Forge’s magma tentacles slammed the geese into the floor until they stopped moving.

Releasing the birds, he stepped back, allowing Lioness and Gideon to run in and behead the monsters.

A final touch from his burning blue tentacles cauterized the long necks of the beast, and the team blew out a collective breath as the enemies were finally down.

“Seriously? Fire breathing Hydra Geese? Seems a bit much for a Tier One dungeon,” Falcon complained.

Forge nodded his agreement. The geese had breathed fire from their multiple heads, and the ranger’s arrows had done nothing to stop the monsters.

Cuts from their swords had healed in moments, and even his Firebolt couldn’t affect the creatures.

All that being said, the creatures’ fire breath only had a range of ten feet. Though it was little comfort since the creatures just kept coming; only pausing when they took damage.

Thankfully, the long necks of the creatures made easy targets for the party’s warriors. Though, two new heads would grow from the severed stump.

Fire had been the key. While their flameproof bodies protected them, it would stop them regenerating when applied internally.

Forge passed out waterskins to the party, and everyone took a few moments to relax.

“This is infuriating! We should have received some info on the dungeon. Going in blind is ridiculous!” Gideon ranted as he stomped around the small battlefield.

Falcon shared a look with Lioness, and the cleric rolled her eyes in response.

“It’s our own fault. You know this is to train us for when we eventually are running unknown dungeons. Making us figure it out as we go prepares us for the future.” Forge said.

“And we could have been more diligent going through the Beastiaries and learning about what’s out there,” Falcon added.

Lioness cast a critical eye at the angry warrior.

A surprise burst of flame from a hydra goose had blackened his leather armor and now creaked as he walked.

With their original three heads, the geese could fire in multiple directions simultaneously. After a few beheadings, the number of heads belching flame at the party made it impossible to approach the beasts.

Falcon stood from her spot on the cavern floor and frowned at the bodies.

“Forge, while effective, your creepy tentacles destroyed my arrows,” she said, looking at the bent and burned shafts that peppered the bodies.

Gideon cut him off before he could reply and glared angrily at the ranger.

“You would have preferred we kept running around the cavern? My legs feel like jelly and my armor is pretty much ruined!” he angrily berated.

Lioness placed a hand on the swordsman and cast her healing spell, and he breathed easier.

Turning to her, he nodded.

“Thanks, but you shouldn’t have wasted it. I’m only down three points,” he said.

Laughing, she shook her head.

“Burns hurt; and they’d have slowed you down. Besides, we’re taking a full rest, so I’ll get the spell back.”

He made to argue, then deflated and nodded his assent.

It had been a long day of fighting, and the stress of battle was taking its toll on all of them.

Forge summoned four cushions from his ring and tossed them onto the floor along with the adventurers’ packs, then turned to Falcon.

“Want to come with me and do a full sweep of the room?” he said, putting his mask back on.

She agreed, and the pair walked the perimeter of the cavern, looking for anything of interest.

“I really need to pick up the Perception skill and a Light Stone,” Falcon said, as she peered around with the aid of a torch.

She stopped and turned to him.

“Will your mask work for me?”

He shrugged and removed it, handing the mask to the ranger.

She held it up to her face, but nothing happened.

With a sigh, she handed it back to him.

“You need to get the Perception skill as well since you can see in here better than I’ll be able to, even with a Light Stone.”

He took the mask as he felt Cinder emerge from his soul space.

“No! Mana Gate!”

The ranger blinked at the dragon’s sudden appearance, then leaned down to scratch him on his head.

Cinder allowed the scratches, but his eyes never moved from Forge.

“Hey buddy, why don’t you help us find some treasure? If you can do that, I can hold off on picking up the skill until after I open our next gate,” he said.

Cinder smiled broadly and nodded his assent before streaking away to look for loot.

Falcon grinned after the dragon as they watched him take flight and view the cavern from the air.

“Don’t worry, we’ve covered the entire area, and my Trap Sense would have alerted me to any problems.”

“I know,” he said, watching the dragon examine the walls and land to investigate the cavern’s large rocks.

“Here!” Cinder sent them.

“I swear if that dragon found a treasure that fast, I’ll pay for dinner when we get back to the Guild,” Falcon muttered.

They hurried over to where the dragon stood, proudly pointing at a large rock.

Forge bent down and checked it. Discovering a hollow section within and pulling out a chest.

“Good news, buddy! Falcon’s buying us dinner when we get back!”

Cinder turned to the ranger and darted up her body to wind himself around her neck.

He gave her a kiss on the head and grinned over at Forge.

“Let’s take it back to our camp and see what we’ve got,” he said.

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It was a short walk back to the others, and they found a small campfire awaiting them.

Gideon had removed his armor and was rubbing oil into the scorched leather. He set it down as they approached and looked hungrily towards the chest Forge carried.

“Nice work! Falcon, you’re amazing!” the warrior said.

“I didn’t find it. Cinder did,” she said, scratching his scaly chin.

Gideon grinned at the dragon.

“Excellent work, Cinder!”

Refocusing on Falcon, he gave her a condescending grin.

“Sorry, Cinder’s amazing. You’re just okay.”

The ranger punched him in the shoulder, and the swordsman gave her a hurt expression.

“Careful, I don’t have my armor on. You could hurt my sword arm.”

He scratched the dragon’s head, grinning broadly.

“Whose the best little dragon?”

“I am!”

“That’s right, you are,” he cooed at the dragon.

Falcon brushed away Gideon’s hand and resumed scratching Cinder.

“Our team chef, who can’t currently cook, seems to have a high opinion of himself, doesn’t he, Cinder?”

Gideon stuck his tongue out at the ranger, then ducked away as she threw another punch his way.

“Will you kids knock it off and get over here?” Lioness called from where she sat by the fire.

“Give me a moment to loot the cobra chickens,” Forge said, stepping over to the bodies of the large avians.

Focusing, he looted the creatures, storing the meat, reagents, cores, and flame sacks into his ring.

“Cobra chickens?” Falcon snorted.

“Weird, we got something called ‘flame sacks’ from the monsters. I wonder if it’s an alchemical ingredient.”

“There are glasses that let you see the effects of magic items and ingredients,” Gideon said, examining the lock on the chest.

“Uh huh. And how much are they?” Lioness asked.

“A lot!” he laughed.

Turning to Forge, the swordsman waved him over.

“Hurry and sit down. Falcon’s waiting for you before she opens the chest.”

Rolling his eyes, Forge took a seat on a cushion and watched as Falcon pulled out her picks and began working on the lock.

With a click, the lock opened. She turned the chest so that it faced away from the party and opened it.

When nothing happened, she turned it back towards them as they eagerly looked inside.

“Silver,” Gideon said, clearly disappointed.

“Yuck,” Cinder added.

“May I?” Forge asked, placing his hand out towards the contents.

The group nodded, and he stored the silver in his ring, leaving two objects behind.

The ranger was the quickest, as she snatched up a round white stone, holding it up for everyone to see.

“It’s a light stone! This’ll come in handy.”

The pleased ranger examined it as the rest of the party turned back to the remaining item that lay in the chest.

Gideon held up a copper bracelet and studied it for a moment before turning to the rest of the party.

“It’s a spell storage bracelet,” he said.

Lioness plucked it from his hand and examined it, before handing it to Forge.

“Can you do anything with it?” she asked.

“I’m not really sure what it is.”

Gideon grinned and stood.

Putting his nose into the air, he slowly walked around the party in full lecture mode.

“A spell bracelet is used to store a spell for later use. The spellcaster casts their spell, willing it into the bracelet, then can cast it in combat without worrying about drain,” he stated in a mock aristocratic tone.

Forge considered the bracelet.

“What’s it worth?” he asked.

Stopping his pacing, Gideon shrugged and retook his seat.

“I’m not sure. It depends on what tier of spell it can take. So, somewhere between a few hundred to a few thousand gold.”

Forge nodded in understanding.

“I don’t have a free mana-gate to bind it anyway, so we might as well see what we can get for it.”

The party agreed, and Forge stored the bracelet and chest in his ring.

“Between the loot drops, the silver, and the bracelet, we should come out of this with a decent amount of gold,” Forge said.

“Money’s great. But we need points,” Gideon said.

“Just remember, we talk about what we’re getting before spending our points. We need to stick to the plan,” Lioness said.

Forge removed five meals from his ring and handed them out, placing a gold coin on the side of Cinder’s meal.

“First, we eat. Then we setup a watch and get some rest,” Forge said.

Gratefully accepting the food, the team ate the stew they’d purchased from the Guild dining hall.

Forge looked around the group, then smiled down at the dragon, who was dipping the gold coin in the stew and biting it.

This was what he had always wanted. To be an adventurer culling dungeons with a party of friends.

He had made it.

***

“So, what does it mean to be a paladin?” Gideon asked.

Forge turned his mirrored face to the reclining swordsman and pondered the question.

Falcon looked up from where she was affixing new heads to her spent arrows, while Lioness sat in meditation regaining her spent spells.

“I’m rather curious myself,” the ranger said.

Removing his mask, Forge summoned a gold coin for Cinder, who took it and moved to sit on a cushion to eat.

“No idea. I never asked to be a paladin. I just do what’s right,” he said.

Gideon stood and began buckling on his sword belt.

“If it was just doing the right thing, then most adventurers would be offered the path. Besides, I’ve never seen you pray or do any of the things the clerics do. So, what is it you actually do?” he asked.

Forge summoned his mace and spun the heavy weapon between his fingers while he thought about the question.

“I believe I received the title because I was in the right place at the right time. It follows that paladins are not chosen just by their merits, but by what’s needed at the time and place.”

Gideon made a moving-on gesture to him.

“And…what does a paladin actually do? Do you seek out people that go against your god’s teachings?”

Forge laughed.

“Of course not. I try to be honorable, but what is honor anyway? I don’t lie or steal. As for justice, I vowed not to stand by when I can help those in need. But, I didn’t make that vow at a shrine or anything. It was just something I promised myself, because it’s the right thing to do.”

Leaning his head back and rubbing his temples, Gideon sighed dramatically.

“You know, I met another paladin once. A paladin of Eretz, Goddess of Nature.”

Forge stopped spinning his mace and turned to him.

“And what were they like?”

“Frustrating. Pompous. Unyielding,” Gideon answered.

Falcon dropped a repaired arrow into her quiver and stared pointedly at the warrior.

“Paladins don’t exactly grow on trees. So, how did this meeting come about?”

Gideon turned to the ranger and smiled.

“As you’ve already figured out, I’m of noble birth. And was in attendance when a paladin came to speak to my father.”

The warrior drew his sword and made a few thrusts and parries as he spoke.

“It was like watching a duel. A paladin, in his shiny armor, making demands, and my father trying to be diplomatic without losing his temper.”

“What did the paladin want?” Forge asked.

Gideon saluted an imaginary enemy with his sword and sheathed it.

“He requested that a western village not expand as it would cause issues for a nearby forest.”

Falcon grinned.

“And your father has a say in a village’s expansion? Who exactly is your father?”

The swordsman shrugged.

“No one of consequence.”

“Lie.”

The word came unbidden to Forge’s mind and Cinder turned to stare at him.

“Lie?” the dragon sent, having heard it as well.

Gideon turned to the dragon and frowned, but Cinder’s attention was on Forge’s mace.

“Truth,” he sent.

Forge stared at the mace and shook his head at his own stupidity. The mace was called Truth. Of course that was where the lie detection had come from.

Gideon followed the dragon’s gaze to Forge’s mace, but continued on.

“Anyway, the paladin was sanctimonious and rude; intentionally so, I believe. He tried to throw his weight around, and my father had him arrested and removed from the city.”

Gideon’s smile faded.

“The paladin went back to the village, told everyone to get out, and then burned it to the ground.”

Forge stared at the swordsman, his mace forgotten.

“What happened next?”

Gideon crossed his arms and stared pointedly back at him.

“When word reached the city, the kingdom dispatched its army, and found the paladin waiting in the burned-out village. He didn’t even fight; just waited for the army and allowed himself to be arrested.”

“What happened to the paladin?” Falcon asked.

“Traded back to the temple for three boons and barred from ever entering the kingdom again,” Gideon replied.

Forge nodded in understanding of where he was going with this.

“So, you’re curious if I feel the end justifies the means? Is that it?”

Gideon walked over to his cushion and slumped down onto it.

“That’s part of it. You and Cinder are the focal point for the next age, and you must not only survive, but become strong enough to do whatever it is you’re meant to do.”

He swept a hand over the party.

“And where does that leave us? I believe any of us would give our lives to protect one another. But should we be focusing on you? Will you be focusing on you over us? Are you going to leap into battle when you see injustice, regardless of the odds? And is your mace a lie detector?”

Forge looked down at the mace in his hand as he formulated his response. He wouldn’t lie to them or himself, he decided.

“The party, including Cinder, is my focus. I don’t think our lives are any more important than any others in the party, and I’ll need all of your help to deal with whatever is coming next, and the best way for that to happen is for all of us to get stronger. As for doing something about injustice. Shouldn’t we all be doing that? My promise is that I won’t go off like some sort of madman, and the end definitely doesn’t justify the means.”

He held up the bar mace.

“This is Truth, and it tells me when someone is lying. I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t know and only recently bonded it.”

Cinder flew over to him and wrapped himself around his neck.

“Love team!”

Gideon and Falcon smiled warmly at the dragon.

“I think that covers pretty much everything. We’re a team, all with the same mission. Get stronger and be the best Guildies we can be,” Gideon said.

“Agreed,” Falcon said.

“Not quite everything,” Lioness said, opening her eyes.

Fixing her gaze on Gideon, she stood and looked down at the seated swordsman.

“Is it, Prince?” she said.