Darin gave a forced laugh, the sarcasm returning tenfold. "I didn't realize I was so popular."

"Of course you are! You can't just fight a harbinger deity and not get famous for it!" continued the man carrying the staff. Perhaps describing him as a man was too generous, Darin thought to himself, as the youth (that's the word he was looking for) didn't seem to notice his disdain. Instead, the youth beamed in delight as he said, "So that means you'll help us?"

"Wait, I haven't said anything—"

"And he's Paraglian," the woman considered, ignoring Darin as she conversed with her companions as if no one else was in the room. "They're known for being very efficient in magic, and his mana supply is better than any of the other wizards here."

"I don't know." The Lotenian wizard gave a pompous glance in Darin's direction. "He doesn't look like much if you ask me, and spellbook wizardry is the weakest of the three practices of magic."

"Hey!" Argent burst in outrage at that. "He's not weak when he's fought a deity before!"

"Ah, Argent," Darin said, tapping on the boy's arm, "we're not trying to draw any more attention to me."

Argent gave him a peeved look. "But you're gonna do it, aren't you?"

How powerful does he think I am? Darin thought in dismay. He peered around warily, catching a glimpse of every expectant eye that laid on him. Some were doubtful while others were hopeful. Just how long had this village been caged inside with the deity prowling around? He missed the response when Iver had asked while heading to the inn, but judging by how eager everyone was to hear a solution, he could only assume it had been long enough. He sighed in reluctant acceptance, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't started thinking of a plan already.

"Am I expecting any help from you?" Darin asked, raising his voice loud enough to catch the attention of the now arguing trio. Their heads snapped in his direction.

"You'll do it?" the youth asked after a pause, avoiding the question entirely.

Darin's eyes sharpened, and his lips pulled into a thin line. "Wrong answer."

The trio looked between each other, suddenly very quiet. To his side, Darin heard Noctifer scoff at their silence. The action seemed to provoke the Lotenian, and he quickly stepped forward with a sneer.

"Yeah? And be dragged to our deaths? I don't think so." The Lotenian gave a toss of his head. Kind of like a proud horse, Darin mused. "Besides, we need whatever's left our mana to get to our next location. We can't waste it on something like this."

"And our journey is less significant than yours?" Noctifer suddenly cut in, standing from his seat and taking even strides to the group. The Ormathians hastily retreated while the Lotenian stood his ground, only stepping back when the warrior stood a little too close for comfort. "Do you really expect us to put ourselves in danger for your own benefit? Give us what mana potions you have, then. We'll be needing them for our wizard if you'll be cowering away."

The Lotenian sputtered indignantly before settling on a sour look. "You don't get to make demands here. We don't have any mana potions, anyway, or else I would take care of the harbinger myself," he declared before raising his hand. "Now step away from me before I use force!"

Darin reached for his spellbook as the air spiked; Argent and Iver reaching for their weapons as well. But before any severe actions could be acted upon, a wall erupted between the Lotenian and the warrior. They heard a shout of surprise and a thump from the other side, the Lotenian spell having ricocheted off the wall. Noctifer, meanwhile, had barely moved an inch through the whole transaction. Instead, he turned back to the bar and resumed his seat next to Iver, looking more smug than usual. Kilden snapped his fingers, and the wall returned to the floor revealing the Lotenian spitting curses as he rose from the ground and dusted himself off.

"There will be none of that in my tavern," Kilden said, sending a stern look at the opposing parties. "We're already stuck together as it is, so keep the quarreling to a minimum. And don't go forcing anyone to do something you can't do yourself! I'm no expert in harbingers or unseelie or any of that, but I know one thing: They are dangerous! The best we can do is wait until—"

"I never said I wouldn't do it." Sharp words caught the attention of the tavern once again. Darin continued once all eyes were on him. "All I asked was if you had anything to contribute."

The Ormathians gave a sheepish look before avoiding eye contact while the Lotenian looked away with a huff.

"Cowards," Argent muttered, and Darin shushed him with a disapproving look. Gods above, the boy has been around Noctifer for too long. For a moment it looked as if Argent would glare back, but seeming to get the message that Darin wasn't in the mood for impudence, he murmured a faint apology before turning away with a pout. That seemed to satisfy his mentor for the moment, as he once again turned to address the tavern.

"Give me time to think of a plan, but I can assure you, the harbinger will be gone by the end of the week."

A cheer erupted across the tavern.

Kilden laughed heartily at the vow, speaking when the tavern had quieted enough for him to be heard. "Well, then! I think this is the perfect occasion for getting out that special ale!"

"Quite the pushy bunch, aren't they," Darin commented once everything had settled. He had opted for small beer instead of whatever the "special ale" was. Knowing dwarves, it was likely something strong. He wanted to keep an even mind tonight and preferably not wake up with a hangover. His companions on the other hand, well, he trusted they were thinking the same thing and wouldn't overdo it. Iver was an elf, who already had a higher tolerance than humans, and he doubted Noctifer would be affected severely after one drink. Maybe even a couple of strong ales would be alright for him. Not that I'm expecting them to fight a harbinger alongside me. It would be safer for them to stay here.

"They're lying about not having any mana to spare," Noctifer added. "They couldn't even look me in the eyes."

"To be fair, not many can," Darin grinned, and Noctifer gave a huff of a laugh, "but I doubt those three could even stare down Iver." He paused. "Well, Master Pompous might try, but he seems to be the all-bark-no-bite type. I wonder who he is. Perhaps a noble?"

"Perhaps we should ask," Noctifer mused jokingly. "Learn the names of your followers. By the way the younger one talked about you, it was as if he just met a god."

Darin gave him a mock look of surprise, dramatically placing a hand on his heart. "I believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Noctifer snorted. "Don't push your luck, wizard; I'm not the one calling you a god. If anything, you're an over-glorified magic wielder."

"I'll take that as a compliment as well," Darin replied, looking away with a satisfied smirk. Iver's light chuckle caught his attention, however, and he peered back at them with a curious expression. "What?"

"Nothing." Iver waved his hand a bit, but kept his amusement as he said, "It is just good to know that you two can get along every now and again."

The warrior and wizard shared a glance before decisively looking away.

"I don't know what you mean, Iver. How could you even suggest such a thing?" Darin declared, but a small grin continued to pull at his lips. His words held no bite to them. They may have had a rocky start, constantly jeering and needling at each other, but every quarrel they had now was more out of annoyance rather than real malice. What did others expect when pairing two assertive personalities in the same group? No, he didn't hate the other man in the slightest. They just made a sport of taunting each other to the point of violence, that's all. Now that I think about it, I wonder what it would be like to spar with either of the swordsmen. Darin assessed them from the corner of his eye. I'll need a sword first. Perhaps Kilden can direct me to a swordsmith.

"Darin?"

"Hm?" He looked over to the elf once again, noting the concerned look on Iver's face. "Is something wrong?"

"I hope you know what you got yourself into," Iver said, surveying the joyous occupants of the tavern. He then returned his focus back on the wizard with a sincere expression. "But I just wanted to say that I am not letting you do this alone, either."

The sudden declaration caught the wizard off guard, glancing between the three before him. Over Iver's head, Noctifer gave him a steady stare, almost challenging him to deny their help, while Argent—who sat between Iver and himself—nodded his head eagerly. Ideally, he would insist Argent stayed behind, but . . . now was not the time to test the illusion's range. He felt more at ease when the boy was nearby, anyway. He would have him stay far enough away from the harbinger, but not so far that he couldn't protect him if needed.

"Alright," Darin sighed, but leveled them all with a look. "I have rules, however, and you will follow them. One: When I tell you to get out of the way, you scram. There are certain spells that are very effective on unseelie but are also very effective on any other living being. Trust me, you do not want to get caught in them. Two: Never question my commands. It'll look like I'm improvising, and in all honesty, I'll be improvising a lot, but I still know what I'm doing. Three: Understand that you'll be front and center of the action. Unless you have a spellbook hidden in your pocket, your only use is to be keeping the harbinger's attention off from me. Feel free to back out at any time, but not during the fight. The harbinger will only chase you by then, and that would complicate things a good deal." Noctifer scoffed at Darin even implying that any of them would run. "And lastly, if I tell you to leave me behind, you leave me behind. Got it? There wouldn't be any point in saving me if my soul is already damaged."

Iver nodded along, but conveniently erased the last rule from his memory.

"Fine," Argent said, "But I have rules, too."

"What would those be?"

"You can't die, and you have to drink at least one of the mana potions before we get there."

Darin chuckled. "Trust me, I'll try my best to follow the first rule, but I really do think this time we should save all the potions."

Argent glared at his mentor, leaving no room for arguments.

"Ah, alright, alright . . ." Darin relented, giving a soft smile. "I'll drink one of the potions for your peace of mind."

The boy gave a firm nod. "Good."

All were jostled out of the conversation as Kilden slammed three tankards in front of them.

"There you go! Straight from the barrel!" he said, pushing a wooden cup to Iver, Noctifer, and Argent before turning his attention to Darin once more. "You sure you don't want one?" He gave a jesting grin. "Or is pretty boy a lightweight?"

Darin laughed at the name and returned the grin. "Save me a pint for after the harbinger. It'll give me something to look forward to."

Kilden threw his head back in laughter at that and left the group alone. Meanwhile, Argent had been staring wide-eyed at the tankard before him, foam sizzling at the top as it settled. He then looked to his mentor, silently asking if he was really allowed to drink it. Dwarven ale was strong. Far too strong for the boy to drink. But judging by the subtle wink Kilden had given him, Darin had already figured out what was going on. Darin shrugged and gave a nod, hiding his smile as he drank from his mug. A grin broke out across the boy's face as he took the tankard in his hand, not noticing how the tavern grew quiet as they all watched. The adults shared a look over the boy's head. In one motion, Argent took a large swig of the brew, only to immediately pull a face. He managed to swallow what was in his mouth before coughing into the tankard.

"You drink this stuff?!" he exclaimed, looking at Darin in disgust and betrayal.

The tavern roared in laughter; Noctifer barking out a laugh, Iver chortling into his hand, and Darin trying to hide his face behind his mug as his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Kilden stumbled over, wiping tears from his eyes.

"It's been a while since I've witnessed a lad's first sip," he said jovially, directing his next words to Argent as the boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "It's an acquired taste. You'll work up to it eventually."

"Yeah, maybe after my tongue has died," Argent muttered, which brought another round of laughter.

Darin was still chuckling as he took the tankard from the boy's hands and put his own cup in front of him. "Here, you'll like this one better."

Argent gave Darin a withering look.

"Just try it. I promise I'm telling the truth this time."

Stalling for a moment, the boy gave both the cup and his mentor a dubious look before taking a cautious sip. He jerked back in surprise. "It's sweet."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

With the show now over, everyone resumed what they were doing once more. Darin took a drink from the tankard, and he was surprised that Argent didn't spit it out immediately after consumption. It wasn't bad by any means, but there was no arguing that it lived up to the dwarves' reputation. Strong and bold. One was all he would be able to handle if he had any hopes of keeping his sanity. He still had to be a responsible adult. Well . . . he glanced over to Iver, who nodded his head with a smile. So Iver is the responsible adult for the night, then. Argent wrinkled his nose as he watched Darin continue to drink from it before returning to his new cup. It was a few minutes by the time Kilden came around again, Darin already feeling the alcohol's effects, and the dwarf gave him an impressed look.

"So the wizard can handle his drink!" he said, leaning against the counter to refill Argent's cup.

"Never said I couldn't," Darin replied with a sly grin. "Still save me a pint for later."

Kilden guffawed at that before giving a small salute.

Noctifer vowed to himself to never let Darin drink ever again. Not that Darin was drunk at the moment, he absolutely was not, and that was the problem. He almost wished the wizard was truly drunk, then maybe he wouldn't have to witness the insufferable smirk on said man's face as he tucked his coin purse back under his shirt. Apparently, when on a buzz, the wizard became even more chaotic than he already was.

Argent had long grown tired—both physically and mentally as his stomach was filled and the atmosphere became rowdier with drunk patrons—so Iver had taken the boy back to their room. Darin, however, was drawn into a game of dice, and Noctifer had stayed behind with him. That game turned into several, and Noctifer couldn't help but watch in disbelief at what was happening before his eyes.

It was late into the night when they joined the others. Argent was already asleep, but Iver sat in a chair near the lamp, reading a book he picked from the shelf in the corner. He raised an eyebrow once the door had shut behind them.

"What kept you so long?"

"Darin was cheating at dice," Noctifer stated bluntly.

"And we are two jewels richer!" Darin added with a shit-eating grin.

Word count: 2748