Bron, Rhun, and Guluss stepped onto the dark streets. All three were wobbly for different reasons. Bron and Guluss were still drunk, stumbling into each other. Rhunal's healing magic had flushed every trace of alcohol from her system. The she-orc was too angry to walk straight.

"Why didn't you stop the fight?" Rhunal demanded suddenly, fixing the blacksmith with a furious look.

He held his pounding head. "Because you challenged the Guildmaster. Despite the raving lunatic he was tonight, he is the military commander out here. He has authority to take you both and throw you in jail. He was definitely building up to it by riling up the crowd. When you challenged him to a fight, you interrupted his plan. That was clever of you."

Rhun bared her teeth. "It wasn't a plan. He pissed me off with his lies. Hell if I'm going to fight others because one man is lying. Where did he get all those dumb ideas from?"

Bron raised a hand. "Uh. The little bird that punched me in the throat gave them to him."

"Fara? I knew she was angry with us, but why would she sabotage us like that?" Rhun asked.

"The reward. I think Kyvril told her the exact location of the crypt. She told him we had taken Taino's head back for a reward already. After that, she would have asked Kyvril for the location to pay respects to Lovell," Bron explained.

"Kyvril was a fool. If she finds a horse, she could be halfway to the crypt by now." Rhun shook her head in disbelief.

"Kyvril is normally less naive. Fara must have intercepted him while he was in a bad state. He was easy to rile up. I think your punch sobered him up somewhat. When you left, he seemed more like himself. You could try talking to him again before you leave," Guluss said.

"He's not our problem anymore. He spoke lies about me. I'm more pissed off about that than the fight," she said.

"Not a bad fight, Kyvril is very skilled as you found out. But I've never seen him miss so many blows in a brawl before. That being said, you did get clobbered." Guluss winced sympathetically.

Rhun glared at the man. "You just said the opposite in the same phrase."

He shrugged. "He throws a lot of quick punches to overwhelm. He can both miss a lot and still land enough to do damage."

"I get it alright." Rhun stepped out ahead of them and Bron couldn't help but notice how much she was slamming the ground with every step. "She's unusually angry about this fight." Bron observed to Guluss.

"I doubt the fight is the only reason. From watching her, she seemed like someone who hasn't fought many brawls. But she pulled even at the end." Guluss said.

"How do you know her experience?" Bron asked.

"How she takes a hit is a big tell. A seasoned fighter will shrug off a hit with a casual indifference. But Rhunal reacts emotionally to every blow."

"She put a lot of hope in this town. Getting attacked by the Guildmaster is not something we planned on. She's still furious, look at how she walks." Bron pointed at her sandaled feet as they attacked the ground.

Guluss cocked his head. "Seems like the standard orcish walk to me. They are nothing if not heavy-footed."

The giant shook his head. "Not Rhunal, her gait is usually smooth and silent, especially for her weight and height."

Rhun glanced back at both of them, a look in her eye betraying her sensitive hearing. But she saw the smithy ahead and held her tongue, stepping out ahead of them even more. Bron couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the glistening of tears in her eye. He would ask her about it later, rather than embarrass her in front of the blacksmith. They threw their cloaks over their repaired clothing. Guluss showed them to a mirror. Rhunal's eyes were red, but she'd composed herself. 

She stared glumly at herself in the mirror. "The clothes look good now, but how long until we shred them up again? What can we do in the frontier when winter comes?"

"You've got food for a while I see. Across the frontier are dozens of abandoned farmsteads. Some were ruined after being attacked, but many were left in decent condition. For a start, you could rebuild one of these. I don't need to tell you it is still dangerous out there. You'll need to keep a watch," Guluss advised.

"Are there any more Adventurer's Guild chapters in the villages to the south?" she asked.

Guluss shook his head. "No, not officially. Occasionally they will have quests, but they don't have the resources to post many, and you'd be paid in chicken eggs at best."

Rhun sighed. "If it was enough chicken eggs for me and Bron both, then I'd take it."

Guluss took Bron aside for a moment. "She's not usually so morose, is she?"

Bron shook his head, "Not at all. But, I have not given up on this town yet. I planted a certain idea in the Guildmaster's head that I think will bear fruit. He recovered his sanity towards the end. He had been lied to, and I let him know that. If you see him, tell him we are following the road south. I will make sure that we are traveling slowly. He will not have trouble catching up. But I do not know for sure, so there is no use getting her hopes up."

"That's wise. I don't think you need to slow your pace. Kyvril owns the finest horse on the frontier. If he wants to find you on the road, it won't take long," Guluss said.

Once all their gear was collected, they walked together the rest of the way to the main gate. Guluss extended his hand towards them, and Bron shook it firmly. He did the same for Rhunal. She stared at his hand for a long moment, and pulled him into a firm embrace, shocking the man. She let him go quickly, face turning darker from embarrassment. "Sorry, a handshake didn't feel like enough."

Guluss took a moment to recover his poise, "Careful now, you're going to make Chione jealous."

"Hug her for me as well. I'd do it myself, but I wouldn't want to wake her in the middle of the night."

“I will.” Guluss drew a pair of shortswords at his side, holding it to them. "You wore out your last swords defending Chione and me. Don't try to turn me down, these are yours."