The year is 613 post divergence on the continent of Leandra. Within the kingdom of Kardesh there lies a small village called Old birch.

"I'm hoooome!" I shouted to noone as I stepped into this wooden shack I call a home. Being about eight foot tall, I instinctively duck as I pass under the door frame. Kicking off my boots and leaning my hoe against the wall I head into the bedroom. I start to take off my brown leather trousers and white shirt, throwing them into a pile on the floor. I stretched my tanned body, scratched my short black hair and yawned as I flop down onto the bed, running the conversation through my head again that i'd just had with an old merchant friend.

"Aye, Jax. did ya hear?" The dwarven man asked me, who was sitting next to me at the bar. "The guild is upping rewards and even offering training lessons from veterans." He continued, taking a swig from his tankard of mead. I have known Quinn for about three years now. Ever since I helped push his carriage out of a ditch and let him stay the night. Quinn would be your stereotypical dwarf. Aged somewhere in his thirties, he has a long brown beard and hair tied into a braid. Height of around four and a half feet, and a love for booze and anything shiny.

"I know i've heard, you've been telling me about this for the last three months. What are you getting at?" Everytime Quinn passed through here, he would always wait for me to finish in the fields and drag me off to the only pub in town to get drunk. He'd talk of the stories he'd heard on the road. We got along quite well for being so different from one another. Our height aside, we had very different lives, with him always on the move selling wares and me planting crops and tilling fields. Every month we would drink and moan about how hard and boring life was, yell about how good the higher class had it in the capital, all the while laughing up a storm. I would be lying if I said I didn't look forward to these nights. Breaks up all the boring and lonely days. I would never tell the ball of ego that though.

"Well I bring it up again lad, because I finally got the gold to buy my own shop, in Baalmore no less. So this might be the last drink we get to have together for a while." Quinn said.

"Well, congratulations. I know how hard you’ve been working to try and get one there for a while. Hopefully you can come and have a drink with me every now and again." I said giving a weak smile. Silence fills the air as I stare into my tankard, I'll miss this.

"I came today with more than just a good tale Jax my boy. I came with an offer. You said you had moved here and signed on for four years of work and you have about a year left yea? But I know for a fact that you hate it and that this isn't what you ever wanted. That's why I bring it up all the time. Hoping maybe you'll ask for help so you can leave this place and do what you always wished. But you never do, do yea? Just down drink after drink, looking meek and lost, as I talk about how great the cities are, about how i'm trying to set up a base of operations somewhere. So I made up my mind and before meeting up with ye I went ahead and visited the village chief and paid off your last year on your contract." Quinn said as he went for another sip.

"Why in the gods did you do that!" I shouted, standing up, knocking over a stool and banging my head on one of the wooden bars.

"Aye, calm down ya damn tree, you'll break mam's bar again." Quinn said looking up at me with a shake of his head. "I can do what I want with my own coin can't I? And even after the contract ran out you still would of signed another one. So I made the choice for ya!" Quinn shouted, downing his drink in one go and slamming it down on the bar. "Everyone here knows you'll be a damn fine adventurer and it's all you go on about when you get smashed. So if you finally stop being a huge wuss and want to do something with ya life, i'll wait for ya tomorrow morning by the road leading out. And look, if you don't wanna i'm sure the chief would hire you again but is that really what ya want though?" Quinn asked as he walked towards the door. "Oh and one last thing. If you do decide you're coming along, remember to pack your bags and don't think I did this for free. I'll be having you help me set up and spread the word of my shop!" with a hearty laugh he left the bar with me just standing there motionless. As I came back to my senses, I payed for both of our drinks, whispered to noone to stop calling me tree and headed home.

"Arr, damn it!" I yelled as I stood back up. That damn dwarf! Pulling something like this. I thought as I looked around my room. The house I was given when I first moved here was a small, three roomed wooden shack containing one bedroom, one kitchen area and a small living/storage room with an outhouse round the back. It was located on the outskirts of the village on a hill, giving it a view of the road leading in and out. It's how I managed to spot Quinn's carriage the first time we met. It was a little rundown seeing as noone had lived in it for decades but with some patch work done and some help from the local lumberjacks it managed to shelter me from the harsh extremes of weather. As it was still the middle of summer I had left my room door open as it would get too hot. I could see my trusty farming hoe i'd got as for my two years service from the farms owner leaning against the wall. It's the only thing I could probably call my own, apart from two sets of clothes and a straw sack to carry things in. Sure, I had the money i'd saved up over the years but seeing how there was nothing you could really buy apart from the necessities and beer in a small village like this, I didn't really have a use for it. After racking my brain and staring into space for a while I had one last thought before laying back down and closing my eyes.

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Tomorrow morning huh?

"Do you really think he'll show?" asked an elven looking man.

"Of course he will lad. Do you really think he'll miss an opportunity this good?" Replied Quinn, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage with his head in the palm of a hand.

" I agree with Gil. He sounds like the indecisive type." Said a man leaning round the back of the carriage.

"Oi you. Get back here and help load the boxes." Said a female voice. "And I agree with the boss, his work contract was paid off by a friend. Do you think he would happily live with that debt?" She continued.

"How would you know? You've never met the guy!" Replied the man as he disappeared back behind the carriage again.

"From the way boss talks about him, I doubt he wouldn't." Said the woman."Wanna have a bet? The loser buys the next round of drinks. I bet he shows."

"deal."

After around 10 minutes of waiting Gil spoke up. "The suns now above the trees. Still think he'll show?"

"Give the guy a few minutes. From all the drinking we did he's probably a bit groggy." Quinn said looking down with a grin. "That and he is probably saying goodbye to the village." As Quinn finished saying that, he spotted a large silhouette over the horizon. "Finish loading up guys. It's time to get going." Quinn shouted to the back of the carriage. "See? I knew he would."

I woke up earlier than usual maybe because I had a lot on my mind last night but I decided to tour Old birch one last time. My first stop was to the chief to give him my regards for all these years. After a brief goodbye and handshake with the words “if you ever have any trouble come give us a visit” I moved onto the pub.

Ada was the owner and bartender of the only pub in Old birch, a stocky and ruff woman who would always save two seats for me and Quinn and keep the pub open just a little longer on some of our worst nights. Though I did learn why its called the ‘Dragons Rage’ the night after I got blackout drunk for the first time ever and tore the whole place up in a frenzy. The hangover and loss of memory was not the only reason I was hurting that day.

After one last drink on the house and a slap on the back she said “come have a drink if i’m ever in the area” I started heading back home to pack my stuff and said my goodbyes to all the other farmers who were already in the fields.    

"Sorry for making you guys wait. I had to some things to do before leaving." I said as I walked down to the meeting place.

"Not a problem lad. So, got everything?" Quinn asked as he grabbed ahold of the horses reins.

"All set" I replied "And thanks."

"Ha! I'll make sure you pay me back aplenty. Oh but before we set off we need to do introductions. You lot, come round here!" Quin said with a toothy smile. Three people lined up beside the carriage. The first to speak was the elven looking man.

"You probably remember me from the first time we met but i'm Gilgwyn. Most people call me Gil and i'm a half elf. My class being a thief. I work under sir Quinn. Pleasure." Gilgwyn looked exactly like an elf with the nearly pale skin and long flowing silver hair but what sets him apart is the slightly shorter ears and brown eyes instead of the usual green or blue. You could never tell how old elves were, but half elves were a bit easier so if I had to guess I would maybe say late twenties? He was wearing a long black cloak over what looked to be dark leathers with some knives hanging off his waist.

"Nice to meet you." I said with a nod.

"I'll go next!" Said the other man. "Hey. I'm Erwin. Human, obviously. I'm a swordsman and my guild rank is D. Was hired to escort the boss again. Nice to meetcha!" Erwin looked to be about late teens early twenties with short brown hair. His height looked to be about average around five and a half feet tall. He was wearing basic brown leather armour with what looked to be a some sort of sword by his hip and had iron bracers on both wrists.

"I guess i'm last." The woman said. "My names Rose. I'm also human. A brawler, rank D-. Took this as a quest also. Hope we get along." Rose finished with a short nod. Rose was probably a little older than Erwin, taller too at about six feet. She too, wears leathers But over the top of the leather was an iron breastplate with quite a few scratches on it. She wore two iron gauntlets on both hands that were a lot thicker than Erwins bracers. They had small bumps at the knuckles too.

"Yes. Nice to meet you both." I said with a little bow.

"My turn then." I said before introducing myself. "My name is Jax and before you ask, I am a human and not some type of giant. I'm a far- I mean former farmer and a friend of Quinns. Nice to meet you all."

"Alright then. If you're all done hop in the back and lets get going. We should get to Baalmore in about three days travel. But if we ride all day with no breaks we might get there in two and half." Quinn said as we climbed into the back next to some crates and bags. Whipping the horses with the reins we set out down the long winding road towards our destination.

Onward. To Baalmore.