Water being dumped on his head woke Bron with a start. He glared around, taking in the chaos in the bar. Rhun was out cold on the ground, gleaming with a series of bruises. A brown-skinned man with rusty-coloured hair and a mustache wearing ragged clothes, lay sprawled across a table near the wall of the bar. The man groaned, his freshly broken nose streaming blood. Bron looked to his right to see Guluss with the pitcher of water in his hand.

"Wake up big fella, your friend needs you."

Bron grabbed his pounding head, "What has she done this time?"

"The right thing. The Guildmaster, Kyvril, accused her and you of stealing the reward of your last quest and giving none to the families of your slain comrades, Hugh and Lovell. She called him a liar and told him to back up his words."

"We didn't even collect the reward! Where did he get an idea like that? I didn't even know he was back in town yet."

Guluss stared at him. "Dunno, the important thing is to take your friend and get out of here. He also accused your friend of being a witch in league with our attackers, here to sabotage our walls a second time. The Guildmaster blamed a party of orcs and a mage for the first breach. He's riled everyone up plenty."

Bron leaned over Rhun and hoisted her to her feet with one arm. Rhun looked horrible, a mass of bruises.

The Guildmaster righted himself. "As long as I'm around neither of you two will do any business in this town."

Bron glared menacingly at the man. "You'll regret coming after my friend. I've seen enough of this town to know that you need people like us more than we need you."

The she-orc stirred, one bloodshot eye opened, and one remained swollen shut. "What happened? Did I win?"

The Guildmaster, blood streaming from his nose, snarled back. "You challenged me and I won. Now get out of my town."

Bron had enough, stepping forward with his fist raised. But before he could get close enough to throw it, Rhunal dug her nails into the side of his neck. "I appreciate the gesture Bron, but you beating up a man I already injured would be to my shame. I gave as good as I got. Leave it at that."

He wasn't ready to listen, so she twisted the skin on his neck enough for the pain to cut through the alcohol. "Ow, alright Rhun, have it your way."

Rhun glared at the Guildmaster with her one eye. The Guildmaster glared up at her, taking in the mass of bruises. She took a hand and ran it along her face, glowing green energy ran under her skin. Her bruises shrunk and disappeared and her swollen eye opened. In an instant, the dizzy look in her eyes vanished. The orc grinned at the man fiercely, showing off all her teeth. He stared at her in amazement.

"You're a mess. You should get that nose looked at." She looked back to Bron, who was still holding her up. "Let go of me, let's go get our stuff. If they don't want us here, fine."

"Why are you really here?" demanded the Guildmaster.

Rhunal scowled back. "We're adventurers, moron. We came here to find a quest. And you fools seem in dire need of us around here. You've got monsters at your gates. Bron and I came through the dark forest alone. We fought demon bears, stone skeletons, and even a rock golem. If you change your mind, we'll be at the blacksmith getting our stuff." Rage followed every step on her way out. She was clearly fighting a strong desire for a second bout with the Guildmaster.

"What about the other party of orcs?" Kyvril asked, but the she-orc was already out the door.

Bron glared at him. "We haven't run into any orcs. The last ones Rhun and I saw were the bandits at the crypt. After that it was just us and the dark forest. Just because Rhun is an orc doesn't mean that we were involved. This other orcish mage you mention, female or male?"

Kyvril's rage had lessened. "Male, although I never saw his face. One of them detected me approaching them and ambushed me. I defeated this orc bodyguard."

"If you never saw this wizard, how do you know he was orcish at all?" Bron asked.

"I've met enough orcs to know them by their voice. I can tell that brutish tone of voice anywhere."

Bron gritted his teeth, "You attacked my friend here because a voice sounded orcish? Mages have the ability to mask their voice. It could easily have been a human working with a party of orcs."

Kyvril stepped forward, "Not at nine-feet tall. Stop trying to twist things. This town has suffered enough lately, as have I. The last thing we need is more strangers with motives of their own sneaking around behind my back."

Bron sighed wearily. "We have no motives here. Our only ambition is to get a job, to find a purpose for ourselves. As I said, we didn't even collect on your brother's quest."

"Why?"

"I am the son of a noble; I do not need the money. And Greihold doesn't get along well with Rhun or myself. Our reasons on that matter are our own."

"That's not good enough." Kyvril frowned suspiciously.

"Too bad. It's not your business. You're welcome to push me on it. As you found out, Rhunal was holding back with you, using none of her abilities. I won't hold back."

Kyvril stood there and seemed to consider it. Giant though he was, they were bold words from a one-armed man. Finally, he thought better of it, "You have my blessing to collect your gear before you go."

"As if we were going to ask for it," Bron scoffed.

"Shouldn't you have at least told Lovell's fiance about his last moments? She said you brushed her off before," Kyvril said.

Bron stepped towards the door. "Is that what she said? We told her what we could. We told her that half of the reward was hers. We told her that the head of the bandit was there, but she did not know how to get there. What did you tell her?" Bron gave him a knowing glance, "You know where that crypt is don't you? As I said, we couldn't go collect it. As per Hugh's last wishes, half of it is yours."

Kyvril frowned, realizing that Fara hadn't been honest with him. As Bron walked out the door, a conflicted look remained on the Guildmaster's face.