It’s not easy to be a Hero. Heroics are for romantics. Realistically most people on the continent of Lisaria imagine soldiers as heroic, but soldiers have had their heroics tempered out of them.

Other people believed that adventurers would chose a better class if they weren’t all selfish layabouts that failed to learn a practical trade. Those same people would tell you that mages are ten times worse for dabbling in dangerous addictive combat magic.

Only the bards believed in the old stories. Legends about heroes that defeated the demon lord a thousand years ago. In reality, everyone knows heroes rush headlong to their deaths.

Drew watched the trees pass by him slowly. Their train of merchant carts was setting a sedate pace. There were three comfort wagons and 4 mundane merchant carts. There was also a cart loaded with empty cages of all sizes.

They trust in their wards completely. It’s a good thing I looked them over and tuned them up or we would be fighting off monsters every day.

The merchants had hired 3 teams of adventurers from the guild. Their trip was planned to take them through the deep mountains of the elven kingdom.

After the first day of marching Drew had already done his fair share of eavesdropping.

The merchants exclusively talked amongst each other. They drank fine wines and ate fresh cuts of roast meat pulled from enchanted containers. They refused to eat anything that was foraged or butchered along their route.

Drew sat quietly atop the wagon of the head merchant. The man loved to drink almost as much as he loved to talk. He looked human, with a large belly wrapped in expensive silk to support his girth.

“These adventurers were damn expensive! And they haven’t shown us anything for your coin yet.” The head merchant said.

“That’s all for the better. Statistics show that many monster attacks are more damaging to the merchandise than the people guarding them.” Another merchant replied.

He was just starting to feel the buzz from the pipe he was smoking. It smelled like rose water.

“Well if monsters don’t attack then the adventurers could be appreciative and earn our coin another way! Ha ha! Some of their women are very lean and fine to look at.” The head merchant said.

“It’s not written into their contracts. Although there may be some entrepreneurial ones that could be interested.” The second merchant blushed a the thought.

“Idiots. These women are trained adventurers. Lay a hand on them without their consent and they will rip your arm of.” Drew said to himself. “And I won’t heal it for free.”

Drew dropped off the wagon and slipped past two groups of adventurers. They were on foot and easily keeping pace with the merchant wagons.

“Easiest quest I’ve been on yet.” A man said. He was walking with a large broadsword over his shoulders as he hung both elbows over it.

A female archer shushed him quickly.

“Don’t jinx us. These woods are full of dangerous monsters.” She said.

Drew kept his head on a swivel, eying either side of the road.

“And don’t forget there are a few demons that would love the irony of proving you wrong.” A dwarven man chimed in. He walked alongside his two teammates carrying his shield and mace.

“I’m just saying. It must be safe since they hired on a kid. The switch with the daggers. If she’s so weak she couldn’t find anyone to party up with then it can’t be that risky.” The swordsman said.

The fourth member of the group was their support. He led their pack animal with two saddle bags strapped into the beast. He kept his thoughts to himself as they walked on.

Sure Andalla is young, but she is very capable. They will see soon enough.

Andalla was walking alone, she was carting a backpack that looked like the kind you you could find in any general store. But Drew had enchanted it to be a soul bound storage device for her. She could carry everything she owned in the pack. It was enchanted to never weigh more than 10 kilos.

Drew swooped down on her and tussled her hair.

“Hey quit it!” She said smiling.

“You look so glum! It better not be anything someone else said to you. I’ll scratch their eyes out.” He said.

Andalla make mock claw swipes in the air towards Drew and laughed.

“Yeah right! You know I’d be the one cutting them a new hole to breathe through and you’d be the one healing them up.” She said skipping ahead.

“I just want to show them what I can do so they stop doubting me. Ya know?” She said.

“It’s better to be underestimated than understood.” Drew pantomimed.

“Shut it. That only applies to duelists. These merchants and adventurers don’t think I’m worth the coin. But I’ll show them!”

She did a cartwheel and picked up a stone from the road. She threw the stone up and over the cart, far into the forest.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Annnnnd it’s outtaaa here!” Drew cheered.

That stone would clear a home run fence back on earth.

The stone thwacked off of a tree somewhere in the woods a second later. Something roared, and then something else roared back.

-

Drew threw a talisman in place and then used his mage hand spell to summon a spectral hand to trip up one of the Bushcat. It was slowed down enough for the bind enchantment to take hold of the beast.

Andalla slashed into the beast twice with her long curved daggers as she ran past.

“Don’t forget there are two of these bushcats for us to fight!” Drew shouted as he pinwheeled out of the way of the other Bushcat’s long claws.

He launched the second talisman and it hit its mark. The next enchantment in his toolkit stacked onto the beast draining its stamina further.

“One more Talisman and this Bushcat is out of the fight.” He said.

Andalla danced between the two cats.

She is so mall compared to these beasts. They looked more like a 500 lb boar crossed with a mountain lion put on a gilly suit.

She ran by scoring their sides with her Khavala, short curved swords from the western desert kingdom.

She was showing off her range of abilities, peppered both beasts with close range elemental attacks. Neither beast was able to land a hit with the attacks coming from above and behind.

“And switch!” Andalla called out the signal.

She jumped off the downed beast’s bramble covered back to get some space as she combined a Lesser Flame spell with a Wind Slash spell to create a fireball that ripped into the beast, killing it and roasting it.

Their remaining Bushcat was able to slash her arm.

Drew got the last talisman in place. The enchantment powered up off of the ambient mana in the air. Bright blue chains jumped out of the spell script and tied down the fierce beast. Drew flew over and picked up Andalla. He activated both of his healing abilities and checked his mana levels.

MP: 65%

The Bushcat struggled to get up as the chains took on a green hue and grew thorns. The combination drained the monster’s stamina and mana to strengthen the spell.

The talismans worked together seamlessly, simultaneously weakening the Bushcat and empowering the other enchantments locking down the beast completely. The enchantments were designed to stay active until their target ran out of stamina.

Drew flew them back to the relative safety of the caravan as the other adventurers around them took down the rest of the pack. Drew watched each team of 3 or 4 sustain significant injuries, one team’s tank lost an arm.

These were traditional teams of adventurers getting by with the strength of their swords or shields with few magically empowered skills. They were cautious, using their healing potions and spells sparingly. Excellent examples of the Adventurers Guild training.

MP: 55%

“The caravan’s healer will make a few pretty coins from this lot!” Andalla crowed as her wounds healed up.

The merchants stayed huddled in their carts, enchantments fully charged to ward off mid tier monsters. This was the first of many attacks they expected along their journey. Their hired adventurers were earning their keep.

-

The captured Bushcat was caged and loaded onto one of the merchant carts.

The merchant sat on his mat eying the young adventurer before him.

Keep your eyes to yourself creep.

He counted out Andalla’s coins a second time before he spoke.

“Of the 7 beasts that attacked, only one other beast was captured but they severely damaged it. Another team paid for expensive healing, cutting into their profits.” The merchant said before handing over their coins.

She pocketed the coins in her purse, where they disappeared without a sound.

“Fine job capturing that beast adventurer. And in near perfect condition. I can sell it for round coin when we arrive at the capital.” He said.

“Your coin is well appreciated, we will come back to spend it here before too long.” Andalla said overly formal.

She gets so nervous around merchants. If I wasn’t a crow I could haggle for her.

The merchant jotted down the details of the transaction in a ledger then looked up at Drew.

“How much for the Gallow Bird? It’s not everyday we see well trained companions, he could fetch a fair price too.”

Ha! You couldn’t afford me!

“Drew is not for sale,” Andalla replied quickly. “He’s my familiar and more valuable than you can know.”

Drew preened at the compliment. He strutted along behind Andalla as they headed towards the cook’s wagon.

“We made a good first showing Drew.” Andalla was cleaning her khavala between bites of food.

“The extra funds from capturing the beasts along the way will go towards a nice room and a fine meal at an Inn.” Drew said.

“You were amazing out there Andalla,” the archer sat down on a camp stool at their fire, her own plate of food in her lap.

“Our team barely killed one of those monsters. I don’t even want to think of how expensive the potion to patch up Charlie would be if we didn’t have a healer along.” Rita said.

Like most other archers, the young woman wears leather armor in shades of green and brown. She likely doubles as her team’s scout or auxiliary member.

“Drew here does all our healing. His services could be available to you at half the price of the caravan’s healer! Rita, if your team needs healing, give us a shout.” Andalla replied and the adventurers shared a short smile.

“How did you capture that monster while fighting the other? I mean, they are big and fast. That’s a bad combination.” The archer asked.

“It helps to be smaller and faster. Plus, having a reliable familiar is the other half of it.” She gestured to Drew who was using Mage Hand to repair a meter long wooden stake covered in runes; one of the combat talismans that was damaged in the fight.

“Drew did the capturing, his specialization is in enchantments and status effects. He’s always stunning or paralyzing monsters, rarely killing any if we have a good buyer and the breathing room to safely contain them.”

Drew returned the enchanted stake to his storage ring. He mentally checked the durability of his leather armor breastpiece and matching vambraces.

Their enchantments are holding up well.

He hopped over to grab a bite of food from Rita’s plate. She stared at him then read through a screen only she could see.

“He’s an intimidating bird especially in that armor. I've never seen a Greater Gallow Bird before, is that the third or 4th rank?” Rita said.

She considered trying to take her plate back from Drew.

“He’s larger than any Gallow Bird I’ve ever seen.” Andalla admitted.

Rita finally overcame her fear of losing a finger and snatched back her plate from Drew. She moved her body between the plate and the hungry bird.

“That’s third Rank. He’s the size of a small Griffin, with a wingspan of over 5 feet. His stormcloud feathers help him blend into the sky better than the traditional black.” Andalla tossed him a roasted Mishroom from the skewer on her own plate.

These delicious rodents grow everywhere in this region, like the fungus they are.

Drew ate happily, thinking back to how his life in the 5 kingdoms had started.

I’ve come a long way from my days as a little chick. I have found a partner to rely on. She is fearsome and compassionate. I’ve come an even farther way from the guy that got himself killed all those years ago.

Drew checked his status screen. The Hero trait was still there. He also checked his quest list and still had his quest to defeat the demon lord.

The gods are playing reckless games and the five kingdoms are not ready.

Drew settled down beside Andalla and tucked his head under his wing thinking back to how things changed for him in his second life.