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Behind the confident exterior
Lies an anxious warrior.
Burdened with the insurmountable
He turns to his trusted friend, the most capable.
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
Arriving at the lounge room with drinks in hand, Grisia saw a large, muscular man with bronze skin sitting on one of the couches.
Chadrhaad made the normal-sized couch look tiny with his large frame. His scarred face and contemplative expression made people recognize the spirit of a veteran warrior at first sight.
He was the head of the guild for a reason. A veteran adventurer who raked up glory and fame for his outstanding deeds. Nevertheless, for the things he couldn't handle, he had to resort and depend on Grisia. This was an admission that Grisia simply was a different breed.
Instead of harboring feelings of jealousy, however, he possessed a deep admiration for Grisia's strength, especially since Grisia had never used it for evil deeds, as whimsical as he was. To his knowledge anyway.
He depended on Grisia to resolve disastrous problems that he couldn't deal with on his own.
Grisia gave him permission to come to his home in case of emergency quests, but as friends, he was one of the few people who was occasionally invited to his home for casual conversations. But he couldn't come even if he wanted to, for he was too busy with his demanding work.
Upon seeing Grisia, he immediately grinned and his loud voice boomed, "My friend! We have a bit of trouble. Ooh, is that for me?" he held his hand out to receive the mug. His joyous voice betrayed his intimidating appearance.
"Greetings, Chad. It's fruit juice," Grisia smiled, giving his gift before sipping his own. "I squeezed it myself."
"Iced juice in winter? What a load of bull!" despite his complaints, he happily chugged the drink.
"Refreshing! But cold!" he wiped his mouth with his dark blue tunic, which was a lighter shade than his hair.
His short hair was dark with a faint hint of blue and a sideburn that reached down to the base of his square jaw. He scratched his head before uttering, "We have a situation with a... dragon."
"Dragon problem, huh. Which dragon is it?"
"It's one of those around the kingdom. Out of the four of them, unfortunately, it's not the smallest and weakest one. It's the red dragon."
"The dragon west of the kingdom, is it? That's the third strongest out of the four of them," Grisia casually sipped from his mug.
On the other hand, Chadrhaad was tightly gripping his. "Grisia. Ever since the previous head of the guild retired and became a baker, then handed down the torch to me a year ago, it's been insane. I get swamped with documents and paperwork, and now a dragon problem only a year in?"
"Easy now. The old man must've had his fair share of stress in his time. You'll get through this, and imagine when you do. You would have survived a dragon problem only a year after you became the head. That's surely impressive and would raise the morale of those under you, as well as the children who aspire to protect this kingdom in the future."
"You're... you're right. Eventually, a disaster like this was bound to happen anyway," Chadrhaad began to cheer up. "A great leader must set an example to those who follow him. I'm grateful for your wise words, Grisia."
"Anytime, friend. What seems to be the situation anyway?"
"We're currently still unaware of the root of the problem. Apparently, this dragon is quite enraged. It's wreaking havoc in the forest hunting grounds, the hunters are scared and food in winter is scarce. There have been no casualties as of yet, but that could change at any moment."
Chadrhaad massaged his wrinkled forehead before continuing, "It's either the people starve to death or they die from the dragon. Furthermore, its activities are growing closer and closer to the city. This city. I suppose the silver lining is that your manor is on the west side of the kingdom. Mobilizing you would be a simple task."
"The red dragon, awake in the middle of winter when it's supposed to be hibernating..." Grisia pondered. He had a few ideas about the cause of this disturbance, but to truly be sure, he had to observe on-site. He simply hoped that Remi was not behind this.
"We will be ready in an hour, I'm bringing... three people with me," Grisia declared.
"Are they one of your servants? The maids? Or are they dragonslayers of some sort?"
"One of them is."
"A dragonslayer?!"
"No, a maid, I mean."
"Oh..."
Grisia started to head to the kitchen. His drink was finished, but he wasn't heading there to get a refill. Chadrhaad followed him, curious to know who these talented people were that Grisia would trust them to accompany him on his way to what was virtually death.
When they entered the kitchen, a loud and crass woman could be heard shouting orders at three pitiable maids.
"A cook?" an exquisite smell lulled Chadrhaad, making him drool. He wiped it away and gulped, the temptation was enough to break down his defenses.
"Tiraga, after you're done with breakfast, you must eat right away. I'll return shortly with the two and have them grab their breakfast as well. Afterwards, you will join us on a quest concerning a dragon."
Chadrhaad was able to see hints of Tiraga's muscular build through her maid outfit. As a fellow warrior, he could feel the intensity radiating from her flesh. "Tiraga, huh? A fitting name for a strong and beautiful maiden..." seeing her so focused and attentive to her cooking that smelled and looked profusely scrumptious made him blurt out such things.
"AHHN??!" she heard his comment. "Want me ta BUTCHER your ass, AHH??!" she growled at him. It was the first time a stranger invoked her name in their first meeting. It couldn't be helped because Grisia nonchalantly uttered it in his presence. Still, this annoyed her greatly.
"My friend, I think I am in love."
"You'll lose your head," Grisia said, already on his way to leave the mansion to head back to the training area. "It's not worth it. Come on, we have to pick up the two."
"The two? Wait for me!" Chadrhaad shouted, catching up to Grisia. "My fair lady, I am the head of the adventurer guild, please visit me if you are interested!"
"HELL no!"
It was a long walk. Chadrhaad was puzzled as to why Grisia led him to the plains far from his mansion. They've been walking for almost half an hour now. He inferred that they were going to meet "these two" he was talking about, but who could they be? And why here?
"Excellent work, that was faster than I expected."
Once they arrived, Chadrhaad saw two kids holding weapons, lying on the ground, panting. Beyond them was a magnificent meadow of crushed rocks and rubble covered in ruminating dust. It looked as if a war happened on these trampled grounds.
Aisia heaved with every breath.
"We... crushed them all... pops!"