The walk to the adventurers' guild took mere minutes as the chill air was replaced with warm sunlight. There was a commotion at the guild as they approached the massive double doors, which never closed unless a storm raged or the wind became too much for the adventurers sitting and drinking at their tables. Grace and Lara were busy having a heated discussion at an adventure party. Ethan could see that they were copper-rank adventurers, and their team consisted of nine members. The leader, a big, wide-set man, appeared to be the party's tank. The man had scars on his face and his forearms.
"Come now, Grace, your team is steel-plated. How could you ever think you are strong enough for this quest?"
Grace held the parchment and waved it around.
"It clearly says a steel plate here, making my party eligible for this quest."
"I see your pulling rank now, abuse of your position."
Lara spotted Ethan as he bent through the door to enter the guild. The party members were focused on Grace and their leader as Ethan spoke over them.
"Alas, leader, what might the problem be."
Grace and the big man jumped at his loud voice. All eyes fell on Ethan. Wendy and Lucy took Lara by the arms, hugging her tightly. Wendy kissed Lara, holding her cheek with her tiny hand. That silenced everyone as she handed Lara to Lucy, who made out with her. The big man's jaw dropped, just like his party members, as they stared at the scene unfolding before their eyes. Lara came up for air, holding her hand over her chest, flustered at the two naughty girls' administrations. Ethan pushed through the party, stopping next to the big man who cleared his throat before he spoke.
"Well, that was unexpected, Grace. You have an interesting party I would never have guessed."
Ethan spoke as the man had yet to register his presence.
"Alas, Grace, what is the problem here."
The big man jumped again, his eyes wide as he looked up at Ethan. He stepped back, creating distance between himself and Ethan. Grace handed the parchment to Lara, who showed it to Wendy and Lucy. Grace took Ethan's arm, pressing her breasts into his side. Sophia spoke in his mind.
"Alas, Ethan, kiss Grace with passion. Make a show of it. Show them that she and the others belong to you."
Ethan lifted Grace's chin with his finger, bent down, and kissed her. Grace stiffened and then relaxed, going with it. Ethan pulled Lara closer and kissed her as well. Maple stood like a statue, not knowing what to do. He pulled her closer, slipping his arm around her waist and holding her lower back as he gazed into her eyes.
"Alas, I have missed you."
Ethan kissed Maple before she could utter one syllable. She melted into him, hands on his biceps, as he held the kiss. The party did not say one word as Ethan released Maple.
"Alas, now that I have said good morning to my party members, let us talk. What objection do you have."
"Look, I do not know who you are, giant, but we need this quest. We have not had success with our last quest and are lacking funds. The quest pays four gold coins for completing it."
Ethan pulled Wendy closer, bent down, pointing to the parchment.
"Alas, what does it say? What do you think."
Wendy straightened and placed her arm around Ethan's waist as she spoke.
"Hail, we do not care for the reward. We want the leather and gems from the beasts."
Grace stepped forward, and it was time to negotiate with this man.
"Terry, let us work on the quest together. You can keep the reward. We need the leather and the gems from the beasts. We are willing to share our food at night. Maple is a terrific chef."
Terry inspected the women, and then he held out his hand.
"Grace, we have a deal. Let us make a contract. We will meet you in the village near the Dark Horse Inn and stay there between hunting days."
"Squee, it sounds like you know the area well."
"That is correct. We have completed quests there before and know the surrounding forests well."
Lara turned to Wendy, placing her hand on her shoulder.
"That sounds wonderful. We will have someone who knows the area; a bigger camp is more secure. We will set up a roster for guard duty."
Grace held her hand out, and one of the employees handed her a scroll. Terry cut his finger, and Grace as well, placing blood on the contract. It floated, glowed with a soft light and then drifted down to the table. Terry picked it up, rolled it, and placed it in his jacket pocket.
"Grace, see you there tonight. We are going to stock up on supplies."
As the party left the guild hall, Grace leaned against Ethan, her head against his solar plexus.
"Thank you. That man can be stubborn. Lara shows them the quest."
Lara fished out a rolled-up parchment from between her peaches. Ethan thought that was a wonderful place to hide the quest. Lara looked at Ethan and Wendy, their eyes transfixed on her cleavage.
"Come now, you have seen them before."
Wendy wiped the drool from her mouth. Ethan's eyes fell on Maple's peaches. Maple gave him a questioning look, and then she pressed her hand over her exposed cleavage. Ethan did not know how they would do this without him ploughing the women. Five women laughed inside his mind. They sounded excited for some reason. Grace loosened a button on her blouse, drawing Ethan's and Wendy's attention.
"Come, let us sit here and discuss the quest."
Wendy eagerly sat next to Grace, her eyes transfixed on her open blouse, revealing her peaches to them. Lara sat next to Grace, and Maple next to her. Lucy took Ethan's hand, led him to the other side of the table, and seated them. Lucy held Ethan's arm, content that she had him for herself at that stage. Grace unrolled the parchment on the table.
"This quest is a suppression quest. We must kill as many Dire wolves as possible, bringing the ears to the village leader as proof. The reward is two gold coins. It is marked copper plate, but we will hunt the Dire wolves. They might as well get paid for the danger."
Lara's eyes widened as she sat forward, taking Grace's hand.
"One gold coin comes to a thousand silver coins. We would be set for the year."
"I-I-I, I want to complete this quest. We need the money, Grace, no matter the danger."
Ethan hugged Lucy closer, loving her soft body pressing against his.
"Alas, we have our quest. Let us accept and leave immediately."
Lara and Grace disappeared upstairs to Grace's room to pack her clothes. Lara would carry Grace's clothes as Grace had a backpack for meat and nothing else. Shaw installed the portal system as promised. Each of them, in turn, licked their thumbs, pressing it to the parchment. The parchment glowed faintly. Quest accepted. The women looked good in their knee-length dresses; a bit of chainmail was visible as they walked. The bottle green with gold and silver stitching complimented Ethan's robes perfectly. He had to tell the woman from the tailor shop how impressed he was with her work. They reached the portal without any obstacles. Animals and monsters had eaten the bandits. Lara turned to Ethan once they stepped out of the portal.
"We need a few things. We will meet you later at Thompson's office. Wait for us there."
Lucy asked them to be careful and aware; they should not hesitate to use the rings if needed. Thompson's department was a buzz of activity. Smith had a team of officers lifting fingerprints from the evidence room's door. The man looked agitated, as usual. Thompson spoke over the phone, his expression serious. His officers were hard at work behind their stations. Thompson spotted them and waved for them to come into his office. Thompson placed the phone down, turning to the three.
"Good morning, team. We released Miss Finch this morning because we had no solid evidence that she committed the crime."
Thompson seated himself, taking a sip from his mug of coffee.
"The man you had a dual with was found outside Ghost Flower Village on the side of the main road leading to the city. He had bled out from the wound you gave him. The strange thing is that his sword was missing or stolen."
Smith walked in with a file under his arm.
"Ethan, girls, good day to you. Thompson, the book is the only piece of evidence that was taken."
Thompson wrote in the file as Smith had placed it on the table. Smith took the file and left in a hurry.
"Squee, what has happened here."
"We had a specialist brought in to look at the book you found at the library. It was a book of sorcery and alchemy, a forbidden and dangerous text. The elusion was a safeguard or warning to unsuspecting people who opened it."
Bridget stood in the doorway with paperwork in her hands. Thompson got up, looked through it, and signed it. Bridget held Thompson's hand.
"We will find the thief. Astrid is looking through the security footage as we speak."
"Alas. Let me know if there are any animals in the footage."
Thompson pulled Bridget into the office and then onto his lap.
"Ethan, what do you know about this affair? There is something that you are not telling us. Please, man, this is of utmost importance. My whole unit could be disbanded."
Bridget lay her head on Thompson's shoulder. Ethan had to tell the man it could be the Skinwalker's work. That meant that he targeted Lark for a reason and that there was a sinister plot at foot.
"Alas, I have been tracking a Skinwalker from my realm into this realm. I suspect that he had killed Lark. The Skinwalker took the sword from Alaric. I would say that Alaric got it from the Skinwalker. The sword comes from my home realm. The Skinwalker has a dagger that needs to be destroyed. Now you know."
Thompson stared at Ethan. His silence said many things. Astrid entered the office with a tablet in hand.