Tim only had a short time before he needed to meet the rest of the squad at the front gate. Being late was not an option, especially given how reluctant they had been to take him with them. Still, he felt like he owed enough of a debt to Atticus and Cecilia to at least try to give them an explanation.

As soon as he had been accepted by Reggie and the others, he had gotten a pair of notifications. It was all that he could do not to check them out right away. This was the exciting part of being in a magical world. He didn’t want to miss out on it, but still, he tried to play it cool. Tim figured everything about him already screamed noob, so best not to make it any worse than necessary.

While walking to the inn where he had been told he might find the father and daughter that had saved him, Tim finally took the time to open them up.

You have been selected to join the Silver Eagles Adventure Group. Your membership is probationary and only lasts until the conclusion of the agreed-upon mission.

Wow, couldn’t you do any better? You know these guys are pathetically weak compared to you—or at least compared to what you could be. You better step up the entertainment value or I might get bored.

There was no signature or other indicator of the source of the message. He had to assume that it was the lovely Cal-Dakota messing with him again. Well, screw that guy. Of course, there wasn’t much that Tim could do about it.

The second notification was slightly more informative with the same snark.

New Quest: You have accepted the quest- Escort the Heir

Task: Escort the heir of the Draynesti trading house to her appointed wedding.

Success: Get Decima Draynesti to the wedding site in the port town of Drieten prior to commencement of the wedding in three days. Hand her off to her parents to confirm completion.

Reward: 4 silver, 50% discount on all goods from any Draynesti trading house for 30 days after completion of the question, and an equal share of any loot collected along the way.

Failure: Decima Draynesti dies or fails to make it to the wedding on time.

Penalty: Become mortal enemies of the Draynesti trading house

Geez! An escort quest. Might as well watch paint drying. Well, maybe I can spice things up a bit.

Tim just shook his head. That didn’t bode well, but the quest was accepted now. He didn’t think he wanted to start out his time in this world by angering one of the most powerful trading houses. By this time, he had arrived at his destination, so he did his best to put the taunts out of his mind.

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When he walked into the Four Patrons bar—or maybe in Iocusinte, it would be referred to as more of an inn—he felt completely out of place. It was clearly a dirty bar, the type that people in a movie went to hire disreputable guys for shady work. Even the military bars he had been in were far cleaner than this.

Still, if stats meant anything, he should be one of the toughest people in the entire city. In the back of his head, he felt like he knew how to handle himself. He immediately found himself sizing up all the various guys sitting in the room. Whether it be the four burly types who were playing cards at a table in the middle of the room or the guy sipping his drink at the end of the bar, Tim watched them all.

For all of that instinctual knowledge that had been crammed into his head, he was still worried. He had never actually used a sword—unless you counted that crazy dream with the Book of Names. Sure, he had done his share of hand-to-hand combat training, but it was just training, not actual combat. The one thing that he remembered from that training, above all else, was project confidence. Weakness gets you killed, so you need to appear strong, even if you don’t feel it.

Tim walked up to the bar. Instead of the sweaty fat man with sleeves rolled up and a towel flung over his shoulder that he had expected, the bartender was a petite, middle-aged woman. As she walked from the end of the bar to him, Tim took in her appearance. She was older than him, but she had that kind of sultry look that said experience might be worth more than youth. The warrior instincts which had been crammed into him told a different tale. He observed how she moved so fluidly. She was someone who knew how to handle herself. The two daggers on her waist were likely not the only weapons that she carried.

“What can I get for you, big guy?” the bartender asked while her smoky eyes took him in from head to toe.

“I'm actually looking for some friends of mine. They told me to find them at this bar, and I wanted to know if they had left, or if you might know of how I can get a hold of them.”

“Happy to discuss stuff with a paying customer. So let me ask you again. What can I get for you?”

“I’m about to leave on a mission for the Sojourner’s Guild and can’t risk drinking now. Actually, I don’t have much time, but I will pay for information,” Tim said.

“This isn’t some folk tale, and whatever you may think of my establishment, I don’t talk about my friends or customers for money. Now, if you are one of my customers, then maybe I can trust you, and we can have a friendly conversation.”

Tim got frustrated. He didn’t have a phone to check the time on but knew that sunset must be around the corner. He almost forgot about the chronometer on his character sheet. A quick glance confirmed that he had limited time.

“Look, I’m not sure how it works here.” He had been about to add ‘in Iocusinte’, but he had been warned by Simon, Charles, and Reggie not to mention that he was a 1st gen to just anyone. “So anyway, I will leave a message and give you a silver to deliver it if you can. If not, then maybe I can find them another way later.”

Tim set the coin on the bar and said, “If you know Atticus and his daughter, Cecilia, then please let them know the old man they found alongside the road is doing well and will find them as soon as possible if they are still in New Rome.”

As he turned to walk out, the bartender asked, “Is that all?”

Without looking back, Tim nodded and said, “Yep, that's all. No more time for small talk now.”