Jackson had left on his journey a few towns away, and on that night reached the village. It was smaller than border town, protected by a wooden wall. Sentries walked along the top, keeping an eye out for what Jackson guest was the bandits. He signaled them by lighting a small fire and waving in a friendly manner. This was something he regretted a moment later when the guards open fire on him.

“This is going to be the entire job isn’t it.”

Jackson complained as he put a shield up to stop the arrows.

While Jackson tried to convince the guards he wasn’t a threat, and just wanted to take the job to get rid of said threat, Gypsy and Barbara had a stranger problem. Kevin and Franklin returned to the Madame’s shop to ‘Investigate’ more into the guards. Gypsy had warned the girls to be tight lipped, but they weren’t all on good terms. For now, the two heroes were seated in the corner drinking while a few girls picked their pockets dry.

“Did I tell you about the time I defeated a dragon single handed?”

Franklin said, smiling at one of the girls on his arms. He had clearly drunk too much and was rocking back and forth were he sat. Barbara, who was known for being clueless, couldn’t help but mimic Jackson as she buried her face deep into her palm. Gypsy, who was happy that her friend was mute, order a fifth round for herself.

“Man, that was only a drake! I tell you thought, there was ten of them. I had to fend off the other nine while we waited for backup, which never came.”

“Oh my, how ever did you survive?”

“Pure grit, that’s how!”

“Those are our heroes?”

Gypsy wasn’t impressed. However, she knew better than most not to take them lightly. She had seen Jackson in action, and he was a cripple. What he must have been like when he fought the Berserker the first time was mind numbing to her.

“There you two are!”

“It’s our fearless leader, how’s it going man?”

“How’s it going? I don’t know, have you learned anything?”

“Nope.”

“They don’t know anything.”

“So, they know nothing about the guy who protected them in their travels? Sure. I guess I was born yesterday.”

“Hey man, we’ll keep digging here.”

“Why don’t you join us?”

Joseph wasn’t impressed by his comrades. Of course, they had a point, he would have an easier time gathering information if he asked them directly. The town’s people all said he was an adventure with a lot of scars, based on the amount of healing potion he bought. Most guessed he had a limp, as he seemed to hobble around as he bought stuff. They also said he had two different colored eyes, a green and a gold one. That was all Joseph got from his attempts, so he was running out of ideas. Joseph moved a small stool over to him, and sat on it, slightly glaring at the other two.

“What you have dear?”

“Water, just water.”

“Does it look like we have water?”

The Madame herself had moved to take his order but couldn’t stop her attitude from leaking out. She signaled to the bartender to get him something light. Joseph was not a drinker, being under age. Even when his father offered him a sip, he refused thinking that alcohol only led to problems and would somehow deface him. So, when he was handed his drink, he didn’t know what to do. He studied the honey colored liquid in his hands for a long while, during which time the other two spoke of their adventures, most of which were exasperated or bent to make them look better. The only real truth was that the heroes had taken some low-ranking job from the guild, and had some close calls early on but nothing to the extent they told.

“Honey, you’re supposed to drink that.”

“Shit!”

Gypsy could only watch as the one person she hated more than anyone took a seat on Joseph’s lap. Golden locks, and amazing bright sky-blue eyes. She had that mysterious charm to her, making up for her more modest body. She usually kept to herself, but how could she ignore the great hero of the land. She went by the name Lilim. Lilim brought the drink up to Joseph’s mouth and helped him drink it. This ended in him couching, almost spitting it back up, being his first drink.

“Easy, you’ll get used to it.”

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“Sure.”

“Try it again.”

The second time he managed to get it down, but his face showed only disgusted. Lilim took the drink and downed it with easy. To her, and most people in the room, that was like water.

“Something sweeter than?”

The other two heroes were giggling at Joseph, not mentioning they only had a slightly harder drink then him.

“Barbara do you do assassinations?”

Barbara just looked at Gypsy wide eyed. She knew something like that was dangerous, but in her slight drunken stupor it felt like an amazing idea. Barbara, who remembered being told to be careful by Jackson, simply shook her head.

“Tell me, is this better?”

Lilim once more made Joseph drink, and this time he seemed to enjoy the drink. It was a lot heavier than what he’d just drunk, but the taste was hidden by fruits and berries. Everyone with a know how knew he’d collapse by the end of his third drink, if he made it that far. Lilim gave him a sweet smile, then took a sip of his drink. Her cheeks turned red on a perfect cue.

“Want to try a little more?”

“Sure?”

Joseph who never noticed women before, but now had one of the most alluring women he ever met catering to him. He was just a boy, and he had pure and innocent heart. He was the type that was happy to tell anyone who’d listen how he’d save himself for that special person. He was naïve, and at that moment completely outwitted. Lilim took another sip, then brought herself close to Joseph. She placed her lips gently on his, forcing the drink from her mouth into his. The drink was gone, yet she continued to kiss him deeply. This earned him cheers from the other two heroes, who would undoubtedly tell everyone the moment they had a chance.

“How was that?”

Joseph was completely red in the face and didn’t know how to respond.

“Shouldn’t you be gathering information boss?”

“I think he already is.”

Franklin teased, giving him a wide smile while Kevin smiled brightly. This brought some sense back to the hero.

“I-I-I be-been try-trying to gather in-information on your guard. Do-do you know anything?”

“That new boy? The one with all the scars?”

“Yeah! Do you know anything about him, like where I can find him?”

“Find him, he left this morning. Little Scarlet was so worried, she looked like she’d cry. She told me about him, how he fought that big bad Berserker and won. She also told me how he’s missing… Thanks for that!”

Whatever Lilim was going to say, she completely forgot as Barbara spilt a good two pints of ale over her and the hero. The pints were originally meant for Gypsy, as she couldn’t walk anymore. Gypsy at this point was on the floor laughing like a mad man. She couldn’t breathe, and several people moved to assist her. The other two heroes were also laughing, choking on their drink.

“Let me introduce you to his companion. Don’t try to question her thought, it’s a complete waste of time.”

“What? Why?”

Barbara moved her head to the side, then went to get a refill on her two pints.

“She clueless and mute, bad combination. Come on, let’s get change. I think we have a fresh set of cloths upstairs.”

Lilim started to lead Joseph to the second floor, trying hard not to kill the new guard and her enemy. Joseph noticed Barbara’s ripped up dark green stained shirt. He only got a glance at it, but it didn’t look like it belonged on her. However, he couldn’t examine it any further as he was led away. Lilim brought Joseph to a room and closed the door. Joseph, who was still distracted by the shirt, failed to hear it lock.

“Go ahead and take those off, I’ll get the change of clothes.”

“Yeah.”

Joseph’s innocence betrayed him that night. Before he knew it, Lilim had sat him on the bed and removed her tight-fitting dress. Her enchanting smile had won him over, and steadily she laid him back. Joseph gulped as he let go of his senses and pride. And, so began his meaningless night.

Jackson’s night hadn’t improved much. He had met the town’s elder after stopping the town people from killing him. He was an old man, with a bright smile. His hair was gone, and his back was bad. He seemed to carry several scars; Jackson guested from his youths as most tried to be adventures. He was dressed in a simple blue robe, the color of nobility, but the alcohol smell told a different story. The elder led the way in the dark, and through the forest. Now, they rested on a hill overlooking the camp. On this little trek, Jackson had to fight several powerful monsters ranging from a bear to a cat with tentacles that seemed to be impossible to hit. The air was cold, and a storm was brewing. At this point, Jackson planned to finish the job in an instance.

“Is there anyone in that camp you care about?”

“No, they don’t take hostages. I don’t think they take prisoners either. Even if they did, I feel their better off dead.”

“Good. Then there’s no problem. Before I end this, is there anything you want to tell me?”

“No, why?”

“I see something. I don’t know, like a massive concentration of magic.”

“I have no idea. What are you going to do?”

“Just watch.”

Jackson snapped his fingers, and the entire camp exploded. It was magnificent to see. Flames moved in a mushroom cloud as they consumed the entire area. The elder seemed impressed by the show and smiled brightly. It was then something clicked in Jackson mind.

“Why did you say prisoners were better off dead?”

“Well um… um… excellent job…”

“No, no, don’t give me that! Remember that magic I brought up; I can see it moving. What did they have? What didn’t you tell me?”

“Um… maybe you should have investigated a little more… um…”

“You lied about the details didn’t you to make this a low-level job. You hoped to simply get some guards, not wipe them out, didn’t you!”

“Don’t be mad. What choice did we have, what else could we do? If we told the truth, no one would be brave enough to help us.”

“I want a raise! Like, at least triple when this is over.”

“Sure, if you survive. I noticed; you only have one arm! You didn’t tell me about that.”

“My missing an arm, and that are two very different things. You better have some gold when I get back to town, or I’ll level it like I did the bandit’s camp.”

“Threatening an old man! How beastly!”

“No, no, no, no you don’t get to turn this on me. I got to fight that; you get my gold while I… try not to die.”

The elder limped away, cursing Jackson under his breath. Jackson took a breath and paced back and forth. He had about a minute to prepare mentally. He took one of the healing potions he’d brought with him and chugged it. He readied his dagger and looked to his next opponent. Its black wings were a flame and covered the nights sky. Its massive, scaly head was looking directly at him while it clicked it raptor like claws. It was a garnet color, with smoke rising from it. What Jackson was staring down was a full-grown dragon, and it was not happy with him.