said seriously. “Just don’t expect me to force everyone else to eat the way you do.”
“We found something that we think will work,” a man’s deep voice spoke up, bringing everyone else’s attention to the large, blond Elvish man and the slimmer brunette Human woman beside him.
“What did you find?” Luna asked, stepping forward to see what the woman held in her hand.
“Hunting bears,” Ally said as she held the paper out to Luna and Markus looked over her shoulder at the paper.
Hunt the Bears:
A group of bears has been sighted around a group of farms. Hunt them down and keep them from causing damage to the farms. A brief count says that there are four bears in the area. Return proof to the Guild of your success. Pelts are the only acceptable proof
Rewards:
48 Bronze Coins; 12 Bronze Coins for each bear more that you slay.
“This looks good,” Markus said as he read through the Job’s description. “Any objections?”
“What kind of bears are they?” Brand asked. “How far away are the farms? Any other predators in the area? Should we look into getting some Bounties for the area while we’re there?”
“All excellent questions,” Luna agreed with the Orc’s words. “Perhaps the secretary we speak to will be able to answer most of them.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Stella asked as she looked up at the taller people in the Party. “Let’s get to it.”
Since no one was objecting further to the acceptance of the Job, Markus led the way to the counter with the shortest line and spoke with the pretty, half-Orc secretary as she fiddled with a wind-up toy soldier on her desk.
“My feet hurt,” Stella complained as she trudged along the road.
“I offered to let you ride Kalexia with me,” Markus said from his seat saddled on the Drake’s back.
“I am not letting that murder-lizard carry me,” Stella said firmly. “What if she bites me?”
“I think the back would be a better place to be than by the mouth,” Brand said with a grin.
“She’s not going to bite,” Markus insisted. “She’s a good girl!”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Stella said before turning around and looking at Luna. “How are things going there with you, Luna?”
“Good,” the Moon Elf said as she clutched the borrowed reins of her Warcharger and tried to keep her seat while the horse ambled warily after Kalexia. “I think.”
“Just ride with the motion,” Markus reminded her as he inspected her stiff form over his shoulder. “You’ll keep your balance.”
“Doesn’t feel like it,” Luna said. “I feel like I’m going to tip too far one way and fall.”
“You’re not going to fall,” Markus assured her. “Do you need me to ride with you for a bit?”
“No, I have it,” Luna insisted as Brand looked forlornly at the two saddled members of the Party.
“I need to get me a mount or maybe a pet that can double as one,” he said. “Maybe I can get one of these bears as one. What do you think, Ric?”
“I think you’d be better off trying to get something from those roulette eggs,” the Elf told him seriously. “Markus and Luna have both had great luck with theirs, maybe we’ll be alright if we try.”
“Luna’s first one was a goat,” Stella said. “The egg made a big bang and sent smoke everywhere so we couldn’t see it and then it nearly ran into Markus before it made noise.”
“Goats are cute,” Ally said thoughtfully.
“Apparently this one wasn’t a good choice of ride,” Stella told her. “The shopkeeper said that it was uncomfortable, but it could scale a mountain easily. Plus, it was big enough to carry me.”
“Isn’t everything?” Brand teased her with a grin before laughing as she hit his thigh.
“I meant that it didn’t look like it was big enough to carry Luna, or even Ally,” Stella said, “much less you or Markus!”
“I’m not that big,” Brand grinned as Ally smiled and Ric shook his head. “I’m only two and a half or three times as big as you.”
“Try four,” Stella said with a sniff.
“I think we’re approaching the first farm,” Ric said, breaking the conversation. “Who’s going up to talk with them?”
“You and I will,” Markus said, pulling Kalexia to a stop and dismounting her before offering the reins to Ally. “No need to send all of us. Best to let them see you guys from a distance so they don’t get scared of Brand or something.”
“You’re the something,” Ally said to Kalexia as she scratched her jaw and held her in place.
“That’s a little rude,” Markus sighed.
“But the truth, isn’t it, cutie,” Ally said as Kalexia lifted her head so the woman could scratch at her chin.
“Shall we?” Markus asked with a shake of his head before moving toward the farmhouse they had been approaching.
Nodding, Ric followed after Markus as they approached the door of the farmhouse that now had a large man standing on the step leading inside while two young children poked their heads out curiously.
“Afternoon,” the man said with a nod to the two of them.
“Good afternoon,” Markus greeted him with a nod of his own that Ric mimicked. “We’ve accepted a Job from the Hunter’s Guild to take care of some bears in the area. Could you tell us a bit more about them?”
“They’re brown, big, and mean,” the man said after a moment of thought. “Think Jenkins down the way said that there’re about four of ‘em. Maybe five.”
“Have they been overly aggressive to anyone?” Ric asked.
“Think Old Alma’s boy had a bad run in with one of ‘em,” the farmer said with a sniff. “Said he only got away from it ‘cause it wasn’t hungry.”
“I seen one of ‘em,” the boy peeking around his father spoke up. “It was bigger than Pa, an’ had enough teeth ta break me in two!”
“That’s enough of that,” the farmer said, turning to his two children. “Go help your Ma with her chores now, go on.”
As the two children scampered away, looking back at Markus and Ric, Markus gave them a smile and a small wave that made the boy break into a grin as the girl shyly waved back.
“You’ll be taking care of ‘em, then?” the farmer asked as he turned to look back at Markus and Ric. “Will you be done today?”
“We’ll try,” Markus told him seriously. “But we don’t know if we can promise that. We’ll try to come back around after we’ve taken care of them. To let you know that they’re gone.”
“No need fer that,” the man waved the suggestion off. “You just take care of ‘em so that I can let my kids play without havin’ ta watch ‘em all the time and you and me’ll be set.”
“Have a good day,” Markus said as the man turned away, finished with the conversation.
“We should talk with the other farms in the area,” Ric said after the door had shut and they’d turned away from it.
“We will,” Markus said. “Maybe they’ll be a bit more helpful with giving us information.”