“Right! Here it is!”

Ritzy stopped abruptly and bent down. He started rummaging through a few bushes on the side of the animal trail they used as a guide to go deeper into the woods.

“What’s going on, Ritzy?”

“Oh, is it my bow?”

“Mhmm. And not just your bow. I had planned on surprising you later when you would have time to go through the back on your own. But…”

Ritzy opened the bag and showed a hand inside, violently tossing the bag’s contents around inside the bag until he found what he was looking for.

“Ta-da!”

Ritzy held up a rectangular badge of metal with a bow and dagger engraved in a cross shape on it.

“Is that my ranger certificate?”

Gerhart held the badge, his mouth not entirely closed due to the disbelief. He looked at Ritzy and, with his eyes, asked how Ritzy had gotten him his ranger certificate. And based on the sheen occasionally making its way across the engraving, it was authentic. Gerhart couldn’t believe it since that meant Ritzy had gotten Lenny, the only Ranger in Vestor, to make an authentic certificate for Gerhart.

“H-how…?”

Ritzy’s face lit up in pride as he reveled in Gerhart and Talia’s, mostly Gerhart’s, wondrous expressions.

“Hu-hum. Well, I could tell you…It’s just that a certain someone seemed to have held a grudge for a little incident concerning fire.”

Gerhart realized what Ritzy was getting at. But even if he didn’t like it, there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, Talia was right. Vestor hadn’t treated them properly. Would he really forsake one of his two, possibly even both of his friendships, all because he got hung up on Ritzy seeking revenge for his childhood? Never.

“Rit, come on, man. There are no grudges here. If you’re talking about Vestor, that’s all in the past, you know.”

“That it is.”

Talia chuckled at how Ritzy beguiled Gerhart and washed away any anger or ill feelings with a shiny piece of metal.

“If you really must know, I guess I can tell you. I challenged the infamous, the notorious! Lenny to a battle of wits, smarts, cunning, and bravery! And I emerged victorious!”

Ritzy spoke with a heroic voice as he told them what had happened without actually telling Gerhart and Talia anything other than that he knew a bunch of adjectives.

“So, what did you do? In detail this time, please?”

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Gerhart wasn’t satisfied with that explanation and asked for another one as he was dying to know how Ritzy had gotten the ranger badge that had seemed as easy to get as the stars in the night sky to Gerhart.

“Fine. I caught Lenny and that old hag bag, Nentelle doing some grownup wrestling.”

Talia and Gerhart were stunned at the sudden revelation.

“Eh….”

“What?”

“Yeah. In exchange for not telling the mayor, Lenny made the badge. He didn’t even put his clothes on, the shameful bastard.”

Talia did her best to hold back her laughter. If she didn’t, pain would ripple through her entire body.

Gerhart rubbed his forehead.

“So you’re telling me you simply caught Lenny and Nentelle in the act of cheating and blackmailed Lenny? What happened to the witty and brave challenge?”

Ritzy shrugged.

“Well, I was witty enough to make sure Lenny couldn’t catch me and force me to shut up. And I was brave enough to watch it and make sure they knew I knew that they knew each other’s bodies a little too well.”

Gerhart sighed, and Talia once again struggled to not laugh.

“Fine, Rit. That was pretty brave of you. Now, let’s get going to the Cabin. We should get there before nightfall and rest before continuing.”

Ritzy and Talia didn’t have any objections, and they continued walking. Though, when it became obvious that carrying two leather bags full of things and the heavy bone was too heavy for Ritzy, they had to stop, let him rest, and then reorganize a little.

“Ritzy, did you seriously swing by and steal the bone as soon as I threw it out of the tunnel and left? Only to come back and pretend like nothing?”

Talia hadn’t put much thought into it as other things occupied her mind, such as the gaping wound in her stomach. But when Ritzy lagged behind because he was carrying the unwieldy ivory club, Talia thought back to what had happened when she left the tunnel and before she lost consciousness.

“Gerry, I think Talia’s lost too much blood. She’s delusional.”

“Fucker! I am not delusional! That’s what happened, and you know it!”

“Know what? That we should get to the cabin as quickly as possible? I sure do. I also know that this bone hasn’t left my hands since I summoned it.”

“We’d be there quicker if you let me or Gerhart carry that thing, you know.”

“Not happening. Just focus on not bleeding to death, please, Talia. But if you do, just know that I’ll properly take care of your body.”

“You fucker. Just know that if I ever become immortal, it will all be thanks to you.”

Ritzy snorted.

“You? Immortal? See, Gerry. I told you she’s lost too much blood. Did you even wrap the bandage around her?”

“Yes, I did. But this lumpy punctured sack of flesh won’t stop moving. It’s as if she’s trying to kill herself by bleeding as much as possible.”

“I am not! Fine! I won’t move at all from now on. Happy?”

“Yes, very much so. Rit, did you bring me spare clothes as well?”

“Maybe?”

“What do you mean, ‘maybe’? How can you plan the downfall of a town and prepare several bags with necessities but not know whether you put down any spare clothes for me?”

“Well… I did pack two sets of clothes.”

“But…?”

“They might both be Talia’s, or they might be yours, Gerry? I’ve never noticed how similar your clothes are, and I honestly didn’t care. You’re happy as long as you’re wearing something, right?”

Gerhart sighed so deeply in dejection that Talia and Ritzy both wondered if Gerhart was about to deflate.