To be an adventurer, one must complete one quest per month. Sure, Dorian had his membership for the guild renewed, but he was yet to do his quota and his time was running out.

So, after the three had done their running in place ritual before the faucet, Dorian breached the subject.

"I will need to do a quest soon," the other two, one relaxed and the other sweaty, turned to look at him.

"We can do something easy, to fill in our quotas. We still need a lot of training before we get out in the field," Morris stated, and he turned around.

They made it to the guildhall and went to the mission section. But all the F rank quests were taken, and the lowest one was a C rank one.

"That is bad," Dorian couldn't delay. He had just three days before his membership got revoked again. And, then, he would have to wait three months to apply for a new one.

"We can do it," Morris spoke with great conviction. "We trained our asses off. Let us see here. This transportation gig sounds ok."

The other two went to look at the quest that Morris was pointing at. It was a standard protection detail.

There was a scroll that needed to be delivered to the library of Canos. The pay was five gold coins per person and the time for the delivery was a month.

"This one is in the city," Leander pointed at a rat extermination job in a farm that was just outside Huergaz. "But why is it C rank if it is for rats?"

"Look at this one, it pays more than the other two combined," Dorian pointed at another C rank quest that had to do with the transportation of a gem from the bank to a private Villa outside the city.

"We won't be given it. It says here that the gems attract mobs," Leander pointed at the fine print, and Dorian wilted. He hadn't seen it and had thought that the job was easy as a result.

"We are pressed for time. We should take the rats," Morris suggested, and the other two nodded. Sure, they all wanted to travel, but they knew that they needed a lot more training before that happened.

The three went to the front desk, where the half-orc receptionist watched them with a critical eye.

"We don't have any F or D rank quests, come back later," Morris took out their party badge and showed it to the receptionist.

"We have clearance for a C rank quest," the half-orc took the badge and bitt it.

"Well, ok, then. Did you pick?" Morris nodded.

"We would like to go on the rat extermination quest for the farm on Cedar Hill," the half-orc snorted.

"Who keeps putting that one in the C rank section? It should be B rank, I tell you. But it is your funeral," the receptionist pulled out the forms and handed them over.

"Morris..." began Leander uncertainly, but Morris gave him a lopsided smile that silenced him.

"We have trained for a month. Surely, neither you nor Dorian are F rank now," Leander and Dorian exchanged a look, but did not argue. What sort of fight would rats offer, anyway?

They filled the forms and handed them back and got the license to do the quest. Then, they passed by the item shop to stock up on some health, stamina and mana potions. Three of each for each of them.

When they exited the shop, Morris patted his coin pouch with sadness.

"This is a daylight robbery," he lamented, and the two had to agree.

"You know, I could learn how to make potions. Then, we will just have to buy the herbs," Leander offered. Countless healers were alchemists. It was not out of the norm.

"Really? You do know that, that means numerous sleepless nights," Dorian asked. A bit unsure if Leander could tackle something like alchemy.

"I can do it," Leander was determined to not let them down. He would go to the library and go through the books on offer. Then, it would be a trip to the practice room.

"We will help," Morris promised. If nothing else, they could quiz Leander on what he had learned, at least.

"Come on, we need to get to the farm before nightfall," Dorian urged. Sure, the mission had given him a grace period of three days, but, once they ran out, he would have to return his uniform and go back to trying to sell his wares.

The cobbled streets gave way to a dirt road as they exited Huergaz. The deciduous forest surrounded them and the smells of the wild flowers filled their nostrils.

They walked the entire day, and reached a clearing with a small waterfall that ended in a pond. Deciding that it was too dangerous to walk during the night, the three piled their blankets on the grass and made camp.

The two warriors ate sausages in a bun, while Leander pulled out some smoked fish from his pack to have dinner with. After they ate, Morris and Dorian undressed and went inside the pond without a second thought. Leander watched as the two relaxed in the cool water and wished that he could join them.

"Leander, come on! You must be dirty from the road, too," Dorian called, and Leander wavered.

"I am fine, you enjoy yourselves," Leander was embarrassed of his body and did not want to see the judgement in the eyes of his friends.

"Nonsense, come on in. There is plenty of space. If you don't come in out of your own free will, Dorian and I will throw you in with your clothes," promised Morris and Leander sighed. He undressed until he was just in his underwear, and went to sit by the water.

He tried it with his toe and found that it was not that cold. Slowly, he got inside the pond and relaxed into the coolness of it. After the hot day, this was like a balm for his skin.

To Leander's surprise, neither Morris nor Dorian were looking at him with judgement. They were leaning on the pond's walls and their eyes were half-closed. Leander allowed himself the same, his mind slowly slipping into a meditative state on its own.