Ryan walked through his usual path to the upper district without much fanfare. Most of the denizens of Denair were either cooped up in taverns spread across their little town or at home. A few loitered in the streets, and the rest were headed somewhere.

Ryan's entire body tingled at the prospects that awaited him; multiple possibilities swarmed his head. The probability of him managing to access whatever lay in the ring was enticing.

So it was with much joy that Ryan skipped across town, walking past the closed markets and the random shops here and there that had locks placed on them.

Unlike the Messy Inn that you could identify by sound, the Siren's Call was a place that you could walk right past if you didn't know exactly where you were headed.

The building blended in with the opulence and theme of the other high-rise buildings surrounding it.

As Ryan came to the doors of the inn, he realized that he couldn't really hear the sounds that he knew existed inside, no matter how hushed they tried to keep it.

Must be an advanced version of Sasha's magic.

Ryan thought as he stared at the doors. The sounds from outside the tavern were muted; you could tell that people were talking inside, but Ryan couldn't hear what they said. It all sounded like background noise that rolled over his ears even as focused as he was.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself and return to the present, he stepped into the tavern. The sounds became crisp; he could hear the voices clearly now. Calm conversations were going on around the tavern. Ryan marveled at the power of the enchantment—something like that would have to cost a lot, a whole lot of gold. Something that Ryan wasn't going to think too much about.

Spotting his partners at a table, he walked toward them, pulling out a seat as he got to the table. A table that was dominated by different dishes and tankards.

"There's our merchant! How's business been going, lad?" Uro said. How the dwarf managed to get the words out with a mouth full of what seemed to be a roasted jenkal lap, Ryan couldn't guess.

"It could've been better," Ryan said, preferring to keep his financial status to himself. "What about you guys, how's dungeoning going?"

A chuckle rippled round the table at Ryan's question, with Freya having to cover her mouth politely.

"Dungeoning? Surely he jests," Cicero laughed.

"I'm not so sure, Cici. It seems as though he meant that," Sasha chuckled.

Ryan went beet red at the interaction; it seemed like he was lost or left out from some inside joke.

"What did I say?" Ryan asked, curious to understand what was happening.

"Well, Uro here predicted that your first question for the night would be that, and Uro never guesses right," Freya responded with a blush.

"Hey, that is a perfectly normal question to ask. I don't think that I was supposed to ask about anything else," Ryan said, eager to get the conversation past its current point.

"Not anything, more like anyone... anyone come to mind, Ryan?" Cicero said with a wink.

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"Nope," Ryan responded, feeling like he'd said the wrong thing at the sight of Freya's face falling at his words.

"For shame, Ryan, for sh—"

"Let the man rest, Cicero. You guys lost; you all are paying for today's tab," the dwarf said, immediately turning to face a nearby attendant and pointing at his jenkal lap that had become nothing but bones, and then at his empty tankard, signaling for replacements.

"No need to rub it in, Uro. Besides, that's no reason for you to stuff your face like that," Sasha said with a look of mock disgust on her face.

"I'll have you k-now, a man has to eat a lot and get ready for dungeon run-s," Uro belched.

Freya and Sasha waved at the air animatedly while Cicero just chuckled. Ryan couldn't help but smile at the scene.

"Too bad. All that food and you still can't beat me one-on-one. Must be hard to stomach," Cicero chuckled.

The other members of the table let out laughs at the expense of the dwarf, who was now pouting—a weird sight indeed.

"Watch it now, Cicero. One of these days I'll be able to go toe-to-toe with you," Uro proclaimed with vigor.

"Heh, that might be, but for now, stick to sparring with the likes of Sasha and Freya," Cicero said dismissively.

"Hey... I'll have you know that I find what you said disrespectful," Freya said with a pout.

"So you think that you're better than me too?" Uro asked with a glare directed at nobody in particular.

"That's not what I meant. Cicero, fix this," the fairy said, looking at Sasha for help.

Sasha nodded at Cicero, who let out a tired sigh.

"Look, Uro, you're getting better each day, and I don't doubt for one second that you'll become a formidable adventurer. The more you train, the better you'll become," Cicero said in an assuring tone.

The table was silent for a while, the quietness only disturbed when the attendant came to swap out Uro's plate and tankards with new ones, leaving when he finished his task.

The dwarf muttered something underneath his breath before taking a swig from his refilled tankard.

Ryan didn't hear what it was as it was inaudible, but he guessed that the rest at the table did, judging from the way that they were all smiling.

"Awkward," Sasha chuckled.

"Hey... it was a brotherly moment, nothing to laugh at," Cicero said while clutching his chest and feigning being hurt.

"Brotherly moment my ass. I'm a hundred percent sure that Uro here will still challenge you to a fight, sooner rather than later," Sasha scoffed. Freya's eyes immediately sought Ryan's. A blush crept up her face as their eyes locked for a moment, and then she quickly looked away.

"That's how real lads do it, love," Uro said with his smile back on his face

"Try not to damage his face too much, else I fear I'll have to leave him," Sasha murmured.

"Oh come on, we both know that I don't get hit on my face. I'm a pretty boy after all," Cicero boasted.

"Grow up," Sasha said.

"Grow down," Cicero teased.

"Idiots, what the fuck is 'grow down'? That love thing be frying yer brains," the dwarf harrumphed.

"Oh look, somebody is jealous. Too bad we don't have a dwarf for you," Sasha teased.

Ryan's mind instantly went back to the dwarven lady that had come to his shop. Surely, she and Uro would make quite the pair. He could almost imagine it.

"I'll find love whenever I find it. For now, I'll settle for my warhammer caressing Cicero's face," Uro cackled.

"You want to get the fight out of your system tonight?" Cicero breathed.

"Terrible timing. I'm going to run up yer tab so much that I doubt that I'll be able to spar tonight, so that's a hard pass for me," Uro said.

"Don't tell me that the great Uro is scared?" Freya teased, her face lighting up at her jab.

"I'm more of the practical sort, love. Besides, the lot of you will have enough fights with the bill I'm going to leave yer rascals with. There's more than one way to the same outcome," Uro purred as though pleased with himself.

Ryan couldn't believe what was happening; the dwarf was playing them like a husto master. Goading them and leaving them no outlet, and they just... laughed.

Ryan found them to be quite the group—they were a tight-knit group from what he could see.

Friends—no, family. This was what it was about. Ryan couldn't help but smile as he watched the group continue to argue amongst themselves, different arguments popping up and getting shut down simultaneously.

Alas, all good things had to come to an end.

Ryan cleared his throat loudly to grab the attention of the group.

"Yer got a razor in that throat of yours, lad?" Uro snickered. Ryan's face turned red.

"Uro!" Sasha chastised the dwarf. Uro looked totally unashamed as he took another swig from his tankard, a smile adorning his face. Either because of the quip or the taste of the mead—Ryan would bet it was the former, though.

"Freya said you asked for me today. I assume that you have information on the ring?" Ryan asked, looking Cicero squarely in the eye.