“Want me to grab Grundy? He’s standing guard outside,” Gideon asked.

Lioness made a face.

“Can we even trust him? And why didn’t he want to come inside the temple? Seems suspicious.”

“It is suspicious, but there could be an innocent reason for it,” Forge said.

“No. End of the day, the team is in here, and this is important. He needs to either join us or give a good reason why he won’t enter,” Gideon stated.

Green Falcon nodded.

“Gideon’s right. We don’t have time to take this slow. If he’s going to be a part of this team, he needs to be here with us.”

She then took a deep breath.

“And I can’t speak for everyone else, but I may have some things I need to tell the party as well. And a temple of honor seems like the appropriate place to do that.”

Gideon nodded and made to go fetch him, but stopped in his tracks.

“It occurs to me that if he’s a traitor like that noble boy, I might need a little help.”

The group nodded in agreement. Grundy was frighteningly large.

Gordon smiled.

“Why don’t I join you?”

Giving him a thankful nod, Gideon walked with the priest out of the room.

Lawrence gestured to Forge.

“They’ll be at least a few minutes. While we’re waiting, did you want to use the ritual circle?”

He nodded his agreement and followed the cleric out of the room

***

It had been a tough decision. With his realm ring already being bonded to one mana-gate, he had to choose between bonding his mace or his cloak to the second.

He wasn’t quite sure what his Cloak of Diffusion would do, but given the name, he wondered if it was designed for stealth.

While that could be useful, especially considering the polished armor he now wore; the named mace, Truth, seemed to call to him.

It had only taken a moment to bind the weapon, and he had quickly checked the results on his System screen.

Truth – Sympathetic Weapon of the Paladin +1 Bar Mace Skill

A skill boost was incredible, especially as it would continue to add on to the Tier of his skill as he raised it. However, he wasn’t sure what it meant by Sympathetic Weapon.

He felt even more ready for what was to come. He was gaining power at an incredible rate, but he knew it was still far too little.

Compared to the members of Polto’s party, he was exceptionally weak.

He still remembered the goblin dodging through his enemies, firing bolts from his twin crossbows as he seemed to dance through the attackers.

There was still an incredibly long way to go, and each increase in power took more System points to achieve.

Forge walked back into the armory and looked around.

These were the people he would be trusting and growing stronger with as they went.

He stopped as his mind tried to catch up to what he was seeing.

Grundy had been large, probably standing around six foot six, but the person standing next to Gideon was much larger than that.

Standing over seven feet tall with hair pulled back in a topknot, the person introduced to them as Grundy nodded in greeting.

The ram-like horns that protected the sides of his head were on full display.

Not sure why the others weren’t making a larger issue of this, Forge addressed him.

“You know, I once met a troll,” he began.

Grundy’s eyes grew wide as he stared at him, but he remained silent.

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The others looked at him questioningly, and Gideon laughed.

He turned to Grundy and gave him a friendly slap on the arm.

“You know, our friend here is probably large enough to take one of those beasts down on his own.”

Confused, Forge stared at Gideon, and then it hit him.

His mask. It was allowing him to see past whatever illusion their new member had in place.

“Gideon, the troll I met, was a man of honor, and I personally watched him fight off dozens of foes,” Forge replied.

The swordsman shrugged.

“Well, I mean, they’re savages. Roaming the southlands and attacking anyone in their bid to become stronger.”

Forge continued to watch Grundy to gauge his reaction.

“And have you seen this, or was that what you were told? I’ve met goblins, kobolds, a troll, and even an ogre, and every single one of them was honorable.”

“And what was this troll’s name that you met?” rumbled Grundy.

“Drexel,” he answered.

“He fought with an enormous greatsword and placed himself between his enemies and his party.”

“Did he win?”

“He…he fell,” Daniel said.

“And the others?” Grundy asked.

“They fell as well. They were the ones that gave me my quest.”

“So, it’s true then. The end-times are upon us,” the troll rumbled.

“Well, I’m lost,” Gideon muttered.

“No more secrets,” Forge said.

“Grundy, do you swear to keep our secrets?” he asked.

The troll quietly studied him.

“And everyone here will keep our secrets?” Grundy asked.

“I can’t think of a better place to do it than here in the temple of the god of honor,” Green Falcon said.

“Fine,” Grundy said. “And the name’s Zap, not Grundy.”

He touched an amulet on his neck.

To Forge’s eyes, nothing changed, but the rest of the team stepped back in shock.

“Zap, Scofrey Guildhall Guardian,” he said.

Gideon had moved back several feet, but stopped and looked at the troll with interest.

“Wait. You’re Zap? The hero of Ironbridge?” he asked incredulously.

The troll shrugged. “It was more of a team effort.”

“Ironbridge? That was like, six hundred years ago,” Green Falcon blustered.

“I’ve been with the Guild a long time,” he said.

Gideon’s smile fell, and he gave the troll an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry. I…didn’t know that trolls were…uh…”

“People?” Forge interjected.

“Adventurers. And, well, yes,” Gideon said, looking at the troll with fresh eyes.

“Well, it just seems stupid now. We have elves and gnomes, and I’ve even seen some dwarves in the city. Why not trolls and orcs and others?”

Zap sighed. “It’ll take some time. The people of the south remain fractured and isolated, even from each other.”

“Which brings us to why Sapphire Phoenix put you on our team,” Forge said.

“It was to protect me, wasn’t it?”

The troll nodded.

“If anyone finds out, they’ll come for you. The Kingdom, the Crafters Guild, and every fringe group that understands your significance.”

Lioness pointed a finger at Forge.

“Finds out what? So far, all I know is that you have a weird class and got a bunch of crazy gear. Not to mention a realm ring.”

She turned to Green Falcon.

“Do you know how much the Guild sells them for!?”

The ranger shook her head and gestured to Forge.

“I was already planning on making him carry all of my stuff.”

Lioness shook her head.

“It’s not just that. How about being able to summon your weapons directly to your hand, or no longer needing to fill up a pack with all your gear and lug it through a dungeon? They aren’t even available to buy until we reach Rank Three in the Guild.”

Forge held up his hand.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you everything. But first there’s someone you need to meet. So, don’t freak out, okay?”

The group nodded to him and Gideon whispered up to Zap, “I’m totally going to freak out.”

“I’d like you all to meet, Cinder,” Forge said.

***

He hadn’t been worried about the party’s reception of Cinder. The dragon was adorable and, unfortunately, knew it.

Soon, he had collected a few gold coins from each of them and was happily munching on them.

His condensed story had generated a lot of questions. Most of which he couldn’t really answer.

It was the idea of the end of the world that had everyone concerned, though.

The questions came fast and furious. Shouldn’t someone more senior be involved? Who else should know about this? Should they contact their families to ensure their protection?

Zap remained quiet through most of the back and forth, but finally raised his voice.

“Listen! This isn’t something that’s happening tomorrow or next week. We’re talking years, if not hundreds of years. Forge has to get stronger, and he’s not going to do that with a party of powerful Guildies or by being locked away somewhere. He has to make his own path. That’s why they chose him, not any of us.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow at the troll.

“And you being here? Doesn’t that go against what you just said?”

Zap sighed and sat down heavily on a nearby bench.

“Yes. I shouldn’t be here at all. Me being here can only screw things up. Jackal wanted me to protect him, and I planned on doing my best to stay in the background. But I can’t. My very presence will lead the party in a different direction.”

He looked at the three adventurers.

“It’s up to you three. All of you need to be the best versions of yourselves that you can be.”

Lioness crouched down and studied Cinder.

“Cookie!”

“You’ve eaten what? Twenty cookies? You realize those are expensive,” Forge told the dragon.

Cinder stared at the cleric and stomped his foot.

“Cookie!”

Smiling, Lioness took out two gold coins and handed them to the dragon.

Cinder turned to him and stuck his tongue out.

Placing his hands on his hips, Forge looked down at the small dragon.

“I’ve seen everyone give you cookies and have not heard you offer a single word of thanks. Have you ever seen me not thank someone for giving me something?”

Cinder dipped his head to him, then turned back to Lioness.

He stood on his back legs and gave a deep bow.

“Thank you,” he sent.

“Cinder says thank you,” Forge said.

Zap laughed.

“This is your job. All of you. The dragon must grow and he’s going to be growing with you. You’re going to make mistakes. And let’s not kid ourselves, the life of an Adventurer is a tough one. So, more than likely, he’ll eventually have to learn to live with loss.”

Green Falcon hadn’t been able to take her eyes off the dragon, but now turned them toward the troll.

“So, what’s the end goal? How’s teaching the dragon going to save the world? I mean, I understand he’s going to become bigger. But save the world?”

Zap shrugged.

“No clue. The only thing I know is that Cinder and Forge are a focal point for a new era. Whether we see something happen in ten years or a thousand, what they do will dictate what happens next.”

Gideon nodded.

“I understand. And of course, the Guild can’t get involved other than by providing us with gold to feed the dragon, realm rings to make sure we’re prepared, and some decent gear.”

Zap laughed loudly.

“Nice try! But no. You need to do this on your own. Work your way up just like everyone else.”

Seeing the disappointment on their faces, he grinned, showing off his lower tusks.

“However, you have something that no other recruits have.”

“And what’s that?” Gideon asked.

“The ear of the highest ranked members of the Adventurers Guild.”

“I just hope that’ll be enough,” Green Falcon said quietly.