Chad hung up his hammer and took off his apron, hanging it next to the forge. He grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped the soot from his hands, and then exited the blacksmith. It was midday and he hadn’t eaten anything that morning, so he was far more than famished.

Business was booming as of late as the tension between the Coalition and the Ardenians rose. Weapons of all quality were ordered in a quantity that he couldn’t handle himself, so he worked himself to the bone trying his best to put out what he could.

It was a task doomed to fail. His father was the blacksmith and had passed on as much of the family as he could before he had an untimely death. Chad was a Player, so his ability to craft would never amount to much. He couldn’t just abandon everything he knew.

The outside world was terrifying. He palmed the hilt of the sword his dad had left him as he thought of the dungeon not too far from where they lived.

He always thought of the dungeon, but he’d been told countless times by his father when he was younger that he would be better off learning a useful trade than chasing death as an adventurer. Look where that got him today, working for a pittance and barely able to afford food to fill his belly.

He knew nothing would change. He would stay here and forge swords of low quality until the day he died.

It was all he had left of his family.

Chad grit his teeth in frustration, opening the tavern’s door a little more forcefully than he’d meant to, and grumpily approached his normal seat. Strangely enough, someone was already there eating a meal.

A beautiful woman armed to the tooth. He considered his options and decided that he wouldn’t sit anywhere but his normal seat. He walked up to the table and sat across from her, “Excuse me miss, but you don’t look familiar. I’m Chadwick Turbone. Might I bother you for company?”

She looked him up and down, took a sip from her drink to wash down the dried rations they called food, and sighed deeply.

“I’m busy, Chadwick, so I’ll finish my meal and leave.” Her clear dismissal tinged his cheeks. He couldn’t tell if he should be offended, though his short temper had him gritting his teeth.

“I’m sorry to bother, but… I’ve sat at this table every day for the last decade. I’ll let you eat in peace, but I won’t move.”

She eyed him once more before shrugging, “That’s a little childish though. Fine, stay. I do have a question though.”

He collected himself and let the insult fade, though it bled through when he spoke. “What is it?”

“First, a couple of observations. You’re covered in soot, yet you carry a fine blade. Second, you seem far larger and stronger than any blacksmith I’ve ever seen. Third, most of the people here avoided this table like it was the plague.”

“Get to the point,” he said impatiently, feeling as though she could see right through him.

“You’re a Player, without a doubt. Why are you here?” she asked calmly, though it felt like a bucket of water had just been thrown in his face.

“I live here. Your question doesn’t make any sense,” he responded bitterly.

“It does if you consider the wasted potential. You’re a Player, so you should join in the Wars. You’re wasting yourself staying here and failing as a wannabe blacksmith.” She sipped from her drink and watched him from the corner of her eyes.

His face heated up and he felt his rage seep through his clenched teeth, “Outside. Now.”

“Oh, did I offend you? Like I said before, I’m in a hurry, so I can’t waste time with you. I’ve been here long enough,” she finished the last bit of her food and drink before she stood and grabbed her things.

His stood up and followed her out of the tavern, all the while ignoring the hushed whispers that mocked him. He palmed the hilt of his sword and stared at her back, following her to the side of the tavern.

He jumped back in surprise when he saw an obsidian gryphon the size of a small horse. He blurted out, “You’re a Monster Tamer?”

Without looking at him, she picked up a harness that lay on the ground near the gryphon and began strapping it onto the monster’s back, “Chadwick, why are you following me? Go back inside and eat. Return to your life as a blacksmith, wasting away your potential. Make sure you hang that sword on a wall or sell it. You’re not fit to carry it around.”

He drew the blade in a clumsy motion, nearly cutting himself, and struck out at the woman that had done nothing but insult him. She pat the head of the gryphon that glared at him with intense hostility, seamlessly drew the two blades at her waist, and blocked his attack with ease. She followed up with a kick to his chest that sent him reeling onto his back.

He stood back up and gave a shout while leaping toward her. She ducked beneath him and he couldn’t stop himself as his sword descended on the gryphon.

Before he could process what happened, he was hanging upside down as two spiked tails wrapped around his chest.

“Well, this didn’t go how I expected,” the woman said while staring at him. “You have no training, that much is obvious. You’re hotheaded, unable to control yourself, and make poor decisions. However, you did take that kick quite easily. I’ve seen better men than you incapacitated by that much force. That’s workable.”

Chad felt the blood rushing to his head as he hung there, swinging his blade at the tails aimlessly. He nearly cut himself multiple times. He recollected himself, doing his best to stem his temper, and looked back at the woman.

“What do you want?”

“Well, luckily enough for you, I need help and you’re the only Player in this whole town, unfortunately. There’s a dungeon nearby that I’m sure you’ve heard of. I plan on taking my gryphon diving. I’ve got everything I need to leave, so I’d like to ask you a question.”

“Okay, but have this beast put me down!” he shouted, his face redder than a tomato.

She motioned for the gryphon to release him. He crumpled down to the ground painfully and sucked in a deep breath, trying to recover after the wind got knocked out of him from the drop.

“Why are you here?”

He really thought about it while he gasped for breath, laying on the ground in pain. “I-I don’t know.”

“Then come with us. You’re shoddy at best, but I can probably whip you into shape pretty easily. You’ve got quite a bit to work with,” she said as she reached out her hand to help him to his feet.

“I-I don’t want to die,” he said as he hung his head. “I’ve always wanted to go, but I don’t want to die. I need to live… for them.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about then? Family passed and this place is all that you have of them?” she said as she waved her hand around. “They’re gone. If you’ve always wanted to go, then now is the time. Live your life for yourself for once.”

“You don’t know anything about me!” he shouted back at her, realizing quickly that he responded emotionally. “I-I’m sorry. I’ve just been alone for so long. Everyone thinks I’m cursed here and it-”

“I know the feeling. Don’t worry about it. Come with me and I’ll show you how to be a real adventurer, though you have to work for it. Nothing worth having is easy.”

Chad looked at her and back at the gryphon, then took her hand and stood. “Yeah, okay. I’ll need some time to collect my things.”

“You have half an hour before I leave without you. Meet me here when you’re done.”

With that, she stopped paying him any attention and returned to strapping the gryphon with the harness.

He turned and ran back to the forge. He grabbed several tools to repair weapons with and threw it in a sack that he slung over his shoulder, then quickly made his way to his home. It was worn down, having been built several centuries ago by his forefathers.

He didn’t have much to pack. Two pairs of boots, four sets of clothes that were a little too tight on him, and a ring passed down from several generations of Turbones. What little rations he had were scarfed down in a hurry.

He looked at himself in a small mirror and realized that his effort to wipe the soot away had only smeared it more.

“Whatever.” He set the mirror down and looked around at the home he spent his whole life in. He took a deep breath and then released it, exiting his home for what might be the last time, and returned to the tavern.

He saw several hooded figures walking about and stationed at either entrance to the village.

“What’s going on?” he asked rhetorically, knowing there would be nobody to give him an answer.

He walked to the side of the tavern and saw that the woman was gone. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

He turned to walk back to his home but heard a whistle from behind the tavern. He walked behind it and saw the woman.

“Time to go,” she said as she looked around.

“Those hooded people, they’re after you, aren’t they?” he asked. “Why should I turn you in?”

Her swords were pressed against his throat before he even registered her movement. “What were you saying?”

“I can still yell.”

“Why would you want to do that? You’d be dead and I’d get away.” She looked around. He could see the anxiety and indecision. “I’m offering you a chance at a new life away from all this.”

“Are you a criminal?”

“Is this really the time? You either come with me or you stay behind. Either way, I’m going now.”

She hopped onto the back of the gryphon and it walked towards the short walls. It leaned on its back legs and prepared to jump over. Chad didn’t have much time and his only ticket out of here was about to leave.

“Wait! I’ll go,” he said as he walked over toward the wall.

“Good choice,” she said as she whispered to the gryphon. It reached back with its tails and wrapped around his torso tightly, though not enough to cause him any pain. It jumped over the wall and they ran off before anybody saw them.