As evening fell a day later, the trio finally arrived at the guild hall. As they entered, the silence fell on the guild hall for a moment before everyone erupted into cheers. Ecstatic to see that Zycor made it back, Clyde drunkenly commented, “Hey, ya lived! Glad to see your little adventure went well.”
Really getting into the hype, Baz exclaimed, “Went well? Let me tell you, it went far better than well! For you see, I have a new power.”
Mylon, growing more annoyed by the second, warned, “Baz, don’t you dare…”
Completely disregarding Mylon, Baz continued, “I HAVE DISINTEGRATION POWERS!”
“NO YOU DON’T!” Mylon yelled back as the adventurers erupted into laughter.
As Baz and Mylon bickered and recounted their story, Aislin came up behind Zycor, wrapping her arm around him and aggressively noogiing him. “Glad you made it back Zy!” she began, “I made a fortune on our betting pool!”
Curious what she meant, Zycor asked, “A betting pool? For what?”
Aislin chuckled as she greedily rubbed her hands together, “Well, some of the newer guild members didn’t think you would be able to handle a D ranked dungeon as your first quest. The older members disagreed, so they bet on whether or not you would make it back! So you just made myself and a couple of the other lads and lasses quite a bit of coin!”
Aislin leaned in closer and whispered, “Don’t worry, I made sure to set aside a chunk of change for you as well.”
Zycor was unsure about whether or not he should be happy so many people stood up for him, or if he should be upset that there was a betting pool on whether or not he would survive. He decided to go with it - after all, he could always use the money for training or to get Adria something.
Aislin noticed Baz had gotten on top of a table while heavily exaggerating the events that took place as he downed his massive mug of mead. “Hey Baz! I’ve told you before, get off the table!” Aislin yelled.
Baz snickered, “What are you gonna do about it? You know, aside from complaining?”
Aislin grabbed a mug out of one of the nearby adventurers hands and hurled it full force at Baz. An audible thud was heard as it bounced off his head and Baz stumbled off the table. “OW! What the fuck!” Baz yelled, holding the back of his head.
Aislin rolled up the sleeves of her uniform and began to walk over as she mocked, “Oh, I am just getting started! You wanted to know what else I am going to do aside from complain?! Get over here, chuckle-fuck, and find out!”
Aislin tackled the half orc, quickly putting him into a choke hold.
Adria put a hand on Zycors’ shoulder, shifting his attention from the spectacle. “I am glad you made it back safely. Welcome home, Zycor.” Adria softly commented with a warm smile.
Without a word, Zycor hugged her and replied, “Thank you mom.”
Reluctantly ending the hug, Adria said, “I need to step outside for a moment. Zycor, would you be a dear and prevent Aislin from killing the loud one? It pains me to say so, but we cannot exactly afford something that would tarnish our guilds reputation.”
Zycor nodded and headed over to make an honest effort, despite it being an uphill battle.
Stepping outside, Adria walked around to the side of the guild. “I would like to hear the report. How did it go?” She coldly asked, her entire demeanor now the reverse of what it was mere moments ago.
A girl dressed in black assassin clothing appeared from around the corner leading to the back of the guild. The assassin responded, “There were a few rough spots. The half orc and Zycor had a disagreement, leading to a fight. Though it appeared they were able to resolve said disagreement peacefully in the end. As for the dungeon itself, they did not have too much trouble. Although Zycor had been injured by the Pantheleon pack they encountered, those wounds ended up healed after he fell through the wall.”
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“He fell through a wall!? And he ended up Healed!? How?” Adria asked, a mix of extreme concern, anger, and curiosity filling her tone.
“He leaned against a wall to rest, and that same wall fell into a massive opening, which led down into the core room. I examined the area after they left and could not find out what happened. But the fact remains, he had those wounds before he fell, no doubt receiving even more severe wounds from said fall, then those same wounds were gone when the other two found him.”
Adria, disappointed with the lack of information on the subject of healing, but relieved Zycor was alright, ordered the assassin to continue. “Aside from what I have told you, Zycor and the two others seemed to cooperate well enough. All things considered, it went rather smoothly for a first quest.”
“Thank you for your report. You are dismissed for now, Nalea.” Adria said.
“Yes ma’am.” Nalea said, before disappearing behind the guild..
Adria Smiled, getting slightly giddy and muttered to herself, “Oh my! My Zycor actually cleared his first quest, and it was a D-ranked dungeon! I am so proud of him!”
Adria quickly composed herself, and headed back into the guild hall. As she got closer to the entrance she heard the adventurers repeatedly yelling ‘Fight!’ Concerned, Adria quickly made her way inside and saw Baz on the ground, Mylon performing first aid, and Zycor standing between Aislin and the previous two. Aislin readied herself to barrel through Zycor. “Out of the way Zy, I’m not finished with him!” Aislin demanded.
Zycor remained silent as he glanced back briefly at Baz and Mylon, then refocusing on Aislin as some sweat ran down his face. After a moment, he responded, “I cannot do that Aislin. If you two fight, our home will be destroyed.”
Smirking, Aislin said, “Well then, I guess you will just have to stop me. Good luck with that.”
Zycor removed the bag he was carrying, egg inside, and handed it to Mylon, “Hold this for me. Egg is in it.”
Mylon nodded, and Zycor returned to face Aislin. She assumed a charging stance while Zycor put out his hand. He pictured what happened to the mana bear and tried to imagine doing it again.
As Aislin began her charge, she was suddenly thrown at and through the wall behind the bar. Zycor, shocked, but far more relieved, sighed, “Thanks mama Adria.”
Sighing for a completely different reason, Adria asked, “How the hell did things escalate to this point?”
Before Zycor could answer, Mylon interjected, “It was this idiot's fault, ma’am! Aislin had let him off the hook, but he had the 1200 IQ idea of fucking around and finding out. When he moved to retaliate, she parried the attack and began hitting him repeatedly. That was when Zycor jumped in to prevent the destruction of the guild hall along with a murder. And, well, here we are.”
Adria glanced over at the hole she sent Aislin through and sighed, “I see we both have a large idiot that causes us trouble.”
Mylon shed a lone tear as he responded, “Ah, I see you know the pain as well.”
From the hole, Aislin yelled, “I refuse to be compared to that idiotic brute!”
Baz, sitting up, snapped back, “Back at ya, that pink skinned demoness is far worse!”
Aislin stumbled out of the room as she shouted back, “I see you have not had enough yet!”
Adria flooded the room with an overwhelming amount of mana and commanded, “Both of you, be quiet!”
Every adventurer immediately ceased any noise as a dead silence fell upon the guild hall. “Mylon,” Adria began, “please take Mr. Dragonaxe back to wherever you two are staying.”
Mylon quickly nodded, “Yes, guild master.”
Turning to Aislin, Adria continued, “And Aislin, use your earth magic to patch that hole. You are without a room or food until it is done.”
Aislin, terrified, replied, “Yes! Understood! I will get on that right away ma’am!”
Adria looked at the rest of the adventurers and, with an unsettlingly warm smile, finished, “I think it is time for you lot to head home. The guild hall will be closing early tonight.”
The adventurers looked at each other and made a mad, yet deathly quiet, dash out of the guild hall. Adria looked at Zycor and said, “I think it is time for you to head to bed. You have had a long day and you should sleep in your own bed.”
Zycor nodded, grabbed his bag, and ran upstairs. As he passed Aislin, he silently mouthed ‘sorry,’ feeling partially responsible for being unable to resolve the situation.
As he arrived in his room, Zycor put his bag down next to his desk. After he readied himself for bed, he retrieved the egg from the bag, and sat it next to him in his bed. As he drifted off to sleep, his final thoughts were that of curiosity as he wondered what could be inside of the egg.