Mayor Charlie and his wife Galinda invited Hans over for dinner to celebrate the first official snow of the season.

The flurries began early that morning, covering the naked branches and muddy ground of the Gomi forest with two inches of fluffy white snow. By the time Hans left the guild hall to walk to Charlie and Galinda’s, he had to trudge through sixteen inches of undisturbed powder. It was just him and the crunch crunch of snow beneath his boots. The town was always quiet, but seeing and hearing no one’s footsteps but his own made this corner of the world seem more isolated than ever.

He paused halfway to his destination and looked around at his home and then up at the sky, a spectacle of white flakes drifting downward endlessly. He felt the frozen air enter his lungs, blowing back out as warm fog. The burst of hot breath Hans pushed into the world disappeared as quickly as it came, and the stillness of the season returned.

Being alone has never felt so freeing.

A whole winter to himself. Aside from the occasional kids’ class, he could kick back in his apartment and read with a beer in his hand. For months. And it felt glorious.

Even guild mail can’t bother me here.

Charlie met Hans at the door and escorted him upstairs for dinner. Galinda stood in their kitchen, stirring a pot of chili. A few bottles of spices–all different sizes and shades of red flakes–sat on the counter next to her. For the first time, he wondered if the tusk propensity for spicy foods was equal to their tolerance for alcohol.

He really really hoped not.

A steaming pile of fresh rolls sat in a bowl under a towel on the table with a plate of butter nearby. Charlie poured the three of them a finger of whisky and helped his wife ladle three generous bowls before everyone settled at the dining room table. The chili’s smell had a tomato sweetness layered over the gamey smokiness of ground venison. Coming up from under those fragrances, as if the ingredient itself intentionally planned an ambush, was the kind of tingly spiciness that made Hans’ mouth water.

“This is a bit of a tradition for us,” Charlie said. “Our first night in Gomi together was actually the first snow of the season, and Galinda made us chili. We’ve done it every year since.”

“It smells amazing,” Hans said.

“If it’s too spicy, learn to like it,” Galinda said, bluntly.

The spiciness was bearable for Hans, just enough to make his nose run with embarrassing consistency, but fine otherwise. The flavors of the meat and beans and canned tomatoes were distinct yet unified, and Hans wondered how much the taste would change when the leftover chili sat and soaked in its own juices for a night.

“How will you spend your first Gomi winter?” Charlie asked.

“Reading and writing. I’m looking forward to it, actually.”

Charlie nodded approvingly. “The winter is easiest when you find a way to enjoy it. I was worried a Hoseki boy might have a bad go of it. City folk tend to.”

“The capital felt like a cage by the time I left. I don’t miss it.”

“Years back, a different Guild Master traveled out of town in the fall and conveniently missed the last caravan to town. Spent the entire winter somewhere else. He got fired for that.”

“You thought I would do that?”

“Not once we got to know you.”

“Yeah,” Galinda said, agreeing. “We expected you to be a jerk.”

Hans laughed. Wanting to change the subject, he asked about Galinda’s parents, referencing the speech Galad had given at the festival.

“I have never met someone stronger than mom and dad. Charlie comes closest.” When the tusk put a hand on her short husband’s thigh, Hans saw that her hand covered it completely. “When the dungeon opened in Kirai, they were one of the first inside.”

“I didn’t know your parents were adventurers.”

“They weren’t. They were desperate for work and knew that dungeon loot sold easy, so they went in as soon as they could. By the time they came out, the town had started a curfew for tusks. They didn’t know that, since they were underground when the announcement went out, but the guards didn’t care. They arrested both of them on their way back home to me and Galad.”

“That must have been pretty scary for you guys, being so young.”

“Maybe Galad was scared. I wasn’t.”

Hans laughed. Charlie and Galinda didn’t.

While the Guild Master coughed awkwardly, Galinda continued her story. “They locked my parents in separate cells. When my mom told the jailer she had kids at home, he spit and said that the rats will be cleaned up soon enough. He laughed when she tried to argue with him, and kept joking about stomping rats under his foot.”

Charlie held one of Galinda’s hands with both of his.

“Mom ripped the jail door out of the wall. Surprised dad as much as it surprised the guard. He used to say it was like she became a full orc to protect her kids. That bastard guard, the one who spit, she threw him into the bars of dad’s cell. He said that parts of the guard went through the bars.”

“Eesh,” Hans said without thinking. The visual of a guard squished through jail cell bars like peanut butter through a fork filled his mind.

“They fought their way out. Smashing every dumb guard that came between them and us kids. When they finally got home, adventurers were at our door, pounding and yelling for us to come out. Galad and me didn’t see that fight, but we heard it. Saw the pieces after too.”

“And you left that night, just like that? Left everything?”

“Had to. Even the dungeon loot. It was locked up with their gear when they got nabbed. We drank rain water and ate wild onions for days. But mom and dad, they never broke. They never showed they were afraid.”

“That’s a heck of a story,” Hans said, genuinely astonished.

“We had just started courting,” Charlie said, “and then one morning she was just gone.”

“You didn’t know they were going to Gomi?”

“Not a clue. They didn’t even know they were going to Gomi, so I had to find a tusk family that didn’t want to be found if I wanted to see my love again. We were just teenagers, but I knew I had to find her. That’s a whole other story, though.”

“Sounds like it would be a good one,” Hans offered.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Charlie smiled and raised his glass to say thank you.

“Did anyone come looking for your parents? They were fugitives, right?”

Galinda shrugged. “Didn’t wait around to see wanted posters.”

“The fighting got bad that night,” Charlie added, since he had still been in town to witness it. “A lot of the guard towers burned along with any place a tusk might have lived. It was almost a week before the city lifted lockdown. Might be that all that hubbub did them some favors, and no one knew to go looking.”

Hans tried to imagine fleeing through the wilderness while having to take care of two children. Well, they were young teenagers, like Kane, but that was still too young for war in his mind. He had lived his life chasing dangerous encounters, and yet he had never experienced a danger like Galinda’s family faced.

“Well, it means a lot that you would trust me with this story. I promise to keep it in confidence.”

“If you didn’t, I would crush you.”

Hans’ eyes went wide. Charlie chuckled. “Now now, dear, best not to scare our guest with that kind of joke.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Anyway,” Charlie interjected, “Might I ask you about a piece of town business? At the risk of mixing business with pleasure.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Hans teased.

“I suppose I do have a habit of thinking only of business.”

“It’s really fine, what’s on your mind?”

After taking a sip of his whisky, Charlie asked, “What do we do if a Diamond-ranked adventurer comes for Olza?”

“So she’s told you.”

The Mayor nodded.

“We crush,” Galinda proposed.

Hans sputtered an uncomfortable laugh. “The Guild gives chapter Guild Masters full authority over adventurers in their territory, so even though he outranks me, I technically have the final say. It’s the same way if a Platinum spends time in a town with a Diamond Guild Master. What the Guild Master says goes.”

“Will that be enough, though?”

“I don’t know this Diamond, so I can’t say for certain. Most adventurers put their careers ahead of love interests, so if he thinks that’s in danger, he should listen.”

Galinda leaned forward. “Charlie wants to know what we do if the Diamond fights.”

“Ah,” Hans said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but a Diamond hasn’t cracked like that in my lifetime. If that happened and we couldn’t put him down, the Guild will. They don’t tolerate adventurers who hurt innocent people.”

“I see.”

“Do you really think he would come?” Hans asked.

Charlie shrugged. “I know that Olza doesn’t scare easy, and she’s scared.”

“We will crush him for Olza if he comes,” Galinda said, as casually as she asked for Hans to pass the butter.

***

The rest of the meal was more lighthearted. Galinda showed Hans her most recent paintings, two new landscapes and a portrait of Charlie, all in water colors. The bright pigments and soft pastels captured the feeling of her subjects as much as they captured the physical details. Even the portrait of Charlie seemed to celebrate the wisdom that came with his wrinkles and the light that came from his goofy grin.

Hans had to admit, yet again, that he had misjudged Galinda. Her gruff demeanor disguised the kind heart of an artist. She had been one of the first people to greet any of the new tusk arrivals, and she immediately looked after them in the way Kane looked after Gunther. Galinda could undoubtedly repeat the jail-cell cheesegrater from the story about her mother, but when she looked at Charlie or one of the tusks, her eyes were full of love.

By the time Hans bid Charlie and Galinda goodnight, the snow was piled to his knees. The tracks he made on his way to dinner were nearly filled, and judging by the smooth snow all around him, no one had ventured out that night but him. He took his time walking home, enjoying the novelty of deep snow, something he hadn’t experienced for many years.

His mind meandered through his quests as he debated how seriously he should take the concern for the Diamond coming for Olza. Jilted men were capable of terrible things, and a Diamond ranking was a measure of power, not a measure of character. Plenty of awful people had become successful, famous adventurers.

He would never say this out loud to anyone, but he was unconcerned with having to deal with a Diamond, in or out of combat. A lifetime in the guild made Diamonds feel less extraordinary than they seemed when he was an Apprentice. They were powerful, sure, but they were mortal. At this point, he thought of them the way he thought of rare monsters. On paper, they had all of the advantages in combat, but if he was smart enough and had a little bit of luck, he had a good chance at coming out on top.

Hells, Devon was Platinum when I whooped on him.

Then again, his life had only gotten harder after that. Pushing those memories from his mind, he thought about his four most pressing quests instead:

Active Quest: Identify the unknown purple flower from Olza.

Active Quest: Protect your place in Gomi and maintain control of the Gomi chapter.

Active Quest: Find a practical solution for a planar leak. Bonus Objective: Find a solution that uses only resources available in Gomi.

Active Quest: Do something amazing!

He debated canceling the last one, but he kind of liked it even if he couldn’t remember what he had in mind when he started it. The more important question was whether he should plan for a fight with a Diamond and whatever entourage he traveled with.

No, that’s not right. The most important question is what do we do if the flower patch starts belching demon soldiers.

Gret’s explosive device came to mind. Hans wasn’t capable of casting a spell powerful enough to destroy or seal a rift, but perhaps Olza’s alchemical skills could make up the difference. Curiously, planar manipulation spells shared similar roots as spells Cleric used, like Turn Undead or Banish Curse. A few scholars believed that was because both required tapping into abilities usually reserved for divine beings.

Perhaps they could use a creative potion mix to dispel or shut the rift? Olza didn’t know of any recipes for that, and it would have to be a really strong potion, whatever it was. It was the only viable idea he had, as long of a shot as it was. He’d have to keep thinking on that route while brainstorming for others.

Seeing Olza’s light on in her apartment, Hans debated stopping to talk with her. The purple flowers would be a good excuse to check on her.

New Quest: Convince Olza to call the purple flowers “Polzas.”

That’s brilliant, he thought, complimenting himself. She had vetoed calling them Olzas, but Polzas was a much better name. He wasn’t sure why he thought of that just now, but he was pleased with himself nonetheless.

Deciding against bothering the alchemist late in the evening, he continued trudging through the snow. Barely lifting his feet, his shins carved two long lines as they kicked through the deepening powder. With his new winter boots, he felt the texture of the snow and none of the cold.

He stopped outside the guild hall, taking time to appreciate seeing it covered in white for the first time. He wanted to burn the details into his mind. He wanted to be able to remember it clearly if he wasn’t here again this time next year. He hoped he would be. He really hoped.

The wood in his apartment’s fireplace had burned down to coals. With a few fresh logs and a Create Fire spell, the hearth sprang back to life. The humble studio warmed quickly. When the heat pushed past comfort, he cracked one of his windows, realizing how much he enjoyed listening to the winter silence. Not bothering with a lamp, he laid down on his couch, looking up at the shadows dancing on the ceiling, feeling the occasional brisk touch of an outside breeze before the fire beat it back again.

Each time he realized how content he was in Gomi, the same quest flashed in his mind.

Active Quest: Protect your place in Gomi and maintain control of the Gomi chapter.

He wanted to enjoy the moment, but his mind kept asking what he would do if all this came to an end. Nothing bad happened yet, but his heart tightened as if it had. He couldn’t help it.

I always do this when I drink. I need to cut back.

“Or…”

Hans braved the cold of the downstairs to visit his stash of Tribe beer. He tapped the first keg a few days back. With a flip of the tab, he filled a mostly clean clay coffee mug and went back upstairs with foam in his mustache and a smile on his face. When he was an Apprentice, he looked down on the old timers who were quick to reach for a drink. He thought of it as a weakness, a crutch adventurers used when all of their hard-earned abilities couldn’t overcome loneliness or guilt or shame.

Turning his couch to face the fire, he pulled his beer close and knew that his younger self had been right.

***

Open Quests (Ordered from Old to New):

Progress from Gold-ranked to Diamond-ranked.

Mend the rift with Devon.

Complete the manuscript for "The Next Generation: A Teaching Methodology for Training Adventurers."

Identify the unknown purple flower from Olza.

Protect your place in Gomi and maintain control of the Gomi chapter.

Find a practical solution for a planar leak. Bonus Objective: Find a solution that uses only resources available in Gomi.

Expand the Gomi training area to include ramps for footwork drills.

Do something amazing!

Convince Olza to call the purple flowers “Polzas.”