When the two separated, Ted said, “Even after all these years, it’s still you just causing trouble.”

  Simon took a step or two back and snickered, before quietly schooling himself, “I wasn’t the one causing trouble this time. I’d be lying though if I said I didn’t enjoy it at least a little bit.”

  The other two of the trio approached Ted and Simon as they caught up idly.

  Sanet tapped Ted’s shoulder, “Do you know this person?”

  Ted looks over his shoulder at her, “No Sanet, I embraced a stranger. Yes I know him, we’ve been friends since we were children.”

  One queue Simon steps forward and offers a polite hand to the taller woman, “It’s nice to meet you, my name's Simon. And if my friend here is anything like a remember if he trusts you then I’m sure we’ll make good allies.”

  Sanet takes his hand and offers him a toothy smile, “It’s good to meet you, Simon! I liked those moves you did back there!”

  Ori stepped forward, “It seems you have friends in high places, Ted.”

  Ted shrugged, “I guess it passed my mind. Besides, titles are skin deep.”

  Simon agreed, “That they are. They’re with you, Ted?”

  Ted replied, “Yep. It’s more of an alliance out of convenience, but it’s an alliance still.”

  Simon went to shake Ori’s hand, who accepted the handshake with little fanfare, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  Ori simply replied, “I agree. The name is Ori.”

  Simon turned back to Ted, “So, what brought you up to the frontier?”

  Ted smiled, “I was able to convince my parents to let me become an adventurer. You?”

  Simon said, “I’m here under orders. Just a diplomatic job, nothing else.”

  Ted replied, “Tough luck, I bet you drew the short stick to get sent up here.”

  Simon rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, “Actually, I chose to go up here. The supervisors told me that it was the best suited for my abilities. I should be leaving shortly with some others who will be accompanying me.”

  Ted said, “I wouldn’t suppose I could tag along?”

  Simon shook his head, “Not a lot of pay involved for you, besides, you have your own party to tend to. I don’t have enough room for all of you.”

  Ted looked disappointed, “Alright, I get it.”

  Sanet looked to Ori, “Do you think he remembers that we’re here?”

  Ori shrugged, “No.”

  Simon then took a quick bow, “Well, I wouldn’t want to take too much of your time. I enjoyed our reunion, but I do need to head off sooner rather than later. The local authorities are expecting me to sign in with them before I leave.”

  Ted flashed a grin, “It’s fine, It was good seeing you!”

  Simon said, “Good seeing you too!” before he began to walk away, leaving Ted, Ori, and Sanet.

  After a few moments of silence Ori said, “Shall we go?”

  Ted replied, sheepishly, “Yeah, sorry for that, I haven’t seen him in a bit.”

  Sanet said, “It’s ok! I’d be just like that if I saw some of my friends from home.”

  The group would collectively turn and walk towards the nearest attendant. The middle-aged man who manned the booth was flipping through files as they approached, with Ted leaning on the desk of the booth.

  “Excuse me, we’re the group of new adventurers who were supposed to arrive around late yesterday. Can we speak to someone here? We ran into some trouble on the way.” Ted said, motioning toward his two companions and sliding the man his adventurer ID.

  The man picks his ID and steps to the side. A few moments later he steps back into view and slides the ID back, “Certainly Mr. Bonumas. Give me a few minutes, I need to speak with my supervisor. I’ll have someone let you know when we need you. Please, take a seat in the meantime.”

  The man swiftly turned and walked away, disappearing into the complex. A few minutes later, though, he returned and led the group up the stairs onto the second level of the building. After several minutes, and a few turns down some hallways, they step into a small meeting room. There's a large mahogany table in the center with several brown leather chairs surrounding it. There's enough spots to fit up to ten people.

  They all took a seat as the attendant saw himself out. A few minutes later, the door creaked open as two men walked in. The first was a taller man in a black pinstripe suit. His hair was brown and slicked back, not unlike Ted’s own. The only major difference being the clear, excessive use of hair product keeping it that way. The man had a narrow face with angular features, his eyes a dark brown. He scanned everyone over quickly, almost immediately seeming to come to his own conclusions.

  The other man was a bit shorter than the other, yet he was more stalky. He had a full beard as opposed to the others clean shaven face, wearing light mail armor over leather. He seemed to be in maybe his late forties, based on the gray hairs speckling his facial hair. He had a strong, authoritative air about him, and despite being second to enter the room, he was the first to sit down. The taller man also takes his spot across from the trio of adventurers.

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  The shorter man, who appeared to be the sheriff or served an equivalent role, said, “What happened out there?”

  The taller man cut in front of the shorter man with his voice, “Hold on, I feel like we can start somewhere else, why not talk about work?”

  Ted said, “No, I’d rather talk about what happened on the way here.

  The taller man deflated, allowing for Ted to talk more, who said, “While we traveled up here, we were raided by thieves. Me, Ori, and Sanet were some of the others that survived, along with four others. The rest… did not survive..”

  The shorter man seemed to be deep in thought, “We’ve been having a problem with assorted gangs in the area, but this is concerning. I’ll see if I can gather a group to go out there and investigate. What of the thieves, then?”

  Ori said, “Most died and few fled. The would-be leader falling under the former.”

  The shorter man breathed out, “Well, at least that has been handled. I’ll still check for any other connections with other groups, but I appreciate your help. If you three need it, taking a small break would help after such a inci-”

  The taller man waved to the shorter man, “Now, now, hold on! Who says that they need a break?”

  Sanet said, “I intend to take a quest up. I feel like it would be offensive to the dead to hold ourselves back.”

  Ori and Ted shrugged, as they needed money more than anything.

  The taller man exclaimed, “See? You three have good heads on their shoulders, business minded ones.”

  The shorter man said, “I’ll go organize an investigation then. I appreciate the input from you three, they will not be forgotten.”

  The shorter man left the room, leaving the three adventurers and the taller man.

  The taller man smiled, “Now that we’re alone, we can get started. I’m assuming you’re all interested in getting work immediately?”

  Ted said, “We’re looking for a job suitable for us three. After all, we might as well work together while we’re here.”

  Ori agreed, “I would rather work with someone I know than otherwise.”

  Sanet grinned, “Mhm!”

  The taller man’s smile widened, “Wonderful! I have a mission that you three will love! It’s simple!”

  Ted stopped the man, “Before we continue, what group are you affiliated with?”

  The taller man shook his head, “Ah, forgive my manors. I am Liam Socal, one of the recruiters for the Horizon Collective. I am but a new recruiter, so please excuse my ignorance.”

  Sanet said, “Alright, Liam! What do ya got for us?”

  Liam said, “Like I said, easy. A man who seems to have made quite a few enemies fled out into the frontier. Currently, he seems to be hiding in one of the outposts out there, and trying to blend in with the local populace. The outpost in particular is Outpost Vonzar, one of the largest settlements in the frontier as of now. You three’s job is to smoke him out, and bring him back in our custody. Preferably alive. The man is middle-aged, with brown hair and stubble. He usually wears a ring adorned with a sapphire. He goes by Zaren.”

  Ori asked, “So, what has this man done?”

  Liam shrugged, “He has been officially convicted of theft, but the request behind this job had no further reasons tied to it.”

  Ted asked, “And what would we be making?”

  Liam said, “About 10 Gold Coins when it’s accepted. Then, an additional 10 upon completion. Quite generous, no?”

  The room was quiet, the group of adventurers thought about the offer, before Liam asked, “So, what do you three think?

  Ted turned to look left at Sanet who nodded enthusiastically at him. Then he turned to look at Ori who just subtly raised his eyebrow. Ted understood and nodded before turning back to the man.

  “Curious. This is an awfully lot of work for someone who has a simple theft charge. There wouldn’t be something you’re not telling us?” Ted said, tilting his head, eyeing the man carefully.

  For a moment the man looked slightly taken aback, but nearly instantly schooled his expression back into icy indifference, “I just thought the details unimportant. He used to be part of a more dangerous criminal organization, but, when he attempted to leave he ran into the countryside with some of his also rebelling subordinates. From us, or his own former organization, there's no telling.”

  Ted and Ori exchanged looks once again. Ted looks back, an easy grin on his face, “I’m not sure, Mr. Socal. You withheld rather important information from us. It’d be unfortunate if we just had to take our abilities elsewhere because of that.”

  “Oh ple-” Liam opened his mouth to respond, but he was immediately interrupted by Ted, “But hey! Don’t worry, you can make it up to us. Call it 15 gold on completion and I think we’d heavily reconsider our decision.”

  Ted puts his hand out rather lazily, offering a handshake to the man across the table. Liam looked slightly offended, his mouth opened and closed once to respond but nothing came out.

  Seeing doubt in the man’s eyes, Ted continued his assault, “I think that’s a great deal, especially considering the damage that could happen to your reputation if this came out. I mean, you are new, am I wrong?”

  Liam groaned and looked like he was about to say something he’d regret. However, instead, he just relented a grunt and gripped Ted's hand firmly.

  Liam said, somberly, “I suppose I’ll take that deal.”

  Ted, Sanet, and Ori walked out into the main hall, 10 Gold Coins richer.

  Ori turned to ask Ted, “You are quite good at negotiating, at least against that man.”

  Ted replied, “What can I say, I have experience.”

  Ted scanned the room for Simon, but he appeared to have already left by the time they had finished meeting. Since he wasn’t here, Ted, Ori, and Sanet went to sit at a nearby table. There was still a small mess from Simon’s little scuffle with those men, but it seemed like the hall was returning to a peaceful state.

  Sanet asked, with a palpable tiredness in her voice, “Alright, so where are we going to sleep? I’m still pretty tired, and I’d like to sleep in a bed.”

  Ted said, “I’m pretty sure I saw a inn nearby, we could stay there for the night.”

  Ori said, “I am fine with that, but I would like to eat while we are here.”

  Almost on command, their stomachs began to groan. They each went to the various food stalls across the main hall. Ori came back first, having ordered a simple stew with chicken and various vegetables, along with water. Ted ordered a similarly simple meal, a sandwich with water of his own. In contrast, Sanet ordered a steak, along with a large bottle. They each would eat their various meals, and drank their drinks.

  In the middle of their dining, Sanet said, “Well, I guess we’re gonna be going to that outpost tomorrow, aren’t we?”

  Ted said semi-wistfully, “Yeah, I remember not long ago I dreamt about times like this. It’s kinda surreal to realize I’m actually living it. But truly, this is only the beginning.”

  Ted's fist tensed around his fork, his expression subtly changing with dauntless determination.

  Ori watched him carefully as he silently ate his stew, “Mhm.”

  Sanet quickly finished her food, and said, “We ought to go to sleep early! A big day’s tomorrow, and I want to be ready to face it!”

  Ted yawned, “True that, I can’t name off many other times in my life where I’ve been more tired.”

  Ted then said, “Since we seem to be traveling together for the foreseeable future, how about we share a toast?”

  Sanet exclaimed, “That sounds wonderful! I’ve never made a toast before, but I’ve heard of adventurers doing it!”

  Ted had also heard of adventurers toasting, which was exactly why he’d suggest it. After all, what could be a better start to a good adventure than a good toast?

  Ori shrugged, “I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t.”

  Sanet asked, “If we are going to do a toast, then what will we toast for?”

  The group sat in deep thought, contemplating what exactly to toast over.

  Ted opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Ori, who said, “Perhaps we should simply toast for our success?”

  Ted however, immediately shut that down planting his fist firmly on the hardwood of the table, an eager toothy grin on his face, “That’s far too narrow minded Ori…” he says, grabbing his glass of ale and raising it quickly in the air. The cheap liquid sloshing around and falling gracelessly to the table, “...we must toast to our future greatness. Let our names be heard upon the lips of strangers in cold thrones thousands of miles from places we’ll ever even set foot.”

  Ori and Sanet hesitate but are quickly swept up by the sheer belief in his tone. All three of the trio's glasses come together to clink before throwing the shimmering liquid back in unison. Even Ori’s stern couldn’t resist the pull of the moment.

  Ted shouted, “To our absolute victory! May our souls never stop moving forward!”

  All across the room, from the woman clad in gold, to the group of dragonkin, they all gave a part of their vision to the group of prospecting adventurers.