The week trails on, and so does the next. It’s quite impressive how much you can advance in just a few days. The training is intense, no doubt about that, but it’s still amazing how much physical training improved my sword work. I learned about posture and leg work, and about peripheral vision and proper techniques, we also had some basic training for other weapons too. Darsh finds me as a regular training partner, he’s enthusiastic about fighting everyday, he’s big and strong but I think his deranged determination is the scariest thing about him.

Grey on the other hand normally spars with Delvin, they actually spend plenty of time together beyond physical training, they are both talented at magic and they talk about other more mundane things too. To be honest I feel a bit shoved aside, I know that’s not the case, they invite me to plenty of things, but it really does seem that they became two very close friends and what it means for me is...

Well, aside from that I often spend my time in the library. I find some obscure references to this ‘Adversary’ that everyone is speaking of. The library normally doesn’t hold books about the gods unless it's in relation to monsters or supplies, and when it comes to the adversary even less so. There’s one book that I’m looking through right now, although the language is a bit hard to understand, it’s in dwarvish so I need a book that teaches the dwarf alphabet as well as a dictionary, it’s a hassle to read but it’s the most extensive explanation I found yet.

“Hey, Fren, are you busy?” Grey found me in the library, I thought he was out practicing “Delvin and I are going out to eat at this new place, would you like to come too?”

“Again with the books? You really like reading, don’t you? And three books at the same time! What a scholar.” Delvin joins right behind him with a joke I Grey would enter with. “What are these? Are you studying for the play-dungeon? That’s two weeks from now.”

In two weeks we’re supposed to go on a curated mission for juniors. We don’t know what we’ll face yet, or even where it will be. I’ve been using that as an excuse to read some books about the world and understand more about my surroundings, or myself.

“Leave it to Fren, he’s great with books, he could tell from a document abou-” Fren says but is interrupted by Delvin.

“I know, he found out where the ghost’s body was, I heard the story.”

Grey told that story at least a dozen times, that was the first adventure he ever had after all.

“Right, I just love that story.” Grey says with a wide smile on his face. “Anyway, Fren, come join us, a new place opened up next to the southern gate and it smells sooo goood. You can’t read your hunger away, these leathery books might seem delicious but don’t judge them by their cover. ”

“He’s just too diligent, Grey, you can leave him if he’s busy.” Delvin says. I don’t want to be left out… Is it just my jealousy?

“Alright!” I close the books and stack them at the return book shelf. “I’m coming, I’m coming, you don’t have to be so mean about it.”

“Great!” Grey’s smile grows even wider. “Albi is in the training yard I think, I saw her training with Fredrik a while ago. Is Darsh here? I didn’t see him today, and he’s a hard one to miss.” He turns to Delvin with the question.

“Darsh is busy today, he has some noble thing that nobles do. I don’t really get it.” Delvin makes an uninterested face, it feels ingenuine though. Maybe he thinks Darsh is just making excuses not to come, but I can’t see him making an excuse to avoid eating and fighting..

“Alright, so it’s just the four of us. Oh, by the way, bring your gear, there’s supposed to be a discount for adventurers and hunters.”

Gear is the term we use for weapons and armor, and other preparations for a quest. We learned it in class. Hunters put a lot of thought into everything, from what weapon to bring and what armor to wear, to magical trinkets and potions or poisons and even crafting materials for making things on the way. Everything you can use to capitalize on the monster’s weaknesses really, and things to make sure you can avoid its strengths. I can understand what Rodrick tried to teach me before, about making a plan, I’m ashamed to say but I have yet to implement what he taught me, but I will make this right, next week we’re supposed to learn the place we’ll be tested at and what we will face, I will be prepared.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“This line will take forever!” It looks like when we arrive at the new place we did it a bit too late, there are a bunch of people and we’ll have to wait half an hour just to sit down. The hostess saw were adventurers but couldn’t do anything but smile awkwardly and tell us to wait.

It’s a large restaurant with many filled tables and chairs extending to the street, the kitchen is loaded with cooks and the traffic of the waiters alone makes maneuvering around the tables a maze. It's almost beautiful to see so many people each in his own world making up the entire crowd. To be honest it’s a lot less beautiful viewing it from the waiting line.

“What do they even sell here?” Delvin asks Grey “Is it worth it?”

“I don’t remember the name, it’s some kind of elf food.”

They rant a bit about the wait, there isn’t much we can do about it though, they’ll just have to wait. Albi and I are rather quiet, I admit I have been lost in thought about the books I read but I don’t know what she’s thinking about. She’s always quiet and follows Delvin wherever he asks, sometimes it looks like she isn’t alive for any reason but to follow his lead.

“Hey, look at those adventurers! Are they coming to eat here?” I hear in the background, and a few other voices with similar notions. Are they talking about us? We do look like adventurers, sort of. I’m wearing the leather armor and my sword on my hip. I even brought my shield for some reason, it’s mistaken for a pot lid often, we were only supposed to take gear for appearance so it’s not serving any purpose now.

Albi is wearing gambison and some cool looking shoulder pieces she’s probably going to take off once we sit down. Grey has a chain shirt over his normal shirt and he also took a shield he’s probably regretting carrying all the way from the storage shed. Delvin is the only one who came in robes and brought a wand that’s only for show.

I look around but the people who asked about the adventurers are not looking at us, they’re looking at the gate from which a couple of adventurers come from, and they look like real adventurers, they have some metal pieces for armor and both carry a sword and a shield. They both have short brown hair and hunting boots, from head to toe they look like skilled adventurers. One of them is a bit taller and the other one is… looking at me odd.

“Jade! Paio! You’re back! How did your quest go?” One of the people around greets them.

Jade… I remember that Luxios said he had something to tell me about the adversary… should I go ask them? I think… they’re coming to ask me instead. Jade won’t take his eyes off me.

“Do you know them, Fren?” Grey asks.

“Don’t you know them, Grey? They’re from your guild.” Asks Grey before I answer no… although, Jade looks a bit familiar, but from where?

“Dan?!” Jade asks after getting close enough to me. Dan?! Did he say Dan? Does that mean? “It is, you, right? What are you doing here?”

“Jade! Long time no see…” I try to play along.

“Fren, why is he calling you Dan?” Grey looks confused, so does Delvin.

“Oh, he must have forgotten my name, it’s not a big deal, I didn’t see him in a long time after all.” I didn’t see him at all, it’s Dan he didn’t see. He must have recognized his face I’m using and… this is a mess. If somehow it’ll be known I’m an outsider it’ll be all over for me, in every aspect, my mission, my life, my friends…

“You’ve known him before? Does that mean…?” Grey is on the right track, I need to think fast.

“Yes, from Duhndale. Umm… I have some catching up to do with him and something to ask him too. Is it alright if I go?” My heart is beating fast… I hope no one notices me panicking. I need to at least tell him what happened to Dan and Dali so that it won’t raise suspicion.”

“Well, we ordered a table for four, I don’t know how easily they can change that.” Grey makes a pouting face, I didn’t mean to ditch them but this is really important, and it’s important that they won’t hear it. I look Jade in the eye in a panicky way, I hope he understands.

“I’m sorry, I have to steal him from you for a bit, this is important.” Wow, thank you, Jade, that’s a small weight off my chest.

“What about the table?” Delvin asks and is met with an arm coiling around his and Grey’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you.” The adventurer that traveled with Jade takes my place. “Oolala, smells good! I can’t wait to eat.” I think he’s doing it for an ulterior motive rather than to help me. Either way Jade and I make our way to the guildhouse, I think I saw Grey frowning a bit. I hope he’ll forgive me for this.