Will heard a knock on his door and opened his eyes. He looked around for a moment while yawning, wondering if he’d imagined it but to his dismay, he heard it again.

“Ugghhm” it confused Will a bit in his tired haze, no one came knocking since he’d been there… Unless it was a lot later than it felt. He shook the dust out of his head and wondered how much a clock would cost as he climbed out of his sleeping bag before walking to the front room in his socks. Pulling his shirt over his head as he walked.

Will was beat. Not only had he spent nearly the entire day in the dungeon running around and fighting snakes but after he returned he showered, finished power washing the side of his house and a single pass of the other side. Showered again because he still felt dirty also mud spray from the power washer. Then ate at the saloon and went to bed. It was a bit of a splurge to eat there but even if he had the right stuff to cook with, he didn’t have the energy. Plus he could afford it soon.

Name: William Tempest

Race: Human-Variant

Age:19

Class: Prodigious Gunslinger lvl 9

Secondary: Vigilant Bounty Hunter lvl 7

Profession: Arcane Artificer lvl 3

Level: 15

Health: 330/330

Mana: 230/230

Stamina: 170/170

Vitality: 33

Active Effects:

Endurance: 17

Strength: 22

Dexterity: 41

Intelligence: 23

Attributes:

Variant Human: +1 Vitality, +2 Strength

Marskman +2 perception, +1 Dexterity

100+ Bounties: +1 Vitality, +3 Luck

Fear the Hunter: Provides fear effect against bounty targets-Active

Unbreakable: Immune to mental effects

Grand Hunt!+: Increase to all stats (Open for more info)

Focus: 14

Perception: 27

Luck: 8

Utility skills:

[Identify] lvl 5

[Tracking] lvl 3

[Animal Processing] lvl 4

[Restraints] lvl 1

[Hunting] lvl 3

[Meditation] lvl 3

[Charm] Level 1

[Lesser Endurance] lvl 3

[Revolver Proficiency] lvl 3

[Rifle Proficiency] lvl 2

[Knife Proficiency] lvl 2

[Sword Proficiency] lvl 2

[Cleaning-Basic] lvl 2

[Riding] lvl 1

Resistances:

Smoke Resistance lvl 1

“No negative status effects, so not that tired,” He yawned again as he made it to the main room and blinked at the sight of Alvin standing on the other side of the window. Then he heard a knock but the man hadn’t moved his arms. He wasn’t an idiot... Will got closer and looked down to see the tops of two heads. He shook his own and unlocked the door.

“What’s up?” Will asked and stepped aside to let the three adventurers in. and took a glance outside. It was still early morning and felt comfortably cool, so he propped the door open with a rock and went to open a couple windows as well.

“Heh, It’s nicer on the outside,” Silvia declared as she walked in. Will almost agreed but when he turned to speak he saw that she was eyeing the inside of the building. She didn’t mean the weather.

“I’ve been using magic to clean the outside,” Will informed her a little cheekily. He thought it looked nice… Though maybe that was only because he’d seen how it had been... He wondered if he should consider moving everything that could get water damaged and spray the inside too. He could do it one room at a time or do it all at once and sleep at the saloon. Maybe after he figured out a way to dry it quickly so he wouldn’t have to worry about mold. He should also think about some paint or wood stain.

“We’re just stopping by to go over the spoils,” Herald said, “The snake parts are easy. We can just divide them evenly. We’ll have to get them all together so we can get a count but I can’t do much for the next five days at least. So I can handle that for the most part. It’s the artifacts that are the issue. Ah… Could I trouble you for a chair?”

Herald glanced around the large and almost completely empty space but will hadn’t salvaged anything from the front room.

“Ah… yeah, stay right there for a minute,” Will said after a moment and walked back to his room, returning with his desk chair for Herald. The man’s leg had been set and healed but he was still using a walking stick as a crutch. Will set it down for him and hopped up on the counter and spotted the look Silvia was giving him. She gestured to the Herald or more likely the chair he’d climbed up on, legs dangling below him, “I only have the one. Sorry… Where are you-”

Silvia walked around the counter and after looking at the backside of it, used the shelves to climb up and swing her legs around. Yawning when she got seated. He’d seen how athletic she was and knew she didn’t need to do that but he let it slide. It was early. As for Alvin, he decided to just lean against the wall. With everyone set, Herald looked around at everyone and pulled out a sheet of paper.

“We’ll just get started. Crossbow, anyone want it or sell it?” Will looked around at the others and no one seemed willing to claim it.

“Can I study the enchantments before we sell it?” Will asked, the three looked around at each other.

“I’m fine with that.”

“I don’t gotta problem wit it.”

Silvia only shrugged but that was still an answer.

“Marking it as for sale after appraisal. Next is the Sabre…” Herald said. Will and Alvin both raised their hands. They shared a glance and Alvin lowered his but Will had been thinking about how he needed a melee weapon and besides Alvin might be leaving the profession if he did talk to the sheriff.

“If I can get the enchantment down I’ll see if I can make you one if you bring me a blade,” Will offered a compromise instead… He couldn’t see a lawman ever needing a sabre but maybe an enchanted kukuri or something. It was a good deal. Will would get the sabre and experience towards leveling his profession. Alvin still gets an enchanted weapon, eventually. Win-win… a little in Will’s favor.

“Deal,” Alvin agreed with Will’s private assessment and smiled but quickly tried to hide his excitement.

“I’ll mark that down as useful in melee since you don’t carry a melee weapon…” Herald said, “Next we’ve got-”

Herald gestured up at Silvia who started pulling various jewels out of her bag and laying them on the counter between them. She quickly sorted them into two piles. One larger than the other.

“These are the ones we think that we know what they do,” Silvia pointed down at the larger pile and shifted over to the smaller one, “and the ones we have no idea what they do. Do you feel like giving us a discount on figuring out what these are?”

Will looked at them and picked up a broach. He turned it around in his hand and activated [Map sight] to see the engraving on the back. And then [Zoom] on top of that. It was obviously done with one of the smaller pens and extremely fine work.

“I’m not sure I can. This one here has some stuff I don’t recognize but I can look through my tome and try to figure it out,” Will said and set it back down.

“If you’re willing to try, it’ll save us some money. We’ll be here a while,” Herald said, “Otherwise we’d have to leave. Go to Fairpoint and pay more than a fair bit of money to have an [Appraiser] or [Enchanter] do it there.”

Will shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay, marking those down as ‘awaiting appraisal’,” Herald said and pulled out the headlamp, “We’ll let you study it, Will. The Gods know it’d be useful if we could buy a few more. Actually, since there’s no market for them here, feel free to study any of it that’s going for sale. For the sake of the Group, try not to sell any recreations until after we’ve sold the original... Now, this. Any claims?”

Will kept his hand down. He didn’t actually have a use for it other than learning its blueprint but he thought about it and wondered if he could piece together something similar already. Still probably better to look at a finished product first. On the bright side with it coming from a dungeon he had no worries about stealing other enchanters' work, unlike the magic lanterns at the general store.

“I’ll take it. You’ve got your staff and Alvin might not be with us forever. He’ll probably die if he sticks around,” Silvia said and Alvin’s jaw dropped, he tried to say something but in the end, he nodded in agreement with only a bit of protest on his face. It was hard to argue against Silvia’s logic, even if she was making fun of him after two people died the day before that were both more experienced than him.

“Ooookay, marked,” Herald said and tossed the headlamp to Silvia though she was almost too busy glaring at him for mocking her to catch it, “I’m going to mark that chest down as ‘awaiting appraisal’ considering Will was looking at it like it was a letter written in Orcish… The clothes are made for humans and I can make them better. You two can argue over those. The silver gets split, and the books we can toss once everyone that wants to read them has... That just leaves what our Group [Rogue] took out of the chest in the nest but hasn’t shown anyone else yet.”

Herald shot her a dirty look and Silvia raised her hands in defense, “I just got back and haven’t even slept. Plus that’s not true. Alvin’s seen some of it.”

Silvia scooped up the various bits of jewelry and decorative trinkets and laid them on the other side of her before pulling out a book? ...The symbols on the front were glowing. Will didn’t even need to use his skills to see the magic emanating from the cover and leaned in a little to get a better look at it. Though it was just a leather bound book with various glowing symbols completely different from the ones in his own book.

“Spellbook. It only has a couple of low level offensive spells and utility spells,” Silvia explained then dug back into her bag, ignoring Herald holding up his hand to inspect the book. Will picked it up and handed it to Alvin who passed it to Herald.

“There is also a silver and gold Cup, Silver and gold Jewelry, a pair of enchanted leather gloves for a human, an enchanted hatchet, arrows for the crossbow, twelve Lesser Mana Crystals, a crystal ball thing, a really nice riding crop, a horn, a wand, a couple ugly hats-” Silvia threw the latter to Herald, Will looked at them. They almost looked like berets, but poofier, “22 silver coins, and a Profession tome.”

“A what?” Herald and Alvin both spoke up at the same time.

“Twenty-two silver coins?” Silvia said faux confused. Will couldn’t help but almost laugh at Herald's face. It wasn’t that funny but his look of shock over finding a profession tome had instantly switched to one of annoyance as his lips tightened and eyebrows cross.

“No. I’m not talking about the silver. You said a Profession Tome,” Herald said.

“Oh, yes. I did. There was a Profession Tome in the chest,” Silvia said cheerfully but her act was somewhat ruined by a yawn. When she was done she kicked her legs back and forth in front of her and looked around everywhere except Herald while humming to herself.

“Silvia Edrickton… What kind of Profession Tome?” Herald said slowly while glaring up at her.

“Oooooookay. I guess I can tell you,” Silvia said and lifted a book out of her bag and held it up, “Is anyone interested in becoming a [Glazier]?”

“A what?” Alvin repeated and Herald sighed. Will wasn’t completely sure either but judging by one halfling’s reaction and the other halfling’s cheesy grin at leading them on for her own amusement, it wasn’t that great.

“It’s a type of [Glassmaker],” Herald informed him. A Tome to teach you how to blow glass? Will wasn’t sure how hard that was or if it was really that special but he guessed it was something. Still, he lucked out with his own find.

“Alvin? You’re probably the only one that might consider changing a profession class. Do you want it?” Herald asked but was already writing on his sheet.

“I like cooking,” Alvin stated.

“Hey, why didn’t you ask me?” Silvia demanded.

“Do you want to give up your profession?” Herald didn’t even move his head to look up at her while he asked, only shifting his head.

“Nope,” Silvia said happily.

“She’s a [Writer],” Alvin whispered to Will with a chuckle but quickly held his hands up when Silvia drew a knife and prepared to throw it.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Don’t say it like that! It’s a respectable profession!” Silvia yelled.

“Please don’t throw that in here,” Will requested but leaned back as far as he dared to make sure he wasn’t in the crossfire. He didn’t think she’d actually throw it though. Silvia huffed and put it away, “I’m actually an excellent [Writer]. Alvin wouldn’t know. The dumb turd is illiterate.”

“I ain’t ill-”

“Shut it, both of you!” herald fired at both of them but Alvin still mumbled about being able to read.

“Fine… We can get back to business. What are you writing?” Silvia asked, “We haven’t discussed anything else yet?”

“I’m marking everything enchanted down as ‘awaiting appraisal’. Including the crystal ball. The tome is to be sold, bolts we’ll sell, unenchanted jewelry we’ll sell, the crop and the horns we’ll sell, and the hats? I’ll see what I can do with them. If I can’t make them worth selling, we burn them. The coins and the Mana crystals we’ll split. Does anyone have any issue with that?” Herald asked. Will thought for a second about that but the only item that stood out was the riding crop… Maybe the horn, but he didn’t know how to play the bugle. It was more of a curiosity but he left it alone, “Now. Silvia. Was there anything else in that chest?”

“Nope,” Silvia said while Herald studied her but he seemed to either believe her or just went with it. To be fair, it was a pretty straightforward answer. So all it would take was a hidden truth coin and he would know.

“Then that’s it. Group meeting adjourned,” Herald stated and started folding up the paper. No one else moved but Will looked around confused. That was an issue? It only took a couple minutes… then again most of the enchanted items were awaiting his appraisal on what they did. Was that where it might get messy or could some of them actually have enchantments worth fighting over?

“What bout expenses and whatnot?” Alvin asked, “Will there gave me an antidote after all.”

Silvia dug into her pouch before Herald could say anything and set an antidote on the counter. Will picked it up and looked at it before setting it back down next to her, “I’ll get it when I go back down into the dungeon but I’ve got a lot of profession class stuff I need to get done.”

He was out after giving one to Alvin and the other to Johnnie but he didn’t consider it a waste and already had one coming from the Hulnit Riders along with a tonic and a half. Plus he was serious, there was no reason to have it collecting dust while he worked from home and if Silvia used it, she’d be alive to get him another one later.

“Now there’s just your fee… What would it cost to have the enchantments appraised? We’ll still have to get a price appraisal but the more information we can provide on that, the better,” Herald said and leaned forward but Will immediately blanked. He thought about the information he’d gotten from his Negotiation Skill but it was worthless. It told him that at the start of a negotiation like that to bid in at around 120-150% of what he wanted based on the amount of prior business with the person and the rarity of the item or service. After he was supposed to ‘let’ them talk him down but he just didn’t know how much work like that usually cost.

“How much are you offering?” Will asked as his only option, “I’ll do a discount obviously.”

“How about 50 for all the enchantments you can identify,” Herald offered. Will wondered if the man was lowballing him… His skill basically told him to if the shoe was on the other foot, so he figured he could at least make a proposal from there.

“Sure, 50. Half paid upfront, no guarantees that I can identify it all but I will try my best. Since I’ll make more if it costs less before they sell… But! I also keep the riding crop, books, and one mana crystal from each of you,” Will countered. He cringed internally after he said it. Part of him immediately thought he had bid too low with the other part of him thinking he’d bid too high…

“Deal,” Herald agreed without hesitation. He’d gone too low… It was a lesson learned and he really needed to figure out what to charge for things. Maybe he’d have to speak with Kate about that, she had more dealings with merchants and shops in Fairpoint. Plus he could give her the riding crop as a gift. He’d thought of her when he saw it. And the books were for himself to read but he’d also have no issue lending them out to the Sheriff, Kate, or Silvia. Though with Silvia’s profession, Teddy might like her.

“I’ll get these locked up,” Will hopped off the counter and started gathering up all the items but looked up when there was another knock on the door. Well the frame, since it was open.

“Good mornin’, William. Is this a bad time?” Kate said and held up a package in her hand while looking at his guests. If she was surprised about the halflings, she didn’t show it much, “I brought those garments for you to study and a few outfits to embroider.”

For some reason Herald perked up at that. Will noticed but figured the man did like embroidery. He ignored it and gave his attention to the newest arrival.

“Ah, no. It’s fine. Kate, this is Herald, Silvia, and Alvin. They’re adventurers I met them in the dungeon yesterday and we grouped up. Everyone this is Kate Landry,” Will made the introductions and Kate did a curtsy, “Her family owns the ranch just downriver from town.”

“A pleasure,” she said and received a collection of greetings in return.

Will walked across the room to her and accepted the package while Kate looked down and giggled. Will followed her eyes down at his wrinkled shirt and socks and realized he was a mess. Even by earth standards and it was common to run around in socks when at home where he was from. But he wasn’t on Earth and he was technically in a business meeting of sorts in his own storefront without shoes on. It was a little embarrassing but he could only shrug it off and try to get back to maintain standards. He was slipping.

“Adventurers? You know I heard about the excitement in the dungeon yesterday. It’s a shame, two dead and that boy that still hasn’t woken up. Course they said you were there,” Kate leaned in and said softly after giving him another once over. She glanced to the side, towards the Group and pulled away, “Oh… I’m sorry if you knew any of them. That was rude of me. I was just trying to tell William I was… I’m glad you’re alright. I think the town’s growing ever more fond of you. It wouldn’t sit well for our new [Artificer] and [Bounty Hunter] to come to harm.”

Will blushed even though it was Miss Kate instead of Kate. He could see where the sentiment was from.

“No, we’ve never seen them before a few days ago,” Herald said and bowed his head slightly, “Regrettably, we didn’t know their names until yesterday after it happened. They sounded like fine people.”

“I imagine… still such a loss. I hope the man at Doc’s office will be alright. Though I heard it was quite the fearsome beast he faced,” Kate said and bowed hers but a moment later looked up a little brighter, “Though I also heard a lot of speculation that there was a wagon full of silver monster parts brought into town this morning. Folks are already talkin’ bout how we need a bank again the day after the adventurers arrived. I’d imagine the Mayor will be hiring someone to clean it out and get it ready soon.”

Kate walked over to the counter and at Will’s offer jumped up to sit. Though something dawned on Will and he turned to look to the other three, “If you’re here. Where’s the scales and skins and all that?”

Alvin and Silvia both pointed towards the mostly windowless wall on one side of the room. Herald shot them a glare for their trouble and ran his hand down his face. Will realized that he’d just asked where their stash was in front of a stranger. He trusted Kate but they’d never met her before.

“We’re claiming the building next door as our own,” Herald informed him after a moment. At first, he sounded slightly annoyed but when he continued he sounded more professional…. More proper… He sounded a little like Kate did when she acted like Miss Kate.

“I had the pleasure to speak with the Doctor yesterday and he told me about the stipulations for claiming a building in town. As it stands, I’m also a very well respected [Tailor] back home and have plenty of practice working with humans,” Herald finished with a slight bow. “So naturally, I decided that it would be best to set up a shop to sell my wares between forays into the dungeon.”

“Really?” Kate asked a little excitedly, “I don’t remember Silverstead ever having a proper [Tailor]. Perhaps before my time. That would be splendid. Is this your own work?”

She gestured to the embroidered silk shirt that he was wearing. It looked similar to the one the day before, with offwhite fabric embroidered with gold and red on the neck and across the shoulders. Will wondered why he’d worn anything that fancy to the dungeon.

“Please excuse the dirt and stains. We’ve been traveling and silk is of course a difficult material to wash correctly on the road. But yes, my outfit and Silvia’s are both my own work,” Herald proclaimed proudly but quickly added, “Also excuse Silvia’s outfit, it was made to her expectations.”

To demonstrate Silvia stood up on the counter and gave a small twirl to highlight her outfit. In a location with better lighting and an extreme lack of poisonous mushrooms and venomous snakes, her skin tight pants showed off her figure and the material a lot better. Will ignored the former but he wasn’t sure if the material was leather or not even getting a better look at it.

“I like pants that fit tight,” Silvia stated and Kate looked over at her while Silvia modeled Herald’s work. She twisted a bit and squatted showing off its flexibility, or her own. Will hoped no one outside saw and thought he had a dancing 5 year old on his counter.

“Oh my… I like them but I’m not sure I could wear something like that. It might cause a few problems in town,” Kate said. Will didn’t need to look down at her ass to know that Kate could pull that off but he knew it wasn’t just causing a commotion that she was worried about, even if she was right. He did briefly wonder what she would look like wearing that. Or anything he’d consider modern clothing. She could probably make a set of fatigues look good.

“Some men look but they don’t cause that many problems,” Silvia countered and looked over Kate at Will. He wasn’t sure what that was about but maybe he’d been looking a little too hard at the halfling’s pants. Whatever it was she didn’t say, so it might have been nothing.

“Well I wouldn’t want Mister Tempest or any of the other menfolk gettin’ hurt,” Kate said and shook her head with a smile, “But Mister... Herald, was it?”

“Yes ma’am. Herald Harcroft.”

“Mister Harcroft, it really is beautiful craftsmanship. I’m quite sure once you’re established you’ll be having my patronage. I may not go for something so… form fitted. But I think I could use a few new things,” Kate said politely, “But I’m afraid I have other business to attend and had only planned on staying a few minutes. I’m meeting my grandmother at the town hall soon to discuss the construction of a new dock downriver. Don’t wish to keep her waitin’.”

“Of course! I look forward to your visit when I get opened. It was a pleasure meeting you,” Herald said.

“And you,” Kate responded, “All of you, I think I’ll likely see you again, sometime.”

Kate glanced at him as she slid down off the counter and her eyes shifted between him and the door before she stepped towards the exit. Will quickly picked up the riding crop and escorted her to the door. He stepped out on the deck outside and held out the crop to her.

“I ah, got this for you. Well, I saw it and thought of you, so I claimed it. It’s from the dungeon,” Will said awkwardly. He hadn’t really had a plan to begin with, but it came out way worse for some reason. Kate took it and looked at it thoughtfully but glanced up and meet his eyes. She pursed her lips but he could see it was a bit more than that.

“Thank you…. Would you wanna go riding later?” She asked quieter while dropping her polite demeanor. Speaking like herself for once. He wished she could just be herself all the time.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Will smiled.

“I’ll come by sometime this afternoon, once granny goes back to the ranch,” she said and ran her hand down his arm before making to walk around him to head up the street. Spinning his back to the door.

“See you later,” Will said.

“And I’ll see you, Mister Tempest,” Kate returned the farewell with a grin. Her eyes flashed behind him for a second and her grin grew before she headed toward the town hall.

Will watched her go as he stepped back inside and was immediately hit by something. He looked down and saw a peach pit roll across his floor. It had been in the air when he turned but he had one guess who threw it and knew he’d be right. It didn’t help that Silvia was eating the de pitted peach.

“What was that for?” Will asked and scooped it up off the floor.

“Two reasons. Firstly, is she always that overly polite? And secondly ‘I ah, ah. Got this for you. Well, I ah-”

“Okay, I get it!” Will said but turned back to her, “How could you hear that?”

“She’s a [Rogue],” Herald explained but Will didn’t know what that had to do with anything, “She has a high perception stat and heightened sensory Skills. Silvia, it’s rude to use them to spy on people like that.”

“That’s half my class is spying on people and monsters,” Silvia rebuked.

Will ran his hand through his hair and sighed. But wasn't that thrown off the invasion of privacy, mainly because they’d been standing on the side of the street. There was no real expectation of privacy.

“So, what now?” Will asked and walked over to the counter to start gathering up the enchanted pieces that needed to be gone over, “I’ve got a few things I need to do this morning… Plus find someone to make copies of the map…” Will realized he probably could have asked Kate about that but he still could during the ride.

“Could introduce me to the Sheriff,” Alvin suggested.

“Sure. Just let me get these locked up and we can head over there,” Will said and looked down at his clothes, “Well, after I get fucking dressed.”

Will paused as he looked down again and stared. Then huffed a laugh before heading in back. He understood a bit why Kate had giggled at his appearance, it wasn’t his clothes, or at least not all of it. He set the stuff down on a desk and went to open the safe, looking down at his left sock again. More specifically his little toe.

It didn’t take him too long to get everything stored and ready to head out. The biggest issue was Silvia and Herald, who’d realized he had a five and a half foot tall steel box in the backroom, their new information courtesy of Silvia snooping. One kept trying to see if she could crack it while the other started pulling the silver coins and bars out to put in the safe with it. Apparently, Herald would have already brought it to a bank if the town had one that was open. Thieves and pickpockets apparently had skills to help determine how much a person was carrying on them and he didn’t want to light up like a bonfire if any came to town and activated their Skills. A quarter of it was Will’s, so he didn’t mind. He didn’t want it stolen either.

After that was a quick trip to the outhouse, shaving, getting dressed, and bitching to himself about how he needed a haircut while running a comb through it. He’d dropped a few choice words in Korean while he did it and got strange looks from Silvia when he came back out. But soon enough Will grabbed his pressure washer and they were headed out to see Silverstead in all its lack of grandeur.

“What’s that for?” Herald asked eyeing the wand in Will’s hand.

“You’ll see soon enough. I’m supposed to inform the Sheriff or one of the deputies before using it in town,” Will said as they made their way up the street. It was a lot busier than normal. It wasn’t hard to see why either. It looked like the adventurers had come to town to either stake a claim on a house or get supplies. Or in one Group’s case, camp outside Doc’s office to await news. Will gave the Hulnit Riders a polite wave when he spotted them across the street.

“There sure are a lotta empty buildin’s here, ain’t there,” Alvin noted as they made their way to the jailhouse. It was a hard thing to miss with the majority of the buildings on Main being abandoned. Will hadn’t paid them too much mind when he first arrived but then again he was busy thinking Spooks were messing with him, running headfirst into a wall, or riding around outside of town.

But there really were a lot of old buildings sitting unused. He looked over at a few of them that still had signage in front unfaded and unchipped enough to read. It was strange to think of the town having more than one general store, a jewelry store, a tailor, two law offices, an apothecary, a mercer… Will guessed that was supposed to be a fabric shop, a few different restaurants and cafes, a large stone building that simply said ‘bank’ over the doors, and even an Enchanter… Will suddenly realized he should have a look inside to see if there was anything worthwhile for him. Well, he’d have to make sure he could first. As it happened the person he probably needed to ask was already his destination.

“Is that…?” Silvia suddenly stopped and a moment later so did Herald. Will followed their eyes and saw them looking at Marigold and two other bakarnas outside of the town hall ahead.

“A bakarna?” Will asked and looked back and forth between them. The halfling’s shared a glance with each other briefly before looking back towards the town hall.

“Yes! Humans ride those?” Silvia sounded shocked, “You know they eat people right?”

Will looked back at Marigold and laughed, “Wait till you see Void.”

“Void?” Herald asked.

“Mine. He’s in the stables right now but we can go see him after,” Will offered but he already knew the answer. It wasn’t him being polite, he’d been made fun of when he first saw the carnivorous mounts and now he was just paying it forward.

“I think I may have to decline,” Herald decided.

“How do you get them to not bite you?” Silvia asked being a bit more curious of the two.

“I’ll show you,” Will said and then looked at Alvin. He had a bit of the same incredulity on his face as the other two and Will wondered where they were from if they knew about bakarna but hadn’t seen them ridden before. He started walking again and stepped into the jail.

Sheriff Teddy was sitting behind his desk like usual, and reading but for once it looked official, sort of. He had his feet up on the desk and a coffee in his hand but instead of a book he had a plain sheet of paper filled with handwritten notes. He glanced up When Will entered and leaned forward to set it on the desk face down.

“Didn’t mean ya had to come by every time you used that there wand. Just tell the folks around ya what you're doin’ before ya start doin’ it,” Teddy said but his eyes shifted to three other bodies that walked in behind will, “Adventurers I’m guessin’?”

“Yup… Sheriff this is Alvin-” Will stopped, he didn’t know the man’s last name and he couldn’t use [Identify] to get it.

“Lankowicz, sir. Alvin Lankowicz,” Alvin finished for Will and extended a hand. When it was clear that Will wasn’t going to introduce the others Teddy took it and shook.

“Sheriff Theodore Holland, most call me Sheriff Teddy. Stopped tryin’ to get them to stop a long time ago,” Teddy said, “What can I do ya for Mister Lanko-”

“Lankowicz… I heard from Will here that you might be lookin’ for a deputy,” Alvin said.

“I am,” Teddy responded shortly which seemed to throw Alvin a little off guard. Both the Sheriff and Alvin shot Will a look, though both had a completely different meaning.

“I’m a [Shooter] and a [Hunter] and [Cook]-”

“You been in trouble with the law?” Teddy asked and Will snorted which probably didn’t help Alvin or his confidence. Teddy gave Will a studious look but turned back to Alvin when the man spoke up to answer.

“I’ve been in jail before. Got into a couple fights at the saloon but I ain’t done anything more than that,” Alvin said and Will had to keep from laughing at the Sheriff’s look. The man had actually rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. He nodded once and sucked his teeth for a moment before nodding again.

“Got anyone to vouch for ya, tell me what kinda man ya are? I’ll know if they’re lyin’,” he asked.

“Ah…”

“Sheriff Holland. [Priest] Herald Harcroft of the Crimson Silk Delvers…”

Herald went on to explain a bit of Alvin’s record since they’ve known him and a little about what they knew of before they’d started traveling together. They hadn’t been together long, so it wasn’t much but Herald gave his recommendation. Which summed up, was that Alvin was a whiny idiot that drank too much and didn’t know how to stand up for himself when picked on… but he knew how to shoot and he did follow orders pretty well, even if he had the tendency to talk too much. It wasn’t a raving review but it was honest.

“…Will, do you mind doing me a favor?” Teddy asked.

“Ah… Sure?”

“Go find Skunk and Jakob and pass him over to them. He should fit right in with ‘em,” Teddy said his request and reached into his drawer and tossed a badge on the desk, “Just tell them he’s the new deputy on probation and not to have too much fun with ‘im. As for you Mister… Alvin, follow ‘em around and do what they tell ya. I’ll talk with ‘em both tonight and if I don’t like what they tell me, I’m takin’ that back. We’ll talk pay in the mornin’.”

“That’s it? I’m a deputy,” Alvin asked incredulously. Which was worthy of the tone, Will had expected a bit more than that too.

“Probationary deputy,” Herald said, “Congratulations and it was a pain to work with you.”

“Now if y’all don’t mind. I’ve got business to tend to,” the Sheriff said and they piled out the door. Will sparing a glance to look at the bounties, “Ain’t nothin’ new… You know where to find ‘em right?”

“Guessing around the saloon and if not there the stables?” Will wasn’t sure about their daily routine.

“Yup, and if they’re not in the stables, check the general store and head back to the saloon,” Teddy said.

“Oh! Got something for ya if you wanna borrow them,” Will remembered the books he’d gotten from the dungeon. The Sheriff didn’t look like he had the time at the moment but it was the fact that Will was already there. He set them down on the desk and Teddy leaned forward and picked one up and smiled.

“The Green Herald… haven’t read this since I was a boy,” he toasted the book to Will and put it in his drawer, “Thank you.”

“No problem. We found some in the dungeon. Let me know if you want to borrow the others. See ya later, Sheriff,” Will gave him a nod and headed out the door.