The Achievement Junkie

Once inside the mood changed. The warm and busy atmosphere of the city streets morphed into the cold and distant air of the run-down inn.

"Can I help you?" A scruffy faced man rose up from behind the counter with groggy and tired eyes.

Rydel looked back to him without a hint of hesitation. "Just looking around for the right place to stay. Can we have a few brundies while we check out the place?"

In a blur, the man filled several mugs and the stench of aged alcohol found its way toward the party. "Sure. Got any questions for me?" asked the man.

"At the moment, no. But we'll let you know if something comes up." Rydel sipped his drink and smiled as he motioned for the rest of the party to sit down beside him.

The tattered man returned to his duties or whatever else it was he was doing earlier before the party arrived and started their mental conversation.

'What are you thinking, Rydel?' asked Jack.

'If you want things to stay secret, then sometimes places like this are where you can find the best option. For now, just listen carefully to see if you can learn anything.'

Everyone stayed quiet as they each tried to find a conversation within the tattered tavern. There were plenty of people there but they mostly kept quiet like the party. However, there were a few groups who stood out and didn't fear to make noise.

"What do you mean it got away?!" A scarred and muscular man reached across a table to grab one of his companions by the throat. "I hope you got a good explanation for this?"

The threatened man didn't appear scared as he shook his head. "It's just like I said, the beast got away and we couldn't find it anywhere, not a single trace."

The hand around the man's neck tightened as the large man pulled his victim closer. "You call that an explanation? I call that excuses. I hired you to do a job, so why didn't you do it?"

"It's impossible to find that thing now." The man now held in the air started to show some signs of worry. "Not even you could find it, so how you expect me to?"

"Because I hired you! If you can't do a job right, then you should've told me before I hired you."

"Hey! That's enough!" shouted the scruffy man from behind the counter. "If you can't play nice, then take your game somewhere else."

"Don't worry, this won't take long." A gnarly grin twisted its way onto the man's face as his untrimmed fingernails started to pierce the other man's skin.

"Ahhh!"

Just as the large, dirty fingers were about to crush the smaller man's throat, a knife was suddenly stabbed into the large man's arm, forcing him to drop his subordinate. "Who dares?! If you're a man, show yourself!"

"I believe the owner of this establishment asked you to play nice or get lost. Since you can't do either, I thought it would be all right for me to intervene," chuckled Rydel as he sipped his brundy, not even paying attention to the man's savage face.

"Oh, you're asking for it!" bellowed the man. "Men, let's show him how we like to play!"

"Stop!" The man behind the counter slammed his fist into the bar and glared angrily at Rydel. "See what you've done! Now, I'll have to--"

"Don't worry about it." Rydel finished his drink and turned to look at the man's scarred face while letting out a long sigh. "Hurry and get lost, because I play dirty."

The burly man wanted to laugh but didn't find himself able. Before his laughter could leave his lungs, an arrow was in the midst of reaching his face.

Haphazardly the man lifted his arm, letting his toughened leather bracer take most of the blow, but was startled to see the arrow pierce not just his skin but completely through his arm. "Who are--"

Suddenly the man found himself unable to move. He shouted angrily, "Get him!" but the moment he finished his commands the others at the table stiffened up just as he did. "An enchanter?"

While he was trying to figure out who was aiding the archer, the large man started to sweat but it wasn't from nerves. The mug in his other hand suddenly burst into flames, burning his flesh down to the bone.

"AAHHH!"

The scruffy middle-aged man who was at one point scared of the gang was now shocked by the party sitting in front of. They weren't even standing and they had already rendered the large man and his gang completely unable to fight. Two of the women were obviously casting magic, one to immobilize and the other to set fire to the mugs, while the hunter, the apparent leader of the bunch, had his bow drawn and ready to fire yet again from the comfort of the bar stool.

"So, would you like to keep playing?" joked Rydel.

The targeted men suddenly found themselves able to move again, but they didn't want to. Only the leader of the gang charged toward the bar.

However, he was intercepted by the casually walking Jack, who was already halfway to their table.

"Out of my way!" Pops and crackles sounded as the man clenched his fists in fury, ignoring Jack completely. At least for the moment.

When a resounding thud filled the tavern, the burly man looked down to find Jack's fist ripping through the man's leather armor. He screamed in pain as he was launched across the room and back into the table where he had sat with his friends, panting and struggling to breathe with his concaved chest.

Jack stood over all of them as Rydel spoke, "Just get out of here before you really start to have some fun!"

The large man would've loved to regain his reputation, yet his lackeys thought otherwise and picked him up before retreating from the inn.

In moments the inn's somber atmosphere was restored, but the bartender looked at Rydel and his party in a new light. By the time Jack returned to his seat, the bartender gave them all a refill. "So, what is it you looking for again?"

"Just a place to stay without any eyes on us," replied Rydel, happily sipping the free round of brundy.

The scruffy man leaned in close to Rydel and whispered, "I may have just place you look. I've got another property a few streets down. It's away from the main roads and pretty isolated from neighboring buildings. If you want, I can rent you the place."

As Rydel was about to respond, Jack mentioned the condition that he wanted to add. Rydel smiled and looked to the bartender. "If we can pay for the full month in advance and guarantee no visitors."

"For two hundred gold you got a deal."

"Done."

The two of them shook hands firmly, letting Rydel pass the man a storage ring in the meantime.

The man quickly inspected the ring, smiled, and pulled out a small bag from below the counter. "Here are the keys, don't trash the place or I'll have to charge more. Once the lunch rush is over I'll take you there myself."

With that, he hurried off to the broken table. The owner cleaned it up as if nothing happened, replacing it with a different rundown table, which had the same marks of wear and tear.

A couple of hours passed until the bar started to grow quiet and fewer patrons were present. Leaving one of the servers in charge the owner quickly left the building and was promptly followed by Rydel and the party.

They weaved through the still busy streets until they reached the outskirts of town, a couple of blocks away from the main roads.

The distance between the buildings was more than the party had expected. The nearest building was almost one hundred meters away on either side, showing just how isolated the place was. Just like the inn, the place was rundown and well on in years. But it served perfectly what the party needed.

"That's the place. Just make sure it's all in one piece by the time you come back and return the keys. And if you need more time, let me know because I don't have any other buyers asking at the moment."

Rydel patted the man on the shoulder and held out his other hand toward him. "Thanks. We appreciate the secrecy."

Again they shook hands and again the man accepted another storage ring as payment for silence. They parted ways after that, not saying another word nor looking back at each other.

The party quickly entered the old two-story building, which was more than big enough to fit them all. Though it seemed run-of-the-mill it, had all the amenities you could ask for on the inside, proving that it was a common occurrence for people in search of privacy to rent out such a place.

The first person to explore the entire house was Eliza, who hurried back to everyone else in excitement. "There's even a bathhouse, so ladies first!"

Wrapping her fingers around both Keela's and Daliea's wrists, Eliza yanked them to the back of the main floor to the fully functional bathhouse.

With a sigh, Rydel sauntered into the kitchen. "Since Maura's not here, I guess I'll make dinner first."

Solemn as ever, Jack sat down at the dining room table not too far from the kitchen. He paid close attention to the serious expression on Rydel's face. "Something on your mind?"

"Yup, just like you."

"Yeah… Want to talk about it?"