Lily's gaze briefly passed over Tarni — who had just come in from another errand and was now talking to her father near the quest board — but her attention drifted back to Kai.

He had stopped in front of a table occupied by three adventurers.

The one speaking to him was a tall, lanky man in his thirties wearing what could only be described as a very dirty wizard's robe. Somehow, he managed to keep a cigarette in his mouth even while talking.

The other two were younger, maybe in their early twenties.

The male looked like a tank — short sword in hand, with a strange, half-cylinder-shaped shield strapped to his left arm. It was literally like someone had cut a steel pipe in half and bolted it on. After their walk around the room, Lily and Kai had already figured out that this seemed to be the local norm for shields.

The female looked like a ranger type — bow on her back, short sword at her hip.

Out of the three groups willing to even talk to them, this was the only one that had a potentially compatible quest — and the only one open to outside help.

The older man — the wizard — finally gave his name: Alaric Moonshadow. He explained to Kai how they had gotten in early and snatched up a popular quest: collecting live frogs from a dangerous stretch of the local river. The payout was excellent, partly because the frogs had to be brought back alive.

The younger man leaned back with a half-joking tone. "Yeah, it's everything else down there that needs killing."

Kai's grin was instant and enormous. "I think we can help you."

Alaric's expression tightened into a frown. "As I told everyone else, we're not going less than an even split on the money."

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Kai shook his head, still grinning. "Nah, mate, you don't understand. We'll help you for free… if you let us kill everything that moves."

There was a moment of stunned silence as the three exchanged looks.

Finally, Alaric leaned forward, suspicion in his eyes. "Everyone who comes will need to sign a contract to that effect. I'm not having an argument later once the job's done."

Kai's response was quick. "No problem. Let me check with the rest of our group to make sure no one's already committed to something that'll interfere with your quest, and we'll get right back to you."

Bell was torn between pride and worry over the morning's efforts. If the quest went off without a hitch, they'd be swimming in XP. But if the Guildmaster returned and had a little chat with the Assistant Manager… well, let's just say a whole lot of smelly stuff might hit a very large fan.

Shaking off the thought, she descended the creaky wooden stairs from the Guildmaster's office. About halfway down, movement in the common room caught her eye—Kai, walking toward her with a stride that was almost… smug. Excitement radiated from him like he'd just discovered a secret stash of candy.

Bell smirked to herself. Oh, he's definitely proud of himself for something. Hopefully, it's exactly what we need.

Looking past him, she spotted Lily sitting at a table with three strangers. They were chatting away, smiles all around—Lily looked relaxed, even animated, which was a good sign.

By the time Bell reached the bottom step, Kai was there to meet her, practically bouncing on his heels. Before she could get a word in, he launched into his news at an almost comically rapid pace.

"Lil and I found the perfect group to help! There are these frogs—we're not allowed to kill them—and—"

Bell raised a hand, the universal slow down, you lunatic gesture. "Can we help them with their quest right now?"

Kai stopped mid-breath, remembered how to inhale, then nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! As soon as we sign a contract saying we won't ask for the money rewards from the frogs."

A slow grin crept across Bell's face. "And how long will it take?"

"I asked—they reckon two, maybe three hours tops."

"That's perfect, Kai. Well done." She clapped him lightly on the arm, then pointed toward Lily's table. "You get them started on those no-money disclaimers. I'll go find your dad."

Kai saluted—because of course he did—before hurrying off toward Lily, clearly eager to seal the deal. Bell turned toward the front of the hall, already shifting into her hunt down Zane mindset

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