“Think of the levels!”
Porkchop let out a low groan of defeat, and slumped lower to the floor. “Fine, but you’re cleaning the ichor out of my fur.” he mumbled.
Ianmus cleared his throat, drawing both of their attention. “I am most concerned about the levels. This is… a significant threat, are you sure you can do this? I have seen you in action myself, but seriously, this is a lot.”
Kaius nodded. He was confident. No doubt it would be tough, and he and Porkchop would probably get a nasty bite or three, but when hadn’t that happened?
“I am, both Porkchop and myself have gained significant strength with our second class skills. It will be tough, but this is also our best bet to grow fast. I know how foolhardy punching upwards is for most, but trust me, we will be wasting our capabilities if we do not.” he said seriously.
Ianmus sighed, resting his forehead on his hands.
“I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing to this.” he muttered to himself. The half-elf pushed his hair back and sat up. “Fine, but try not to lose a limb? There's only two healers in this city who can regenerate—at least from what I can remember—and I doubt any of us have the coin to skip the wait list.”
Fizzing exhilaration flooded his chest, his blood warming at the thought of their upcoming battle. A day or two more and they could be off. Deadacre was nice and all, and he loved the Dusty Stables, but he longed for the freedom of the wilds once more.
“Great! I’ll get us registered, and then we can head over to where me and Porkchop are staying to do some planning in a more private space.” Kaius said, standing up from his chair. “If you don't have an inn already, I’d heavily recommend it. A little expensive, but I'm not sure how much of the silver a night is because of this lug.”
Slapping his hand heavily on Porkchop’s head, Kaius deftly wove around his brother's playful nip to scratch him behind the ears.
Ianmus agreed quickly. The inn was apparently still within what he could afford, and he was of the opinion that staying across town would do little but hamper their preparations for their upcoming excursion.
Excusing himself from the table, Kaius approached the front counter, which thankfully was blessedly free of a line by the time he arrived. It seemed early afternoon was something of a slow period. Too late for the driven and organised, and too early for the lackadaisical.
Spotting him approaching, Ro waved off a young attendant that Kaius had yet to see before. The man was moderately strapped, and seemed to have unfortunately chosen clothes a size too small. He gave Kaius a polite, if awkward, smile as he left, making room for Ro.
“You’re lucky you found that one.” Ro opened with, nodding towards Ianmus. “Solar mage, half-elf, and a spire elite. Down right fortuitous.”
Kaius readily agreed with her. “It’s certainly convenient, that’s for sure. Either way, I want to take this job.”
He slid the mission slip across the counter. Ro read it in a glance, frowning at it.
“You're sure?” she asked sternly, though she didn’t push him to pick another. “You’re not overextending yourself?”
“No. As a team composition we counter it pretty handedly, and I have a solid handle on mine and Porkchop’s limits.” he said with a shake of his head.
Ro sighed, rubbing her forehead for a few seconds. “Fine. But if you die, I'll resurrect you myself just to kill you again.” she answered finally, eyes boring into his own with fierce intensity.
She thrust out her hand imperiously, gesturing for him to pass something over.
“Your medallion, greenhorn.” she said with a roll of her eyes when he stared quizzically at the offered limb.
Heat flushed his cheeks at the faux pas, the burn deepening further when Ro gave him a wide grin at his expression. Passing over his medallion, Ro used it to record his selected mission on some sort of stone block that sat just to the left of her desk. Covered in script, it was so far beyond his depths of runic knowledge he couldn’t even identify the individual arrays that made it work.
A second later she returned, passing both slip and medallion back to him.
“All done, your medallion will record the kill. go get ‘em, greenhorn.” she said, before turning to whistle at the poorly dressed attendant at the rear of the building, jutting her thumb back at the desk as she walked off.
Kaius shrugged to himself and returned to his team. At this point he had given up on trying to explain Ro’s antics, the woman was eccentric in the extreme.
Stopping at their table, Kaius collected Porkchop and Ianmus and they filed their way out of the Guild. Now all they had to do was plan their route, collect the supplies they needed, and strategise.
Idly, as they walked the short distance to the Dusty Stables, Kaius wondered what grilled spider legs would taste like.