"[I can't believe our luck!]"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miriam looked sideways at Andrew, "[Luck?]"

 

Andrew nodded and gestured towards the dejected young man who was receiving a verbal beat down by a group of impressive-looking adventurers. They were loudly criticizing him for being useless, contributing nothing, and being a burden. All of them were bitching and moaning about what a terrible job he did, how he did next to nothing, how he was a waste of a share, and making it clear to everyone what a worthless party member he was as they kicked him out.

 

"[I've seen this before!]" Andrew remarked knowingly, "[A party becomes successful, and the leader gets arrogant, thinking it’s all because of him. They look at the quiet support guy who never does anything flashy and decide he's unnecessary. So they say to themselves, 'What are we paying that guy for anyways?' and fire him.]" Andrew raises a finger, "[But it often turns out he's a force multiplier. He's holding the party together, and they’re too foolish to see he's the one carrying the rest of the party.]" He grinned at Miriam, "[That's the luck! We can scoop him up on the cheap!]"

 

The downtrodden young man, hat in hand, pleaded, "Please! I need this job! You-"

 

The leader dismissed him with a wave. "Not my problem! You brought this on yourself, and I can't imagine anyone wanting you in their party given how useless you are!"

 

 

"RIGHT HERE!" Andrew shouted from the stairs.

 

Everyone turned to stare at Andrew. He held up a finger. "Right here! I want him!" He hurried down the stairs and pushed through the crowd. "What luck! You are exactly the guy I've been looking for!" He extended his hand to the bewildered young man. "Call me Drew!" He glanced at the hero's party while continuing to address his new recruit, "So, your contract with these folks has expired mister...?" He paused then added, "What was your name?"

 

The young man took Andrew's hand and shook it with no small amount of confusion, "Uh... My name is Reginald and... what?"

 

"Wonderful name! Easy to remember! I like that in a name!" Andrew slipped an arm around Reginald's shoulders, "Well, c'mon then. We have much to discuss. You must be stressed. Let's grab something to eat, my treat!" Andrew ignored everyone else and very quickly directed Reginald to the exit as he prattled on, "I have a feeling this is the beginning of a very long and beautiful friendship!"

 

As he practically pushed Reginald out the door, Andrew paused in the doorway. He leaned back inside to stare at the confused hero's party before stabbing a finger in their direction.

 

 

 

 

 

"NO TAKE BACKS!"

 

---

 

"What's the scam?"

 

Reginald finally found his voice after being fast-talked across the street and into a restaurant by Andrew.

 

Andrew looked genuinely puzzled. "Scam? There's no scam. I'm forming an adventuring party and want good people. You are a good choice. I want you on the team."

 

"So... what do you know about me?" Reginald asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

 

"Nothing." Andrew admitted as he pointed at the appetizers. The waitress had just slid a plate of various finger foods onto the table between them, "That's what this meal is about. We can get to know one another."

 

Reginald stared at Andrew for several seconds before starting to stand up. Andrew half-rose, holding out his hand. "Hold it! Where are you going? You already know what's waiting for you out there! C'mon! Give me a chance!" He pointed between himself and Reginald. "Isn't that what YOU want?" Andrew then waggled his finger back and forth between himself and Reginald.

 

Andrew gave Reginald a reassuring smile.

 

"Someone to give you a chance?"

 

Reginald paused, half out of his seat, then slowly sat back down. "For someone who doesn't know anything about me, you sure know what to say."

 

Andrew smiled. "Well, that's easy." He conjured water into their glasses. "I've been around, met a lot of people. I might not know you, but people rhyme. It doesn't take much to understand the basics, even if the fine details matter." He swirled his glass before taking a sip. "I don't know you, but I know your type. I know your potential. I want people with great potential." He pointed at Regnald, "I want you."

 

Reginald leaned in, his curiosity piqued. "Okay... to what end?"

 

"To what end?" Andrew echoed as he furrowed his eyebrows, "To make the greatest team of heroes ever," Andrew said earnestly. "It's... well, I'm trying to prove something to myself. I've always claimed to be the best sage, but I never put my money where my mouth was. Finally, someone called me out, and I realized I was coasting." He looked at his water, deep in thought. "If I'm a sage, who have I helped? What wisdom have I given? Whose lives have I improved? What change have I brought about?"

 

Andrew touched the water, causing ripples. "If I am the best, how is the world a better place for me having been in it?" A shadow crossed his face. "The answer was, it wasn’t. I liked talking about change, but hated making change. I didn't help anyone else. I only helped myself." He looked up at Reginald. "It hurt to realize what a jerk I was. But you have to admit you have a problem before you can fix it. It's been rough, but I'm making progress." He smiled. "And I'm ready for the next step."

 

 

Reginald, a noble, was used to a world of technical truths and polite deceptions. Admitting personal failures was alien to him. Andrew's candidness was both refreshing and terrifying, making Reginald uncomfortable. This man carried himself with nobility but lacked its usual pretenses, a confusing paradox to the young man.

 

Andrew carried himself with the air of someone noble, but not the sensibilities of one. One cannot fake that sort of body language. These conflicting truths stunned Reginald as he tried to determine if he should listen more, or flee the presence of this madman.

 

Reginald eventually spoke, his words cracking as he tried to form the words, "And what is the next step?"

 

Andrew chuckled, ignorant of Reginald's inner turmoil, "The next step is to form a team of powerful do-gooders who want to protect the innocent, help the weak, be paragons of virtue, and make the world a better place." He sipped his water, "Fairly straightforward concept, really."

 

 

Reginald just stared, the silence stretching until the main course arrived.

 

 

Andrew, looking concerned, gestured to the food. "I've eaten here a few times. I think it's good, but let me know if it's not up to snuff. An adventuring group needs a regular hangout. It’s a good location, but I’m not sold on the place."

 

Reginald abruptly smacked his face causing Andrew to stop dead and stare at him in surprise.

 

There was a long pause before he dragged his hand down to his lap, "FINE. I'll stay for the food." He picked up his napkin, carefully laid it in his lap, paused to rearrange his silverware in just the right way, then carefully cut up his food. He ate deliberately, taking small bites at a time and displaying a rather sophisticated degree of culture.

 

The two ate in silence for a minute before Andrew cleared his throat, "So, do you mind if I ask you some personal questions?"

 

Reginald paused mid-cut, then resumed. "I assume you want to know why it didn't work out with The Razor's Edge."

 

Andrew quirked an eyebrow, "Well, that's one of my questions, yes."

 

Reginald chewed for a bit, swallowed, and then put down his silverware, "Well, I'm an aristocrat. A noble. I lied about my levels and when they finally figured it out, they tossed me out." He sighed, "I told them I was a bard. When they found out about my aristocrat levels, they got understandably upset."

 

Andrew straightened up, "Hold it. You..." He let out an amused chuckle, "You have ACTUAL LEVELS in aristocrat?"

 

"Why is that a problem?" Miriam’s voice asked, seemingly from nowhere.

 

Reginald looked around, puzzled. "What was that?"

 

"That?" Andrew made a dismissive gesture, "That's my faerie familiar, Rim. She's invisible right now. She prefers to hang out that way." Andrew talked out of the side of his mouth toward his shoulder. It appeared to be that he was talking to thin air, "Well, the higher level each member of your party is, the less experience you get as a group. The problem with aristocrat levels is... well, the class sucks. They're almost as worthless as commoner levels." He turned back to Reginald, "How many levels are we talking about here? Two? Three?"

 

 

 

There was a long pause, then as if admitting a great shame, Reginald finally spoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Five."