The battle with the goblins was a brutal and quick affair. Having lasted just under thirty minutes, with most of that time spent hunting down and clearing out the remaining goblins that hid within the cave. By the end of the battle, Leonce and Loup were exhausted, both no longer caring about the smell or scent of anything that had once brought Leonce to the point of vomiting. So thoroughly were they beyond caring that they sat near the piled corpses of the goblins while the Iron Shield adventurers finished their search for the remaining goblins and to see if there were any captives. With a bitter sigh, the leader emerged from a crude cage, carrying with him the remains of what was once another adventurer. All there was now were bones.

“This is why you don't show these fuckers any mercy,” The leader growled, hate clear in his tone as he spat on the lifeless body of the hobgoblin.

Leonce watched the display but chose not to say anything, thinking it better to remain silent. Given what the man likely saw, he could understand the disdain for the demonic creatures.

“That it?” Loup asked, breaking the brief moment of silence that followed.

The man shrugged, “For the moment. Chances are a few of the damnable creatures managed to escape in the chaos, so you can be sure there’ll be another job in the near future.”

Loup sighed, believing they were likely going to be stuck in Oakenhart longer than they intended. Meanwhile, Leonce was pretty calm; he wagered the opposite. He hoped their efforts this day would earn the approval necessary to escape their hometown and head out for an actual adventure… and avoid the awkward discussion they’d likely have with their parents and sister should they go home defeated.

“So, what now, then?” Leonce asked.

The leader paused a moment to think. Looking at the discarded harness in his gloved hand, he frowned.

“Well, for now, I’d say the mission is complete. There’s no chance we’ll be able to find any stragglers as it is. They’d be careful in their escape. They’d have made sure to cover their tracks… despite their low intelligence, they still have enough to cover their tracks,” He answered.

Leonce nodded, a bit relieved – all things considered. Meanwhile, Loup began to busy himself with counting the remaining rounds he had for his musket. It didn’t take long to count how many charges and balls he had left. After a slight nod, showing he was satisfied with the ammo count, he stowed his ammo back into its leather pouch and turned to his brother.

“We leaving then?” Loup asked.

Leonce nodded, a bit unsure, “I suppose we are~ Though, to be fair, I’d be surprised if anything was still alive as the big man suggests there to be.”

Loup shrugged; he didn’t have an answer to such a question. He only knew how many goblins he killed in the battle, not them. He didn’t bother to count the dead that littered the floor mere moments before. Léonce turned away, knowing he wouldn’t get anything more from his younger brother, and instead focused on the beauty that was the cloaked woman. He still couldn’t get her out of his head, not after seeing her for the first time. All he’d actually seen of her was a brief look, everything else was obscured by the strange shadow cast by the hood. He figured it was some magic but didn’t bother to look too far into it.

Shaking his head, he had to pull himself back to the here and now, turning to face his younger brother, who was already up and moving towards the exit, musket slung over his shoulder.

“Woah! Don’t just leave me like that, Loup!” Leonce called out, quickly rushing to follow Loup.

But just as he caught up, he peered over his shoulder one last time. They caught each other in that moment, both quickly looking away. Loup saw it and looked confused but stowed it for later. For now, the main focus was getting out of this hellhole and getting some much-needed fresh air as the scent of shit and blood began to play foul with his stomach.

As the group emerged from the mouth of the cave, with the last two of the Iron Shield carrying with them a small horde of goods from within, both brothers took a moment to breathe some much-needed fresh air. It was like a blessing. As though they’d never truly appreciated the scent of the forest until now. Leonce acted more dramatically as he gestured his hands as though wafting the fresh air into his nose and out his mouth, purging the foul air from the goblin den. Loup, meanwhile, took slow, even breaths, steadying himself. He wasn’t like his older brother in how he liked to make a show of certain things, but he understood why he did it. It was better that way. It kept people thinking.

“Alright! Enough lollygagging, and let's move out!” The big man barked, waving for the group to move forward.

Some of the members let out groans of annoyance, and a few grumbled about how they wished to have a few minutes of rest, but it seemed their fearless leader wasn’t having it. Both Leonce and Loup were just happy to get as far away as possible from the den, and get their reward so they could be on their very merry way. But, just as the group began to move out, the cloaked woman came to walk beside the two brothers this time. Her jealousy and ire seemingly gone now, when not long before the battle she was shooting them glares and stares of hostility.

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“You know… I wasn’t sure about you two. But after what I witnessed in the cave, I think you’ll both do alright out there. Just – try not to be all melodramatic about killing some goblins, yeah?” She smiled.

Leonce blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed while Loup just raised a brow and gave her a confused look.

“Huh?” Loup grunted.

The woman shrugged with a smile, “Nothing!”

She left the two brothers in an awkward silence for a bit, as Leonce tried to cool his head, while Loup tried to figure out what the hell just happened. Regardless of the odd display, to both brothers, it seemed they proved themselves and their skills to the Iron Shield, which they hoped would translate to a passing grade from the Guild Clerk Vanessa.

“By the way, I don’t think we got your name yet?” Loup suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

The cloaked woman nodded, “True, but you didn’t need to know it… till now,” She answered with a smile.

Leonce looked away as though trying to find something in the nearby woods while the cloaked woman looked at him, then back to Loup, “Aelizabeth. My name’s Aelizabeth,” she said finally.

“Aelizabeth, that sounds like the Princess’ name?” Leonce asked, his interest finally breaking him free from his embarrassment.

Aelizabeth nodded, “That was the intent, yes,” She started, noting how quickly the blond’s face flushed, “My parents were hoping that if I shared a name with the one set to inherit the throne, I’d get the same luck as she… and, as you can clearly see – it didn’t work,” She smiled.

Leonce chuckled while Loup just smirked, shaking his head. The two brothers could understand that a bit. Their own names were chosen based on something similar. Leonce was named to be like a Lion, while Loup was named after the wolves that stalked the woods in packs. Their names did fit them when one looked at their personalities and appearances, but others would often think such to be silly and ignore such naming sense, seeing it as more comedic given how both brothers were L and L.

“Well, I don’t know about luck or not, but, at least you have more freedom than she does. She was forced to live a life she likely cared little for~” Leonce said.

Loup shrugged, “Or she liked it.”

Aelizabeth didn’t answer; rather she peered down at the ground as they walked in silence for a moment longer than anticipated, before finally looking up and saying, “I suppose you’re correct… both of you. My guess is she likes some parts but hates others.”

Leonce twitched his features in a show of agreement, “True. There would be quite a few perks associated with being a royal – but just as many negatives.”

At that, Aelizabeth agreed wholeheartedly, “Exactly!”

Loup looked off a moment, “Weird…”

“What’s weird?” Aelizabeth asked before Leonce could.

He paused momentarily, unslinging his musket as he did, “I thought I heard some branches snap…”

Leonce looked puzzled for a moment but didn’t question his younger brother’s wariness. If he was feeling off about something, that meant it was better to air on the side of caution. Carefully, Leonce drew his blade, while Aelizabeth looked a little perplexed but raised her wand, holding it at the ready. A simple knarled thing, it gave her all the power she needed, and with the three of them prepared, it seemed like the would-be ambushers took this chance to dart away, leaving Loup to frown.

“They ran off.”

“Oh? I take it beasts were trailing us? Maybe the goblins? Bloody green buggers sure were persistent back in the cave, so I wouldn’t be surprised,” Leonce said.

Loup shook his head, “Mmm… no,” He shook his head, “This was something else. Likely another group of adventurers coming out here for the same job?”

Aelizabeth shrugged, “Shouldn't be. Once a party accepts the job, the request is taken down – unless, of course, there was a request for more than one party.”

Loup’s frown deepened briefly before it faded, and he returned to his neutral expression, “Well, they’re gone.”

The three lowered their guard, with Loup slinging his rifle after making sure it was safe to do so. Meanwhile, Leonce and Aelizabeth were able to effectively sheathe their weapons in quick order. Once all was away, the trio made to catch up with the rest of the group. The rest of the walk towards town was uneventful, with Leonce a little surprised by such, given his brother’s earlier worries. It was odd to him, especially after the battle in the cave. Switching off that aggression and adrenaline came with some extreme fatigue that he was sure only he was really feeling, given the state the others were in. He wasn’t sure if it was due to Loup’s prior experience as a hunter or because of his relaxed demeanour. Either way… he was jealous. However, he wouldn’t voice such things.

As they entered the Guildhall once again, Leonce quickly found a place to sit down and rest, leaving his younger brother and the rest of the party to go make the report. Vanessa seemed to be a little shocked to see the group return, as she expected the whole journey to be… well… a journey. Evidently, she had miscalculated again, and seeing that the two brothers were once again back with a completed request, she found herself with yet another defeat. She knew now that there was nothing she could do or say that might dissuade the two young men from continuing with the adventurous lifestyle. At first, she thought they might get poor grades from the leader of the Iron Shield, but as he detailed their actions and their deeds and highlighted how many goblins each brother had killed, Vanessa finally let out a defeated sigh.

“Well~ it seems you’ve passed every test we had for you two – and with flying colours no less, which leaves me with no other option than to reward you both with the rank of Cooper ranked adventurers!” She announced, handing both Leonce and Loup each a small necklace displaying the colour of their rank.

Both smiled, feeling a moment of excitement well up within them as they draped the necklaces around their necks with pride. It was one small step towards the life and freedom they dreamed of.