When I entered my classroom for the first time, I didn’t think things would go well. I expected I’d feel nervous and somehow mess something up because of how socially awkward I am or I would at least feel lost jumping straight into a new curriculum despite me probably knowing more history than anyone else in the room.

What I did not expect was for everything to explode. I didn’t even get a chance to look at the classroom because the second I pushed the door open everything exploded. I should have died, but luckily my aura prevented anything from crushing me. The class was immediately cancelled. In fact, all of North Point has been closed down for a month in order to do repairs. Well, there goes me getting an education, but hey--I don’t have to go to school which gives me more time to read, so that’s great. I expected the explosions happened because of Will, and I was right. Apparently, he was sparring with a new party member and everything went to sh*t. I’m pretty sure that Will is a domestic terrorist now, which doesn’t surprise me one bit. After crawling my way out of the rubble, I was escorted back to my room. I was hoping Will was in his so I can scold him for being a terrorist. But, strangely enough, he wasn’t there--so I guess he’s busy. Maybe he’s in prison. I hope that’s not the case because I’m not in the mood to break him out. I just fought my way out of captivity a few days ago; I don’t want to do it again so soon. Anyway, I went back to reading like normal until 5:00 am rolled around and I heard a knock at my door. Oh no, it’s not who I think it is, is it? I walk up to the door to open it and see it’s Armstrong. God darn it.

“No, go away! North Point blew up so you can’t train me! Training’s cancelled” I tell him.

“Ha! You think our normal place blowing up is going to stop me?” he asks.

“...yes”

“Well, you’re wrong. We’re going to Dragon’s Descent. We’ll do our training there. You’ve never been there have you?”

“No I haven’t and I would prefer to keep it that way.”

“Too bad, come on, let’s go.”

Dang it, he’s making me come with him. Good thing I’m already in my clothes. I start to follow him once again leading me into the sparsely populated streets.

“This reminds me. You know you can become an adventurer right? While you’re training to become an imperial knight you can go on adventures. It comes with great benefits and the experience will help you become a lot stronger than you just going to some fancy school” Armstrong argues.

“Hell nah, I’m good. The last time I hung out with adventurers I had to fight hillbillies and almost died.” I explain.

“Oh, right, I forgot you were there for that. Nerva told me about it when she came back. You were on quite the adventure, weren't you?” he inquires.

“You could say that. If some knights hadn’t shown up we all would have died.” I tell him.

“Hm that’s not how she put it. Though that’s to be expected with her.”

“How did she put it?”

“She said she killed everyone--single handedly saving the day. Then all of you guys praised her so much you all carried her back to Colonus.”

She did kill a lot of people but this girl straight up lied and I can’t let that stand. Not because she lied because it makes me look bad. I hope word hasn’t spread too much.

“She did blow up a tower and set a lot of people on fire but she didn’t save the day. Actually she spent most of the time rolling down a mountain dropping f-bombs” I reveal.

“Ha that sounds like her all right. She’s a funny one. Speaking of her, she’s probably at Dragon’s Descent right now” he states.

“This early? Why?”

“Well she lives there for one. She also likes to train around this time.”

“Wow do all the adventurers live at Dragon’s Descent? Do you have rooms or something?”

“No, we don’t. She sleeps next to the front desk. Only I have a room at Dragon’s Descent. It’s a guild not a hotel.”

“Then why does she live there?”

“Long story. It’s something only she should tell people about. Anyway, we’re here” he says.

Wow Dragon’s Descent is a lot closer to the castle than North Point. Which is great because we walked all the way there and my feet aren’t burning as much. I’d say it’s about two miles closer but in the opposite direction from the castle. Armstrong leads me in and it looks like a tavern. There’s a bar with the bartender cleaning up some glasses and there are a few guys passed out on stools with some more passed out on the floor. I also see blood stains everywhere indicating that this place is definitely home to bar fights. Ok, maybe I don’t like this place after all, everything is... what’s the word? Bloody? Rowdy? It looks like when this place is packed it is the exact opposite of a library, so maybe that’s why I’m put off.

“Home sweet home. Pretty cool, right?” he asks, turning around looking forward to my answer.

“This place has ugh ...character.” I answer.

“I know right! The best character. You can just feel the manhood. And womanhood. But like a masculine womanhood. Anyway, keep following me.” he orders.

I follow him and he goes behind the bar counter, opening a door on the ground revealing some stairs. He motions for me to follow him and I slowly do so. This place put me off before but now I’m just scared. I feel like I’m being led to a torture or a sex dungeon. Both sound painful if Armstrong is behind it. Ok, now I’m getting weird thoughts time to focus on the environment now. He opens another door and I see a dirt arena very similar to the one at North Point. It’s just as large, except that it’s a square and there aren’t any seating areas. In the arena there’s a bunch of training equipment like practice dummies, weapon racks in the corners, and a fire. Wait, that last one doesn’t sound normal. I take a better look and it’s Nerva shooting fireballs at a group of dummies in the middle of the arena. She’s the only one person in the arena besides Armstrong and I.

“BURN, YOU DUMMY BITCHES! TAKE THIS! AND THAT! YOU NO GOOD CHEEKY FUCKS! YOU’RE ALL GONNA PAY FOR MESSING WITH A BADASS BITCH!” she yells.

I’ve never seen anyone so angry at dummies before. I forgot how angry this child is. Maybe I won’t say anything about her lying. I'm not in the mood to deal with a small angry fire child.

“Having fun there Nerva? You mind if we join?” Armstrong nonchalantly asks as he strolls up to her.

“Huh, who the fuck is that?! Oh shit, it’s you Armstrong--and that monk from when I destroyed all them inbred fucks and saved everyone.” she says.

This girl is really lying to my face right now. Oh hell nah, I ain’t letting this slide. I won’t let her make me appear like a coward who didn’t do anything. I ain’t Adam. I fought people too during that escapade, it wasn’t just her. I changed my mind, I am ready to deal with a fire child.

“You did kill a lot of people but I did stuff too, you know. If anything, it was those knights who saved the day. I remember you were rolling most of the time.” I recalled smugly.

“Wow, bitch looks like you got hit in the head or something. I don’t remember that shit at all” she angrily replies.

Oh it’s on now. I’m about to kick some ass. I don’t care if she’s a child.

“What’d you just call me? It’s on, now come on, let’s go” I say getting into my boxer stance.

“Come at me you black bitch!” she retorts making her palms start to glow orange.

“Ha, this is great. I wish some of the guys were here, I would love to make a bet right now” Armstrong comments.

Nerva immediately shoots a fireball at me but I make a shift to the left making her miss. My strategy is pretty simple, she’s a magician which makes her my opposite. She excels at long distances while I suck because I don’t have any ranged attacks. But that means she must suck at close quarters which is my domain. I charge towards her as she continues to shoot fire towards me. It’s quite easy to dodge them, they move slowly, at least for a guy with an aura which allows him to move extremely fast. She’s starting to back up now and is now shooting smaller fireballs that move a lot quicker. It won’t help though because I’m closing the distance too quickly and she’s running out of room. I start to zig zag now to make myself even harder to hit and now I’m right in front of her. I lean down so that my head is at her stomach and give her a haymaker there. She takes the full blow of the hit and plummets to the ground.

“Fuck!” she groans and coughs.

I would say I feel bad but I never feel bad in these types of situations. I start to walk away to catch a breath and to see how Armstrong will respond to all this.

“Ha. Now that was entertaining. But I would turn around if I was you” he warns.

Huh? What is he talking about? I gave her a strong body blow and with her size she should not be able to move for quite awhile. I turn around and see her starting to slowly get up.

“Who the fuck said I’m done!?” she proclaimed.

Suddenly her hands start shooting out a stream of fire which makes her start to hover. She then puts her hands behind her back which makes her launch towards me. Dang it, she’s too close for me to dodge. I try to put up my hands to block but it’s too late; she rams her head into mine. God damn she got a hard head as it hurts a lot. It must have hurt her too though because we both then plop onto the ground.

“HAH HAH. Ok that was great. Quincy you would fit in around here perfectly. Now make up and we can start training.” Armstrong commanded.

“Listen girl. I don’t care that you lied about what happened, but I can’t have you making me look like a bitch” I say as we both just lay on the ground looking at the ceiling. I think we’re both in too much pain to get up.

“Shit, that’s what this was about? Ok that’s respectable. Can’t go around in this world having people think you’s a bitch unless you actually a bitch. Alright I’ll tell people you and I killed all them inbred fucks. Like a badass duo or some shit,” she says.

“Ok, I’m fine with that.” I respond as we both start to slowly get up.

I think the morally right thing to do would be to make her tell everyone the truth. But I don’t care about that--so I won’t.

“Good thing you two are getting along now because you two are going to work together.” Armstrong informs.

“Huh? But I told you I don’t want to be an adventurer.” I respond.

“Yeah, you have no choice in the matter. I was hoping you’d join of your own volition by alluring you with all of the benefits so I wouldn’t have to tell you but Marianne ordered it. She said since she’s busy helping rebuild North Point she can’t train you so she said the best thing for you to do in the meantime was get some real world experience. Plus, I think you’d make a great adventurer.” Armstrong declares.

No, I’m being forced to do things again. This is awful. Now I have to leave Colonus and all of my experiences outside of Colonus have been horrible. In addition to that, I won’t be able to read as much, at least until I get to the point where I can read and fight at the same time but I don’t think I’m that good yet. Wait, did he say I’m working with Nerva?

“Why am I working with her though?” I ask.

“Because I’m the fucking best. You’re a part of my group now. My group’s called the Bad Bitches. Now you a bad bitch, too.”she interjects.

“Ugh, how many people are in your group?” I question.

“Enough fucking people” she responds.

“Ha! That’s a funny way of saying it’s just you. Nerva here has always had trouble getting people to adventure with her. So I thought since you must be an adventurer you could join her since no one else wants to.” Armstrong discloses.

“That’s cause they be fucking bitches. Like that one elf girl. I tried joining her dumb ass group but she was all like ‘oh you gotta actually apply with a form’ and ‘can you please stop cursing’ and ugh ‘you’re not what we’re looking for’. They be making fucking excuses like that and shit. . .” Nerva explains.

I have a feeling that she was talking about Remi. I heard about Remi trying to recruit adventurers and that poor girl must have had Nerva try to join. But Remi was a rational being and said no. I have a feeling that since no one wants to work with her she made her own party, it’s kinda sad.

“Wait what about Warren and Adam? They are willing to work with you aren’t they?” I inquire.

“Pffft those guys. I haven’t seen Warren since the day we came back from that adventure and Adam is being a fucking bitch by refusing to come outside.”

“What happened to Warren? Is he ok?” I ask both of them.

On the journey back Warren was quiet and I could tell something was up with him. I didn’t expect him to straight up leave though. Adam I don’t care about. But, Warren was a chill dude, like I said after you fight hillbillies together--a bond is forged, even if you don’t know the guy very well.

“I don’t fucking know.” Nerva says.

“I don’t know either. He hasn’t met with me. I only know he’s in Colonus because Nerva told me.” Armstrong states.

I have a feeling he’s either too ashamed to come back to Dragon’s Descent or is afraid of what Armstrong would do to him. Warren must still be blaming himself for getting his friends killed. I might as well see what Armstrong would do to him if he came back.

“Hey Armstrong. What exactly would you do or say to Warren if he did come back?” I ask.

“Hmm well he did lead a bunch of novice adventurers on an adventure that was way above their level and got most of them killed. But that’s not the problem. Adventurers can do whatever mission they like and people die on missions that’s just a fact of life. What I am upset about is that no one told us they were going. I suppose I would scold him for that because if he did tell me I would have been able to send a search party. So I would do that and demote him.” Armstrong expounds.

That’s not as bad of a punishment as I thought. I was worried Warren would get expelled from Dragon’s Descent or Armstrong would beat him like he did me. Great, now I’m reliving bad memories. I’ll beat him one day for revenge, I’ll never forget. Never.

“Well, let’s start training. Nerva, I would ask you to join, but this is monk training so I doubt you’d find it helpful. You should get some sleep.” Armstrong suggests.

“Pfft I’m fucking good. I got shit to do anyway. See you later, my fellow bad bitch,” she says as she leaves the arena. I’m not too sure how to feel about that title. Should I feel insulted or just roll with it? Eh, I’ll figure it out later.

The training itself was as painful as ever but we did more than just exercise. The painful working out was just the first half, the second half involved me trying to have better control over my aura. Armstrong told me that aura can be concentrated in certain body parts to make them stronger. Instead of spreading it throughout your body you can concentrate it in a place like your fist which allows you to hit extra hard. I was not able to do it at all. I tried but nothing happened. He kept making me practice for a few hours but nothing came of it.

“Whelp, training’s over for today. It’s also starting to get a bit crowded here. Keep working on trying to concentrate your aura. I'll see you tomorrow.” Armstrong says.

“Wait, so what do I do now since Marianne can’t train me?” I ask.

“Go do whatever you’d like. I got things to attend to. But don’t forget to sign up with the guild to make it official” Armstrong says in a hurry as he briskly walks past me out of the Arena and heads upstairs.

I might as well get out of here then. I follow him up and wow this bar is now crowded. I keep bumping into people and in the center of the room I see two guys fighting. This is what I expected this place to be like when full of people, loud. I gotta get out of here. I proceed to awkwardly go to the front desk and do the stuff required to become an official adventurer--and bam, I’m an adventurer now, I got a card and everything. Hooray, I guess. I then walked out of there and started to walk my way back to my room to read because there’s nothing else to do and even if there was I’d choose reading. I was about to go into a nearby portal when Nerva started running towards me.

“WAIT, HOLD THE FUCK UP! I GOTTA TALK TO YOU” she yells as she runs up to me out of breath.

“Oh, hey, it’s you. What’s up?” I inquire.

“My fellow bad bitch, you gotta help me out. I finally found fucking Warren. You need to help me convince him to join the Bad Bitches.” she states.

I did just say I’d choose reading above all else but seeing if Warren is ok might be more important. If he kills himself or something I’d probably feel bad.

“Ok, I’ll help. But just call me Quincy in the future. Since you know, that’s my name.” I inform her.

“Quincy, the bad bitch, got it. Ok, let’s go.” she says as she leads me to another portal. We go through it and I guess this city is used to falling at this point because we both adjust ourselves in midair and land on our feet. I used my aura to land and Nerva used her weird fire propelling thing to slowly land. I think Will is getting better at his portal thing because the distance we fell was hardly as big as it was before. Nerva then leads me to a nearby tavern.

“Ok, this is where he is. You gotta fucking go in there for me.” she says

“Why can’t you go in?” I ask.

“The owner of this place is an asshole bitch. So you gotta go in for me. I’ll be here when you come out, I got some shit I need to do in the meantime .”

“Like what?”

She doesn’t answer me as she turns away from me, eying some random guy walking down the street.

“YOU BITCH! WHERE’S MY FUCKING MONEY. DON’T MAKE ME FUCKING COME OVER THERE,” she yells, starting to chase down the guy.

The poor guy starts to run in the opposite direction. Ok I guess that’s what she has to do and it does not surprise me one bit. I walk into the tavern and it’s pretty shabby. There are a few tables around and to my left is the bar where they serve drinks. Since it’s the middle of the day it’s pretty empty as you’d expect. I see a few drunks here and there though. I look towards the bar and see Warren. He’s changed since I last saw him. He hasn’t shaved as he has this stubble of hair on his face but what’s more important is that I see a lot of empty glasses next to him. He’s holding a glass with some beer in it but he’s not drinking it. Just staring at it as he swishes it deep in thought. I walk up and take a seat next to him.

“Warren, is that you, man?” I ask, trying to sound friendly.

He glances at me and says “Huh? Oh, hey, it’s you, Quincy. I never thought I’d see you again.” then returns to looking at his drink.

I’m surprised he isn’t madly drunk. I expected him to be slurring his words or saying weird stuff given there are like five empty glasses next to him. I guess the man can hold his liquor.

“Ugh, you ok, Warren? You look kinda rough” I comment.

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just having a drink is all.”

“At 12:00 pm?”

He just shrugs at the question.

“How’s adventuring?” I ask.

“Good good. Business as usual. Just left Dragon’s Descent.” he tells me.

“Really? Because Armstrong told me you haven’t been there since you entered Colonus. Plus, I was just there so how about you just tell me what’s really going on,” I order.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it. I’m just relaxing after that last adventure you know.” he says with a faint smile. A fake one, at that.

“Can I order you a drink?” he asks.

I was about to say no but then he ordered one anyway and now I got a glass in front of me.

“Warren, you’re a bad liar. Look, I know we don’t know each other very well, and I’m definitely not a psychiatrist, but this can’t be healthy. If you’re worried about Armstrong kicking you out of Dragon’s Descent, or him kicking your butt, he’s already told me that all he’s going to do is scold you and demote you.” I inform him.

“Oh I know. I don’t care about that.” he says as he drinks the rest of the beer in his glass.

He continues saying “I’m just done being an adventurer. A man who single handedly gets most of his friends killed doesn’t deserve to adventure, doesn’t deserve to live, really.”

“Look, I wasn’t there, but it was not your fault. Anyone who was on watch would have been knocked out. Trust me I was knocked out too and that blow dart thing came out of nowhere. No one could have prevented it.” I point out.

He doesn’t say anything for a bit.

Eventually he says

“Yeah but you weren’t there on purpose right? You were transported. I organized the whole thing, convinced everyone to go, I was the highest rank so I was supposed to lead them. If you don’t want to drink. . . just let me be.”

Shoot, I don’t know what to say now to convince him to get on his feet. He’s a grown man if this is how he wants to live his life then I shouldn’t force him.

“All right, if you wanna stay here, you can. Just take care.” I tell him as I leave the tavern.

Well that was a depressing experience. I wish I could have helped more but what could I do? Outside the tavern I see Nerva leaning against the wall with a bag of coins in her hand and her fists are a little bloody.

“What the fuck happened in there?” she asks.

“He’s in rough shape. He’s going through a lot right now. He thinks that what happened on the last adventure was all his fault. I think you should just let him be.” I suggest.

“Fuck that! That’s why he’s in there? Oh fuck no, I’m going in back me up,” she says as she starts to walk towards the door.

“Wait, I thought the whole point was that you couldn’t go in?” I ask following her.

“Yeah, but now, I don’t give a shit. YO, WARREN, CHEER THE FUCK UP!” she says as she barges in.

“Hey! You see the sign, right?! No shoes, no shirt, no Nerva!” the bartender exclaims.

“Yeah, well, that’s a dumbass sign--and you a bitch! Warren, I’m getting you the fuck outta here” she says to Warren but he isn’t looking at her, just looking at a new glass of beer.

“Hey, Nerva. I’m fine, just let me be. I swear, I’m good,” he appeals.

“Nah, you look like shit. Now come on,” she orders tugging on his arm.

“Nerva, I’m calling the guards right now if you don’t leave,” the bartender threatens.

“Do I look like I give a fuck? Fuck you, you ugly-ass, no hair on your nuts, bitch.” She says as she throws a fireball at the sign the bartender mentioned earlier.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. I’m sorry, I’ll pay for the damages later,” Warren says, pushing Nerva and I out of the tavern. I don’t know why she was banned from that tavern but it’s not hard to guess that it probably involved cursing and fire.

“Ok what do you want, Nerva?” Warren asks, now that we’re outside the tavern.

“I want you to get out of this fucking slump, or whatever the shit has happened to you. I want you to be an adventurer again, and join me in kicking ass.” she explains.

“Nerva, I’m done adventuring, ok? I don’t deserve to after what I let happen to you all.” Warren responds.

“Yeah, what the fuck is wrong with you? That wasn’t your fault. It was no one’s fault. No one blames you for that shit. I don’t blame you, if Adam blames you, I’m kicking his ass. I’m not letting you drink yourself to fucking death. If you go back to that tavern I’m dragging you out every single damn time.” Nerva threatens.

“Nerva, please don’t. I like that tavern. I promise I’m not going to drink myself to death, ok? I just need some alone time.” he argues.

“Pfft, you make alone time sound better than having fucking me around, so I know you’re lying. I’m getting you outta this fucking slump. Just go on one damn adventure with me. If you still want to be left alone after that I’ll let you, ok? This time I’ll be in charge, so you don’t gotta worry bout a damn thing. We got a fucking deal?”

Warren pauses for a bit. He then sighs and nods.

“Ok, now to get that bitch Adam,” she says walking off.

Oh great, I have to see Adam again. I’m still mad at him for almost getting everyone killed, and for him passing out before that huge fight against the hillbillies. But I guess he’s the only other person willing to work with Nerva and the guy is a healer, so it’s not as if he’s completely useless. Nerva goes through a portal with Warren and I following. We go through and I find that we are in a residential area I’ve never been in before. The streets are still crowded like the rest of the city but I see what looks like normal houses just really close together.

“Fuck, Warren where does this bitch live again?” Nerva asks as she stops to look around.

“It’s about two blocks down, take a right and it’s the first house on the left” Warren says disinterestedly.

Nerva starts to make her way down when Warren decides to talk to me with her out of earshot.

“Quincy I’ve been wondering, and I don’t mean to sound rude but why are you here? You’re not an adventurer.” he asks.

“Well, I am now. Armstrong kinda forced me to become one and since no one wants to work with Nerva he made me join her. He’s been training me on how to use my aura and thinks me going on adventures will help me get stronger.” I inform him.

“That explains it. You came to the tavern to convince me to join Nerva.” he says.

“Well yeah and to make sure you weren’t dead. Now stop being depressing, and come on,” I tell him as I start to go after Nerva. I don’t like depressed Warren, I hope he gets out of this slump soon.

After following Nerva for a bit she stops in front of quite a large house. It’s nowhere near the size of Lord Borin’s estate but it’s still impressive, like a nice upper-middle class house. Nerva was about to knock on the door when Warren stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

“Nerva maybe I should do the talking?” he suggests.

“Why? His mom fucking loves me I got this.” Nerva states

“It’s not his mom I care about. I’m talking about convincing Adam. Let’s just say you may be a bit too abrasive.”

“I don’t know what the fuck that means, but ok.” she says letting Warren knock on the door.

The door opens revealing a woman. She’s about 5’9 with flowing blonde hair with some gray streaks. She has some noticeable wrinkles on her face with round glasses on. Her body is surprisingly fit with noticeable biceps and I swear I see abs through her thin white shirt.

“Warren, Nerva is that you? Come in, come in, it’s so nice to see you two. Oh my, is that the second hero behind you? I’ll make him tea too, come on in.” she greets.

I guess I’m famous now if people can recognize me by just looking. Though no one else here looks remotely like me, so it’s not too surprising.

We are led into the living room where there is a big couch to my left, a fireplace to my right, and in front of me the living room leads into the kitchen. The place is nicely decorated with a bunch of pictures on the walls and there’s a bear rug in front of the fireplace. We sit on the couch while the woman goes into the kitchen to make tea.

“Thank you for letting us in ma’am we really appreciate it,” Warren says.

“Oh Warren, you’re so formal. I keep telling you to just call me Julie. Also, the pleasure is all mine, I love it when Adam has friends over. I see you’re trying to grow a beard. I’m sorry, honey, but it does not suit you,” she says from the kitchen.

Warren looks a little put off by that but it’s true he kinda looks like a homeless person in the making.

She comes back with the tea to give us each a cup then sits in the chair across from us.

“Ma’am, we don’t mean to be rude but we were hoping if we could speak with Adam. We’d like him to adventure with us again.”

“Oh, so straight to business, let’s at least chat for a bit. I don’t get to talk to adventurers much since I retired. Adam is up in his room, he’s not going anywhere,” she says as she takes a sip of her tea.

We all awkwardly drink the tea as well and it’s actually really good.

“Fuck! This is some good-ass tea, Julie.” Nerva blurts out.

“Ha! Why thank you very much, Nerva, you’re such a sweetheart. So tell me, why am I lucky enough to be in the presence of the second hero?” she asks.

“Well I’m an adventurer now, and I would like your son to be our group’s healer if you wouldn’t mind.” I tell her.

“Ooooh isn’t Adam so lucky. He’s a grown man, honey, you don’t need my permission. When Armstrong told me he was training the heroes I didn’t expect to actually see one of you in person how exciting. I hope my son will be of much help to you.”

I look at one of the pictures above the fireplace that’s behind her and I see a picture of Adam’s mom when she was younger. She must have been an important adventurer or something because it’s a group photo and I see a young Armstrong. It’s weird, he doesn’t have his beard in the photo which is jarring. I don’t like it.

“Now before I let you three go up to see Adam--Warren, I want to talk with you. Adam told me what happened on your last adventure. How are you feeling, sweetie?” she questions.

“I-I’m good. Everything’s fine” he assures her.

“Hmm you know what happened wasn’t your fault right? Things happen on adventures trust me, I’ve been through worse. You can’t let it get to you. If you need someone to talk to I’m always here ok?” she comforts.

Warren quietly nods his head.

“Do you mind if we see Adam now?” he asks, trying to change the subject.

“Sure thing. Just go upstairs. His room is the first one on the right.” she says.

We go upstairs to the room she specified. Warren tries to open the door but it’s locked.

“Adam? It’s Warren, can we talk?” he asks.

“No. Guys, go away. I don’t want to go through anything like that experience--ever again. I told you, I’m never leaving my room, and I meant it.” Adam says from the other side of the door.

“Adam! Don’t act like that when we have guests over. Especially when a girl is here to see you!” his mom yells from downstairs.

“Mom, Nerva is not a girl--she’s an evil fire-demon! Make them leave!” he responds.

“The fuck you’d just call me? Open this door, bitch!” Nerva yells as she bangs on the door.

“No, go away. I’m safe here, you can’t hurt me.” Adam retorts.

“Julie! Can I kick your son’s fucking bitch-ass?” Nerva yells downstairs.

“You can, just not in my house. That means no kicking my door down.” Adam’s mom says.

“Fuck. . .” Nerva mutters to herself.

“Look, Adam, I know you’ve been through a lot but you can’t stay in your room forever. Come on, you’re the best healer I know. We need you” Warren argues.

Should I try to convince him too? I don’t even like Adam, should I say anything? I’d feel useless if I don’t so I might as well try convincing him too.

“Ugh, Adam, it’s Quincy, remember me? I’m an adventurer now, so, ugh, it’d be great to have you. Also, I’ll prevent Nerva from killing you, if you come with.” I say.

“Like, the fuck you will.” Nerva says angrily.

“I’m lying.” I whisper to her. I have no intentions of preventing Adam from getting beat up.

“That’s not convincing at all. If I go with, only bad things will happen. Especially to me. I don’t want to be in pain again. So everyone just go away and let me be a hermit!” Adam argues.

His mom then starts to come up the stairs.

“Adam! You didn’t tell me you stopped adventuring. I thought you were only taking a break. You have a lineage to uphold remember? You’re not living in this house forever! Don’t make me come in there!” she says taking out the key to his room.

“Ok, ok, I’m going. Just don’t let them into my room.” Adam relents as he opens the door.

He walks into the hallway and Nerva looks like she’s about to kill him.

“Well, now that we got that sorted out. Have fun, sweetie!” Adam’s mom says as we leave the house.

Adam looks back at her with sad eyes probably in an attempt to make her change her mind but it doesn’t work. His mom just shuts the door.

“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” Adam asks, turning to Nerva.

She doesn’t say anything but just punches Adam in the nuts making him collapse to the ground.

“Owwwww” he moans.

“Ok! Now that we have a decent party let’s go to Dragon’s Descent and get us a fucking quest! Onward, Bad Bitches” Nerva cheers as she leads us to a portal.

I guess we have our adventuring group now. Warren, the guy who is probably suffering from depression and PTSD, Adam the coward, Nerva the insane cussing fire child, and me.

Jesus, this is probably the worst adventurer group ever assembled. Let’s just hope our first quest is easy. . . .