Rafael walked through the tent, glancing around. The smells were as odd as usual, for once Rafael smelled Christmas cookies before they shuffled to banana bread.

“Did it go well enough?” Calawit asked.

“We’re still alive, if that’s what you’re asking,” Milo said.

Calawit sat down on the top shelf. “That’s a relief.”

“We have… so many questions from the encounter we just had,” Tyler said.

“You think I have answers for all of them?” Calawit asked.

Tyler shrugged. “You have a crazy amount of knowledge of the arcane. You’re rather OP in that regard.”

Calawit glared at him. “It’s a curse, more than a blessing. You should know that.”

“Yes, well.” Tyler cleared his throat. “Hraktar does not have a magical weapon, and he’s been up against creatures immune to regular weapons.”

“Ah, yes. That poses a problem.” Calawit glanced at the fighter, who tried not to touch anything.

“Now that I’m getting stronger, I need to make sure I can fight,” Hraktar said.

A frown flickered across Grizzizzik’s face. “Stronger. Did you… level up?”

Hraktar met Grizzizzik’s gaze. “Is that what it’s called?”

Grizzizzik’s gaze sought for Alejandra. Rafael glanced at his sister, who didn’t know what to do with Grizzizzik’s attention. “Um… yeah. Yeah, he’s level five now.” Grizzizzik’s anger reverted to Hraktar, who was unfazed by his look.

Rafael glanced above Hraktar’s head and saw it.

57/57 HP

Not bad. If only they could get Hraktar fighting now.

“Did anyone else level up?” Tyler asked, glancing around at everyone’s hit points.

The mana fusor raised his hand. “Uh, I believe I did.”

Rafael glanced at Milo, and was surprised to see forty-five hit points above his head. That was a fair chunk of hit points, especially for someone who Derek often called squishy.

Grizzizzik started muttering to himself, and it didn’t sound pleasant. He turned to Alejandra, Rafael, and Tyler. “I wish to speak to Nick. Call him up on these cell phones you have.”

The three of them glanced at each other, and Rafael didn’t know how he felt about Grizzizzik’s tone. Tyler shrugged, pulled out his phone, and started tapping on it.

Calawit gestured toward Hraktar. “Come on, big guy. Let’s look at your great sword.” She moved on top of the bookshelves before jumping onto her desk, cleaning things off. Hraktar unsheathed his sword.

“Yeah, hey, Grizzizzik wants to talk to you,” Tyler said before handing the phone over to the rogue.

The rogue was glaring as he took Tyler’s phone. “Have I leveled up yet?”

Nick said something on the other end that Rafael couldn’t hear. Alejandra folded her arms, trying not to react, but annoyance broke through her neutral gaze.

Grizzizzik’s nostrils flared. “Ten points? I’m ten points away?”

Nick said something else as Grizzizzik tightened his grip over the phone. Grizzizzik then handed the phone back to Tyler, his gaze dangerous as he moved away. Rafael didn’t know what to say as Tyler put the phone back to his ear.

“Hey, it’s me again. Is everything okay?” Tyler asked.

Nick said something. Somewhere close, a bookshelf shivered as Grizzizzik punched it repeatedly.

Alejandra jumped, and Rafael craned his neck to see the rogue, but couldn’t. Maybe it was better that way.

“You… sure everything’s alright? Grizzizzik’s throwing a tantrum right now,” Tyler whispered.

Nick said something else as Calawit finished cleaning off her desk. Hraktar placed his great sword on the desk as Calawit fastened something to her glasses.

“Mmm, excellent sword.” She studied it closely. “Well made, crafted beautifully.”

“Thanks,” Hraktar said.

“This can hold a magical attunement spell, however…” Calawit glanced up, searching Hraktar, “you yourself cannot use mana.”

“No, ma’am.”

She grunted, then returned her gaze to the sword, tapping it with a finger. It glowed, then disappeared as soon as Calawit stopped chanting.

“Lucky for you, this is a simple thing to remedy.” Calawit took off her glasses. “Unfortunately for you, it will cost money.”

Hraktar winced. “How much?”

“Depends on how strong you want the sword.”

“How much is… the cheapest option?” Hraktar asked.

“A gemstone worth five hundred gold, on top of the cost of casting the spell, which is around ten silver pieces.”

Silence descended after her words.

“So… five hundred gold and ten silver pieces?” Ezekiel asked. He then glanced at Grizzizzik. Everyone’s gaze followed. Grizzizzik found a section of the tent to brood in. He glanced over when the silence was too much.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What?” Grizzizzik’s voice was as dark as the shadows he was brooding in.

“Do you… have five hundred gold and ten silver pieces?” Ezekiel asked.

“No,” Grizzizzik almost spat. “Even if I did, what makes you think I’d give it up out of the goodness of my heart?”

“You did for Milo,” Clarissa said.

“I deny it,” Grizzizzik said.

Hraktar sighed. “It’s alright. I’d rather not be in debt to a snake.”

Grizzizzik’s yellow eyes flashed dangerously.

“Wait, we just defeated an earth elemental,” Milo said, straightening. “They collect gemstones in their bodies.”

Calawit crinkled her nose. “Raw, uncut gemstones, yes. But if you find a valuable gemstone worth over five hundred gold pieces, I could cut it for you for a few more silver.”

Milo clapped a hand. “See! There’s a way! Each gargoyle should have a lesser gemstone for a heart, too, so we can gather those up and split them evenly.” Milo was partway through the store.

“They did, yes. Turquoise,” Grizzizzik said, running his pinky finger over his thumb.

The silence descended again, but this one felt one wrong look away from a brawl. Milo froze on his way out the door, then stared at Grizzizzik, who did not return his gaze.

Milo narrowed his eyes. “How many gems do you have?”

“I deny it.”

“You know the rules. Equal splitting of the earnings,” Milo said.

“Your right.” Grizzizzik gave a mocking smile. “Why don’t we go back to where we fought them and find those gemstones?”

Milo’s fists flexed, his glare deepening. “I’ve been studying some new spells on the way to Cal’s. Do you want to see them?”

Grizzizzik’s eyes narrowed, then shot a glance at the door before looking back at Milo.

Ezekiel placed a hand on Milo and Grizzizzik’s shoulders. “Hey, everyone. We had a crazy battle today, didn’t we?”

“Deities above, Ezekiel, if you try any more of your cleric bullshit, I’ll strangle you,” Grizzizzik growled.

Milo’s wrench was out and glowing orange. “I would love to see you try.”

“You’re not exactly the favorite in the group, Grizzly Bear,” Clarissa said, appearing by Ezekiel’s side.

Despite creating him, Rafael watched in awe as Ezekiel used his superpower: not letting Grizzizzik get under his skin.

“Hraktar needs a magical weapon, Grizzizzik,” Ezekiel said. “You know this. You saw this tonight.”

“Yeah. I also noticed Hraktar did nothing, so he doesn’t get a cut of the share.” Grizzizzik’s eyes shifted to the fighter. Hraktar glared at Grizzizzik, though glaring was Hraktar’s default facial expression when looking at the rogue.

“Hey, yeah,” Tyler half whispered into his phone. “Sorry for calling you again. The others are cornering your character, and I want a direct line to you to see if you roll anything.”

Nick said something to Tyler. Rafael fought the urge to take a huge step back as Ezekiel took a step forward, dropping his hand from Milo and studying Grizzizzik closely.

Time stood still, and a d20 appeared.

Make an insight check.

Rafael rolled it, watching it clatter across the way before landing on a sixteen. Rafael didn’t even realize he had a +5 in insight until it appeared. Twenty-one would be nice.

Time resumed, and Ezekiel watched Grizzizzik. “Have you ever heard of the tale of the bees, the wasps, and the hornet?”

Grizzizzik’s face fell. “Dammit, Ezekiel, we don’t have time for one of your stories.”

“A group of bees and a group of wasps came up on a hallow tree covered in honey.”

Grizzizzik groaned, dropping his head. Rafael’s smile flickered as Tyler mentioned Ezekiel was about to tell a story and it might be a while.

“Both groups were certain it was their honey. So certain they would fight for it. But then they got the hornet, a judge for both groups, to decide.”

Grizzizzik frowned, brows furrowing. “You’re telling me that insects have a system of government where a—”

“If you ask questions, the story will get longer,” Milo said, his tone full of warning.

Grizzizzik pursed his lips and stayed quiet.

“The hornet, taking his job seriously, listened to both sides, but didn’t have enough information,” Ezekiel continued. “Many of the witnesses said that they saw winged insects coming in and out of the trees. Yellow and black stripes. As you could tell, that fits both insects.”

Grizzizzik closed his eyes, looking at though he very much wanted this story to be done.

“The hornet decided they needed to take a break to gather all the information they could. In six weeks’ time they came back, and right as they were about to start up again with questioning an ant, a bee spoke up and said they should test the abilities. That whoever makes the honeycomb closest to the one in the tree would be the rightful owners of the honey.

“Now, the wasps hated this, because they didn’t know how to make honey. So they made a bunch of noise, and the hornet decided. The honey in the tree clearly belonged to the bees, because they’re the only ones who could have made it.”

Ezekiel patted Grizzizzik on the shoulder, who was glaring at him. “So, I’m supposed to keep the gems since I can sneak them without you realizing it?”

Ezekiel blinked a few times. “I mean, no. But… now I know you have the gemstones.”

Grizzizzik closed his eyes again, looking like he had a long string of curses waiting the moment his lips cracked open. Milo snorted.

“What the hell kind of story was that?” Grizzizzik asked. “Seriously.”

“Ability is often judged by deeds. Hraktar needs a magical weapon, and it benefits all of us if he can have it.”

“How… how does that relate at all to bees and horne—” Grizzizzik raised two hands in defeat. “You know what? I don’t actually care. I will give you every gemstone in my possession if you promise me one thing.”

Ezekiel shrugged. “Okay? What is it?”

“We battle every night for a week. No exceptions. No excuses,” Grizzizzik said.

Milo’s shoulders slumped. “Why are you so obsessed with getting stronger?”

“Because Akshi’s planning something, and we need to be prepared to fight him.” Grizzizzik reached behind his back and pulled out a small bag. “We need to be on our toes at all times, and we need to level up. We are the only hope this world has of escaping the apocalypse, and we need to kill as many monsters as we can. Now.”

Calawit pushed up her glasses. “In order to make Hraktar’s sword magical, I’ll need a day to do the ritual. As long as you have the gemstones I need. So… no fighting tomorrow.”

Grizzizzik mumbled something as he pulled the drawstring and dropped the gemstones into his palm. Tyler was whispering into the phone, giving a play-by-play to Nick about what was happening.

Calawit dropped to the ground, walking over to Grizzizzik. She grabbed his wrist and forced him to his knees to get a better look at the gems. She muttered to herself as she picked one up, looking at it closely with that piece still on her glasses.

Rafael noticed a fair bit of colorful rocks in Grizzizzik’s palm. He didn’t know his gemstones, but he noticed their color, even if they were dusty. There were a few amber colored ones, a jagged purple one, a pale shimmering one, and then what looked like three turquoises. He knew what that gemstone looked like.

Calawit adjusted her glasses, picking up some and muttering to herself.

“Why, yes. These will do nicely. Give them all over, and I’ll pull out my collection of gemstones that Hraktar can choose from.”

Grizzizzik’s fingers twitched, then curled over the gemstones, bringing them closer as he stared at Calawit. “All of them?”

Calawit glanced up at him. “All of them. That moonstone in particular is quite handy. Give them all over, and you won’t even have to pay the extra silver.”

Grizzizzik narrowed his eyes. Calawit placed her other hand on her hip, waiting. Rafael wasn’t sure what to do, but clearly those two were having a conversation with their eyes, and it wasn’t because they loved each other.

Tyler tentatively walked forward, phone outstretched toward Grizzizzik. “Nick would like a word.”

Grizzizzik didn’t take his eyes off Calawit as he took the phone and placed it against his ear. “What?”

Nick said something short, yet effective. Grizzizzik’s eyes darkened, then flipped his hand over and dropped the gemstones into Calawit’s palm. She smiled.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Grizzizzik said nothing, simply thrust the phone into Tyler’s chest, tossing his dark look toward their game master. “I still expect my end of the bargain to be upheld.”

“Give me a day to make Hraktar’s sword magical, then you may destroy all the monsters you want in the next week,” Calawit said.

Grizzizzik grunted before moving away to find another dark place to brood. Rafael breathed easier once the rogue was out of sight.

“Come on, big guy,” Calawit said, climbing up a shelf before sitting herself down on Hraktar’s shoulder. “Let me show you the gemstones I have.”