You leave the 370 gold at the guild, leaving you with the 78 gold you had from before and an extra 20. The other hunters would probably be expecting you at the inn — so you decide to keep your appointment.

You head to Trent’s place to take back your newly-bought clothes and return the metal shield as well as the damaged leather cuirass. Part of the chest piece is scorched, but it is still otherwise usable.

Trent waves you off, reminding you once again to get him a new axe.

A few minutes of walking takes you to your temporary home in Thomas’ place.

You make your way to your small room and drop most of your things. You notice the bluish chunk of metal that you retrieved from Bjorn’s house.

“I’ll tell Trent tomorrow,” you decide, knowing the old man would probably let your small transgression pass — it was unintentional anyway.

You take a quick bath and promptly wear your new clothes.

You leave your bow and quiver of arrows in the room — taking only a borrowed dagger as you leave the house and make your way to the Hungry Cat.

The inn seems more boisterous when you finally arrive. More people are coming in and out and you can hear the sounds of merriment and conversation inside.

You immediately spot Thomas, Dune, and Bruce sitting around a rather large table — food already in front of them.

You give them a wave before approaching the table.

“He’s here at last!” cries Thomas, “the latest addition to the Tamed Wolves!”

“Tamed Wolves?” you ask as you grab a chair and sit.

“It used to be just Wolves when Eomer and Trent were younger,” Dune answers. “There were four of them but two moved away to the cities.”

“The two old-timers were tied-down to their wives,” Interrupts Bruce, “and that’s where the tame part comes in.”

The three laugh and you join in.

Thomas stands up and waves at Alice.

“The usual for our friend here,” He manages to shout over the din, “and another round of ale!”

The three share stories of their exploits and misadventures — giving you a clearer picture of their motivations and personality.

Thomas has an earl for an uncle. Aside from hunting and guard duty during times of trouble, he also serves as an archery teacher for a few noble children — which explains his big house and lavish lifestyle.

Dune started out as a mage apprentice — but quickly lost patience and chose to just be an ordinary hunter. He still has a couple of spells, one of them giving him the ability to bond with his hawk.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

You have an idea that Dune is probably hiding his magical talent — but you can’t discern his motivation at the moment.

Bruce was a bastard of one of the previous members of the Wolves. Trent gave him a bit of training and looked out for him most of his life — which explains his skill at weaponry and almost careless bravado.

You share a few stories about your made-up hunting life which the hunters readily accept as truth. With a few ales in them, they seem to be in no mood to pry.

Your food arrives amidst the conversation — two large slabs of meat with a generous serving of vegetables and a large piece of dry bread.

Four mugs of ale soon follow, to the delight of your already inebriated companions.

Thomas starts telling one of his stories.

“Once we were tasked with guarding a caravan,” he starts. “The owner and his precious daughter rode in a closed carriage in the middle of the convoy.”

“The old veterans held to the front and rear of the caravan — while the three of us guarded the middle.”

“On horseback?” you ask.

“No just walking,” he answers. “The roads to the nearest city aren’t even paved so it was a long 4-day journey.”

“A fast horse can probably make it in a day,” interrupts Bruce. “I could make it in a day — if I started early,” he boasts.

“I’m sure you would,” says Thomas, a little irritated by the interruption, “if you can force yourself to get up early, that is.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be staying in bed ‘til noon for most of this week,” he finishes.

The three of them laugh and you can’t help but smile. Indeed, when you met with the hunters — Bruce was fast asleep.

“It takes a lot of sleep to maintain this physique,” he says while flexing his muscles.

“Going back to the caravan,” Thomas says with a slightly raised voice, forcing Bruce to quiet down.

“Halfway through the journey, we saw winged figures approaching from a distance,” he continues the story. “Three dragons were heading towards the caravan.”

“Wyverns,” corrects Dune.

“Small dragons,” Thomas continues, unmindful of the correction.

Thomas’ story piques the interest of the nearby patrons — some of them falling silent to listen to the story. Any story with dragons, even made-up ones, was bound to be interesting.

“Dune’s brave hawk companion flew into the sky,” he says, gesturing upwards as if seeing the soaring hawk, “straight back to town — leaving us alone to fend for ourselves.”

A few of the listening patrons snicker, probably the ones familiar with Dune and his hawk.

“We ready our bows to meet the foul creatures and I see Bruce lingering near the merchant’s wagon proclaiming he would protect the merchant and his daughter.”

Bruce merely shakes his head and downs an ale as Dune clasps his shoulders in a seeming show of support.

“The dragons charge at us, mouths dripping with fire,” he says with a soft controlled voice.

“We shoot the beasties with arrows, mine hitting one in the eye,” his voice growing louder.

“How did you know it was your arrow?” asks one of the listening patrons.

Thomas seems to clear his throat and continues, “mine hitting one in the eye,” he stresses.

The audience laughs and you feel the close camaraderie Thomas has with the inn’s regulars.

“One dragon…”

“Wyvern,” Dune once again interrupts, garnering a few snickers

“One dragon sweeps down to breath fire,” Thomas glares at Dune as he continues his story, adding vivid gestures to describe the dragon’s fright.

“Eomer throws his spear — piercing the wyvern’s body…”

“The dragon’s!” the audience roars.

“Piercing the dragon’s body and crashing it the ground,” Thomas finishes to the cheers of the audience.

“What of the third wyv — cough — dragon?” asks one of the listeners.

“That’s one of the best parts of the story,” answers Thomas. “The third dragon charges at the merchant’s carriage — putting him and his daughter at risk!”

“Trent charges from the rear of the caravan — but the dragon was simply too close…” he says pausing to add drama.

“Bruce, seeing the charging dragon, rushes to the roof of the carriage and meets the monstrosity with his spear.”

The room falls silent except for a few isolated conversations — Thomas clearly had his audience in thrall.

“The dragon’s charge blasts Bruce to the ground, even destroying part of the carriage’s roof — but his brave strike pierces the dragon’s shoulder, forcing the injured dragon to fly away in defeat.”

“What of the merchant and his daughter?” asks a rapt listener.

“They were safe and extremely grateful to Bruce,” answers Thomas.

“A happy ending then,” says one of the patrons.