Few events unite people, like Christmas, birthdays, or a death in the family. Some occasions are more joyous than others, but there’s one thing every adventure party agrees on: loot is a powerful unifier.

Of course, once the spoils are counted, disagreements may arise. Your mage might covet a staff that would benefit the sorcerer more, or an axe that both the barbarian and the warrior have their eyes on. And let’s not forget the impressive shield that the paladin really needs. But before these disputes, they were a harmonious group cheerfully pillaging corpses and unlocking chests.

This was part of the job, a fact we kept in mind as we emptied the chest we found in the center of the goblin’s lair. Most of the contents were junk, but a few items stood out. One such piece was a staff with intricate carvings on its spiral tip. Made entirely of metal, it would make a formidable bludgeoning weapon even if it were just a walking stick.

Another notable find was a chest piece. It looked small, so we asked Bea to try it on. To our surprise, the metal reshaped to fit her form, revealing its magical properties. In hindsight, it was a risky move. We hadn’t expected to find magical items in the first chest we opened in the wild. We just hoped it wasn’t cursed, but we didn’t voice this concern to Bea.

The third and final item of interest was a marble orb. Its precise carving and resilience made it stand out in the pile of junk. It had survived being jostled among a bunch of weapons without a single scratch. Out of curiosity, I decided to keep the orb for now since no one else wanted it.

We gathered the pile of used weapons back into the chest and headed back to town. We needed to find someone to inspect the unique items and someone else to buy this heap of junk.

“I’ll buy a new mace with my share,” Ghimli said happily, carrying the chest under his arm.

“I don’t know if this loot is worth as much as you think, Ghimli,” I cautioned. “If it were that easy, wouldn’t everyone be mercenaries instead of doing other jobs?”

“Oh, come on, Doc. Let me dream a little.”

“You can dream, Ghimli, but maybe dream of a keg of ale instead of a fancy new weapon. We haven’t even leveled up yet,” I said, my tone contemplative.

“What’s on your mind, Doc?” Amanda asked.

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“Was it just… easy?” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. We killed most of the goblins with one or two hits. We’re strong, but not that strong. It seemed a bit too easy.”

“Don’t overthink it, Doc,” Ghimli chimed in. “We’re just awesome.”

“I guess… But we mustn’t get complacent. I’m worried this might be a trap.”

The line to enter Jhorn was already quite long. We waited nearly two hours to reach the gate, where a tall man in red and blue armor came to inspect us.

“Greetings, good sir. We’re part of the mercenaries hired by King Orlath, returning from a mission,” Amanda said, as the man scrutinized us.

“I don’t recall seeing you leave,” he replied, his tone stern.

“We left at dawn yesterday. It was probably a different shift, and…”

“No. I would have been briefed if mercenaries had gone out at night,” he interrupted.

“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but you all seem busy enough without holding up the line for four mercenaries,” she said, stepping closer to the guard. She reached out and touched his chest, leaning in. “I bet we can find a compromise that won’t get you into trouble and will help the line move faster, don’t you think?”

I watched as the guard’s face turned as red as his armor. He looked around to see if anyone else was listening to Amanda’s blatant flirtation.

He cleared his throat. “Madam, I have a job to do. We mustn’t engage in such pleasantries while on duty.”

“Come on, handsome. What must we do for you to let us enter?”

“Just show me your Mercenaries License.”

“Oh,” Amanda backed down. “Just that? Here.” She handed him some papers, which he read carefully.

“All clear. You can move along.”

We entered the city, and once we were out of earshot, I had to ask, “What the heck was that?”

“What?” She seemed offended.

“That thing with the guard. If you had the papers all along, why flirt with him?”

“Doc, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Why not? It was fun, and I wanted to see if he would be a romanceable character…”

“We’re not in some kind of visual novel, Amanda. He could have put us in jail!”

“Doc, look around. We’re in some sort of medieval setting with powers, and we just came back from killing goblins. As the poet said, we’re not in Kansas anymore. If you keep up your uptight approach, you’ll go insane in no time. You’re not a lawyer anymore, you’re a paladin.”

“She’s not wrong, Doc,” Ghimli said. “We must make the best of the cards we’ve been dealt and try to have some fun. We can’t be serious all the time, or we’ll get an ulcer.”

Amanda and Ghimli went ahead, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Bea walked next to me.

“Doc, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I know that I can trust you. You need to start trusting yourself too. They may not be wrong, but I know that some kind of balance is required. I need you to keep me and my brother safe. He goes with the flow in most situations, and his carefree attitude is his usual self, as you know, but I bet he’s also scared. Maybe having fun is a good way to cope with this terrible situation.” She smiled sadly. “I’ll let you think about it. Meet you at the tavern?” I nodded, and she went ahead to catch up with our friends.